Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 576

After ascending the long, winding stairs of the Kunwu Hall, Han Li finally reached the stone forest after nearly an hour.

The stone forest was densely packed with tall stone pillars, each several feet high. These pillars, engraved with spells and symbols, emitted a faint spiritual energy, forming a large array.

Fortunately, most of the stone pillars, which should have completely blocked the way, were now collapsed. Someone had already used brute force to break through.

Han Li, after coldly surveying the area, immediately entered. The stone forest wasn’t very large, and the end was visible after a short walk. It was a sloping cliff. The cliff was a slope carved out of massive limestone, with various stone statues and weapons scattered haphazardly on both sides.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and looked into the distance.

A basin was visible about a hundred feet away, and from there, faint glows of spiritual energy and explosions could be heard. Someone was engaged in battle.

“Could it be that Old Man Gan is fighting with other cultivators?”

Han Li used his movement technique to dash forward, concealing his aura and blurring his figure until he disappeared. He arrived silently on the vast land, but the scene before him left him stunned.

Within a massive barrier of white energy, five white shadows, a yellow shadow, and two blue shadows were fiercely battling.

The five white shadows were likely Old Man Gan’s incarnations, the Five Child Devilish Hearts, spewing gray energy from their mouths and wielding sharp claws.

The yellow shadow was a middle-aged cultivator, his body wrapped in white bone rings that emitted yellow energy.

While the bone rings attacked and retreated from the gray energy, the middle-aged cultivator desperately blocked the attacks of the Five Child Devilish Hearts with a flying sword.

The two blue shadows were bronze lions, each about a foot in size. They madly charged, biting and clawing at both the Five Child Devilish Hearts and the middle-aged cultivator, moving extremely fast. Occasionally, they would open their mouths and shoot out blue beams of light, looking quite ferocious.

However, they didn’t seem to care much about the bronze lions’ ranged attacks but were very wary of them getting close. The two puppet demonic beasts were so fast and coordinated that they sometimes abandoned their opponents to attack the bronze lions.

However, the bronze lions’ blue bodies were impervious to swords and spears, and they only retreated a few steps when hit by gray energy, without taking any damage.

Moreover, the white energy barrier was strange, with silver lightning flowing on its surface, emitting lightning like raindrops to anyone who approached.

The Five Child Devilish Hearts and the cultivator protected by bone rings were not greatly affected by the lightning, but they still didn’t dare to get too close. This made the battle even more intense and complex.

‘What is this?’

Han Li couldn’t help but sigh.

The Core Formation stage cultivator would have already been captured by the Five Child Devilish Hearts and drained of all his blood if not for the bizarre bone rings providing defense.

The bronze lions, lacking a master to control them, were limited as puppets. Once the battle between the cultivators was over, anyone could easily deal with them.

Han Li’s eyes gleamed as he scanned his surroundings.

Beside the huge basin, there was a flickering light, indicating a powerful restriction. Therefore, the place where they were fighting must be the only entrance to the Kunwu Hall.

Han Li didn’t have time to wait. The young man from the Xu family and the others would catch up soon.

He already held the Three Flame Fan in his hand. He intended to use the fan’s power to forcibly open the barrier and disappear. He would surely be discovered by the two cultivators fighting, but he had to take the risk.

Han Li took a deep breath and was about to infuse the fan with magical power when he saw something in the distance that shocked him.

‘Is it an illusion?’

He sensed a strange fluctuation of spiritual energy and activated the Divine Vision of the Bright Sight [a technique to enhance vision]. As a result, he clearly saw a red demonic eye behind a support stone.

‘A Silver Yaksha!’

He immediately recognized the red demonic eye and infused more magical power into his eyes.

Behind the red eye, he could clearly see demonic creatures watching the fighting cultivators. Due to the restrictions of the mountain’s array, their consciousness was limited, and they didn’t seem to know of his presence because Han Li had concealed his aura with the Nameless Technique.

