Chapter 891: Magic Worm Demon Corpse

Volume Six: Heavenly Spirit Treasure

Inside an airtight secret chamber, a bluestone altar, about ten feet high, stood in the center. Various formation flags were arrayed around it, forming a temporary magic circle that glowed with a faint spiritual light.

On the altar was an emerald-green, round bowl resembling a formation plate. Wisps of green mist emanated from it, and a vaguely defined infant could be seen sitting cross-legged within, seemingly cultivating some technique, inhaling and exhaling the mist.

In each of the four corners of the secret chamber, a white-haired elder sat cross-legged, holding an emerald-green magic flag. All these flags pointed towards the central bowl, and fine streams of green mist sprayed from their tips, slowly drifting towards the bowl.

This strange scene was like a painting, utterly silent.

After an unknown period, fatigue appeared on the faces of the four elders. The infant within the green mist, however, seemed to have become slightly clearer during this time.

"Let's stop here for today. I'm truly grateful to the three of you. In a few more days, Junior Martial Brother Gui should be able to recover on his own. I am deeply thankful." The red-haired elder, sitting in the northwest corner of the secret chamber, stood up, put away his magic flag, clasped his hands, and bowed to the other three in gratitude.

"Haha! Brother Hui, there's no need to be so polite. We have been friends with Immortal Master Gui for a long time. It is only right that we do our part to help him," replied one of the three elders, a clean-shaven, pale-faced man, as they too put away their flags and hastily returned the bow.

"Regardless, my junior martial brother and I will bear this favor in mind," the first elder who had risen said sincerely, glancing at the infant still sitting cross-legged and cultivating.

"Haha, why are you so formal, fellow Daoist!" another elder said with a smile.

"Oh, by the way, the four of us have been helping Immortal Master Gui restore his Nascent Soul body here in the secret chamber, and I wonder if there's any news about that outsider. It's truly unbelievable that someone in this world can command tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles. We are all well aware of how difficult it is for Gold Devouring Beetles to lay eggs. I arrived late and didn't participate in the battle to surround that outsider. Was that person really so terrifying that three Nascent Soul stage Immortal Masters fell?" The red-haired elder's expression turned grim as he asked solemnly.

Hearing this, the other three elders exchanged glances, their faces showing lingering fear.

"That person cannot merely be described as 'terrifying.' Besides commanding Gold Devouring Beetles, he can also unleash a purple flame and golden lightning. The first few Immortal Masters who blocked him suffered two injuries and one death after a single encounter. Most of this was due to these two cultivation techniques. The golden lightning could trap a cultivator's Nascent Soul, while the purple flame could easily destroy it. Even the later Immortal Masters who encountered him and exercised extreme caution were still unable to resist and were eliminated," the pale-faced elder said with a sigh.

"And that's not all. The magic treasures wielded by this outsider are also incredibly powerful. It's a set of peculiar gold and green flying swords, numbering sixty or seventy, and extremely sharp. Several fellow Daoists' treasures were directly split in half upon contact with these flying swords. What's even more sinister is the pair of wing-shaped magic treasures on his back, which allow him to instantly cast Thunder Escape without even needing to chant a spell. It was impossible to capture his form. You might laugh at us, Brother Hui, but at that time, six or seven fellow Daoists of similar cultivation to us surrounded him simultaneously, yet he still made us break out in a cold sweat, pushing us to the brink. Some of us even considered a temporary retreat. Later, fortunately, Grand Immortal Master Hu arrived in time and secretly launched a surprise attack with the 'Grand Five Elements Immortal Capture Hand,' gravely injuring the opponent. But even after being severely wounded, the outsider suddenly transformed into a blood shadow and vanished from the encirclement. None of us could find any trace of him with our divine sense. It was only when Grand Immortal Master Hu explained that the person was already hundreds of miles away that we learned of his whereabouts. But by then, it was too late to pursue him," a slightly plump elder explained and recalled, a hint of terror still visible on his face.

"This outsider is actually that formidable. Could he be a renowned top-tier cultivator from one of the Great Jin's major sects? No wonder Junior Martial Brother Gui, even with the 'Six Soul Soul-Splitting Art,' ended up in such a state," the red-haired elder said, his face darkening after hearing this.

"Brother Gui, don't worry. You know how powerful the 'Grand Five Elements Immortal Capture Hand' is. Even if that person escaped this place, that strike would have at least severely damaged his cultivation, leaving him with less than half of his original power. He should be no cause for concern now! Furthermore, the Saintess is currently accompanying guests from Great Jin to the nearby Sky-Azure Sacred Temple to preside over a spirit-awakening ceremony. If that person truly is a cultivator from Great Jin, those guests should know about such peculiar divine abilities. Once we know his background, he will be easier to deal with. Even if he is a cultivator from one of Great Jin's major sects, the Grand Immortal Masters will not easily let him go after he killed so many of our high-level Immortal Masters. What's more, we must thoroughly investigate why he was able to cultivate so many Gold Devouring Beetles," the pale-faced elder said bitterly.

It seemed this elder had also suffered a considerable loss when clashing with Han Li.

