Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 456

Everything happened too quickly. The black energy swiftly dissipated, revealing the true form of the serpent demon.

“This is…”

“A Three-Headed Serpent!”

“Unbelievable!”

The serpent, glaring at them with a ferocious face, had three heads attached to its torso. The middle head flicked its tongue incessantly, while the heads on the left and right were busy chewing on the puppet demons.

At that moment, Han Li coldly shouted,

“Explode.”

Kuwakwang! Kwakwang!

Explosions erupted from both sides as the wolf puppets that were being devoured burst apart.

Han Li, having assessed the situation, formed a hand seal and immediately detonated the puppets.

The serpent’s scales were incredibly tough, but the inside of its mouth was not. The two heads were engulfed in the explosion, letting out painful screams.

Enraged by this, the middle head swung its massive tail, sending the blue serpent puppet flying, and then stretched its body to bite the red bull puppet in one go.

While Han Li was buying time, Nan Longhou and Luo Weiying finally completed their preparations for attack.

“Go.”

Numerous white flames appeared before the old man, covering the sky as they flew forward.

And Nan Longhou’s cyan ring multiplied from one to two, then from two to four, and from four to eight… instantly creating over a hundred illusions that transformed into cyan streaks of light and shot out.

Han Li didn’t stop either, flipping his palm and throwing a pitch-black object into the air. A black light flashed, and a mountain peak ten zhang [about 33 meters] high appeared, growing in size. It was the Thousand Jun Peak ancient treasure.

It was perfect for dealing with a monster with a huge body and thick scales. Moreover, since the serpent was agile, it was better to trap it first and then attack.

Shortly after, the heads on the left and right finally regained their senses and unleashed thick, gray pillars of light.

Kwakwakwang!

The white flames collided with the light pillars first, and the waves of white flames and gray light mixed together, temporarily reaching a stalemate.

At that moment, the cyan rings flew past them. Han Li’s black mountain treasure was slowly following behind.

Sensing the threat of the green streaks of light, the serpent released a green mist from its entire body and lunged forward. The illusions of the green rings scattered like smoke, one by one, against the serpent’s ferocious teeth.

However, the last remaining ring flickered and then disappeared from its spot, reappearing above the serpent’s head.

The ring, now gigantic, emitted a burst of light as it descended, constricting the serpent’s neck and shrinking fiercely.

Shriek!

The serpent rolled painfully on the ground, slamming its head into the earth relentlessly, as if struggling to break free from the ring’s restraints.

The middle head’s pain contorted the faces of the other heads. Consequently, the gray light pillars that were battling the white flames disappeared.

Luo Weiying showed a look of joy and pushed forward with the flames. However, the serpent’s green mist was also formidable, holding its ground against the attacks of the flames and the ring.

Then, suddenly, a black light fell upon the serpent’s head, and dozens of gigantic mountain peaks appeared.

The mountain peaks spun in the air before emitting a large amount of black light and falling down. Finally sensing the danger, the serpent raised its three heads and barely managed to shoot out light pillars, but it was not enough to stop the fall of the Thousand Jun Peak.

The serpent kicked off the ground with its tail, attempting a final strike, but the white flames that had been surging around it transformed into thick chains of fire, wrapping around the serpent.

Bang!

The Thousand Jun Peak finally crushed the black serpent, and a dazzling light erupted.

Shriek!

The screams of the three serpents finally echoed, causing Nan Longhou to show a look of joy and Luo Weiying to exhale deeply.

However, Han Li’s expression became more cautious.

As the black light faded, one of the three serpents was sticking out from under the mountain peak, writhing madly. Its incredible vitality was truly astonishing.

Luo Weiying extended a hand and sent out a white light, instantly severing the serpent’s head, which had already lost its green mist shield.

“We finally resolved it. Isn’t it too weak for a legendary Three-Headed Serpent?”

“A true Three-Headed Serpent should have three heads and wings. If it were really such a monster, we wouldn’t have been able to kill it so easily.”