And next to the Silver Yaksha, he vaguely saw the Gold Devouring Beast he had seen once at the foot of the mountain and a humanoid demonic beast with an unfamiliar face. It was unusual for them to be gathered in one place.

‘Is there some treasure in the Kunwu Hall that they are after?’

He pondered for a moment before quickly turning his head. Then, he saw a faint glow of spiritual energy flickering in the stone forest below the slope. The young man from the Xu family and the others were already passing through the stone forest.

He could no longer hesitate, so he infused his magical power.

Whoosh, Bang!

The three-colored flames from the fan sliced through the light barrier like a sword. Although he had controlled the fan’s power, he couldn’t prevent the explosion and the dazzling light that erupted when the three-colored flames touched the restriction.

The three demonic creatures that had been lying in ambush, including the Silver Yaksha, and Old Man Gan and the middle-aged cultivator who had been fighting in front of the light barrier, were startled and looked in his direction.

Han Li, whose presence had already been exposed, immediately turned into a blue streak and flew towards the hole in the barrier. Although there was a restriction that suppressed flight, his movements were as fast as lightning.

“How dare you!”

Old Man Gan shouted, and three of the five white shadows that had been attacking the middle-aged cultivator trembled and disappeared. They strangely appeared in front of Han Li, their eerie green eyes flashing.

“Get out of my way!”

Han Li roared from within the blue light, and a thick golden lightning bolt shot out. The lightning bolt spun in the air and transformed into a golden flood dragon, engulfing the white shadows.

“Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning!”

Old Man Gan immediately recognized the nature of the golden lightning. The incarnations, which had been about to release demonic energy to block Han Li’s attack, hurriedly flickered and disappeared.

Fortunately, the golden flood dragon passed through the air, and Han Li was able to take advantage of the gap to reach the light barrier.

Bang! Crash!

The light barrier sensed Han Li’s approach and unleashed lightning with thunderous sounds.

“Go!”

The golden flood dragon flew towards him and exploded, and a golden net appeared in the air, enveloping Han Li’s entire body. Only then did the silver lightning reach him, but it was a futile attack.

“Han Li, you bastard!”

“Elder Han?!”

As he revealed himself, Old Man Gan and the middle-aged cultivator simultaneously muttered something. Han Li glanced at the middle-aged cultivator’s face but didn’t recognize him.

He was puzzled, but he diligently moved the fan in his hand. The sound of a phoenix cry was heard, and three-colored fireballs appeared, greatly enlarging the hole in the light barrier.

He was finally able to safely pass through the restriction. A moment later, the figures of the young man from the Xu family and Lin Yinping appeared in the distance, and they looked perplexed at the chaotic situation.

Han Li looked at them and sneered.

“Since you’ve all gathered, I’ll give you something to do so you won’t be bored.”

With those strange words, he flicked his finger, and golden lightning flew out. The lightning exploded behind a hidden stone step, and the Silver Yaksha, the Gold Devouring Beast, and an ugly-faced woman immediately appeared.

“Gold Devouring Beast!”

The young man from the Xu family recognized the Gold Devouring Beast first among the three demonic creatures. Lin Yinping and the other cultivators were also startled and became wary.

“Great Elder!”

Gal Tianhu and the others, who had been following behind, recognized the Five Child Devilish Hearts and showed signs of joy.

However, the most surprised were the demonic beasts, who had been hiding perfectly but were now exposed to everyone.

The Silver Yaksha, who had almost lost his life to Han Li, gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly. There was nothing he could do since his stealth techniques were repeatedly seen through.

The three demonic beasts were embarrassed by the stern gazes of the human cultivators.

It wasn’t that they were afraid of their opponents, but they had hoped that the human cultivators would break through the barrier for them so they could quickly advance. Now that their identities had been revealed, they had to reconsider their plans.

The young man from the Xu family looked at the Silver Yaksha and the ugly woman, his heart pounding. The demonic energy of the two demonic beasts that had transformed into human forms was immense.

