Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 417

The Barrier War (5)

The dozen or so petals of the white lotus were formidable, but the power of the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and the Azure Glacial Flame could not be ignored either.

The giant sword, a combination of the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and the Azure Glacial Flame, each powerful on their own, was formed from seventy-two Azure Bamboo Peak Cloud Swords.

In the end, the giant sword managed to cleave through the illusion of the lotus petals that had barely held it back. The giant sword effortlessly sliced into the blazing blue fireball.

Han Li’s eyes gleamed.

Although he was concerned about the strangeness of the opponent’s blue flames, he also wanted to test the superiority of his Azure Glacial Flame against the oil lamp’s fire.

This time, there was no sound.

The golden Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and the extreme Azure Glacial Flame were devoured by the blue flames in the blink of an eye, and the giant sword was naturally pulled in as well.

The Azure Bamboo Peak Cloud Swords were Han Li’s natal magic treasure [a magic treasure that is connected to the user’s life force], so he could sense them very sensitively.

The moment the giant sword was enveloped in the blue flames, a sharp pain struck his mind, and he felt an unbearable heat. His body temperature rose rapidly, and it felt as if all the blood in his body was boiling.

Han Li was startled and immediately formed a hand seal, gesturing towards the giant sword.

*Woong!*

The giant sword vibrated, emitting a blue light, and then immediately transformed into dozens of small swords, escaping the fireball.

Han Li, who had originally intended to retrieve his magic treasure, saw the flying swords in detail and his expression changed.

Even the small flying swords were each engulfed in blue flames.

Han Li’s face darkened, and the heat and pain he felt in his body intensified. Sweat poured down his face as he gritted his teeth and rapidly moved his ten fingers, forming a series of magic seals that extended towards the flying swords.

The flying swords, following Han Li’s will, frantically spun in the air, struggling to shake off the blue flames.

He had seen the Silver Bell Ancient Treasure melt in the flames, so he couldn’t afford to lose his natal magic treasure as well. Losing his natal magic treasure would severely damage his consciousness and vitality at the same time.

The woman in green watched Han Li’s flying swords with cold eyes, a sneer on her face. However, after a moment, her face froze.

The oil lamp she possessed was not an ordinary ancient treasure. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even hers, but one of two treasures passed down within the Peony Clan itself.

The reason why the woman of the Ak Clan could possess this treasure was not only due to her high cultivation and the fact that she was the Peony Clan’s foremost female mage, but also because of her special status, comparable to the Heaven-Sent Saintess of the Dolol Clan.

She was revered by the Peony people, and even the three great divine masters of the Peony Clan did not dare to treat her carelessly. And due to a special reason, there were restrictions on the oil lamp ancient treasure. The number of times she could use it was extremely limited.

Once the number of uses was exhausted, the treasure had to be retrieved and wait until it was passed on to the next suitable owner. Although it was a treasure with important uses besides fighting, countless powerful enemies had been defeated by the oil lamp ancient treasure by its previous owners.

Once caught in the flames of the oil lamp ancient treasure, one could not escape without melting. Moreover, if it was an ancient treasure of the wood attribute, it was even more vulnerable to the flames and would disappear in an instant.

However, Han Li’s magic treasure was clearly a wood-attribute flying sword, yet it had been enduring in the flames for so long without showing any signs of melting or turning into ashes.

The woman couldn’t help but be surprised.

While she was distracted, a purple net appeared above her head without any warning.

The woman of the Ak Clan was startled and looked around, only to see Eunwol taking this opportunity to activate the Violet Cloud Pouch’s restriction, closing the opening of the pouch.

Eunwol, swaying her waist seductively, spewed out a pink mist from her mouth, covering the white lotus.

The woman in green scoffed and fiddled with the bronze oil lamp, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of using the treasure again.

Her other hand brushed against her sleeve, and she took out a yellow jade pendant.

Just as she was about to teach Eunwol a lesson, a strange fragrance spread from the pink mist, and countless illusions of young men and women appeared, embracing and rolling around in pairs. The woman’s face flushed red at the lewd actions of the illusions.

