Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 845

Han Li stood in the air, arms crossed, silent. Thunder rumbled, and the lightning essence of four different types of lightning manifested behind him, a clear threat.

“I won’t interfere with your plans. The rest is none of my concern. Just hand over the promised item, and I’ll pretend none of this ever happened,” Han Li finally said.

“Do you think a mere Spirit Commander is qualified to make such demands?” the gaunt man sneered.

“If you were at your peak, I wouldn’t have appeared like this. But Senior, you’ve repeatedly used your essence blood to cast spells, and your magic power is probably less than half of what it was. Surely, you don’t think you can hold me back with a spirit beast that isn’t even fully grown?” Han Li said nonchalantly, touching the spirit beast pouch on his wrist. A small monkey tumbled out, enveloped in black light.

*Kuaaang!*

The monkey pounded its chest and swelled, instantly transforming into a ferocious giant dozens of feet tall, facing the lightning essence behind Han Li.

*Paat!*

At the same time, golden light erupted from Han Li’s body, and seventy-two small swords circled around him. Behind him, the three-headed, six-armed Brahma Devilish Avatar appeared.

Not stopping there, one of his hands turned as black as ink, revealing a black mountain on his palm, while the other hand turned as white as jade, with five skull heads floating around it. Blue light flashed from both wings, and next to the multicolored golden avatar, a blue Peng [a mythical bird] and a multicolored Heavenly Peng phantom appeared. Their aura and grandeur were so immense that it was difficult to look directly at them.

The owner’s sneer froze on his face.

With his cultivation, he couldn’t possibly miss the power of the avatar and the sharpness of the flying swords. The giant fiend that the Soul Devouring Beast had transformed into also seemed incredibly ferocious.

“What is your identity! I know most of the outstanding figures of the Heavenly Peng Clan, but I’ve never seen your face before,” the gaunt man shouted, his face darkening.

“My identity is not important. What’s important is the proposal I made. Isn’t that right, Senior? Your cultivation has dropped from the late stage of the Void Refinement Realm to the early stage. You might have another trick up your sleeve, but even so, you only have a 50% chance of winning. I don’t want a conclusion where both sides lose. If you give me what I’m supposed to receive, I’ll disappear immediately,” Han Li said, looking down at the man leisurely. The gaunt man scanned Han Li and gave a bitter smile.

“…Alright. The strength you’ve shown now qualifies you to say that. But unfortunately, I don’t have the Azure Fruit. The treasure in the wooden box I showed you before was a phantom created using the unique secret art of the Five Lights Clan. You were probably suspicious, weren’t you?” He licked his dry lips and asked tentatively.

“Haha, a secret art! Indeed, the cultivation method I practice has the effect of seeing through phantoms. But even so, I still want the item that was in that wooden box. No matter how great the illusion is, it couldn’t have replaced the Azure Fruit if it wasn’t there.”

“You want that?” The owner looked surprised.

“Yes, it’s not too much to ask, is it?”

“If you want it, I can give it to you.” This time, without hesitation, the owner flipped his palm and took out the wooden box, then threw it to him. Han Li activated his Brightsight Spirit Eyes and reached out. A blue aura pulled the wooden box towards him, bringing it before his eyes.

‘As expected!’ He examined it with his consciousness, a look of joy on his face, and opened the lid. A fragrant herbal scent assaulted his nose, and the ‘Azure Fruit’ appeared. Han Li immediately opened his mouth and spat out a bit of blood, which was absorbed into the wooden box.

*Paat.*

Multicolor light shone from the wooden box, and the jade-colored fruit burst like a bubble, turning into a thumb-sized red seed. What was inside was not originally the Azure Fruit but a seed of something else.

“A long time ago, I took a risk and entered the forbidden area, and I happened to obtain an Azure Fruit. But I used it as a medicinal ingredient not long after to nurture the lightning essence. If I still had it, I wouldn’t mind giving it to Brother Han! That seed is also quite valuable, but it’s worlds apart from the Azure Fruit. How about I add a few top-grade spirit stones for a fair trade?” The man, seeing Han Li’s expression, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and, unlike before, smiled warmly. Then, he flicked his sleeve and threw a blue pouch.

Han Li narrowed his brows and sent out a gray light, enveloping the pouch in his Primal Magnetic Divine Light. The pouch rotated within the gray aura and could no longer move.

“Since Senior says so, I won’t refuse,” Han Li smiled after confirming the contents of the pouch with his consciousness.

*Shwik!*

The pouch disappeared, and he calmly retrieved the seed from the wooden box. The owner’s expression changed at Han Li’s strange divine power, but he still maintained his smile and opened his mouth.

“You truly possess extraordinary divine powers. So, what will Brother Han do now…”

“Now that I’ve obtained what I wanted, I won’t mention this matter any further. But if possible, may I deal with those two? They came here with me, and if they go missing, I won’t have anything to say to the other Heavenly Peng people. Besides, Senior, you’re not planning to stay in the Star City after this, are you?”

“You want me to hand them over? It’s not impossible, but their personalities aren’t very good. They didn’t get what they wanted and were treated like this, so it won’t be easy to appease them… Why don’t you just settle it here cleanly?”

“I would like to, but I have things to do and must stay within the Heavenly Peng Clan for a while. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Since Brother Han wants it that way, I’ll hand them over.” Unexpectedly, the owner didn’t argue further and readily agreed. Soon, the lightning essence flashed with four types of lightning and disappeared from behind him, reappearing behind the owner with a strange sound.

“From the beginning, Senior, you intended to use the lightning essence as an external avatar rather than to subdue the spirit beast.”

