Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 572

The golden restrictions, layered around the monster, spread out endlessly like waves. The vague, mountain-like form remained still, and if it weren’t for the occasional subtle twitch, one might have thought it was dead.

In stark contrast, the space beside it was a paradise. Lush greenery thrived, with strange flowers and spiritual herbs growing amidst the abundant spiritual energy.

Within this idyllic scene, a magnificent palace, hundreds of feet in size, stood tall. Surprisingly, the palace was built at the center of a massive formation, surrounded by 81 smaller altars, each ten feet high.

Most astonishingly, on each altar stood a giant made of white jade, several feet tall. Each giant was clad in armor, holding a massive blade pointed towards the palace, their solemn appearance making them seem almost alive.

At that moment, from a certain location on Mount Konoh, the Seven Stars Formation of the Purple Mystery began to explode and shatter.

Various pillars of light shot up from different parts of the formation, piercing through the purple mist, with thick lightning crackling across their surfaces.

Moreover, the mist had become so dense that it obscured vision, accompanied by chilling howls that disturbed the cultivators’ minds.

Han Li, enveloped in golden light, advanced towards one of the light pillars without any change in expression.

Each time a giant serpent flew out from the dense purple mist, golden light flashed and dealt with it, but he felt no joy. The mist continuously generated purple serpents.

Suddenly, a faint buzzing sound came from behind him. Without turning around, Han Li extended his hand, releasing two thin streaks of golden lightning.

Crack!

The sound of thunder echoed, and the smell of something burning filled the air. Only then did he turn around to see two giant, fist-sized bees fallen on the ground.

The bees’ surfaces were marked with vibrant yellow spots, and their stingers protruded three inches long.

Han Li had already killed 34 of these spirit insects, initially using his flying swords to slice them apart, but later resorting to the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning.

It wasn’t because the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning was overflowing, but because he had been horrified after attacking a giant bee with his flying sword. One of his flying swords had unknowingly become soaked in blood and immediately began to melt, its surface becoming bumpy.

Furthermore, the bees were resistant to low-level spells like fireballs or ice spikes, making the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning the only effective method.

Besides the fist-sized bees, there were also several bats hidden in the purple mist, their entire bodies as red as blood. They looked exactly like ordinary bats, but when he tried to cut them with sword energy, the sword energy hesitated before slicing through the bats’ bodies!

The Azure Bamboo Cloud Sword, enhanced with refined essence, was incomparably sharp and sturdy compared to other treasures, yet the bats’ bodies were just as tough.

Bees and bats were spirit insects rarely seen in the cultivation world. This showed how much effort the previous cultivators had put into this expedition.

As he moved forward, he arrived at a purple pillar of light. Suddenly, the purple bamboo that had disappeared into the bamboo forest surrounded him.

It was an illusion set up around the pillar of light, the core of the formation, to protect it. However, this level of trickery was useless against him, as he had already broken through top-grade ancient illusions.

Han Li stared at the pillar of light with his eyes glowing with a blue light. With a flick of his sleeve, several golden flying swords appeared and merged into a giant sword in the air.

Thump!

The thick golden giant sword flashed and disappeared, striking the lower part of the light pillar. The purple mist and bamboo forest around Han Li vanished, revealing a pristine white jade ground.

Han Li lowered his head to confirm it and then turned his gaze elsewhere.

Only three of the six light pillars remained. He had just destroyed one, and the other two had been dealt with by others.

Han Li stood still, looking around, then took out spirit stones from his pouch and sat down in a meditative posture. While the others were busy breaking the remaining formations, he planned to figure out how to deal with the demon.

Currently, there were numerous Nascent Soul cultivators [cultivators who have formed a nascent soul, a stage in cultivation], demons, and ghosts on Mount Konoh, and even with the Three-Flame Fan and a late-Nascent Soul-level puppet, he could still lose his life if he wasn’t careful.

Han Li recovered his magic power while pondering deeply.

How much time had passed? He reached to his waist and took out a square, blue object. It was the crystal stele he had found inside a stone monument when he first ascended Mount Konoh.

It was hidden so secretly that it was impossible to detect with consciousness or spiritual energy fluctuations. If it weren’t for the Earth Armor Dragon’s signal, which was naturally adept at finding treasures made of metal or stone, he would never have imagined such a thing existed.

The crystal stele was made of some unknown material and was extremely heavy, but when spiritual energy was injected into it, it became as light as if it were empty.

However, what drew his attention even more were the ancient characters inscribed on its surface. Even Han Li, who could read some ancient characters, could not understand them.

This meant that these characters were from before the so-called ancient era. The crystal stele was that old and was a treasure in itself.

Han Li examined it closely and sighed. Soon, his hand flashed, and he retrieved the crystal stele.

At that moment, two loud booms echoed in succession, and two light pillars disappeared. The last remaining light pillar vanished on its own without anyone destroying it.

As the purple mist and bamboo forest completely disappeared, the cultivators who had been hidden from view appeared. Then, Old Man Gan’s roar echoed in the air.

“Where did those Poison Sect bastards go! They secretly left first.”

Han Li also turned his gaze and saw that the four elders of the Poison Sect were indeed missing.

“Hmph! It’s not just them. That sly Zheng Wei has also disappeared.”

A boisterous man from the Mountain Cultivation Sect cursed.

“…It’s understandable that they disappeared without the other cultivators knowing. Look over there.”

Baek Yo-yi pointed somewhere with her finger. At the end of the white jade plaza, a dozen or so stone staircases leading somewhere could be seen.

