Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 720

Despite its severe injuries, the demon beast charged fiercely at Han Li. Most fire-attribute demon beasts were known for their violent and impatient nature.

Sighing, Han Li flicked his fingers five times in quick succession.

*Pfft pfft pfft!*

The sound of air being pierced echoed as five red threads pierced through the avian demon beast’s body, wrapping around it. Crimson lines appeared, and the demon beast was torn to pieces, its flesh scattering in all directions.

The Fire Spirit Threads, refined to be as thin as hair, were a powerful weapon against demon beasts with low cultivation. Han Li gestured, and the red threads returned to him.

The deeper he went into the sea of mist, the more frequently demon beasts appeared. Han Li had already killed over a dozen in a short time.

Once, a group of six or seven fire monkey demon beasts attacked him at once. An early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator [a cultivator who has formed a nascent soul, a stage in cultivation] might have panicked, but with his current cultivation, he was unfazed.

He spat out a small flying sword, instantly dealing with the fire monkey demon beasts, which had bodies like steel. However, as he went deeper, he encountered his first real problem.

A red fireball dozens of feet away was changing into various forms as if it had no fixed shape.

Han Li coldly observed it and slashed at it several times with golden sword qi, but the red light would simply condense and return to its original form.

With no other choice, he formed a hand seal and spat out a purple beam of light, piercing the center of the red light.

This was one of the secret techniques Han Li had learned after reaching the late-stage Nascent Soul realm, a method of compressing the Violet Aurora Flame to unleash a powerful burst of spiritual power.

This time, the red light returned to its original form, but its recovery speed was noticeably slower than before.

“As I’ve heard, the Fire Fiend Spirits are a bit troublesome. Even the extreme cold flames that are supposed to be their weakness aren’t very effective. Han Li Shangren [a respectful title for a senior cultivator] must have remembered them well.”

While he hesitated, the red light transformed into a demon, spewing red flames and attacking him.

In response, Han Li struck the air with one hand, and a giant blue hand appeared, crushing the red demon like lightning.

The red light flickered, and the demon’s body collapsed, but it quickly merged and returned to its original form.

Han Li was about to use the Time-worn Lamp to summon something when a clear cry came from his body, and a red light flashed on his shoulder. A small, bright red firebird revealed itself.

‘Hmm.’

Han Li turned his head to look at the bird and was momentarily stunned. It was unexpectedly the True Fire Spirit, transformed from the Tai Yin True Flame [a type of extremely cold flame].

He didn’t know why it had revealed itself, but before he could think, the firebird spread its wings and rushed towards the red light.

As it flew, the firebird’s body grew to the size of a foot, and its sharp beak pecked at the light.

As the firebird pecked, the light began to crack like a chipped bowl. However, the light continued to change its form, trying to escape the Tai Yin Firebird’s attacks.

But the firebird held it tightly with its claws and pecked at it, preventing it from changing its form or escaping.

Before long, more than half of it had disappeared. Han Li smiled lightly as he watched.

If the firebird was the natural enemy of the Fire Fiend Spirits, the most troublesome beings in the Fire Jade, then he had saved himself a lot of trouble.

As he watched comfortably, the Fire Fiend Spirit was completely devoured by the Tai Yin Firebird.

Afterward, the firebird chirped clearly and returned to Han Li’s shoulder, but it only settled down, grooming its feathers, and didn’t seem inclined to return to his body.

He didn’t retrieve the firebird and flew back into the sea of mist.

* * *

The scale of the sea of mist and the volcano was beyond imagination. It took him three full days of flying to finally reach his destination, the top of the massive dormant volcano.

He had killed at least 70 or 80 demon beasts along the way, including several that had reached the peak of the 7th grade. Those were demon beasts on the verge of reaching the 8th grade.

However, he only encountered the Fire Fiend Spirits twice, and the Tai Yin Firebird devoured them completely, so he had nothing to worry about.

He landed at the entrance of the volcano and looked down. Then, he reached for the Time-worn Lamp and took out a set of formation tools, throwing them behind him. Another Han Li appeared.

