Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 896

At the center of the brick, a fist-sized, bright red liquid shimmered. Although contained within the crystal brick, an astonishing spiritual energy flowed out as a milky mist, swirling around it.

“This is an item called a ‘Quenching Crystal Brick.’ It was specially refined by the Floating Tribe to absorb and store the Divine Marrow. Usually, when a Quenching Crystal Brick is placed in a palace pond, it becomes one with the surrounding spiritual veins, making it extremely difficult to separate. Furthermore, unless one uses a special talisman of the Floating Tribe, even a Combined Body cultivator [a cultivator at a very high level] cannot extract the Divine Marrow from the Quenching Crystal Brick quickly. It would take over a decade of refining within the body to barely melt the brick. Everyone, please confirm for yourselves how little Divine Marrow is stored inside the Quenching Crystal Brick.”

“The energy emanating from this object is the same as that of the pond. It is definitely the Divine Marrow. But how can we believe that we cannot break this and take its contents?”

Ji Xue examined the brick several times, still doubtful.

“Of course, you wouldn’t believe me just by words. How about this? I will float the Quenching Crystal Brick in the air, and you can each attack it with all your might once. If the Quenching Crystal Brick is even slightly damaged, I will give you the Divine Marrow.

However, if not, I will keep the Divine Marrow and give you both reasonable compensation. Frankly, if you activate the Blood Curse, both of you will suffer great damage to your vitality, so shouldn’t we avoid that?”

“Are you serious?”

The white-haired beautiful woman’s eyes lit up, intrigued.

“There’s no reason for me to lie.”

“Alright. Let’s do it that way!”

The beautiful woman answered energetically, seemingly confident.

“If I cannot break the Quenching Crystal Brick, I don’t need any other compensation. I want to go to the Devil Mound with Fellow Six-Legged. If you help me take out just two treasures from there, I will give up the Divine Marrow.”

Ji Xue, who had been rolling his eyes, made an unexpected decision.

“The Devil Mound? Although the Extraterrestrial Devils have been dead for a long time, the demonic artifacts they possessed have already gained spirituality and are even more powerful than Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures [extremely powerful magical items]. Moreover, the inner depths of the Devil Mound are filled with thick demonic and yin energy, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to even enter. Wasn’t that the place where you and Fellow Mu Qing went in and had to retreat last time?”

The Six-Legged Tribe member frowned, looking unwilling.

“Fellow Six-Legged, you know all about it. Since one of them didn’t die, if we use the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning to clear the path and you join forces, all problems will be solved. Fellow Mu Qing probably disappeared halfway to find that guy.”

The white-haired beautiful woman’s eyes flickered at Ji Xue’s words.

“Going to the Devil Mound will waste a lot of time. Besides, if the Floating Tribe’s reinforcements arrive, none of us will survive.”

The Six-Legged Tribe member was still negative.

“Haha, if the Floating Tribe’s reinforcements could get here so quickly, that Floating Tribe puppet wouldn’t have desperately attacked us. For a while, it will be difficult for anyone to enter this place. Of course, going to the Devil Mound requires some risk, but it’s the price you have to pay for taking the Divine Marrow alone!”

Ji Xue said with a smile. The Six-Legged Tribe member closed his mouth but seemed to be calculating the pros and cons, his compound eyes rolling back and forth.

“Alright. I will go to the Devil Mound with you. But I will only help you obtain two demonic artifacts. If you want more treasures, you’ll have to rely on your own abilities from then on.”

“Hehe, is that even a question! Then I won’t interfere with the Quenching Crystal Brick matter. I trust Fellow Six-Legged’s words, so there’s no need to test it.”

Ji Xue’s figure blurred, and he suddenly retreated several steps.

“What will Fellow Nan do?”

With the matter settled with Ji Xue, the Six-Legged Tribe member’s gaze towards the white-haired beautiful woman became a bit stiff.

“My conditions are the same as Fellow Ji Xue’s. However, I will try to see if I can break the Quenching Crystal Brick.”

