A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1801-Chapter 2000)

Qing Yuanzi's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing Voidspirit's reaction; this was not the reaction he had expected!

Even though he felt this to be rather strange, he still said, "I'm sure you recognize Gold Devouring Beetles, Brother Voidspirit; you have to admit that these spirit insects are more powerful than the ones you offered, so Fellow Daoist Han isn't trying to irk you, he simply has no reason to accept the exchange. Of course, if you can bring out better spirit insects than Gold Devouring Beetles, then I won't say anything further about this matter."

Much to everyone's surprise, Voidspirit suddenly threw his head back, and chortled, "Haha, this is fantastic..."

His voice was filled with elation, and Han Li was left feeling rather perplexed.

Meanwhile, Golden Flame Baron was appraising Han Li with a complex look in his eyes.

"Brother Voidspirit, you..."

"Say no more, Brother Qing. Let me show you another spirit insect of mine that I have never shown to anyone else."

As soon as his voice trailed off, he swept both sleeves through the air, and all of the spirit insects around him immediately flew back up his sleeves.

He then opened his mouth to expel a shimmering silver gourd, which then abruptly tipped itself over while its lid was removed on its own.

A burst of buzzing rang out, and specks of golden light emerged from within the gourd before hovering in the air.

"Impossible!"

Golden Flame Baron and Qing Yuanzi exclaimed almost in complete unison upon identifying exactly what these specks of golden light were, and Han Li was also completely flabbergasted.

These specks of golden light also contained golden beetles that were identical to Han Li's Gold Devouring Beetles, and they were also buzzing in a menacing manner.

Only after a long while did Han Li manage to repress his own astonishment, and he exhaled as he said, "So you possess mature Gold Devouring Beetles as well, Senior."

"Indeed. Even I've forgotten how many years it's been since I first began to nurture them, and they only reached full maturity several hundred years ago, so you can imagine how much time and effort I spent on them. They're also the reason why I'm searching for so much Divine Infernal River Elixir," Voidspirit said.

"Divine Infernal River Elixir works on Gold Devouring Beetles as well?" Han Li asked in a surprised manner.





Chapter 1872: Gold Devouring Beetle Monarch


"You can say it's useful, but you can also say it's useless; it depends on the intentions of the owner of the spirit insects," Voidspirit said with a smile.

A hint of puzzlement flashed through Han Li's eyes upon hearing this.

"If you only want to nurture mature Gold Devouring Beetles, then Divine Infernal River Elixir naturally won't have much effect, but if you want them to advance a step further, then Divine Infernal River Elixir becomes indispensable," Voidspirit explained in a meaningful voice.

"Advance a step further?" A thought immediately occurred to Han Li upon hearing this, and a stunned look appeared on his face.

"That's right. I'll tell you about the specific details later. I didn't think that you would possess mature Gold Devouring Beetles as well. In that case, this Divine Infernal River Elixir isn't all that important to me. I would like to negotiate a deal with you, but this is a rather secretive matter, so we have to discuss things in private. Golden Flame, Qing Yuanzi, you don't mind, do you?" Voidspirit asked in an indifferent manner.

His expression seemed to be quite calm, but the tone in his voice suggested that he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Qing Yuanzi's heart stirred at the sight of the cold look in Voidspirit's eyes, and he said, "I naturally won't mind as long as you're not going to hard sell Fellow Daoist Han."

"I certainly don't mind; go ahead, Brother Voidspirit," Golden Flame Baron also said with a smile.

"Good. In that case, please excuse me." Voidspirit nodded in a pleased manner before opening his mouth to expel a miniature pavilion that was around half a foot tall and shimmering with black light.

The pavilion was entirely black in color, and its surface was riddled with runes of different colors. On top of that, the entirety of the structure was enshrouded within a layer of faint black Qi, giving it quite a mysterious appearance.

Voidspirit made a hand seal, and the pavilion immediately expanded to around 10 feet tall as he said, "Fellow Daoist Han, bring along your Gold Devouring Beetles and come for a chat here in my Black Wind Pavilion."

He then didn't even bother to wait for Han Li's response as he stowed away his own Gold Devouring Beetles, then quickly shrank down to only around an inch in height before vanishing into the pavilion in a flash.

"I'll also have to excuse myself, then." Han Li was feeling very uneasy, but he knew he had no choice in the matter, so he could only bid farewell to Qing Yuanzi and Golden Flame Baron with a wry smile.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han; Brother Voidspirit has a rather eccentric personality, but he wouldn't stoop to doing something unbefitting of his status. Having said that, I suggest you agree to the exchange he offers as long as the conditions aren't too heavily weighed against your favor," Qing Yuanzi said with slightly furrowed brows.

"Thank you, Senior Qing; I know what I have to do," Han Li replied with a solemn voice, then stowed away his Gold Devouring Beetles and vanished into the pavilion as an azure thread.

In the instant that he entered the pavilion, all ties to the outside world were immediately cut off.

All of a sudden, Golden Flame Baron transmitted his voice to Qing Yuanzi. "Are you really not concerned, Brother Qing? Not only is that old geezer extremely erratic, his powers are well beyond ours. If he tries something against Fellow Daoist Han in there, neither of us will be able to stop him in time."

"I think you're overthinking things, Fellow Daoist. That old monster is indeed quite domineering, but he's never done anything unbefitting of his status before, so we need not worry. Besides, I owe Fellow Daoist Han quite a big favor, and I want to protect him as best as I can, but if possible, I really don't want to offend that old monster. Otherwise, there won't be any place for me here in the infernal river," Qing Yuanzi replied.

"That's true. With his powers, he'd most likely be able to defend himself even against a true spirit, so it's not like our concerns will amount to anything, anyway. However, why did he display such a strong reaction to those Gold Devouring Beetles? I understand that they're exceedingly rare, but doesn't he possess the same type of spirit insect as well? Can you deduce anything from that, Brother Qing?" Golden Flame Baron asked.

"You think far too highly of me, Fellow Daoist. I can only assume that Fellow Daoist Han's Gold Devouring Beetles are going to be useful to him somehow," Qing Yuanzi replied in an intentionally ambiguous manner.

"Is that so?" Golden Flame Baron clearly wasn't convinced, but Qing Yuanzi merely smiled and refused to comment further on this matter.

Meanwhile, Han Li and Voidspirit were conversing in their miniature forms within the hall of the black pavilion.

"Take a seat, Fellow Daoist Han. This Black Wind Pavilion of mine counts as half a spatial treasure. Not only can I adjust its size at will, it can keep out all spiritual sense, so there's no danger of our conversation being overheard by anyone else," Voidsprit said with a smile as he sat casually down onto the main seat.

"Thank you, Senior." Han Li extended a respectful salute before also taking a seat.

"Prior to discussing our deal, I have to verify one thing first; Fellow Daoist Han, roughly how many mature Gold Devouring Beetles do you have? Would you be able to tell me an exact number?" Voidspirit asked with irrepressible excitement in his voice.