Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 616

The chanting continued, and five streams of blue energy shot from his mouth. Within the blue energy, guided by the incantation, the energy transformed into small, faceless dwarves with hands and feet.

Han Li stopped chanting when he saw the blue dwarves. He reached out, drawing yellow earth energy from the secret chamber and merging it into the dwarves’ bodies.

“Go.”

The five blue dwarves flashed and entered the five skulls, disappearing from sight.

Having completed this, Han Li took out a bundle of silver rings from his storage pouch. These were magical artifacts for binding demons, refined using a secret technique from the Demonic Scripture. They were made from the remaining Gang Silver [a type of rare, sturdy metal] and were exceptionally strong.

*Swish!*

With a wave of his hand, over twenty rings flew out with a rustling sound, disappearing into the necks and limbs of the skulls. Only then did Han Li breathe a sigh of relief.

With another wave, the golden bubble flashed, rapidly shrinking and returning to his palm on its own.

The five skeletons and skull heads remained in the air, gleaming with a gray light. The talismans attached to them were gradually consumed by the demonic flames. Meanwhile, the five golden flying swords returned to him.

The freed skull heads immediately turned into a gray-white energy and were absorbed into the skeletons.

Han Li recited the incantation he had learned from the Demonic Scripture and moved his consciousness. The five skeletons simultaneously rose and slowly flew towards him, appearing light as if swaying in the wind.

As his consciousness directed, the skeletons stopped at a distance, but the green light flashing in their eyes made it seem as if they wanted to get closer to Han Li.

With a darkened face, Han Li suddenly chanted an incantation.

Five silver rings appeared above each skeleton, burning with blue flames. A burning smell arose, and the five demons retreated, letting out sharp screams. When the chanting stopped, the blue flames immediately disappeared, but the demons remained withdrawn and did not move at all.

Han Li nodded inwardly with satisfaction. He hadn’t expected to control them so freely. It was enough that they would attack enemies according to his commands.

Then, as he activated the control incantation, the Five Demonic Heart Skeletons contracted and transformed into gray-white energy. The five masses of gray-white energy obediently entered the black bottle.

Han Li confirmed that the last of the gray-white energy had entered, closed the lid, and sealed it with golden talismans. Only then did he feel somewhat at ease storing it in his storage pouch.

Now, as long as he fed them blood at regular intervals, nothing would go wrong.

In fact, this was something only a cultivator like Han Li, who had many elixirs to replenish his vital energy, could do. No matter how high one’s cultivation was, it was not easy to feed one’s own blood to demons for a long time.

After all, blood was the source of vital energy for humans, and one could not survive losing a large amount of it. Han Li, who had succeeded in taming the demons, felt pleased, but there was still one more important task left.

It was to refine the Taiyin True Flame [a type of powerful yin-attributed flame] he had obtained from the giant fire cauldron so that he could use it when needed. However, merging the Extreme Yang Flame [a type of powerful yang-attributed flame] and the Taiyin True Flame was not something that could be done quickly, so it was not a consideration for now.

Over a decade had passed since Mount Snow Lotus had been enveloped in white mist.

Everyone knew that a cultivator with great divine powers was in seclusion, so they did not dare to intrude. Thus, nothing had changed since Han Li had started staying there.

The nearby forces were also greatly relieved when they realized that the cultivator had simply come to find a quiet place to cultivate and was not interfering in other matters. They ordered their disciples to designate the area as a restricted zone and went about their lives.

On this day, a heavy snowfall suddenly began to fall around Mount Snow Lotus. As snowflakes fell and a gale blew, the whole world turned white, and no other color could be seen.

Such weather was rare even in the Upper Realm, so cultivators of the Lower Realm were reluctant to go outside. However, a blue beam of light shot out from Mount Snow Lotus, piercing the sky and disappearing.

Half an hour later, the blue beam of light had left the blizzard-stricken area and was flying over a mountain range tens of thousands of miles away. The light faded, and a young man in a blue robe appeared. It was Han Li, with his dark skin and ordinary appearance.

Through decades of closed-door cultivation, he had finally refined the treasures and had also absorbed the Taiyin True Flame into his body, succeeding in its basic refinement.

Now, unless he was surrounded by late-Nascent Soul cultivators [a high level of cultivation] or encountered a powerful enemy like a clone of the Origin Soul Sacred Ancestor, he had no fear of losing his life in the Human Realm.

With the cooperation of the Five Demonic Heart Skeletons and the human-shaped puppet, his cultivation and divine powers had greatly increased after his trip to Mount Kunwu. He would not be at a disadvantage even if he faced several late-Nascent Soul cultivators.

And as time had passed and the events that had occurred on Mount Kunwu were gradually being forgotten, he took advantage of the blizzard to leave Mount Snow Lotus and began flying towards North Underworld Island.

It was not until half a month later that the surrounding cultivators discovered that the white mist of Mount Snow Lotus had dissipated, and they realized that no one was there.

As a result, a bloody storm began to brew among the surrounding forces over who would take possession of the spiritual mountain.

North Underworld Ice Island was actually a landmass attached to the Great Jin mainland. Three sides were surrounded by the sea, and one side was connected to the mainland, separated from the Upper Realm by only one province.

And the fact that three sides were surrounded by the sea meant that three sides were surrounded by ice. The temperature there was so low that it was said that water droplets would begin to freeze as they fell.

In this climate, the sea surrounding North Underworld Island had long since turned into glaciers, and it was a place where vast icebergs could be seen.

North Underworld Island itself was not more than a million miles across, and a huge ice castle had been built in the northern part of the island. This was the North Night Small Extremity Palace, known as the top sect in the northern region.

