Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 415

“A spirit! To use a magical treasure with a spirit dwelling within!” Gulyao swallowed hard after confirming the identity of the monster’s shadow. [A spirit in this context refers to a sentient entity bound to a magical item, enhancing its power.]

“This is the first time I’m using the Four-Eared Golden Ape as a spirit, so even if you don’t make it out of here alive, don’t be too upset,” Lu Su-sa said, revealing his killing intent as he formed a hand seal. [Hand seals are gestures used to channel magical power.]

As he did, the giant ape’s form became clearer, and the club grew to several yards in size. The four-eared ape, as if alive, grabbed the club and, with a golden flash, charged towards Gulyao.

* * *

The woman in green was not traveling with the gaunt mage or Gulyao. Her only goal was to find the center of the barrier as quickly as possible and completely destroy the restriction.

‘Of course, I have to deal with one of the Su-sas before that!’

After entering the fog, there was a subtle presence that had been following her. It was as if it were the presence of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator [Core Formation is a stage in cultivation, indicating a significant increase in power], and there was no way to shake it off.

Surprise and murderous intent welled up within her.

If she let a cultivator who used such strange techniques live, it would create variables in future battles.

Fortunately, the opponent seemed confident in their abilities and was not trying to hide their presence, instead exposing themselves and luring her, a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, in.

She scoffed and flew towards the location. The woman in green stopped about a hundred yards away from the unknown cultivator.

Even if she was confident in her abilities, it was not wise to rush into a fight in a place where the opponent had lured her.

The woman’s hand brushed against her staff, and she took out a blue bead.

She tossed the blue bead into the air and immediately sent a hand seal towards it.

At the same time, light burst from the bead, and countless blue rays pierced through the fog, creating a gust of wind that covered an area of about a hundred yards. When the wind died down, the view became clear.

The woman in green raised her eyebrows. She could see a young man in blue standing silently dozens of yards away, observing her.

It was Han Li, the one she had been keeping an eye on!

The woman’s gaze became even colder as she looked at the golden insects shining above Han Li’s head.

“Gold Devouring Beetles! So you were the cultivator who possessed spirit insects.” The woman in green sighed, revealing her wariness.

“It’s surprising that so many mages in the Moran Clan recognize the Gold Devouring Beetles. Did the mage who escaped last time tell you?”

“Was it you who did that to the body of the Heavenly Wind Division’s Mok Sang-sa?” The woman asked, not answering Han Li’s question.

“I don’t know who Mok Sang-sa is, but if you’re talking about the mage with the Wind Riding Chariot, then yes, it was me. If I had known the Core Formation would escape so quickly, I would have destroyed not only the body but also the Core Formation. Are you here to avenge him?”

Han Li did not sense anger or a desire for revenge on the opponent’s face, but he increased his vigilance. It would not be easy to fight an opponent who already knew about the existence of the Azure Glacial Flame and the Wind Lightning Wings.

Previous Core Formation cultivators had been frozen using the Azure Glacial Flame after approaching them using the Wind Lightning Wings.

“Mok Sang-sa’s demise was due to his own shortcomings, so there is nothing for me to avenge. However, you are surprisingly skilled at handling Gold Devouring Beetles, and your abilities are outstanding, so I cannot let you live.” The beautiful woman’s face darkened as she formed a hand seal, and a white light emanated from her entire body as a white silk ribbon-like magical treasure appeared.

Then, she flipped her palm, and a small cauldron appeared in her hand. The yellow cauldron had a cute body and was densely engraved with incantations.

Han Li scanned it with his spiritual sense, and his expression subtly changed.

“Gold Devouring Beetles, ancient spirit insects that are said to be almost impossible to destroy once they become adults. They can only be contained by treasures or restrictions made of wood or jade. But, coincidentally, this one has fought against a cultivator who was skilled at handling Gold Devouring Beetles.

