Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 285

Looking down at the Anticipation Grass with three leaves sprouted, Han Li sighed softly. Then, he slowly tilted the small bottle in his hand over the leaves.

Drop.

A single drop of green liquid touched the Anticipation Grass and disappeared. He carefully put away the small bottle and sat down right next to it, beginning his Qi circulation.

On the third day, the fourth leaf of the Anticipation Grass finally bloomed, emitting a strong fragrance that lured demonic beasts.

Han Li, too, had spent two days meticulously preparing his mind and body. At his current level, easily handling fifth-level demonic beasts, even a sixth-level one wouldn’t be a difficult opponent.

However, being alone in the distant sea, he had to be cautious at all times. The fragrance of the Anticipation Grass wasn’t an absolute control over the level of demonic beasts.

In the past, a 300-year-old Anticipation Grass had attracted a sixth-level demonic beast, nearly costing him his life. Back then, he had abandoned all his precious formation tools and barely escaped the crisis.

A single mistake could easily lead to death. After waiting another half-day, Han Li sensed something.

He opened his eyes wide and looked in one direction.

Soon, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the distant sea, and a storm began to rage. From the whirlpool below, a low, mournful sound began to emerge.

Han Li calmly levitated into the air to assess the situation.

Then, a demonic beast enveloped in black energy burst out of the whirlpool. The demonic beast wasn’t very large, but it rushed towards the Anticipation Grass, letting out a low growl.

Seeing this, Han Li was actually relieved.

It was difficult to identify its exact appearance due to the black energy, but judging by the amount of spiritual energy it emitted, it was a sixth-level demonic beast.

It was a suitable prey, not too dangerous.

The demonic beast in the black energy became more agitated as it got closer to the Anticipation Grass. Eventually, with a loud roar, it brought a massive wave, over ten zhang [about 33 meters] high, crashing onto the coral island.

Having already witnessed the earth-shattering phenomenon created by the giant turtle, this scene wasn’t particularly impressive to Han Li.

When the black energy finally approached within ten zhang of the island, Han Li sneered and held up a cyan formation disc. Then, a blue light emanated from his hand, activating the disc. A blinding yellow light began to be emitted.

At the same time, a dozen yellow light pillars shot out from the sea, creating a yellowish protective barrier, instantly trapping the black energy inside.

The demonic beast was naturally greatly startled.

From within the black energy, a dark blue pincer-like appendage shot out, fiercely piercing the yellow barrier.

Bang!

The barrier shook, and it seemed like it wouldn’t hold if attacked a few more times. But it was enough to temporarily confine the demonic beast.

The Five Elements Rings, prepared in advance, disappeared into the air with a clear chime. Then, five-colored lights appeared in the sky again, engulfing the black energy.

The demonic beast’s roar was heard, and the dense energy dissipated, revealing the true form of the demonic beast.

The demonic beast was a giant blue shrimp, four zhang [about 13 meters] long, with six cyan eyes rolling left and right, showing a bewildered expression. It was completely immobilized, bound by five silver rings.

At that moment, a dazzling blue light fell, slicing the shrimp into pieces, and green liquid gushed out, staining the sea.

The five rings, which had trembled slightly, disappeared again and returned to Han Li’s hand. Han Li, with a smile, put away the formation disc.

The yellow light flashed, and the disc disappeared, and at the same time, the yellowish barrier vanished without a sound. Having also retrieved the Five Elements Rings, he now held a jet-black bowl in his hand.

Holding the bowl with both hands, he landed gracefully next to the lifeless giant shrimp.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he pointed at the shrimp’s head and began to chant a low incantation. White light seeped from his fingertips, growing brighter as the incantation continued.

Suddenly, the incantation stopped, and thin white threads of light pierced into the shrimp’s head. Then, bound by the taut white threads, a fist-sized green light mass was extracted from the giant shrimp’s head and moved towards the Soul-Seizing Bowl in the water.

The green light thrashed as if trying to struggle, but the speed at which it was being pulled did not decrease at all.

When it was only a foot away, black energy emerged from the Soul-Seizing Bowl, pulling it inside. Han Li chuckled. Only then did he move, rummaging through the pieces of the shrimp and finding a pale navy-blue bead.

Compared to the core of a fifth-level demonic beast, the core of a sixth-level one was larger and had a translucent, mysterious glow.

After examining the core for a moment, Han Li put it into his storage pouch and looked down at the shrimp, lost in thought. Suddenly, blue light emanated from his hand.

Then, the shrimp’s two giant pincers fell off, and Han Li picked them up without hesitation. He then burned the rest of the remains completely.

Han Li calmly returned to the Anticipation Grass. He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, waiting for another sixth-level demonic beast.

Seven years later, about a dozen cultivators with varying levels of cultivation were flying low, surveying the area. Most of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and only the three leading them had reached the Core Formation stage.

One was at the mid-Core Formation stage, and two were at the early-Core Formation stage. A middle-aged cultivator with a faint golden glow on his face asked impatiently.

“Brother Chu, are you sure there’s a sixth-level demonic beast around here? We’ve been searching for days, could the information be wrong?”

The question was directed at a fierce-looking old man. The old man was the mid-Core Formation cultivator, the highest in the group.

He replied without a change in expression.

“Brother Min, what’s the rush? We only came with a rough location, so it’s natural to wander for a few days. Anyway, it’s more likely to find it than searching random sea areas. Besides, the guy who gave us the information wouldn’t dare to deceive this old man, would he?”

Another cultivator with a ferocious face suddenly spoke.

