Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 758

759. Devouring Flame

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Han Li took a deep breath, his grip tightening on the Extinction Immortal Halberd. Despite being outnumbered three to one, the fact that they hadn’t attacked immediately gave him a sliver of hope for survival.

Han Li composed himself, calmly looking up at the three Spirit Race members.

“Lord Wukcheon, this is the one. He’s a high-level Body Refinement cultivator from the Human Race. He likely knows the location of the Chaos Valley, and since he has no magic power, he’s easy to deal with,” the red-clad youth said respectfully to the man standing on the cloud, his eyes scanning Han Li from head to toe.

“Oh, then let’s make use of him,” the man on the blood-colored cloud nodded indifferently. The youth then smirked at Han Li, his body twisting as he transformed into a fire snake and shot towards him.

‘They’re trying to kill me!’

Han Li was shocked, but he couldn’t just stand there and be a target. Suddenly, his entire body flashed violently as the Vajra Barrier [a defensive technique] activated. He was prepared to unleash both Extinction Immortal Halberds, no matter the cost.

However, just as Han Li was about to act, the man on the blood-colored cloud twitched his mouth and raised a fingertip towards Han Li.

*Puhook.*

Instantly, Han Li was crushed by an immense, invisible pressure.

Things were taking a turn for the worse. If he activated the Extinction Immortal Halberds in this situation, he would undoubtedly be caught in their power as well.

He had no choice but to explosively unleash the Vajra Barrier to resist the immense pressure. However, the invisible pressure was simply too strong.

He managed to avoid being flattened by exerting superhuman strength, but *thud!* his legs were driven into the ground like stakes. His entire body was numb and tingling, and he couldn’t move an inch.

“Hmm?”

The man on the blood-colored cloud seemed slightly surprised by Han Li’s immense strength. But Han Li was equally surprised. If a simple gesture could unleash such power, then the opponent was definitely not a Nascent Soul cultivator [a high-level cultivator].

Could it be that a Spirit Race Mystic Spirit-level being had appeared?

A red light flashed, and the tiny fire snake approached Han Li. It was about to enter his head while he was unable to move.

Han Li roared in fury, his face contorted in pain. Seeing this, the man finally smiled and retracted his extended finger.

The crushing pressure disappeared, and Han Li trembled, shooting up a few feet before falling back to the ground.

Then, his body glowed with a blinding golden light, and he clenched his fists, tearing through the surrounding undergrowth and punching at the towering trees.

*Thwack! Thwack! Thud!*

Each time, the trunks of the giant trees snapped.

It was a tremendous display of power.

At first, the man on the blood-colored cloud simply watched with a smile. But as Han Li’s rampage continued for over an hour without stopping, his expression gradually hardened.

“Lord Wukcheon! Could something have happened to Seoyeom?” the girl beside him asked worriedly.

“It can’t be. Seoyeom’s true form is the Devouring Flame Pearl, so swallowing a mere Body Refinement cultivator’s will should be nothing. Besides, the aura of the Devouring Flame Pearl hasn’t weakened at all,” the man on the blood-colored cloud said, shaking his head after a moment of thought. The Spirit Race girl was relieved to hear that. However, the sound of giant trees snapping like reeds continued to echo.

The girl waited patiently, while the man narrowed his eyes, lost in thought. After a while, Han Li emerged from the depths of the undergrowth, his face expressionless and his eyes vacant.

“Seoyeom, how do you feel?” the man asked, staring intently at Han Li.

“I feel great. The human body is quite useful. It’s just that his consciousness was a bit stronger than average, so it took some time,” Han Li replied, his voice surprisingly that of the Spirit Race youth.

“Good, that’s a relief. I was worried something might have happened to you since the Body Refinement cultivator didn’t seem ordinary.”

“Ordinary? He’s just a Body Refinement cultivator with a bit of strength. Lord Wukcheon, I’ve already found the location of the Chaos Valley. It seems to be a bit far away. Shall we go right away?”

“There’s no rush. Hwaggwang went to chase after the mutated Pyeorin Beast, so he’ll be back soon. Let’s wait a bit,” he said. At that, ‘Han Li’ nodded and stood there, silent.

About half an hour later, a whistling sound was heard from afar, and a white streak of light flew in, spinning and stopping in front of them.

As the light faded, a white dwarf was seen floating in the air, holding a small beast tightly bound with a dark blue chain.

“Th-this human…”

The white dwarf flinched in surprise upon seeing Han Li.

“Don’t worry. Seoyeom has already devoured his consciousness,” the man said.

“I see. That’s good then. It was inconvenient not having the Spirit Beast Ring, so I can leave it with him,” the white dwarf said, his face brightening as he handed the dark blue chain to Han Li.

Han Li took the chain without a word, and a ring on his finger glowed, causing the small beast to disappear.

“Seoyeom, you know the location of the Chaos Valley, so you lead the way. We don’t have much time, so we can’t delay any longer. This is a great opportunity for our race to seize the divine blood. Would the Five Elements Spirit Race give us divine blood under normal circumstances? With just a few drops of divine blood, we can greatly increase our numbers.

So, this mission must succeed. Failure is absolutely unforgivable. Hwaggwang will join the others from the Five Elements Spirit Race to inform them of the situation, and the rest of us will head straight to the Chaos Valley. Seoyeom, once we reach the Chaos Valley, you will blend in with the humans and assess the situation,” Wukcheon ordered carefully.

“Yes!” Han Li and the others replied solemnly, nodding their heads.

“Good, let’s depart,” with the blood-colored man’s command, they disappeared into the depths of the undergrowth.

