Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 822

After a short while, Han Li meaningfully gazed at the five people flying at the front. They stopped as if they had discovered something. At that moment, the young Master Chu’s voice echoed in the cultivators’ ears.

‘Everyone, be careful. Two demonic insects with Nascent Soul-level energy have been detected ahead. There might be other insects nearby, so it’s difficult to explore by releasing our spiritual sense. It seems someone needs to go ahead and identify what kind of insects they are. Of course, we shouldn’t attack impulsively.’

As soon as the young Master Chu finished speaking, someone stepped forward.

‘I’ll go. I may not be good at other divine abilities, but I am confident in my escape techniques.’

‘Haha, if Fellow Immortal Yu is willing to go, then I can trust it. I know well how marvelous your wind escape technique is.’

Master Chu recognized the old man who had stepped forward and smiled broadly. He was the old man wearing a bamboo hat who had asked the first question inside the ice palace before they departed. The old man Yu smiled and soon disappeared.

The rest of them remained in place, waiting, and many were curious about what kind of demonic insects were lurking ahead.

* * *

After about an hour, the old man Yu reappeared in a light breeze. He immediately bowed to the young Master Chu and his wife and reported.

‘There are two Xuan Vortex Beasts ahead. They seem to be a bit troublesome.’

‘Xuan Vortex Beasts!’

Some muttered in surprise, and the young Master Chu also slightly narrowed his brows. Han Li internally recalled information about the Xuan Vortex Beasts. They were a type of insect beast, not particularly terrifying. The problem was that they were blocking the path.

They didn’t have any special abilities, but they were skilled in water and lightning escape techniques and were more timid than mice, running away at the slightest sound of wind.

However, what made them difficult was their nickname, ‘High-Pitched Whistle’. When they discovered an enemy, they would inflate their entire body and make a bizarre sound like beating a drum. The sound was so loud that it could be heard a hundred miles away.

If they weren’t killed in one go, all the beasts in the mountains would know that an enemy had appeared.

‘This is certainly troublesome! Although I am a Void Refinement cultivator, I am not confident in my concealment techniques. Xuan Vortex Beasts are sensitive to smell and have a strong spiritual sense… My wife is skilled in escape techniques, so she can handle one of them, but one of the other cultivators will have to step up for the other.’

The young Master Chu pondered for a while before his gaze landed on the old man Yu.

‘I can’t do it either. It’s possible to approach using wind escape, but the Xuan Vortex Beast’s shell is too thick, so there’s no way to kill it with a single blow. I’m worried that I might ruin the mission.’

The old man Yu waved his hand. The young man smiled wryly and then looked at the other late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. However, the cultivators didn’t step forward easily, either because they weren’t confident in their success or because the success or failure of the mission depended on it.

The young Master Chu’s expression grew increasingly stern. If the plan they had worked on for years failed because they couldn’t handle a single Xuan Vortex Beast…

‘Is it impossible to just avoid them using earth escape techniques?’

One of the cultivators asked.

‘If we could, what would we be worried about? There’s a huge spirit magnetic stone vein flowing somewhere in the mountain. If you dig into the mountain, all your spiritual power will be forcibly sucked away by the restrictions. Of course, you won’t be in trouble if you don’t use earth escape.’

‘A spirit magnetic stone vein is flowing!’

Many were shocked and gasped. The cultivator who had asked the question also looked troubled. Now, no one spoke easily.

‘Senior Chu, if I handle the other one, can I get a little more of the True Blood of the Azure-Eyed True Lizard?’

At that moment, a languid voice was heard from among the cultivators. The speaker was Han Li, who was standing at the very end of the line. Standing next to him, Fellow Immortal Seo looked at him with a surprised expression.

‘Fellow Immortal Han, can you do it? Of course, if you succeed, we can give you more of the True Blood of the Azure-Eyed True Lizard. But if you fail…’

The young Master Chu hesitated, surprised that Han Li had stepped forward. He doubted whether Han Li, who was only in the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, could succeed.

‘Haha, don’t worry. If I fail, I will take responsibility.’

