Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 684

The dark green Nascent Soul reappeared, bound by blue threads at its neck and limbs, rendering it immobile. Then, a dozen silver needles shifted direction and flew towards the Nascent Soul.

Puh puh puh puh puh!

The needles pierced deep into the Nascent Soul’s body, causing it to tremble and lose control of its magical power. A look of despair appeared on the small face of the second Nascent Soul.

“Did you think I wouldn’t see through your shallow tricks? You’re not trying to kill me; you’re just trying to re-assimilate me. There’s no need to resist so much.”

“Isn’t that the same as killing me? Am I even myself if I have no self-awareness?”

At Han Li’s words, the second Nascent Soul screamed, filled with resentment.

“That’s true, but you were originally my second Nascent Soul, so you shouldn’t have self-awareness. Why complain when I’m just assimilating my own second Nascent Soul? If you have anyone to blame, blame your own existence.”

Han Li narrowed his brow and replied coldly. He immediately formed a hand seal, and as the blue threads began to glow, the second Nascent Soul’s eyes glazed over, and it lost consciousness.

Only then did Han Li relax. As if struck by a thought, he suddenly looked at the boy who had been watching. Sensing Han Li’s gaze, the boy quietly dispersed his form and disappeared.

Han Li nodded and pointed at the cauldron lid in the air. The Void Sky Cauldron closed and returned into his body. He took a light breath, sat in a lotus position, and gestured towards the second Nascent Soul.

With a powerful force, the Nascent Soul was pulled in and floated in front of him. Han Li used his consciousness to check the Nascent Soul’s condition. Only after confirming that its consciousness had weakened did he close his eyes and strike the top of his head.

Then, a blue light flashed from the top of his head, and a blue Nascent Soul, several inches in size, appeared. It was Han Li’s main Nascent Soul, which he had cultivated for over a hundred years. The Nascent Soul stood on a blue cauldron, holding a green wooden ruler tightly in both hands, and a white bead floated above its head.

Also, a faint black aura flickered between its brows, and dozens of tiny golden swords constantly circled around it.

The main Nascent Soul glanced at the second Nascent Soul, and the small cauldron beneath its feet emitted a blue light, carrying the Nascent Soul slowly. As the dark green Nascent Soul approached within a foot, Han Li’s main Nascent Soul nudged the cauldron with its small foot.

Woong!

The cauldron vibrated, and the blue threads that had been binding the second Nascent Soul vanished instantly, leaving only the dark green Nascent Soul.

And the Void Sky Cauldron gradually grew in size.

The main Nascent Soul calmly sat on top of it, tossed the green ruler it was holding into the air, and began to chant a spell while forming hand seals. The black aura between its brows condensed, unexpectedly forming a third, pitch-black eye.

The strange, black eye stared only at the second Nascent Soul. Then, the chanting stopped, and the third eye flashed, emitting a black aura.

The dark green Nascent Soul trembled like an aspen, its eyes wide open, but its gaze had already lost focus, its reason gone. At the same time, Han Li’s main Nascent Soul also opened its eyes wide, and two beams of light shot from its pupils into the eyes of the second Nascent Soul.

The second Nascent Soul’s limbs went limp, occasionally twitching, and its face was contorted in pain, but it couldn’t even scream.

* * *

Fifteen days later, the stone door of the secret chamber opened, and Han Li walked out. Then, a silver light flashed outside the door, and a humanoid puppet that looked exactly like him appeared strangely.

Han Li smiled at the puppet and then touched his head, summoning the dark green Nascent Soul and placing it inside the humanoid puppet. After a moment, a full vitality was felt in the puppet’s eyes.

“As I expected. By using the secret technique recorded in the Great Evolution Scripture to house the second Nascent Soul, I can now control the puppet as I please, no matter how far away it is. As long as I’m not gone for too long, I can leave the second Nascent Soul and the puppet at my residence and travel around!”

Han Li clapped his hands in delight as things went as he intended.

“It’s a good plan, but aren’t you afraid that the second Nascent Soul, even with a humanoid puppet, might regain self-awareness?”

