Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 1041

As Han Li gestured, the scroll painting slowly unfurled. A powerful killing intent soared into the sky, and golden light radiated from the painting, temporarily blinding him. Han Li’s pupils flickered with a blue light, and only after activating his Spirit Eye Divine Ability [a technique that enhances vision and perception] could he see the painting clearly.

The painting, densely filled with large and small golden flying swords, possessed an extraordinary aura. Strangely, it felt as if the flying swords within the painting were infinite.

The flying swords were identical, differing only in size, yet even the smallest flying sword appeared as clear as if it were right in front of him. This was the Myriad Swords Diagram he had obtained from the Golden Ruins of the Glacial World.

While practicing the Spirit Refinement Technique, Han Li had also devoted considerable attention and time to the Myriad Swords Diagram. Through this time, he had gained some understanding of sword incantations and the method of manipulating consciousness.

Han Li’s cultivation had improved, and he could now unleash the final sword formation of the Azure Origin Sword Incantation, the ‘Azure Coiling Sword Formation.’ Although it was stronger than the Spring Dawn Sword Formation, it still fell short of what was needed to face a Composite Body cultivator [a powerful cultivator at a higher stage].

Therefore, he had tried incorporating the insights gained from the Myriad Swords Diagram into the Azure Coiling Sword Formation. As a result, he had greatly enhanced the power of the sword formation and could now unleash it instantly.

Han Li unfurled the Myriad Swords Diagram and gazed intently at the painting.

He had named his understanding of the painting ‘Mind Sword Incantation,’ but he knew that it was less than one-tenth of the true power of the Myriad Swords Diagram.

The remaining insights were too profound for him, a Nascent Soul cultivator [a cultivator at a mid-level stage], to master. Han Li stood there for a long while before waving his sleeve, folding the Myriad Swords Diagram, and putting it away.

‘I gained a lot from the Glacial World!’

Besides the Spirit Refinement Technique and the Myriad Swords Diagram, there was also the Void Spirit Pill. If Composite Body cultivators like Cai Liuying and Dan Tianren coveted it, one could imagine how valuable it must be.

Unfortunately, he had not yet obtained any information about the pill, so he could only speculate that it would be of great help to Composite Body cultivators. He also took out various spirit herbs he had collected from the herb garden.

He had kept one or two extras of the spirit herbs he had given to Tian Qizi and others for cultivation. The single flower and fruit were still unidentified, but they were definitely rare items that were not easily found in the Spirit World.

Among them, the silver lotus pod he had obtained last was the most intriguing. It was clearly the most precious spirit herb in the herb garden, but he still did not know how to use it, so he had simply been observing it.

Han Li was waiting for a future opportunity to learn its purpose.

The Crimson Luo Fruit seemed suitable for making Crimson Luo Immortal Wine first. It was said to increase lifespan and improve physique, so long-term consumption would have no drawbacks, even if it did not have a significant effect.

Moreover, if he brewed wine with the Crimson Luo Fruit, which had grown for an unknown number of years, it might produce a special effect. The Poison Devouring Grass was the main ingredient for a pill that could enhance Composite Body cultivation, so it naturally had to be treasured.

In addition, he could use the few talismans and the Success Diagram found in the Sumeru space [a space within a magical item] of the screen to gain knowledge about talismans and formations. All of these had been stored away, as he had been focusing on the Spirit Refinement Technique and other secret arts for the past hundred years.

Han Li shook off his distracting thoughts as he recalled his pending tasks. No matter what, advancing to the Composite Body stage was his priority.

His consciousness had doubled, and he had obtained several pills that would help him overcome the tribulation in the Thunder Continent, so his chances of success were high. However, he still needed to prepare many pills and magical artifacts.

The Composite Body tribulation was different from the previous ones, so he needed not only a large number of pills but also a separate formation to gather a large amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy.

He had accidentally learned this formation on his way back to the Heavenly Origin City. It was originally not meant to be passed on to outsiders, so it would have been impossible if he had not been destined to learn it.

