Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 223

As soon as Han Li saw the skulls, a chill ran down his spine. He immediately thought of the Ghost Spirit Sect, one of the Demonic Dao’s six major sects [a major branch of cultivation focusing on dark arts].

Although the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples also used skull-shaped magical artifacts when facing enemies, they were merely dead objects. They didn’t control skulls that seemed to be alive, like the strange man in front of him.

Just as Han Li sensed that something was wrong, Fellow Daoist Gan’s flags were already attacking.

“Go!”

With Fellow Daoist Gan’s command, dense threads shot out from the three black flags, forming a huge net that covered the skulls.

The black threads were incredibly dense and shimmered with a dark aura, indicating they were no ordinary objects.

The skulls also seemed to notice the black threads, and a red light flashed in their empty eyes. The skulls’ heads bobbed up and down, wildly biting at the air, causing countless jade-colored ghost flames to erupt.

As soon as the black threads touched the ghost flames, they seemed to be mutually destructive, instantly combusting and turning into black smoke.

Startled, Fellow Daoist Gan immediately formed a hand seal, trying to activate another function of the black flags. However, suddenly, the skulls shot out a gray light from their mouths, and the black flags helplessly entered the skulls’ mouths.

‘Crunch, crunch.’

The skulls’ heads moved up and down, and with a crunch, the black flags were shockingly chewed up whole. Naturally, the connection between Fellow Daoist Gan and the black flags was severed.

He roared in anger,

“You monstrous fiend, how dare you destroy my treasure!”

Even if others didn’t know, he was certain. The black flags he had just released were also Ancient Treasures [powerful artifacts with unique abilities].

The Ancient Treasure, which had defeated countless enemies, was now destroyed in the skull’s mouth. Even the lightning released by Fellow Daoist Huoyue had already entered the skull’s mouth.

At the same time, Fellow Daoist Huoyue and Fellow Daoist Gan exchanged glances, signaling that they should retreat.

Han Li also realized now that the strange man had dared to challenge a group of Core Formation cultivators [a high level of cultivation] alone because he had something to rely on. He had many magical treasures, and each one was extraordinary.

If he didn’t act now, they would be utterly defeated and have to flee. However, he had spent months dismantling this formation, and he didn’t want to retreat with success so close at hand.

Moreover, he wanted to see the power of the Gold Devouring Beetles.

The strange man in front of him didn’t seem like an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, so it was a good opportunity to test them. As he organized his thoughts, his gaze shifted to the group in battle.

Fellow Daoist Huoyue and the others were flying around in the air, not knowing what to do, trying to avoid the two skulls, but it wasn’t very effective.

The white seal of Jin Qing had also lost its initial momentum.

The giant seal, which had been pressing down to crush the flying swords, was now being gradually pulled away, enveloped by the white aura of a suddenly appearing basket.

After observing the entire situation, Han Li looked at the strange man with a meaningful gaze, then took out a spirit beast pouch that seemed to be bulging.

The strange man’s consciousness was also quite strong, and he reacted sensitively to Han Li’s actions. He glared at Han Li with wide eyes, and it seemed like he was rummaging through his clothes to take out another magical treasure to stop Han Li.

Of course, Han Li wouldn’t wait for him.

He immediately threw the spirit beast pouch into the air and formed a hand seal, sending it towards the leather pouch. The opening of the spirit beast pouch loosened, and dozens of circular objects flew out towards the strange man like streaks of light.

These objects were about a foot in size, with a mix of gold and silver shimmering all over their bodies. Even at their appearance, the strange man looked down on them and took out a black wheel to counter the attack.

The wheel immediately grew several times in size, blocking the streaks of light that were flying towards it.

Bang, bang, bang!

When the huge black wheel collided with the objects Han Li had sent out, the circular objects shattered, turning into gold and silver shimmering particles.

“Kuhahahaha!”

The strange man, who was laughing, moved his fingers, intending to shoot the wheel at Han Li.

