Chapter 308: Transformation

Han Li watched everything unfolding before him, his expression calm, but his heart churned like rolling waves.

Yet it all passed like a fleeting glimpse, lasting less than a breath before ceasing abruptly. As the light on the yellow-robed man dimmed again, the immense aura emanating from him also vanished.

Seeing this, Han Li let out a long breath, a flicker of shock in his eyes.

The vast aura that had burst forth in that instant made him feel a faint palpitation. Though he could not precisely gauge its strength, he was certain it was an aura that truly surpassed the True Immortal realm.

With this thought, Han Li suppressed the turmoil in his heart and once again formed a hand seal.

But this time, no matter how he formed seals or cast spells, the yellow-robed man puppet before him showed no further reaction.

Han Li withdrew his hand seals, closed his eyes, and released his divine sense, probing swiftly into the yellow-robed man's body.

After a moment, he withdrew his divine sense and opened his eyes, his expression shifting uncertainly.

Although he had not had much contact with true immortal puppets before, he considered himself quite familiar with the art of puppetry. After this exploration, he had located the core hub of this puppet.

Contrary to his expectations, this area was empty.

Moreover, the entire puppet lacked an energy supply. The reason it had reacted to his initial control was likely due to a trace of residual energy.

According to his estimation, maintaining the normal operation of this puppet would require a considerable number of immortal spirit stones.

Han Li looked at the puppet before him, his expression shifting slightly as if something had occurred to him.

With a flip of his hand, a golden sphere appeared in his palm—the core of the Crab Immortal.

Han Li formed a hand seal, and a spell light shot into the sphere. Golden light swirled on its surface as it transformed into a palm-sized golden crab. It first used its claws to rub its head, then wobbled to stand on its legs.

“Fellow Daoist Han, what is it? You…” The golden crab’s small golden eyes looked at Han Li as it spoke slowly.

Since its return, it had been in a state of slumber and still seemed somewhat dazed.

But before it could finish, it suddenly stopped, turned around, and fixed its golden eyes on the motionless yellow-robed man nearby.

“Oh… an immortal puppet! And a linked puppet at that—quite rare!” The Crab Immortal murmured, its eyes gleaming with golden light.

As it spoke, it flew from Han Li’s hand, landed on the yellow-robed man, and crawled around joyfully, touching him with its claws.

Han Li watched silently, saying nothing.

After a full incense stick’s worth of time, the Crab Immortal finally stopped, turned to Han Li, and asked:

“Fellow Daoist Han, this immortal puppet is of no low grade. Where did you obtain it?”

There was a hint of excitement in its tone.

“It’s a long story, but this puppet seems to be closely related to a sect called the Sacred Puppet Sect.” Han Li replied noncommittally.

“Sacred Puppet Sect… never heard of it.” The Crab Immortal muttered to itself, then turned back to examine the puppet.

“By the way, Brother Crab, what did you mean by ‘linked puppet’?” Han Li asked further.

“A linked puppet… is actually a kind of anomaly. Ordinary puppets, once refined, have their strength largely fixed, with limited room for improvement. But linked puppets are different. Their combat power depends mainly on the controller’s divine sense strength and their compatibility. In short, they are like a magic treasure.” The Crab Immortal explained without turning its head.

“I see. It seems Brother Crab is quite interested in this puppet. Is it suitable for you?” Han Li nodded and asked.

“Well… though I haven’t fully investigated, this puppet is of the earth attribute. Generally, one who cultivates earth-attributed techniques can achieve better compatibility. If compatibility reaches its peak, it should be able to exert the strength of a mid-stage Golden Immortal.” The Crab Immortal turned around, speaking hesitantly.

“Brother Crab’s abilities are of the lightning attribute, so that means…” Han Li frowned slightly.

“Correct, this linked puppet’s attribute differs from mine.” The Crab Immortal nodded.

“I see.” Han Li felt somewhat disappointed.

He prided himself on having strong divine sense, but he was not well-versed in earth-attributed techniques. Even if he could control this puppet with divided attention, he doubted he could unleash its full power.

“If given a suitable environment and sufficient resources, it’s not entirely hopeless.” The Crab Immortal was silent for a moment, then spoke again.

“Brother Crab, just tell me what you need. I’ll do my best to find a way.” Han Li was delighted and quickly asked.

If the Crab Immortal could successfully驾驭 this immortal puppet, wouldn’t he gain a Golden Immortal-level helper?

