Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 386

Han Li, his brow furrowed, was about to unleash another spell when the old man moved first. With a grimace, he formed a bizarre hand seal, then shot out a multicolored light from his hands, directing it at the protective barrier above his head. At the same time, the dark blue barrier began to contract, then burst open in an instant. Countless crystal shards glittered in the air, covering an area of about ten square yards. The old man pointed at Han Li with a resolute expression. “Go!” Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! The crystal shards, which had seemed to cover the sky, shot out like arrows with tremendous force. ‘Is this a spirit technique?’ Though inwardly surprised, Han Li immediately activated the basket artifact and summoned another swarm of tricolor Gold Devouring Beetles to protect him. This time, the beetles spun around Han Li like mad, forming an impenetrable barrier. And as soon as the basket artifact left his hand, it emitted a white light and flew towards the crystal shards. As a result, the crystal shards that collided with the basket artifact were swept away and absorbed by the white energy. Soon, the crystal shards split apart as if they were alive, avoiding the basket artifact and flying towards the Gold Devouring Beetles protecting Han Li. Bang! Thud! Bang! Dull thuds echoed in succession, and it seemed as if the sharp crystal shards would pierce through the Gold Devouring Beetles at any moment, but soon the beetles’ protective barrier recovered as if nothing had happened. The old man clicked his tongue at this sight. The Ice Crystal Technique he had just used was similar to the Ice Rain Technique among the Five Elements techniques used by cultivators, but it was far superior in quantity and power. All the crystal shards were transformed from the cold energy emitted from his body, making them extremely sharp and imbued with a strange chill. Most cultivators would try to block them with a protective barrier, only to be defeated by the crystal shards. But when the crystal shards disappeared into the swarm of insects without a trace, the old man was bewildered. As he hesitated and tried to spread his consciousness to investigate, a huge vibration echoed from above his head. His ears went numb for a moment, and his vision went dark, nearly causing him to fall from the sky. The old man hurriedly put his hands together and struck his body. Soon, another white barrier formed around his body, and he regained his stability. Looking up, he saw that the huge silver bell had regained its momentum and was emitting a massive sonic wave. At that moment, the silver light flashed, and the bell rang again. This time, it was aimed at the dark blue net that was struggling against the blue giant sword. “No!” The old man immediately realized something and tried to take action, but it was already too late. The dark blue net was shattered by the bell’s sonic wave, and the freed giant sword was descending on the old man without hesitation. Even before the sharp blade touched him, immense pressure rushed in first. Although he had a protective barrier, it was uncertain whether it could block the giant sword. The old man retreated dozens of yards, barely avoiding the giant sword’s attack. Then, without hesitation, he reached out and summoned the bead. The old man poured his essence into the bead above his head, forming a protective barrier again, and looked at his opponent with a cautious gaze. His face was already pale. The opponent’s swarm of insects had already scattered with a buzzing sound and were flying above Han Li’s head again. And Han Li was holding a small, inch-sized blue ice flower in one hand, staring at the old man. The old man was startled by his cold gaze, but soon his eyes moved to the ice flower Han Li was holding, and he was shocked. The ice flower shone transparently in the sunlight. The beautiful appearance of the ice flower was irrelevant, but the cold spiritual power that was clearly felt even from a great distance startled him, who had been practicing ice-attribute spiritual techniques for hundreds of years. It was a very unfamiliar kind of cold energy, but he was already beginning to feel fear. The old man grimaced and opened his mouth with a dark expression. “Did you break my sect’s spirit technique with that? Let’s see what kind of treasure is so miraculous.” “A treasure, you say? Something like that. If you explain the spirit technique you just used, I’ll explain mine.” “Are you interested in our Dharma Masters’ spirit techniques? You’re an interesting one!” As he watched the old man gradually return to his original grim expression, Han Li realized. He was wary of the ice flower he held in his hand. When Han Li spoke with an expression that suggested he was too lazy to answer, the old man became greatly enraged. The old man sneered and tapped his waist, and a black light flashed, and something suddenly popped out from his storage pouch. The dark, lumpy thing was surprisingly a small, shrunken mountain. Before Han Li could figure out what it was, the old man had already begun to mutter something. The mountain he threw out emitted a black light and grew madly, swelling to the size of dozens of yards, but it did not stop there and continued to grow. Han Li gasped when he saw it. Without thinking, he gestured towards the giant sword, and the giant sword vibrated and fell fiercely towards the top of the mountain. Boom! Amidst the roar and flying rock fragments, blue light and black light intertwined. Han Li narrowed his eyes and saw that he had carved out about eight yards of the top of the black mountain, but he was far from splitting it in two. Moreover, the carved-out part was being filled in again at a very fast speed, and it had returned to its original state before the giant sword could strike again. The mountain peak, which had now grown to nearly a hundred yards, was almost comparable to a real mountain peak. At this scale, even a protective barrier or armor made of Gold Devouring Beetles would be reduced to dust. The giant sword continued to strike the black mountain peak, but it was useless. The old man let out a sinister laugh and pointed at the mountain peak. The mountain peak suddenly appeared above Han Li’s head with a ‘bang!’ and fell down with a fierce momentum. Startled, Han Li disappeared from the spot with a thunderous sound and a flash of silver light from his back. When Han Li reappeared dozens of yards away, he had silver wings on his back. “Huh!” The old man was about to jump out of his skin when he saw Han Li’s teleportation. