Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 1007

When the explosions ceased and the light of spiritual energy subsided, the Thunder Roc puppet had already fallen, disappearing into the ruins below.

However, the three chariots in the void and the blue-armored puppets, which had returned to their original forms, were covered in wounds. One of them even had a large hole through its chest. Since that was where the heart would be, it would have been fatal for a normal cultivator, not just a puppet. The six alien race members were also in poor condition, and the dozen or so treasures that had been circling them were almost completely destroyed.

The six water buffalo beasts were the only ones relatively unscathed, and they were all panting with excitement, emitting white energy from their mouths. Although they had won the battle against the Thunder Roc, it was clear that they had suffered significant damage.

Just then, a cold voice echoed from the white clouds in the void.

‘Hahaha! The Black Confucian cultivators have taken care of the troublesome puppets for us, saving us a lot of trouble.’

No sooner had the voice faded than the clouds began to glow, and a dozen or so cultivators in various attire appeared. The one who stepped forward was a man in a yellow robe with three short golden horns protruding from his forehead.

The dozen or so cultivators behind him also had horns of various colors and sizes on their heads. The appearance of these cultivators made the diminutive alien race members look troubled, and the one who seemed to be their leader shouted in a grating voice.

‘Horned Chi Clan! What are you doing here? Surely you weren’t following us!’

‘Why would we follow you? We don’t know how you found this place, but we can’t let you leave alive.’

At the golden-horned youth’s words, the dozen or so Horned Chi people behind him emitted a dull light and tried to surround the Black Confucian cultivators.

‘Let’s go.’

The Black Confucian people immediately changed their expressions and shouted. The six water buffalo beasts emitted wind and fire energy from their feet as they ran. The three chariots pulled by the water buffalo beasts were enveloped in blue energy and flew away like arrows.

The dozen or so Horned Chi people transformed into long streaks of light and shot out. Some formed hand seals and disappeared on the spot, while others took out spirit beasts or powerful treasures and chased after the chariots that were fleeing at an incredible speed.

The golden-horned youth was the only one who stood with his hands behind his back, not moving. He seemed confident that the other cultivators would take care of them properly. After all, although the Black Confucian people were a sizable race on Thunder Continent, they were not known for their escape techniques.

Their specialty was using various chariots refined with their unique racial techniques. Normally, they would not be inferior to other races, but they had consumed a lot of their magical power fighting the Thunder Roc earlier, so it was obvious what would happen if they fought the Horned Chi people now.

The situation unfolded as expected. The three chariots had not gone far when they were suddenly blocked by enemies who had appeared out of nowhere. The Horned Chi people had used a teleportation secret technique.

The Horned Chi people immediately shot lightning from their hands at the chariots, and the six water buffalo beasts had no choice but to stop and spew blue flames from their mouths to block the attacks.

While they were delayed, the rest of the Horned Chi people arrived using various methods and surrounded the chariots tightly. Treasures of various shapes, such as swords, axes, and staffs, left the hands of the Horned Chi people and flew towards the chariots.

The Black Confucian people also realized that the situation was hopeless, but they did not retreat. The six of them reached out to the wounded blue-armored puppets again, turning them into giant demonic figures, and then summoned the silver discs from their backs, filling the void with over a hundred silver moon illusions.

Because the Black Confucian people fought desperately, they were able to fight on par with the Horned Chi people, who outnumbered them by more than two to one.

Of course, both the Black Confucian and Horned Chi people knew that this situation would not last long. The moment the Black Confucian people’s magical power ran out, they would be dead.

While they were fighting in the distance, a third group of people was watching them from afar in a dilapidated pavilion, using a strange treasure.

The surface of the treasure, made of white crystal, clearly showed the fierce battle between the dozen or so Horned Chi people and the six Black Confucian people. Two people were sitting cross-legged in front of the crystal treasure, their expressions distinctly different.

‘How did the Horned Chi Clan get here? They’re not here for the ruins like us, are they?’

The woman with a bamboo hat, looking puzzled, was Liu Shui’er, and the person she was asking was Han Li. Han Li calmly replied with a blank expression to her question.

‘It doesn’t seem like anything to worry about. This ruined site is so vast, they could have other purposes. Besides, the restriction of the ruins we’re aiming for is still far away, so if they were aiming for the same place, there’s no reason for the Horned Chi people to fight the Black Confucian people here. We just need to be careful not to let them discover our presence.’

‘I guess I was worrying unnecessarily. Then, should we move to another location and wait for Fellow Cultivator Shi?’

‘That’s a good idea, but before that, we should also figure out what the Horned Chi people are after. Fortunately, Senior Cai lent us the Shadow Projection Crystal, a famous treasure of the Jeong Clan, so we can monitor the Horned Chi people’s movements from a thousand miles away.’

Han Li stroked his chin as he looked at the white crystal stone.

‘The Shadow Projection Crystal’s surveillance is so excellent that even a Star Domain existence cannot detect it, but if the opponent takes action, we won’t be able to see anything. If they deploy a restriction to hide what they’re doing, there’s no way to know even with this.’

Liu Shui’er narrowed her brows.

Whether it was a coincidence or the golden-horned youth had sensed something, as soon as she finished speaking, the youth looked up at the void and threw a black bowl.

*Woo-oong.*

The Horned Chi Clan’s golden-horned youth chanted a spell and flicked his ten fingers, sending out hand seals. The bowl let out a long hum and spread black light. Suddenly, the bowl became as large as a house and covered the sky, turning the surroundings pitch black as if it were night.

