Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 718

When Xiang Zhili and Old Monster Feng reappeared, Han Li and Hu Noma were facing each other about a hundred yards away. One was calm, and the other was expressionless. On the ground, hundreds of beautiful palace maids from the surrounding palaces had gathered, chattering and watching. It was very rare to see the Palace Lord of the Demonic Palace personally make an appearance. “Brother Xiang, do you think that Fellow Han can withstand Hu Noma if he goes all out?” Old Monster Feng narrowed his eyes, gazing at the void, and asked. “It depends on how you look at it. If he just throws a single blow, he can probably block it. But if he uses a spirit treasure [a powerful magical artifact], he won’t be unscathed. However, would Hu Noma do something that benefits neither of them?” Xiang Zhili frowned slightly as he slowly answered. “That’s true. But Brother Xiang, you don’t know that Hu Noma recently obtained an exotic treasure that is as powerful as a spirit treasure, do you? It can only be used after being refined with a special secret technique, but with Hu Noma’s magic power, who knows how powerful it will be. In my opinion, he will most likely use it.” “Is that so?” Xiang Zhili’s expression changed slightly. While they were talking, Han Li and Hu Noma, who were floating in the air, finally began to move. Hu Noma flicked his sleeve, and a turquoise light shot out, circling around his head. Surprisingly, it was an antique scroll, emitting a mysterious jade-green light. Noma coldly looked at Han Li, forming hand seals with both hands and chanting an incantation. The scroll slowly unfurled to the sound of the incantation, revealing a beautiful landscape painting depicting a jade-green mountain with a dozen or so towering peaks. Before the other cultivators could examine the painting in detail, a green mist suddenly spewed out from it, and from within the mist, eight turquoise pillars of light shot up into the sky. Then, a mysterious thing happened. The pillars of light dissipated, and from within them appeared miniature mountain peaks, each about a foot in size, all lush green and filled with dense spiritual energy. And a clear cry echoed from within the small mountains. “That is…” Han Li was also surprised by the appearance of the strange treasure, and a sense of tension filled him. He spread his hands, and the green wooden ruler and the blue cauldron he was holding appeared. He threw the wooden ruler, and a silver lotus phantom appeared, growing in size to block his front. Thump! At the same time, he lightly tapped the blue cauldron, and the lid flew off, and a bundle of blue threads rose up. The blue threads became a huge net, protecting Han Li. And the Void Sky Cauldron also grew to several feet in size, floating above his head. Then, as he formed hand seals, his whole body flashed with golden light, and a Vajra Shield [a Buddhist protective barrier] made of Buddhist relics appeared, as if he had put on a layer of golden clothing. In an instant, three powerful protective barriers were erected. Han Li was slightly relieved when Hu Noma, who had been watching, spoke. “It seems you’re ready, so I’ll begin as well.” Noma said in a low voice, forming hand seals, and a jet-black pillar of light came out of his mouth and was absorbed into the green mist. Unexpectedly, he poured his spiritual power into the scroll. The jade-green light spread wildly over the small mountains, and in a single breath, they transformed into mountain peaks that were fifty or sixty yards in size. When the eight peaks gathered, they were no different from real mountains. The cries that echoed from the mountains were the sounds of blue monkeys, each about a foot in size, moving through the mountains, which was truly amazing. The cultivators watching from below were startled and exclaimed in admiration. However, Ziling became filled with worry. “Go!” Noma flicked a black light, striking something that weighed ten million pounds, and one of the small mountains flew towards Han Li in a straight line with a heavy vibration. Even if it were just one, it was an enormous scale that a Nascent Soul [a high level of cultivation] cultivator could not block. After pushing all ten or more mountain peaks, Hu Noma took a long breath and withdrew his hand with a tired expression. It was unclear whether Hu Noma thought these were enough to deal with Han Li, or if he stopped because he had exhausted too much magic power. Han Li was momentarily dumbfounded. When Hu Noma proposed a single strike as a condition, he had prepared himself mentally, but he had not expected him to throw such enormous mountain peaks indiscriminately. If there had been no prior agreement, he would have dodged immediately, but now he couldn’t. But then, Han Li suddenly had an idea and touched his waist with one hand. And at that moment, a black light shot out, circling in the air—it was the monkey demon soul. And from another sleeve, a jet-black bottle flew out, and five humanoid skeletons appeared from within the gray-white demonic energy. Han Li formed hand seals with both hands, hastily moving his consciousness. Kwaaang! The small monkey’s body flowed with black light, and it transformed into a giant form that was about thirty yards in size. It clenched its fists, beat its chest, and let out a long roar. The demon soul snorted, and a large amount of yellow energy escaped, condensing into a giant rake. When the giant monkey held a trident-like weapon in its hand, it looked as if a demon had descended from the sky. Next to it, the Five Child Demonic Fiends had already merged into one, rolling in the demonic energy, and had grown to a size comparable to the giant monkey, holding a white bone blade. Now, a demonic beast and a demonic creature with vast bodies stood on Han Li’s left and right. At this moment, one of the small mountains fell with a fierce momentum. Then, before Han Li could move, the giant skeleton and the giant monkey first extended the bone blade they were holding, and raised the giant rake high into the sky. Clang! Clang! Two loud sounds rang out, and the moment the giant monkey and skeleton’s bodies became heavy, the three weapons blocked the small mountain. Han Li, who was about to take out the Three-Flame Fan, was pleased to see this. But then, a series of collisions rang out, and several more mountain peaks fell, adding weight to the same spot. As a result, even though the giant demon soul and the Five Child Demonic Fiends were powerful, they struggled to hold on. Clang! Clang! Clang! With