“It seems that the previous cultivators and those who have disappeared now have chosen one of those paths. Since the previous forces were divided, they must have thought it was an opportunity to seize treasures first,” Old Man Bu said, frowning.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. This old man will act alone now, and I won’t let anyone who blocks my path go unpunished!” Old Man Gan quickly regained his composure, and five white shadows quickly checked the steles in front of each staircase.

Then, the five shadows merged into one and fearlessly flew towards the staircase leading to the Konoh Palace.

Seeing this, the other cultivators, including the boisterous man, changed their expressions and began to murmur. After a while, Old Man Bu’s voice transmission reached Han Li’s ears.

“It seems the alliance has broken. What do you plan to do now, Brother Han?”

“Since there are many staircases, I’m thinking of choosing one and exploring it alone. Unless it’s one of the more important-looking places, there shouldn’t be much danger.”

“I see. I’m afraid of the ambush from the Sand Gold Beast, so I’ll team up with Baek and choose a place to go up. Then, we’ll have to leave it to fate from now on,” Old Man Bu said with a wry smile after a moment of thought.

He had no complaints about Han Li’s decision. In fact, if they all went together, they would only end up competing with each other when valuable treasures appeared. Moreover, Han Li’s abilities far surpassed his and Baek Yo-yi’s, so separating here was not a bad choice.

“Brother Bu, Brother Han! We’ll be going first.”

Having finished their discussion, the boisterous man greeted them, and the Mountain Cultivation Sect group split into two, each group ascending different staircases.

Soon, they disappeared into the mist. Then, Old Man Bu and Baek Yo-yi exchanged voice transmissions and left Han Li, ascending a staircase that no one else had chosen.

Now, Han Li was left alone in the vast plaza.

Looking at the empty space, Han Li excluded the Konoh Palace and the Demon Suppression Pagoda, where many cultivators would likely head, and examined other places.

“The Hall of Wisdom, the Hall of Auspicious Clouds, the Jade Pond… the Spirit Forging Hall. Is the Spirit Forging Hall a place for refining magical artifacts?”

Han Li’s gaze stopped at one of the steles.

Of course, he knew that the Konoh Palace and the Spirit Treasure Pavilion were more suitable for finding treasures. However, since he already possessed the Embryonic Transformation Pill [a pill that aids in transformation], it was not wise to take too great a risk here.

Han Li decided on the Spirit Forging Hall and began to ascend the stairs past the stele.

Not long after his figure disappeared, a yellow light flashed in the center of the plaza, and the Silver Yaksha, the ugly-faced Madam Gui, and the Sand Gold Beast appeared.

“Earth tunneling can only take us this far. If we go any further, we might trigger the underground restrictions!” The Silver Yaksha said, retracting his light and looking at the staircase leading to the Konoh Palace.

“The spiritual energy fluctuations are still strong. It seems the human cultivators have broken through the formation and passed through,” Madam Gui said, placing her hands on her hips and looking around. The Sand Gold Beast let out a low growl, spread its wings, and circled around the steles before returning.

“The cultivators have split up and gone to different places? As expected, the Sand Gold Beast’s sense of smell is useful,” the Silver Yaksha said, talking to the Sand Gold Beast with a smile.

“That’s good! If the human cultivators are moving separately, it will be easier for us to retrieve our life tokens. But the cultivators heading to the Konoh Palace must have a certain level of ability to break through the restrictions there…”

“It doesn’t matter. If they can’t do it on their own, we can secretly help them. As long as we don’t touch the restrictions set up to target us, it won’t be difficult to deal with the others,” the Silver Yaksha said, as if he had already thought of a plan, in response to Madam Gui’s concerns.

“Then let’s go! Yaksha, your concealment technique is the most advanced among the three of us, so we’ll rely on your help.”

“Understood.”

After that, he flapped his two wings, and a silver aura surged, enveloping them and disappearing into the wind.

At that moment, from a pavilion halfway up Mount Konoh, a five-colored peacock was breaking through a silver barrier.

Han Li, heading towards the Spirit Forging Hall, was unaware of anything and was diligently climbing the stone stairs. The trees growing on both sides of the stone stairs were all good materials for refining, but Han Li only looked at them and never touched them.

After a while, his vision brightened, and a large pavilion-like structure came into view. Han Li showed a hint of joy and increased his speed, reaching the end of the stairs in an instant.

However, his expression changed, and he stopped walking. Behind a white light barrier, a huge blue wall rose up, almost completely obscuring the view inside the manor.

However, above the seven-foot-high wall, a plaque with the words ‘Spirit Forging Hall’ was hung at the entrance of a tall pavilion.

Han Li looked around and saw that the light barrier was spread out widely, and there was no way to enter without dealing with it.

It seemed that the ancient cultivators who had sealed this place had temporarily set up a barrier before leaving, planning to return later. He quickly flicked his sleeve, releasing golden lights.

Swish.

The golden lights, transformed from flying swords, pierced through the light barrier but failed to cut it and quickly returned to their original forms. Han Li was momentarily lost in thought.

If he had more time, he could use the Devouring Gold Bugs to solve it, but he didn’t have time now. Having made a decision, he touched the object at his waist.

A ball of light emerged, transforming into an antique-style feather fan, flashing golden, silver, and red lights.

The feather fan let out a phoenix cry and fell into Han Li’s hand. He brought his hands together and then separated them, causing the feather fan to grow to several feet in size.

Han Li firmly grasped it with one hand and shook it, causing tricolored flames to erupt from the fan and collide with the light barrier.

Like snow melting in spring, the light barrier crumbled, and a large hole was instantly created. Han Li immediately retrieved the Three-Flame Fan and transformed into a streak of blue light, entering through it.

# 574