One was a long, ribbon-like object stretching several zhang in length, and the other was a half-destroyed ghostly staff still radiating remarkable spiritual energy. It seemed the outcome of that great battle was far from certain. After the lightning strike had passed, they might well have pursued each other once again, drifting away from the nearby seas. After all, at the level of Yuan Ying stage and eight-tiered immortal beasts, neither the cultivators seeking to exterminate the beasts and extract their essences nor the beasts aiming to devour the cultivators' Yuan Ying could easily achieve their goals. The weaker party, unable to hold its ground, would likely flee easily. Han Li glanced at the two items in his hands, his expression conveying a touch of caution. After a moment's thought, he raised both hands and gently tossed the two objects back into the depths of the sea. Even if the chances were slim, he did not wish to draw attention to them and risk being pursued. Only after carefully surveying the surroundings and confirming that no hidden cultivators or beasts were present did he finally decide to take flight toward the misty sea. The seal outside the cave remained undisturbed, and Han Li finally set aside his last concern, hurrying inside. Originally, before the great battle began, Han Li had intended to relocate from the island. However, after the fierce combat with the three cultivators and the beast, he changed his mind. The giant turtle, though it might survive, was certainly severely injured—should its nest truly lie in this sea region, the shock alone would surely prompt it to relocate. Moreover, finding another island as secluded as this would not be easy. Even if he found one, who could say there weren’t higher-tier beasts patrolling nearby? Thus, the current location now appeared even safer. Yet Han Li could not afford to be careless! He immediately established several additional illusion arrays on the small island and set up two more decoy cave complexes in other parts of the mountain range, each protected by its own seal. Now, should a powerful enemy indeed launch an invasion, he would have ample opportunities to escape. Only after completing all these preparations did Han Li feel, at last, a measure of reassurance. He didn't know that the human-vs-elf battle he had witnessed that day would later serve as the crucial spark igniting the great conflict among the star-sea elven cultivators. The enraged sea-jelly lineage of the chaotic star-sea joined the ranks of high-tier beast cultivators engaged in the slaughter of human cultivators, resulting in severe losses for the human cultivators. When Han Li saw his abode undisturbed several months later, he soon forgot about that great battle. Now, focused solely on crafting array devices designed to trap and hold off the beast cultivators, he was diligently preparing for future encounters. His current adversaries were high-tier beasts of sixth or seventh rank, and he could not afford the slightest negligence. During this time, the gold-devouring insects, having completed their consumption phase, finally laid their eggs. When Han Li, full of delight, first saw the eggs, he was struck with astonishment. Though still white and unblemished, the eggs bore distinct black spots on their surfaces, which stood out prominently. "What on earth is this?" His first thought upon seeing this was that perhaps the gold-devouring insects had already matured into their fully developed form. But then he himself denied it. According to his judgment, the earlier golden insects, though already powerful, still fell far short of the mature form described in legend—far from being nearly immortal. Such a complete evolution could not have occurred so quickly. Thus, after further reflection, Han Li naturally recalled the thousands of iron-fire ants that had been consumed. Could it be that the sheer volume of iron-fire ants ingested had triggered an unexpected evolutionary transformation? His curiosity was piqued. However, based on prior experience, the incubation period for these insect eggs should have lasted several years. Without hesitation, he firmly suppressed his growing anticipation and drew up the controlling divine array, transferring all the eggs into it and establishing blood-based ownership over them. Then, on his way, he stopped by to take a glance at the neighboring golden silk silkworm chamber. Currently, among the golden silk silkworms, only the two that had consumed two five-colored spheres remained alive; the rest, even with medicinal support, were gradually dying. Even though these two golden silk silkworms had survived to the present day, thanks to the miraculous power of the medicine, there was still no sign of improvement. At this point, Han Li had completely given up hope. He had specially prepared some Nishang grass, intending to administer it to the two silkworms to see whether, like the gold-eating insects, it would stimulate the production of silkworm eggs. Now, Han Li was certain that these five-colored pearls, while not exactly the Healing Sky Pill, were beneficial to the silkworms' bodies and could not possibly be harmful. After fifteen days, Han Li completed the crafting of all the arraying tools. Then he administered the Nishang grass to the pair of golden silk silkworms and entered