Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 868

Although Han Li and Hyul Gyo were listening, Mok Cheong and the other Demon Kings didn’t care and continued to share various stories.

It seemed that refining large quantities of Yin Armor Ghosts and puppets was like raising soldiers in preparation for a great war.

Among them, what caught Han Li’s attention was the ‘Land of the Nether River’ that they frequently mentioned. When he first heard this name, he couldn’t help but think of the ‘Land of the Underworld’.

However, the Demon Kings only mentioned the place and didn’t explain what it was. He stepped back and secretly observed the Demon Kings. Among the four great Demon Kings, the most mysterious figures were the Six-Legged and the Earth Vein Old Demons.

The cold aura emanating from the Six-Legged was so bizarre that no life force could be felt. It felt like a dead object. And the two men called the Earth Vein Old Demons had no difference in their speech or aura, so even though they were divided into two, they seemed like one person.

However, he seemed to have a rough idea about Mok Cheong and the White-Haired Beautiful Woman.

The black aura surrounding Mok Cheong’s body could not be seen through even with the Bright Sight Spirit Eyes, but he could confirm that there was a faint green aura within the black light.

Moreover, judging from the pure wood-attribute spiritual power sensed from her, she was likely a rare wood spirit demon.

‘I wonder what kind of tree her true form is,’ he mused.

The White-Haired Beautiful Woman had a very strong Yin aura, one of the strongest he had ever seen. Furthermore, based on the words of the other Demon Kings, he could infer that the Beautiful Woman was a ghost demon.

Since a ghost could condense its body to look exactly like a living person, he could imagine how great her divine power was without even seeing it.

At that time, Han Li noticed that Yuan Yao had a considerable Yin aura and that her body was not normal. However, she didn’t seem to be a complete ghost like the Beautiful Woman.

‘It seems she has obtained another fortuitous encounter!’ he thought.

Yeon Ryo was the same as Yuan Yao, and the aura emitted by the two women was at the early stage of the Transformation Realm. Serving the White-Haired Beautiful Woman so closely with such low cultivation seemed to be for some other reason rather than deep affection.

The Demon Kings’ discussion didn’t last very long. There were occasional arguments, but they quickly came to a conclusion by following the majority opinion.

After about an hour, the Demon Kings finished their discussion and rose from their seats. Mok Cheong descended from the golden petals and personally escorted the Demon Kings. The two Earth Veins turned their heads as they headed towards the main hall door and spoke in a strange voice.

“Did you destroy the two blood puppets I sent?”

Han Li hesitated for a moment, then bowed and answered truthfully,

“Yes, that’s right. I didn’t know they were your subordinates, so please forgive me.”

“Hehe, what are two blood puppets? However, this matter cannot end like this, so you must do a small task for me instead.”

The Earth Vein Old Demon’s voice echoed in his ear. Han Li raised his head to look at him, but the Earth Veins had already passed him.

Han Li thought that he would have a very troublesome task after hearing his voice.

Following them, the White-Haired Beautiful Woman, Yuan Yao, and Yeon Ryo were the last to leave, passing by him. The Beautiful Woman only smiled at him without saying a word, and Yuan Yao also acted as if she didn’t see him. Only Yeon Ryo blinked and looked at Han Li for a moment.

“Brother Han, congratulations. It seems the great ones have high expectations of you.”

As Mok Cheong and the others left the main hall, Hyul Gyo smiled at him.

“Is it something to celebrate? I still don’t know what’s going on. Senior Hyul, do you know what the technique for controlling lightning is? I’m curious if it can really greatly increase the power of the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning.”

Han Li asked with a wry smile, half in doubt.

“Haha, I know a little about it. The Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning was famous as the ‘Heavenly Wood Divine Lightning’ in the Spirit World during the ancient times. It is one of the Five Elements Divine Lightnings and was used specifically to counter demonic and evil auras. In terms of power, it is even greater than my Heavenly Gang Blood Lightning. However, there is a special method to use these divine lightnings, and if you don’t learn it, you can only use 10 to 20 percent of their original power. In ancient times, some parts of the Spirit World were already ruled by several large races, and among them, the Evil Dragon Race was incompatible with this divine lightning, so they searched and destroyed all the Heavenly Lightning Bamboos of each race. After that, the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning disappeared from the Spirit World, and the method of controlling it gradually vanished.”

“The Evil Dragon Race?”

Han Li had never heard of such a race in the Spirit World.

“Hehe, it’s not strange that you haven’t heard of them, Brother Han. At that time, some powerful races looked down on the other races in the Spirit World, and in the end, the other races united and annihilated them. The power of those races was so strong that 70 to 80 percent of the Spirit World’s allied forces died in that war. The large-scale races that exist now are all forces that rose to power after that war. Now, even the name of the Evil Dragon Race is rarely known.”

Hyul Gyo casually told him a secret history of the ancient times.

‘How could such a huge event not be recorded in the scriptures of the Human and Flying Spirit Races?’ he wondered.

He couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked again.

“The ancient times I’m talking about are when the various races first appeared in the early days of the Spirit World. The Flying Spirit Race didn’t even exist at that time, so there’s no way this fact would be recorded.”

“I see!”

If it was a time when the Flying Spirit Race hadn’t even appeared, then the Human Race would have naturally gained power after that, so it was natural that it wouldn’t be recorded.

As Han Li and Hyul Gyo were exchanging questions and answers, Mok Cheong returned. They immediately stopped talking and approached the Demon King to pay their respects.

Mok Cheong nodded, climbed onto the golden flower, and rested her chin on her hand, remaining silent for a long time as if she was having difficulty making a decision.

