Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 237

The black shadow showed signs of impatience at the sound. It hesitated slightly, glancing at the giant tiger still confronting the blue greatsword.

However, a green light flashed in its eyes, and it turned into black smoke, leaping into the tiger’s body.

‘Kuhahang!’

The black tiger, having absorbed the black shadow, writhed in pain and unexpectedly stood on two legs. Afterward, its hind legs thickened, and its front legs thinned, revealing the form of arms.

Then, one of the tiger’s two heads became blurry, and the facial features of a human, covered in fur, took shape.

The other head remained unchanged but was clearly more ferocious.

‘Spirit Possession Technique!’

A sigh escaped Han Li’s lips. This technique, at first glance, seemed similar to the Divine Body Possession Technique used by Extreme Yin. However, in reality, there was a significant difference.

The Divine Body Possession Technique only allowed one to exert a portion of their original power, making it merely a type of long-distance control. But the Spirit Possession Technique was different.

This technique could not be used on other cultivators and could only be used on demon beasts with low intelligence.

Instead, by borrowing a body, it was a kind of secret art that produced more than the combined cultivation of the caster and the target demon beast, forming a life-and-death pact between them.

If one died, the other could not escape death either. Moreover, the most mysterious aspect was that performing the Spirit Possession Technique would create a completely different person with their own ego.

If the initial time of performing the Spirit Possession Technique was not long, the technique would automatically be released.

However, the longer and more frequently the technique was performed, the stronger the new personality would become.

Eventually, even if one tried to release the technique, they would not be able to. What was even more ridiculous was that even if one extended their life as a half-human, half-demon, the lifespan of the body occupied by the new personality was too short.

It was a high price to pay for gaining powerful abilities, and often, after becoming an independent entity, they would disappear not long after.

Although it was not certain, rumors said that cultivators who practiced the Spirit Possession Technique could not ascend to reincarnation after death. This was why many cultivators changed their expressions when the topic of this technique came up.

Fortunately, few knew of this secret technique, and even fewer mastered it. Most did not want to live and die as half-human, half-demons with greatly reduced lifespans or lost egos.

However, the black tiger and the black shadow merging before his eyes were exactly in line with the rumored Spirit Possession Technique.

But he had never heard of a demon beast, not a cultivator, mastering such a technique. Even more surprisingly, to use the Spirit Possession Technique on the spirit residing in his own magical artifact!

His face, which had been expressionless, was now filled with doubt.

Although he was greatly surprised by the opponent’s transformation, Han Li, turning around, sneered. Behind him, the gray shadow was only a third of its original size due to the Gold Devouring Beetles. It was practically on its last breath.

Even if it escaped now, its vitality would be greatly damaged, and it would not be able to fight for a while. There was a reason why the Gold Devouring Beetles were high on the list of insect demon beasts. They not only devoured things with spiritual energy but also consumed evil techniques like those of ghosts.

While Han Li was thinking this, the human face that had appeared on the tiger’s face seemed to awaken from a dream and regained its senses.

‘Kikikikik!’

It looked around at Han Li, the remaining gray shadow, and its own body, then let out a bizarre laugh that grated on the ears.

The laughter continued endlessly, soon causing even the nearby ghost mist to stir. At first, Han Li didn’t pay much attention, but gradually his face turned pale, and he looked bewildered.

This was because the tiger-monster’s laughter showed no signs of stopping and became even louder. Even he, who was using the Great Connection Technique [a technique to strengthen one’s mental fortitude] to protect his mind, was receiving shocks as if lightning was striking right next to him.

‘This is bad!’

His face contorted further as he realized something. He quickly turned his head, and his chest went cold.

The gray shadow behind him had vanished. And the over ten thousand Gold Devouring Beetles were helplessly falling to the ground, flapping their wings in a daze.

His head aching, he hurriedly took out his spirit beast bags and gathered the dying Gold Devouring Beetles. Only then, enduring the bizarre laughter that rang in his ears, did he raise his head and look around.

As a result, he was slightly relieved by what he saw. Fairy Ziling and the black-robed man were fighting the vengeful spirits, seemingly unharmed.

The black-robed man, having lost the power of his magical artifact, was unable to properly subdue the evil spirits despite his higher cultivation.

Fairy Ziling was even worse off. She was barely staying alive by activating a rectangular stone tablet and hiding in the light it emitted. Still, neither of them was affected by the strange laughter.

At first, Han Li was puzzled. But after thinking for a moment, he figured out the cause.

The tiger’s laughter had a limit to its power, exerting tremendous force only within a very small range, which the Gold Devouring Beetles could not withstand. Perhaps the more fundamental reason was that the Gold Devouring Beetles had not fully evolved.

If Han Li had not been using the Great Connection Technique to strengthen his mind, he would have already collapsed and fallen into the opponent’s hands.

The more he thought about it, the more chilling it was. The demon beast before him, even if it was not at the Nascent Soul stage [a high level of cultivation], was much stronger than most late-stage Core Formation cultivators [a mid-level of cultivation].

‘Could it be the Ghost King I’ve only heard about?’

At this moment, the monster, seeing Han Li’s unharmed appearance, finally stopped the sound and stared at him with its four eyes.

Han Li also felt uncomfortable under that gaze but fearlessly met the opponent’s eyes. Behind the monster, the gray shadow, which had been torn apart by the Gold Devouring Beetles, reappeared and flew in front of the tigers without hesitation.

Han Li’s eyes wavered.

He could not understand why the gray shadow had returned without running away, even in such a terrible state. Then, an unexpected event occurred.