‘Fellow Immortal Han seems confident. Good, I’ll leave one Xuan Vortex Beast to you!’

The young Master Chu thought for a very short time and then boldly agreed. The other cultivators whispered among themselves, using their spiritual sense to check Han Li’s cultivation one after another.

‘However, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, can Fellow Immortal Yu use his concealment technique and go with Fellow Immortal Han to help him?’

‘Yes, I will.’

This time, the old man Yu nodded immediately. Then, the young Master Chu moved his lips and sent a voice transmission to his wife. She formed a hand seal, and red energy emanated from her skin and disappeared on the spot.

Han Li took out a purple talisman and attached it to his body. Silver spell characters flowed out and disappeared. And the old man Yu flew away using his wind escape technique, just like before.

Han Li and the young woman flew in the direction the old man was leading. After a while, the passage seemed to widen, and two white, plump, larva-like insects came into view. They were each attached to different walls, munching on blue moss.

The Xuan Vortex Beasts, each about two meters in size, looked like giant cocoons with hard, patterned skin. They had a head at one end and six red eyes. Moreover, their round mouths, which were munching on blue moss, had large, sharp teeth sparsely arranged.

Han Li, who had disappeared using the talisman, flew above the head of one of the Xuan Vortex Beasts without being detected. When he looked with his Spirit Eyes, he saw a faint red shadow silently approaching next to the other Xuan Vortex Beast.

A vague blue light flickered a few meters behind the young woman. It was the old man Yu, concealing his presence with the power of the wind. The two cultivators looked around in surprise, unable to sense Han Li’s presence, and were flustered.

However, Han Li didn’t care and slightly moved his lips to send a voice transmission, telling them his location. The surprised old man Yu flashed a blue light and approached Han Li, but stopped about a dozen meters away.

The young woman, as expected of a Void Refinement cultivator, quickly erased her surprise and silently approached the insect beast to within about six meters. For a moment, the three of them didn’t move from their positions, and only the sound of the Xuan Vortex Beasts eating moss echoed softly.

Han Li’s eyes turned cold as he stretched out his hand towards the Xuan Vortex Beast. Then, gray energy extended from his five fingers, and a black hill appeared and quickly fell.

The insect beast below was startled and curled up into a ball, emitting blue and white light from its entire body, but it was useless. The gray energy instantly enveloped the Xuan Vortex Beast, and the light of spiritual energy that had been shining on the insect beast’s body disappeared as if it had met its natural enemy.

The Xuan Vortex Beast realized the urgency of the situation and trembled its huge body, spreading an invisible shockwave in all directions. Han Li, with a cold smile, clenched his black fingers.

Swoosh, swoosh!

At the same time, the gray light flared up and swept over the Xuan Vortex Beast like a wave seven or eight times.

The invisible shockwave that touched the gray energy gradually lost its momentum and disappeared within the Origin Magnetic Divine Light [a technique that manipulates magnetic forces].

The Xuan Vortex Beast tried to turn its body and unleash another divine ability, but a black shadow was already looming over its head.

Thud!

The black hill, about seven or eight meters in size, pressed down on the Xuan Vortex Beast’s huge body, making it unable to move. However, the Xuan Vortex Beast’s skin was thick, so it didn’t immediately get crushed and was wriggling and resisting.

At that moment, Han Li flicked his sleeve and released silver flames. Then, with a bang! The huge insect beast was reduced to ashes in the flames and scattered. After finishing his work, he looked back and saw the old man Yu looking at him with surprised eyes a few meters behind him.

He was astonished by Han Li’s divine ability that easily killed the Xuan Vortex Beast. Han Li smiled and glanced at the other side. As expected, the other insect beast was already cut in half.

The young woman was floating above the Xuan Vortex Beast’s corpse, and a red sword about a meter long was floating in front of her. She was also looking at Han Li with a surprised gaze.

‘Fellow Immortal Yu, we’ve dealt with the two insect beasts, so we should inform Senior Chu and the other cultivators.’

Han Li slightly bowed to the young woman and then calmly turned to the old man.

