Chapter 677: Insect Armor Technique

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"Asura Sacred Flame! Silvermoon naturally remembered it as the demonic flame hailed as the Ghost Dao's sacred fire. If Mysterious Bone truly mastered it, although he wouldn't be invincible across the entire realm, very few would be able to contend with him. Is this the very flame Master fused with? It seems somewhat different from what I saw that day," Silvermoon remarked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"This is certainly not the Asura Sacred Flame. Even I don't know its origin. But its power is clearly superior to the Azure-Blue Ice Flame. If my guess is correct, as the chilling qi expelled by the Six-Winged Frost Centipede evolves, the power of this flame will only grow stronger after absorption. In the end, it will likely not be much weaker than the Asura Sacred Flame. I only discovered this by chance after inadvertently absorbing the centipede's chilling qi. One might call it a stroke of luck."

With that said, Han Li subtly moved a finger. The small purple flame bird circled his finger twice before quickly vanishing into his palm.

Silvermoon, after a brief moment of stupefaction, her face lit up with delight.

"Then your servant congratulates Master! The Azure-Blue Ice Flame was already something ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators dared not touch. Now, with this newly fused demonic flame, Master is truly poised to sweep across Tiannan!" Silvermoon curtsied lightly, her face beaming with a charming smile, making her even more captivating.

"Sweep across Tiannan? That's quite an overstatement. There are countless mid-to-late stage Nascent Soul cultivators in Tiannan alone. Which of these old monsters hasn't lived for countless years, shrewd and experienced? Wouldn't they all have their own trump cards? What if I happen to encounter something that can counter my demonic flame?" Han Li shook his head, speaking gravely.

"Master is too modest. How could such coincidences happen in the world?" Silvermoon pursed her red lips, her eyes showing a dismissive look.

"It's hard to say. The Gold Devouring Beetles are powerful, aren't they? They're ranked in the top tens on the list of exotic insects, yet the Blood Jade Spider, ranked much lower, happens to be able to counter them. If I encounter cultivators who know their origins, or treasures like jade wood, the situation wouldn't be good. This demonic flame will also have its counter. In this realm, there can't truly be anything or anyone invincible." Han Li said with a faint smile.

"Master is indeed very cautious and meticulous. Thinking about it that way, it's true that one should prepare several trump cards, just in case an opponent has a counter." Silvermoon's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, and she nodded thoughtfully.

Han Li seemed to have more to say, and he continued slowly:

"I didn't take disciples before because my cultivation wasn't high enough, and I was always unsettled, drifting from place to place. Taking a disciple would have definitely been a burden. But now that I've settled down in the Falling Cloud Sect, it's natural to cultivate some influence of my own. In the cultivation world, while personal strength is paramount, being truly isolated and weak can lead to many inconveniences and dangers. At the very least, information gets blocked, making it impossible to acquire useful intelligence in time. For instance, no one actively informed us about the trade fair to be held in Yu State two years from now. Although I expect those two elders will eventually notify us, we won't be able to prepare for it in advance. As for Liu Yu, though her cultivation isn't high, she doesn't seem like someone who only focuses on arduous cultivation. Once she enters the Falling Cloud Sect, I expect she'll strive to develop her own influence, even without my instructions."

"Master has placed a Spirit Restraining Art on her; unless her cultivation surpasses Master's in this life, she cannot betray Master. Her influence will naturally be Master's influence. And this is far more reliable than disciples taken under normal circumstances," Silvermoon added with a cheerful smile.

Han Li glanced at Silvermoon and said calmly: "As long as you know."

Then, his gaze shifted, landing on the rhinoceros beast. At this moment, the spirit beast wobbled and stood up again, its ferocity greatly diminished. Its gaze towards Han Li now revealed a hidden fear.

"Although this spirit beast is of little use to me, since it's a clan spirit beast, it doesn't need to be refined and can be directly commanded with a magic tool. It's the best item for trade. Once you've dealt with it, lock it in the spirit beast chamber. We'll see if we can exchange it for something rare at the future Yu State trade fair. I'm going to implant the Spirit Restraining Art on Liu Yu now." Han Li took out a dark token from his storage pouch, then tossed it to Silvermoon, giving his instructions.

"Understood, Master!" Silvermoon took the token and replied respectfully.

Han Li then stood up and left the hall without another word.

Silvermoon, left alone, fiddled with the token in her hand, her expression thoughtful as she pondered Han Li's recent words. But a moment later, she suddenly raised the token with a cheerful smile and shone it at the spirit beast within the light barrier. Immediately, a yellow light shot from the token, enveloping the rhinoceros beast. In the hall, a piercing shriek followed.

