A piercing cry erupted from the dark aura as a massive blood hole appeared instantly in the golden-robed mage's abdomen, leaving the flesh and muscle seemingly vanishing into thin air. Yet this blow clearly wasn't enough to claim his life. Though his face was distorted, he quickly pressed one hand in a series of gestures and the other with fingers splayed, urgently attempting to press against the wound—only for a surge of dark energy to rise from his palms before his hands even made contact with his body. Clearly determined to heal the injury immediately! But at the very next moment, golden light flickered within the wound, and countless luminous points unexpectedly emerged. "No!" the golden-robed mage gasped, emitting a thunderous cry—though it was too late. In an instant, those light points became blindingly bright and swiftly transformed into dense golden filaments, shooting out in all directions, densely and rapidly. A series of rushing sounds filled the air as the golden threads interwove in the void, leaving countless blood streaks appearing on the mage's body. Then, as the thick blood mist dispersed, fragments of flesh cascaded down from the sky. Indeed, this golden giant crab proved to be of incalculable strength, dispatching the Nirvana Sage Ancestor effortlessly without even summoning his third strike. Even the golden-robed Yuan婴 concealed within was unable to escape the crushing grip of the golden threads. Han Li extended his divine awareness and his blue-lit pupils flashed rapidly, confirming that the golden-robed Yuan婴 had indeed no residual consciousness left behind. Only then did he exhale a long breath and immediately shift his gaze back to the golden giant crab below, his expression now hesitating. "Having already used my two strikes, you still have one opportunity to summon me. Should you wish, you may wait until later to make your request. However, I can only remain here. For my next intervention, you must bring the person you intend to defeat to the vicinity of the Thunder Sea." The golden giant crab's surface glowed slightly dimmer, and then spoke again, though his voice remained lifeless. "Why cannot I leave this place?" Han Li was momentarily startled, asking calmly. "Without sufficient celestial and spiritual energy, I cannot remain free to move for long." "Golden crab replied. "Spirit energy—what exactly do you mean?" Han Li's expression slightly shifted. "It refers to the celestial and terrestrial energies contained within your sacrificial offerings. I agreed to assist precisely because these offerings contain certain elements I require. As a puppet-bodied immortal, every movement I make consumes spirit energy. I will store half of the energy from each offering as my compensation." Golden crab revealed everything in full detail. "You are a mere pseudo-immortal, yet I observe that you have developed a certain level of awareness—now, I may address you as 'comrade.' How long will the blessing dew I just provided sustain your comrade's activities?" Han Li looked slightly surprised, his thoughts swiftly turning as he asked. "I am a pseudo-immortal crafted in the upper realm. After a sudden accident, I ended up in the lower realm. My original master perished in that incident, which is why, after so many years, I have gradually cultivated a touch of independent spiritual awareness." The immortal dew you provided, though not the genuine variety, is the most refined spirit dew I've encountered in the past years—containing five-tenths of the potency of the authentic dew. This single imitation immortal dew can sustain my free movement for two months. Of course, this assumes no strong adversaries or conflicts arise. Should such obstacles occur, my ability to act would only allow me to make a few full-scale efforts." The golden crab's eyes flashed with brilliance, yet he still hummed softly in reply. "Therefore, your prior dormancy and refusal to leave this place were purely due to insufficient energy?" Han Li's gaze brightened, and he asked thoughtfully. "That's accurate. However, I've chosen to remain here not only because of the energy deficiency, but also because the ambient qi here is the purest in this realm. By sleeping here, I conserve energy without any loss. Once I've accumulated sufficient spirit energy, I may even have the chance to return to the upper realm." The golden crab spoke honestly. "By 'upper realm,' you mean the true immortal realm, correct?" Han Li pondered for a moment, then asked seriously. "Indeed, you lower-world dwellers do refer to it as the True Immortal Realm or simply the Immortal Realm. Yet we, the inhabitants of the Immortal Realm, still tend to call it the Upper Realm." The golden giant crab replied promptly. "So, your master must be a True Immortal—no wonder you have such a powerful servant. However, if I can supply sufficient energy, would you be willing to have me accompany you for a while?" After a few moments of thought, Han Li suddenly uttered a remarkable statement. "I shall follow you! As long as you can provide one drop of that artificially created dew each month, that would be acceptable. But if you wish me to intervene on your behalf, additional compensation will be required. Moreover, once I have accumulated enough energy, I will automatically depart—no hindrance on your part." This time, the golden giant crab remained silent for a while before speaking slowly and solemnly. "For how long must