Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 874

A while later, the Six Clans and the Blood Fiend departed. Following Mu Qing’s instructions, Han Li returned with her to the main hall.

“Fellow Daoist Han, you must have had many questions during our conversation. Now seems like a good time to address them. I will answer three of your questions, no more. In return, you must enter the Netherworld for me and do one task,” Mu Qing said to Han Li from atop the golden flower.

“One task?”

“Yes. I’m giving you two years to learn the Thunder Summoning Art, and I’ll answer three of your questions. Surely, you can manage this much for me?”

“Of course. However, Senior…”

Han Li smiled politely and was about to speak, but Mu Qing waved her hand, cutting him off.

“Don’t worry. It’s something you’re capable of doing. In fact, it only requires the power of your Evil Breaking Divine Lightning. Otherwise, would we have even noticed anything special about you?”

Mu Qing’s expression darkened. Han Li, on the other hand, felt a bit relieved by her words and answered seriously.

“Since Senior says so, I will comply. As long as it doesn’t endanger my life in the Netherworld, I will do one thing for you.”

“Haha, you’re quite sharp! Then, ask what you want to ask.”

Mu Qing chuckled and crossed her arms.

“I want to know what exactly the Netherworld is and what dangers lurk there.”

Han Li asked two questions at once.

“The Netherworld is an independent space that was accidentally discovered in the lowest level of the Earth Abyss [a deep, cavernous area] hundreds of years ago. It’s filled with Yin energy [a dark, cold energy], and various evil spirits and ghosts roam within. Some of the Ghost Kings are as strong as us, and some places are so dangerous that even we avoid them. To put it simply, there were originally five Demon Kings in the Earth Abyss. One of them died while exploring the Netherworld for the first time. At the time, we didn’t understand the place well, and we didn’t imagine it would be so treacherous.”

Mu Qing answered Han Li’s questions without finding them strange at all. Han Li was inwardly surprised and asked with a puzzled voice.

“Is the name ‘Netherworld’ something you Seniors came up with? What’s the reason for calling it that?”

“Haha, is that your third question?”

Mu Qing smiled pleasantly.

“No, my third question is…”

Han Li hurriedly denied it and was about to ask again, but Mu Qing spoke gently.

“That’s enough, I won’t count that as a question and will explain it to you. The place is surrounded by a thick, ten-thousand-zhang-long [a zhang is about 3.3 meters] strange river! Ordinary people who enter that water will have their souls pulled out, and their bodies will become Yin corpses [undead bodies]. They will forever become soulless zombies floating in that river. That’s why we call it the ‘Nether River Land,’ which means the ‘River of Three Crossings’ [a reference to a river in Buddhist mythology that souls must cross].”

“I see!”

After hearing the explanation, Han Li had a rough idea of what the Netherworld was like.

“Now, you have only one question left. Think carefully before you ask.”

“…I want to know specifically what you want me to do in the Netherworld.”

Han Li asked after pondering for a moment. Of course, he was also curious about what the Demon Kings were trying to do in the Netherworld, but he was more interested in the task that was related to him.

If he didn’t get an answer to this, he would surely feel uneasy.

“Is that really your last question?”

Mu Qing asked again, as if surprised.

“Yes, I would like Senior to tell me clearly.”

“What a waste of your last chance. I’ll answer you. Simply put, I want you to come with me when I go to retrieve an item. It’s guarded by an extremely powerful demon, and it’s a bit difficult for me to handle alone. Your Evil Breaking Divine Lightning is the nemesis of demons.”

“A demon! Isn’t the Netherworld a place where ghosts gather?”

“There are a lot of ghosts and spirits, but there are also some demons. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea either.”

Han Li was speechless at Mu Qing’s words.

“But you don’t have to worry. With the help of your Evil Breaking Divine Lightning, those demons won’t be a problem when I step in. Also, if I get the item I want, I’ll give you a treasure. It’s something that the Saint of the Bi Ling Clan would desperately want.”

Han Li’s face showed suspicion at her words.

‘A treasure?’

“When the Earth Abyss demons rebelled, I killed an elder of the Bi Ling Clan and obtained a bottle of True Essence Blood. I heard that even if it’s not the blood of your own clan, it’s still a very precious treasure for the Bi Ling Clan.”

Mu Qing explained arrogantly.

“What kind of True Essence Blood is it?”

“It’s the True Spirit Blood of a Five-Colored Peacock. How about it? Even if you can’t use it yourself, you’ll receive a great reward if you take it back to the Bi Ling Clan.”

It was quite an enticing offer. Not only was the True Blood of the Five-Colored Peacock considered a sacred object by its own clan, but it was also treated as a precious treasure anywhere in the Bi Ling Clan.

This was because True Spirit Blood had mysterious powers when refining elixirs or making magic treasures. Moreover, the Five-Colored Peacock was one of the most formidable beings among the True Spirits.

Han Li suppressed his joy inwardly.

He had mastered three of the twelve transformations of the Awakening of Insects Art, and the Five-Colored Peacock transformation was one of them. If he absorbed the True Spirit Blood, he could immediately apply the incantation and transform into an incarnation of the Five-Colored Peacock.

According to the incantation, the power increased by 30% each time one transformation was mastered. Theoretically, if all transformations were mastered and merged into one, the power after transformation could be increased by more than four times.