“You vile thing! Do you truly wish to die?”

The woman in green, with a stern face, poured spiritual power into the jade pendant, and a yellow light flowed out, shattering the surrounding pink mist and illusions. However, the place where Eunwol had been was completely empty.

The woman in green, who had been about to scoff and find Eunwol, suddenly had a thought and hurriedly turned her head towards Han Li.

Because she had been distracted by Eunwol for a moment, Han Li had already condensed the flying swords back into the giant sword and was summoning it. He was examining the giant sword with a cautious gaze.

The woman of the Ak Clan was even more surprised that the giant sword was still not melting in the flames, but she could no longer stand by and watch.

She decided to use the oil lamp one more time to kill Han Li.

At that moment, Han Li brought his two hands together in front of his chest, emitting a white chill from one hand and a blue flame from the other, then exhaled a blue aura from his mouth to protect his hands.

*Pats!*

Soon, a purple flame the size of an egg appeared between his hands.

Following Han Li’s gesture, the lightly burst purple flame transformed into countless winged purple birds, which flapped their wings and flew towards the giant sword floating in the air.

And then, a strange thing happened!

The purple flames met the blue flames on the surface of the giant sword and began to flicker, then started to devour each other. Neither side was gaining the upper hand in the short term.

Han Li’s face contorted, and the woman of the Ak Clan also widened her eyes.

That an unknown purple flame could match the oil lamp’s flames was something she would not have believed if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

Her determination to kill Han Li now became even stronger.

If he displayed such abilities in the early Nascent Soul stage [a stage of cultivation], then by the mid or late Nascent Soul stage, there would be no one in the Peony Plains who could match him.

The woman flew the oil lamp in her hand above her head. She sat cross-legged, forming hand seals and began chanting an incantation.

The light of the white lotus leaves supporting her body intensified, and the blue light of the oil lamp above her head also became brilliant, the two resonating from above and below.

The woman of the Ak Clan was determined to eliminate Han Li, even if it meant using up all the remaining power of the oil lamp.

Han Li also watched the woman in green’s actions and couldn’t help but smile wryly. He really wanted to run away right now.

He still had his trump cards, the Extreme Blaze Transformation and the Fiend Subduing Sword, but he had no intention of engaging her in a life-or-death battle.

The woman in front of him was definitely not an ordinary mid-Nascent Soul stage mage, and it would be a disaster if he were to perish with her here.

Just as he was thinking this, someone suddenly burst through the thick fog.

Han Li and the woman were both startled and turned their gazes towards that direction. In that gap, the violet mist that had transformed from the Violet Cloud Pouch split in two, and a white light, as fast as lightning, wrapped around the oil lamp.

Han Li cheered at the white light that had wrapped around the oil lamp ancient treasure and disappeared into the crimson cloud, while the woman in green’s face turned pale, and she stomped her feet on the white lotus leaves.

Responding to her hand gestures and spiritual power, the lotus leaves spun rapidly and instantly emitted a mountain-like white aura.

However, the crimson aura above her head flickered, allowing only the white light to pass through and fiercely clashed with the white aura.

Eunwol’s melodious laughter could be heard from beyond the purple mist.

The light disappeared, and she revealed her slender body, holding a basket ancient treasure that was glowing white in one hand. The bronze oil lamp was trapped in that white light, momentarily at a loss.

Once she returned and erased the woman in green’s consciousness, the ancient treasure would naturally belong to another cultivator.

Before Han Li could rejoice, the person who had suddenly joined the battle shouted at him.

“Cultivator Han, let’s escape quickly! A Peony Clan divine master has appeared. Cultivator Lu has already been defeated, if we don’t run now, we’re finished too!”

It was unexpectedly Old Man Ma. The old man’s hair was disheveled, and one of his arms was severed, his face filled with terror.

“A Peony Clan divine master?”

His heart sank, and he was about to ask for more details, but the old man turned into a white streak of light and tried to flee again. There was a clear sense of determination that he could not delay even for a moment.