“It might have already left this place or was just passing through.”

“That’s impossible. I explored the seabed around here, and there’s an abundance of Three-Colored Algae, the favorite seaweed of the Glass Beast. It must be here.”

At the old man’s words, the other two stopped arguing and focused on using their senses to find the demonic beast. The Foundation Establishment cultivators were their nephews or disciples, so they were in no position to interfere.

The group searched for another half-day, but there were no clues. Now, the old man’s face was starting to wrinkle.

Brother Min, with the faint golden glow on his face, was also frustrated and angry.

“Hmph, this is ridiculous! When we were in the Abyss, we could catch three or four high-level demonic beasts a year, but here, we’ve only caught two in the past two years. That means not even one demonic core per cultivator.”

The ferocious-faced cultivator spoke hesitantly, as if reluctant to bring it up.

“Brother Min, it’s not like you don’t know the situation in the Abyss. If we go to the Abyss now, we won’t be hunting, we’ll be hunted.

Since we’re talking about it, isn’t it too strange? It wasn’t a safe place to begin with, but as long as we were discreet and didn’t cause trouble in the center, there were no problems with survival.

But since two years ago, the demonic beasts have started to go berserk, and the entire Abyss has become a forbidden zone. Even high-level cultivators who go in don’t come out alive, so who would dare to go?

A year ago, several Nascent Soul [a high level of cultivation] old monsters joined forces to find out the cause and charged into the center, but they fled in panic after something happened. Even the Merchant Scribe only barely returned with his Nascent Soul intact, so the Chance Encounter Island is no longer a place to stay for long.”

The old man, who had been listening, continued with a wrinkled face.

“Brother Xian’s words make sense. The crazy demonic beasts aren’t coming out of the Abyss right now, but we don’t know when their madness will explode and they’ll attack. We must prepare ourselves.”

The old man also seemed very worried. Brother Min smiled wryly and said dejectedly.

“But the Holy Palace and the Rebel Alliance are still in chaos, so it’s not like we can just go back if we want to. The teleportation arrays are also sealed.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

“Hmm? Brother Xian, do you have a way?”

The ferocious-faced cultivator replied in a low voice.

“Hehe, I heard that someone on Chance Encounter Island is selling teleportation talismans at a high price. There aren’t many, but some people have definitely used them to cross over to the Inner Sea.”

“Is that so? Then we should…”

Brother Min’s face lit up, and he was about to ask for more details, but he stopped when the old man spoke.

“You’re dreaming big! Even if we get a teleportation talisman, can we even return to Heavenly Star City in the current situation? The Inner Sea is much more dangerous than Chance Encounter Island right now. If we go back, we’ll likely be caught by both sides and used as cannon fodder. The situation in the Abyss is strange, but the other areas are still fine, so it’s better here. Even if something happens, we can just hide on a deserted island.”

The other two cultivators exchanged glances. The old man’s plan wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t unreasonable. Just as they were about to continue discussing, a loud roar was heard in the distance, followed by a series of explosions.

Brother Min and Brother Xian looked at each other and shouted almost simultaneously.

“Glass Beast!”

The old man’s face hardened, and he muttered grimly.

“That’s definitely the roar of a Glass Beast. It seems someone found it before us, so let’s hide our presence and observe the situation.”

The other two nodded and transformed into streaks of light, disappearing in the direction of the sound. The Foundation Establishment cultivators followed behind with tense faces.

After some time, the old man’s group arrived near the coral island without making a sound. What they expected was happening before their eyes.

A white, translucent sea creature with a glossy body was trapped in a red barrier.

Pshhh.

Kukukung.

The demonic beast, about ten zhang [about 33 meters] in size, was desperately attacking the red barrier, spewing out countless white threads. But the three cultivators’ gazes were directed elsewhere.

A young man wearing a pale navy-blue robe was leisurely floating above the coral island, with his hands behind his back. The ferocious-faced cultivator sent a message with a hint of excitement.

“Brother Chu, he’s just an early-Core Formation cultivator. Should we attack now?”

The old man’s eyes also flashed with a ferocious glint, but he suppressed his desire and replied cautiously.

“Don’t be hasty, check if there are others. It could be a trap.”

“Brother Xian, Brother Chu’s words make sense. Isn’t it strange for an early-Core Formation cultivator to face a Glass Beast alone?”

At those words, Brother Xian also flinched and quickly spread his senses to survey the surroundings, but he didn’t sense any other presence.

At this moment, the young man floating in the air also began to move. He only extended one hand, and a blue light burst out, swirling and transforming into a giant sword over ten zhang [about 33 meters] long, which then fell.

The Glass Beast in the sea also sensed the immense attack approaching and opened its mouth, spitting out a white crystal ball.

The crystal ball cut through the air, gradually increasing in size, and blocked the falling giant sword without hesitation. However, the speed of the giant sword remained unchanged, and it was making a thunderous sound.

Clang!

Finally, the giant sword and the crystal ball collided. In that instant, it felt as if the shape of the giant sword had become blurred.

Surprisingly, another giant sword of the same shape emerged from the blue sword and silently fell towards the Glass Beast’s head. The demonic beast roared and tried to block the attack by gathering the white threads it was spewing from its body.

However, the sword passed through the white threads as if they were no obstacle and sliced off the Glass Beast’s head. Cyan blood splattered everywhere.

‘Is that really a Glass Beast!’

The Glass Beast was known to be difficult to catch even among sixth-level demonic beasts. But it was defeated in the blink of an eye by the young man’s single sword strike. It was unbelievable.

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