‘Yes, we should! Fellow Immortal Han, Fellow Immortal Qing, please wait a moment.’

The old man Yu replied with a smile and then took out a voice transmission talisman and sent it into the air. After a while, all the other cultivators flew over.

The young Master Chu heard the general situation from the old man Yu and nodded with satisfaction. Without delay, they immediately moved again.

Han Li went back to the end of the group and moved. However, this time, the gazes of the surrounding cultivators were different. It was rare even among late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators to be able to silently approach and kill a Xuan Vortex Beast in one blow.

Fellow Immortal Ok, who was wearing a veil, and the young woman So also couldn’t help but scan him. Han Li, regardless of everyone’s gazes, silently moved forward.

As they flew along the passage and turned a corner, they heard the sound of flowing water and felt a cool breeze. A river tens of meters wide was flowing underground.

‘Everyone, listen carefully. Once we cross the river, we’ll be right at the lair of the Azure-Eyed True Lizards. As I’ve already explained, it’s quite a large space, so it won’t be bad for us to attack simultaneously. I’m counting on you cultivators to deal with the troublesome spirit insect beasts!’

The young Master Chu stared at the other side of the river and winked at Han Li and a few other cultivators.

‘Senior Chu, don’t worry! With Fellow Immortal Han and Fellow Immortal So’s assistance in the Heavenly Lightning Formation, even the notoriously bizarre spirit insect beasts will be no problem.’

A middle-aged cultivator wearing a yellow robe patted his chest and shouted. The other cultivators who had received the Heavenly Lightning Flags agreed with him. However, Han Li and the young woman So only exchanged glances and said nothing.

The satisfied young Master Chu nodded and led everyone to cross the river.

* * *

At the same time, outside the giant mountain, an old man and a middle-aged man who were in charge of guarding the perimeter were leisurely chatting, hidden in the white clouds.

‘Fellow Immortal Jo, isn’t it about time Senior Chu and the others reached the Azure-Eyed True Lizard’s lair? There are two adults, so even though there are quite a few people, we should be able to get a good share of blood. It was worth the effort to come all the way here. But it’s a pity that we’re stuck guarding the perimeter, so we have less chance to make a contribution.’

A middle-aged man wearing a blue robe grumbled to the old man in a white robe.

‘Haha, Fellow Immortal Soon, are you that upset? Among those who went inside, some will make contributions, but some will die from accidents.’

‘Die? That’s impossible. Senior Chu and the other cultivators planned everything so thoroughly. There’s no reason why it would be so dangerous to catch a few beasts.’

The middle-aged man frowned and expressed disbelief at the old man’s words.

‘Fellow Immortal Soon, is this your first time in the Great Desolate World? There is fundamentally no safe place in the Great Desolate World! Even though the two of us are guarding the perimeter, it’s not impossible for a group of Void Refinement-level ancient beasts to suddenly appear and kill us.’

The old man explained with a sigh.

‘Hahahaha! Aren’t you exaggerating too much? How could such a thing happen in such a secret and remote place?’

The middle-aged cultivator burst into laughter. The old man shook his head and was about to give a warning when his expression suddenly changed.

Poof!

Without any warning, a snow-white light flashed across the middle-aged man’s neck, and his head rolled off, with blood gushing out.

‘This!’

The old man Jo reacted quickly and retreated, barely escaping. He immediately flicked one of his sleeves to create a blue shield barrier and spat out silver beams from his mouth, making them hover around him.

But all of this was in vain!

A spatial ripple appeared above the old man’s head, and a huge, dark blue claw about a meter long appeared and grabbed the old man, shield and all, and squeezed. Then, a terrible scream erupted, and the old man’s body turned into a stream of blood. His nascent soul didn’t even have time to escape.

At that moment, the middle-aged man’s corpse trembled, and a green light shot out. The nascent soul, about two inches in size, was clutching an arrow-shaped treasure and tried to flee with a bewildered expression. However, the moment the nascent soul teleported, a black energy descended, and the nascent soul of the middle-aged man, Soon, strangely disappeared.