The boy’s leisurely voice came from his sleeve.

“Even if Senior doesn’t mention it, I’ve already thought of that. I’ve placed a restriction technique that can only be used by Nascent Soul Late stage cultivators on both the second Nascent Soul and the humanoid puppet. As long as the second Nascent Soul’s consciousness doesn’t become stronger than my main Nascent Soul’s, there won’t be any problems. It means I can make the puppet unable to move at any time.”

“I see. I was worried for nothing.”

“I am grateful for the kindness of the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor. By the way, is it better to undergo the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation here at the Mother Peak, or should we look for another place?”

“The Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation cannot be hidden even with restrictions, so the Mother Peak won’t do. It’s better to find a secluded place.”

“Understood. I’ll move immediately after meeting Wan’er.”

Han Li had no intention of delaying the promised matter any longer, so he nodded at once.

He first went to the Falling Cloud Sect to check on Nangong Wan’s cultivation progress, and the next day, he quietly left the Cloud Dream Mountain and began to fly west.

Five days later, Han Li was floating above a desolate wasteland. Not a single blade of grass grew here; everywhere he looked, there was only yellow soil or grayish-white rocks.

He first scanned the surrounding tens of thousands of miles with his consciousness. He couldn’t find any cultivators, let alone any ordinary people.

“How is it? This is abandoned land near the border between our Gui Kingdom and the Flower Rain Kingdom. There are no ordinary people living within 200,000 to 300,000 miles.”

“It’s a good place to undergo the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation! Cultivator Han, please release my main body first and give me three days to prepare myself here.”

“Understood.”

As soon as the answer was finished, Han Li flicked his finger towards the cauldron.

Teng!

Then, the cauldron lid flew off, and a blue aura leaked out. The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor’s avatar appeared as a half-foot-sized demon beast with a bull’s head and a dragon’s body. The demon beast spun in the air, its body growing, and then it emitted a blue light and grew to the size of a mat.

“Then, Cultivator Han, please act as my protector.”

The demon beast coiled its dragon body and landed on a white rock. Han Li watched the demon beast, the Heavenly Orchid, and then went to another rock, sat in a lotus position, and closed his eyes.

Three days and nights passed with the human and the demon beast sitting on their respective rocks.

On the fourth day, just as the sun was rising, they both opened their eyes at the same time.

“I have already raised my energy to its peak. At least, the possibility of safely enduring this lightning tribulation is 60 to 70%! Cultivator, don’t step in from the beginning, but help me when I can’t hold on any longer. It would be great if you could just block the last three lightning strikes.”

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind. Before undergoing the lightning tribulation, please swallow this drop first.”

Han Li turned his palm over and took out a bottle made of mystic ice and tossed it to him.

“What is this?”

The Heavenly Orchid took the bottle with a puzzled look, opened the lid, and checked the contents with his consciousness.

“Cold Water! How did you get this!”

“I happened to obtain it when I was in the Great Jin. Since the Saint Ancestor taught me the Silver Inscription, I’m offering you a drop. I hope you don’t think it’s too insignificant?”

“Haha, insignificant? How could that be! Cold Water is a precious item even in the Spirit World. As soon as it appears in the world, our demon race will snatch it up in an instant.”

The Heavenly Orchid spoke excitedly, then turned his head to look at Han Li.

“I will never forget the favor of giving me Cold Water.”

Han Li smiled at his words and brushed his storage pouch, taking out a formation flag and a set of discs. He was about to deploy a restriction formation that would cover an area of a hundred miles.

After a shichen [approximately two hours], when he returned to his original spot, the surroundings were filled with fog, and everything was blurry.

“This is in case of an emergency. Now, I will maintain the formation and act as a protector for the Saint Ancestor, so please undergo the lightning tribulation well.”

“The lightning of the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation can be said to be true heavenly lightning. There is no way to block it with restrictions from the mortal realm. By the way, while undergoing the lightning tribulation, I will also do you a favor, Cultivator.”

The Heavenly Orchid’s eyes sparkled.