Frankly speaking, the sect’s power was not enough to compare with the Ten Great Demonic Sects of Great Jin, but because North Underworld Island was located in such a remote area, it was not well recognized by the Great Jin cultivation world. They were ridiculed as a sect in the wilderness and excluded from the Great Jin sects.

However, in the northern region of Great Jin, the reputation of the North Night Small Extremity Palace was greater than that of the Taiyi Sect and the Heavenly Devil Sect, and anyone you asked would say that it was the top sect in the region.

In the northern region, the North Night Small Extremity Palace was revered as the North Immortal Palace, and the number of wandering cultivators and Lower Realm cultivators who wanted to enter its gates was countless.

The disciples of the North Night Small Extremity Palace were divided into inner palace and outer palace disciples. The inner palace disciples were from the large cultivation families located on North Underworld Island, while the outer palace disciples were selected from small families or wandering cultivators outside North Underworld Island.

Of course, if one had exceptional talent or made great contributions, an outer palace disciple could become an inner palace disciple. If one wanted to enter the North Night Small Extremity Palace despite not having exceptional talent, one had to walk through a vast, frigid land of 100,000 miles.

Within 100,000 miles of the North Night Small Extremity Palace, a restriction was in place that prevented Lower Realm cultivators from flying using magical artifacts. They had to rely solely on their cultivation and divine powers to endure the cold and walk. Those who arrived at the North Night Small Extremity Palace in this way could become outer palace disciples.

It was believed that anyone who could traverse the 100,000 miles of frigid land, whether due to cultivation, magical artifacts, or elixirs, would surely be of use.

Many cultivators had challenged it and frozen to death, but many Lower Realm cultivators walked this path every year for the sake of their future prospects.

On this day, a dozen or so cultivators were walking somewhere tens of thousands of miles away from the North Night Small Extremity Palace, wearing thick leather windbreakers. The light of spiritual energy flickered from their bodies as they struggled to take each step through the suffocating blizzard.

They had been walking for almost half a month in the harsh climate. Some of them were already pale and staggering, but no one thought of taking a break.

They could only endure by recovering their magical power with spirit stones in their hands. Where could they rest in such a place?

One of them, who was particularly pale, was even breathing heavily. After a while, he could not bear it any longer and took out a medicine bottle from his pocket, swallowing a bright red elixir. Immediately, a slight flush returned to his pale face.

“I don’t know how many Fire Yang Pills [a type of elixir that provides warmth] you have left, but if you keep eating them like that, you won’t make it to the Small Extremity Palace. The hail region we have to pass through next will be much more difficult,” said a middle-aged man, who was walking ahead with a yellow protective barrier around his body, turning his head.

“Brother Gu, I still have one more bottle left, so I’m fine. I will definitely pass through this place,” said the cultivator who had taken the elixir, a young man in his early twenties, barely managing a smile.

“That’s good then. I don’t want to go with someone who has no chance of success,” the middle-aged man nodded with satisfaction at the young man’s answer and continued forward. Even in the raging blizzard, his steps were steady, as if he knew the way.

The others followed closely behind, tense.

However, they had not gone far when the middle-aged man stopped first, looking up at the sky with a surprised expression!

The others also hurriedly looked up and saw a blue shadow floating in the air amidst the white blizzard. What was strange was that within three or four yards of the figure, the blizzard seemed to be blocked by something and could not penetrate at all.

It was because of this that the middle-aged man was able to spot the blue light in the sky.

Everyone was shocked and their expressions changed. This was a place where flying was prohibited, so even a Core Formation cultivator [a mid-level of cultivation] could not float so freely.

‘Could it be a Nascent Soul cultivator!’

Everyone looked around nervously, feeling uneasy.

“Are you on your way to enter the North Night Small Extremity Palace?” someone suddenly spoke, their face hidden in the blue light. Judging by the voice, they did not seem to be very old.

The middle-aged man was not highly cultivated, but he had experience encountering high-level cultivators, so he quickly regained his senses and bowed deeply.

“I am Gu Tianjie, and as you said, I am on my way to the Small Extremity Palace to participate in the test. Do you have any instructions for us?” the middle-aged man replied hastily, his face very respectful.

“You are quite perceptive. It’s nothing much, but this place is strange. Even I can’t gauge the direction, so how are you moving forward so steadily? Do you have some kind of magical artifact that guides you?” the blue figure asked calmly. Hearing this, the middle-aged man’s expression relaxed, and he replied without hesitation.

“Senior, it seems you are visiting North Underworld Island for the first time. I don’t know about other areas of North Underworld Island, but this area is where the Small Extremity Palace’s Forbidden Grand Formation is deployed. It is a restriction set up using the famous Mirage Stone as the formation’s eye, so cultivators cannot gauge the direction with their consciousness. If you try to spread your consciousness to reach the Small Extremity Palace, you will never get there. We obtained something called a Directional Plate at the entrance of North Underworld Island, which allows us to find our way without getting lost.”

“A Directional Plate!”

“Yes, the Directional Plate is not a rare magical artifact, but it can only be obtained from a shop under the jurisdiction of the Small Extremity Palace if one has a clear identity and a cultivator who can vouch for that identity. Only 30 are sold each year, and they lose their effectiveness after one year. I have two for emergencies, so I will offer this one to you, Senior,” the middle-aged man suddenly shook his sleeve and took out a yellow disc, holding it up with both hands. The blue figure stroked his chin, chuckled, and unhesitatingly grasped at the air. A yellow light flashed, and the Directional Plate was in his hand.

The cultivator in the blue light was, of course, Han Li, who had been flying towards North Underworld Ice Island for half a month.

He had thought that his abilities would make the no-fly zone irrelevant, but as soon as he entered this area, his consciousness began to wander aimlessly, unable to find direction.

As he was about to find another way, he was fortunate enough to encounter these people.

# 618