Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 467

“Is that the Spirit Nectar Fruit?”

Han Li muttered, gazing at the blue lake in the center of the green area, which was encircled by a golden restriction. Beyond the restriction lay an endless expanse of yellow earth, a vast desert stretching for tens of thousands of miles.

“Yes! Judging by its appearance and the markings, it’s definitely it,” Zi Ling exclaimed excitedly, standing beside him.

About a hundred feet away, a green spirit plant grew in the middle of the lake. It had round leaves the size of a thumb and bore four fruits.

The tips of the bright red fruits shimmered with a reddish glow, like lit candles, and they emitted a rich medicinal fragrance.

Han Li was also convinced it was the Spirit Nectar Fruit.

“I’ll go get it right away,” Zi Ling said, taking a deep breath and turning to Han Li.

“There’s no need to rush. A spirit plant that has grown for so long must have some kind of protection. Otherwise, it would have been eaten by ancient demonic beasts long ago,” Han Li replied calmly, not in a hurry.

“Are you saying there’s an ancient demonic beast guarding this place?”

“If you look closely at the spirit plant, you’ll see marks where the lower part has been torn off. Those are probably traces of the ancient demonic beast that guards this place eating the fruit. The Spirit Nectar Fruit is effective in increasing cultivation even when consumed raw, so it’s worth guarding.” After explaining, Han Li slowly surveyed the area around the lake and then lowered his head to look at the surface of the water.

If something was hiding, it was likely to be in the lake. His gaze wavered as he used his spiritual sense to quickly scan the depths of the lake, dozens of feet deep.

“What’s wrong?”

“Step back. The ancient demonic beast guarding this place won’t be easy to deal with,” Han Li said calmly to Zi Ling. A demonic beast that could use stealth techniques that his spiritual sense couldn’t detect was worth being wary of.

“I trust you, Brother Han,” Zi Ling said, immediately retreating a few steps.

After confirming she had moved back, Han Li flicked his wrist and threw three spirit beast bags into the air. Then, tens of thousands of golden Devouring Gold Beetles flew out, covering the sky and turning the area within dozens of feet into a golden cloud.

“……!” Zi Ling, watching from afar, gasped involuntarily.

She knew he could control spirit insects, but seeing the army of Devouring Gold Beetles, which were almost fully grown, she was naturally astonished.

After releasing the Devouring Gold Beetles, Han Li flicked his sleeve and brought out thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords in a row. As the flying swords turned into long golden streaks, he shot out a hand seal.

The golden light vibrated, and immediately, more than a hundred golden copies were created.

“Go.”

The hundred or so golden lights trembled and disappeared from their spots, and instantly, a Great Stellar Sword Formation unfolded around them.

*Clang.*

Then, Han Li clapped his hands together, and a fist-sized golden orb appeared between his palms. Under his cold gaze, the ball of lightning grew to the size of a human head.

*Thud!*

Han Li spread his hands and threw the enlarged ball of lightning into the lake, a dozen feet away. The golden light flashed wildly, and the golden orb exploded, covering the surface of the lake with a thin layer of lightning.

Then, before the golden lightning could dissipate, the surface of the lake surged.

A huge vortex several feet high appeared, and from within, something growled, emitting black and white demonic energy.

The appearance of the ancient demonic beast that revealed itself was very bizarre. Its body, about six or seven feet long, looked like rotten mud, and the lump of flesh that seemed to be its head had only black eyes.

Han Li tensed up at the disgusting appearance, and Zi Ling’s face also turned pale as if she was getting goosebumps. The ancient demonic beast, surrounded by black and white energy, was a species not mentioned in any scriptures.

He quickly looked at Zi Ling, but she only gave a wry smile, not knowing the identity of the demonic beast either.

Since he had to face a demonic beast with no information, Han Li became even more cautious. He formed a hand seal and shot a magic seal towards the Devouring Gold Beetles, and he chanted a spell.

*Buzz buzz buzz!*

The Devouring Gold Beetles, which had been covering the nearby sky, made a sound and gathered in one place before falling towards the ancient demonic beast.

