Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 777

Time flowed, and the next day arrived. When Han Li opened his eyes and appeared in the main hall, the other investigators were already waiting for him. He waved a hand at them as they bowed, then turned his gaze to a woman he didn’t recognize.

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, with fair, translucent skin like jade and eyes that sparkled like stars. Han Li felt a sudden sense of familiarity, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

“Senior Han, this is Fellow Immortal He. She is also a direct descendant of the Flying Ascendant Investigator,” Investigator Ma said with a smile.

‘A descendant of the Flying Ascendant Investigator!’ Han Li thought, intrigued. Outwardly, however, he remained calm, merely nodding. The woman also simply greeted him and then remained silent.

“If everyone is here, let’s depart,” Han Li said without hesitation, leaving the stone hall and heading towards the nearby teleportation platform.

Other unit investigators were guarding the platform, and a golden ship and a Golden Court Boat were present. However, since they were traveling only a short distance, such spirit tools were unnecessary.

Han Li presented his identity token and waited with his unit members. Then, in groups of three or four, they stepped onto the teleportation array. In a flash of white light, the eleven investigators were teleported from the Heavenly City to a very unfamiliar place.

***

With a flash, Han Li and the blue-eyed giant appeared on the teleportation array. He staggered slightly from a brief dizziness but quickly regained his senses and scanned his surroundings.

They were in a small stone chamber, and the teleportation array beneath their feet was a one-way array. The walls were covered with various magical runes, surrounded by restrictions. The unit members who had arrived earlier were waiting for them, surrounding the teleportation array. Han Li slowly walked off the array and approached the stone chamber door, holding up a blue jade token. A blue light shot out, illuminating the runes on the door, and a small passage appeared as the door opened.

Han Li silently transformed into a blue light and exited first, followed immediately by his subordinates using their movement techniques. As the last investigator left the chamber, the stone door shimmered and slowly closed.

By then, Han Li was already outside the passage, standing on a small hill, surveying his surroundings. In front of him was a desolate hilly area, and behind him, about a hundred miles away, was a massive city wall. The city wall was covered with countless magical runes, and even from this distance, the light of its immense spiritual energy was visible.

Han Li watched the city wall for a long time, a strange look in his eyes. As far as he knew, the massive city wall where the Heavenly City and the Myriad Desolation World met had no gates. Whether they were humans or demons, they had to use the teleportation arrays inside the city to enter or exit.

However, the area Han Li was to patrol was not there. Turning his head, he saw hills of various sizes and lush greenery filling his vision. The tranquil and peaceful scenery made it hard to believe that he had entered the Myriad Desolation World.

According to the map, the so-called Burying Marsh was more than ten thousand miles away from here. Because of its unique terrain and the restrictions on consciousness, alien races often hid there to monitor the movements of the Heavenly City. Therefore, the Heavenly City had no choice but to send investigators to patrol the area frequently. However, these alien races sent to monitor the Heavenly City were each highly skilled in divine abilities and concealment techniques, resulting in frequent casualties.

Thus, the Heavenly City, like several other areas, designated this place as a Level 1 danger zone, making it the most avoided area by investigators. Han Li’s unit would have to spend several years here, so they would undoubtedly face great danger in the future. He silently pondered these thoughts as he scanned the investigators behind him.

“Let’s go!” More than a dozen streaks of light shot into the sky. Soon, they could see their destination in the distance. A winding green line entered his vision. As they got closer, he realized that the green line was actually a large amount of fog flowing over a mountain range.

Stopping his movement, Han Li flipped his hand, and a special magic disc appeared. At Han Li’s gesture, the disc, with a hole in the center, emitted a red light. The other investigators also took out similar magic discs and activated their spells. This item was called the Alien Detection Disc, a magic tool created by the Heavenly City for the guards who patrolled every year. It could detect alien races within a certain distance. The disadvantage was that it only indicated the direction of the alien race and might not work on alien races with special divine abilities. However, it was much better than having nothing.

Han Li and his unit members slowly entered the dense fog with their magic tools activated.

***

For some unknown reason, Han Li’s group could not move more than a hundred yards within the fog, and the mist created illusions that disturbed their minds. The Burying Marsh was truly a strange place. However, the most troublesome thing was the strange insect called the Quy Worm, which lived under the muddy ground. It was segmented like a centipede, with numerous thin, long mouths on its body that spewed poisonous mist. This poisonous mist corroded magic treasures and could even penetrate an investigator’s protective spiritual light. One or two were not a big deal, but these insects lived in swarms, with dozens moving together and even possessing low-altitude flight capabilities.

Every time a swarm of insects rose from the mud, the unit members had to scramble for a while. If they were not on a patrol mission, they would have flown high into the sky and passed through the marsh quickly. But how could they find traces of alien races that way? Once, they even disturbed a super-large swarm, with three or four hundred insects rising from the ground. If Han Li had not used his Origin Magnetic Divine Light [a powerful technique that manipulates magnetic forces] to hold the insects in the air and incinerate them with flames, there would have been casualties. This changed the way some of his subordinates, who had not trusted him, looked at him.

Of course, the dangers of the marsh were not limited to the Quy Worms. The ancient beast called the Silver-Headed Beast hid in the dense forests of the marsh and attacked, possessing the divine ability to split its body, making it difficult to deal with. Fortunately, it was slow and had a clear territory, so they were safe once they left its area. It had not been long since they entered the Burying Marsh, but they already understood why it was classified as a Level 1 danger zone. Han Li’s group was always on guard, preparing for any possible danger.

