Everything in the cave dwelling was unchanged. Even the portion of the tri-colored Devouring Beetles he had released to guard the cave before his departure had condensed into a tri-colored sphere, hanging motionlessly in the center of the main hall.
The Profound Heaven Immortal Vine and the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng transplanted in the herb garden were also perfectly intact, as though he had departed only yesterday.
As for the damaged root of the Profound Heaven Immortal Vine, Han Li hadn't harbored much hope of reviving it. But the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng was a different matter entirely — it was a type of spirit herb that had long since gone extinct in the outside world. Moreover, this spirit herb had been spiritually awakened for so long that it had even developed a humanoid form, making it extraordinarily rare.
If it hadn't been so inconvenient to carry the spirit ginseng on his person, Han Li would have wanted to transplant it along with him and keep it at his side.
Unfortunately, none of the ancient recipes he had obtained since then called for this spirit ginseng as an ingredient again. All he could do was sigh and set the matter aside for the time being.
As for the spirit herbs in the garden, the eggs of the Six-Winged Frost Centipede and most of the Devouring Beetles — he had packed those into spirit beast pouches and taken them with him when he last left the cave. There was no need to worry about them.
In fact, the twenty-four eggs of the Six-Winged Frost Centipede had hatched not long after he set out for the Extreme West. However, during the twenty-some years he had been trapped in the spatial rift, the small bottle had been unable to produce any more Green Liquid. As a result, these spirit insects had remained in their larval stage and never advanced a single tier. He had placed them in a specially made spirit beast pouch, keeping them in a constant state of slumber.
That was something of a pity.
Now, Han Li first returned the batch of Devouring Beetles awaiting evolution to their insect chamber. Then he took out the bone-cold, specially made spirit beast pouch and walked next door to the chamber where the Six-Winged Frost Centipede had previously been raised.
He held the spirit beast pouch over the chamber's door and gently tipped it.
A swath of white radiance swept through, and over twenty centipede larvae, each several inches long, appeared in the middle of the chamber.
These Six-Winged Frost Centipede larvae had snow-white, crystal-clear bodies. At this stage, no wings had yet appeared on them. They looked much like enlarged white snow silkworms, bearing not the slightest hint of their fearsome appearance.
When Han Li had first obtained the Six-Winged Frost Centipede, he hadn't known whether this species of spirit insect truly could evolve through mutual devouring under the influence of the Neon Garment Grass. He had simply wanted to test the theory.
But he had never expected that these spirit insects really did possess this evolutionary trait. The discovery had filled him with delight.
His original intention had been to use this insect's frost energy to cultivate the Purple Nirvana Heavenly Fire. But after the battle in Devilfall Valley, Han Li had begun harboring other ideas.
The Devouring Beetles were unmatched in their ferocity, but their flying speed was clearly too slow. Even once they were fully mature, he feared they would still be quite limited when facing enemies with extraordinary speed or in certain situations.
As for why the Six-Winged Frost Centipede held such a high ranking on the Spirit Insect Compendium — aside from its terrifying frost breath, its flight speed was among the very fastest of all spirit insects.
In the two-winged stage, this creature's speed was already comparable to that of ordinary spirit insects. But once it grew a second pair of cicada wings and became a four-winged centipede, its speed increased dramatically, already far surpassing that of ordinary flying treasures. Most fearsome of all, once it evolved its third pair of wings, its speed could rank among the top three of all spirit insects. It was said to be able to truly come and go without a trace, traversing a thousand li in the blink of an eye.
Of course, these descriptions were merely legends recorded in ancient texts. Even in the primordial era, spirit insects that had successfully evolved to the six-winged stage were exceedingly few.
Han Li only half believed such claims.
But there was absolutely no doubt that the Six-Winged Frost Centipede was a primordial spirit insect of extraordinary speed.
The battle against the Ancient Demon had been a brutal lesson in the pain of facing a ghostly-fast opponent. Naturally, the thought of raising the Six-Winged Frost Centipede to its peak stage had crossed his mind. Besides, once it reached the six-winged stage, the frost breath it exhaled would naturally become even more potent — equally beneficial to his cultivation of the Purple Nirvana Heavenly Fire.
With such thoughts in mind, Han Li naturally regarded these Six-Winged Frost Centipede larvae with new appreciation.
Seeing that the larvae showed no signs of rejecting their new environment, Han Li's heart settled, and he relaxed.
Just as he was about to observe them a while longer, his expression suddenly shifted. He glanced toward the cave dwelling's entrance, as though he had sensed something.
His eyes flickered. With a flick of his sleeve, a streak of white light shot forth, and Silver Moon appeared before him, looking as elegant and lovely as ever.
"Mu Peiling has already arrived outside. Go and lead her to the main hall. I have some things to say to her," Han Li instructed in a deep voice.
"Yes, Master!" Silver Moon asked no further questions. She responded respectfully, then transformed into a streak of silver light and vanished from where she stood.