After a strand of consciousness was attached to the puppet, though the wolf stood upon the surface of the pond, he could clearly perceive everything within the pond through mental awareness. The pale silver water was evidently more mysterious and viscous than he had anticipated! When the giant wolf submerged himself three or four zhang deep, a rebounding force emerged from the bottom, and countless powerful currents radiated outward, making it exceptionally difficult for him to sink further. As he continued to descend, inch by inch, reaching a few zhang in depth, the surrounding forces surged several times stronger, and the rebounding force now completely prevented any further descent. At the same time, the puppet's body occasionally emitted crisp, cracking sounds, as though it were about to be crushed and burst under the immense pressure. The consciousness briefly scanned the surrounding area, yet beyond the pale silver water, no other objects or sensations were detected. Frowning slightly, Han Li's mind subtly stirred. As the wolf gently moved his limbs, rising half a zhang above the original depth, he began to glide slowly and steadily at that same water level. Though the movements were extremely slow, the pond was no more than a hundred zhang wide, and within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the giant wolf puppet had thoroughly searched the entire area with no notable findings. Han Li paused thoughtfully, then raised his hand and waved a single gesture toward the water. With a sharp "whoosh," the giant wolf puppet shot out from within, and at the same time, a brilliant beam of light surged forth, flashing briefly before vanishing into Han Li's body. After briefly scanning the puppet and finding no abnormalities, Han Li simply rolled his sleeve and stored the puppet away. Of course, he would not give up so easily. Instead, he raised his hand again, and a dark, resonant animal ring spun gracefully into the air. As the golden light shimmering on the ring curled out, hundreds of large, armored insects burst forth. Each insect shone with a brilliant golden glow, and each bore a pair of prominent, fierce tusks—fully mature golden-devouring insects. Han Li didn't hesitate, merely pressing a seal with one hand. A flash of white light surged across his brow, and a series of "shush-shush" sounds erupted as over a hundred crystalline filaments shot out, each precisely embedding itself into the body of a golden insect. With the coordinated movements of the hundreds of insects, they coalesced into clusters of golden light and swiftly descended into the pond, rapidly sinking deeper into the water. Thanks to the nearly indestructible bodies of the gold-eating insects and their inherent strength, they naturally managed to penetrate further. Within moments, these hundreds of insects had sunk as deep as seven or eight zhang, then gradually slowed their descent. Yet, even now, the pond's bottom remained unseen. Han Li's face showed a look of surprise, and in his mind he quietly considered whether to summon another batch of ten or so reserve insect kings next. But when the insects finally reached a depth of ten zhang, their faces brightened with genuine delight. Finally, beneath the water level ten zhang deep, a vast expanse of white, sandy ground came into view. Overjoyed, Han Li immediately ordered all the gold-devouring insects to scatter and search in different directions. Easily, seven lotus plants of about a zhang in height were discovered in two remote corners of the pond. Each stem appeared as transparent as crystal, with dense networks of blood vessels running through it, extending all the way to the lotus blossoms at the tips. Among the seven, three were merely pale flower buds the size of a clenched fist, two had unfurled nearly half their petals, and one had fully blossomed. The lotuses that had not yet fully opened were plain, with a dull yellow hue, while the completely open ones displayed a rich, flesh-red color, with faint, human-like blood vessels and meridians clearly visible on their surfaces—remarkably unusual. Upon seeing this, Han Li was not only neither disappointed but even more delighted. Although information about the Pure-Spirit Pool and the Pure-Spirit Lotus circulates sparingly among the spiritual realms, since he intended to venture into the demonic realm with considerable risk, he naturally made every effort to gather as much general information as possible. According to the materials he obtained, the Pure-Spirit Lotus is a rare wonder of the cosmos—unique in that it only blooms within the Pure-Spirit Pool. Until it flowers and changes color, the lotus functions no differently from ordinary spiritual herbs and offers limited benefits. Once it blooms, however, it can remain in full bloom for a thousand years. If left unharvested, it gradually transforms into refined spiritual energy and naturally integrates into the pool. The next blooming cycle, though, will have to wait several thousand years. Therefore, even among the elder ancestors of the Long family who have long sought this opportunity, no one could guarantee encountering a lotus in full bloom. And even if they managed to secure a few blooms, due to the number of people involved, each individual could only hope to receive a few petals—considered a fortunate outcome. Now that the elder members of the Long family have all unexpectedly perished, only he remains—this single lotus bloom is more than sufficient for his needs, allowing him to fully absorb its miraculous medicinal effects. Han Li forcibly suppressed his joy and then instructed the gold-devouring insects to carefully inspect other corners at the bottom of the spiritual pool. Aside from the purified lotus blooms, no other medicinal herbs were found. This is not surprising at all! Under the intense pressure of the spiritually charged water in the pool, most ordinary herbs simply cannot survive at the bottom. Moreover, the spiritual energy within the pool is exceptionally pure compared to that of the outside world; even if occasional herb seeds fall into it, they usually explode upon impact and never manage to germinate or grow. As Han