Chapter 2109: Devour
After the giant wave crashed back down, the entire pond was parted down the center, revealing the white sandy bottom of the pond.
All that had been achieved by just a casual flick of a finger!
In the next instant, the water on either side of the pond converged toward the center to conceal the bottom of the pond again.
"My magic power has increased significantly, but even more importantly, both my spiritual sense and Nascent Soul have become a third more powerful than they originally were. As for the other benefits I derived, I'll have to slowly explore them in the future," Han Li murmured to himself with an elated smile, then suddenly let loose a long cry.
Spatial fluctuations immediately erupted around him, and a golden figure and a green ball of light quickly appeared before him; these were naturally none other than the Leopard Kirin Beast and spirit body.
"I've already completed my transformation; you two can go bathe in there as well," Han Li instructed.
The Leopard Kirin Beast was ecstatic to hear this, and it hurriedly thanked Han Li before plunging into the pond along with the spirit body.
After that, Han Li released the Ninecurl Spirit Ginseng and his Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles and also released them into the pond.
Finally, he raised a hand to release the spirit beast bracelet that was filled with mature Gold Devouring Beetles.
Tens of thousands of beetles surged out of the bracelet at Han Li's behest, but instead of flying toward the Spirit Cleansing Pond, they split up into over 10 swarms and flew toward the massive trees and plants in the surrounding area instead.
Large sections of plants were rapidly devoured by the swarms of beetles, and even some of the spirit stones that were lying on the surface of the ground had been devoured; it was as if a gigantic scraper had worked its way over the entire ground.
The lush landscape nearby was instantly reduced to a barren wasteland, and these bleak scenes were rapidly spreading outward at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this. He had already scoured through this space with his spiritual sense earlier and discovered that there were no precious spirit medicines here.
There were either no precious spirit medicines in this space to begin with, or they had already been taken by the powerful beings who had been here before him.
Even so, the incredible abundance of spiritual Qi in this space made even the most ordinary trees and plants far older and more precious than some of the rare spirit medicines in the Spirit Realm. He possessed that mysterious small vial, so these plants didn't interest him, but it would be a waste to leave these sources of enormous spiritual Qi behind, so it was an easy decision for him to instruct his Gold Devouring Beetles to devour them in order to enhance their powers.
With his current spiritual sense, he would be able to control all of the Gold Devouring Beetles in his possession for a substantial period of time.
Furthermore, this entire space was only less than 100 kilometers in size, and with the devouring prowess of the Gold Devouring Beetles, it wouldn't take them long to devour everything here.
During this period of time, Han Li flipped a hand over to produce a small purplish-golden vial, which had a restriction talisman adhered to it.
He gently exhaled toward the small vial, and the talisman was instantly removed.
After that, Han Li removed the lid of the vial before tipping it upside down, and a clear cry immediately rang out from within it.
Golden light flashed, and a fist-sized golden fiery bird emerged before flying away into the sky.
Han Li was already prepared for this, and he made a grabbing motion with one hand, releasing a burst of invisible force to trap the fiery bird.
The bird flapped its wings with all its might, but it was forcibly snuffed out by the burst of enormous force, reducing it to a thumb-sized golden pill that hovered in mid-air.
The surface of the golden pill was riddled with intricate pill patterns, and it was none other than the Spiritvoid Pill.
Han Li drew the pill back into his grasp as a streak of golden light, then began to appraise it with a contemplative expression.
The jade slip that he had received from Bao Hua didn't mention when it would be best to consume the pill after undergoing his transformation, but generally speaking, it would naturally be best to consume pills of this nature as soon as possible to achieve the best effect.
He may not be able to refine all of the power imbued within a pill of this caliber in a short time, but the benefits of consuming it now far outweighed the disadvantages.
With that in mind, Han Li immediately tossed the pill into his own mouth before swallowing it without any hesitation.
The power of the pill instantly flowed through his meridians as surges of warmth.
Even though its effect wasn't as direct and aggressive as that of the flower petals, it struck Han Li with a very warm and comfortable sensation.