However, a strange man’s voice followed immediately.

“It’s too late! You sacrificed your arm to save your life earlier, so I wonder what other secret techniques you’re hiding this time. Could it be that you’ve refined your other arm into a substitute puppet?

If that were the case, this venerable one would be impressed. Hmm! Isn’t that our Peony Clan’s Origin Bright Lamp! You little fox, you’ve got some nerve. How dare you steal a treasure passed down in the Peony Clan, do you think you’re worthy of touching such an item!”

When he started speaking, he seemed to be far away, but suddenly his voice seemed to be right next to them. And by the time he finished speaking, a silver streak of light had surprisingly approached even behind Eunwol.

Eunwol, her face ashen, hurriedly spread out the Violet Cloud Pouch to protect herself and flew away without looking back.

The silver streak of light paused for a moment, then immediately transformed into a giant silver hand, grabbing the Violet Cloud Pouch, and then reappeared about ten feet away, swinging its fist at Eunwol.

*Thud!*

“Agh!”

The yellow streak of light that Eunwol had transformed into screamed as it was struck by the fist and fell.

However, the clever her, even in that moment, endured the extreme pain and threw the ancient treasure in her hand towards Han Li with all her might.

“You wish to die!”

Anger was evident in the voice of the man with the giant silver hand.

The light flashed, and the silver hand doubled in size, one flying towards the basket ancient treasure to grab it, and the other still trying to crush Eunwol, who was falling.

Both hands moved extremely quickly.

Eunwol was terrified and hurriedly tried to use her spiritual power to cast a concealment technique, but the silver light only flowed through her body, and she couldn’t move at all. The opponent had struck her with his fist and placed a simple restriction on her.

It was an easy restriction to break, but there was no time. Eunwol, thinking she would be caught by the giant hand and crushed, closed her eyes tightly, facing death.

At that moment, someone snatched her away with a thunderous sound.

“Let’s go!”

*Kwagwang!*

Han Li’s cold voice and the sound of thunder overlapped, and the two disappeared from that spot. The giant silver hand grasped the air by a narrow margin.

After a moment, Han Li appeared in the mist about ten feet away, with one arm around Eunwol’s waist and the other hand holding the giant sword covered in blue and purple flames.

“Huh! Lightning Escape Technique!”

A surprised voice was heard from the giant silver hand, and then the two hands instantly merged, emitting a dazzling silver light.

When the light faded, a middle-aged mage dressed as a scholar appeared, holding the Violet Cloud Pouch and the basket ancient treasure, looking at Han Li, who was moving away.

Old Man Ma, whose face was so pale it was almost dead, was frozen, unable to even run away.

Han Li’s eyes gleamed as he analyzed the late Nascent Soul stage cultivator [a high stage of cultivation] he was facing for the first time. With such cultivation, he could be considered at the peak of the cultivation world, second only to the Spirit Transformation cultivators.

The middle-aged mage ignored Han Li and looked around, then turned to the woman of the Ak Clan and handed both the basket ancient treasure and the bronze oil lamp inside to her.

“Thanks to Divine Master Jung’s help, I have recovered the Origin Bright Lamp. Thank you!”

The woman in green was moved as she held the oil lamp she had lost in her hand. No matter how cold and arrogant she was by nature, she could not help but show respect in front of one of the three great divine masters of the Peony Clan.

“No, I only came because I heard that the Tiannan cultivators had sent reinforcements to protect this place. And I was also worried because that fellow Tian Gu died by some strange method. It seems we need to give a proper explanation to the Great Jin Kingdom. More importantly, a cultivator who uses the Lightning Escape Technique, it must have been hard for Ak Shangsa.”

The middle-aged scholar spoke calmly. Then, he turned his head and asked Han Li, who was standing far away.

“So the fox was yours. How dare you covet the Peony Clan’s inherited treasure, neither the fox nor its owner will return alive.”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t have killed me if I hadn’t taken the oil lamp? If you want to kill me, you’d better have the ability to do so.”

Han Li, who had calmed down while he was talking to the woman in green, responded coldly.

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