Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 260

Clang.

Following that, the purple light vanished, and a white object fell from the sky. By the time anyone tried to identify it, it had already landed. No matter how one looked at it, this white object appeared to be an ordinary stone.

Mancheonmyeong’s eyes widened, and he shouted in disbelief.

“It used the Transformation Art! That leopard is a mutated spirit beast!”

The mention of a mutated spirit beast caused everyone, regardless of whether they were from the righteous or demonic path, to show signs of surprise.

Mutated spirit beasts and the ‘Myriad Desolate Offspring’ sounded similar, but there was a significant difference between them. Myriad Desolate Offspring referred to a lineage of spirit beasts passed down from the ancient era, whose habits and appearances had changed over time, resulting in new species. [These are ancient, naturally evolved species.]

They were rarer and fewer in number than ordinary spirit beasts, making them difficult to find. However, mutated spirit beasts were entirely unique species.

Some spirit beasts, during their evolution, acquired unique abilities due to unknown causes, often achieving feats that could not be accomplished with ordinary magic.

Like the leopard just did, turning any magical artifact or treasure into stone was one such ability. The abilities of these mutated spirit beasts were so extraordinary that a Nascent Soul cultivator [a high-level cultivator] had once easily annihilated four cultivators of the same level with a mutated spirit beast, causing much debate.

After that, the unique magic used by mutated spirit beasts was distinguished from ordinary magic and called Transformation Art.

Man Ho-ja’s Three-Eyed Leopard was supposed to emit fire attacks from its third eye, but it had turned Mancheonmyeong’s unknown magical artifact or treasure into stone.

The cultivators who witnessed the scene were dumbfounded. The occurrence of a mutated spirit beast was rarer than one in ten thousand, and even then, it was only possible for spirit beasts above the fourth level.

Since the existence of mutated spirit beasts became known, only about a dozen had appeared in the Chaotic Star Sea, and only a few of them possessed useful abilities.

The last time a mutated spirit beast appeared was a thousand years ago, so no one held any hope for it. That was why both the demonic and righteous cultivators had strange expressions on their faces.

Mancheonmyeong now understood Man Ho-ja’s confident attitude. The Three-Eyed Leopard alone was enough to deal with Han Gyo and Ri Gu.

Realizing the situation, Mancheonmyeong regained his composure and looked at Geuk-eum and Cheong-yeok. They looked delighted, clearly showing no intention of sharing the Heavenly Essence equally.

Geuk-eum and Cheong-yeok exchanged meaningful glances and immediately began to move. Black energy rose around Geuk-eum’s patriarch, and the dozen or so Heavenly Corpses [reanimated corpses controlled by demonic cultivators] around him disappeared into the black light.

At that moment, the old man’s telepathic message echoed in Han Li’s ears.

“Move back a little. Don’t get involved in the battle, just focus on saving your own life!”

Soon, the flock of sparrows flying above the old man’s head cried sharply and transformed into arrows, shooting towards the righteous cultivators. As the old man waved his sleeves, countless blue threads shot out, following the sparrows.

Since the demonic cultivators had initiated the attack, Mancheonmyeong had nothing to hold back.

Even if Man Ho-ja’s mutated spirit beast was formidable, he was not afraid of it. In fact, even a mutated spirit beast was just a beast.

Moreover, he speculated that the leopard’s Transformation Art, which turned objects into stone, would have no effect on a cultivator’s body. As long as he was careful not to let his magical treasures be hit by the yellow beam, dealing with the spirit beast was not impossible.

Having finished his thoughts, Mancheonmyeong coldly shouted.

“Let’s move!”

After speaking, he released a white Han Gyo and stretched out his hands. Purple flames engulfed Mancheonmyeong’s entire body and shot towards Man Ho-ja in an instant.

Watching this from the side, Cheon O-ja immediately summoned Ri Gu and relentlessly pounded its shell.