The formation structure was complex and intricate, requiring several magical artifacts to act as the eyes of the formation. Naturally, Han Li had to make these magical artifacts himself. This was why he had purchased a large amount of materials at the Heavenly Origin City market.

*Whoosh!*

Han Li floated the storage table in the air and summoned a pile of containers, such as jade boxes and jade bottles, from within. Then, he took out a small red furnace and tossed in a blue magic seal.

*Whoosh!*

The flames in the furnace grew several times larger, and the temperature in the secret chamber rose sharply. Han Li scanned the materials he had laid out and summoned a metallic material from one of the jade boxes. The black surface of the metal faintly scattered strands of spiritual energy; it was a semi-finished product that had undergone one process.

*Swish!*

The black metal entered the furnace, and under Han Li’s control, other materials flew in one after another. In this way, Han Li spent two months refining the necessary magical artifacts and pills.

Then, for half a month, he set up a large formation centered on the mountain peak. Now, after about half a year of accumulating essence, he could challenge the Composite Body tribulation in his best condition.

* * *

The white-bearded elder of the Qu Clan’s branch was quietly cultivating in the eastern region. Suddenly, the ground trembled, and the entire eastern region shook!

The elder’s eyes snapped open, and his expression changed drastically. He shouted orders to the other cultivators and transformed into a beam of light, flying into the sky.

He reached the top of the mountain, followed by other cultivators. A similar event to the one that had occurred some time ago was unfolding above the sea of clouds.

‘No, another celestial phenomenon!’

More than a dozen silver pillars of light rose from the sea of clouds, and golden spell characters flickered on the surface of the massive silver pillars, which seemed to support the sky.

The white sea of clouds churned violently, and colorful spiritual energy surged in from afar.

As the heaven and earth spiritual energy frantically converged toward the center of the sea of clouds, a large amount of spiritual energy also surged from the spiritual veins and was sucked in by the powerful attraction.

*Rumble!*

Colorful clouds appeared in the sky, and thunder rumbled within them. Purple lightning began to flash, wandering through the clouds like purple snakes.

Suddenly, a long roar echoed, and a massive pressure of spiritual energy exploded outward.

“Hah!”

The pressure of spiritual energy, which was beyond imagination, made the bodies of the human cultivators within hundreds of miles feel heavy. Some cultivators with lower cultivation even fainted or bled from their noses and mouths.

The white-bearded elder, whose cultivation was not very high, also felt his vision blur and his knees buckle. Everyone who was watching was shocked by the strange phenomenon and did not know what to do.

Then, Buddhist chants suddenly spread from the colorful clouds, and various colored spell characters flickered. At this moment, a bizarre cry was heard from the mountain peak at the center of the sea of clouds.

*Thump!*

Golden light burst forth, and a huge golden ape with a ferocious appearance emerged from within. The moment the giant ape appeared, the lightning in the colorful clouds seemed to sense it and released countless purple lightning snakes.

The lightning snakes merged into a giant purple flood dragon that rivaled the giant ape in size.

*Rumble! Crack! Boom!*

With a tremendous sound, the purple flood dragon fell toward the giant ape. The giant ape snorted and pounded its chest with its large fist before leaping toward the purple flood dragon.

Surprisingly, the giant ape grabbed the flood dragon’s neck with its large hand and twisted it, causing the flood dragon’s head to fall off. The body transformed into lightning and scattered.

The giant ape quickly opened its mouth and released golden light, which enveloped the scattered lightning and drew it back into the giant ape’s mouth.

The flashing lightning disappeared in an instant. However, the giant ape did not stop and gathered all the energy in its body, shooting a golden pillar of light from its mouth.

*Rumble! Boom!*

Following this, a series of loud noises echoed, and the colorful clouds began to swirl around the area pierced by the pillar of light.

Various spell characters flowed from the colorful clouds into the pillar of light due to the immense suction force, eventually disappearing into the giant ape’s belly.

