Chapter 2149: Crab Taoist

From within the black mist, the demonic golden-robed man let out a miserable shriek. A huge bloody hole instantly appeared in his abdomen, utterly empty inside, as if his flesh had vanished into thin air.

But such an attack was clearly not enough to take the golden-robed man's life.

Although his face was somewhat contorted, he quickly formed a hand seal with one hand and stretched out the fingers of the other, pressing towards the bloody hole. Even before his hand truly touched his body, a surge of black mist erupted from his palm.

He was evidently intending to heal the wound immediately!

But the next moment, golden light flickered within the bloody hole, and countless specks of light eerily emerged.

“No!” The golden-robed man shrieked earth-shatteringly upon seeing this, but it was already too late.

In an instant, those lights became dazzlingly bright, transforming into countless golden threads that shot out densely in all directions.

Loud whooshing sounds filled the air. After the golden threads intertwined and flashed in the void, countless bloody marks appeared on the demonic golden-robed man's body.

Then, a large expanse of blood mist dispersed, and countless fragments of flesh rained down from the sky.

The Golden Giant Crab truly possessed unfathomable power, easily killing the Nirvana Ancestor's avatar without even needing a third attack.

Even the golden-robed man's nascent soul, hidden within, could not escape the golden threads' strangulation.

Han Li released his spiritual sense, his pupils flashing with blue light. Only after confirming that the golden-robed man's soul and remnant consciousness had indeed not escaped did he let out a long breath. He then immediately refocused his gaze on the Golden Giant Crab below, a hesitant expression on his face.

“I have already acted twice; you have one more chance to request my assistance. If you don't need it now, you can come back to me later. However, I can only remain in this location. Next time, you must lure your target near the sea of thunder for me to intervene,” the Golden Giant Crab rumbled again, its golden light receding slightly from its surface. Its voice was devoid of emotion.

“You cannot leave here? Why is that?” Han Li was momentarily stunned, but he asked impassively.

“Without sufficient immortal spiritual power, I cannot move freely for long,” the Golden Crab replied.

“Immortal spiritual power, you mean…” Han Li's expression shifted slightly.

“It refers to the celestial energy contained within your offerings. The reason I agreed to act was also because these offerings contain certain things I require. I am a puppet body; every action consumes immortal spiritual power. Half of the energy from the offerings will be stored by me as my reward,” the Golden Crab explained everything in detail.

“You are a pseudo-immortal puppet? But it seems you have gained sentience; I can address you as ‘Fellow Daoist.’ How long can the Creation Dew I just gave you sustain your activity?” Han Li asked, a strange look on his face, his thoughts racing.

“I am a pseudo-immortal puppet crafted in the Upper Realm, cast down to the Lower Realm after an accident. My original master perished in that incident, which is why, after so many years, I have managed to cultivate a trace of independent sentience. Although the Creation Dew you gave me is not the genuine article, it is the purest spiritual dew I have encountered in years, possessing fifty percent of the genuine item's efficacy. A single drop of this pseudo-immortal dew can sustain my free movement for two months. Of course, this movement assumes I do not encounter strong enemies or engage in combat. Otherwise, once I activate my full power, it would only sustain a few full-strength attacks,” the Golden Crab replied with a hum, its eyes flashing with sharp light.

“So, Fellow Daoist, your previous slumber and your inability to leave this place were purely due to insufficient energy?” Han Li's eyes brightened as he asked thoughtfully.

“You could say that. However, I remain here also because the spiritual energy here is the purest in this realm; sleeping here does not consume energy. And once I accumulate enough immortal spiritual power, I might even have a chance to return to the Upper Realm,” the Golden Giant Crab honestly stated.

“The Upper Realm you speak of refers to the True Immortal Realm, right?” Han Li pondered for a moment, then pressed gravely.

“Correct. You beings of the Lower Realm do indeed call it the True Immortal Realm or Immortal Realm. But we, those from the Immortal Realm, are still accustomed to calling it the Upper Realm,” the Golden Giant Crab replied straightforwardly.

“It seems your master was a True Immortal; no wonder he could possess such a powerful puppet as yourself. However, if I can provide enough energy, would you be willing to follow me for a period?” Han Li's eyes darted around a few times before he suddenly uttered a surprising proposal.

“For me to follow you! If you can provide a drop of that pseudo-Creation Dew every month, it is not impossible. However, if you wish for me to assist you in combat, the remuneration will be calculated separately. And once I have accumulated enough energy, I will leave automatically; you must not obstruct me,” the Golden Giant Crab remained silent for a good while this time before slowly speaking in a low voice.

“How long will it take for you to accumulate enough immortal spiritual power?” Han Li asked in return after a slight hesitation.

“The components in my body that convert immortal spiritual power are severely damaged. A drop of Creation Dew like that one can, at most, be converted into one drop per month. If you provide one drop a month, it will likely be enough in about a thousand years,” the Golden Giant Crab replied after blinking its enormous eyes.