That’s why I went out of my way to obtain this Yellow Spirit Cauldron. I never encountered the opponent I was waiting for, but I met a cultivator who handles Gold Devouring Beetles in Tiannan. What a coincidence! If I hadn’t prepared in advance, it would have been difficult to deal with you.” The woman in green muttered slowly, rubbing the yellow cauldron with her hand. Light scattered from the cauldron, and a yellow glow enveloped the woman.

“There’s a cultivator who handles Gold Devouring Beetles?” Han Li muttered in surprise.

“You didn’t know? Gold Devouring Beetles are the adult form of the main enemy of our Moran Clan, the Dolols. Their ancestors spent countless years cultivating dozens of adult insects, and they are passed down to the most outstanding talents among the Dolols.

Therefore, they are objects of hatred for us Moran people. Your Gold Devouring Beetles are not adults, but there are so many of them, so I cannot let you be.” The woman in green finished speaking expressionlessly and activated the small cauldron. The yellow cauldron hovered above her head and began to spew out yellow light.

Han Li was startled by the news that someone had raised Gold Devouring Beetles to adulthood, but he immediately put his worries aside. He read the opponent’s intentions and pointed his hand at the swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles.

Buzz!

The Gold Devouring Beetles, which had been gathered in one place, scattered instantly, flying in all directions through the fog. The yellow energy from the cauldron missed its target.

“…?” The woman hesitated, then seemed to remember something, and her face turned grim.

“You sent them to attack the other mages! Do you think I’ll give you the chance!” At the same time, the woman threw the white silk ribbon magical treasure towards Han Li. The white ribbon spun in the air and suddenly transformed into a large eagle, spreading its white wings before disappearing from its spot.

It immediately appeared above Han Li’s head and swung its sharp claws. Startled by the speed of the giant eagle, Han Li immediately flicked his hand.

Boom!

With the sound of thunder, a golden net appeared, trying to capture the incoming white eagle.

The eagle’s red eyes flashed as it flapped its wings, releasing countless wind blades.

Swish! Thud! Thud!

The power of the blades was quite strong, and although the golden net blocked most of them, some broke through. The giant eagle immediately descended, chasing after the wind blades.

‘This is bad!’ Han Li did not show it outwardly, but he was quite surprised by the unexpected situation.

He spread his ten fingers, and a dozen blue sword energies shot up towards the wind blades. At the same time, he flipped his palm, took out a blue shield, and threw it. A blue light burst out, and it grew to a huge size.

The blue shield, which shimmered as if water was flowing over it, looked extremely sturdy. The sword energies, which had effortlessly broken through the wind blades, flew towards the giant eagle.

However, when the eagle flapped its wings at the sword energies, the shockwave pushed them back. Then, seeing the eagle fiercely thrust its claws at the blue shield, Han Li scoffed.

As he gestured, the light of the shield intensified, and the eagle was repelled, creating only blue ripples as if it had skimmed the surface of water.

The eagle flickered, and its form wavered.

Taking advantage of that moment, Han Li took out a black object and instantly grabbed the eagle.

Whoosh!

A huge hand of eerie flames trapped the eagle. Sharp screams and the eagle’s desperate resistance followed, and its steel-like beak began to peck at the hand repeatedly.

Having captured the eagle, Han Li looked at the woman in green and his face hardened. Whether the eagle was captured or not, she was engrossed in chanting some strange incantation.

The woman’s ten fingers slowly spread open, and a faint light rippled in her palms. It was as if a pure white lotus was about to bloom.

‘What is it?’ Han Li thought that since a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator was putting so much effort into chanting, it must be something significant. He absolutely could not let the opponent complete the technique.

Han Li flicked his sleeve, releasing dozens of flying swords.

The dozens of flying swords flew towards the opponent with tremendous force, as if they were connected to each other. And before the flying swords arrived, Han Li summoned the giant hand that had captured the eagle.

Then, he unleashed a stream of Azure Glacial Flame towards the eagle. The eagle froze like a statue as soon as it touched the glacial flame, looking truly dynamic.

Han Li was about to move on to his next step when a huge white light covered an area of a hundred yards in front of him.

‘No.’

With an ominous premonition, he quickly turned his head, and a strange phenomenon began.

