Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 686

The bright full moon emitted a milky light, exuding a strange medicinal fragrance.

Han Li confirmed this, then flapped his wings and disappeared from the spot. He returned to his original position outside the formation and pointed at the three magical artifacts he had placed on the ground.

Immediately, the gourd, jade bottle, and bowl floated up and began to circle above his head. At that moment, the full moon tilted, and a strange silver moonlight illuminated the Heavenly Orchid.

The medicinal fragrance grew stronger, and a watery shimmer appeared on the surface of the full moon as something fell from it. Han Li didn’t hesitate and, taking the three magical artifacts, transformed into a streak of blue light and soared upwards.

The full moon dropped a drop of milky liquid the size of a fist. The liquid scattered into white light, slowly approaching the Heavenly Orchid along the silver moonlight.

Strangely, the white lights only existed within the range of the moonlight; outside of it, they immediately vanished. As soon as the white lights touched the demon beast’s body, they were absorbed and disappeared.

The Heavenly Orchid, which had been haggard from enduring the lightning tribulation, regained its senses as it absorbed the white light and began to emit demonic energy from its mouth, trying to absorb all the falling light. Now, the Heavenly Orchid’s size was much larger than before.

At this moment, a streak of blue light flashed, heading towards the full moon in the dark clouds. However, about a hundred feet away, silver lightning suddenly condensed around him and began to attack him madly.

It was as if countless silver snakes were rushing to bite him from close range, with tremendous force. Even Han Li, who had experienced many battles, was surprised by the situation, but fortunately, he had prepared in advance through the Heavenly Orchid’s telepathic message.

He immediately flipped his palm and took out something—the silver, radiant spirit treasure, the Eight Spirit Ruler.

Before the countless silver lightning bolts could even touch his body, Han Li swung the wooden ruler, and silver lotus flowers the size of his palm bloomed everywhere, protecting him completely.

*Kwagwang! Kwagwagwang!*

The silver lightning struck the lotus flowers and exploded, sending out thin bolts of lightning. The lotus flowers repeatedly scattered but immediately bloomed in large numbers, blocking the lightning.

The streak of blue light flashed and quickly approached the dark clouds, reaching within a dozen feet of the full moon.

The moment the second liquid flowed down from the full moon, he stopped moving as if caught by some kind of restriction, and countless lightning bolts rushed in from all around.

It was even more powerful than before.

However, Han Li, surrounded by silver lotus flowers, didn’t care about the silver lightning. He immediately pointed at the three magical artifacts circling around him, and the three magical artifacts transformed into streaks of light and shot towards the full moon.

The moment the magical artifacts left, many lightning bolts struck him.

The lightning attacks, which had become even more ferocious, caused explosions around Han Li, and the lotus flowers of the Eight Spirit Ruler barely held on. The area protected by the lotus flowers gradually narrowed, and the lightning’s offensive closed in on him.

However, he focused solely on manipulating the three magical artifacts to approach the full moon. For some unknown reason, the closer the magical artifacts got to the full moon, the heavier they became, moving like snails.

At that moment, the full moon, having dropped the second liquid, was slowly fading and disappearing. The surrounding dark clouds violently churned, creating an immense pressure of spiritual energy that surprised even Han Li.

It was clear that the ninth lightning wave was about to begin.

Han Li’s eyes flashed as he focused his consciousness and released the Soul Piercer [a technique that attacks the soul] towards the full moon. As the intangible, enormous force approached the full moon, ripples appeared in the air like water, and the speed of the three magical artifacts increased.

Confirming this, Han Li didn’t hesitate and spat out essence blood from his mouth, flicking his ten fingers. The drops of blood transformed into a blood-colored mist, flashed, and disappeared.

Soon, a strange thing happened.

The magical artifacts, which had originally been of various colors, were dyed blood-red the moment the blood-colored mist disappeared and instantly reached the full moon in the sky.

However, at the same time, the full moon flashed and disappeared, leaving only the three magical artifacts in the sky. Whether the three magical artifacts had captured something from the full moon or not, even Han Li couldn’t tell.

*Kwagwang!*

With a loud roar, the silver lightning that had been relentlessly striking him was all sucked into the dark clouds and disappeared. However, Han Li carefully observed the situation.

