Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 1019

Han Li no longer paid attention to the armored soldiers and lowered his head to examine the huge star chart on the ground that depicted constellations.

Suddenly, the stars on the star chart, which had initially seemed normal, began to float up hazily and come to life.

The surrounding scenery changed in an instant, and he found himself floating alone in a void filled with stars. The gold and silver light emitted by the sun and moon, along with the light of large and small stars, surrounded him and rotated rhythmically.

Han Li was mesmerized by the spectacle that embodied the laws of heaven and earth. He felt like he could stay there for ten or a hundred years without a single thought.

That fleeting moment passed as if tens of thousands of years had gone by.

Then, from deep within Han Li’s dantian [energy center], a clear energy surged, traveling through his meridians [energy channels] towards his head. The cool stimulation caused Han Li to let out a short exclamation and awaken, looking around with fresh eyes.

As he regained his senses, the surrounding starlight shattered. Han Li stared at the star chart beneath his feet with clear eyes. He realized that the star chart was deploying a very powerful illusion array.

Even with his strong consciousness, if the Great Development [a cultivation technique] hadn’t operated on its own in time, he would have stood there like a skeleton. The time he experienced in the illusion array felt so real that it was hard to believe that so little time had passed.

To overcome the uncomfortable feeling, Han Li closed his eyes and briefly operated the Great Development to calm the chaos in his mind. Only then was he able to regain his composure and open his eyes.

He no longer looked down at the star chart and took a long breath. He could have been in danger if he had made a mistake, but overcoming such mental hardships would greatly help to strengthen his resolve.

He could already faintly feel that his consciousness was stronger than before. This star chart might not just be an illusion array, but a specially crafted golden restriction to train consciousness.

He turned his head to look at the jade-colored chair in the center of the star chart. The chair, which was neither wood nor metal, was faintly glowing.

However, Han Li’s gaze was strange as he looked at the chair. There was clearly nothing there, but suddenly, over a hundred silver characters were sparkling on the chair. They were all ancient silver script.

With his excellent memory, Han Li memorized them all as soon as he saw them. In the blink of an eye, the silver characters exploded and scattered into silver dust.

Han Li’s mind was filled with the incantations he had just memorized. The simple incantations that triggered something had no particular explanation. After pondering calmly, he had a vague idea of what they might be.

He formed a hand seal and activated the Heaven-Shaking Devil Transformation Art [a powerful technique], and with a low shout, the Golden Divine Avatar appeared behind him. Then, Han Li brought one hand to the back of his head, and a black light soared above his head and entered the Golden Divine Avatar. It was his Second Nascent Soul [a secondary soul formed through cultivation].

After absorbing the Second Nascent Soul, the third face of the Golden Divine Avatar became clear.

Thud!

The three-headed, six-armed golden divine being, twice the size of an ordinary person, landed on the ground. Seeing this, Han Li smiled and disappeared like blue smoke, flying into the void far from the circular platform.

He had sensed that the golden restrictions were not working shortly after entering the space within the screen, so he had risen into the air to observe what would happen next.

The golden divine being, with the Second Nascent Soul, spread its six arms and began to form hand seals, chanting a mysterious incantation. The slowly resonating incantation was the silver script incantation that had appeared on the jade-colored chair.

It was a simple activation incantation, but he didn’t know what might happen in this unfamiliar Sumeru space [a pocket dimension], so he had the Second Nascent Soul control the golden divine being to perform it. However, even as the incantation was nearing its end, the circular platform remained silent, and the golden divine being showed no change.

‘Hmm, then…’

Han Li pondered for a moment and had the Second Nascent Soul repeat the incantation. He had it chant the incantation three times over the course of an hour, but it was no use.

Han Li frowned as he looked at the jade-colored armchair.

“Do I have to walk into the star chart and sit on the chair? Is it worth going this far for something that could be a blessing or a curse…”

If it was a secret that an immortal valued, it would surely be extraordinary. He couldn’t bring himself to leave without finding out what it was.

However, recalling how he had almost been caught in the illusion array of the star chart, he was reluctant to have the Golden Divine Avatar sit on the chair.

“Huu, danger and opportunity always coexist! If not now, I might not have another chance to encounter the remains of an immortal from the Immortal Realm in the Spirit Realm.”

Han Li weighed the pros and cons and made a decision. Although he was usually cautious, he couldn’t resist the strong temptation of a possible treasure left by an immortal.

The Heaven-Shaking Devil Transformation Avatar, with its pitch-black eyes gleaming, walked towards the chair. After a while, the golden divine being stopped in front of the chair and looked at the chair, which was smaller than its own body, with a troubled expression.

It formed a hand seal to shrink its body before sitting on the chair, placing two of its six arms on the armrests, and began to chant the incantation again.

As soon as the incantation sounded, five-colored spiritual energy gathered on the circular platform, and five-colored snowflakes scattered, revealing their beautiful forms. Han Li stared intently at them with wide eyes.

After a while, golden, silver, and white light spread from the huge star chart on the circular platform, and the sun, moon, and stars shattered into three different colors, transforming into golden seal script, silver tadpole script, and white runes he had never seen before, forming a light formation.

The silver-armored soldiers and the golden divine being sitting on the chair were at the center of the light formation. The moment the Second Nascent Soul uttered the last phrase of the incantation, the puppets’ eyes flashed, and they finally began to move.

They all took one step forward, shifting their positions, and with just one step, the golden restriction’s energy changed dramatically as if in response. The five-colored dots of light in the void trembled and fell into the light formation like a meteor shower.

At the same time, the puppets raised their silver spears and ignited golden flames from their bodies.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

The golden flames and silver armor resonated with each other, revealing a majestic aura. The powerful pressure of spiritual energy caused the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy to fluctuate, forming a golden whirlwind that swept around.