The ancient demonic beast was startled by the loud cry and wriggled its body, spewing an unidentified green liquid from the holes in its skin.

In an instant, a pungent stench filled the air. Han Li, who had narrowed his brow, quickly returned to an expressionless face.

The Devouring Gold Beetles that were hit by the green liquid were not injured at all and covered the ancient demonic beast. The demonic beast was also engulfed by the swarm of insects, but it seemed to be fine for now due to the black and white protective barrier.

However, as countless flying insects gnawed at the black and white energy, the demonic beast was horrified and tried to dive back into the lake.

But Han Li, who had been prepared, spread his fingers and released a blue flame.

*Whoosh!*

The fireball exploded, and the blue light flashed dazzlingly. As the blue flame spread, the lake began to freeze, and in an instant, it turned into a huge ice lake.

The demonic beast, which had been trying to dive, hit its head on the ice and became even more disoriented. It then thrashed about, trying to shake off the golden insects that were densely attached to its black and white protective barrier.

As the panicked demonic beast retreated to the edge of the lake, golden light flashed in the empty air, and countless thin golden threads appeared, piercing into the demonic beast.

The black and white protective barrier shattered in an instant, and countless Devouring Gold Beetles began to gnaw at the ancient demonic beast’s body. Thick blood dripped down between the insects.

A miserable scream was heard, and a green demonic fire flashed from the demonic beast’s body.

The green flames enveloped the Devouring Gold Beetles surrounding the demonic beast’s body and blazed, but the Devouring Gold Beetles didn’t care and gnawed at the demonic beast’s body even more viciously. The demonic fire, which was the demonic beast’s last resort, was completely ineffective.

The demonic beast tried to fly away again, but since Han Li had already deployed the Great Stellar Sword Formation in all directions, golden threads appeared no matter which direction it flew, cutting the demonic beast sharply.

In an instant, the demonic beast’s body fell apart and rolled on the frozen lake.

In fact, the true ability of this ancient demonic beast was its stealth technique. Once it hid its body, even a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator [a high level of cultivation] could not find its whereabouts, but its combat abilities were ordinary.

After a while, the Devouring Gold Beetles buzzed and flew back into the sky, and only a strange black and white orb remained on the frozen surface of the lake. It was the demonic core of the demonic beast.

At this time, Zi Ling approached and looked at him with envy.

“Brother Han, your abilities are truly amazing. To kill an ancient demonic beast so easily. The rumor that you are as powerful as three great cultivators is not false.”

“It’s just that this demonic beast’s abilities were not as good as the ancient demonic beasts I’ve seen before,” Han Li said calmly, shaking his head. Then, he grabbed something in the air and summoned the demonic core.

Han Li flipped his palm and retrieved the black and white demonic core.

He threw the three spirit beast bags again and pointed at the Devouring Gold Beetles, and the spirit insects that had been covering the sky returned to their respective spirit beast bags.

The Great Stellar Sword Formation also sensed Han Li’s will and returned to the 36 flying swords, flying into his sleeve.

“We should quickly get the Spirit Nectar Fruit. We won’t be able to deceive the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators for long with just the illusion formation.”

Han Li immediately turned into a streak of blue light and flew away, and Zi Ling hurriedly followed behind him. He hovered over the spirit plant and looked back at Zi Ling instead of immediately picking the fruit.

“You pick it first. The Spirit Nectar Fruit must be stored in a wooden box to maintain its medicinal properties, so be careful.”

“Okay.”

Zi Ling smiled at Han Li, suppressing her pounding heart as she faced the Spirit Nectar Fruit.

She smoothly shook her sleeve and took out a cyan wooden box, then sliced through the air with her finger. At the same time, a white light flashed, and the Spirit Nectar Fruit fell down.

The white light wrapped around the fruit and entered the wooden box that had been prepared in advance. Zi Ling took a long breath and carefully put the wooden box into her storage pouch.

“Aren’t you going to take one more?” Han Li asked, puzzled, as he watched her retreat.