“Do as you wish. You can attack it.”

The Six-Legged Tribe member answered nonchalantly and actually reached out, causing the Quenching Crystal Brick to float about seven or eight feet above his head.

The beautiful woman’s eyes burned as she looked up at the crystal brick. She flicked her sleeve, and the eight Ghost Kings rushed towards her. The white-haired beautiful woman donned her dark armor again and held a bizarre hammer in her hand.

As she moved, a strange wail of evil spirits erupted from the hammer, and eight illusory skull heads floated around her. The Six-Legged Tribe member glanced at the hammer and spoke expressionlessly.

“Although the Fellow Cultivator’s treasure is powerful, let me tell you in advance that it is impossible to break the Quenching Crystal Brick. You can attack the Quenching Crystal Brick to break it, but if you try any other tricks in the meantime, don’t blame me for how I react.”

“Whether it can be done or not, I will see for myself.”

The white-haired beautiful woman ignored his threatening tone and threw the bizarre hammer.

Kieeeek!

In an instant, eerie ghostly energy spread out, and a cold wind rose sharply. While eight skull heads writhed on the surface, screaming, the iron hammer grew several times larger.

Whoosh!

Green flames floated around the hammer, eventually turning into a giant fireball that engulfed the hammer.

The Six-Legged Tribe member waited with his hands behind his back for the beautiful woman’s attack to end, while Ji Xue, who had retreated to the back, watched the power of the strange hammer with a slightly strange look in his eyes.

At that moment, a shout erupted from the beautiful woman’s mouth.

The bizarre hammer, spinning as it flew, struck the small Quenching Crystal Brick hard.

The giant hammer trembled as it fell, intensifying the green flames and creating hundreds of hammer illusions that struck the crystal brick from all directions. Although it was one strike, it was no different from a hundred attacks.

Ku-kwa-kwang!

Explosions echoed in the air, and the sky seemed to roar as if a hundred thunderclaps were sounding at once. Ji Xue’s expression subtly changed.

Wasn’t this the hammer that didn’t unleash such power in the underground palace?

The Quenching Crystal Brick was obscured by the blinding green flames and light, making it impossible to see its condition.

After a while, the white-haired beautiful woman clenched her fist in the air, and the hammer illusions disappeared, leaving only the bizarre hammer itself, wrapped in green flames, returning to her. She quickly examined the crystal brick and frowned. The smooth surface of the crystal brick was not even scratched, let alone broken.

“Now, Fellow Nan, do you believe what I said? You need a special method to extract the Divine Marrow from inside.”

“What’s the point of saying that now! You can keep the Divine Marrow. Instead, let’s go to the Devil Mound together.”

The beautiful woman sighed deeply, releasing some of the frustration in her heart. Then, the woman made a hand seal with both hands, and the armor and bizarre hammer disappeared. The eight black shadows separated again and stood behind the beautiful woman.

“You made a good decision. The Devil Mound is quite far from here, so even if we hurry, it will take about half a month. Let’s go find that guy first.”

The Six-Legged Tribe member nodded and reached his hand towards the sky, causing the Quenching Crystal Brick to blur and disappear from its spot.

The other two Demon Kings did not know how the Six-Legged Tribe member had retrieved the Quenching Crystal Brick, so they exchanged glances and increased their vigilance towards him.

“Our mark is embedded in that guy’s body. No matter where he runs, we can sense his location. In a moment, I will activate the mark to find his location. He must have a lot of guts to dare to run away with my disciples!”

The beautiful woman’s face turned murderous as she mentioned Han Li.

“Haha! Fellow Nan, wasn’t the relationship between that guy and your female disciples unusual? Since you were trying to take their yin energy, he must have rescued them. I was a little surprised by that guy. Not only did he escape safely from the Divine Thunder, but he also ran away with the women right under our noses. Tsk, tsk, even the Blood Puppet Avatar I spent years refining couldn’t stop him. He’s a talent!”