“First, I need to set up a lightning array. The array itself is not complicated to arrange, but the difficulty lies in its eye—it requires a celestial treasure that can continuously provide lightning power. This item is also the key to determining whether the transformation can succeed. Additionally, a large number of immortal spirit stones and top-grade lightning-attributed spirit stones are needed to sustain the process without interruption.” The Crab Immortal said.

With that, it opened its mouth and spat out a small piece of golden jade slip, which flew toward Han Li.

Han Li reached out and caught the jade slip, his divine sense sinking into it. Inside was the method for setting up a lightning array, which was not too complicated for him.

Beyond that, maintaining the array required nearly a thousand immortal spirit stones and a large number of top-grade lightning-attributed spirit stones. Though the cost seemed staggering, it was not difficult for him now.

“No problem. I can set it up for you within seven days at most.” Han Li said after a brief deliberation.

“It seems you’ve had some good fortune since returning to the Immortal Realm. I’ll await good news then.” The Crab Immortal said without much surprise.

…

A few days later.

The floor of the secret chamber was engraved with countless purple patterns, forming a large circular array. The yellow-robed middle-aged man immortal puppet lay flat in one part of the array, surrounded by eight golden lightning wood pillars—Thunder-Imprisoning Wood.

Array patterns were also carved on the Thunder-Imprisoning Wood, with purple arcs occasionally leaping across them.

At the center of the lightning array was a recess containing a purple spherical crystal. This was none other than the clam pearl Han Li had obtained by chance from the lightning-breathing clam beast when crossing the Thunderstorm Ocean.

Han Li stood at the entrance of the secret chamber, with the Crab Immortal in the form of a small golden crab on his shoulder.

As he formed hand seals, streams of spell light flashed and vanished into the purple clam pearl at the center of the array.

Thunderclaps sounded one after another!

In an instant, all the array patterns on the ground lit up, emitting dazzling light. Countless purple arcs emerged and shot into the air, like countless lightning serpents dancing wildly.

The entire secret chamber was instantly transformed into a world filled with purple lightning.

“Brother Crab, what do you think of this array?” Han Li said to the Crab Immortal on his shoulder.

“Fellow Daoist Han has not disappointed me. Especially that crystal at the array eye—it’s quite extraordinary, as if it has stored a vast amount of lightning power?” The Crab Immortal nodded, raising a claw to point at the purple clam pearl radiating lightning.

Han Li did not hide anything and recounted the origin of the clam pearl.

“Originally, I had only a thirty percent chance. Now, it seems there should be fifty percent.” The Crab Immortal said, then bent and stretched its legs, transforming into a streak of golden light that leaped into the lightning array.

Crackle!

Large swaths of lightning serpents flew from all over the array, surging toward the golden light of the Crab Immortal.

Within the golden light, the small golden crab’s body was covered in dazzling golden arcs, which soon enveloped it, forming a golden lightning ball that flew toward the yellow-robed man’s chest.

With a flash of lightning, the golden ball vanished into his chest.

The yellow-robed man’s body trembled, and a dazzling earthy yellow light appeared on his skin, except near his chest, which was wreathed in arcs.

The purple lightning in the array seemed attracted, all converging toward the puppet’s chest, merging with each other.

The lightning at the chest intensified, spreading to other parts of the yellow-robed man.

The lightning light collided with the earthy yellow light on the puppet, intertwining fiercely, occasionally producing explosions that shook the entire chamber and disrupted the lightning array.

Han Li stood at the door, watching everything in the chamber with an unchanged expression, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

According to the Crab Immortal, the fusion process could take decades or even centuries. With the abundant lightning power in the clam pearl, there was no issue. As for the immortal spirit stones and top-grade lightning-attributed spirit stones, he had placed a sufficient amount when setting up the array.

“Hope everything goes smoothly.”

Han Li muttered to himself, then turned and walked out of the chamber, closing the door and setting up a restriction.

Before long, he appeared in another secret chamber and sat down cross-legged again.

Now that the matter with the Crab Immortal was settled, he should reconsider his current situation.

Although the immortal spirit stones he had accumulated over the years were considerable, barring any accidents, they should be enough to refine sufficient pills to break through his cultivation.

However, the encounter with Chong Luan during the trip to the Sacred Puppet Sect forced him to remain vigilant.

Though he had killed him, judging from the black crane’s memories, the matter was far from over.

According to Chong Luan, even if he hadn’t encountered him at the Sacred Puppet Sect, he had planned to come to Guyun Continent later. In other words, though he was now inside the Candle Dragon Sect, it was not absolutely safe.

The enemy might still find this place.

If Fang Pan and Chong Luan’s master, or the person behind Fang Pan, came, how should he deal with them?