*Kuh-oh!*

At the same time, a white chill, spewed from the giant turtle’s mouth, crashed over the flock of sparrows like an angry wave.

*Kie-ack!*

The Azure Crane flock could not stand idly by, so they opened their small beaks and emitted thin blue flames, which merged into a giant blue pillar of fire, blocking the turtle’s chill.

*Puh-puh-puh-pung.*

The blue flames and white chill bounced off in all directions, making it impossible to determine the superior side in such a short time. The movements of the lean old man dressed as a farmer were a bit strange. As he quietly waved his hand, a jade-green willow branch appeared in his hand.

As he began to gently shake the willow branch, countless green phantoms appeared around him, filling an area of over ten feet. It was as if a green sea was surging.

Within that green sea, a black light suddenly flashed, and three armored demonic beasts emerged from it. The countless green energies surrounding the demonic beast-type corpses shot out as if they were alive, piercing countless holes in the bodies of the Heavenly Corpses.

*Kieeeek!*

The monsters with immense power were unable to escape, screaming at the soft willow branch. Geuk-eum’s face hardened, and he immediately transformed into a black cloud and rushed over.

Each Heavenly Corpse was difficult to refine and precious to lose. Moreover, the opponent’s magic seemed to be of the wood attribute, making his Heavenly Corpse transformation vulnerable.

As the Nascent Soul old monsters began their chaotic battle, Han Li had already moved far away, even without the old man’s instructions. No matter how far he moved, he wouldn’t be able to escape if the Nascent Soul old monsters attacked with all their might, but the psychological pressure made him retreat.

If the righteous cultivators tried to eliminate him, the owner of the Blood Jade Spider, out of spite, he would be helpless.

It was also questionable whether Man Ho-ja and the others would protect him in time. After all, the place was not very large, and a Nascent Soul cultivator could do anything in an instant.

In that moment, Han Li thought that Geuk-eum being entangled in a fight with the righteous cultivators was a great opportunity for Hyun-gul.

‘Will the old demon take this opportunity to move?’

Without realizing it, Han Li glanced at Hyun-gul below the altar. However, Hyun-gul was just watching the fight with a blank expression, not showing any reaction. No one could read his thoughts.

‘A cunning old fox!’

Han Li, unable to read Hyun-gul’s intentions, turned his gaze to the Blood Jade Spider. The spider was trembling, its entire body a vibrant red, and was slowly pulling up its web.

The web reflected the cold, blue flames, creating a strange atmosphere. When the blue light reached the Blood Jade Spider along the web, a red light burst from the spider’s body, blocking its approach.

Han Li’s brow furrowed.

Without a doubt, the blue light was related to the Azure Ice Flame. It was clear that the old monsters had sent out only spirit beasts and waited because they were wary of this phenomenon.

*Thud.*

A sudden loud sound echoed, followed by Man Ho-ja’s laughter. He turned his gaze back to the Nascent Soul old monsters.

Man Ho-ja’s body had grown to about four times its original size, and the clothes he had been wearing on his upper body had already been torn off and disappeared. The golden scales covering his bare chest were so dazzling that it was hard to look at them.

What was strange was that several silver lights were circling around his body. The silver lights fluttered like phantoms in a dream, but they could not advance due to the purple fire dragon transformed from Mancheonmyeong’s Heavenly Net Art.

Although he had been boasting that his Turbid Heaven Demonic Art was the best technique in the Chaotic Star Sea, it would be foolish to block the opponent’s Heavenly Net Art with his bare body.

Moreover, Man Ho-ja was wearing black iron gauntlets on his hands, and sharp thorns were menacingly protruding from the gauntlets.

Man Ho-ja was using his gauntlet-clad hands to fight against another purple greatsword that was writhing like a dragon. Every time he threw a punch, a golden light shaped like a giant hand flew out, attacking the greatsword.

Mancheonmyeong, who was floating in the air and controlling two purple greatswords, was trying to find a way to break through the silver light barrier and subdue Man Ho-ja.

