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

"An exact number?" A hesitant look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this.

Voidspirit immediately realized his mistake, and said, "Ah, forgive me, I was too direct there. The main thing that makes Gold Devouring Beetles fearsome is their numbers, so it would be taboo of me to enquire about how many you have. How about this? All you have to tell me is whether you have over 5,000 such spirit insects."

A slightly nervous look appeared in Voidspirit's eyes as he spoke. Many thoughts raced through Han Li's mind at once, but in the end, he still gave a truthful response, even though he would've much rather lied through his teeth.

Who knew if this Voidspirit would turn on him if an unsatisfactory response were given? After all, lies were extremely brittle in the face of powerful cultivators, and perhaps Voidspirit would forcibly examine the number of Gold Devouring Beetles Han Li possessed for himself.

"So you do have over 5,000; that's fantastic! In that case, we can make a deal with one another," Voidspirit said in an elated manner.

"Could it be that this deal you propose has something to do with the number of Gold Devouring Beetles I have, Senior?"

Voidspirit rubbed his hands together with a pair of glowing eyes, and said, "Of course! I only want 5,000 mature Gold Devouring Beetles from you. As for what I'm willing to offer in exchange, you can ask for anything you want. As long as I have it, it's yours!"

"5,000 Gold Devouring Beetles?" Even though Han Li had already guessed that this would be the case, he was still rather surprised to hear this.

"You've put me in a really rough spot, Senior. I naturally have more than 5,000 mature Gold Devouring Beetles, but that number definitely accounts for the majority of all my beetles. I was hoping to use them as a trump card if I could reach the Grand Ascension Stage someday."

Voidspirit's smile faded, and a cold look appeared on his face as he said, "Indeed, 5,000 mature Gold Devouring Beetles are extremely valuable, but as long as value can be assigned to something, it can be exchanged. Setting aside everything else, there are a few types of spirit insects in my possession that I haven't yet shown you, and they're all at least as powerful as your Gold Devouring Beetles. On top of that, the damaged Profound Heavenly Treasure I have is surely worth more than 5,000 Gold Devouring Beetles."

"That may be the case, but those spirit insects must be your bonded spirit insects, and as for that damaged Profound Heavenly Treasure, I definitely wouldn't dare to ask for it; I'm sure that it'll only bring me misfortune. How about this? Would you be able to disclose to me why you'd like so many Gold Devouring Beetles, Senior? I'm rather perplexed as these Gold Devouring Beetles have recognized me as their master for many years, so even if you do take them, you won't be able to use them in battle. On top of that, 5,000 is a very specific number, which makes things even more perplexing to me," Han Li said after a brief moment of contemplation.

"Hmph, you dare to pry into my matters?" The cold expression on Voidspirit's face grew even more pronounced.

"Please forgive me, Senior. I invested countless time and effort into nurturing these Gold Devouring Beetles to maturity, and they're almost as important as my own life. If I don't know what they're going to be used for, I'll be very reluctant to hand them over," Han Li said in a resolute unyielding manner.

"Hehe, that's reasonable. Alright, I can tell you what I intend to with these Gold Devouring Beetles, but after you hear my plans, you can't refuse this exchange. Otherwise..." A menacing smile appeared on Voidspirit's face as he spoke.

Han Li contemplated this for a short while before finally heaving a resigned sigh, "Alright, I'll agree to the exchange."

"Haha, you've made a wise decision, Fellow Daoist Han. Now then, I want your Gold Devouring Beetles as I plan to nurture a legendary Gold Devouring Beetle Monarch. In order to nurture this beetle monarch, a large number of mature Gold Devouring Beetles is required. As for why I specifically requested 5,000, that's because I already have another 5,000 mature Gold Devouring Beetles, and 10,000 should be more than enough for me to nurture a beetle monarch. Hence, any more than that would simply be superfluous," Voidspirit explained, and Han Li's heart immediately jolted upon hearing this.

"Then why were you collecting Divine Infernal River Elixir, Senior?" Han Li asked.

"A large amount of Divine Infernal River Elixir is one of the other methods to nurture a beetle monarch. However, if I come into possession of a sufficient number of mature Gold Devouring Beetles, then the elixir doesn't really matter," Voidspirit replied.





Chapter 1873: Insect Nurturing Secret Technique


"I see. Does that mean nurturing a beetle monarch requires a large number of Gold Devouring Beetles to devour one another?" Han Li asked with a contemplative look in his eyes.

"You sure are a smart man, Fellow Daoist; that's not the entire process, but it's not far from it. However, aside from the grand elders of our Mayfly Race, very few people in the outside world are aware of the existence of Gold Devouring Beetle Monarchs. Judging from your reaction just now, it seems that you've already heard of Gold Devouring Beetle Monarchs; Qing Yuanzi was the one who told you, right? He's quite friendly with one of the other grand elders of our race, so I'm sure he knows about this as well," Voidspirit chuckled coldly.

After a brief silence, Han Li replied, "I did indeed hear about this from Senior Qing. He told me that once a Gold Devouring Beetle Monarch is born, even a true immortal would be fearful of it; is that true?"

"That's a slight exaggeration, but Gold Devouring Beetle Monarchs are indeed extremely powerful. At the very least, I certainly wouldn't want to face one in battle," Voidspirit chuckled.

Han Li nodded before asking, "I see. May I ask how much of a chance you think you'd have at nurturing a Gold Devouring Beetle Monarchs after obtaining my Gold Devouring Beetles, Senior?"

Voidspirit narrowed his eyes and thought about this for a moment before holding up two fingers.

"20%? That's not very high," Han Li mused as his expression changed slightly.

"Hmph, what do you take Gold Devouring Beetle Monarchs for? I can only claim a 20% chance of success as I've been studying insect nurturing techniques for many years and have many tricks up my sleeve. If someone else without my knowledge were to attempt this, they wouldn’t even have a 10% chance. Alright, I've already answered all of your questions; it's time for you to fulfill your end of our agreement. You can state what you want for your Gold Devouring Beetles now," Voidspirit said as a cold expression reappeared on his face.

Han Li seemed to have already made his decision, and upon being prompted by Voidspirit, he immediately replied, "I'll naturally fulfill my end of the agreement, and as for what I want for my Gold Devouring Beetles, there are two things."

"Go on, then," Voidspirit said as his expression eased slightly.

"Firstly, I don't require any treasures. Instead, I would like some more Divine Infernal River Elixir. As you just said, with sufficient Gold Devouring Beetles, the elixir won't matter to you, so I'm sure I'm not asking for too much here. Secondly, I also have some knowledge in insect nurturing techniques, and I have some Gold Devouring Beetles leftover as well. Hence, I would also like to try my hand at nurturing a Gold Devouring Beetle Monarch. I don't know how many years it'll take before I can gather enough mature Gold Devouring Beetles again, but I still want to give it a try. As such, I would like a copy of the Gold Devouring Beetle Monarch nurturing secret technique," Han Li said in a serious manner.