Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 175

When Han Li finished everything in one go, Gokhun was a little puzzled and felt that something was off. “I did as you wanted, so you won’t present any other conditions, right?” Han Li, who had keenly noticed the other party’s unease, deliberately showed his dissatisfaction. “Absolutely not. I know very well what happens to those who are greedy. Before I tell you the secret, I want to know the current war situation between the Seven Great Sects and the Six Demonic Sects. I need to know if the information I have is still valid.” Gokhun, still feeling uneasy, forced a smile. Han Li was a little reluctant, but he briefly explained what he knew. Gokhun listened carefully to everything, and when he heard that the great battle would take place in a month, his lips twisted. It was natural that Han Li, who had been observing his face all along, keenly noticed his sneer. After hearing everything, Gokhun began to reveal what he knew. “If you believe me, you don’t have to return to the Seven Great Sects’ camp. After all, the alliance between the Seven Great Sects and the cultivators from other countries is likely to lose. Even if a cultivator joins, it would just be throwing their life away.” Han Li calmly waited for the explanation to continue. Seeing Han Li’s face, which remained unchanged despite this surprising news, the Spirit Beast Sect cultivator was impressed and at the same time became more wary. “You probably don’t know that Spirit Beast Mountain has been secretly maintaining relations with the Spirit Beast Sect. The previous fake defection was a smokescreen deliberately created by the Six Demonic Sects. They deliberately lured in cultivators from other countries to wipe them out all at once. Once this great battle is over, the Six Demonic Sects will monopolize several countries at once.” Han Li was very surprised by his story. “A smokescreen? Then why did Spirit Beast Mountain reveal their relationship with the Spirit Beast Sect first?” “Do you really think that the other sects didn’t know about Spirit Beast Mountain’s background? Don’t you know that the most powerful sect, the Strict Moon Sect, has a similar connection with the Joyous Union Sect of the Demonic Path, just like Spirit Beast Mountain has with the Spirit Beast Sect? However, they severed their ties with the Demonic Path hundreds of years ago to become independent.” The Spirit Beast Sect cultivator’s information was unexpected. “Even so, Spirit Beast Mountain has already sacrificed two Core Formation stage cultivators on the battlefield. Isn’t it a bit much to say that it was just to deceive others?” Han Li, still unable to easily believe the other party’s words, raised an objection. “If there hadn’t been sacrifices of Core Formation stage cultivators, how could they have deceived the other sects! Besides, we can’t even be sure if those who died were really Core Formation stage cultivators.” Gokhun sneered. “You mean…” “As far as I know, the Six Demonic Sects already possess two or three secret techniques that can temporarily explode the magic power of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to make them exhibit power similar to that of Core Formation stage cultivators. Of course, these secret techniques have huge flaws, and once a cultivator uses them, all the meridians in their body are severed, leading to death. However, that amount of time would be enough to draw the attention of other sects.” After hearing this, Han Li began to believe the other party to some extent. If the allied forces of the Seven Great Sects and the cultivators from the other two countries were facing a great battle with the Six Demonic Sects, and Spirit Beast Mountain suddenly launched a surprise attack, and the Demonic Path took advantage of that gap, the tide of the battle would turn, and it would be difficult to gain the upper hand. After pondering for a while, Han Li asked, as if he was not happy about running away. “If everything you said is true, and the time for the decisive battle hasn’t come yet, wouldn’t it be possible for me to convey the information in advance? I’m curious why we have to run away.” “You don’t really believe that the Six Demonic Sects will launch their troops at the promised time, do you? According to the original plan, they are supposed to deceive them like this and start the attack with a time difference. I don’t know the exact date, but according to my calculations, the Six Demonic Sects will launch a surprise attack on the Seven Great Sects’ camp within a few days. Anyway, the personnel haven’t all gathered yet before the great battle, and they’ll be letting their guard down. Besides, even if a cultivator flies over and reports it right away, do you think the higher-ups will believe it without any evidence?” Only then did Han Li’s expression change slightly, and he began to worry. If the Seven Great Sects were to suffer a major defeat, his life would be ruined. He would either be chased by the Demonic Path or run away to another country and wander around, or he would have to repair the ancient teleportation array and start over in a completely new place. “Seeing how you know such detailed plans, it seems like you were in a very high position. But do you have any evidence for what you just said? You don’t think I’ll believe you just by listening to your words, do you?” Han Li’s expression was cautious. At those words, the Spirit Beast Sect disciple let out a bitter laugh. “I’ve already lost my body and barely escaped with my nascent soul [a soul that has just been born], so what evidence would I have? If you don’t believe me, just wait a few days. Soon, rumors about the war situation will spread.” This time, Han Li coldly sneered at his words. “I don’t know how you escaped with your nascent soul when there’s no time? You certainly weren’t killed in an attack, and you must have secretly taken out important magical artifacts and items beforehand.” Gokhun, who had been caught off guard by his words, wiped away his forced smile and awkwardly confessed the truth. “Ha! Ha! I really can’t fool you. In fact, I hid the books and letters that were exchanged between my sect and Spirit Beast Mountain, and I was also infiltrated into the Yue Kingdom as a contact. Then, unexpectedly…” When the Spirit Beast Sect cultivator finally admitted that he had evidence, Han Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This guy was as cunning as an old fox. “Okay, where are the items?” Han Li immediately got to the point, asking about the location of the items while looking around. “I hid the storage pouch containing the letters in a cave near the low mountain range. Shall I bring it to