And although the spell characters that filled the pillar of light poured down like a flood, the giant ape remained unaffected even after absorbing countless spell characters.

The cultivators around the sea of clouds were speechless at this sight. The white-bearded elder, in particular, was even more shocked as the Mountain Giant Ape and the True Spirit Bloodline came to his mind.

As the patriarch leading the Qu Clan, a family of True Spirits [powerful beings with unique bloodlines], he had a broader perspective than ordinary cultivators. Therefore, he recognized at a glance that the giant ape that had appeared above the sea of clouds was the Mountain Giant Ape Dharma Idol [a manifestation of spiritual power].

‘No wonder he didn’t want to join our Qu Clan; he had a True Spirit Bloodline of his own! But the aura of the Dharma Idol is truly amazing. The power to overwhelm so many cultivators even from this distance. Moreover, this celestial phenomenon surpasses the previous one! Such a large amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy gathering… could it be that he is overcoming the Composite Body tribulation…’

The white-bearded elder was not very high in cultivation, but he was quite intelligent and quickly grasped what was happening.

At that moment, not only the spell characters but also the colorful clouds were flowing into the giant ape’s mouth through the pillar of light.

Before long, the giant ape’s illusion, which had devoured all the colorful clouds, became even clearer, and it clenched its fist and pounded its chest forcefully.

At that moment, a white gale arose around the golden giant ape. Simultaneously, the heaven and earth spiritual energy within ten thousand miles fluctuated and transformed into specks of light the size of beans, frantically rushing toward the sea of clouds.

*Kuaaaak!*

The giant ape within the gale cried out urgently in pain. However, as the number of colorful specks of light increased, the giant ape’s cries gradually subsided, and finally, no sound was heard.

“How could this be…”

The human cultivators around the sea of clouds felt as if their throats were burning with tension. If such a large amount of heaven and earth spiritual energy had gathered in the body of an ordinary cultivator, they would have already exploded and died.

*Krak!*

After an hour, another miserable scream from the giant ape erupted from within the white gale, and a deafening roar that seemed to shatter the sky echoed. The white gale exploded and scattered in all directions, revealing the giant ape.

However, unlike before, the giant ape’s body was glowing with various colors, and its eyes were burning red as it groaned, as if it were suffering from madness.

The giant ape’s body became somewhat blurry, and the spell characters flickered erratically. The cultivators watching from afar did not know what was happening, even as they witnessed it directly.

Only the white-bearded elder was terrified.

‘It’s definitely a Heart Demon [a manifestation of inner turmoil] that has appeared!’

If he loses his mind and reason here, he will be controlled by the Heart Demon and commit terrible carnage.

He had seen such situations many times before. The white-bearded elder trembled even more in fear and hurriedly tried to gather his magic power to stand up. He wanted to leave with his family right now.

However, the moment he stood up, he was forced to his knees by the pressure.

The pressure of spiritual energy emitted by the giant ape was so great that it was not something a mere Nascent Soul cultivator could withstand. It was difficult to even gather the magic power within his body, so he could not even send a message to other cultivators.

As the elder watched with a trembling heart, Han Li was sitting in the secret chamber within the mountain peak, activating a small formation, motionless like a dead man.

Above him, a golden-azure Nascent Soul floated, strangely staring at a corner of the secret chamber. The Nascent Soul was tightly clutching a golden hilt in its arms, and 72 blue flying swords were protecting it without any gaps.

In addition to the flying swords, a silver ruler, a blue cauldron, and a black giant sword were also slowly circling around the Nascent Soul. Strangely, one of the Nascent Soul’s pupils flickered with a blue light, while the other was blood-red. The expressions on either side of its face, divided by the nose, were different.

One side wore a faint smile and maintained a calm demeanor, while the other side contorted its face and wore a ferocious expression. It was as if two Han Lis existed within the Nascent Soul.

The Han Li below was forming a hand seal with one hand and holding a bronze incense burner in the other. The incense stick, which was about half-burnt, was not lit.