Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 856

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“We’ve wasted time, so there’s no need to look for Darkflame Fruits on the second floor. Let’s head straight to the third floor,” Han Li said, his tone leaving no room for argument. He had withdrawn his gaze, and the surrounding air felt humid, with the smell of decaying vegetation, indicating they were above a swamp.

The two Celestial Peng [a mythical bird] saints didn’t complain, but Noeran hesitated before asking worriedly, “I have no objection to going straight to the third floor either. But, Brother Han, there are only three entrances from the second floor to the third. Which path should we take? If we were to encounter those who harbor ill intentions towards us…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

“It’s not ‘if,’ but rather that the saints from other factions will definitely have personnel stationed at all three entrances. Their targets won’t just be us, but also the saints from weaker factions,” Baekbyeok sighed softly.

“Haha, if we encounter them, we’ll just fight. It’s not something we can avoid by running away. But if my guess is correct, even large clans like the Scarlet Rong Clan wouldn’t leave all their personnel at the third-floor entrances. The Trial of the Earth Abyss, which opens once every 300 years, is important to them as well. They would have left only half or less of their personnel, so even if it’s difficult to win, breaking through their encirclement shouldn’t be impossible,” Han Li chuckled, analyzing the situation.

“If it’s as Brother Han says, then it’s not like we have no chance!” His calm demeanor reassured Baekbyeok and Noeran.

“No one can guarantee how things will turn out. Let’s talk more as we go.”

“Then, which of the three entrances should we take? According to the information, one of them is dangerous.”

“Wherever we go, if they’re waiting for us, it’s best to go to the closest one,” Han Li answered immediately, causing Noeran to frown.

“Then it must be the Myriad Vine Path,” Baekbyeok said after pondering for a moment.

“The Myriad Vine Path, is that the entrance where ancient vines connect the second and third floors?” Han Li also had a strong impression of the information about the Myriad Vine Path.

“Yes, that’s the one. Aside from the appearance of demonic insects, I heard there are no other dangers. If the journey is smooth, we should reach the Myriad Vine Path in about fifteen days.”

“That’s not a bad place. Then let’s get out of here quickly!” Once the destination was decided, Han Li took out a navy-blue formation disc, gauged the direction with its flashing light, and set off.

Not long after they left, bubbles rose from the mud, and a black shadow emerged. The black shadow stared at the receding light of Han Li and the Celestial Peng saints, its red eyes gleaming. The shadow soon burst like a bubble and disappeared into the swamp.

“… !” Han Li, who was leading the two saints, suddenly felt a chill down his spine, stopped his light, and looked back.

“Brother Han, what’s wrong?” Baekbyeok, knowing his strength, was surprised by his actions and stopped.

“… It’s nothing. I must have been mistaken!” Han Li scanned the ground behind him with his navy-blue light. However, the chilling sensation had already disappeared, and everything seemed normal.

Cultivators with strong senses often experienced such things, but the sudden, unknown chill in an unfamiliar place was still unsettling.

‘No matter how high one’s cultivation is, there are few demonic creatures that can evade the Brightsight Spirit Eyes [a technique to see through illusions]. Perhaps it really was a mistake!’ Han Li, after a moment of contemplation, came to a conclusion and called Baekbyeok and Noeran to move on. However, his expression was somewhat dark.

Unbeknownst to Han Li, in a small mountain deep within the Earth Abyss, a mysterious figure clad in a scarlet robe was sitting on a black wooden chair, looking into a large bronze mirror. A blurry scene was reflected in the bronze mirror. It was the backs of Han Li, Noeran, and Baekbyeok as they left the swamp!

“Interesting! To sense my puppet, his consciousness is stronger than that of an average cultivator. It’s a shame that he’s not interested in souls like the Six Clans on the first floor,” the scarlet-robed figure chuckled softly before waving his sleeve to retrieve the mirror. However, he lowered his arm, about to perform some magic, and fell into thought.

“I almost forgot. The old ghost hag was looking for a living being with a powerful consciousness! This would be a good gift to exchange for Blood Fish!” With an excited expression, he took out a bead from his sleeve this time. He threw a red light into the bead, which was spinning in front of his face, and it became blood-red.

After a short while, the blood-red color of the bead disappeared, and the voice of a very old woman was heard from within. “Jihyeol, why are you looking for me? Don’t you know that I’m busy with important matters for everyone?”

“Hehe, we’ve been working together for decades, and is it so displeasing that I’m contacting you for the first time regarding a cultivator?”

“Stop joking and just say what you have to say before I block the secret technique,” the old woman’s voice turned cold.

“Hehehe! Last time, when we divided the work, the Wood Clan was in charge of blood sacrifices, the Six Clans were in charge of the power of Yin spirits [a type of spiritual energy], I was in charge of a large number of puppets, and you, Cultivator, were in charge of refining the most important eight thousand Yin-Armored Profound Ghosts. How is it going according to plan?” Jihyeol was not intimidated by her reaction and asked calmly.

“Hmph, you’ve hidden so many spies among my subordinates and are monitoring me, yet you ask me about the situation?”

“Well, it’s the same for both of us. Spies from your sect also appear frequently in the places where I refine my puppets. But right now, I want to hear the situation directly from you, Cultivator,” Jihyeol laughed it off at her cold reply.

