Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 247

Han Li examined the red wall before simply stepping inside. He had no intention of greeting any other cultivators, especially since he could hear footsteps approaching from behind.

As he entered the red light, an immense heat surged like a wild beast, causing his water-attribute barrier to flicker precariously, as if it would vanish at any moment. Startled, he quickly poured more spiritual power into the barrier to maintain it, then looked around. Everything was ablaze with color, from the crimson rocks and orange soil to the red-glowing vegetation and the hazy, scarlet sky.

Even with the water-attribute barrier and the Wall Painting Robe, he could still feel the intense heat in the air.

According to Fairy Ziling, no one could fly in the second gate and had to walk on foot to pass through. Therefore, those who were far from the teleportation array had to walk day and night to barely reach the end of the Great Canyon.

It was difficult to pass through relying solely on cultivation; one needed treasures that could block the fire with various cold energies. Moreover, the harsh environment was not the only problem; the demonic beasts that thrived within the canyon were an even greater obstacle.

About half of those who challenged this gate would die at the hands of these demonic beasts. Furthermore, it was not uncommon for people to be ambushed by other cultivators with malicious intent, losing their treasures and their lives.

The closer one got to the teleportation array, the greater the danger would become. The more cold-energy treasures others acquired to resist the heat, the higher their chances of passing through this gate would be.

Han Li did not start immediately but looked around, lost in thought.

After about an hour, he took out the White Jade Pendant he had received from the Extreme Yin Patriarch from his pouch and hung it on his waist, then withdrew his water-attribute barrier.

A white light began to envelop him, replacing the blue. He needed to conserve his magic power as much as possible. To sit cross-legged and replenish magic power in a place like this would be a death wish.

He looked up and, spotting the red sun, determined his direction and set off without delay. There was no real path ahead, only irregularly arranged rocks and trees about half the height of a person.

As he continued to walk, he was blocked by a thicket of weeds emitting a strange red light. Han Li’s brow furrowed as he stared at the thicket.

Suddenly, a dark blue sphere formed in his hand and shot out.

*Chwaaa!*

The dark blue sphere turned into steam and vanished as soon as it touched the thicket. Han Li’s expression changed. He looked around, but everywhere he looked, he was blocked by the strange weeds; there was no other way.

After hesitating for a moment, Han Li took a few steps forward as a test.

‘What kind of weeds are these!’

Each blade was like a sharp red knife, radiating intense heat. Thanks to the White Jade Pendant and the Wall Painting Robe, he wasn’t in great danger, but the stinging pain under his feet made him want to leave this place immediately.

He had no choice but to deploy the water-attribute barrier again. This would accelerate the consumption of his magic power, but it allowed him to run. He used the Raging Flame Steps and transformed into a blue shadow, disappearing in an instant.

* * *

Bokseo was a Core Formation stage cultivator with fire and earth-attribute spiritual roots. He had devoted himself to cultivation for 300 years to reach his current level, and he was quite famous in the Chaotic Star Sea. Even the surrounding cultivators believed that he had a high chance of reaching the Nascent Soul stage. He had always welcomed the respect, admiration, and praise of others.

However, if he hadn’t accidentally obtained a Spirit Origin Pill from the stomach of a fourth-grade demonic beast, he would still be stuck in the Foundation Establishment stage. Having tasted the sweetness of an ancient spirit pill, he had been preparing for the Void Sky Hall expedition for a long time. He had prepared Fire Dragon Insects, which he planned to use to obtain the legendary Void Sky Cauldron from the Chaotic Star Sea.

If he could obtain the various ancient treasures and the Heaven Mending Pills within, the day he reached the Nascent Soul stage would not be far off. However, upon arriving at the Void Sky Hall, Bokseo saw many old Nascent Soul [A higher cultivation stage] monsters, and his heart sank as if cold water had been poured over his head.

The Nascent Soul cultivators had come here, of course, with the intention of entering the inner hall to find the Void Sky Cauldron. In previous expeditions, only four or five people had come, but this time, there were as many as eight. However, having come this far, it was a shame to give up.

Hoping for a chance, he passed through the Ghost Mist and arrived at the second gate, the Lava Path.

In fact, he had only been slightly worried about the first gate, the Ghost Mist, and the third gate, the Illusionary World; he hadn’t even considered the second gate, the Icefire Path.

This was because the cultivation method he had mastered was the renowned Great Sun Art of the Chaotic Star Sea. The Great Sun Art was one of the top fire-attribute cultivation methods in the Chaotic Star Sea. He had reduced countless enemies to ashes using the Great Sun True Fire of the method, so he was confident in his ability to withstand heat.

Of course, he hadn’t come here empty-handed. He had prepared two magical artifacts to block the heat. He had wanted to prepare more, but he had spent all his wealth acquiring the Fire Dragon Insects, so he had no leeway.

Since he had mastered the Great Sun Art and had two auxiliary magical artifacts, he thought passing through the second gate would be a piece of cake. But now, he was regretting it to the point of madness.

He realized the truth as soon as he entered the Lava Path. The Great Sun Art was helpful in enduring the heat, but he had to constantly operate the method. It wasn’t just a slight consumption of magic power; he had to use the Great Sun Art at full power to survive in this harsh environment.

