The cultivation of pest-repelling techniques is not difficult. At韩立's current level and attainments, mastering these secret methods comes naturally. However, these techniques have opened up a new realm of understanding for him—especially the recorded methods of using insects to attack enemies—each of which has left him in awe. Most notably, the "Insect Armor Technique" has perfectly realized his previously vague ideas. Although he could previously command three-colored gold-eating insects to form simple objects like blades and spears, he had always struggled when it came to more complex structures such as battle armor, finding several persistent challenges unresolved. Now, with the "Insect Armor Technique" detailed in the jade scroll, after just a month of practice, he can skillfully form battle armor with ease. Truly astonishing! Yet, while delighted,韩立 also felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. He believed that the master who had founded the "Insect Armor Technique" could hardly have easily obtained such a powerful spirit insect as the Gold-Eating Beetle to form the armor, and thus, in terms of defensive strength, it naturally fell far short of genuine protective treasures. Moreover, since the practitioners of Insect cultivation were inherently few, the technique had remained relatively obscure. However, once it came into his hands, the situation changed entirely. The armor of the Three-Colored Gold-Eating Beetles was naturally tough and resistant to pressure, and its unique ability to transform and solidify further enhanced its defensive capabilities, placing it just above ordinary armor—perfectly suited to his needs. Furthermore, once the golden Gold-Eating Beetles mastered the new control techniques, they would naturally evolve into even more superior armor forms. Han Li was confident in this development. Thinking further about the mature, fully evolved forms of the Gold-Eating Beetles, Han Li found himself even more excited. After a while, Han Li finally regained his composure. He gently stroked the insect armor, pondered for a moment, then exhaled a stream of spiritual energy. The armor dissolved once more, returning to its original collection of spirit insects. With a simple gesture, Han Li fully enclosed the spirit beast within his spirit-animal bag. He then settled once more upon the ground, calmly withdrawing a jade scroll of a jade-green hue from his storage bag—precisely the item left behind by Xin Ruoyin. Holding the scroll gently in both hands with his eyes half-closed, Han Li quickly immersed his consciousness into its essence. While he didn't immediately focus on the earlier ancient array techniques, he directly located the final section of the *Xuan Mu Transformation into Infant* mantra. This cultivation technique, established by an ancient magus from the prehistoric era, featured an obscure and profound mantra, with each sentence intricately composed and subtly imbued with profound meanings. Han Li painstakingly contemplated each character, the process unfolding slowly and deliberately. It took him exactly half a year to grasp half of the technique's core principles. Even so, this achievement left Han Li astonished and deeply respectful of the ancient master who had created it. Indeed, the technique bore a strong resemblance to the Daoist secret method known as the *One Qi Becomes Three Qing*. However, as Han Li had never even encountered the Daoist's foremost foundational technique, he remained entirely unaware of the specific distinctions between the two. However, this cultivation technique is fundamentally different from ordinary magical "body-phantom" secret arts—it is truly a heavenly marvel that establishes a second self. Once perfected, the practitioner can possess two completely independent Yuan婴. Although there is a distinction between primary and secondary, whichever Yuan婴 unexpectedly perishes, the other can continue to exist unstably. If the primary Yuan婴 suffers, the secondary one will gradually lose various qi and transform into the primary over time. But if the secondary Yuan婴 is damaged, the primary one is almost unaffected. What particularly moves Han Li is that once the second Yuan婴 is cultivated, he can choose to merge it with a fine physical body of a high-level cultivator, thus forming a true embodiment. Once this embodiment is established, it becomes a genuine second existence beyond the primary self. Even if the original body dissipates, as long as the embodiment remains, Han Li remains alive. After all, both memories and emotions are identical—merely duplicated onto the second Yuan婴. This could not have been more different from the Qu Hu Shen Benshen that Han Li had originally cultivated. At that time, the so-called Sha Dan Benshen Han Li developed was merely a thread of divine awareness split off from Han Li's immortal consciousness, possessing neither memories nor emotions, nor any independent capabilities—effectively functioning like a high-level automaton. Moreover, this Qu Hu Benshen could not venture too far from Han Li; otherwise, due to the loss of connection with his consciousness, it would lose its ability to act altogether. In contrast, the Xuan Mu Hua Ying Benshen Han Li now cultivated was entirely different—it could remain separated from the cultivator by thousands of miles without any issue, and could independently act and cultivate even without specific commands or