"I hope so. However, it's fortunate that this person's Gold Devouring Beetles were all immature. Otherwise, he wouldn't even need to use any divine abilities; simply releasing tens of thousands of them would probably make all four Grand Immortal Masters retreat three feet," the red-haired elder muttered.

Upon hearing this, the other elders exchanged glances and could only offer a bitter smile.

As Immortal Masters of the Spirit Realm, they naturally understood the power of mature Gold Devouring Beetles.

Just as they were sighing with emotion, the infant meditating cross-legged in the green mist suddenly let out a sharp shriek, immediately clutching its head with both hands and rolling about in obvious agony. Its form also began to disperse and flicker erratically.

"This is bad! Fellow Daoists, quickly intervene!" the red-haired elder cried out in alarm.

The other three elders, realizing the gravity of the situation, hurriedly activated their magic flags again. With a swift incantation, four streams of green mist once more jetted towards the center of the secret chamber.

Immediately, the dense green mist enveloped the erratically rolling infant, continuously repairing its dissipating Nascent Soul body.

Time passed slowly. With the four elders exerting their full power, the cries from within the mist subsided. After a while longer, the infant finally settled itself into a cross-legged position and began to fully absorb the surrounding green mist.

After an unknown duration, a faint, intermittent voice slowly drifted from the mist.

"Many... many thanks to you all for your great assistance. I'm... I'm alright now... you can cease your efforts," the voice said. Hearing this, the four elders finally breathed a huge sigh of relief.

To be frank, while they could have persisted for longer, damage to their vital essence would have been unavoidable.

Thereupon, all four ceased their cultivation techniques.

"Brother Gui, what exactly happened just now? Your solidified Nascent Soul actually dispersed again. That's extremely dangerous," the pale-faced elder couldn't help but ask.

"Fellow... fellow Daoists, rest assured. This won't happen again. Just now... the Gold Devouring Beetle connected to my Nascent Soul... was destroyed. My divine... divine sense was somewhat affected," the infant said, grinding its teeth slightly.

"What?! A Gold Devouring Beetle was destroyed? How did he do that? The bodies of mature Gold Devouring Beetles are almost indestructible in this realm. How could it possibly be destroyed so easily?" the red-haired elder exclaimed in shock.

"There's nothing strange about it. Without Brother Gui personally commanding the spirit insect, no matter how formidable a Gold Devouring Beetle is, there are always ways to defeat it. Even if its body is indestructible, some top-tier demonic secret arts can directly attack the Nascent Soul and spirit, making it unnecessary to destroy the Gold Devouring Beetle's physical body," the pale-faced elder said after a brief thought.

"Oh. So, according to that, this person is a demonic cultivator. But when he fought us earlier, most of the divine abilities he used didn't seem like demonic cultivation techniques," the last slender elder said hesitantly.

Hearing this, the secret chamber fell silent. The elders exchanged bewildered glances.

Meanwhile, in a distant location, Han Li let out a long breath in his carriage, feeling a sudden release of tension.

After half a month of continuous day-and-night spellcasting, he had finally extracted the Nascent Soul of the mature Gold Devouring Beetle from its body and absorbed it into his Yin Luo Banner.

During this period, the people of the Canglu Tribe outside had not disturbed him even once, which somewhat surprised Han Li, and he was naturally pleased with this outcome.

He naturally didn't know that at the exact moment he extracted the Nascent Soul, he had nearly eliminated the culprit who had caused him so much trouble.

With a raised hand, he grabbed at the black demonic energy in front of him. With a "whoosh," a dark small banner shot out from the demonic energy and was caught in his grasp.

The remaining dark mist churned before transforming into his black-and-green second Nascent Soul, which held a shimmering golden giant flying insect in its hands.

Beneath the Nascent Soul, the lid and talismans on the jade box had long vanished, leaving it empty.

Han Li toyed with the small banner in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the golden insect.

The insect was about half a foot long, with a pair of tusks protruding an inch from its mouth, giving it a fierce and hideous appearance. It looked exactly like Han Li's Gold Devouring Beetles, only magnified several times. This was indeed a mature Gold Devouring Beetle!

However, the insect's Nascent Soul was gone, and it showed no signs of life.

After a moment's thought, Han Li unfurled the Yin Luo Banner in his hand. A fist-sized black-and-green light cluster shot out from the banner, hovered once, then gently floated down in front of him.

Within the soft green light floated a beetle shadow, identical to the mature Gold Devouring Beetle. However, this beetle was much smaller, completely black, and its eyes glowed a blood-red hue.

"Go,"

Han Li lightly pointed a finger. The Gold Devouring Beetle's Nascent Soul suddenly transformed into a black streak and shot out, instantly vanishing into its original insect body.

The giant golden insect's eyes immediately glowed blood-red, and it unfurled its wings, beginning to fly erratically around the second Nascent Soul.

"It's just as I expected. Refining this insect as a demonic corpse should work. Although its power will be considerably reduced compared to before, it will still be extremely formidable. However, to truly command it effortlessly, it seems the insect's body will also need to be refined with demonic energy," Han Li murmured, a hint of joy appearing on his face.