“You see through everything,” the owner laughed and answered vaguely. Just as Han Li was about to ask something, a strange sound was heard in the air, and the dark clouds and gale disappeared.

The azure sky turned yellow and made a strange sound, and the surrounding space began to distort. Han Li’s pupils contracted.

“The Heavenly Origin Energy of the Sumeru Grotto Heaven [a type of pocket dimension] has run out. It will collapse soon, so let’s get out of here quickly!” The gaunt man looked around and frowned.

“Understood. Senior, please open the way.”

“Haha, alright!” The owner scanned the multicolored Heavenly Peng and the golden avatar behind Han Li and readily agreed. He chanted a spell and grabbed the air, and the scroll painting that had disappeared in the multicolored light reappeared.

A pillar of light shot out from the unfolded painting, creating a door of light the size of a sheet of paper in front of the two of them.

Han Li shook his shoulder, and the gray aura that had come out from behind him wrapped around the two unconscious men. The Soul Devourer shrank again and clung to his back.

“Brother Han, let’s go!” The moment Han Li pulled the giant and the young man, the owner’s eyes turned fierce, but he didn’t show it and called out to him warmly. Thus, the two of them passed through the door of light one after another.

His vision cleared, and Han Li arrived back at the owner’s residence. It was as peaceful as if nothing had happened.

Only after leaving that place did Han Li feel a little relieved. He was not to be trifled with, but the opponent was not an ordinary Void Refinement cultivator either. He used strange techniques, and it was impossible to know when he might strike.

*Fwoosh.*

The painting hanging on the wall suddenly turned to ashes and disappeared. He was surprised inside, but he maintained a calm expression on the outside, and the man watching it from the side looked regretful.

It was only natural since his cherished treasure had been destroyed.

“Seeing Brother Han, I can trust you to handle it. Take care of these two. This old man is badly injured and cannot see you off far,” the man quickly said goodbye and signaled that he should leave. Han Li didn’t want to stay there any longer, so he clasped his fist and retrieved the Soul Devourer before heading to the main gate.

Behind him, the gray aura carried the young man and the black-armored giant. From a distance, it looked as if they were using a stealth technique to follow behind Han Li.

The old man only removed his smile after Han Li’s figure had completely disappeared. At that moment, two subordinates who had been guarding outside the door entered and stood respectfully beside him.

“Master, is it alright to let them go like this? I’m not sure if it will cause any problems,” one of them asked cautiously.

“Hmph, what problems are you talking about? Even if someone comes looking, we’ll be gone before then. Pack your things immediately and use the underground teleportation array to leave the Star City. The Heavenly Peng Clan is no longer a place to stay, so we have no choice but to go to the Five Lights Clan. We’ve prepared new identities in the Five Lights Clan, so no one will be able to find us,” the gaunt man ordered coldly.

“Yes, Master!” The Heavenly Peng people answered respectfully and left. The gaunt man looked outside, his eyes flashing coldly.

“If I hadn’t been holding back for the sake of the grand plan, do you think I would have let you live with my personality?” After that, he took out a medicine bottle from his pocket and swallowed two cyan pills. Then, he swept his hand across his face, and a dazzling white light flashed from his entire body.

When the light disappeared, a middle-aged man with a lean physique and an elegant face appeared. His appearance had completely changed, and he was completely different from before.

*

At the same time, Han Li headed to a nearby building with the giant and the young man. He looked around and saw that no one was there. He withdrew his Primal Magnetic Divine Light and placed the two Heavenly Peng people on the ground, then sighed.

“Consider yourselves lucky. I wouldn’t have gone to this trouble if I wasn’t worried about getting caught in the crossfire.” He released dozens of silver needles from his hand.

*Pipipiping!*

Sharp sounds of air being pierced rang out as the silver needles entered the bodies of the two cultivators.

“Ugh…” After a while, the gentle-looking young man regained consciousness with a severe headache. As soon as he opened his eyes, he jumped up and looked around warily. He saw the black-armored giant, who had just regained consciousness, and Han Li beside him.

“What happened! Ah, that’s right! That treacherous man, Eo Ga, didn’t give us the treasure he promised and ambushed us with the Human Thunder Wine,” the young man recalled what had happened before he fainted and shouted in anger. The black-armored giant shook his head as if he was dizzy, then immediately sat cross-legged and checked his condition.

After a while, he let out a long sigh.

“Fortunately, I’ve only slightly damaged my vital energy. There doesn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong.”

“Do you two know what happened?”

“I don’t know. I was hit by the multicolored lightning, and my primordial spirit was shaken, so I lost consciousness,” the young man said. The giant gave a bitter smile.

“Brother Han, didn’t you see through his scheme and avoid the Human Thunder Wine?”

“My luck as a mere Spirit Commander only went that far. I avoided the multicolored lightning, but the lightning essence ambushed me with the power of lightning, and I fainted,” Han Li explained with a small sigh as the young man asked him.

“The lightning essence ambushed you? That’s understandable. He must have planted his essence core to control the demon beast. What’s strange is why he left us alive,” the black-armored giant had been most suspicious of this since he woke up.

“What’s so strange about it! He suddenly became greedy for the treasure after the job was done. It was strange from the beginning that he offered so many precious treasures to subdue a single spirit beast. He never intended to keep his promise from the start. And to think that such a man’s Myriad Thunder Pavilion is so famous in the Star City!” The gentle young man was furious.

“If he was greedy for the treasure, he certainly wouldn’t have needed to kill us all. He probably already ran away while we were unconscious,” Han Li nodded. The giant seemed to have roughly understood at those words.