Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 637

Han Li lowered the hand he was about to use to unleash sword energy and turned his head towards the five-colored barrier in the distance, rather than the fire crow. Within the restriction, explosions and vibrations could still be heard as the gray-robed monk and the old woman fiercely battled. They were completely unaware of the situation outside, hidden by the barrier. They likely couldn’t imagine that Han Li, a Nascent Soul intermediate cultivator, had instantly killed a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator and two other cultivators of equal level. Han Li transformed into a streak of blue light and flew towards the five-colored barrier. After summoning the humanoid puppet and the five skeletons, he flicked his sleeve, releasing a string of 36 golden swords. He then continuously cast hand seals into the flying swords in the air. Golden light flashed, and soon the number of swords multiplied to over a hundred, scattering in all directions. Strangely, the sword lights began to disappear one by one, vanishing without a trace. Han Li deployed the Great Stellar Sword Formation, placing the area around the five-colored barrier under the formation’s control. He then raised one hand and tossed the yellow-lighted Demon Subduing Pestle into the air. With a blank expression, he closed his eyes and began to chant incantations, forming hand seals to activate the pestle. Soon, the Demon Subduing Pestle vibrated, growing in size within the yellow light, revealing its massive form, over a dozen yards long. Han Li stopped chanting and unleashed seven-colored flames towards the giant object. The treasure, which had been emitting yellow light, was now enveloped in seven-colored flames. “Go!” No sooner had Han Li spoken than the giant Demon Subduing Pestle crashed down onto the five-colored barrier. *Bang!* A deafening roar, as if the sky had collapsed, echoed, and the five-colored barrier shattered with a rumbling sound. The surrounding area was briefly obscured by the light of the shattered spiritual energy, but as his vision cleared, Han Li’s expression darkened rapidly. “I didn’t realize you two were putting on a show. It seems I’ll have to take the stage. Is that alright with you?” Han Li quickly regained his composure and asked calmly. Under the barrier, the old monk and the old woman were sitting about a dozen yards apart, meditating, while a strange spirit beast resembling an old rat was in the middle, its belly expanding and contracting, making explosive sounds as if it were fighting. Surprisingly, the old monk and the old woman were not attacking each other but were using the fist-sized spirit beast to deceive the cultivators outside the barrier. When the barrier suddenly shattered, the old monk and the old woman, who had been sitting cross-legged, also opened their eyes wide, their faces showing surprise as they looked at Han Li in the air. At that moment, a blue and yellow mixed barrier spread out, enveloping the old monk and the old woman. Although smaller than the previous five-colored barrier, the faint light it emitted was extraordinary. In the middle, a semi-transparent handkerchief was slowly rotating. “You!” The old woman’s face contorted in disbelief, and the old monk’s expression also turned grim. Han Li merely curled the corners of his lips, even as his opponents emitted a new barrier from the handkerchief. “Tsk, tsk, no wonder I could barely see through the illusion restriction with my own eyes. It seems you two were planning to take advantage of the situation.” Han Li spoke as if in admiration, but his eyes flashed with killing intent. At those words, the gray-robed monk regained his senses and spoke. “Fellow cultivator Han’s divine abilities are truly remarkable. I didn’t expect that even Hanryeo Sang-in [a title of respect] and his disciples would be unable to subdue you. But where are Hanryeo and the others? Have they already left the cave?” The monk became uneasy when he couldn’t find the other cultivators in the cave. Still, he didn’t seem to think that Han Li had killed them all. “Don’t waste time. If Hanryeo Sang-in and the other cultivators have left the cave, it’s only a matter of time before the So Geuk Palace cultivators arrive. Shouldn’t the three of us leave as well?” The old woman, unable to bear it any longer, glared and snapped. “If you’re worried about them, there’s no need. I’ve already killed them all. Hanryeo Sang-in still has his Nascent Soul [the core of a cultivator’s power] left, so if you wish, I can let you see him before sending you two on your way…” “Hanryeo Sang-in died at the hands of a cultivator? That’s absurd!” “I don’t care what kind of relationship you two have or what your intentions are for coming here. But the fact that you were hiding with ill intentions while I was fighting the So Geuk Palace cultivators is enough! What I hate most in my life is being used by others. Besides, to keep the secret of the Heaven Piercing Treasure, you two must disappear from this realm.” As soon as Han Li finished speaking, he formed hand seals and began chanting incantations. The old monk was startled, sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy around him. He looked around and saw countless golden lights flickering from dozens of yards away, flying towards them like thin golden threads. The golden threads were bizarre, crossing through space without any discernible pattern. “Sword Formation!” The old woman shouted as she surveyed the surroundings. “Fellow cultivator Han, it seems there’s some misunderstanding. We had no intention of harming you. If the So Geuk Palace cultivators outside the Void Spirit Hall see that you’re not with Hanryeo Sang-in, how strange will they think it is? If you join hands with us and leave this place, we swear by blood that we will never reveal anything about the Heaven Piercing Treasure.” “Enough. The dead tell no tales!” Han Li gave a sinister smile at the old monk’s words. “Fellow cultivator Ma, there’s no time to waste on idle chatter. Judging by his demeanor, he seems to have something to rely on.” The old woman flipped her hand and took out a yellow staff, then spoke coldly. The monk was startled and looked closely, discovering the humanoid puppet and the five skeletons standing side by side, hidden from view by Han Li. “What are those things? And who is that?” “The skeletons seem to be the rumored Five Corpse Heart Demons, and who knows who the other cultivator