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly bounced away to create distance from Han Li. Now the old man was certain. The opponent in front of him was definitely not an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator [a stage of cultivation]. With that level of skill, he was not someone he could hold back. This time, it seemed he would have to return even if he didn’t achieve anything. While the old man was thinking about retreating, Han Li was looking at the black mountain peak. A treasure with such strange abilities was something the old man could not have refined. It was likely an ancient artifact found in an ancient ruin. If he attacked with such a treasure, even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator would not be unscathed, so if he could take it, he could make up for his weakness in attack power. Moreover, the Wind Chariot in the old man’s possession was also a very desirable item. Han Li’s gaze towards the old man grew colder. After fighting this much, he had become somewhat familiar with his opponent’s techniques. Moreover, whether it was heaven helping him or his opponent being too unlucky, all of his opponent’s techniques were ice-attribute, which posed no threat to him as he was absorbing the Azure Yang Ice Flame. That teleporting black mountain peak seemed to be his opponent’s strongest weapon, but there was no way he could be defeated by it while wearing the Wind Lightning Shoes. If that was the case, it was possible to kill his opponent. Having made up his mind, Han Li moved without delay. The ice flower in his hand burst into light and quickly melted, reborn as an egg-sized blue flame. Han Li pointed at the giant sword and the silver bell with his other hand, then used the Wind Lightning Shoes to disappear from the spot. And when he reappeared with the blue flame in his hand, he was already about a hundred yards closer to the old man. The giant sword and the silver bell increased their light and flew towards the old man at high speed. On the way, the giant sword suddenly disassembled, and hundreds of sharp sword energies poured down on the old man’s protective barrier. Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! The blue sword energy endlessly attacked the old man’s protective barrier, and the silver bell emitted sonic waves to strike the barrier. Although the attacks poured down in succession, the old man was tense but not flustered. He poured a large amount of spiritual power into the bead above his head to thicken the protective barrier, and with one hand, he quickly formed a hand seal and emitted a blue light. The blue light circled around him, forming a square ice shield one foot thick. Having created the ice shield, the old man felt much more at ease. He reached out with his other hand towards the black mountain peak, and the black peak turned into a black beam of light and returned. Of course, he kept an eye on his surroundings, wary of Han Li’s teleportation, preparing for a surprise attack. It was a moment that highlighted the rich combat experience of a Nascent Soul stage Dharma Master [a powerful cultivator]. Crack! Boom! With a thunderous sound, Han Li appeared about ten yards to the side of the old man and emitted a large amount of dense blue threads from his hand. He had used the Clear Spirit Needles. It happened at such a close distance that before the old man could take any other action, the needles pierced through the blue shield and attacked the ice shield. Swish! Swish! Swish! The sound of needles attacking like rain stopped, and a white light soared up, and the needles froze and fell down. The old man cheered and opened his mouth to shoot a blue beam of light at Han Li, who was close by. Of course, Han Li flashed silver and disappeared into the air again. Meanwhile, the black mountain peak returned and hovered above the old man’s head. The old man shot a hand seal at the mountain peak, and a dark, lumpy energy flowed out from the bottom of the mountain, wrapping around the hundreds of sword energies and the silver bell that were attacking the old man. The momentum of Han Li’s treasures, which had been attacking relentlessly, was greatly reduced, and the old man’s flickering protective barrier regained its stability. Relieved, the old man flipped his hand and took out the Wind Chariot. He threw the shrunken chariot, and it regained its original shape with a white light. For some reason, he had a bad feeling ever since the opponent’s ice flower had melted and turned into a blue flame. The old man, who had reached the Wind Chariot at an extremely fast speed, finally felt a little relieved. Just as he was about to retrieve the bead and the black peak, he heard the sound of thunder striking right next to the Wind Chariot. Just as lightning flashed, Han Li appeared. “Huh!” The old man, greatly startled, raised his hand to cast a spell, but Han Li flew in first, spreading his five fingers that were holding the Azure Yang Ice Flame. Startled, the old man reflexively formed an ice shield around him, and Han Li’s hand collided with the shield. “Heh!” The old man showed a look of joy. Attacking the Ice Crystal Shield with his bare hands? He must be crazy! His arm would freeze and fall off in an instant. Bang! White light and blue light grew simultaneously. The old man’s vision brightened for a moment, and his chest went cold, but Han Li’s hand, which was holding the blue flame, was already on his chest like a ghost. Before he could even scream, the strange blue flame quickly spread through his body. In the blink of an eye, most of the old man’s body was covered in ice and trapped inside. Terrified, the old man had no choice but to ignite the flame in his dantian [energy center] that he had cultivated for hundreds of years, barely blocking the blue chill from his neck. Han Li, who was watching this, chuckled and spread his other hand. Then, a blue sword energy appeared and quickly flew towards the old man’s head. At the same time, the blue chill, which had been fiercely attacking his neck, gained the upper hand and froze half of the old man’s face, including his mouth. The old man’s eyes widened in despair. And a strange sound came from his skull, and a small Nascent Soul [a cultivator’s soul] that looked exactly like the old man appeared. Han Li immediately opened his mouth, and golden lightning rushed towards the old man’s Nascent Soul. However, the old man’s Nascent Soul also scattered a blue light without delay and disappeared, causing the golden lightning to strike the air.