Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 243

Afterward, a cyan thread of light stealthily flew up, approaching Han Li, who was trapped in the remnants of the Yin Spirit Master, accompanied by mad laughter.

“This old one will take over your body!”

The thread of light emitted a glow, transforming into a ghastly ghost head with a ferocious face as it lunged. Observing this from the sky, Merchant Xuan Gu snickered and immediately ceased his attacks on the barrier.

After all, the barrier would break after a few more attacks. Han Li’s heart turned cold as he watched the soul spirit flying toward him.

When the ghost was only a foot away, a fierce aura erupted from his body. The intense aura was so threatening, as if it had a physical form, that even the approaching soul spirit paused.

Han Li opened his mouth, and a thick golden lightning bolt shot out, attacking the ghost head at such close range that it was impossible to dodge.

“Kieek!”

The soul spirit made a strange noise and immediately began to flee backward. But how could he let it escape in this situation?

As golden light flashed across his entire body, even the black threads binding him were instantly torn apart. Without hesitation, he leaped, catching up to the ghost head that had turned into a green aura.

Then, with an expressionless face, Han Li waved his hand. A faint golden light flashed from his five fingers, scattering the green aura into smoke, and a cyan-colored jade bead appeared in his hand, emitting a strange light.

Han Li looked down at it with cold eyes and then ruthlessly tightened his grip.

*Crack.*

The jade shattered into dust with a burst of lightning. If he could use the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, he could instantly kill formless demonic entities like the Ghost King or the green shadow.

It was so easy that it was almost surprising. Han Li quietly raised his head to look at Xuan Gu, who was floating in the air.

“If you hand over the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, I will consider everything that happened as if it never did and help you. But if you don’t agree to this condition, only one of us will leave this place alive.”

His voice was very calm, but his eyes were as cold as ice. Merchant Xuan Gu, who had been merely looking down at Han Li, finally raised his hands in surrender.

“Alright! Let’s do it that way!”

Xuan Gu dispersed the black clouds and revealed himself.

“The fact that he couldn’t take over your body must be because that friend’s abilities were lacking. I’m fine with allying with the winning side. Go ahead and take the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng!”

He then sent a golden box flying toward Han Li.

Han Li remained expressionless, watching as the golden box bounced off the barrier and fell to the ground. He cautiously stared at the golden box, saying nothing.

Xuan Gu put his hands behind his back and calmly said to Han Li,

“Are you worried that it might turn into another Yin Spirit Master? Now that you are the only cultivator who can ally with me to deal with the Extreme Yin, you don’t need to worry. Besides, it’s truly unexpected that you have so many Gold Devouring Bamboo Bees [a type of insect]. They will probably be a great help in countering the Extreme Yin’s Profound Yin Great Art [a powerful technique]. In this situation, there’s no way this merchant would try to harm you.”

Whether he spoke or not, Han Li didn’t even turn his head. Since the other party had deceived him once, deceiving him a second time would not be difficult.

Now, none of his words had any meaning to Han Li. Thinking this, Han Li raised one hand. Soon, a thin golden lightning bolt shot out toward the golden box.

*Pachit.*

Sparks flew, and the golden box shook, but no other abnormalities were detected. Only then did he feel a little relieved.

If it were an object made with strange sorcery, it would not have survived the attack of the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning. Reassured, Han Li reached out, and the golden box flew to him.

At the same time, the barrier flickered, allowing the golden box to pass through before returning to its original state. Merchant Xuan Gu showed no change in expression despite Han Li’s caution.

He looked down at the box in his hand and fell into thought without immediately opening the lid. Xuan Gu sneered at Han Li’s behavior but had no intention of rushing him.

Han Li looked at the rabbit, the incarnation of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, which had fallen to the ground. The rabbit was still unconscious. Han Li no longer hesitated and touched the golden box with his finger.

Then, a blue light appeared between the box and his finger, revealing the object inside. It was not a large object.

The half-foot-long, yellow object looked like an old tree root. What was unique was that a beautiful silver flower bloomed at the end of the root, scattering a faint light. Moreover, the faint, clear fragrance of the flower cleared his mind.

Just as Han Li was doubting whether this was truly the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, the rabbit that had been lying down suddenly leaped up and charged toward the root in the jade box.

Han Li showed a happy expression at the rabbit’s movement, which had turned white. Seeing the incarnation of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng react like this, he believed it was genuine.

Han Li could not let the rabbit take the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng. Han Li flicked his finger, and a blue light shot out, hitting the rabbit’s head. However, the rabbit leaped again toward its main body. It seemed like it wouldn’t end easily.

Eventually, when lightning flashed, the rabbit completely lost consciousness and fell to the ground. Han Li picked up the rabbit, examined it closely, and then put it into the golden box. Then, the white rabbit turned into light and was absorbed into the main body of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng.

Han Li immediately closed the lid, placed a golden seal on it to prevent it from escaping, and then put it into his storage pouch. Only then, having finished everything, could Han Li finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Han Li, noticing that Xuan Gu was silent, became more vigilant and asked coldly,

“Aren’t you worried that I might run away after receiving the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng?”

“Run away? Do you think you’ll see any effect just by taking the ginseng root without knowing how to refine it?”

Han Li narrowed his brows, about to say something. But Xuan Gu spoke first.

“The Extreme Yin has already tampered with your body, so even if you run to the ends of the earth, you won’t be able to escape his grasp. It would be best for you to cooperate with me obediently. If you leave the Void Sky Battlefield without doing so… Heh heh!”

‘Tampered?’

