Chapter 2253: Final Evolution
Han Li was slightly saddened by Violet Spirit"s decision, but he didn"t try to persuade her any further.
After all, just as she had said, her physique was more suited to cultivating devilish arts, and if she were to return to the human race, he wouldn"t be able to ensure her ascension to the True Immortal Realm.
As such, it was better for her to stay in the Elder Devil Realm, and perhaps she would find her own opportunities.
Thus, Han Li stayed at the Vast Origin House for an entire month. During this period of time, he bestowed all of his experiences and insights in cultivating devilish arts upon Violet Spirit to aid her in her cultivation.
Lan Ying wasn"t shy at all and also listened in on Han Li"s lectures, benefitting immensely from the information that he divulged.
For beings of their caliber, the wholehearted guidance of a Grand Ascension Stage being was an extremely rare opportunity.
As expected of a superpower that spanned across several realms, the Vast Origin House was able to find a place identical to the one on Qi Ling"s treasure map within the span of this month, and this information was quickly delivered to Lan Ying, who immediately relayed it to Han Li.
Han Li was naturally very elated to hear this.
During the next few days, he visited some of the scenic attractions of the Blue Waterfall Lake area with Violet Spirit rather than continue to guide her in her cultivation, and as the two of them explored the region, they would often reminisce fondly about the time they had spent back in the human world.
However, neither of them mentioned that night of l.u.s.t and desire, and they weren"t even all that intimate with one another; it was as if they were simply a pair of close friends.
Time quickly pa.s.sed by, and on this morning, Han Li finally departed from Blue Waterfall City.
On the fourth floor of the Vast Origin House, Violet Spirit was staring at his departing figure through the window with a complex look in her eyes.
"Are you really willing to separate yourself from Brother Han like this, Sister Violet? I clearly recall that you were very much looking forward to being able to stay by his side not long ago," Lan Ying asked with furrowed brows.
"If I go with him, we"ll temporarily be together, but what"ll happen tens of thousands of years in the future? With his apt.i.tude, it"s only a matter of time before he ascends to the True Immortal Realm, and if I want to truly stay by his side, I have to do the same. Do I pursue temporary happiness or a chance at eternal happiness? What would you do if you were in my place, Sister Lan?" Violet Spirit sighed.
Lan Ying couldn"t help but fall into deep thought upon hearing this.
Half a month later, Han Li"s white flying boat descended into a valley not far away from the Blue Waterfall Lake.
Silvermoon was waiting for him under a huge tree with a faint smile on her face, and she was quite surprised to see that Han Li was alone.
"Did you meet Sister Violet Spirit?" she asked in a gentle voice.
"I did, but she plans to continue cultivating in the Elder Devil Realm, and I think that"s a good decision too. If she continued to cultivate devilish arts here, there"s a chance that she really will be able to take that final step," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
"If you agree with her decision, then it can"t be wrong. In that case, should we return to the Spirit Realm? My grandfather and Senior Mo have already returned to the Spirit Realm along with all of the other Grand Ascension Stage beings," Silvermoon asked.
"It"s still too early to go back now. I have a devilish treasure map that should lead me to quite a large collection of treasures," Han Li replied.
"A treasure map?" Silvermoon was rather taken aback to hear this.
"Hehe, if everything goes smoothly, this should only take several months," Han Li said with a smile.
"Alright, then let"s set off right away, Brother Han," Silvermoon said with a smile before drifting onto the flying boat as a ball of silver light.
Han Li nodded before gently stomping a foot down onto the flying boat, and it departed as a streak of white light.
Several months later, Han Li"s duo arrived in a barren region that even high-grade devilish beings wouldn"t venture into for no good reason.
At the front of the flying boat stood a pair of giant ape puppets that were around 10 feet tall, and there was faint spiritual light flas.h.i.+ng beneath their feet, clearly indicating that they were controlling the flying boat.
Within a secret chamber in the cabin of the boat, Silvermoon was seated on a green futon with her eyes tightly shut, seemingly practicing some type of cultivation art.