the third loud sound, the giant monkey’s body trembled, and the demonic pattern on its back became dim, and the yellow rake shattered. In the end, the giant monkey’s body was enveloped in black light and shrank, becoming only a foot in size. When the giant monkey could no longer help, the giant skeleton also failed to withstand the fourth loud sound, and the bone blades in its hands broke in two. However, the mountain mass did not stop and continued to press down on the skeleton. The giant skeleton glared fiercely, but a look of fear flashed in its eyes. Han Li was surprised and was about to move the Three-Flame Fan when something strange happened. Poof! The giant skeleton, in anger, spewed out five-colored flames, attacking the bottom of the jade-green mountain peak. The momentum of the mountain peak, which was about to crush the skeleton, weakened, and its speed slowed, causing it to move slowly. However, the other mountain peaks were not affected by the five-colored flames, and they still fell fiercely on top of it. Boom! A deafening roar erupted, and the fourth mountain peak exploded in the air, emitting light like a jade-green sun. And from below, the five-colored flames lightly blocked the jade-green light. Han Li’s eyes widened at this. He knew that when the five flames combined, they would unleash a strange divine power, but he did not know that it would work on such a huge mountain peak. Hu Noma, who was watching this, hardened his face and used his consciousness to drop the other two peaks simultaneously. But Han Li did not stand still. Under his control, the giant skeleton scattered into gray-white energy and dodged, and a three-colored firebird soared out of the Three-Flame Fan, letting out a phoenix cry. However, the three-colored light, which exploded with a light that was nearly several dozen yards wide, blocked the mountain peak, but it was soon pushed back and began to fall again. Then, Han Li pointed at the blue cauldron this time. The blue threads that had been protecting him flashed, surging with blue energy, and joined the three-colored energy, holding back the jade-green mountain peak. However, as the other two mountain peaks fell one after another, the jade-green light once again exerted its power and pushed down. Han Li took a deep breath and flicked his sleeve towards the silver lotus in front of him. The giant lotus flashed and disappeared from its spot, reappearing above Han Li’s head as a seven-colored firelight. And as the green wooden ruler spun in its center, the lotus grew in size once more. Han Li did not stop there, he put his hands together and then spread them out towards the void. A thunderous sound rang out, and a golden lightning bolt the size of an arm escaped from his sleeve, condensing and merging into a giant golden serpent that writhed from head to tail. At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a crystal bead, which instantly transformed into a purple snake over ten yards long and darted out fiercely. At this, the jade-green light in the void flickered, revealing eight jade-green peaks, four of which were dim, and the rest were intact. But then, light flowed between the mountain peaks, and something strange happened. The eight mountain peaks merged into one in the middle, transforming into a giant mountain over a thousand yards in size, and began to unleash its power. At that moment, the purple snake, the lightning serpent, and the giant silver lotus surged upwards from below. At the same time, the light of spiritual energy exploded, and lightning, cold air, and silver light mixed with the jade-green light, creating a momentary stalemate. Han Li, who was below, narrowed his eyes, his navy blue pupils flickering, and he let out a low shout, spitting out essence blood from his mouth. Then, the blood flew towards the silver lotus and was absorbed by the green wooden ruler. He moved his fingers in succession, chanting a strange incantation. At that sound, Xiang Zhili and Old Monster Feng widened their eyes in surprise. The giant mountain, a thousand yards high, was about to overwhelm the silver lotus when suddenly, eight different cries echoed from the wooden ruler, and the phantoms of eight demonic beasts appeared. As Han Li encouraged them with a magic seal, the phantoms grew in size, transforming into real, living demonic beasts, as if the legendary celestial beasts of heaven and earth had appeared. The eight demonic beasts immediately charged forward, spewing fire, and pushed the giant mountain at once, preventing it from descending any further. Hu Noma’s expression darkened as he watched this. He had no intention of killing Han Li, but he had at least wanted to inflict serious injuries, but he had not expected his attack to be blocked so easily. Thinking this, Hu Noma did not show it outwardly, but moved his consciousness. Then, suddenly, the cries of demonic beasts were heard from the jade-green mountain peak, and countless gray shadows jumped out, transforming into blue monkeys about a foot in size. They were not living demonic beasts, but undead creatures created by using the souls of demonic beasts through a bloody refining process. No matter how many times they were cut down, they would revive from the jade-green mountain peak after a while, and their power was considerable. As the blue monkeys began to rampage, the demon soul, which had returned to Han Li’s side, sparkled its eyes and howled with delight. And immediately, black light enveloped its entire body, and it began to swell again. This time, it completed its transformation at about fifteen yards and snorted loudly. Yellow energy escaped from its nostrils, splitting into hundreds of strands and piercing through the void. The blue monkeys were filled with demonic energy and had cultivation levels ranging from the 5th to 7th grade. But when the yellow light touched them, they fell helplessly, turning into green energy and being swept away. Of course, this green energy was completely absorbed by the demon soul. In the end, not a single one of the hundreds of blue monkeys remained, and they all entered the demon soul’s belly. After finishing its feast, the demon soul shrank again, turning into black light and disappearing into Han Li’s waist on its own. “…” Han Li sensed through his consciousness that the demon soul was about to evolve once more and was delighted. The other cultivators were just dumbfounded to see the demon soul devour so many blue monkey demon souls, but Hu Noma, who knew the power of the blue monkeys, could only watch it blankly.