He gestured towards a distant place, and the magical artifacts, including the gourd, flew back. Enveloping the magical artifacts in blue energy, he had already returned to the side of the formation.

Han Li retrieved the three magical artifacts and glanced inside the gourd, then flipped his palm. The remaining two magical artifacts all entered his storage pouch.

The Heavenly Orchid didn’t pay attention to what Han Li was doing. It only stared at the high sky, and although the lightning had temporarily scattered and disappeared, it couldn’t relax its tension due to the powerful waves emanating from the dark clouds.

The demon beast had now used up all its silver demonic energy and was standing in the formation with its bare body. It seemed to think that it couldn’t block the next lightning attack with its grayish-white demonic energy.

*Kwaang!*

Han Li was about to say something to his opponent with a smile when a heavy thunderclap echoed from the sky, and a huge silver lightning bolt appeared from the dark clouds, transforming into a silver dragon and falling down.

Before the silver dragon could even fall completely, it emitted silver lightning from its body, illuminating the sky. The Heavenly Orchid’s expression changed drastically as it saw this, and it spat out a dim gray bead from its mouth.

It was the demon core, the lifeblood of the demon beast.

However, before the silver dragon could engulf the Heavenly Orchid, Han Li suddenly appeared outside the formation and threw a silver shield to protect the Heavenly Orchid. This allowed the Heavenly Orchid to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

*Kwagwagwang!*

A roar echoed as the silver dragon crashed into the silver barrier and exploded. Although the silver barrier maintained its shape, the silver dragon didn’t disappear and continued to attack along the surface. With each successive thunderclap, the silver dragon’s size decreased, and after a dozen or so attacks, its size was reduced to half its original.

“That’s enough, stop using the cultivator’s treasures. I will overcome it myself now.”

The Heavenly Orchid shouted loudly from inside the silver barrier. Hearing this, Han Li recalled what the Heavenly Orchid had said on the way and immediately reached into the formation and removed the silver barrier.

When a demon race undergoes a Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation [a trial to transform into a higher form], other cultivators can provide protection, but they must endure half of the power themselves. If they don’t, they won’t advance to the next stage, and the lightning won’t stop.

As soon as the silver barrier disappeared, the silver dragon rushed towards the Heavenly Orchid, but fortunately, the grayish-white demon core flashed and blocked it.

No matter how the silver dragon changed direction and rushed, the demon core appeared one step ahead and blocked its path. Each time, the dragon’s size noticeably decreased.

Han Li stroked his chin and watched the scene.

“At this rate, the subsequent lightning strikes should be no problem. Well, lightning strikes that are scary to an 8th-grade demon beast are nothing to me. Now, the important thing is whether the Heavenly Orchid can withstand the remaining half on its own.”

As he expected, the silver shield blocked most of the power of the last two waves, and the Heavenly Orchid barely managed to block the rest. As the last lightning strike ceased, the dark clouds that had filled the sky strangely dispersed, and suddenly, sunlight poured down.

The Heavenly Orchid, floating in the formation, wrapped its body in layers of grayish-white demonic energy, writhing like a silkworm cocoon.

Han Li stared at it expressionlessly.

Having undergone the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation, it would now be forming a new human form. It wasn’t something that could be controlled by itself but happened naturally, like a human being born. Usually, fox demon beasts and others transform into handsome men or beautiful women after the transformation, and demon beasts with shabby bodies also have shabby appearances even when they take human form.

As if something had occurred to him, Han Li suddenly turned his head somewhere. The remains of the giant serpent, which had been a mutated demon beast, had been completely devoured by the Gold Devouring Beetles, leaving not even a bone fragment.

Han Li immediately blew a long whistle, and the swarm of Gold Devouring Beetles flew into his spirit beast pouch. After that, Han Li sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, waiting for the Heavenly Orchid’s Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation to end.

Exactly one day passed.

*Pajik!*

The sound of a giant cocoon tearing was heard, and a soft arm with white skin popped out.

“It’s finally over! Cultivator Han, you’ve really worked hard.”

As he heard the familiar voice, Han Li smiled and slowly rose.

* * *

A few days later, Han Li quietly returned to the Zimu Peak of Yunmeng Mountain.