Five-colored spiritual light was revolving all over her body, and an extremely life-like giant silver wolf projection had appeared behind her.
In a nearby secret chamber that was enshrouded under many layers of protective restrictions, Han Li was also seated on the ground, inspecting an object in his hand with a hesitant expression.
The object in his hand was none other than the black crystal that he had obtained after the Stemborer Queen had been killed by the Punishment Lightning.
It had been quite some time since Han Li had obtained the item, and after reading through some relevant tomes, he had discovered its origins.
This was something that would be left behind by powerful insects like the Stemborer Queen after they injected their essence entirely into their demonic cores when facing imminent destruction.
Of course, if it were possible, those demonic insects would also try to inject a wisp of their soul into their demonic core to preserve it, but the Stemborer Queen"s soul had been well and truly destroyed.
This crystalline core did possess remarkable defensive properties, but it stood no chance against immortal lightning like Punishment Lightning.
The Punishment Lightning had already eradicated everything within the crystalline core, and even most of the core itself had been melted away.
Han Li was currently appraising the object with a hesitant expression, seemingly in the midst of making a very difficult decision.
A faint buzzing sound that was also inaudible rang out, but it was as clear as a thunderclap in Han Li"s ears.
"Those guys are buzzing around again; it looks like they really want to get their hands on this thing. Unfortunately, this thing is very useful to me as well; if I were to absorb the essence within it, perhaps my Provenance True Devil Arts would progress to another level," Han Li murmured to himself as a wry smile appeared on his face.
Meanwhile, the buzzing was gradually growing louder and louder, and Han Li"s brows furrowed slightly as he swept a sleeve through the air to release three b.a.l.l.s of golden light.
The b.a.l.l.s of light were then revealed to be three huge golden beetles with purple stripes all over their bodies.
These were none other than the three Faux Gold Devouring Beetles Monarchs, and they were all staring intently at the object in Han Li"s hand.
The three of them then flapped their wings and shot forth directly toward the crystalline core as three streaks of golden light, and Han Li"s expression darkened slightly as he reached out to make a grabbing motion.
A burst of enormous invisible force erupted forth, and three golden beetles were immediately sent flying, tumbling through the air several times before they managed to right themselves again.
The faux beetle monarchs were extremely powerful, but they were no match for the Grand Ascension Stage Han Li.
Even so, the three beetles continued to pounce toward Han Li with all their might, but were constantly kept at bay by that same burst of invisible force.
Han Li"s brows furrowed even further upon seeing this, and after a long while, he heaved a long sigh as he murmured to himself, "So be it, this thing contains the Stemborer Queen"s essence, so it should be more suitable for other insects. If I were to refine it myself, who knows what after-effects could arise? These three faux beetle monarchs have virtually reached the end of their evolution; if they were to devour the Stemborer Queen"s essence as well..."
Having made his decision, Han Li withdrew the invisible force keeping the three faux beetle monarchs at bay while tossing the black crystalline core up into the air.
The three golden beetles immediately changed directions to pounce toward the crystalline core again, and they instantly clashed as three streaks of golden light.
They were trying to fend off one another while chomping down chunks of the crystalline core as quickly as they could.
In the end, the core was torn into three sections of different sizes before quickly being devoured.
After devouring the crystalline core, the purple stripes on the three faux beetle monarchs began to flash erratically, and their auras had also become extremely chaotic.
The three of them hissed in a menacing manner as they pounced toward one another, and Han Li"s expression changed slightly upon seeing this, but he made no effort to stop them.
The battle between the three Gold Devouring Beetles was very fierce, and it didn"t take long for all three of them to be riddled with wounds; two of them had even lost a front limb each.
After clas.h.i.+ng for a while longer, the three beetles scattered as they hissed at one another in a threatening manner, then converged once again.
The three of them were all severely wounded at this point, but they were still extremely ferocious and showed no signs of backing down.
Han Li looked on for a short while longer before a thought suddenly seemed to occur to him, and he swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of golden light that swept up the three Gold Devouring Beetles, causing them to instantly vanish on the spot.