you?” “You don’t have it with you?” However, Han Li’s eyes flashed, and he showed a look of disbelief. “As you know, although this body is strong, it can’t feel anything. If I carried the storage pouch around, I would definitely lose it without knowing where I dropped it, so I kept it at my residence.” The reason he gave was reasonable enough for Han Li to hear. Han Li carefully examined his body, and when he found nothing, he asked coldly. “Where is the cave? I’ll go myself.” Since he was being so cautious, Gokhun had no choice but to tell him the location of the cave with a gloomy face. Han Li nodded and was about to go to the cave when he suddenly turned his head. “How did you get into that body? There was no soul, so there was no need to take it, but it wouldn’t have been a cultivator’s body.” “I don’t know!” Before Han Li could say anything, Gokhun hurriedly explained with a quick answer. “I really don’t know what happened. I was severely injured and barely made it to Jia Yuan City, but there was no hope of survival, so I abandoned my body and escaped with my nascent soul, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find a cultivator. Just when I was about to despair, I finally found this body without a soul, and in a hurry, I tried it as if grasping at straws, and I ended up settling here, so I was very surprised myself.” The Spirit Beast Sect cultivator also had a bewildered expression. After pondering for a moment, Han Li approached Gokhun again, added two more spirit talismans, and then went on his way. Gokhun, who had a wronged expression, sparkled his eyes as soon as Han Li disappeared. He went to the place the other party had told him about, and a small cave appeared. He took out a moonstone and floated it above his head to illuminate the surroundings. Then, he briefly examined the dark entrance of the cave, and after activating the White Phosphorus Shield and the Turtle Shell Magic Artifact to be fully prepared, he slowly entered. The cave was not large as expected, and after a while, the end of the cave was visible. He looked around with sharp eyes and found nothing unusual. He was relieved and lowered his head to look for the items. According to the Spirit Beast Sect cultivator, the storage pouch was hidden under a large limestone. After looking around for a while, he saw something protruding in the darkness, which seemed to be the large rock the cultivator had mentioned. Han Li relied on the faint light of the moonstone and approached with his mind focused. “Hic!” It wasn’t a rock. It was clearly a pile of skeletons stacked in layers, and on top of it, there was still some flesh and blood left, giving off a faint smell of blood. Upon closer inspection, these bones were from wild beasts, with bite marks left by teeth. Han Li, who had noticed something strange, immediately turned around to leave this place. But at that moment, a black shadow rushed in and collided with Han Li’s White Phosphorus Shield. A tremendous force was felt, and the shield, as well as Han Li behind it, were sent flying and slammed into the cave wall. It was a great fortune that he didn’t faint from the extreme pain. Before he could slide down from the wall, the black shadow collided again. In a state of shock, he instinctively blocked his body with two defensive magic artifacts. ‘Clang’ A clear sound rang out, surprising Han Li again. This time, a huge force didn’t come crashing in, but the White Phosphorus Shield, which was blocking the front, fell to the ground in two pieces. He was speechless and almost fell over in shock. How could the White Phosphorus Shield be cut in half so easily! The White Phosphorus Shield was a top-grade magic artifact refined from the hide of a Flood Dragon. Except for a small hole that was pierced by the Blood Spirit Spear of the Black Fiend Cult Leader a few days ago, it had not been damaged in numerous battles, but today it was destroyed by this monster’s hand, which was unbelievable. The moonstone floating above his head illuminated the monster, and its appearance was very strange. It had a small body, a thin neck, and a very small head, and its fist-sized green eyes were emitting a cold aura as they stared coldly at Han Li. But what worried him the most was that there were two dark, dull swords, about the size of its forelegs, placed in front of the monster. ‘Is that monster even using weapons! But how sharp are those swords that they could cut the White Phosphorus Shield in one blow?’ In the instant that all these thoughts flashed through his mind, Han Li’s body blurred and shot out of the cave like an arrow. It was impossible to fight that monster in this narrow cave, even if he had multiple lives. He had to escape from this place and get outside. However, the moment Han Li’s body moved, the monster also shot out silently, chasing after him, and its speed was not inferior to Han Li’s. As Han Li and the monster raced through the short cave, two gusts of wind were formed. The moment he escaped the cave entrance, Han Li immediately released a white light and floated the spotless Wind God Pearl into the air. He intended to fly away on the Wind God Pearl. If he couldn’t block the monster’s attacks with magic artifacts, he had to create distance and then attack to deal with it. However, the moment he delayed activating the Wind God Pearl, a black shadow was already cast in front of him. Surprisingly, the monster, which had started late, had already caught up to him and was standing between him and the Wind God Pearl, rubbing its two blades together. Han Li’s heart turned cold. This monster was not only strong but also intelligent. However, as they escaped the dark cave, the monster’s true form was revealed in the moonlight. It was a huge, blackish-gray praying mantis, emitting a strange gray aura from its entire body. Han Li took a light breath to calm his unstable mind and began to move again. In an instant, his body blurred, creating six identical afterimages, and at the same time, he rushed towards the giant mantis. He didn’t believe that his Rapid Shadow Step, which he had deployed with all his might, wouldn’t be able to break through a mere monster. But then, a green light flashed in the mantis’s eyes, and it created shadows that blocked Han Li’s afterimages. Han Li was so shocked that he was speechless. ‘Thud! Thud!’ Sounds of something being pierced were heard in succession, and Han Li’s afterimages were attacked by the mantis’s twin blades. In the end, only the real body remained, and he barely managed to block the attack using the Turtle Shell Magic Artifact, but not only was he pushed back to his original position by the impact, but a deep cut was also left on the turtle shell. # 177