Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 187

The woman in the sky also began to feel anxious. Although she was being pursued by her juniors, she had not expected them to block such a powerful attack.

Just now, she had fought a battle with a Core Formation cultivator from the Demon Path, which had not only depleted her magical power but also left her with severe injuries that she could barely manage.

Worst of all, the magical treasure that was closely linked to her nascent soul [a spiritual entity formed during cultivation] had been damaged in the previous battle and was temporarily unusable.

For this reason, she had forcibly drawn out her potential using a secret technique to barely make it this far, but she couldn’t shake off these three pursuers.

In the end, she concluded that if she didn’t kill them first, she would be defeated the moment the secret technique’s effect wore off.

It was then that she sensed the presence of another cultivator nearby. That cultivator was likely from a powerful family or a sect that had formed an alliance. Considering that cultivator’s presence, she had decided to fight here.

However, as soon as she arrived, she noticed that the cultivator had concealed all their energy and was observing the situation. Now, she truly had no choice but to hold on alone.

However, the three Demon Path cultivators were stronger than she had expected, and they possessed powerful defensive magical artifacts. Her attacks, which drew on her remaining spiritual power, were not enough to destroy them.

Moreover, she had long since exhausted the high-grade talismans and magical artifacts she had been carrying. As she felt her remaining spiritual power being depleted, her heart sank.

The opponents who had barely managed to block her attacks also saw the attacks, which had been pouring down like a landslide, gradually weaken and eventually disappear. The three stood there for a moment, silently watching the woman standing on her magical artifact.

Wang Xian and the handsome man exchanged glances, pleased, but remembering that they had just fallen into the woman’s trap, they did not move rashly.

At that moment, a white light suddenly shot up from the ground, instantly appearing in front of the masked woman, grabbing her waist, and trying to disappear.

Wang Xian and the handsome man were furious, like beasts that had their hard-won prey snatched away at the last moment. They sped up as much as possible and descended, following the white light.

However, Dong Xuan’er did not seem to have any intention of moving from her spot. She was only tracking the white light with surprised eyes, as it was too familiar to her.

As the white light descended into the bushes in an instant, the figure of a young man was revealed. The young man held the woman in one arm and stared blankly at Wang Xian and the handsome man, who were chasing after him.

The masked woman, held weakly in his arms, was about to scold the man, seemingly embarrassed, but there was no time to pay attention to her.

“You!”

“It was you!”

Wang Xian and the handsome man shouted at the same time upon seeing the young man’s face. They had discovered Han Li, whom they had vowed to kill, and immediately rushed towards him.

The blood mist that enveloped Wang Xian’s body instantly intensified, and the stench of blood filled the air. The handsome man also sneered, then raised the flute in his hand and played it. The clear sound and the sunset light resonated, and a pink peacock emerged from within, flying towards Han Li.

As the two men rushed at him with menacing force, Han Li also showed signs of panic. He immediately mounted the Wind Spirit Shuttle, ready to flee again.

However, Wang Xian and the handsome man’s attacks blocked his path. They saw the fear in the eyes of the masked woman, who had originally been so confident.

The Core Formation female cultivator had also lost the strength to resist. But then, Han Li, who had been at a loss, suddenly showed a strange smile.

That smile sent a chill down Wang Xian’s spine, and in an instant, Han Li and the masked woman disappeared like smoke, turning into a huge rock.

The two men’s expressions changed drastically.

They realized that they were trapped in an illusion formation, but by then, the surroundings had already turned into a dense forest.

Although the formation was not very strong and could be broken in a short time, it was enough time for Han Li to escape with the woman. Both young masters of the Demon Path were furious.

The handsome man seemed to have thought of something, and he looked at Wang Xian with a cold smile.

“Brother Wang, let’s break the formation quickly. Junior Sister Dong is guarding outside, so she can hold them until we get out.”

Wang Xian’s face lit up, but he asked suspiciously,

“I almost forgot about that. But I remember that girl was a disciple of the Yellow Maple Valley. Will she be able to stop them?”

“She has a position in the Joyful Union Sect, so of course she will. She’s treated much better than when she was just an ordinary disciple in the Yellow Maple Valley.”

Dong Xuan’er appeared in front of Han Li, who was on the Wind Spirit Shuttle with the masked woman in his arms. Seeing her, Han Li sighed for a moment and then opened his mouth with regret.

“Junior Sister Dong, do you really have to do this?”

“Han Li, if you want to leave, defeat me first! I’ve always wondered how outstanding you are that Master Hongfu was so eager to marry you off!”

Dong Xuan’er’s gaze, speaking coldly, turned to the masked woman.

“Besides, you’re with a cultivator from the Emei Sect, and you expect me to let you go?”

A menacing aura appeared on her face. Since the opponent was acting this way, Han Li didn’t need to waste time talking about old times.

The formation he had set up was just a simple illusion formation, so it wouldn’t be able to hold the young masters of the Ghost Spirit Sect for long.

Han Li’s expression hardened.

“In that case, don’t blame me, Junior Sister Dong.”

As soon as Han Li finished speaking, a pair of black lights and five streaks of white light burst out. The puppet magical artifact blocked Han Li’s path, and next to it, four puppet demon beasts appeared, firing beams of light.

Once he decided to fight, he had to go all out. Dong Xuan’er’s face changed at the sudden onslaught.

However, she soon gritted her teeth and waved her hand, and pink silk flew up. Her hands moved continuously, forming hand seals, and pink energy surged, forming a brilliant light barrier with the silk.