Old Man Gan and Elder Ye also stopped fighting due to the sudden turn of events, but the bronze lions continued to attack them, and they had no choice but to deal with them.

Han Li left this chaotic situation behind and flew away. Now was the chance to seize the treasure first. He soon arrived at a jade-like gate.

The gate was very peculiar, with nothing but large trees stretching out on both sides.

A pure white stone path led between the trees, and after walking about a thousand feet, a magnificent palace appeared.

“Is that the Kunwu Hall!”

Han Li muttered, calmly surveying his surroundings before turning his gaze to the trees on both sides.

The trees, which were about 20 to 30 feet tall, had withered leaves and branches, but they gave off a strange feeling of vigorous vitality.

He used his consciousness to scan the entire area, but he didn’t sense any restriction, so he immediately ran towards the Kunwu Hall.

However, something unexpected happened. He had only run about ten feet when his body suddenly trembled, and he felt a strange sensation.

‘This is bad!’

He tried to turn back, but it was too late. As if someone was pressing down on his shoulders, he knelt on one knee on the white jade stone floor. Then, the trembling of his entire body intensified, and he felt as if his bones and flesh were being compressed.

Han Li was terrified.

It was fortunate that he had cultivated the Underworld King Incantation [a powerful cultivation technique] and possessed the Heavenly Time Bead [a powerful artifact]. If other cultivators had entered this path without knowing anything, their bones would have been crushed, and they would have been unable to move.

‘I definitely didn’t sense any restriction!’

Han Li groaned inwardly and muttered something. The pressure was so immense that he could barely move a finger, so using spells was his only option.

Suddenly, a thunderous sound was heard from within the blue light. Lightning flashed, and golden lightning enveloped his body like clothing. Han Li gritted his teeth and slowly began to rise.

However, when he had raised his body halfway, the pressure increased even more, forcing him to put one knee back on the ground. Now, his expression had completely changed.

At that moment, Old Man Gan and the others beyond the light barrier and the gate were only worried that Han Li would seize the treasure first.

“You beast, do you want to die!”

Old Man Gan suddenly shouted.

At the same time, the five white shadows merged into one giant form and, instead of attacking the angular-faced man from the Ye family, swung its hand towards the back.

The giant arm transformed into a white serpent, swallowed one of the bronze lions, and then turned into a ball of light. No matter how sharp the bronze lion’s teeth and claws were, it was helpless.

A moment later, the middle-aged cultivator’s rings appeared above the head of another bronze lion and mercilessly struck down. The bronze lion, bound by countless rings, was shattered into pieces.

However, the angular-faced cultivator showed no sign of joy and instead stared at the giant white shadow.

“The Mitiantuo [a powerful artifact] is indeed worthy of its reputation. I heard it’s a replica of the Ancient Era treasure, the Moon Reflection Ring, but it’s no less powerful than a replica of a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure.”

Old Man Gan’s voice was heard coldly from within the giant white shadow’s mouth.

“If not for this treasure, I would have already died at Brother Gan’s hands. But are you going to let that person take all the treasures while you fight me like this!”

The angular-faced cultivator sneered and pointed towards the gate.

“If the Kunwu Mountain restriction was that simple, Elder Ye would have already gone inside and brought out the treasures. How could I have caught up to you? But just now, you called that person an elder. Is he not a cultivator from the Ye family?”

Old Man Gan asked coldly.

“I simply mistook the person. I don’t know who he is.”

The angular-faced cultivator smiled innocently, making it difficult to tell the truth. Old Man Gan was silent for a moment before speaking again.

“Whether that person is from the Ye family or an outsider from Tiannan, if he has gone through all that trouble to open the Kunwu Mountain seal, he should at least take something with him. Instead, why don’t we join forces to break the restriction and leave it to fate who gets the treasures inside Kunwu Mountain?”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s do that.”

“…”

Old Man Gan hesitated, seeing the angular-faced cultivator’s unexpectedly quick agreement.