his meditation chamber to take the five-colored pearls himself. Having used some of the initial pearls, he now held six remaining ones. ... Seated cross-legged in the center of the meditation chamber, gazing steadily at the pearls in the box, Han Li appeared exceptionally calm. Having made his decision, he was no longer hesitant and promptly skillfully picked up one pearl and placed it in his mouth. Then, Han Li's face revealed a touch of surprise. The pearls that should have been firm upon entry turned unexpectedly soft, slightly bitter, yet were easily swallowed. A warm, unusual sensation rose in his dantian. Han Li furrowed his brows slightly and glanced inward with his awareness. The five-colored pearls remained intact within his abdomen, glowing faintly with a soft radiance. Upon observing this, Han Li paused thoughtfully, then pressed two hand seals. A delicate stream of emerald light erupted from his golden elixir, enveloping the pearls and beginning the process of refining them. The warmth instantly transformed into a sensation of intense heat. At this point, Han Li closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation. Two months later, the pearls were completely transformed into an intangible essence by Han Li's elixir flame. Yet, he still felt no immediate change. After hesitating, he began refining another two pearls. In the course of a year, Han Li emerged from his meditation chamber, having fully refined all six five-colored pearls. And at this moment, he had already subtly sensed that his ability to absorb celestial qi and transform it into spiritual power had slightly improved compared to before—though not dramatically, it had filled him with exhilaration and joy. After all, the effects of these five-colored beads were only just beginning to unfold. However, as soon as he stepped out of the meditation chamber, he was drenched in a sudden cold shock. The golden silk silkworms, after consuming a sufficient amount of Nishang grass, indeed laid eggs—numerous, even exceeding a hundred. Yet all of these eggs were dead, completely lifeless. Moreover, the pair of silkworms themselves perished shortly after laying the eggs. Standing outside the chamber, gazing at the room filled with lifeless eggs, Han Li found himself utterly speechless. Though struck by this unexpected setback, Han Li was not entirely without gains. At the very least, he had confirmed the general medicinal properties of the Nishang grass. Although he had long suspected that consuming the grass when the leaves unfurled would have a remarkable effect in stimulating offspring production in high-tier mythical beasts, he had never had the opportunity to verify this hypothesis. Now, considering the case of the silk-silk silkworm, it seems truly so. The more rare and advanced the spirit beasts, the more difficult it is for them to reproduce! That explains why high-tier spirit beasts gather in such large numbers precisely when this herb begins to unfurl its leaves. As the saying goes, "adversity and fortune are interdependent!" When Han Li was feeling frustrated over the silk-silk silkworm matter, the golden-mantled insects began hatching a few days later. To his surprise, the newly hatched insects turned out to be quite remarkable. Their appearance remained largely unchanged from before, but on their golden exoskeletons, in addition to the silvery spots, black stripes now appeared. Moreover, the spiritual essence radiating from them gave Han Li a distinct, unfamiliar sensation. Han Li is now certain that these insects have clearly evolved from their predecessors due to having consumed an abundance of iron-fire ants. The exact nature of this difference, however, he will need to thoroughly test. Thus, Han Li equipped himself with a spiritual beast bag containing the golden insect devourers and reentered the inner chamber. After half a day, when Han Li stepped out of the chamber once more, his face radiated unmistakable excitement. The power of these newly acquired golden insect devourers far exceeded his expectations, giving him significantly greater confidence in his upcoming sea voyages to hunt demonic beasts. Although Han Li still intended to study the puppet components obtained from the Xitian Cauldron, he judged that their effects would not manifest within just a few years, so he set that aside for now. Instead, he decided to prepare for departure, aiming to gather high-grade demonic essences. The array tools and the required Nishang grass would naturally accompany him. The Blood Jade Spiders and the Ti Hun would certainly not be left behind—they were sure to prove useful. However, he remained somewhat concerned about the medicinal herbs and rare plants within the cave residence, especially the Nine-Curve Ginseng. Yet, he could not simply transplant them. After all, this journey might take him away for an unknown length of time, and since the Nine-Curve Ginseng is a plant, it could not endure prolonged separation from the ground. Thus, after some thought, Han Li simply left half of the newly hatched gold-devouring insects inside his abode. He ordered them to immediately eliminate any cultivator or beast that entered the sanctuary. As a result, unless a cultivator at the Yuan Ying stage or an eighth-rank beast made it inside, the defense would surely be flawless.