He was now in a secret room, taking out the three magical artifacts, including the gourd, and fiddling with a golden horn. In front of him was a blue cauldron the size of a sheet of paper, and on top of it, a young man with fair skin and red lips was shaking his head while looking at a book.

The young man was very similar to the appearance of the Heavenly Orchid when it appeared as a phantom after the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation. Thinking about it, the spirit beast’s main body would have already undergone the transformation in the Spirit Realm, so he would have known roughly what it would look like.

Han Li touched the golden horn with his fingertip and opened his mouth.

“I’ve experimented, and it can absorb almost all forms of spiritual energy and release it again. The disadvantages are that there is a limit to the amount it can absorb and that the absorption speed is slow.”

“Oh, it’s worthy of being a mutated demon beast material. Materials that absorb spiritual energy are something that even cultivators in the Spirit Realm would fight over to obtain. Most famous defensive spirit treasures contain such materials.”

The young man put aside the book made of demon beast leather and smiled brightly at Han Li.

“Then, can it be refined into armor?”

“How clever! If you combine it with a cultivator’s Fire Spirit Silk, you could create a rare and powerful armor. It might not be a spirit treasure, but it would be comparable. However, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Why not? I happen to need a treasure of the armor type.”

“If you plan to grow old and die in the Human Realm, safety is the most important thing. But if you plan to ascend to the Spirit Realm through a spatial junction [a portal between realms]… it would be better to make a different treasure!”

“A different treasure?”

“Of course, the Realm Transformation Pearl! With that, it will be of great help in passing through the spatial junction.”

The young man spoke without hesitation to Han Li, who had a puzzled expression.

“Realm Transformation Pearl? I heard that when the Saint Ancestor’s avatar descended to the Human Realm, he used something called a Realm Transformation Stone. Is that related, or are they the same thing?”

“The two are definitely related! The Realm Transformation Stone is a consumable material unique to the Spirit Realm, and the Realm Transformation Pearl is a treasure created through refinement. Their functions are similar, but their power is vastly different. Would it be fair to say that the power of the Realm Transformation Pearl is about one-hundredth of that of the Realm Transformation Stone?”

“One-hundredth?”

“That doesn’t mean you should doubt the power of the Realm Transformation Pearl. The Realm Transformation Stone is one of the three treasures that break boundaries, on par with the Reverse Star Plate, and even demon kings in the Spirit Realm do not possess many of these treasures.

The Realm Transformation Pearl, although not as good as those two, is a famous treasure for breaking spatial restrictions, and it is rare because it requires materials that absorb spiritual energy for refinement. When I was in the Spirit Realm, I once entered a spatial junction out of curiosity, and the spatial storms and inter-boundary pressure inside still make my heart tremble!

Even if you master the Destruction Law Eye to its extreme, the possibility of passing through that place is minimal. Otherwise, how could there be so few cultivators who sneak into the Spirit Realm from the lower realms? If you don’t have a Realm Transformation Pearl, you should give up the idea of passing through the spatial junction. I was originally going to tell you when you reached the Transformation Stage, but since you’ve already obtained such a material, I’m telling you in advance.”

“If that’s the case, it would be good to refine a Realm Transformation Pearl.”

Han Li, who had been listening quietly, scratched his nose and smiled wryly.

“I wouldn’t have even brought up this topic if you didn’t possess the Destruction Law Eye. You need to have both of those to have any hope of surviving in the spatial junction. Considering the favor you’ve done me, I’ll tell you the cultivation method for the Realm Breaking Pearl.”

“You are clear about your debts. By the way, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask since last time. I saw an 8th-grade turtle demon beast undergoing a tribulation before, and it was completely different from the Heavenly Orchid. The power of the lightning was almost half as weak.”

“What’s so strange about that? If the races are different, the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation will naturally be different. The more powerful the innate abilities of a heaven and earth spirit beast, the stronger the tribulation they have to endure. Legendary spirit beasts like the True Dragon have to endure 13 waves of lightning strikes just for the Fiend Transformation Lightning Tribulation. I only had 11, so it’s not bad.”

The young man said honestly, as if there was nothing to hide.

“I see.”

# 688