Li was pondering this, the insects that had descended to the pool's depths suddenly became agitated, appearing unusually excited. Han Li was taken aback and immediately reconnected with their separate consciousnesses, swiftly checking on these insects. A moment later, his face suddenly changed, and with a swift thought, the golden insect, somewhat reluctantly, began to drift upward toward the water's surface. As the fist-sized golden insect soared out of the pool, Han Li carefully examined it, his eyes gleaming with sharp focus. At first glance, the spirit insect appeared no different from before, yet there seemed to be a subtle shift in its aura—this was not merely a sign of weakening or strengthening, but rather a fundamental transformation. Han Li furrowed his brows, then suddenly recalled something, his blue light in his pupils flashing. Immediately, a look of surprise appeared on his face. Though the spirit insect looked exactly as it had before—its golden exoskeleton—fine white filaments, invisible to the naked eye, now emerged from its body. Though nearly faint, Han Li was certain that these filaments had not been present on the golden insect earlier. His mind raced, and after several shifts in expression, he suddenly raised his hand and waved it toward the spirit beast ring floating in the air. At that moment, another golden-devouring insect shot forth from the ring and, with a single flick, landed neatly upon his palm. High in the air, a hand lifted the insect and, with a series of flashing blue glimmers, swept it with a gaze. A moment later, his face slightly changed—indeed, his initial judgment proved correct. Under the clarity of his spiritual sight, the newly appeared golden-devouring insect on the spiritual ring exhibited an exceptionally smooth exoskeleton, free of those white filaments. Clearly, the transformation of the insect's shell into this state occurred only after it entered the spiritual pool. Perhaps this pool was also beneficial to these golden-devouring insects. Reflecting on this, Han Li no longer hesitated. With a mere mental gesture, he summoned a second mature golden-devouring insect from the pool's waters. To his surprise, this second insect, having passed through the spiritual pool, also displayed fine, delicate white filaments across its body. By now, Han Li had no further doubts. To his surprise, this purification pool seemed to have a remarkable effect in rekindling mutations in these mature golden-siphoning insects—though he still didn't know in which direction the mutations would take them. Yet on his face, he showed little surprise, and did not immediately release all the insects. Instead, frowning slightly, he strengthened his spell and summoned the remaining golden-siphoning insects that had already submerged into the pool, gathering them all into the spirit-beast ring at once. Han Li was well aware that the swift mutation of the insects was due to their absorption of the mysterious energies within the pool. These very energies were the key to his own transformation. Before his own marrow and vital energy had been fully renewed, he would not risk diminishing them. Otherwise, should the energy prove insufficient and the marrow renewal fail, even if the golden-siphoning insects gained greatly enhanced powers, he would only be left with regret. After all, advancing to the Great Perfection stage remained his fundamental goal. All else is merely flowers in water and moonlight in a well. Of course, once the marrow is purified, everything will be vastly different—then he will release the gold-devouring insects, allowing them to absorb all the essence from the pool. In his heart, Han Li fully understands this process, and having already found the Pure Spirit Lotus, he no longer hesitates. He draws the Spirit Beast Ring into his sleeve, and with a simple flick of his sleeve, a faint golden silhouette bursts forth, spiraling before transforming into a golden creature about a foot in size—none other than the Leopard-Mounted Beast! "Though it's unlikely that anyone else will reach this place, just to be safe, when I enter the pool, you should first protect me a little. Should anyone manage to break through, make sure to block them off as best as you can." Han Li said firmly. "Master need not worry—I will do my utmost," replied the creature, its voice clear and bright like that of a young girl. As it spoke, it moved swiftly, vanishing into the void as a shimmering outline. Han Lin nodded expressionlessly. As his body shimmered with a green light, a faintly green figure materialized mysteriously—identical in appearance to Han Lin himself, wearing a light green robe, exactly the ethereal body of the Zhixian spirit. Following this, Han Lin lightly tapped his temple, and a black mist surged forth, within which a black Yuan婴 (spirit embryo) was faintly visible—precisely his second magical embryo. As soon as the embryo appeared, it instantly communicated with Han Lin's mind, then roared softly and darted toward the spirit body, vanishing into it within moments. Without any further instruction from Han Lin, the spirit body, which had previously been closed-eyed, opened its pale silver eyes, smiled gently, and then transformed into a green light, drifting toward a nearby dense forest. At this point, Han Lin retrieved a stack of array flags and array discs, threw them wildly around the pond's perimeter, and within moments had established three intricate temporary magical arrays, fully enclosing and protecting the entire spirit pond. To be cautious, in case the two Primordial Immortals from the Outer Realm employed some unforeseeable tactics, Han Li had been exceptionally vigilant, drawing upon every defensive measure at his disposal. Although the bodies controlled by the Leopard Leopard Beast and the Spirit Infant, as well as these spell arrays, could not possibly withstand any presence of a Saint-Primordial rank, as long as he gained a little breathing room, he would certainly avoid being caught off guard by a sudden assault. Only after completing all this did Han Li feel truly at ease, relaxing his expression and then drifting gently downward toward the pool.