Dong Xuan’er believed that no matter how strong Han Li’s attack was, it would not be able to penetrate the barrier formed by the Fire Phoenix Scarf and her demonic arts. Just as she was confident, Han Li launched the Wind Spirit Shuttle at full speed, passing by her with his magical artifacts.

The streaks of light that had been flying menacingly towards Dong Xuan’er also disappeared, chasing after Han Li, who had turned into a streak of white light.

Han Li had chosen to flee without engaging her in combat. Dong Xuan’er’s face flushed with shock at this sight.

Enraged, she tried to chase after Han Li, but the light beams fired by the puppet demon beasts collided with her barrier. When the attack ended and she removed the barrier, Han Li had already turned into a black dot, disappearing into the sky.

Feeling wronged that she had been played, she chased after Han Li, but she couldn’t find any trace of him. Enraged, she eventually returned in the direction she had come from.

At this time, Han Li was buried in the dirt, tightly holding the woman, with a yellow barrier around them, preventing the dirt from covering them.

He never thought that the Lower Realm talisman, the Earth Trap Talisman, he had made would be so useful.

After a while, he sensed that Dong Xuan’er had disappeared and expanded his consciousness to confirm that no one was nearby. Then, he quietly emerged from the dirt, and Han Li flew up on his magical artifact.

* * *

Some time later, Han Li entered a cave.

He carefully laid the woman down and grabbed her wrist, sending a small amount of spiritual power into her. He was trying to assess the extent of her injuries. However, he immediately realized that he had made a mistake.

As soon as the small amount of spiritual power flowed in, he felt an enormous suction force from her body, and she began to absorb Han Li’s spiritual power.

Startled, he tried to pull his hand away, but it wouldn’t come off, as if it were stuck to the woman’s body. Helplessly, he raised his other hand to push the woman away, but both hands were stuck, and he was losing an enormous amount of spiritual power.

Han Li was flustered as he felt the magical power and true essence he had barely accumulated through arduous training being gradually sucked into the woman.

He could only watch as his magical power, which had been at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, dropped back to the early stage, then to the Qi Refining level.

He felt a burning sensation in his stomach, and soon his vision went dark. Han Li fainted, falling towards the woman.

Soft and fragrant…

After that, Han Li fell into a sweet dream. But even in that dream, his spiritual power was being continuously sucked into the woman.

* * *

At dawn, Han Li woke up. In his hazy mind, he saw the back of a beautiful woman standing at the cave entrance.

After a moment, Han Li barely managed to suppress a scream. She looked very similar to Nangong Wan, but she was a completely unfamiliar woman with a slender face and round eyes.

“Who are you! This can’t be. I clearly heard them call her Senior Nangong, and that voice…”

Han Li muttered in extreme confusion. But soon, his face turned pale, and he said nothing more.

He now realized that the voice he had heard at night was not because she was injured, but because it was the voice of a completely different woman.

This misunderstanding had ruined over ten years of arduous cultivation. He blamed his bad luck and looked crestfallen.

The female cultivator, who had introduced herself as Nangong Wan’s cousin, looked at Han Li and suddenly smiled.

“So, you’re Han Li of the Yellow Maple Valley!”

“How do you know my name, Senior?”

He calmed his agitated heart, realizing that the other party had no intention of harming him and remembering the cultivation method of the Three Revolutions Heavy Yuan Technique, which required him to lose his magical power and start training again.

“My sister and I are as close as real sisters, and we have no secrets from each other. I heard your name from her.”

The woman looked surprised and angry at the same time.

“Do you know? The first thought I had when I heard this story was to catch you right away, chop you into pieces, and throw you to the dogs.”

She suddenly hardened her face and revealed a murderous aura.

Han Li shuddered at the harsh words that came from her gentle appearance. But then, he sighed and said something unexpected.

“But you’ve changed your mind now.”

“It seems you have a good head on your shoulders.”

“If you had intended to kill me, Senior, you wouldn’t have waited for me to regain consciousness.”

“Don’t call me Senior or Nangong Bing, as if I’m an old woman.”

She picked a fight with a blank face, and Han Li retorted inwardly.

If you’ve reached the Core Formation stage, you must be very old. What else would you be if not an old hag?

He had a lot of resentment since all his spiritual power had been sucked away by the other party, but with his life in her hands, he couldn’t yell at her.

She turned her back to Han Li and spoke leisurely.

“Although you saved me because you thought I was my sister, you can still be considered Nangong Bing’s benefactor. Besides, you unconsciously used your magical power to prevent my injuries from worsening, so I have no choice but to repay you.”

“It’s fine. Since you’re Nangong Wan’s cousin, I’ll just consider it my bad luck.”

Then, he immediately got up.

*Pah!*

However, he was immediately slapped in the face by a fragrant gust of wind caused by the woman and almost fell back to the ground.

“What is this… !”

Han Li clutched his tingling cheek, unable to speak.

“That’s for touching my body without my permission yesterday! And for holding me down and knocking me out all night last night!”

She scolded him coldly, her face blushing at the mention of last night, before returning to her cold demeanor.

There was much he wanted to say, but Han Li kept his mouth shut.

In relationships between men and women, especially when the woman was a Core Formation cultivator, it was never a good idea to argue. Besides, he was like a fish on the chopping block, so what could he do?

Moreover, Han Li thought that Nangong Bing was acting this way not because of what happened yesterday. It seemed like she wanted to scold him on behalf of Nangong Wan.

With this judgment, he felt angry but remained silent.