‘Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz…’

At that moment, a strange sound suddenly echoed, growing louder and more piercing. The gazes of all the cultivators there focused on it, and the strange man also stopped laughing and became dazed.

The fragments that they thought had been completely destroyed were now surprisingly wriggling back to life, turning into thousands of beetles that covered the sky.

The deafening sound was caused by the flapping of the beetles’ gold and silver wings, which was truly astonishing.

Han Li didn’t give the strange man a chance to regain his senses and immediately controlled the Gold Devouring Beetles to attack the black wheel.

“You seek death!”

The strange man quickly regained his senses and formed a hand seal, causing a black aura to emanate from the wheel. He intended to catch and kill the flying beetles.

However, something astonishing happened. As soon as the black aura was released, the beetles rushed in and devoured it.

The wheel spun at high speed, deflecting some of the beetles, but the majority remained firmly attached. The beetles showed no fear of the magical treasure’s threat.

The strange man was flustered, but Han Li was extremely pleased.

The black wheel visibly shrank and eventually disappeared. The Gold Devouring Beetles, having nothing left to eat, flew up again with a terrifying sound.

The strange man’s face turned pale.

At Han Li’s gesture, the Gold Devouring Beetles swarmed towards the strange man like a swarm of bees.

Having witnessed the beetles’ terror with his own eyes, the strange man hurriedly summoned the skulls. The skulls stopped simultaneously, flickered a few times, and then flew in front of the strange man, revealing their ferocious faces.

Fellow Daoist Huoyue and Fellow Daoist Gan, who had finally caught their breath, watched the skulls and beetles from afar.

The strange man still didn’t feel safe, and a cold aura emanated from his hand as he grasped a dagger several inches long. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and cut his two fingers again with the dagger.

‘Kiyaaaak!’

The skulls rushed back, each biting one of his fingers, and then cried out in joy. Afterward, the strange man’s mouth opened, and two streams of black light were absorbed into the skulls’ foreheads.

The skulls, which had been enjoying themselves, began to writhe in pain, and their forms gradually changed.

Ram-like horns sprouted from the skulls’ foreheads, and their fangs grew several inches long. Their loose hair also turned red, making them look eerie to anyone who saw them.

Having completed their transformation, the strange man felt much more at ease and shouted, enduring the pain in his fingers,

“Go!”

‘Kieeeek!’

The skulls, flashing red light, immediately turned into two streams of black light and charged at the swarm of beetles.

The Gold Devouring Beetles, seeing the skulls, immediately split into two groups under Han Li’s control to confront them.

In response, the skulls opened their mouths and spewed out blue-green ghost flames to attack the beetles. The beetles that were hit by the ghost flames were knocked away.

“Hmm?”

However, the smile on the strange man’s face disappeared.

The Gold Devouring Beetles that had been hit by the ghost flames seemed to plummet, but then immediately flapped their wings and flew back up. It was unbelievable.

The ghost flames of the transformed skulls were even more powerful than the Core Formation cultivators’ Dan fire [a cultivator’s inner fire], so how could they not catch a few beetles!

The strange man narrowed his brows, secretly trying to come up with another plan.

‘Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz…’

At that moment, a tremendous sound suddenly echoed from afar. The blood drained from the strange man’s face.

* * *

In the sky, dozens of swarms of insects were flying like clouds. The sound of the insects’ wings was so loud that it was hard to believe it was coming from such small bodies.

“Go.”

Standing below the swarm of insects, Han Li’s expression was cold and indifferent, as if he were looking at a dead man.

The massive swarm of insects covered the strange man like a dark cloud engulfing the sky.

“Heeik!”

The strange man felt a chill run down his spine. With a pale face, he waved his hand, and the basket turned into a white aura, returning to his hand. Then, he chanted a spell, sending a red aura towards the two skulls. After that, he began to flee without even grabbing his flying sword.