The one who received the formation tools was a human-shaped puppet controlled by his second Nascent Soul.

The puppet’s form blurred, turning into a silver streak of light and disappearing into the mist. Han Li sat cross-legged and began to gather his energy.

After an hour, the human-shaped puppet returned empty-handed and stood before him.

Han Li opened his eyes again, looked at the puppet, and nodded calmly. The human-shaped puppet’s form blurred again and disappeared.

Han Li, with blue energy surging through his body, turned into a blue streak of light and flew away, stopping briefly at the center of the volcano’s entrance.

He surveyed the surroundings and activated something white he was holding in his hand.

The rotating object grew larger and larger until it finally fell to the ground, a massive object about a dozen feet in size.

*Thud!*

It was a heavy object that shook the surroundings, and surprisingly, it was a small altar made of pure white jade. Judging by the spells engraved on its surface, it seemed to be an object similar to a magical artifact.

Han Li raised one hand and took out a small navy-blue cauldron, chanting a spell and throwing a magic seal into it. The cauldron spun around and grew to the size of a foot.

*Clang!*

Han Li flicked the cauldron with his fingertip, and the lid flew off on its own, releasing a burst of navy-blue energy.

The navy-blue energy covered the ground with ice. This was none other than the Azure Glacial Flame [an extremely cold flame]. And the small navy-blue cauldron was the Azure Glacial Cauldron that Han Li Shangren had possessed.

Wherever the navy-blue light spread, the red mist receded, and the entrance of the ring-shaped volcano was dyed blue, pushing back the red heat.

Seeing this, Han Li pointed at the enlarged cauldron, making it move to the middle of the altar in front.

Then, he took out a palm-sized formation disc and threw a magic seal into it, causing a large formation to appear around the altar.

The formation activated around the altar, and the light of spiritual energy flickered. The giant cauldron, the altar, and the formation were connected, creating a blue barrier with the Azure Glacial Flame.

Finally, the navy-blue ice covered the entrance of the volcano.

At this moment, Han Li looked at the formation disc with a serious expression, and dozens of navy-blue pillars of light rose high into the sky around the entrance of the volcano, completely sealing off the surrounding space.

The momentum of the navy-blue pillars of light, shining brilliantly at a height of dozens of feet, was extraordinary.

Han Li flicked his sleeve and released another navy-blue cauldron.

The cauldron floated above the giant formation, spinning around twenty feet above. And the human-shaped puppet stood tall above the small, silver-shining cauldron.

Han Li nodded and brushed past the Spirit Beast Pouch, summoning twelve Six-Winged Frost Centipedes from the white cold air.

As soon as the centipedes appeared, they shook their bodies from head to tail, emitting cold air, and scattered to take positions in every corner.

Having completed all preparations, he checked the formation for any problems and formed a hand seal, causing purple flames to erupt all over his body.

Then, he burrowed into the ground and disappeared. Only the giant navy-blue barrier, the human-shaped puppet standing above the cauldron, and the white energy remained.

Dozens of feet below the ground, Han Li was already in the crimson lava.

Even in the extreme heat that no human could withstand, Han Li felt no discomfort thanks to his extreme flames.

The only thing that bothered him was the low booming sound of the collision between the cold and heat.

Using a fire-attribute barrier would have allowed him to blend in with the surrounding lava, eliminating the collision, but a cold-attribute barrier was better for blocking the heat.

It was his strategy to minimize the consumption of his magic power before encountering the Solar True Flame [an extremely hot flame].

However, once he entered the lava, the range he could search with his consciousness was limited to about a hundred feet.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

‘I understand why Han Li Shangren failed to find it even though he knew the Solar True Flame was here.’

In such harsh conditions, capturing the highly spiritual Solar True Flame was not an easy task. No one knew whether he would succeed in capturing it or not.

Han Li suddenly touched the Tai Yin Firebird, which was sitting on his shoulder, engrossed in grooming itself. The firebird spread its wings and left the purple barrier, disappearing into the lava.

The Tai Yin True Flame was a substance with extremely Yin properties in the human realm, so it had no problem moving around in the lava.