Ji Xue clicked his tongue, praising Han Li.

“Hmph! If he’s so good, why don’t you take him as your disciple? You might see him surpass you in the future.”

The beautiful woman, feeling offended, openly sneered.

“I cultivate the Blood Path, so I cannot accept him as a disciple unless he abandons his physical body. Besides, I have been alone all this time, so what need do I have for a disciple? Furthermore, I have no intention of passing on the divine abilities I have cultivated.”

Ji Xue retorted with a sneer, taking it lightly.

“Although that guy’s cultivation is not high, it is certain that he is hiding considerable secrets. Moreover, he chose the path of dual cultivation of body and magic, reaching his current level, so his magic power must far surpass that of cultivators of the same level.

If the day comes when he reaches our level, even if we all join forces, we might not be his match. Of course, I don’t know if that day will come. Raising one’s cultivation while practicing dual cultivation of body and magic is twice as difficult as ordinary cultivation methods.”

The Six-Legged Tribe member suddenly spoke leisurely.

“Dual cultivation of body and magic? Are you mistaken?”

The white-haired beautiful woman asked in surprise, and Ji Xue also paused, his eyes flashing.

“Among my divine abilities, I have the ability to discern the strength of an opponent’s physical body. That guy is a human cultivator residing in a corner of the Tian Yuan Continent, not a Bi Ling Tribe member. I don’t know how he was involved in the trials of the Bi Ling Tribe’s saints….

Humans are among the weakest races physically on the Tian Yuan Continent. However, that guy’s body was comparable to ours. Ordinary treasures would probably have difficulty injuring him. Perhaps, if he uses a few special divine abilities, he could even face an opponent in the late stage of Spirit Transformation [a high level of cultivation].”

The Six-Legged Tribe member explained calmly, as if he had thoroughly understood Han Li. Unexpectedly, the Six-Legged Tribe member’s high evaluation of Han Li surprised the white-haired beautiful woman and Ji Xue, who exchanged glances.

They had expected Han Li to be stronger than cultivators of the same level, but they believed he was only at the early or mid-stage of Spirit Transformation. But according to the Six-Legged Tribe member’s words, he was the most advanced existence among cultivators below the Combined Body stage!

“A cultivator in the late stage of Spirit General can face a cultivator in the late stage of Spirit Master! Is there such a heaven-defying divine ability in the world? This is the first time I’ve heard of someone being able to overcome three stages of cultivation through skill.”

The white-haired beautiful woman expressed disbelief.

“Haha, Fellow Nan! I believe Fellow Six-Legged’s words. In fact, a long time ago, I saw a Void Refinement human cultivator use a sword formation to kill a Combined Body early-stage cultivator. Humans themselves are weak, but their bizarre cultivation methods and divine abilities cannot be ignored.”

Ji Xue recalled the past with a wavering gaze. At those words, the white-haired beautiful woman snorted and closed her mouth.

“Alright. It’s true that he has many secrets and great potential, but he is still far from reaching our level. What’s important now is to find him. I don’t know what method he used to temporarily block our senses, but he won’t be able to hold out for long once we activate the mark. If you want to go to the Devil Mound as soon as possible, you two should use your magic.”

The Six-Legged Tribe member coldly summarized the situation.

“You are right. Fellow Nan, then we… uh, what… how is my mark damaged!”

Ji Xue chuckled softly and was about to say something to the beautiful woman when he trembled, sensing the surrounding blood-colored energy, and shouted.

“That can’t be. Let me try.”

The beautiful woman quickly closed her eyes and chanted a spell in her mind. After a while, she opened her eyes with a fierce look.

“My mark still exists, but it has been strongly concealed, making it impossible to break the seal in a short time. Fellow Six-Legged, let’s activate the mark together!”

“I don’t think that will work. My mark disappeared before Fellow Ji Xue’s.”

“What?”

The beautiful woman and Ji Xue were both surprised at the same time.