“What do you mean?”

“This is a story that everyone in the Spirit World knows, but there are very few who know it in the lower realms.”

The Heavenly Orchid chuckled and began to transmit a message with his lips. A look of surprise appeared on Han Li’s face as he listened, and he became a little excited at the end.

“If that’s true, then it’s a great opportunity. I happen to have a suitable magic tool, so let’s try it.”

Han Li nodded.

“Of course, it’s true. But you must act at the right time. If there’s a mistake, you might suffer a setback instead.”

“I won’t act rashly, so don’t worry too much.”

Han Li smiled at the Heavenly Orchid’s reminder.

“I know that Cultivator Han is not reckless, so I will prepare to summon the heavenly lightning and undergo the lightning tribulation. It’s fortunate that you are proficient in techniques to hide your aura, or the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation would have already struck the moment I came out of the Void Sky Cauldron.”

The Heavenly Orchid sighed and floated into the air like the wind. Han Li also immediately turned into a streak of blue light and flashed out of the formation. Then, with his eyes shimmering with a dark blue light, he pierced through the white fog and watched the Heavenly Orchid’s actions.

The demon beast rose to about thirty feet and stopped, then raised its head and snorted. Then, a blue light flashed wildly from its entire body, and a wind carrying demonic energy raged.

The demon beast’s roar shook the heavens and the earth, and a powerful demonic energy soared on the wind. The Heavenly Orchid used a secret technique to further enlarge its form.

Finally, the main body of an eighth-level demon beast appeared in the world.

Almost in a single breath, thunder rumbled in the sky, and black clouds gathered, and a downpour began. Han Li could only shake his head at the tremendous sight.

Originally, this was an extremely dry area where it had hardly rained for decades, so it was abandoned. But today, the Heavenly Orchid released demonic energy, and it rained, which was a huge change.

‘The Heavenly Orchid’s Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation is no ordinary matter.’

Kururur kwakwang! Kwagwagwang!

While Han Li was thinking, the black clouds churned, and lightning bolts as thick as arms flashed, and the lightning intertwined like a net, covering the sky.

At this time, the roar inside the formation also grew louder.

A wind of gray demonic energy grew in size and, surprisingly, created a grayish-white vortex that soared towards the dark clouds.

Kwang!

A deafening sound rang out, and a lightning bolt like a pillar struck the vortex of demonic energy. A silver light burst out, and the grayish-white vortex split in half. The lightning and the vortex disappeared at the same time.

Only then did the demon beast with a bull’s head and a dragon’s body reveal its form. Its coiled appearance was clearly different from before. Surprisingly, it had a pair of purple wings on both sides of its body and strong green arms extended.

“… !”

Han Li thought for a long time, but he couldn’t find a form that matched it among the heavenly spirit beasts he knew.

Then, the Heavenly Orchid looked up at the thick lightning and flapped its two wings. Each time, the surrounding grayish-white demonic energy gathered and disappeared into it.

The thunder in the sky became more and more frequent, and lightning bolts continued to pour down. The lightning struck all around for more than ten miles, and Han Li, who had moved aside, had no choice but to take countermeasures.

He sighed lightly and formed a hand seal, and golden lightning flashed all over his body, creating a net to protect Han Li. The lightning struck the golden lightning net, and gold and silver exploded, but his golden net only trembled slightly and remained intact.

Now, Han Li didn’t pay attention to the lightning and focused only on the grayish-white demonic energy mass in the distance. The lightning in the air had devastated the surrounding area, but most of it fell on the Heavenly Orchid.

When he looked with his Spirit Vision, the grayish-white demonic energy was almost completely covered in silver lightning, and there seemed to be no place to escape. Han Li thought it was strange.

He had seen a turtle demon beast undergo the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation in the Chaotic Star Sea. At that time, the turtle demon beast was already at the end of the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation, but it wasn’t this intense.

However, the Heavenly Orchid’s Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation was so tremendous from the beginning, and he couldn’t imagine what it would be like at the end.

‘Is the intensity of the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation different for each demon beast?’

# 686