I accumulate energy before my仙灵力 becomes sufficient?" After a brief hesitation, Han Li asked, "My internal components responsible for converting celestial spirit energy have been severely damaged. With the current amount of Dao-creating dew I receive, I can only convert one drop per month. If you provide one drop per month, it would take approximately several thousand years to fully replenish my reserves." The golden giant crab blinked its massive eyes and replied, "Several thousand years! Heh, that's more than sufficient. Very well, I agree to supply one drop of Dao-creating dew each month. In the meantime, you shall accompany me." Upon hearing this, Han Li laughed heartily and spoke without further hesitation. "Agreed. However, should any month pass without a suitable offering, I shall consider it a breach of our agreement and will instantly eliminate you." The golden giant crab stated firmly. "That... is acceptable. I accept." Han Li paused slightly, but after glancing at his chest garments, he nodded decisively and committed to the arrangement. "Then, with that settled, I have no further concerns. We may now establish a temporary pact." The golden runes on the golden crab's body shimmered again, then resonated with a deep, thunderous echo. Suddenly, as the crab opened its mouth, a slab of dark green stone shot out—about three or four feet in size—and, after a brief flicker, settled gently before Han Li. Han Li was startled, raising his guard slightly. Yet when he saw the dark green slab merely hovering calmly before him, without any signs of disturbance, he relaxed and resumed his inspection. To his amazement, the silver characters on the slab glowed and danced—exactly the silver script he had seen earlier. Han Li breathed a quiet sigh of relief, and after a moment of focused observation, fully understood the message inscribed upon it. It was precisely the agreement he had just exchanged with the golden crab. "Should you find it satisfactory, all you need to do is spray a drop of your refined blood upon it," the golden crab said. "Just a drop of refined blood? Then, I'm good—no issues!" Han Li felt a weight lift from his shoulders and readily agreed. If the Golden Crab required anything more substantial, such as a lingering spiritual essence, he might hesitate, fearing unforeseen restrictions might catch him off guard. But for mere vital blood, there would be no issue at all. Upon expelling a cluster of blood into the air, the blood instantly transformed into several unfamiliar blood-colored runes upon contact, vanishing in a flash into the stone slab. As soon as the humming sound resonated, the slab surged into a bright green glow and shot back upward. The Golden Crab then opened his mouth again, drawing the slab back into his belly. "The temporary pact is now sealed. I may now depart with you. But when shall we set off?" "Ah, your friend is indeed generous and straightforward. Let us begin our journey immediately. However, your current appearance is quite extraordinary—so unusual that it may make travel rather inconvenient. Would you be able to adjust your form a little?" With a smile, Han Li gazed upon the colossal body of the golden giant crab. "Of course, I can shrink myself." The golden crab remained silent and indecisive. As soon as he finished speaking, its massive body suddenly glowed with intense golden light and rapidly shrank within it. When the light subsided, the golden giant crab was gone, replaced by a young, clean-faced man dressed in a green robe. He appeared to be in his early twenties or late twenties, tall and slender, with pale golden pupils and dark green brows. His expression was utterly composed and emotionless as he calmly addressed Han Li: "After your transformation, simply call me 'Crab Daoist'." The Crab Dao-person naturally had no objection, and at once, the two beams of light simultaneously surged, transforming into one azure and one golden streak of brilliance, racing swiftly toward the distant horizon, and vanished from sight within moments. ... On the other side, at one corner of the great island, the precious flower black crocodile and the three demons of Yuan Yan remained in a subtle standoff in the sky. Suddenly, both the Precious Flower and Yuan Yan Patriarchs stirred, each flipping their palms, and two jade boxes materialized in their palms. "Ha ha! This young man still keeps his word—the fragment of consciousness has indeed been eliminated," the young man in black robes burst out laughing. Then, with a sweeping motion of his great sleeve, the space beneath him rippled, and a surge of dark magical energy rose, causing the three-headed black dragon to appear out of nowhere. Yuan Yan Patriarch swiftly stepped forward, standing at the head of the dragon. The three-headed dragon roared, instantly sending a gust of dark magical wind in the direction of a certain point, and broke through the air, flying ahead. Yet, shortly thereafter, a cold voice from the void opposite the Bao Hua declared: "Counting the value of the immortal herbs, our Primordial Ancestor will not personally pursue the young Han. However, the Decree of Eradication of the Immortals will be issued immediately. From now on, this human youth will find it difficult to advance within the Sacred Realm. Whether he can return to the Spirit Realm will depend entirely on his fate." As soon as the words were finished, the voice in the void abruptly ceased.