“A thousand years! Hehe, that's more than enough time. Alright, I agree to give you a drop of Creation Dew every month. Fellow Daoist, come with me during this period,” Han Li said with a few laughs, without any further hesitation.

“Agreed. But during this period, if you fail to provide the offering for any given month, I will consider you in violation of the agreement and kill you on the spot,” the Golden Giant Crab stated impolitely.

“This… alright, I agree,” Han Li hesitated slightly, but after glancing at the front of his robes, he gritted his teeth and accepted.

“In that case, I have no further issues and can now form a temporary contract with you,” the Golden Giant Crab rumbled in reply, golden runes reappearing on its body and flickering faintly.

The Golden Giant Crab then opened its mouth and suddenly spat out a dark green stone tablet, about three to four feet long. With a flash, it appeared before Han Li.

Han Li was secretly startled and unconsciously heightened his vigilance. However, seeing that the dark green stone tablet merely floated quietly before him without any abnormalities, he relaxed and examined it again.

He then saw silver characters flickering on the tablet, which were actually the Silver Tadpole Script.

Han Li secretly felt fortunate. He gazed at it carefully again, and after a moment, he understood it completely. The content written on it was precisely the agreement he had just made with the Golden Giant Crab.

“If you find no issues, just spray a ball of vital blood onto it,” the Golden Giant Crab spoke again.

“Only vital blood? Alright, no problem!” Han Li's heart lightened, and he readily agreed.

If the Golden Crab had asked for something like a soul imprint, he might have hesitated, fearing unknown traps or restrictions. But for vital blood, there was naturally no issue.

When Han Li sprayed a ball of vital blood onto it, the blood, upon contact, instantly transformed into several unknown blood-red runes. They flashed and then vanished into the stone tablet.

With a buzzing sound, the stone tablet instantly transformed into a ball of green light and flew back.

The Golden Crab opened its mouth again and re-absorbed the stone tablet into its abdomen.

“The temporary contract has been established. I can now accompany you. When shall we depart?”

“Hehe, Fellow Daoist is truly straightforward. Let us depart immediately. However, your current form is quite astonishing and not very convenient for travel. Can you transform a bit?” Han Li said with a smile, gazing at the Golden Giant Crab's enormous body.

“To become smaller, of course,” the Golden Crab replied noncommittally.

As soon as its voice fell, its enormous body suddenly burst with golden light and rapidly shrank within the radiance.

When the light receded, the Golden Giant Crab had vanished, replaced by a fair-skinned young man in a green Daoist robe who appeared in its place.

He appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a slender build, pale golden pupils, and dark green sword-like eyebrows.

The young man's expression was unusually blank, devoid of any emotion, as he addressed Han Li:

“After transforming, you may call me ‘Daoist Crab’.”

A trace of surprise flashed across Han Li’s face. He subconsciously swept his spiritual sense over the other party, but it was immediately repelled upon contact. Startled, he cupped his fist and said,

“Senior Crab, you are too kind. My surname is Han, and I am from the Spirit Realm. Please accompany this junior for a while. This is not a place for conversation; let us depart now.”

Daoist Crab naturally had no objection. Immediately, their escape lights simultaneously rose, transforming into a green and a golden streaking rainbow respectively, shooting towards the distant horizon and vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, at a corner of the giant island, Baohua, Black Alligator, and the three Demon Ancestors of Yuan-e remained faintly confrontational high in the sky.

Suddenly, Baohua and Ancestor Yuan-e’s expressions shifted simultaneously. Each flipped their palm, and two jade boxes appeared in their hands.

“Haha, this brat is quite trustworthy; that wisp of consciousness has indeed been removed,” the black-robed youth burst into frantic laughter. Then, with a flick of his wide sleeve, spatial fluctuations surged beneath him, and a swirling mass of demonic energy erupted, causing the three-headed black flood dragon to appear out of thin air.

Ancestor Yuan-e, with a flash, appeared standing on the black flood dragon's central head.

The three-headed demonic flood dragon let out a cry, immediately stirring up a gust of dark demonic wind and soaring through the air in a certain direction.

A moment later, in the void opposite Baohua, Ancestor Yuan-e’s cold voice resonated:

“For the sake of the spiritual herbs, I, the Progenitor, will not personally pursue that young man named Han. However, the Immortal Extermination Order will be issued immediately. This human youth will find it impossible to move freely in the Saint Realm from now on. Whether he can return to the Spirit Realm depends on his own fortune.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the voice in the void abruptly ceased.

Baohua’s expression remained unchanged after hearing these words. After putting away the jade box in her hand again, she turned her head to glance distantly towards the sea of thunder where the Golden Giant Crab was located.

Only then did a trace of almost imperceptible doubt appear on her face, and with a furrowed brow, she murmured,

“That’s odd! The pseudo-immortal puppet clearly took action, so how did that young man escape? Could it be that this Han fellow possesses some unexpected life-saving abilities?”