"It's a shame that two of the puppets Brother Han provided were destroyed during the luring. I'll make sure to compensate you afterward." Mo Jianli spoke with a touch of apology in his voice.
"Those puppets were given to you as gifts from the start. It wouldn't matter if they were all destroyed. Brother Mo needn't trouble himself over it." Han Li chuckled, looking entirely unconcerned. Mo Jianli naturally expressed his thanks at length.
A short while later, a thunderous rumble echoed from the horizon, and the four adult Asura Spiders appeared, riding a bizarre gale.
However, among these four Integration-stage monsters, two had reverted to their colossal true spider forms. The other two still maintained human shape, but their clothes were tattered and torn, presenting an even more bedraggled appearance.
It was clear that although these four Asura Spiders had broken free from the formation Mo Jianli had laid down, they had paid a considerable price for it.
The moment they landed in the stone city, Han Li spoke up in a calm tone: "Fellow Daoist Ying, everyone is gathered now. It's time to go retrieve the treasure. Where are your crystal cores?"
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han — the crystal cores are on my person. Here are six of them. Catch." The blood-robed girl stood gracefully in midair. At his words, she smiled and flipped her palm. A white jade box flew out from her hand.
At the sight of it, Blood Burn, Mo Jianli, and the others all showed a flicker of interest, but no one rashly reached out to grab it.
Only Han Li, his expression unchanged, swept his sleeve forward and caught the jade box in his grasp.
He flipped open the lid, and several divine senses swept inside simultaneously. A look of delight appeared on everyone's faces.
The jade box indeed contained six crystal cores, snow-white and translucent, each no larger than a thumb, yet radiating an unusual, mysterious aura.
Han Li pondered for only a moment before the hand holding the jade box gave a deliberate shake.
Three streaks of white light shot out from within, streaking toward Blood Burn and Black Scale, while two more circled once before drifting toward Mo Jianli.
Spiritual light flickered.
The jade box, along with the single crystal core still inside, was tucked away into Han Li's storage bracelet by his own hand.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Han!" The joy on Blood Burn and Black Scale's faces could no longer be concealed.
Blood Burn reached out and plucked the two incoming crystal cores from the air, catching them in his palm.
Black Scale hesitated briefly but said nothing more, raising his hand to draw the third crystal core into his sleeve.
"Fellow Daoist Han, taking only one for yourself — isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Mo Jianli caught the two crystal cores that drifted toward him but couldn't help voicing his hesitation.
"Brother Mo, rest easy. The remaining cores will merely reach my hands a little later. What's the difference?" Han Li replied dismissively.
"If Fellow Daoist Han puts it that way, then I'll accept with a guilty conscience." Mo Jianli's expression shifted several times before he gritted his teeth and carefully tucked the two crystal cores away without further refusal.
"I've already paid the advance. Shall we set off now?" The girl then spoke in an unhurried manner.
"There's no issue with that. Please have your people lead the way." Han Li naturally had no reason to object and replied at once.
The girl let out a charming laugh of agreement and immediately descended into the stone city.
Upon her instruction, one of the Integration-stage Asura Spider cultivators rolled on the spot. A fierce gale erupted, and the figure transformed into a black eagle more than ten zhang in length.
The girl, the Asura Spider Matriarch, and the rest of their party leaped up, flickering onto the eagle's back one after another.
With a long, piercing cry, the great eagle spread its wings and shot toward the horizon.
"Let's follow. Hopefully the next batch of crystal cores will come just as smoothly."
Han Li spoke lightly, raised his hand, and sent a streak of azure light shooting outward. With a flash, it morphed into a triangular azure carriage that drifted gently forward. He was the first to step aboard.
Mo Jianli, Blood Burn, and the others dared not delay. They rose into the air and boarded the flying carriage one by one.
Han Li formed a single-handed seal, and with a tremor the massive carriage transformed into a ball of azure light that shot forward, closely trailing the black eagle ahead.
One leading and one following, the two vanished over the horizon in an instant, disappearing without a trace.
……
More than half a day later, over a stretch of sea that stretched endlessly in every direction, a gust of black wind and a mass of azure light rolled onward together.
The more powerful aquatic beasts in the surrounding waters caught a faint whiff of the aura emanating from the two, and all fled in terror, desperate not to provoke the fearsome presences within.
Suddenly, the black wind ahead slowed and its speed dropped markedly. The surrounding gale dissipated, revealing a magnificent eagle with iron-hued plumage.
"Has the location been reached?" The azure light behind likewise condensed, and the humming form of the great carriage materialized. A calm male voice drifted from within.
"Fellow Daoist Han, no need to rush. The Cold Abyss is on an island just ahead. Once we arrive, you'll all need to lend your full strength." From atop the eagle ahead, the blood-robed girl's musical voice rang out.