Of course, as cultivation increased, the power after transformation would naturally increase as well. The more the power of the Awakening of Insects Art increased, the more powerful the great divine powers of the True Spirits would become. What an amazing cultivation method it was.

The Five-Colored Peacock’s ‘Five-Colored Divine Light’ divine power was famous in the Spirit World. All the five elements within the range of the Five-Colored Divine Light would be restricted, creating an effect similar to Han Li’s Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.

Han Li maintained a calm face, but Mu Qing couldn’t possibly be unaware of his surprise and joy.

“Fellow Daoist Han seems satisfied with the True Blood of the Five-Colored Peacock. Then, let’s do it this way. I’ll give you half of the True Spirit Blood now, and you can take the other half after the task is successful.”

After speaking, she tapped the golden petals beneath her feet, summoning a small, bright red bottle. Mu Qing, holding the bottle, threw it to Han Li.

Han Li caught the small bottle and immediately opened the lid. A clear cry was heard from inside, and a five-colored light appeared. It seemed as if something was about to come out.

He immediately closed the lid, and in that instant, he had already confirmed the contents with his consciousness. Although it was his first time seeing the True Blood of the Five-Colored Peacock, it was clearly not fake, judging by the immense spiritual energy it emitted.

“Thank you, Senior!”

Han Li accepted the blood-red bottle without any pretense and bowed deeply.

“Just don’t forget to help me with my task later. Now, you can leave. Don’t go above the third floor, and cultivate anywhere you want in the Earth Abyss. When we’re ready in a few years, we’ll call you ourselves.”

Mu Qing nodded and, unexpectedly, immediately issued an order to leave. Han Li bowed again and transformed into a streak of blue light, leaving the wooden ship.

The blue light flickered a few times, and he completely disappeared from sight.

As soon as Han Li disappeared, the smile vanished from Mu Qing’s face. She formed a hand seal, and a black light flashed on the surface of the golden petals, and a formation appeared.

Mu Qing’s figure blurred and gradually disappeared. At the same time, Mu Qing appeared in front of the Sound Gathering Garden. A black light formation appeared and disappeared in front of the semi-circular door covered with layers of barriers.

Without hesitation, she entered the door.

Clang.

The golden restriction that blocked the door rippled like water. However, Mu Qing, with her black light, was able to enter without any hindrance.

A vast flower garden unfolded before Mu Qing. There, giant flowers of various colors were growing. The large ones were several zhang in size, and the small ones were about a che [a che is about 1/3 of a meter] in size.

As the petals fluttered in the gentle breeze, each one emitted immense spiritual energy. Mu Qing walked along the winding path that ran through the giant flowers.

After passing through numerous flowers, a pile of flowers appeared, and beyond that, a green meadow unfolded. In the middle of the meadow stood a towering, jet-black pine tree.

The giant pine tree, which was 50 to 60 zhang tall, looked very peculiar.

As if there was an invisible boundary line in the middle of the tree, half of it was lush green, and the other half was withered, with no leaves at all.

Mu Qing, who had been looking at the black pine tree with shining eyes, stopped walking about a dozen zhang away. Then, the leaves of the giant pine tree flashed with spiritual light and flew towards Mu Qing.

It was a mysterious sight.

As Mu Qing’s black aura was stripped away by the energy emanating from the tree, she transformed into a captivating woman. Mu Qing was not what one would call a national beauty, but the intense killing intent between her eyebrows made the hearts of those who saw her tremble.

“Old Man Gold, are you there?”

A cold voice echoed, and a golden shadow appeared in the air and landed in front of her.

“Greetings, Master. Gold Spirit has been guarding this place all along.”

The golden shadow was surprisingly a large golden monkey. The monkey, with two daggers crossed on its back and a half-che-long white beard, had black eyes that sparkled.

“Old Man Gold, rise! Has anyone been secretly spying on this place during this time?”

Mu Qing unexpectedly treated the golden monkey very respectfully. She reached out and helped the monkey up, then asked in a gentle voice.

“Yes, I have been guarding Master’s main body without leaving it for even a step for the past two years, and there has been nothing unusual.”

“You’ve worked hard. As you know, my divine powers are not weak compared to others, but I have a fatal weakness: I am a body transformed from the soul of a Wood Spirit! So, I have no choice but to ask Old Man Gold to work hard for me.”

Mu Qing sighed softly.

“Master, how can you say such a thing? I was just an ordinary monkey in the past. If Master hadn’t taken care of me, Gold Spirit wouldn’t be here today. Moreover, I was once tricked by a decoy and almost let that person run away with Master’s main body. If Master hadn’t foreseen it and given up half of the main body’s vitality, Gold Spirit would have made an irreversible mistake. Because of that, Master’s spirit wood main body still hasn’t recovered. I don’t know when you’ll be able to regain your original strength.”

The old monkey said with a remorseful face.

“The last incident can’t be blamed on Old Man Gold alone. I was also careless, thinking that there were no more threats left since the Six Clans and others were all together. However, finding such a secret place and even luring you away must have been the work of someone very familiar with the Wood Spirit Cave.

I have an idea of who that person is. However, that person is also being manipulated by someone else, and I’m just pretending not to know anything to avoid provoking them unnecessarily. Once I get what I want from the Netherworld, I will tear that bastard limb from limb to avenge the damage to my main body.”

Mu Qing’s expression turned grim, and her eyes flashed with killing intent.

*