Chapter 314: Fusion

"Even Fellow Daoist Crab would be implicated? I hadn't thought of that. But as they say, fortune favors the bold; risk and reward go hand in hand. If Fellow Daoist Crab successfully fuses with that immortal puppet, you'll instantly gain power at the Golden Immortal level. I think it's worth a try, but I wonder if Fellow Daoist Crab dares to take the gamble?" Han Li was taken aback for a moment, then said.

Since killing Chongluan, although the past two hundred years had been peaceful, he had never been able to feel completely at ease. Therefore, after accumulating sufficient resources, he had devoted himself to bitter cultivation, hoping that by advancing to the late True Immortal stage, he could condense threads of the law of time to enhance his resistance against Golden Immortal cultivators. Yet so far, he had not succeeded.

But now, by a stroke of luck, he had discovered an opportunity to gain a Golden Immortal ally, and he did not want to miss it.

Upon hearing this, the Crab Daoist remained silent for a long time, showing some hesitation.

"On this matter, Han will not force Fellow Daoist Crab. However, there is another thing I must clarify in advance: if the fusion succeeds, after you merge with the immortal puppet and the mother bean, your connection with me will become closer, and at the same time, because of the mother bean, you will be more constrained by me. This is unavoidable, and I hope Fellow Daoist will consider it carefully." Han Li did not urge him but spoke frankly.

After a long while, the Crab Daoist looked up at Han Li and said, "As long as Fellow Daoist does not forget the promise made in the Spirit Realm, I am willing to give it a try with you."

"Good. Then I will begin setting up the formation right away." Han Li nodded.

Time passed, and another month went by.

Inside Han Li's cave residence, a new and more spacious secret chamber had been opened up, in which stood eight Thunder-Repelling Wood pillars engraved with talisman patterns, and a rather complex spell formation had already been drawn on the ground.

At the nodes where the formation patterns connected, various materials including Boundless Sand were placed, while several grooves on the periphery of the formation were inlaid with immortal essence stones.

In the center of the formation sat cross-legged a square-faced, thin-browed man in a yellow robe, who was none other than the immortal puppet obtained from the Sacred Puppet Sect.

Han Li stood outside the formation, and with a twist of his wrist, a metal sphere appeared in his palm.

A faint sound was heard, and the golden sphere quickly transformed into a golden crab.

"Fellow Daoist Crab, everything is ready. We can begin," Han Li said, looking at the golden crab.

The golden crab did not speak, but simply wrapped itself in arcs of electricity, transforming into a ball of golden lightning that flew down toward the chest of the yellow-robed man. With a flash of lightning, it submerged into him and disappeared.

Seeing this, Han Li also sat down cross-legged, formed hand seals, and began to chant incantations.

A buzzing sound arose.

Inside the secret chamber, a yellow light lit up, and gusts of wind began to emanate from the spell formation.

A yellow whirlwind rose up out of nowhere, transforming into a muddy yellow vortex that enveloped the immortal puppet. The many materials on the formation were drawn by this whirlwind and surged into it as well.

Next, the yellow-robed man's body blazed with light, and ancient runes flew out from his robes, falling into the whirlwind.

As soon as the spiritual materials inside the vortex touched these runes, they flashed once and decomposed into fine powder, surging toward the yellow-robed man.

Han Li, seeing this, turned his wrist and took out a walnut-sized yellow bean, one of the two mother beans he had obtained.

As he tossed it forward with one hand, the mother bean turned into a yellow shadow and vanished into the formation in a flash.

After entering the formation, the mother bean hovered above the yellow-robed man's head and was immediately pasted with several runes. However, it did not decompose but instead suddenly brightened, and from within it slowly rose the phantom of a Dao Soldier Tree.

This phantom was over ten feet tall, rooted in the formation, with its trunk exactly enveloping the yellow-robed man.

Han Li first formed a hand seal with both hands, then reached forward and slapped his single palm onto the ground.

With this palm strike, several immortal essence stones on the formation simultaneously lit up, and strands of pure immortal spiritual power continuously flowed along the roots of the Dao Soldier Tree phantom into the trunk.

Inside the phantom light tree, light blazed brilliantly. All the decomposed spiritual materials vanished into the yellow-robed man's body, and the previously enveloping yellow whirlwind then disappeared.

"Crackle, crackle."

A sound of electric current flowing arose. The eight Thunder-Containing Wood pillars standing around the formation lit up with runes, and streaks of golden lightning shot out like electric pythons, converging on the yellow-robed man at the center.

At the same time, with a "tear" sound, a large patch of purple-gold electric light flared up on the yellow-robed man's chest, as if he had donned a wide robe of crackling electricity.

Han Li, seeing this, knew that the Crab Daoist had begun attempting to fuse with the puppet. He immediately withdrew his palm from the ground and began forming hand seals again.

Just then, a thunderclap suddenly rang out. Behind the yellow-robed man, a huge golden crab phantom emerged, its eight slender limbs entwined with purple patterns and flashing with streaks of electric light.

"Go!"

Han Li shouted in a low voice, focusing intently on the formation. He pushed his hands forward, and the immortal spiritual power within him surged in like a mighty river.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Inside the secret chamber, the rumbling continued, and the surrounding walls shook violently.