“There’s nothing to hide. As long as the Six Clans provide enough Yin spirit power, creating eight thousand Yin-Armored Profound Ghosts is nothing. The only troublesome thing is the eight Yin-Armored Ghost Kings that will command these Yin-Armored Profound Ghosts… They must be refined with the soul of someone with a powerful consciousness,” the old woman explained calmly.

“Oh, so how many of those eight have you succeeded in making?”

“Only three. It’s not easy to find the materials, and the success rate of refining is too low,” the old woman seemed a little embarrassed.

“Hehe, then that’s good. The reason I contacted you this time is that I think I can get a very high-quality soul material,” Jihyeol rubbed his palms together and smiled.

“Old Monster Jihyeol, you should be busy gathering enough puppets, so why are you interested in such things?” the old woman asked, surprised.

“I’m neither from the Six Clans nor a cultivator, so why would I be interested in souls! I just happened to find a Bi-Ling Clan member and sent a mud puppet to chase him, but he noticed it. That should tell you how outstanding his consciousness is, right? He’ll be more than enough as a material for a Ghost King.”

“A Bi-Ling Clan member? So it’s that time of the trials again. To think that your consciousness was discovered, does that mean the old geezers from the surface have come down themselves this time?” the old woman’s voice became cautious.

“Don’t worry. He’s just a Spirit General level.”

“A Spirit General level, then there’s no problem! Alright, I’ll accept this gift. But you wouldn’t give me information for nothing. What do you want?”

“I really like this about you, Cultivator. To put it simply, I want a ten-thousand-year Blood Fish as compensation for providing specific information. If you help my subordinates capture him directly, then two Blood Fish will do,” Jihyeol, seizing the opportunity, inflated the price as much as he could.

“Hmph, do you think ten-thousand-year Blood Fish are easy to find? Two Blood Fish for just one soul? I’m busy right now and don’t have time to spare. There will be no further negotiations. If you bring the soul directly, I’ll give you one ten-thousand-year Blood Fish. Don’t forget that I’m making a big loss by offering this.”

“Alright. One Blood Fish for one soul! I’ll deliver it myself in ten days,” Jihyeol quickly accepted the offer. It was a deal where he clearly benefited greatly.

“By the way, what are the opinions of the Wood Clan and the Six Clans regarding the Bi-Ling Clan saints? Are they going to kill them all without exception? Or are they going to let them roam around the third floor as before?” the old woman suddenly changed the subject.

“It’s not good to attract the attention of the Bi-Ling Clan with the big event just around the corner. As long as they don’t interfere with our work and don’t go below the fourth floor, we’ll leave them alone. The Wood Clan and the Six Clans are also aware of this.”

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind!” After the conversation, the old woman’s voice in the bead abruptly stopped, and when the rotation ceased, the bead also disappeared from Jihyeol’s hand.

“Just one high-stage Spirit General and two early-stage Spirit Generals… Three Bloodwood Puppets at the Spirit Master level should be enough,” Jihyeol dusted off his sleeves.

*Papat!*

Three blood-red shadows emerged from his sleeves and bowed before Jihyeol, their eyes gleaming green.

“Go! Go kill them and retrieve their souls!” Jihyeol, clad in a scarlet robe, took out a bronze bead and pointed it. In an instant, the three blood-red shadows turned into streaks of light, circled above his head, and disappeared into the wall. Jihyeol leaned back comfortably in his wooden chair and closed his eyes, as if this was a matter he didn’t need to worry about.

* * *

At the center of the mysterious mountain range on the first floor. A gray, gloomy aura enveloped the huge mountain peak, and a huge, pale-white eyeball floated above a hundred-zhang-high [a unit of measurement] altar. Countless gray threads emanated from the pupil of the bloodshot eyeball and permeated the surroundings. And below the altar, a mysterious figure wearing a black bamboo hat stood silently.

* * *

On the sixth floor of the Earth Abyss, inside a huge palace covered by a green protective barrier. A beautiful woman with snow-white hair stood by a black lake, coldly watching inside. Beside her were two young women with pale faces. One had a petite figure and a round, cute face that evoked a desire to protect, while the other had a seductive figure and snow-white skin, but her expression was as cold as ice.

Large and small formations were spread around the lake, and black incantation characters continued to flow into the lake. In the center of the lake, black figures wearing strange armor were submerged without moving. They were motionless, as if they were dead. The beautiful woman watched the incantation characters seep in and frowned.

“Use Netherflame,” the white-haired beauty commanded coldly.

The aged voice was the same as the old woman who had spoken with Jihyeol, the scarlet-robed figure.

“Yes!” The women immediately replied and took out a black bottle and a black palm-leaf fan, respectively. The woman holding the black bottle carefully tilted it.

*Kuhak!*

A strange cry was heard, and a black flame dragon made of black flames flowed out of the bottle’s mouth and plunged into the lake. At the same time, black flames bubbled up from the lake water, and the woman beside her fanned the flames. A large amount of black flames came out of the fan and entered the lake. The two flames, being of the same kind, immediately merged and doubled in size, engulfing the figures. The white-haired beauty waited with shining eyes.

* * *

Han Li, unaware that terrifying beings were targeting him, was flying diligently. After feeling the unknown chill, he moved even more cautiously. While moving with Noeran and Baekbyeok, he constantly monitored his surroundings with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes. In this way, he identified the locations of low and mid-level demonic creatures in advance and avoided them, reducing troublesome encounters. Noeran and Baekbyeok had consumed a considerable amount of their magical power when entering the second floor, so the three of them were not moving very fast. They had to recover their magical power while hurrying along the path.