is! Perhaps he used their power to kill Hanryeo Sang-in. If it’s really the Five Corpse Heart Demons of Old Man Geon, we are no match for them. The only way is to quickly kill the cultivator who controls them and neutralize the skeletons. Let’s break the sword formation first and then talk. Since Buddhist techniques are incompatible with demonic techniques, if we have to fight, leave it to me. Since things have come to this, we must act accordingly. Let’s break the sword formation and attack him with the thing we were going to use against Hanryeo Sang-in!” The old woman moved her lips, sending a quick telepathic message. “That’s the only way. But I don’t know if it will be able to inflict a fatal blow, even if it is that, since the opponent doesn’t seem to have cultivated ice-attribute techniques…” The old monk sighed and replied telepathically. “There’s no other way. Although the opponent is not a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, we should be able to inflict serious injuries. We really miscalculated this time. I heard that Fellow cultivator Han’s divine abilities were great, but I didn’t expect him to be such a formidable opponent! We were going to ambush and kill the old man when he was severely injured by Han Li, but if I had known it would turn out like this, I would never have come here.” The old woman gritted her teeth as she spoke telepathically. “Fellow cultivator Yong, what’s the use of regretting it now? It’s a waste to use that item, but if we can get our hands on the Heaven Piercing Treasure and the Five Corpse Heart Demons, it’s still a great deal.” The monk, unable to persuade Han Li with words, wiped away his benevolent expression and revealed his dark side. The old woman nodded in agreement and threw the staff she was holding into the air. The yellow light transformed into a beast resembling a horse, but with long, sharp fangs, and it spewed countless yellow lights from its mouth. Surprisingly, the yellow lights transformed into over a thousand small blades, scattering in all directions. The monk then brought his hands together and released silver light from both hands. Soon, a silver ball of light, as large as a cartwheel, flew out with a menacing aura. Han Li stood in the air, blinking as he watched their actions. The yellow swords and the two silver balls of light entered the golden threads, only to be shredded into pieces of scrap metal. ‘What kind of sword formation is this to have such power!’ The old woman and the monk gasped in surprise and looked at each other. This attack was merely a test of the sword formation’s power, so they quickly moved again. The old woman flipped her palm and took out a navy blue brick-shaped ancient treasure. As she chanted incantations, the brick grew to the size of a pavilion and flew out. But the same scene as before unfolded. The golden threads, densely packed in the air, cut the brick into countless pieces, scattering them like smoke. “This is impossible! The Azure Gold Brick, refined with the essence of Azure Gold, is so powerful, yet it’s being destroyed so easily!” The old woman shouted, unable to hold back any longer. The old monk, narrowing his brows, gave a low shout and moved the spirit beast resembling an old rat. Gray light flowed through the spirit beast’s body, causing it to swell and expand, its fur lengthening and its body growing several times its original size. The spirit beast, revealing its small, sharp teeth, opened its mouth and emitted gray sound waves. Like a giant wave, the gray waves extended towards the golden threads. The monk had resorted to an intangible attack since solid treasures were ineffective. However, the Great Stellar Sword Formation was a divine ability that would be unrivaled in the human realm if one fully mastered the Azure Origin Sword Technique. Although only half of the flying swords with refined essence were present, and the sword formation was not at its full power, it was impossible for it to be breached by mere sound waves. The gray sound waves flowed into the golden threads. At first, the golden threads seemed to ripple, but they soon shattered the sound waves, scattering them into gray energy. The gray-robed monk finally began to show signs of distress as the golden threads continued to advance without hesitation. The power of the sword formation far exceeded his expectations. They were now frantically attacking the approaching golden threads with various treasures. ‘Hmm…’ Han Li moved his consciousness, and the humanoid puppet behind him disappeared from its spot. Soon after, the sword formation had cornered the old monk and the old woman within a twenty-yard radius. Although their fierce attacks had slightly slowed the sword formation’s advance, they could not push it back. “The sword formation is too bizarre. We can’t continue like this. It seems ordinary treasures can’t break it, so let’s use that!” The old woman finally revealed her fear as she watched the golden threads gradually closing in. “If we use it now, how will we deal with those two after breaking the sword formation!” “This is not the time to worry about that. If we wait any longer, we’ll die here!” The old woman shouted in response to the monk’s objection. He knew she was right, so he gritted his teeth, glaring at the golden threads. He nodded, signaling his agreement, and then brushed his sleeve, taking out an unknown object. Although it was difficult to see clearly due to the dense red aura, it was a bead with gold and silver talismans attached to it. “Fellow cultivator Ma, hurry! If you use it too close, we’ll be caught in it too.” The old woman urged him, and the monk sighed, carefully removing the talismans from the bead. Just as he was about to activate it, a silver light flashed from behind, and someone approached like a ghost. The old woman, who was in front of the gray-robed monk, saw him and screamed in terror. “Watch out behind you!” No sooner had she spoken than the monk flapped his sleeves, sending out yellow light, and tried to jump away in shock. But it was already too late. The humanoid puppet, possessing the divine abilities of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, had already pierced the monk’s back with one hand the moment his figure blurred, attempting to snatch the red bead. The monk staggered, letting out a low groan. The humanoid puppet’s silver hand pierced through his barrier in an instant, but a phantom of a strange bird with black feathers appeared on the monk’s back, blocking the attack.