Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 863

The blue-white streaks of light flew a dozen or so feet before turning into thin threads, strangely vanishing into the void. Then, behind the fleeing Black Spirit people, a spatial ripple occurred, and the blue-white threads reappeared.

The threads pierced through the Black Spirit people’s bodies, quickly rotating and shattering them before disappearing back into the void. And the next moment, they appeared above another Black Spirit person’s head.

Han Li revealed his figure where the threads had flashed. He ruthlessly swung a hand, and a thick greatsword fell upon the Black Spirit person’s head.

The terrified Black Spirit person flapped its wings, striking down at its own head. Countless black feathers shot out like arrows from its wings, and a black shield appeared above its skull, turning into a black cloud to block the sword.

However, the wooden shield could not withstand the sharpness of the Azure Bamboo Cloud Sword. A golden light flashed, and the Black Spirit person was split in two along with the black cloud. The black feather arrows that had been flying towards Han Li were also caught by the gray energy Han Li emitted and disappeared.

As if struck by an idea, Han Li, seeing the falling corpse, narrowed his brows and suddenly reached out a hand.

Swish!

A black feather, about a foot in size, was sucked out of the corpse. Han Li examined the feather, his eyes gleaming. Faint gold was mixed within the pitch-black feather, and black magic characters flickered, making it an object that felt hot enough to ignite black flames.

Han Li, with an intrigued expression, pocketed the black feather. Then, using a blue light, he collected the black feathers before throwing a fire orb to turn them all to ash.

Once the Black Spirit people had all turned to ash, Han Li returned to his group and calmly announced as if nothing had happened.

“Let’s keep going!”

Lei Lan, Bai Bi, and Jin Xiao nodded repeatedly, their faces slightly pale.

* * *

Half a day later, Han Li’s group was hovering above unfamiliar land, looking at a dense jungle of shrubs. Most of the trees were less than three or four feet tall, and the yellow leaves emitted a fishy odor.

Han Li stood at the front of the group, gazing at the jungle with a thoughtful expression, while Bai Bi, Lei Lan, and Jin Xiao stood a few feet behind him, not daring to stand beside him.

They had seen Han Li effortlessly kill the Black Spirit Clan’s Saints and now treated him with the utmost respect, as if he were a senior, being very cautious around him.

“If I’m not mistaken, this place is a Decayed Leaf Forest formed by the condensation of Dark Vigor [a type of dark energy]. It’s probably one of the places with the densest Dark Vigor in the entire third floor. Although it’s not very likely, there might be a Dark Flame Fruit here. Should we search this place, even if it takes some time? Or should we head straight to the Myriad Lamp Island?”

Han Li finally spoke, asking slowly.

“Brother Han, the Decayed Leaf Forest isn’t very large, so even if our senses are limited, we should be able to finish searching it in half a day.”

“I understand what you mean. Indeed, half a day isn’t a big deal. Let’s search this place for a while.”

Han Li nodded agreeably at Bai Bi’s words. The three Saints were slightly relieved to hear that. If they could find the Dark Flame Fruit here, they wouldn’t need to risk going to the fourth floor.

Jin Xiao first flicked his sleeve, releasing a dozen or so lizard puppets, while Lei Lan and Bai Bi summoned dozens of winged ants and golden snakes.

The ants flew towards the jungle, and the thin, finger-thick snakes burrowed into the ground and disappeared. Then, the three sat cross-legged in the air and cast secret arts, directing the puppets, spirit beasts, and spirit insects to search every corner of the shrubbery.

Han Li, however, simply floated in the air, not interfering at all.

Several hours later, Lei Lan and the others had searched most of the jungle but found nothing. They were all pale from concentrating their senses for so long.

‘This is!’

At that moment, Han Li, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, twitched his eyebrows. A hint of doubt flickered in his eyes as he gazed at the sky. He had felt a powerful energy a moment ago, but it had disappeared too quickly for him to find it again.

As he was contemplating whether to search the surroundings with his wavering gaze, Lei Lan’s voice, filled with joy, was heard.