Nan Longhou shook his head at the old man’s words.

“It seems the serpent demon mutated and grew three heads. It’s not a Three-Headed Serpent. Let’s hurry and enter the passage.”

Han Li spoke calmly, pointing his finger at the pitch-black mountain peak to retrieve the Thousand Jun Peak, and Nan Longhou also quickly retrieved his golden flying sword and cyan ring.

Luo Weiying looked at the remains and then clenched his hand in the air, summoning a blue core from the head area.

The old man briefly examined the core and then retrieved cores from the other heads, throwing them to Han Li and Nan Longhou, who were cleaning up the remains of the puppets. The two cultivators checked the cores and immediately put them away.

Luo Weiying, having turned the giant serpent’s corpse to ashes with a fireball, spoke up.

“If any of us had to face the demon alone, we would have greatly depleted our magical power. With the three of us working together, even an ancient demon can be dealt with. I hope the Fire Island will be resolved as well.”

“We can only hope so. But the Fire Island will be an even more difficult opponent. The demon that Merchant Changkun specifically warned us about can’t be easy.”

Nan Longhou replied to his words with a wry smile.

At that moment, Han Li transformed into a blue streak of light, retrieving the formation flags he had placed around the area and returning.

“We’ll see how formidable it is when we get there.”

Han Li spoke in a low voice and strode forward first, while Nan Longhou and the old man exchanged glances and followed behind him.

The Northern Aurora that was about to appear could only be passed with Han Li’s Yin-Yang Ring.

In the valley where the gray mist had disappeared, a stone path over a hundred zhang [about 330 meters] long stretched out, with crimson restrictions flashing on both sides.

Han Li, flying low at a height of five zhang [about 16.5 meters], stopped when he discovered a massive stone wall. In the middle of it, a dark cave was carved out.

“Here it is! If we pass through this cave, we’ll reach the center of Chuma Valley, where the Northern Aurora is spread out for about ten li [about 5 kilometers]. We’ll have to rely on Fellow Cultivator Han’s Yin-Yang Ring here.”

“If there’s Northern Aurora inside the cave, can’t we enter through other parts of the stone wall?”

Luo Weiying asked, stroking his chin, but Nan Longhou shook his head.

“That method is fundamentally impossible. You’ll understand why if you try attacking any part of it with a magical treasure.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The old man flicked his sleeve, once again releasing a white light that cleaved the stone wall. Han Li examined it closely and realized that the white light was a short dagger with a unique shape.

The flying dagger struck the stone wall, and a white light exploded.

Clang!

A very shallow mark was left where the dagger had attacked, and a silver light was seeping through it. Luo Weiying’s expression changed, and he immediately retrieved the flying dagger.

“This is… Gangyin Sand. Is this stone wall made of Gangyin Sand?”

The old man said in a trembling voice, surprised as he approached to confirm. Han Li’s expression also changed at this. Like the old man, he raised a finger and lightly brushed the mark left by the flying dagger.

It was one of the materials that, when added during the forging of magical treasures, made them even more durable, a rare substance comparable to Jingding [a top-tier forging material]. It was no wonder that Luo Weiying’s flying dagger treasure couldn’t make a dent.

Han Li raised one hand with a cautious expression. Then, a dozen swords poured out of his sleeve, attacking various parts of the stone wall. Nan Longhou and Luo Weiying paused for a moment, but soon understood his intentions.

Chaechaechaeng!

“It’s Gangyin Sand, but it’s mixed in with the rocks. The uneven distribution means it’s a naturally formed terrain. There must be a Gangyin Sand vein inside.”

As Han Li’s flying swords left marks several times deeper on the stone wall, Luo Weiying listened to his words and stared at the stone wall with greedy eyes.

Nan Longhou was the same, but he quickly regained his original expression.

“Let’s enter the center first.”