Fortunately, Han Li had anticipated this and had set up reinforcing and isolating arrays around the area in advance; otherwise, the tremors caused at this moment would have been enough to stir up quite a commotion throughout the entire Red Cloud Peak.

As the vibrations intensified, yellow light and purple-gold lightning within the secret chamber began to flicker violently at the same time.

Han Li's hands remained steady as he continuously channeled immortal spiritual power into it, while crystalline threads formed from his divine sense probed inside, guiding the mother bean immortal puppet and the Crab Daoist to forcibly merge together.

Within the secret chamber, the golden crab phantom and the Dao soldier tree phantom simultaneously shrank slowly, from about ten feet down to six or seven feet, and then further to two or three feet, as the yellow light and electric radiance enveloping them converged toward the center.

After an unknown period of time, all the light finally receded, coalescing into a golden orb the size of a fist, suspended at the chest of the yellow-robed man. Within it, one could faintly see the phantom of a small tree and a golden crab.

By now, almost all of Han Li's immortal spiritual power had flowed into the formation, and his divine sense consumption was also enormous, leaving his face noticeably pale.

"Merge!" he shouted, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

In the next instant, the immortal spiritual power within his body surged without reservation, all flowing into the yellow-robed man.

A soft "crack" sounded from the ground as the immortal spiritual power within the seven or eight immortal essence stones also drained completely, turning ashen white before shattering.

At the chest of the yellow-robed man, a vortex of light suddenly flared up, swallowing the golden orb in an instant.

In that moment, a thunderous roar exploded!

A thick bolt of lightning emerged from within the yellow-robed man's body, like a pillar of purple-gold thunder, suddenly shooting upward, blasting through the ceiling of the secret chamber and soaring into the high sky. The entire Red Cloud Peak shook violently as a result.

Fortunately, this lightning lasted only a few breaths before abruptly withdrawing and vanishing without a trace.

Inside the secret chamber, Han Li, depleted of immortal spiritual power and relying only on his Mystic Immortal physique for defense, was sent flying sideways by the electric blast, crashing heavily into the wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

After steadying himself, he glanced at the yellow-robed man, who remained motionless despite the disappearance of the anomaly, then sat back down cross-legged, took out a golden pill and swallowed it, and flipped his hand to retrieve an immortal essence stone, holding it in his hand as he closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

After about a quarter of an hour, he slowly opened his eyes and spat out the remaining blood in his mouth.

The yellow-robed man sitting opposite him suddenly moved his eyelids and opened his eyes, revealing a pair of light golden pupils.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Crab, on being reborn. I had worried that something might go wrong during the fusion process, but it seems I was overthinking it," Han Li said calmly, offering his congratulations, though his heart skipped a beat.

Just now, when he released his divine sense to probe the aura emanating from the yellow-robed man, he found that the other party indeed possessed a cultivation equivalent to the early Golden Immortal stage.

Fortunately, at its core, perhaps due to the mother bean, an additional soul prohibition had already been deeply embedded.

"This is all thanks to Fellow Daoist Han's assistance. However, although I have initially succeeded in merging with the immortal puppet, due to the incorporation of the Dao soldiers, the power within me is somewhat mixed and difficult to calm down for the time being. I need to continue in seclusion for a while to fully stabilize it." The Crab Daoist continued.

"Fellow Daoist Crab can rest assured in seclusion. If you need any supplies such as spirit stones, just let me know." Han Li nodded.

Upon hearing this, the Crab Daoist nodded expressionlessly, then closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing.

Only then did a hint of joy appear in Han Li's eyes. He did not stay any longer, stood up, and walked out of the secret chamber.

Since this matter had temporarily come to an end, he also needed to consider another matter.

In the central part of the Bell Cry Mountain Range, Gourd Peak.

A beam of green light descended from the sky, landing before the golden hall at the foot of the peak, revealing Han Li's figure.

He glanced at the plaque on the hall door and strode inside.

Inside the Immortal Herb Pavilion, medicine cabinets stood in rows, appearing quite bustling. In front of a cabinet near the entrance, Ye Nanfeng was attending to a long-bearded old man.

Seeing Han Li enter, Ye Nanfeng smiled and greeted him.

Han Li nodded in response, signaling for him to attend to his business first, while he himself began to browse among the medicine cabinets in the hall.

Before long, the long-bearded old man seemed to have found what he needed, completed the transaction, and left.

"Hehe, Elder Li, it has been a long time." Ye Nanfeng quickly walked toward Han Li, smiling.

"Elder Ye, it seems that the variety of medicinal herbs managed by your Immortal Herb Pavilion has increased quite a bit since I was last here." Han Li withdrew his gaze from a medicine cabinet and said.

"Hehe, nothing escapes Elder Li. Speaking of which, we have much to thank Wood Daoist for." Ye Nanfeng laughed.

"Wood Daoist of Flying Feather Peak?" Han Li was taken aback.

"Does our sect have a second Wood Daoist?" Ye Nanfeng blinked.

"That is not what I meant. I just heard that this Wood Daoist had been in seclusion for nearly a hundred thousand years without emerging. Has he recently come out of seclusion?" Han Li asked casually.