Bang!

Even though Han Li was far away, he was thrown back as if hit by a great force when the golden whirlwind brushed against him. Staggering, he steadied himself and realized just how strong the spiritual pressure emitted by the puppets was.

Even his strong body, comparable to a Star Realm cultivator, couldn’t withstand it. Before he could calm his surprised heart, Han Li frantically raised his head and looked up.

The armored soldiers, covered in golden flames, were raising their silver spears high and shooting golden pillars of light towards the golden mass of light in the sky.

Kwarurung!

A huge vortex slowly appeared in the place where the mass of light had been.

Tss, tss, tss.

Within the huge light formation, three-colored energies also formed huge runes and shot them into the sky. A thunderous sound echoed in the clear sky, and an eerie spatial fluctuation was released from the vortex.

Kukung! Kukukung!

A roar erupted, and the golden pillars of light extending from the silver spears doubled in size.

The light formation created a dense, three-colored light barrier that surrounded the circular platform. Within the light barrier, countless golden and silver characters fluctuated, and Buddhist chants emanated from the Heaven-Shaking Devil Transformation Avatar sitting on the chair.

The sound of the light formation vibrating was deafening. Just then, Han Li’s vision blurred, and he was shocked.

At some point, the stars he had seen earlier had appeared in the sky. However, this time the angle was different, and he was looking down at the white-hot starlight from a very high place.

In addition, the golden divine being, the chair, the three-colored light formation, the armored soldiers, and the golden vortex were all there.

Han Li did not hesitate and sent out a blue flying sword from his sleeve, slicing through several stars. The starlight scattered into blue light, then flickered and returned to its original state. Seeing this, he was relieved.

The star-filled sky was not an illusion, and unlike last time, his mind was clear. However, the problem was that the spatial fluctuation of the golden vortex had intensified several times. The fluctuation had a clear, visible form and spread in all directions.

Wherever the fluctuation passed, the starlight trembled uncontrollably.

Kwarurung!

Suddenly, a roar that seemed to tear the sky apart erupted, and a huge pillar of light fell from the golden vortex.

Faint sounds of wind and thunder could be heard within the pillar of light, and five-colored runes were densely packed within it. Han Li was amazed by the pure spiritual power of the pillar of light.

‘Not only spiritual energy, but also a sense of abundant energy can be felt.’

The golden divine being sitting on the chair was unable to move, crushed by the immense pressure the moment the pillar of light appeared. As a result, there was no way to stop the pure spiritual power and five-colored runes of the pillar of light from violently surging into the golden divine being.

‘This is absurd!’

Han Li’s expression changed drastically as he watched from afar. Because the Second Nascent Soul and the main Nascent Soul were closely linked, he felt the same situation as the Golden Divine Avatar.

As the pure spiritual power and five-colored runes were injected, the Second Nascent Soul’s profound Yin Devil Qi [a type of energy], which was only at the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, reached the peak of the late-Nascent Soul stage.

It didn’t end there. Due to the mysterious power of the pillar of light, the Second Nascent Soul’s demonic cultivation was about to break through the late-Nascent Soul stage and enter the Transformation stage. It was a hurdle that Han Li had barely overcome after much hardship.

The Second Nascent Soul felt the pillar of light vibrating and easily reached the early Transformation stage on the spot. However, it didn’t stop there, and its cultivation continued to increase.

All of this happened in an instant, and Han Li found it hard to believe the news coming from the Second Nascent Soul. However, he couldn’t deny what he had seen with his own eyes.

In an unexpected moment, the three-headed, six-armed golden divine being gradually melted into a golden liquid within the pillar of light. The Second Nascent Soul, surrounded by black energy, was completely exposed.

Han Li was hesitating about what to do when some of the five-colored runes changed into very small forms and seeped into the golden liquid.

“Ugh!”

Han Li and the Second Nascent Soul cried out in agony at the same time. Han Li convulsed and fell, engulfed in golden light, while the black energy of the Second Nascent Soul fluctuated.

* * *

Han Li and the Second Nascent Soul were tormented by the pain of their bodies and consciousness being cut and torn apart by tens of thousands of blades. They could not alleviate the pain with magic or divine powers, so they had to endure it.

Even Han Li, who had a strong sense of endurance, momentarily lost control of his magic and fell.

Crack!

However, he, who was using the Heaven-Shaking Devil Transformation Art, could not possibly be injured by falling from such a height. On the contrary, the ground could not withstand the impact and caved in.

Han Li gritted his teeth and swallowed his screams, but all the pain was evident on his pale face. It was an unimaginable extreme pain, but he had no choice but to endure it with his mental strength.

Then, suddenly, his primordial spirit [the core of one’s soul] became as hot as a fireball. It felt like an unknown heat was surrounding his primordial spirit and burning fiercely. No matter how hard he tried to maintain his composure, he was flustered.

Han Li barely managed to raise his collapsed body, sat cross-legged, and formed a hand seal. Once he had somewhat adapted to the extreme pain, he tried to push back the energy causing the strange phenomenon by activating the Heaven-Shaking Devil Transformation Art to its extreme.

However, something dumbfounding happened.

‘What is this?’

Just as he was about to move the spiritual power in his body, the pain suddenly turned into a clear energy that began to circulate rapidly through his meridians. An unknown force was accelerating the Heaven-Shaking Devil Transformation Art, causing it to move at an astonishing speed.

In an instant, his cultivation increased slightly. It was an incredible thing for his cultivation to suddenly increase. Moreover, the unknown force continued to move the Heaven-Shaking Devil Transformation Art.