“Thank you, but one is enough for me! Except for finding out the information this time, I haven’t done much. Although I have some affection for you, Brother Han, I must be clear about these things. You can take all the rest. Use one to make a Harmonious Spirit Pill and use the rest to increase your cultivation.”

Han Li was surprised by her answer.

In fact, she was a famous beauty in the Chaotic Star Sea, but she was unpredictable, and after losing the Myriad Sound Sect, she seemed to have become even more ruthless, so he had been keeping his distance inwardly.

What she said now might be to gain favor, but it was not easy to suppress greed in front of the Spirit Nectar Fruit, a treasure of heaven and earth, so his impression of her could not help but improve.

“I understand,” Han Li nodded and, without refusing, touched his waist and took out a white wooden box that he had prepared in advance. As he reached out his hand towards the spirit plant, the remaining three fruits flowed into the wooden box.

“This is not a place to stay for long, let’s go. It wouldn’t be good to run into the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators. Making the pills is our priority.”

“That’s right. It would be best to find a secluded place to make the pills.”

Han Li narrowed his brow, and then, as if he had thought of something, he took out a piece of cloth. It was the map of the Chuma Bone that he had torn from the Azure Silk Robe.

He looked closely at the map and saw that the place marked on the map was not far from this desert. It was only about two days away at most.

Zi Ling was curious about what Han Li was thinking as he held the unknown piece of cloth, but she quietly waited for his decision.

“Let’s go,” Han Li said, seeming to have made up his mind, and put away the map.

He looked at the spirit plant in front of him for a moment, then gestured and cut off a branch of the spirit plant. However, the branch withered and turned to ashes before it even touched the ground.

It was a pity. As written in the scriptures, the spirit plant that bears the Spirit Nectar Fruit could not be transplanted. It had the characteristic of withering and disappearing if it was moved from its original location or if its branches or roots were cut.

Han Li didn’t hesitate any longer and summoned the Wind Chariot again. Zi Ling got on without a word, and the Wind Chariot flashed with white light and cut through the sky.

First, he planned to find a place suitable for making the Harmonious Spirit Pill, deal with the Spirit Nectar Fruit, and then check the place marked on the map. If it was a secretly hidden place, there might be great treasures.

About an hour later, the Ghost Spirit Sect group arrived at the green area with the lake.

The Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators were flustered and didn’t know what to do when they discovered the frozen lake and the spirit plant with the fruit gone. Naturally, the face of the Ghost Spirit Sect Elder turned pale, and he couldn’t say anything.

At this time, Han Li was already flying a thousand miles away, heading towards the place marked on the map.

After leaving the desert, a plateau with a blue forest appeared. It was a mysterious thing that such diverse terrains continued within the Chuma Bone.

After flying for another half a day, Han Li stopped the Wind Chariot somewhere in a low mountain range. Then, he chose a small mountain peak that was not noticeable among the many mountain peaks and descended.

“Fellow cultivator Zi Ling, we can each make our pills here. After checking with my spiritual sense, it seems that there are no dangerous ancient restrictions or spatial rifts nearby, so this area should be relatively safe.”

“Thank you! Brother Han, then I’ll go first,” Zi Ling said, scanning the mountain range, thanking him, and turning into a streak of light and flying away. She was probably going to create a secret room somewhere to make her pills.

After she disappeared, Han Li also moved his body and moved a few feet away. He summoned dozens of flying swords and simply dug a cave.

He simply set up a small-scale formation at the entrance of the cave and entered the cave. He also did not forget to release puppets at the Core Formation stage [a lower level of cultivation] outside the cave in case of emergency.

After feeling safe and entering the secret room, he threw his storage pouch into the air and summoned the Harmonious Spirit Pill ingredients that he had collected in advance. Finally, he took out the Spirit Nectar Fruit in the wooden box and an old-looking blue cauldron, and sat down in a cross-legged position.

It was his first time making the Harmonious Spirit Pill, but he had thoroughly studied the refining method before entering the Chuma Bone, and he had enough Spirit Nectar Fruit and auxiliary ingredients.

Han Li stared at the small cauldron spinning in front of him and released a blue flame from his mouth.

*Whoosh!*

The cauldron blazed with fire.
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