Han Li stood beside those shattered pieces of armor and weapons, lowering his head to examine them closely. Suddenly, his brow furrowed, and he made a grasping motion toward empty air.
With a sharp whoosh, a gleaming fragment of a sword blade shot into his hand.
Han Li raised it before his eyes, scanning it intently.
On the surface of what appeared to be an incredibly hard fragment, there was an exceptionally clear, deep claw mark embedded within, as if meticulously carved.
After a moment's thought, Han Li pressed two fingers holding the fragment together. A strange golden light flashed at his fingertips, and they sank directly into the fragment.
Remarkably, a finger impression, nearly as deep as the claw mark, appeared on the fragment's surface.
"What is it, Fellow Daoist Han? Have you found something?" Xie Lian saw this and couldn't help but ask with considerable interest.
"Try it yourself, and you'll know." Han Li replied flatly, tossing the fragment over.
Xie Lian chuckled softly, her slender hand rising to catch the object. She lowered her gaze to look at it, and suddenly let out a cry:
"Taiyi White Gold! The weapon was actually forged from this material!"
"Taiyi White Gold! That's a material renowned across all the realms. While there might be harder substances in existence, there certainly aren't many. For the owner of this weapon to have obtained such a large piece... that's quite the stroke of fortune," Patriarch Green Stone exclaimed upon hearing this, unable to hide his surprise.
"Hmph, what use is fortune, in the end? He still ended up as fodder for those vicious insects. Still, to leave such a deep imprint directly on an item forged from this material, Fellow Daoist, your physical body must be incredibly formidable. I wonder just how much of your true strength did Fellow Daoist Han use just now?" Xie Lian clicked her tongue in amazement several times. Her own finger emitted a dazzling white light, leaving a much shallower impression on the fragment before she shook her head and asked.
Green Stone, seeing this, first looked somewhat horrified, then could only smile bitterly.
"Of course, I used a considerable amount of strength. Otherwise, how could I possibly leave such a deep mark on it? But have the two of you considered—what level of physical toughness must the vicious insect possess to have shattered a weapon forged from Taiyi White Gold with a single strike? In any case, it couldn't possibly be those Human-Faced Insects we saw earlier," Han Li said with a solemn expression.
"Those Human-Faced Insects are far weaker than us, so naturally, they couldn't accomplish this. Could it be that the Moth Mother itself took action?" Green Stone's face paled slightly.
"Probably not. With the Moth Mother's immense power, why would it personally deal with some mere palace guards?" Xie Lian denied immediately without a second thought.
"So, in this underground palace, besides that type of Human-Faced Insect we just encountered, there's actually another, far more powerful kind of vicious insect?" Han Li murmured.
"I'm afraid that's truly the case," Xie Lian said, a look of helplessness on her face.
"There's no need for the two of you to worry too much. Even if such a vicious insect exists, its numbers are likely very limited. And with dozens of fellow daoists who entered the palace this time, that should be more than enough to handle any insects," Green Stone seemed to have come to terms with it and offered words of comfort instead.
"Mm, this second type of vicious insect is indeed exceptionally rare. Otherwise, Bao and Yuan Yan couldn't have possibly obtained no information about it at all. Perhaps there are only a handful of them," Xie Lian pondered for a moment before agreeing.
"If their numbers are small, then there's nothing to fear. Fellow daoists, let's first examine the damaged restrictions," Han Li said, his expression relaxing slightly.
Following this, he and Crab Daoist took the lead, heading deeper into the palace hall.
Xie Lian and Patriarch Green Stone exchanged a glance before following after them.
A short while later, in a central hall within the palace, Han Li and the others surrounded a massive spell formation that covered the entire floor, discussing in low voices.
The giant formation looked incredibly complex, its surface densely packed with intricate and profound spiritual patterns.
However, a portion of this formation had obviously been forcibly modified not long ago, while another section had been directly erased and destroyed, leaving it somewhat unrecognizable.
"Fellow Daoist Xie Lian, are you not confident in repairing this formation?" Green Stone asked Xie Lian with a deeply furrowed brow.
"I brought the original schematics of the restrictions here before departing, but I never expected such massive changes had been made. To restore it exactly as it was originally would require sufficient time, which I could certainly manage. But the time Bao has given us simply isn't that long. That's why I find myself in such a difficult position," Xie Lian replied with a bitter smile.
"If that's the case, then we're truly in trouble. My own attainment in the Dao of formations isn't high; I'm afraid I'm powerless to help here," Patriarch Green Stone sighed.
"If you have the original schematics, then I might be able to lend a hand. Fellow Daoist Bao only asked us to try and activate the restrictions here as much as possible, not to completely restore the area. Let me see the formation diagram first and see if there's a way to allow the restrictions to still be temporarily activated without fully restoring the formation itself," Han Li said after a moment of contemplation.
"Fellow Daoist Han, you have research in the Dao of formations as well! If you can truly do as you say, that would be the best possible outcome," Xie Lian exclaimed, overjoyed.
With a single turn of her hand, she tossed a translucent jade piece over.
Han Li caught it and sent a thread of spiritual sense inside. Within, there was indeed an incredibly complex formation diagram. After studying it intently for a moment, he confirmed it was likely the diagram for this very formation.
For the remaining time, Han Li and Xie Lian began to study methods for repairing the formation.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Green Stone and Crab Daoist walked out of the palace hall to perform guard duty outside.
Given Han Li's attainment in the Dao of formations, and with the original diagram in hand, he had worked out a repair method in just half a day.
After listening to Han Li's explanation and considering it over several times, feeling there were no issues, Xie Lian's face lit up with delight as she nodded.