***

Twenty days had passed since Han Li’s unit entered the marsh. They had been on edge the entire time, but they had not found any traces of alien races. Now, Investigator Ma and some others were secretly relieved, and the tense atmosphere of the unit had unconsciously relaxed. Today, the unit members were again patrolling the marsh all day with their Alien Detection Discs. Although they were high-level investigators, constantly being on guard while patrolling was mentally exhausting, so they inevitably felt fatigued.

Then, a clear lake about a hundred yards in size appeared in front of them. Around the lake, jade-green bamboo stood straight on the pebbles, and the sight of the bamboo leaves swaying in the refreshing breeze was picturesque. The unit members’ eyes brightened. The blue-eyed giant exchanged glances with the other members and then sped up to approach Han Li.

“Senior Han, how about we rest here for a while?” “Alright. But don’t let your guard down and check for any abnormalities first,” Han Li replied to the polite question without objection. During their journey, Han Li had rarely given orders and had mostly listened to the opinions of the unit members. So, the other investigators had become accustomed to traveling with Han Li.

“Of course!” The blue-eyed giant smiled and gestured to the investigators behind him. Two old men and a married couple scattered to check the surroundings. When their Alien Detection Discs showed no reaction, the entire group relaxed and stepped onto the pebbles. They could not stay here for long, so they each scattered to find a clean spot, sat cross-legged, and entered meditation to recover their depleted mental energy.

Han Li, as a Nascent Soul cultivator [a high level of cultivation in this world] who had cultivated the Great Development Technique, was not as exhausted by the patrol as they were. So, unlike the others, he strolled around the lake, observing the scenery. The lake was not very deep, but it was so clear that the bottom was visible. And in it, thin, silver fish the size of fingers swam freely.

‘Hmm…’ Seeing this, Han Li narrowed his eyes and looked around before shifting his gaze to the dozen or so jade-green bamboo trees. There was no sound except for the gentle breeze, and it was very quiet. There was no movement except for the ten unit members and the green bamboo. Han Li glanced at the surface of the lake, then his pupils contracted for a moment before returning to normal. He turned and walked towards the bamboo. However, as he turned, he flicked his fingers in his sleeve, and a strand of red light silently burrowed into the ground. Everything was as if nothing had happened, leaving no trace.

Han Li reached the bamboo and stood in front of one of the trees, his gaze calm. His actions made the young man surnamed Ying and the woman surnamed He, who were sitting nearby, look at him strangely. However, Han Li ignored their gazes and suddenly spat out a golden light, slicing the bamboo like lightning.

*Swoosh.* The thick bamboo was cleanly cut at the waist. “Hah!” At that moment, the young man surnamed Ying and Fellow Immortal He gasped in surprise. Before they could understand what was happening, something incredible occurred. From the cut surface of the remaining half of the bamboo, a dark green liquid shot up several feet high, emitting a fishy smell. But even more astonishing was that, almost simultaneously, the ground shook, and painful screams echoed from beneath the earth. The remaining bamboo trees trembled and bent like giant octopus tentacles, trying to engulf Han Li.

In that instant, Han Li’s figure blurred and disappeared from the spot, reappearing above the lake, looking down at the wildly thrashing green tentacles with a cold gaze. The unit members, who had been scattered around meditating, were startled and leaped into the air. Some of the more impulsive ones even threw flying swords or daggers.

*Clang! Clang!* However, the flying swords and daggers that flew towards the tentacles were deflected with metallic sounds. As the blue-eyed giant and others were about to attack with other magic treasures, the gray-white pebbles on the lakeshore turned pitch black, and each one was revealed to be a dark purple scale the size of a head. It was surprisingly the body of a giant beast. The beast was round, with no visible nose or mouth, and had more than a dozen long tentacles on its back. It had been lying close to the lake, making it look like a pebble field. The beast had some kind of divine ability that made the investigators’ consciousness drawn to it.

“Attack!” Han Li commanded from above the lake, his voice short and clear. The blue-eyed giant and the others regained their senses and quickly took out other treasures, scattering various spiritual energies as they attacked the giant beast. The ancient beast showed no sign of fleeing, wildly swinging its tentacles on its back to form a green shadow that protected its body.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!* The green shadow and the treasures collided, causing explosions, but the strong tentacles blocked all the investigators’ attacks. Seeing this, the young man surnamed Ying clasped his hands together and then spread them apart. From his hands, a strange light mixed with red and yellow burst out, turning into fist-sized thunder flames that rained down like a storm. And Fellow Immortal He, whose body shone with a silver light, emitted numerous ice-attribute thunder lights. The two types of thunder flames mixed together, creating a tremendous force, and the surroundings were filled with thunder. The other investigators were delighted to see this. However, Han Li did not step in and watched his subordinates’ attacks with a blank expression.

“Hmph!” Someone’s cold snort pierced their ears. Then, a strange wind blew from below, turning into a whirlwind that soared into the sky, sweeping away the falling thunder flames.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!* After the roar passed, the whirlwind and the thunder flames disappeared together. The young man surnamed Ying and Fellow Immortal He’s expressions changed simultaneously, and the blue-eyed giant, who was watching, felt a chill in his heart. At that moment, the giant beast reappeared from below, but this time, a strange man was riding on it.