Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 805

At the same time, Nong Dong, who had fled in a different direction, was also intercepted by two pursuers. Facing the two ‘Green Shadows’ [Nokyeong, a type of spirit or entity] that had abandoned their physical bodies and revealed their true forms, he couldn’t suppress a sneer.

A yellow light flashed from Nong Dong’s body, and armor materialized, covering him entirely for protection. Additionally, a copper wing the size of a mat unfolded behind his back, and as he clasped his hands together, a bizarre, blood-red longsword appeared between them.

The sword was about three feet long and radiated a bloody aura, as if it were made from congealed blood. The moment the blood-red spots on Nong Dong’s lips seemed to deepen, the longsword moved lightly towards the blue shadows. It was a strike without any warning.

Then, the Green Shadows shrieked, and countless white threads appeared on their surfaces. The light of spiritual energy flashed, and they shattered into pieces. As Nong Dong swung his longsword again, the white threads flashed once more, and even the fragments of the Green Shadows completely scattered and vanished.

Having easily dealt with the two Green Shadows, Nong Dong silently shook the blood-red sword. The sword melted, turning into a thick, bloody liquid that was absorbed into his palm. He sighed, his complexion extremely pale, as if he had lost a large amount of blood.

He hurriedly took out a red pill with a bloody scent from his storage pouch, consumed it, and then flew away.

* * *

In another part of the desert, a girl in a white robe stood on a sand dune. A few steps away, four corpses lay lifeless, their vitality completely drained.

The corpses lay quietly without a single wound; only the essence of their bodies had disappeared. Yeopyeong stroked a milky-white jade bottle, smiled mysteriously, and then flew away, transforming into a golden streak of light.

About a hundred thousand miles away from there.

A pale blue lightning flashed as Han Li fled hastily. A black aura followed behind him, not very fast, but no matter what divine power he used, he couldn’t shake it off.

The pale blue lightning and the black aura continued to teleport intermittently. The black aura would tremble and disappear, then reappear in the void a mile ahead, while the pale blue lightning would flash and vanish, creating distance.

He frowned, lost in thought.

Earlier, he had realized that the old Taoist within the black aura was chasing him, so he had combined the Wind Thunder Step and the Gale Transformation techniques to maximize his escape speed. But the black mass was not only fast but also capable of teleportation!

Even after running for so long, he couldn’t shake off the pursuit at all.

The Southern Desert was vast, but it was also an area where other races frequently operated. If he ran into another race while fleeing like this, he didn’t know what the consequences would be.

However, he didn’t want to use the Blood Shadow Escape, which greatly damaged his vital energy, unless it was absolutely necessary, as he had used it not long ago. He needed to conserve his energy because he didn’t know what dangers lurked in the desert, and he still had to enter the First Sky [a specific location or realm].

‘It seems I’ll have to exchange blows with the spirit race that’s following me.’

If it was a spirit race residing in the body of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, their status would not be low. It was most likely a Dark Spirit belonging to the Nascent Soul level.

If such a high-level being were from another race, Han Li would have avoided a fight. But since it was a spirit race, he had a chance of winning due to his opposing divine powers.

Also, he hadn’t had a chance to test the treasures and techniques he had newly developed after entering the Heavenly Star City, so it would be good to test them while facing the Dark Spirit.

Han Li made his decision and teleported, flapping the wings behind his back. At that moment, the black aura approached like a gale, closing to within a hundred yards, and showed no sign of stopping.

It was not surprising.

Spirit races enjoyed forcibly devouring the primordial spirits or souls of other races. By doing so, they could seize the powerful physical bodies of their opponents and use most of their previous divine powers.

Han Li, knowing this, would not let the old Taoist get close. He immediately clasped his hands together and then spread them apart.

Kwagwagwang!

A thunderous sound rang out, and lightning bolts as thick as bowls exploded from his hands, hurtling towards the black aura.

“Hmm.”

The black aura flickered and disappeared into the void. Han Li snorted, and a third eye appeared between his eyebrows. A black thread shot out from the Eye of Destruction and seeped into the void.

Puff!

A dull explosion was heard, and an intense shockwave was transmitted from the void dozens of yards away. The old Taoist, enveloped in the black aura, was forcibly thrown out and shouted.

“Eye of Destruction! To wield such a divine power!”

Han Li merely raised the corners of his mouth and quickly chanted an incantation. Thick lightning bolts changed direction and flew fiercely towards the old Taoist’s back. As the old Taoist tried to dodge, sensing an ominous premonition, Han Li’s eyes flickered with navy blue light, and he snorted.

“Hmph!”

It was not a loud sound, but the old Taoist felt as if a giant bell had rung in his ears, causing his ears to ring and a terrible headache, momentarily freezing his body.

Kwagwang!

The golden lightning struck the black aura, scattering countless lightning fragments, and the black aura writhed.

Croak, croak!

A painful croaking sound was heard from within the black aura.

The writhing black aura gathered at the old Taoist’s feet and transformed into a huge monster. The monster glared at Han Li with four bright red eyes.

It was unexpected that the true form of the black aura protecting the old Taoist was actually a monster.

“Impressive. For a mere Nascent Soul cultivator to wield a divine power that can shake my consciousness. Try it again!”

The old Taoist endured the lightning and shouted grimly.

Han Li narrowed his brows, realizing that the monster at his feet had absorbed most of the lightning. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for a spirit race to withstand such a large amount of Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, which was like a poison to them, and still be unharmed.

However, he did not make the foolish mistake of falling for the opponent’s provocation and using his spiritual attack again. Such mental attacks were most effective when exploiting unexpected openings, and they were not very effective against Nascent Soul cultivators with strong consciousness.