On the other side, Cheon O-ja and Cheong-yeok were cautiously fighting. One side was attacking with Azure Cranes and magical treasures, while the other side was blocking the attacks with Ri Gu and a white glowing ruler.

The two were simply blocking each other, maintaining calm expressions. Unexpectedly, the most intense battle was taking place between Geuk-eum and the lean old man.

An enormous ghostly wail echoed around the two, and black energy and green shadows intertwined, creating a massive vortex.

From the outside, one could only occasionally see the bodies of the Heavenly Corpses flashing and thick green vines thrashing about. And the leopard, which the demonic cultivators had greatly welcomed, was currently chasing and being chased by the white Gyo-dragon [a type of dragon].

It was clear at a glance that the Han Gyo was being pushed back, as the Three-Eyed Leopard’s yellow light pillars continuously split the air, chasing after it. When the white chill emitted by the Gyo-dragon touched the yellow light, it instantly turned to stone and fell, making it impossible to get close.

However, because the leopard was blocking the three righteous cultivators, the Han Gyo was able to face it alone. Watching their fight, Han Li felt strange.

They were fighting very loudly, using magic, spirit beasts, and magical treasures, but it didn’t feel like they were fighting fiercely for their lives. To describe them, it was as if they were fellow disciples sparring for fun.

‘Is this how Nascent Soul cultivators normally fight?’

Han Li wondered. Then, suddenly, as if struck by an idea, he glanced at Hyun-gul.

The old demon with the face of a boy was quietly watching the scene with a smirk on his lips. Then, feeling Han Li’s gaze, he immediately returned to a blank expression.

Now, Han Li seemed to understand the situation.

*Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!*

Before he could organize his thoughts, the Heavenly Essence emitted a tremendous explosion of light from the pit in the altar.

Startled, Han Li hurriedly turned to look at the entrance of the pit. The blue light in the center of the altar pulsed, and flames shot out as if a dragon was rising.

The light circled the altar once and then transformed into a two-headed fire wolf, floating into the air.

The wolf’s entire body was literally on fire, and upon discovering the numerous cultivators, it immediately tried to flee. Seeing this, both the righteous and demonic sides were stunned and stopped their movements.

However, Cheong-yeok, who was closest to the wolf, immediately regained his senses and struck his own head. A giant hand emerged from the old man’s head and rushed to cover the wolf.

At the same time, Mancheonmyeong shouted anxiously.

“That is mine!”

As he staggered, Mancheonmyeong split into two.

The two Mancheonmyeongs increased the purple flames on their bodies and flew towards Cheong-yeok’s giant hand. Man Ho-ja and the others also quickly regained their senses and flew towards the target.

Various colored lights converged on one spot. Of course, the other Nascent Soul cultivators were a step behind Cheong-yeok and Mancheonmyeong.

The giant hand arrived above the fire wolf’s head first.

However, just as everyone thought that Cheong-yeok would subdue the wolf, red and yellow lights burst from the wolf’s head, forming a protective barrier.

*Pung!*

As the barrier formed, Cheong-yeok’s hand grabbed it and was bounced back by the rebound force. Despite the unexpected situation, Cheong-yeok did not lose his smile.

The giant hand, having greatly increased its blue light, tried to grab the barrier once more, but a purple beam of light closed the distance in the blink of an eye from behind.

However, still unable to catch up, the purple beam of light transformed into a fire dragon and rushed towards the giant hand instead of the wolf.

‘Mancheonmyeong, you despicable bastard!’

The manifested Xuanhua Great Hand, which was formed by dividing his consciousness, was highly practical and powerful, but it could not simply take the fire dragon’s attack.

No matter how important the treasure was, he had to prevent his consciousness from being damaged, so Cheong-yeok had no choice but to change the direction of the giant hand to block the purple fire dragon.

*Puh-puh-pung.*

The blue light and purple flames exploded simultaneously.