instructions, showing no distinction whatsoever from a regular cultivator. Upon witnessing this, Han Li took a sharp intake of breath. However, as he delved deeper into the zhuangjian, the scroll finally mentioned the limitations and drawbacks associated with mastering this technique. Han Li suddenly grasped the truth, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him—his just-rising excitement and enthusiasm instantly plummeted. The challenges before him left him speechless, stunned. Take the most crucial aspect, the refinement of the second prenatal spirit, for instance. Ordinary cultivators often spend countless years merely to successfully form their primary prenatal spirit and achieve a shattered dan stage. To then refine a second prenatal spirit, there is no second dan stage to shatter, nor is there sufficient time available. The only viable method is to invade the prenatal spirit of other cultivators, erase their spirit awareness, and then assimilate that spirit using one's own consciousness, thereby acquiring a second prenatal spirit. Although the jade scroll provided techniques and methods for such invasion and erasure of spirit awareness, the risks involved and the low success rate were self-evident. Even if one truly enjoyed good fortune and successfully invaded another's prenatal spirit, the subsequent assimilation process proved even more perilous. After all, the Yuan Ying was forcibly seized, and even if it temporarily succeeded in occupying it, there remained a risk that the consciousness might be gradually assimilated and ultimately consumed by the Yuan Ying's innate instincts. Should a second Yuan Ying truly materialize, with two Yuan Yings in possession, the advantages would be countless. To advance further and achieve a second embodiment, one merely needs to find a suitable host body for the Yuan Ying to take over—ideally, one of higher original cultivation level, preferably the body of another Yuan Ying cultivator, so that the second embodiment can truly prove its worth. Yet, to be honest, even capturing a Yuan Ying cultivator would be no easy feat, let alone killing one. Others might not realize it, but Han Li himself firmly believed that such an outcome was utterly beyond his reach. Even if he fully achieved the "Xuan Mu Hua Ying" transformation and successfully solidified his post-embodiment state, he would still not be entirely secure—constant vigilance against potential counter-effects from the embodiment would remain essential. This second embodiment is essentially equivalent to creating a separate self, yet over time, as memories and emotions diverge, subtle yet profound heart demons emerge to tempt the embodiment. The embodiment gradually becomes increasingly eager to break free from the primary self's control, and when its powers surpass those of the primary self, it may even leverage the unique bond between the two to take control of the primary self—resulting in a reversal of roles, where the embodiment becomes the master. In such a scenario, although the embodiment can carry out the primary self's commands from thousands of miles away, it is still advisable not to let it depart from the primary self for extended periods. Periodically, the "Unification Technique" from the *Xuan Mu Hua Ying* scripture should be applied to dissolve the heart demons and reunite the two immaterial essences, thereby reinforcing control over the embodiment. Of course, beyond the risk of the embodiment reversing its role, there are several minor shortcomings inherent in the embodiment. However, compared to this formidable reversal, these drawbacks are relatively insignificant. In fact, when one possesses a second prenatal essence, the Xuan Mu transformation into an infant spirit is already fundamentally established. There's no need to further cultivate a second embodiment—during confrontations and battles, one gains significant advantages, can deploy a variety of powerful spiritual techniques, and has far greater chances of survival compared to ordinary single-essence cultivators. Moreover, there's no risk of the embodiment reversing and harming the host. After hearing Lu Mei's account of the origin of this Supreme Wooden Spirit Infant, Han Li naturally understood that this Spirit Infant was different from a regular Yuan婴. Yet it could not be denied that since the御灵 Sect could employ a secret technique enabling a Spirit Infant to merge and harmonize with a Jie Dan cultivator, the Infant shared most of the fundamental characteristics of a Yuan婴. Therefore, refining it into a second Yuan婴 would surely pose no significant issues. Moreover, he had originally considered this Supreme Wooden Spirit Infant to be of little use, and even attempting to use it would entail no loss. As for the dangers involved in the process of occupying and erasing his original Yuan婴, Han Li, relying on his strong consciousness and various treasures, was confident that these would be entirely manageable. The only concern he now harbored was the potential issue of the intangible, formless original Yuan婴 being absorbed and assimilated. Should this problem arise, he would have to sever the consciousness strands that had been absorbed, resulting in a substantial loss of his own consciousness—whether further complications would emerge, or whether his mental faculties would be affected, remained uncertain. Upon reflecting on this, Han Li's face was filled with hesitation.