Without wasting any time, Han Li extended his pitch-black palm towards the old Taoist. Then, a ripple appeared above the old Taoist’s head, and a small, dark hill materialized.

The small hill spun around and instantly grew to a height of over a hundred yards, continuously emitting gray rings downwards.

The old Taoist’s face hardened, and he flicked his sleeve towards his head, taking out a half-foot-long, crystal-like sword.

The sword spun in the void, emitting a light as bright as snow.

As soon as the gray rings touched the light from the sword, they scattered one after another, and even the black mountain was attacked.

Clang!

A huge reverberation was transmitted, but the black hill did not budge, and the light from the sword scattered and disappeared.

Before the old Taoist, whose expression had subtly changed, could react, Han Li extended his hand, which had turned as white as jade, and summoned a ring engraved with a skull.

Five giant skull heads appeared around the old Taoist, opening their mouths and shooting out five streams of extreme cold flames. The flames, merged into one, surged towards the old Taoist.

The old Taoist, who had been sneering, saw the five-colored flames and his expression changed drastically. He frantically released red light from his entire body.

Paat!

Innumerable red sword lights swept in all directions, suddenly forming a huge red lotus shape.

As the lotus spun, the five-colored flames were drawn in, preventing them from approaching the old Taoist at all. Seeing this, Han Li’s face darkened, and he formed a hand seal. Then, the five skull heads roared and grew in size, rushing fiercely towards the red lotus.

Kieeeek!

Suksuk! Suk!

The blades rotating within the red lotus petals mercilessly cut the skull heads, but the lotus also burst apart. Red light and five-colored flames scattered, and the old Taoist appeared with a startled expression.

Kihahak!

Kieeeek!

Eerie cries echoed loudly. The five skulls quickly gathered and regained their original forms. However, their mournful cries seemed to indicate that they were afraid of the old Taoist.

Han Li sighed softly and this time pointed at the black mountain.

Kurung!

The black mountain trembled and fell straight down. Despite the immense pressure of the massive object falling, the old Taoist’s expression did not change, and he lightly stepped on the ground, awakening the giant monster.

Then, the monster’s snake head opened its mouth and spat out thick, large, bright red shadows.

Kukwakwakwang!

A sound like the sky collapsing was heard, and the giant mountain was bounced away by the attack of the bright red shadows.

Now, Han Li, who had been watching the situation with navy blue eyes, also had a grim expression. The bright red shadows were the snake head’s tongues, and their power was so great that they had attacked and blown away the mountain peak that had transformed from the Yuan Magnetic Mountain [a mountain made of a special magnetic material].

Han Li, with a dark face, grabbed the void and retrieved the black hill and the five skull heads. His hands, which had been clearly divided into black and white, regained their original skin color and returned to normal.

“Hehe, you’re a fellow overflowing with treasures. But give up the thought of using them to deal with me. You probably don’t have any other tricks left… Summon your true form!”

The old Taoist, having lost his patience as the confrontation had lasted longer than expected, sharply commanded the giant monster beneath his feet. An intangible wave surged from all directions and took control of the surroundings.

Innumerable, colorful lights of spiritual energy gathered nearby, forming bubble-like monsters of various sizes. The large ones were as big as small hills, and the small ones were about the size of a mat, all glaring at Han Li with ferocious faces.

‘An illusion?’

Seeing this, Han Li immediately flicked his sleeve and released dozens of golden flying swords at once. The flying swords circled in the void and grew into swords a foot long.

As he chanted a sword incantation in his mind, the forms of the swords became vague, and several times more flying swords of the same shape appeared, protecting him completely.

The sword energy that covered the sky moved vertically and horizontally, slaughtering the bubble monsters within dozens of yards. The remains of the beasts piled up, and eerie cries filled the air.

However, Han Li’s brows remained furrowed. The sensation of the flying swords cutting through the monsters and the forms he saw did not seem like illusions at all.

He felt suspicious but did not show it on his face. The flying swords continued to circle around him without a moment’s rest.

The old Taoist, standing far away on the divine beast, wore a strange smile.

The monsters around him were endless, but they were mercilessly cut down by Han Li’s sharp sword energy, killing hundreds of them. The strange thing was that the remains of the monsters did not fall but floated in the void, and the stench of blood grew stronger.

‘Something is wrong.’

After a while, when Han Li felt that something was wrong, the divine beast beneath the old Taoist was making a strange cry. The remains of the cut monsters gathered into a black mist and flew towards him.

At the same time, the divine beast’s massive body blurred. The giant monster also turned into a black aura and hid within the black mist. Hundreds of golden swords slashed through the black mist, but their speed slowed down within it.

Taking advantage of the gap, two long, red shadows shot out from the black mist, aiming for Han Li’s head and heart with lightning speed. If he hadn’t activated his Bright Sight [a technique that enhances perception], it would have been difficult to even perceive their speed.

Han Li’s face hardened, and without summoning any other treasures, he stretched out his arms, which were glowing with golden light, and grabbed the red lights.

Kwakkwak! Kwak!

The golden hands grabbed the two bright red tongues with immense force. Han Li merely shrugged his shoulders for a moment and did not even move back. The old Taoist was shocked to see this.

The divine beast was not only naturally skilled in illusions but was also known within the spirit race for the monstrous strength of its tongue. This was evident from the fact that a mountain peak over a hundred yards high had been bounced away by the red tongue.

Yet, an unknown Nascent Soul youth had grabbed the divine beast’s two tongues with his bare hands and didn’t even seem to be struggling.

‘Hmph! The divine beast’s divine power isn’t just about brute strength.’

However, the old Taoist was not genuinely worried about the divine beast’s safety. As white light was emitted from the two tongues, they each transformed into bright red serpents, opening their mouths and rushing to bite Han Li.