Han Li was momentarily stunned by his overly decisive action.

The skulls, following the strange man’s command, frantically shot out ghost flames and then tried to flee as well, but Han Li wouldn’t let them.

Under Han Li’s control, the enormous swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles covered the skulls, and the ghost flames and everything else disappeared into the beetles’ mouths.

‘Kwang!’

Just as Han Li thought they were finished and was about to retrieve the Gold Devouring Beetles to chase after the strange man, a huge explosion erupted.

Unexpectedly, the skulls had self-destructed, and a massive blue-green flame engulfed the Gold Devouring Beetles.

Han Li, who had been startled, immediately relaxed.

Except for the hundreds that had been at the very center of the explosion, the connection with the other Gold Devouring Beetles was still maintained.

It seemed that they had not yet fully evolved and could not withstand impacts beyond a certain limit.

However, Han Li was extremely satisfied. He had used the Gold Devouring Beetles to even cause the powerful skulls to self-destruct, so if he faced an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, he would definitely be unmatched.

After finishing his thoughts, Han Li immediately turned into a streak of light, retrieving the Gold Devouring Beetles and chasing after the strange man.

Since he had made an enemy of the other party, he couldn’t leave any potential threats behind. Qu Hun also followed Han Li’s command and boarded the magical treasure to move together.

“This is…”

At this time, Fellow Daoist Huoyue and Jin Qing were just standing in place, struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

The strange man’s flying speed was so fast that even though Han Li was operating the Green Rainbow Sword at full power, the distance between them was only increasing.

As the three of them raced ahead for dozens of miles, it seemed like they would soon leave the island.

Realizing that this wouldn’t do, a cold glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, and suddenly, seven jade-colored swords the size of palms appeared.

The small swords circled around him once and then transformed into a single giant green sword. Then, Han Li’s figure blurred, and he stood on the giant sword with Qu Hun.

A green light emanated, and Han Li flew through the sky at a much faster speed than before.

After a short while, Han Li had almost caught up with the strange man.

Han Li stretched out his arm towards the black light that was silently fleeing, and two jade-colored small swords shot out. At the same time, Qu Hun’s Soul-Devouring Blade also turned into a yellow light and flew out.

The strange man, who was frantically flying ahead, sensed that Han Li was still chasing him and, without looking back, shot out another skull. He hoped that the skull would buy him at least a little time.

Han Li’s face slightly hardened, and he quietly formed a sword seal. The two jade-colored rays of light transformed into four, making it impossible to distinguish between the real and the fake.

Two of them mixed with the Soul-Devouring Blade and flew towards the skull, while the other two combined into a foot-long flying sword, silently aiming for the strange man’s back. The combined flying sword was extremely fast, arriving behind the strange man in an instant.

The strange man seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his head, only to see a jade-colored light just five or six yards behind him. It was the moment when the blood drained from his face.

Even in that desperate moment, his mind worked quickly, and a black aura quickly spewed out from the strange man’s open mouth to block the jade-colored light. He seemed to be trying to dodge to the side in that gap.

As the flying sword flew according to Han Li’s command, a faint golden current flashed, instantly sweeping away the black aura. Then, a green light enveloped it, and the flying sword, with no obstacles in its way, pierced through the strange man’s chest.

The strange man, with a look of disbelief, stared at the flying sword embedded in his chest. Before he could even scream, a faint golden current flowed through him, and his entire body turned to ashes and scattered.

Han Li quickly increased his speed, and three items fell into his hands.

Among them were the basket Ancient Treasure and the storage pouch, as well as a red-glowing scroll. It faintly contained spiritual energy, but it didn’t seem to be an Ancient Treasure or an ordinary magical treasure.

Han Li’s face hardened as he excitedly unfurled the scroll.

After examining the painting for a while, he rolled it back up and put it away, his face deep in thought. Suppressing his strong doubts, he flew back towards the skulls.

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