* * *

Six days later, Han Li appeared on a mountain outside the Chaos Valley. He was moving with about seven or eight unusual-looking humans. They were all Core Formation cultivators [a mid-level cultivator] or high-level Body Refinement cultivators.

They looked at the entrance of the Chaos Valley in the distance, their faces grim and silent.

“Brother Son, is it true that Senior Huang Liang and Lord Nam Seong will personally engage the Spirit Race in battle today?” a middle-aged man in a gray robe asked, fanning himself with a betel leaf fan, as if suddenly remembering something.

“It’s true. I heard it through a secret message from a cultivator staying by Lord Nam Seong’s side. Besides us, others are waiting nearby. Our seniors will surely win this battle. We were summoned to prevent the Demon Race from taking advantage of the chaos,” Old Man Son said confidently.

“We must follow the orders given by Senior Huang Liang and Lord Nam Seong. But why did Brother Han and Brother Lee join us along the way?” the old man asked, turning his gaze to Han Li and a pale-faced scholar.

“I came to the Sunset Land to improve my cultivation, so how could I miss a battle involving Nascent Soul-level cultivators? Besides, Lord Nam Seong promised generous rewards,” Han Li replied naturally, and the other scholar’s answer was similar. The old man nodded without suspicion. After all, most of the people gathered here had similar reasons.

Just then, a long, piercing roar was heard from somewhere. Then, countless demonic auras appeared, merging and forming a gray mist that covered the sky.

In an instant, the cries of beasts echoed, and the stench of blood began to fill the air.

The immense demonic aura naturally flew towards the entrance of the Chaos Valley. The humans lying in ambush were all dumbfounded.

The cultivators who had been watching this place from the beginning saw with their own eyes two Spirit Race members brutally slaughtering the Demon Race, and even several high-level Demon Beasts in the Transformation stage were killed.

But suddenly, a support force appeared, emitting a powerful demonic aura?

While the hidden humans were trying to figure out the situation, a rumbling sound was heard from the Chaos Valley. As if something had appeared on the ground and in the sky, yellow dust swirled towards the entrance.

In the sky, green wooden birds the size of a hand appeared, and on the ground, stone statues about six or seven feet tall appeared.

The wooden bird puppets looked vibrant, like living birds, except for their unnatural jade-green color, making it difficult to distinguish them from real birds.

The stone statues had thick bodies and white eyes, but their faces were blank, and their head shapes varied.

The appearance of numerous wooden and stone puppets shocked the humans who had not witnessed the previous battle between the Demon and Spirit Races. However, Han Li’s eyes lit up as he looked at the puppets from afar.

At this moment, a jade-green wooden phoenix and a stone statue with a gray-white body stepped forward from the group. As a green light flashed from the wooden phoenix’s head, a woman in a green dress about a foot tall appeared.

And as the stone statue opened its hand, an old man of similar size appeared on it, holding a staff and exuding an immense aura as he stared at the demonic aura.

“Little cultivators, why don’t you come out and chat with us?” the old man said, his voice echoing clearly in the ears of the humans and demons within a radius of ten miles, like the sound of a giant bell. Then, the gray-white demonic aura on the other side stirred, and a dark fireball emerged, transforming into a palace lady.

“Huang Seokgong, what do you want by calling me out? Are you going to concede the Chaos Valley to us?”

“The Chaos Valley? No way! You were defeated and chased away by us just half a month ago. You’re not in a position to say that. Are you, a mere early-stage Nascent Soul Demon cultivator, going to face two of our mid-level Spirit Generals? Why don’t you just go back? Unless you’re planning to let the humans reap the benefits,” the jade-green maiden said, her voice clear and pleasant.

“If a child is not enough for you, how about this old man?”

The demonic aura behind them stirred, and another Demon cultivator slowly rose. It was a young man with a slender build and a clear face, with a sparkling moth perched on his shoulder.

Huang Seokgong and Cheon Aeng, the two Spirit Generals, changed their expressions drastically upon seeing the young man. Huang Seokgong, his face contorted, shouted,

“Hwan Changgi, why are you here…”

“Tsk, tsk, it seems you recognize this old man. Even when I hadn’t reached the Void Refinement stage [a very high cultivation stage], I could easily handle the two of you. Now, ten thousand years have passed, and I’ve already achieved the Five Elements Body, yet you’re still stuck as Spirit Generals! It seems that the Spirit Race, except for their long lifespans, can’t compare to the potential of our Demon Race or the Human Race. Like other weak races, your days of disappearing from the Spirit World are numbered. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to surrender to us? It would benefit both of us,” the young man named Hwan said calmly.

“It’s not for Master Hwan to say such things. While our Spirit Race may not be considered strong, there’s a reason why we’ve survived in the Spirit World until today. Do you think a mere Demon elder is qualified to discuss the fate of our race?” Huang Seokgong shouted, forgetting his fear in anger at his assessment.

“This old man is not qualified to discuss the future of the Spirit Race. But these are the words of our Clan Chief, so what can you do about it?” the young man said, not getting angry but rather bursting into laughter.

“You should wake up from your dream. We also have great beings with us, so how could we just surrender to another race?” Cheon Aeng said coldly.

“Well, if that’s the case, I have nothing more to say. Cultivator Huang Liang, Lord Nam Seong, isn’t it time for you to come out? I know you arrived here yesterday, but are you just going to hide and take the benefits without doing anything?” the young man named Hwan said with a sneer, turning his head and shouting into the void. At his words, the Spirit Race members at the entrance and the hidden humans were all startled.

After a moment, a white light flashed, and a jade boat nearly thirty feet wide appeared, floating in the air. On the jade boat stood Huang Liang Young Lord and his group.

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