Han Li and Liu Shui’er could no longer see anything as the scenery they were watching turned pitch black. But before they could speak, the black light on the crystal disappeared, and the original scenery was visible again.

However, only white clouds were floating in the blue sky. The Horned Chi people and the golden-horned youth had already disappeared.

‘They must have used an illusion to hide their appearance. If we forcefully break the restriction with the power of the Shadow Projection Crystal, we can find out what they’re doing, but we’ll also be exposed.’

Liu Shui’er sighed. As the woman gestured, a milky white mist surged in, the scenery disappeared, and the Shadow Projection Crystal turned into an ordinary crystal stone and went into her sleeve.

‘There’s no need to provoke the Horned Chi people when they’re being so cautious. However, it’s clear that what they’re planning is not ordinary. We must make sure it doesn’t interfere with our plans.’

Han Li muttered, lost in thought.

‘We should prepare for it. Do you have any good ideas?’

‘Their numbers are large and their skills are strong, so there’s no way to prepare perfectly. It would be best to deploy multiple layers of formations to prevent them from noticing that we’re breaking the restriction, and to send puppets or spirit beasts to monitor the area where the Horned Chi people are using illusions.’

‘That seems like the best course of action for now.’

Liu Shui’er agreed after pondering Han Li’s words.

‘Since Fellow Cultivator Han has agreed, let’s move right away.’

‘Yes, I understand. But I wonder why Fellow Cultivator Shi hasn’t arrived yet. I hope nothing has happened to him.’

The woman nodded and expressed her concern.

‘Since we arrived safely, there shouldn’t be any problems with Fellow Cultivator Shi’s divine abilities. Besides, the agreed-upon date hasn’t arrived yet, so it won’t be a problem to wait a few more days.’

Han Li seemed to trust Shi Kun.

‘I hope so.’

Liu Shui’er had nothing more to say at Han Li’s words. Han Li flicked his sleeve and summoned a white-clad woman from the white cold air. It was the puppet general, Wawa.

‘Go and monitor the Horned Chi people. Just watch their actions from a distance without being detected.’

At his calm command, Wawa bowed and was about to fly up.

‘Wait, take this and this talisman with you!’

Han Li shot out a black handkerchief and a Taiyi Azure Light Talisman. Wawa, still expressionless, pulled the black handkerchief and talisman towards her and disappeared into the void as a white shadow.

‘It seems that’s a puppet you cherish, Fellow Cultivator Han. Well, if it were a high-grade puppet general like that, I would too.’

‘Haha, as a fellow cultivator, it wouldn’t be difficult for you to obtain a puppet general of that level. Actually, that puppet general is just for show and has no substance. A spirit beast of the same level is much more useful. I received it as a reward, not something I intentionally sought out.’

‘I’ve heard that the amount of top-grade spirit stones consumed when using a high-grade puppet general to fight enemies is enormous. Since Fellow Cultivator Han has sent out a precious puppet general, I’ll also send a spirit beast to help monitor the Horned Chi people.’

The woman immediately changed the subject when Han Li seemed reluctant to reveal the details of the puppet general.

*Swoosh.*

A five-colored rainbow poured out from Liu Shui’er’s waist and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Han Li, who possessed the Spirit Eye Divine Ability, saw a small five-colored weasel with wings for an extremely short time, and was surprised by its strange speed, turning his gaze to the woman with the bamboo hat.

However, Liu Shui’er got up without saying anything.

‘Shall we go? We should wait for Fellow Cultivator Shi near the restriction.’

At her words, Han Li also nodded, and two faint streaks of light rose and moved in the opposite direction from where the Horned Chi people were.

The scenery below was the same throughout the journey. Everywhere was filled with yellow sandstorms, and occasionally, the remains of ruined relics could be seen.

Han Li had arrived here a few days earlier and explored the surrounding area. The scale of the ruins was vast, and many restrictions were still active, making it very dangerous.

Thanks to Cai Liuying and Dan Tianren’s prior information, they were able to avoid the restrictions, but there were many ancient mechanisms like the Thunder Roc they had seen earlier scattered throughout the area. However, the restriction they had mentioned was one of the most dangerous places in the ruins.

Han Li and Liu Shui’er flew for a long time before stopping.

In front of them, a white light was draped in the sandstorm. Even the fierce wind was devoured without a trace when it touched the white light.

Moreover, there was a pile of bones, seemingly from beasts, around the light, which was chilling. Most of them had turned yellow from being exposed to the yellow sand dust for a long time, and some were still pure white, indicating that they had died recently.

Liu Shui’er took out a palm-sized formation disc and examined its surface.

‘This is the place that Master and Senior Dan mentioned.’

‘It does look dangerous. But since the two of them went to the trouble of sending the three of us here, they must have believed that we could solve the restriction of the ruins.’

Han Li said calmly, looking down at the animal bones.

‘I heard from Master that this restriction was created using the Taiyi Azure Light, which was considered to be on par with the Primal Magnetic Divine Light in ancient times. That’s why the Primal Magnetic Divine Light, which is its opposite, is essential to remove the restriction. If the three of us with Primal Magnetic bodies gather, we should be able to break it.’

Liu Shui’er told him what she knew about the restriction in front of them.

‘Taiyi Azure Light!’

Han Li, who had been calm, suddenly muttered in surprise.

‘Why? Are you so interested in the Taiyi Azure Light?’

‘Since I also possess a Primal treasure, I know quite a bit about other divine lights of the same level. The Taiyi Azure Light is said to be as sharp as a