The cold Tai Yin True Flame and the hot Solar True Flame were bound to attract each other according to the principle of Yin and Yang harmony.

The key was to find the Solar True Flame first and somehow lure it above ground.

He began to carefully search the center of the volcano, following the path of the firebird.

Days turned into weeks. One day, two days, several days passed.

He had searched almost ten thousand miles around the area, including the place where Han Li Shangren had found traces of the Solar True Flame, but he couldn’t find anything.

What was even more disappointing was that he couldn’t find any trace of the Solar True Flame’s existence, let alone the Solar True Flame itself.

After a month, Han Li, who was searching tens of thousands of miles away from the volcano’s entrance, felt a bit tired. Moving through the lava like a stream and constantly monitoring the surroundings with his consciousness was exhausting, no matter how much magic power he had.

“This is!”

Just as he was wondering if he should go back to the surface to rest, he suddenly opened his eyes wide with joy.

Without a word, he brushed past the Time-worn Lamp, and the black bottle containing the Five Phantom Devils overturned in the lava, releasing five streaks of gray-white energy.

The Five Phantom Devils seemed uncomfortable in the lava, but they were covered in gray-white energy, so they were not injured. As Han Li chanted a spell, the five devils rolled in the air and transformed into skull heads, scattering in all directions.

Then, he flicked his sleeve again, and a dozen Fire Dragon Pearls appeared, and a bright red barrier protected him again, merging with the surrounding lava and disappearing.

After a short while, a red light flickered, and the Tai Yin Firebird, engulfed in red light, jumped out of the lava and disappeared.

At the same time, the surrounding lava surged, and the temperature doubled. A silver light flashed and chased after it. As the silver light disappeared, the lava stabilized, and the temperature gradually returned to normal.

Han Li, hidden inside the red barrier, looked at the place where the silver light had disappeared with a delighted expression. He immediately left a red streak of light and chased after it, beginning a chase between the Tai Yin Firebird, the silver light, and Han Li.

However, a problem soon arose.

It was true that the Tai Yin Firebird could move around in the lava without any problems, but it was slower than the silver light.

After circling around, the firebird was about ten miles away from the volcano’s entrance and was about to be caught by the silver light.

The silver light fiercely covered the Tai Yin Firebird, and silver and crimson intertwined.

Instead of recklessly interfering, Han Li carefully observed it through the Tai Yin Firebird, with which his consciousness was connected.

Surprisingly, it was a small horse, only a few inches in size, flapping silver wings.

The small horse, which had been chasing the Tai Yin Firebird and scattering silver sparks every time it flapped its wings, was none other than the Solar True Flame!

The Tai Yin Firebird was weak when it was first born, but after freely consuming the cold energy of the Ten Thousand Year Profound Jade in the Soaring Palace Profound Jade Cave, its power had greatly increased.

In terms of power alone, there wouldn’t be much difference between the Tai Yin True Flame and the Solar True Flame.

However, this was inside the lava, and the silver horse was much more powerful than usual, receiving the endless heat of the lava.

On the other hand, the Tai Yin Firebird had to consume its spiritual power to block the lava while also shooting crimson cold flames at its opponent, so it was bound to be at a disadvantage as time went on.

Han Li frowned as he confirmed this through his consciousness.

According to Han Li Shangren’s memories, the Solar True Flame had long since awakened its spirituality and would quickly flee at the slightest sound of wind or rustling leaves.

Moreover, the Solar True Flame had transformed into a winged silver horse, so how fast would its fire escape technique be!

If he missed this opportunity, he couldn’t be sure if he could lure out the Solar True Flame again. Then, suddenly, an idea struck him, and Han Li formed a hand seal, spitting out a white bead from his mouth.

It was the Snow Crystal Pearl that he had been cultivating in the Violet Aurora Flame.

As he repeatedly threw magic seals into it, the bead flew away, leaving a white streak of light.

The Snow Crystal Pearl flashed between the small horse and the Tai Yin Firebird in an instant, and at the same time, the small horse was startled and disappeared into the lava with a flash of silver light.