The white lotus that the woman in green was holding had fully bloomed, and it was emitting a dazzling light above her head.

As a result, the blue sword energies that had transformed from the Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords were unable to advance, as if they were caught on something, and they trembled about ten yards in front of her.

The white lotus did not seem to be a treasure but rather something created by condensing the woman’s magical power, but its power was beyond Han Li’s expectations.

His surprise faded, and he raised his right arm with a dark expression.

The energy from his hand, surrounded by a pitch-black aura, intensified, and his face gradually became serious. At the same time, his forearm rapidly swelled, becoming almost two or three times thicker.

It was the Yin Demon Slash that Han Li had been practicing.

The woman, who had almost completed her technique, raised her head and met his gaze. Han Li shouted without hesitation.

“Go.”

His right arm cut through the air, and a semi-circular, dark red object popped out, growing to almost half a yard in the air before reaching the white lotus barrier.

The woman in green narrowed her brows and spat out a white aura from her mouth, sending it to the lotus. A lotus-shaped illusion appeared, enveloping the barrier.

The dark red light initially penetrated the lotus illusion easily, but its speed gradually decreased until it was completely stopped.

The woman was satisfied, but then her expression changed.

Han Li had thrown another dark object.

The object, which immediately began to grow, instantly became as large as a mountain peak, trying to crush the woman within the lotus illusion with its ferocious momentum.

“Thousand Layer Peak.” The woman immediately recognized the identity of the giant mountain.

Even though she was using an ancient Buddhist secret technique in her mid-stage Core Formation cultivation, it was an attack that she could not simply face head-on.

She did not hesitate for long and formed a hand seal, withdrawing the lotus and the yellow cauldron above her head.

Shortly after, a blue light flashed about twenty yards away, and the woman’s elegant form appeared.

The barrier that had been protected by the lotus illusion did not disappear immediately but shattered only after being subjected to the pressure of the black mountain peak.

‘Wind Escape Technique?’

To have mastered an escape technique comparable to the Lightning Escape Technique! If that was the case, there was no way to attack her unless he could trap her.

Still, Han Li decided to try fighting her.

No matter how skilled she was in the Wind Escape Technique, she could not be better than the Wind Lightning Wings. If he could just get close, he could deal with her instantly using the power of the Azure Glacial Flame.

Having organized his thoughts, Han Li did not hesitate and pointed at the dark red fragments and the dozens of Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords that had escaped the white light. At the same time, they changed direction like the wind, heading towards the woman in green.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled from his back, and silver-white wings appeared. He retracted the blue shield into his sleeve and sent the ice-covered eagle towards the woman.

Han Li’s eyes flashed as he spread one hand, and a blue flame appeared in his palm.

The blue flame flickered eerily.

Boom!

With the sound of thunder and the appearance of silver-white electrodes, Han Li disappeared. The woman in green was overwhelmed by the continuous attacks of treasures every time he moved.

She had underestimated the early-stage Core Formation cultivator, thinking that they could not do much besides a few unique abilities. But now, powerful treasures were appearing one after another, and even the eagle had been turned into an ice block, which made her furious.

Now that Han Li had even grown wings and disappeared with a thunderous sound, the woman sneered. It was a technique that consumed her vital energy, but she decided to use her trump card to kill the opponent in one go.

First, she had to prevent the opponent from getting close by using the Lightning Escape Technique.

The woman used her spiritual sense to control the lotus above her head, and the white lotus descended and disappeared into her head.

At this time, Han Li was about three or four yards away from the woman in green’s side, with a thunderous sound. His form flickered, and he immediately closed the distance to almost one yard, and the blue flame in his hand silently touched the yellow barrier.

The wood-attribute barrier created by the yellow cauldron, Han Li thought, would not be able to withstand a single blow from the Azure Glacial Flame.

However, even though the barrier was about to break, the woman in green inside was still calm and did not even think about escaping.

‘……!’

Han Li was startled and instinctively felt that something was wrong. At that moment, a faint milky white light spread from the woman’s body. Pure white lotus petals began to bloom from her body.

# 417