The two-headed tigers’ eyes flashed, and they snatched the gray shadow, stuffing it into their mouths. He was startled by the sight, but all his questions were answered.

‘Kuhahang!’

‘Kieek!’

The tiger’s head looked up at the sky and roared, and then its neck bulged again, and a gray tiger’s head appeared. The gray tiger’s head had the face of an ordinary woman. Han Li, who flinched without realizing it, immediately calmed his mind.

The gray head, as soon as it appeared, had its eyes closed with a pale face, as if it had suffered a major injury.

Not long after, red eyes opened, and it began to glare at Han Li with a venomous look. Han Li felt a chill run down his spine as he met that gaze.

‘Kieek’

The middle man’s head made a sharp sound and strode towards Han Li without hesitation. With each step, the black energy around its body grew, and its size gradually increased.

After taking a dozen steps, it had grown several times larger than its original size, almost like looking up at a two- or three-story pavilion.

Han Li did not delay any longer and waved his hands, releasing over a hundred giant puppet monkeys in all directions. Then, colorful pillars of light shot out from the giant monkeys, covering the sky.

He also pointed the blue greatsword floating in the sky, causing it to mix with the pillars of light, giving it the momentum to cut off the tiger’s neck in one go.

‘Kieek?’

The monster’s three heads looked at this with a slightly puzzled expression. The left and right heads opened their mouths, one spitting out black fireballs and the other gray ghost fire.

It seemed they were trying to block the numerous light pillar attacks by mixing the ghost fire and fireballs. Han Li narrowed his brows and fiercely formed hand seals.

Then, the brilliant light and speed of the blue greatsword increased again.

‘Tuwak’

In the blink of an eye, with the protection of numerous puppets, it pierced through the mixed attack of ghost fire and fireballs.

When the blue light circled the tiger’s waist and reappeared, it seemed only a matter of time before the monster fell. However, Han Li could not relax yet.

‘Kieeee!’

‘Kuhahang!’

‘Kkiaaaak!’

The three heads on the tiger’s body simultaneously let out tremendous screams, and then, with a speed that could not be followed by the naked eye, they swung their two front paws and snatched the greatsword.

The tiger’s front paws, covered in fur, were not afraid of the sharp greatsword at all. Seeing the greatsword being held by the monster’s two front paws and shaking incessantly, Han Li doubted his own eyes.

Even though the sword had not been refined for long enough to exert its full power, it was impossible to grab it with bare paws.

‘Claws refined with a magical artifact?’

It was a moment that made him even imagine such strange things. The monster, having subdued Han Li’s greatsword, revealed an ominous aura.

‘Kikikikik.’

Among them, the man’s face in the middle let out a bizarre laugh and emitted an extremely yin [a type of dark energy] black energy, causing the blue light of the greatsword to gradually diminish.

Han Li’s heart almost sank. The three-headed monster was strong and even used unknown evil techniques. It was clear that the longer it took, the more trouble he would be in.

It was time for a quick resolution. Han Li first looked around. The black-robed man and Fairy Ziling were still struggling with the vengeful spirits and had no time to pay attention to this side.

Han Li’s eyes lit up at the sight.

The left and right heads of the tiger were still blocking the light pillars of the giant puppet monkeys, and the middle head was contaminating the greatsword with black energy.

Murderous intent rose in Han Li’s heart.

‘You really want to die!’

He formed strange sword seals and fiercely gestured towards the flying sword.

The greatsword, which had been struggling under the tiger demon’s claws, stopped moving at Han Li’s gesture and only emitted a dazzling green light.

The head that had been emitting a large amount of black cold energy flinched at this. However, before there could be any reaction, dozens of golden lightning bolts erupted from the cross-section of the greatsword.

‘Pachichik!’

The speed of the lightning was so fast that it seemed like sparks flew once, then traveled along the tiger’s claws, back to its body, and enveloped the monster like a golden net.

‘Kukwakwakwang!’

The monster’s three heads were all startled and tried to do something when the net of lightning covering its entire body exploded.

In an instant, the blinding light and heat covered the giant monster’s body, making it impossible to see the final moments of the tiger demon in detail.

Fairy Ziling and the black-robed man, who had been fighting on the other side, turned their heads with bewildered expressions, and their opponents, the Wio [a type of ghost] and two Jiang Shi [a type of zombie], had their eyes clouded and ran away in all directions.

Fairy Ziling and the black-robed man were too surprised and could only let them escape into the ghost mist. Only Jie Hun [a character’s name] took this opportunity to devour the evil spirit that had been blocking him.

The giant light gradually dimmed after a while.

Only after the eerie wind blowing in the land of vengeful spirits passed did the giant demon’s body scatter into dust and disappear into the air.

Afterward, only the greatsword and a fist-sized bead remained in the void. The bead had a mix of black, green, and gray, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

Han Li let out a long sigh and pointed at the greatsword. The blue greatsword trembled and turned into eight flying swords, returning to him.

However, four of them lost their blue light along the way. Only the remaining four returned to Han Li’s body and fell into a deep sleep.

This lightning had completely depleted the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning that the magical artifact inherently possessed, so it would need to recover for a very long time.

Han Li looked at the strange bead, then flew to it and, after examining it closely, sighed.

After a while, with a cold face, he waved one hand, and a blue flying sword appeared in his hand. Soon after, the sword cut through the air.

‘Pung’

The bead was cut exactly in half, and three strands of black energy came out from within, trying to escape urgently. Han Li was not going to let that happen. His fingers flicked, and three fireballs shot out.

Pung, pung, pung!

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