“Are we just going to leave it like this? Gangyin Sand is a rare treasure, and just leaving it like this is…”

The old man couldn’t bear to leave it behind.

“Brother Luo, get a grip! Don’t you know how tough Gangyin Sand is? Even if there’s a vein, it would take a lot of magical power and time to mine a single piece of ore. Besides, did we come here to seek treasures? The elixir that will extend our lives and raise our cultivation is our priority.”

Nan Longhou said meaningfully, looking at the old man, and Luo Weiying suddenly came to his senses and nodded.

“This old man was momentarily blinded by treasure and almost forgot the true goal of this expedition.”

After that, they didn’t delay any further and immediately entered the cave. Han Li also felt it was a pity to leave the Gangyin Sand, but as Nan Longhou said, it would undoubtedly take a lot of time and magical power to mine a single piece of Gangyin Sand.

At that moment, the voice of the Great Yan Divine Monarch suddenly echoed in his mind.

“Such a large amount of Gangyin Sand! Even when this old man was searching for it before, I couldn’t obtain much… The reputation of Chuma Valley is not unfounded! If I use it for the puppets I’m currently forging, I can make them even more durable. It would be difficult to even injure them with ordinary magical treasures. I must take all the Gangyin Sand here.”

The Great Yan Divine Monarch muttered excitedly.

“Old man, have you lost your mind? Are you going to scrape it off bit by bit with a sword?”

“Hmph! Do you think this Divine Monarch has no method? Boy, what are you going to do with all those Gold Devouring Beetles? I’ll teach you a magic incantation, so you can have the Gold Devouring Beetles burrow into the stone wall, eat away at it, and spit out only the Gangyin Sand crystals.

I learned this incantation after killing a certain insect cultivator in the past. It can be used to control not only Gold Devouring Beetles but also other insect demons in this way.”

“You know such an incantation? Good, teach it to me. I’ll immediately have the Gold Devouring Beetles gather the Gangyin Sand.”

“However, no matter how much Gangyin Sand you obtain, I’ll use it for my puppets first. Whatever is left over will be yours. Do you understand?”

“My magical treasure already has Jingding forged into it, so there’s no need to add more Gangyin Sand.”

“You put a heaven-defying material like Jingding in it? Do you have any left? If you share a little, I can use it well.”

“Do you know the amount of my natal magical treasure? How could there be any left?”

“You used it all? You should have saved some!”

The Great Yan Divine Monarch grumbled, disappointed by Han Li’s calm explanation. Han Li rolled his eyes inwardly at his words but held back.

No, why should he save it when he was going to put precious materials into his natal magical treasure? But now was not the time to argue, as there was something he needed to find out from the other party.

At this time, Han Li was deliberately walking a little behind the two cultivators who were walking ahead. The inside of the cave was so dark that even with eyes infused with magical power, he could only see a rough outline, so he could probably avoid being noticed if he was careful.

The cave was the same yellowish-brown color as the entrance. Han Li carefully scratched the stone wall with his flying sword, and a silver light flashed, indicating that Gangyin Sand was also mixed in here.

Although the incantation was written in ancient characters and was difficult to understand, Han Li, who was originally skilled in handling insect demons, quickly learned the incantation with the advice of the Great Yan Divine Monarch.

As soon as the Great Yan Divine Monarch finished transmitting the incantation, Han Li recited the incantation several times in his mind and then brushed his spirit beast pouch with one hand.

Then, golden Gold Devouring Beetles silently flew out of his sleeve and disappeared.

Shortly after, when all the Gold Devouring Beetles had left, Han Li formed a hand seal and chanted a low spell. He spread his consciousness and began to control the large number of Gold Devouring Beetles floating on the stone wall at the cave entrance.

The Gold Devouring Beetles suddenly emitted a golden glow and, as if there were no obstacles, swarmed into the stone wall and disappeared without a trace.

On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Han Li sensed through his consciousness that things were going well and quickened his pace.

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