Han Li’s face changed color, but quickly returned to normal. He couldn’t believe that someone had done something to him without his knowledge, bypassing his powerful consciousness.

Xuan Gu also realized that Han Li didn’t believe him at all.

He pouted, about to show proof, when his expression suddenly changed, and he looked into the distance. Han Li also felt uneasy, wondering what that demon was planning to do again, and became wary.

“The Extreme Yin is coming soon! He must have found you, so deal with it yourself. I’ll hide for now!”

Having said that, Xuan Gu turned into a black cloud and disappeared in an instant.

For a moment, Han Li was stunned.

*Kukwakwang.*

While he was half-believing the other’s words, a strange sound shook the sky, and a huge black cloud surged, threatening to cover the sky.

It was the direction Xuan Gu had been looking. Han Li’s heart sank.

The black cloud was a characteristic of the Profound Yin Great Art, so it was highly likely that the Extreme Yin Patriarch had appeared. It seemed that something had indeed been done to his body. Otherwise, there was no way he would have found him in such a remote place.

At the same time, Han Li cursed Xuan Gu inwardly.

He had been persuading him to form an alliance all along, but when the Extreme Yin came, he ran away alone!

Han Li became very depressed.

Now that it was too late to escape, he had to assess the situation and act accordingly. Han Li hadn’t even withdrawn the formation when the black cloud stopped in the sky.

Now, Han Li had no choice. He could only look up at the black cloud with great tension. He judged that the other party wouldn’t kill him immediately, so he wanted to find out why he was being chased.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out the reason. It was truly frustrating. He steeled his heart, looked up at the sky, and waited for the other party to speak first.

“Hmph!”

*Kukwakwang.*

But, contrary to his expectations, a pitch-black beam of light shot out from the black cloud, attacking the barrier.

A yellow light flashed, but it couldn’t withstand a single attack and was completely shattered. With the protective barrier failing, the black beam of light poured down directly toward Han Li.

Han Li’s face turned pale.

*Whoosh.*

Having dodged, he appeared with a slightly angry expression. He immediately waved his arms, and dozens of giant monkey puppets appeared, blocking his front.

Also, several spirit beast bags were released, and beautiful lights rose. Han Li’s eyes were as cold as ice. Even if the odds of winning were extremely low, he couldn’t just die.

The true essence within his body surged, fueling the momentum of the nine Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords.

Perhaps sensing Han Li’s hostility and vigilance, the black cloud covering the sky rapidly contracted, the black aura intensified, and the demonic energy amplified.

Han Li, startled, was about to launch a preemptive strike using the puppets when Xuan Gu’s chilling voice echoed in his mind.

“Don’t attack recklessly! That guy is just showing off his power; he doesn’t really intend to kill you. It seems that that rebellious fellow has a different purpose for coming to you.”

Han Li realized something from Xuan Gu’s words.

Suppressing the urge to attack immediately, he spoke first, politely but not subserviently.

“Senior Extreme Yin has come here, is there anything you need from this junior?”

His voice was very calm. From within the black cloud, a voice was transmitted that was neither dismissive nor complimentary.

“To be so calm after receiving my attack, you have quite the nerve.”

“Senior is already a Nascent Soul cultivator [a high level of cultivation], if you truly wanted to destroy this junior, whether my nerve is big or small would not matter.”

Knowing that Xuan Gu hadn’t disappeared completely but was hiding somewhere, observing the situation, Han Li felt a little relieved.

If he could ally with the old demon who knew the weaknesses of the Profound Yin Great Art, a fight against the Extreme Yin wouldn’t be impossible. However, it was uncertain whether Xuan Gu would really step forward, so it was important not to offend the Extreme Yin for now.

After a while, the black cloud finally dissipated.

*Puhak.*

The clouds scattered, and a middle-aged man and a small, ugly youth appeared from within, who were none other than the Extreme Yin Patriarch and Wu Chou. The middle-aged man asked with an interested expression,

“You must be Han Li, the cultivator from the Heavenly Star Sect?”

“Yes, as Senior says, I am Han Li.”

“I didn’t come looking for you to harm you, so don’t worry. Nor did I come because of the previous matter with the Myriad Sound Sect. The attack just now was only to destroy the barrier, which was disturbing our conversation.”

As the Extreme Yin said this with a smile, Han Li muttered inwardly.

‘Disturbing, my foot! He just wanted to show off his power!’

His mouth was moving very respectfully.

“Then, Senior, what is the reason for your visit…?”

He knew that the other party was waiting for this question, so he played along. However, when the Extreme Yin smiled and scanned him up and down, he felt a chill.

The Extreme Yin showed something white in his palm and asked,

“Do you recognize this?”

Han Li, with a questioning expression, waved his sleeve, bringing it in front of his eyes. It was very small and just a fragment, but he knew what it was at a glance.

It was unexpectedly a part of the spider silk that the Blood Jade Spider had emitted. He was puzzled as to why the Extreme Yin had this. But as he recalled, he remembered using the spider silk to block the zombies when he met the Extreme Yin.

‘Why is he asking about this?’

All sorts of speculations ran through his mind. But since the other party didn’t seem like he would give him much time to think, he answered honestly.

“Of course, I recognize it. It’s something my spirit beast emitted, why do you ask?”

Confusion appeared on Han Li’s face, and he couldn’t believe that this was the reason he was being sought out.

The middle-aged man floating in the air showed a satisfied expression at Han Li’s answer. He said with an excited expression, even in a gentle tone,

“Excellent! The reason I sought you out was to see that spirit beast. Please, take it out so that this patriarch can see it.”

Han Li’s vigilance increased. He had noticed a greedy glint in the other’s joyful smile.