After implanting the spell, he took Liu Yu to the silver-haired elder. Of course, he didn't tell the full truth, only stating that the girl had some connection to him, which was why he brought her back from the Spirit Control Sect to Xi State, intending to take her as a disciple and look after her.

The silver-haired elder was initially stunned by these words, but then burst into laughter, an expression of sudden realization on his face. "I was wondering why Junior Brother Han would go to a demonic sect's territory and return after just circling around. So it was for Junior Niece Liu! Good, very good! Our sect gaining another female Core Formation cultivator is something this elder couldn't wish for more!" The silver-haired elder readily agreed to Liu Yu joining the Falling Cloud Sect. Han Li was satisfied with this and, after chatting with the elder about a few more things, he left with the girl.

Afterward, Liu Yu formally changed her name to Liu Mei and officially became a nominal disciple under Han Li. Although Han Li had said he wouldn't personally instruct her, he wasn't stingy during the disciple-acceptance ceremony. He immediately presented her with two magic treasures and several bottles of demonic beast pills for Core Formation cultivators. If Liu Mei had been somewhat reluctant about becoming Han Li's disciple before, seeing her master so generously bestow such valuable items, she immediately bowed deeply in surprised gratitude. At this moment, she felt for the first time that leaving the Spirit Control Sect to become Han Li's disciple might not be a bad thing after all. However, the girl was extremely clever; she then copied the insect-controlling secret techniques she knew onto a jade slip and, along with the several Six-Winged Frost Centipedes, presented them to Han Li with both hands. Han Li naturally accepted this disciple's gift with a calm expression.

After leaving Han Li's cave dwelling, Liu Mei moved into White Phoenix Peak within the Falling Cloud Sect, where she opened her own cave dwelling, becoming a member of the sect's high-ranking cultivators. It's unclear if it was out of respect for Han Li, but the silver-haired elder also appointed her as the Deputy Peak Master of White Phoenix Peak, to serve as an assistant to the female cultivator surnamed Song on that peak. Han Li merely smiled upon learning of this.

After acquiring the centipedes, he used Rainbow Robe Grass to accelerate their maturation. If Rainbow Robe Grass was useful for Gold Devouring Beetles, it should be equally effective for Six-Winged Frost Centipedes. He himself entered a secret chamber and began to study the newly acquired insect-controlling spell and the Profound Mother Infant Transformation technique left to him by Xin Ruoyin. He sat motionless on the ground, eyes slightly closed, his body suffused with circulating green light, as if in deep meditation.

After a while, he opened his eyes. After a flash of clear light, he immediately grabbed the spirit beast pouch from his waist, flung it high into the air without a word, pointed a finger at it with one hand, and uttered the word "Swift." Instantly, thousands of three-colored Gold Devouring Beetles swarmed out of the pouch, rapidly forming a gigantic insect cloud, about three meters in size, hovering and buzzing above Han Li's head.

Han Li didn't even blink. Instead, he stood up, stepping with mysterious precision, chanting incantations. He suddenly raised both hands, and a swathe of green mist flew out, instantly enveloping the insect cloud. The Gold Devouring Beetles instantly fell silent, their buzzing ceasing. Instead, as if entranced, they began to weave and crisscross within the green mist, yet not a single one collided, appearing eerily precise.

Han Li stared at the insect cloud, his eyes gleaming, without a single blink. But a moment later, he formed a hand seal with one hand, while simultaneously making a grasping motion at the insect cloud with his other hand, letting out a low growl. The shimmering green insect cloud immediately plummeted towards Han Li's head, instantly enveloping him. The spirit insects, moving at several times their previous speed, rotated and flew frantically around Han Li, forming an impenetrable barrier of insects.

Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Han Li's face. But after his smile faded, a profound and obscure sound emerged from his mouth. Instantly, all the spirit insects, with Han Li at the center, suddenly rushed inwards, and dazzling green light simultaneously burst forth, making it impossible to look directly.

A moment later, the light vanished, and an ancient-looking battle armor with three-colored patterns materialized out of thin air on Han Li's body. This armor shimmered with green light, its radiance constantly flowing. One could tell at a glance it was a sturdy, hard-to-penetrate treasure armor. Seeing this, the smile on Han Li's face grew wider. He ran a hand over the surface of the armor, finding it incredibly smooth, with no discernible abnormalities at all, which was simply astonishing.

"Excellent! I truly didn't expect that the idea I once had in the Heavenly Void Hall, of using Gold Devouring Beetles to form a protective barrier and armor, would have already been researched by the Spirit Control Sect. They truly live up to their reputation as a great demonic sect known throughout Tiannan for their insect-controlling techniques. My own wild thoughts are nowhere near comparable," Han Li muttered to himself with a light sigh after his smile faded.