“Cultivator Han, listen carefully! I don’t know what you think, but you must learn how to control the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning from me within two years. Only then can I help you refuse the two years you would spend under that old hag. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Since it is Senior Mok Cheong’s order, I will do my best to follow it.”

“Hmph, you must do your best. Otherwise, I won’t let you go to that old hag so easily.”

Mok Cheong’s voice turned cold. Han Li’s expression also changed at those words, and he was speechless.

“Three days later, move your residence to my Wood Essence Cave. I will personally teach you how to control lightning for two years. Hyul Gyo, I will leave the matters regarding the blood food to you during that time.”

Mok Cheong turned her head and ordered Hyul Gyo.

“Yes, Master!”

This time, Hyul Gyo also looked a little surprised, but he immediately accepted the order. Han Li also paused slightly.

“I’m tired, so everyone may leave.”

As Mok Cheong finished speaking, Han Li and Hyul Gyo paid their respects and walked out of the main hall. Mok Cheong waved her hand after finishing her words.

“Wow, Brother Han’s luck is amazing. It’s an incredible opportunity, perhaps once in a millennium, that the Master is personally guiding you in the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning!”

As soon as they left the main hall, Hyul Gyo looked at Han Li with a strange gaze.

“Is that so? I’m not sure if I can fully master the lightning control technique in two years.”

Han Li shook his head, looking worried.

“Haha, since the Master said so, she must have confidence in it. Don’t worry unnecessarily. Well then, I have important matters to attend to, so I’ll go first.”

Hyul Gyo laughed and flew away, turning into a streak of blood. Han Li stood in place, staring at the receding blood-red light before turning around and returning to his residence.

He entered his residence, set up the restrictions again, and sat cross-legged on the bed. Unexpectedly, there was a small character the size of a grain of rice on his palm. Upon closer inspection, it was the character ‘Yuan (元)’ written in black.

Han Li’s expression became strange when he saw it. He had been half-doubting Yuan Yao’s identity, but this confirmed it. This spell character was left silently by Yuan Yao as she passed by him.

Fortunately, there was no fluctuation of spiritual energy, so they were able to deceive the Demon Kings.

This was not something that could be done with just the cultivation of the Transformation Realm. Han Li, who always maintained a calm expression, showed a troubled look.

He reached out his finger again and lightly touched the character ‘Yuan’. Then, a green light came out from his fingertip and erased the character. Han Li hid his hands back into his sleeves and fell into thought with a complicated expression.

Kwagwang!

A moment later, he opened his palm again, and a low thunder sound echoed. A golden lightning bead floated up, fluctuating in size from the size of a fist to a tiny speck, looking unstable. However, the golden lightning threads on the surface flickered even more violently.

Han Li held the lightning bead and stared at it blankly.

A long time ago, he had accidentally cultivated the Golden Lightning Bamboo and used it to refine 72 Azure Bamboo Peak Cloud Swords, killing countless enemies with the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning. However, he had never imagined that there was a special method to control the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning.

If the words of the Earth Demon Kings were true, and the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning was one of the Five Elements Divine Lightnings of the Spirit World and was previously called the Heavenly Wood Divine Lightning, then its original power would be ten times greater than it is now.

It was unbelievable, but with such power, it could instantly become his most powerful trump card.

However, thinking about the Land of the Nether River and the ghost and puppet soldiers that the Demon Kings were raising, getting involved in this matter was too dangerous.

Fortunately, they needed at least six or seven years to prepare. During that time, he had to carefully consider and find a way to escape this crisis. And meeting Yuan Yao again here was something that couldn’t be explained by just saying they had a deep connection.

At that time, she had protected her junior sister Yeon Ryo’s soul by damaging her own golden core, which was admirable, but he didn’t know that she would still be so attached to affection and loyalty after so many years.

Anyway, people’s hearts change easily. Judging from Yuan Yao’s attitude, it seemed that she was reluctant to reveal that they knew each other. That was a fact that made him feel relieved.

The fact that he was not a Flying Spirit Race was not a huge secret, but he didn’t want to reveal his identity to the Earth Demon Kings.

As he recalled his memories, he remembered the first time he had encountered her. Her naked body, washing in the spring water inside the secret chamber of the Void Sky Palace, came to mind, causing a small ripple in his heart.

However, Nangong Wan’s face immediately appeared from the depths of his heart, and all distracting thoughts disappeared.

‘So much time has passed. If everything had gone smoothly, she would have reached the Transformation Realm in the Human World as well…’ he thought.

Nangong Wan’s beautiful voice and face were clearly remembered, and the days they had spent together as a couple in Tiannan flashed by. Han Li smiled gently and gradually sank into his memories.

……

After a long time, as Nangong Wan’s voice gradually faded, the face of another beautiful woman came to mind, and he reminisced about his memories with her for a while.

How much time had passed? Han Li sighed deeply and smiled wryly.

Since he couldn’t leave the Earth Demon territory for the time being, he would have a chance to see Yuan Yao again someday.

Han Li slowly organized his thoughts and planned for the future again.

* * *

Three days later.

He climbed a small mountain and looked at a strange cliff where the rocks all looked like green gemstones, his eyes shining.

“This is the Wood Essence Cave where I go into secluded cultivation. It’s not easy to find a place with such dense wood-attribute spiritual energy even in the Spirit World. If someone who cultivates related techniques cultivates in this cave, they can see several times the effect.”

Three days later, Mok Cheong appeared and led him over a huge mountain to a place located in a thick fog.

This place was quite far from her residence, so no one would have thought that there was a cultivation place here.

The problem was that the green cliff in front of him was as smooth as a mirror and didn’t look like a cave at all.