Before entering this place, he could completely neutralize the flames of others by operating just one level of the Great Sun Art. However, the high temperature emitted from the Lava Path was completely different from the flames emitted by cultivators. It seemed that the barrier was suppressing fire-attribute cultivation methods. Moreover, the magical artifacts he had prepared had little effect.

Bokseo, who had been walking for a long time, was in a complicated state of mind. At his current rate of magic power consumption, even if he held spirit stones in his hands and constantly replenished his spiritual power, it would be depleted within half a day. If that happened, he would be reduced to ashes by the intense heat.

Bokseo had no intention of dying like that. He ran like a madman, looking around. But the surroundings were silent, and no one caught his eye. He was now planning to rob someone else of their treasures to prolong his life.

The more he ran forward, the stronger Bokseo’s desire to live became. After running for a long time, he finally stopped, feeling extremely anxious.

No matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t pass through the Great Canyon like this, and if he ran further and encountered another cultivator, he wouldn’t have any magic power left to fight. Moreover, even if he couldn’t attack, it was also a problem whether the opponent would let him go in his weakened state.

Bokseo paced back and forth like a grasshopper on a hot pan, and finally, an idea came to him. He suddenly raised his head and looked up at the red sky with uneasy eyes.

Having made up his mind, a yellow light burst from his body, and he slowly began to rise. As he floated into the air, he blinked his eyes incessantly, not letting his guard down. When he reached a height of about three meters, nothing happened, and he couldn’t hide his joy. This height was enough to fly. In fact, if he could fly using magical artifacts, reaching the end of the Great Canyon would be instantaneous.

Suppressing the joy that surged in his heart, he quickly formed a magic seal and tried to disappear in a yellow light.

*Kuwang!*

“Kuaaak!”

Bokseo, who had just flown about ten meters, was struck by a silver lightning bolt that fell from the scarlet sky and turned into ashes. Two objects fell from his body and disappeared into the nearby bushes.

* * *

In a certain part of the Lava Path, a beautiful woman in her thirties, wearing a dark blue cloth, was looking at a river of lava. She hesitated because a red river, about forty meters wide, blocked her path, except for a square stone bridge about a meter long.

After staring at the boiling lava for a while, she frowned and finally carefully moved her foot onto the stone bridge. As soon as her foot touched the stone, her face contorted in pain. The heat from the stone bridge was beyond imagination, and the veil she wore could not block it at all.

But the woman gritted her teeth and carefully took one step at a time.

*Warrrr!*

She had been progressing smoothly until the middle, but the moment she reached the center of the stone bridge, a huge rumble echoed from afar. Startled, she quickly turned her gaze, and her face turned pale. A huge gust of wind was blowing from the upper reaches of the lava river, engulfing her like a giant dragon with the power of fire.

“Kyaaak!”

With a sharp scream, the woman disappeared. A moment later, something blue flashed in the lava under the stone bridge and soon sank below the surface.

* * *

Near an ice mountain in the Frozen Path, a middle-aged man and an old man were back-to-back, facing a dozen transparent demonic beasts. The demonic beasts were emitting both red and white energy at the same time. The sounds of battle were heard for a while before they all scattered. Only two brutally mangled corpses remained on the frozen ground.

At the same time, on the other side of the Frozen Path, the Extreme Yin Patriarch was walking leisurely, his whole body radiating a brilliant black light that did not feel cold at all. Occasionally, transparent demonic beasts that had been lurking in the ice would ambush him, but they were cut in half every time the black light flashed. Then, he continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

* * *

Two days later, on a red hill in the Lava Path, Han Li was looking ahead with a hesitant expression. After using the Raging Flame Steps to pass through the grasslands at high speed that day, he had returned to his normal pace. Using the Raging Flame Steps continuously was too much of a burden on his body. Even his powerful body after the Core Formation stage couldn’t maintain it for too long.

Before arriving here, when he had passed through the swamp, even Han Li, with his immense mental strength, had been covered in cold sweat from tension. The ground, which had looked ordinary, was actually a pit filled with lava. If he hadn’t activated the Ice Spirit Pearl that Wan Huzi had given him in time to cover his whole body the moment he fell into the swamp, he would have been dead by now.

After that, he had passed through strangely shaped trees and was caught by three Fire Spirit Beasts, and after struggling for a long time, he had barely escaped. But nothing had frozen Han Li as much as the scene before him. An endless black sand desert stretched out in front of him. It was truly just black sand and hills made of that sand.

Han Li was tense at this strange sight and couldn’t enter without thinking. It was impossible to go around. The area of the black desert was enormous, and going around it would clearly take at least two days. According to the testimonies of the cultivators who had passed through before, the second gate had to be passed within five days. Otherwise, the teleportation array would disappear, and those trapped there would be dead.

He estimated that he had only reached the middle of the Great Canyon, so if he delayed here for two days, he would be severely short on time. He looked down at the desert, trying to guess what kind of danger was hidden there. Then, Han Li’s expression changed, and his body, which had become blurry, disappeared into the air.

Soon, someone’s voice began to be heard.