This was very encouraging to him, and it further cemented his confidence in the fact that the Spiritvoid Pill was indeed extremely beneficial to him in his current situation. Thus, he immediately sat down with his legs crossed beside the pond to refine the power of the pill.
Shortly thereafter, the swarms of Gold Devouring Beetles returned before combining to form a massive golden cloud above the pond.
Han Li opened his eyes and looked around to find that the entire space had been reduced to what appeared to be a bleak and barren desert.
However, with the enormous abundance of spiritual Qi here, the greenery would all return in several hundred years. Having said that, it would most likely take tens of thousands of years before the plants here could replenish their spiritual power to its former level.
After devouring so much spiritual power, the golden shells of the Gold Devouring Beetles seemed to have become brighter than before.
Furthermore, even more benefits would undoubtedly arise as they continued to refine all of the spiritual power they had devoured.
Instead of withdrawing the swarm of beetles right away, he estimated how much longer his spiritual sense would be able to last, as well as how much more time he would be able to spend in this space. After ascertaining these two parameters, he instructed the swarm of beetles to plunge down into the pond.
After that, Han Li didn't continue to refine the Spiritvoid Pill. Instead, he cast his gaze toward the pond with a contemplative expression.
Moments later, he suddenly raised a hand to summon a yellow gourd amid a flash of yellow light.
Han Li gently waved the gourd toward the silver pond, and the former instantly swelled drastically to over 10 feet tall.
He then tossed the gourd through the air while making a hand seal, then pointed a finger toward it.
A burst of black and white Qi immediately erupted out of the gourd before sweeping toward the pond.
Immediately thereafter, a pillar of silver water was swept up before being drawn into the giant gourd with unerring accuracy.
He had suddenly been struck by the idea to store some of the water in the pond and take it with him. As for whether anyone had done the same thing before him, that was something that was only known to the heavens.
Han Li stood on the spot with his hands clasped behind his back, appraising the water flowing into the gourd in an expressionless manner.
After a while, he suddenly swept a sleeve toward the giant gourd, releasing an azure incantation seal that vanished into the gourd in a flash.
The gourd shuddered, and the black and white Qi that it was releasing abruptly vanished, following which the gourd itself quickly shrank down to its original size.
Han Li drew the gourd back in his grasp, and his expression immediately darkened as he inspected its contents with his spiritual sense.
He tipped the gourd over, and clear water that was completely devoid of spiritual Qi flowed out of it.
A wry smile appeared on his face upon seeing this.
It seemed that there was something special about the Spirit Cleansing Pond that allowed the water within it to retain its spiritual Qi.
Even though he was slightly disappointed by this, he had anticipated this to be the outcome.
Thus, he began to slowly pace around the pond, trying to derive something through inspection.
There were some naturally forming patterns on the sides of the pond that resembled some type of runes or some kind of mysterious ancient text.
Of course, at the same time, he was keeping tabs on how long he had stayed in this space, and he was planning to leave as soon as the three-day mark arrived.
He didn't know if the three-day time limit that Bao Hua had told him about was reliable, but he certainly didn't want to test it out.
Time slowly passed by, and the auras of all of the beings that Han Li had released into the pond were steadily growing more powerful, clearly indicating that they were benefitting immensely from this experience. Due to the time constraints, they wouldn't be able to undergo a complete transformation as Han Li had, but this was still an exceptional opportunity for them.
Close to half a day later, Han Li withdrew his gaze from the pond, and murmured to himself in a slightly forlorn manner, "It's time to leave. What a pity; if I could stay in here for around a month, perhaps I'd be able to figure out some things."
After that, he let loose a long cry, and the pond was stirred up into a frenzy as several figures emerged, followed by the swarm of tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles, which converged to form a golden cloud in the blink of an eye.
Han Li waved a hand toward them, and the Leopard Kirin Beast, Qu'er, and the spirit body all flew back into his sleeve.
However, as he cast his gaze toward the golden cloud of beetles and the pond down below, he suddenly raised an eyebrow before instructing the beetles to plunge into the pond again.
The Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles were also among them, and Han Li looked on with an expressionless look in his eyes, which was then quickly replaced by one of astonishment.