“Dark Flame Fruit!”

“Did you really find the Dark Flame Fruit?”

Han Li temporarily put aside his thoughts about the powerful energy and turned his head to ask.

“I really found the Dark Flame Fruit. Moreover, six trees are growing in one place, and all of them have fruit. Most of them are ripe.”

Lei Lan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Junior Sister Lei, are you sure it’s really the Dark Flame Fruit and not a mistake?”

Bai Bi asked, not even paying attention to the snake spirit beasts he had summoned.

“I know that many fruits growing in the marsh are similar to the Dark Flame Fruit. Junior Sister Lei, are you sure you checked carefully?”

This time, Jin Xiao asked again in a trembling voice.

“There’s no way I could be mistaken. I’ve never seen a plant like this before, but it completely matches what I saw in the scriptures.”

Lei Lan shook her head, answering with certainty.

“Very well! Let’s go check it out, and if there are no problems, we won’t need to go to the third floor.”

Han Li also said happily. Now that they had found the Dark Flame Fruit, the goal of their trial, there was no reason to stay here any longer.

“Yes! I’ll lead the way.”

The group followed Lei Lan towards the place where the Dark Flame Fruit was located, and after a short while, they arrived at a marsh deep within the jungle.

* * *

“It’s right here. The Dark Flame Fruit trees were growing around a small lake.”

Lei Lan shouted, pointing somewhere. The area was shrouded in gray mist, making it difficult to see clearly. Han Li then flickered a blue light, piercing through the mist.

He waved his sleeve, and a gust of wind scattered the mist. A small lake, about a hundred feet across, was revealed, with dozens of trees growing beside it. At first glance, they looked no different from the other trees around them.

However, upon closer inspection, fist-sized fruits were growing on the green trees. The black fruits had rough surfaces with fine cracks, and black energy flickered in and out of the gaps.

After carefully examining the fruits, Han Li confirmed that the black fruits were identical to the Dark Flame Fruit he had seen in his memories, and the rest of the group also confirmed it.

“Junior Sister Lei was right.”

Bai Bi said excitedly.

“With this amount, it should be enough for all of us to share.”

Han Li, after calmly examining the fruits, spoke in a composed tone.

“If the Scarlet Melt Clan guys are lying in ambush for us on the third floor, they’ll be disappointed.”

Lei Lan laughed playfully, clearly in a good mood. The three were about to descend to pick the fruits when Han Li suddenly hardened his expression. Without turning his head, he reached out a hand behind him.

Tsreut.

A giant, five-colored hand, about a foot in size, appeared and tore through the void. Then, an unbelievable thing happened. A crimson light flashed in the void where the five-colored hand had struck, and a crimson giant hand appeared, launching a counterattack.

Bang!

The five fingers collided, and the crimson and five-colored flames disappeared together.

“Hah!”

“Interesting!”

Two voices were heard simultaneously. One was Han Li’s surprised voice, and the other came from within the crimson mist.

“Who are you, hiding and watching us in secret?”

Han Li glared at the crimson mist, coldly questioning.

“You, a mere Spirit General, discovered me? So, the problem was here.”

The figure in the crimson mist muttered ominously.

“Everyone, take the Dark Flame Fruit. Leave the rest to me.”

Han Li, surprised, ordered Lei Lan and the others in a firm voice.

“Yes!”

“Understood.”

“Brother Han, be careful!”

They were startled by Han Li’s cautious attitude, but they quickly rushed towards the Dark Flame Fruit as he had instructed.

“Why is that? It seems they want those fruits down there. Haha, they’re not that great, but I can’t just let them take them so easily.”

The crimson figure muttered, as if puzzled, seeing Bai Bi and the others move. Han Li tried to stop them, but it was already too late.

Chwahahak!

A loud roar echoed from below, and the lake rippled as pink tentacles rose up. The tentacles shot countless water arrows at them.

Seeing this, Bai Bi and the others, who had already descended to the lake, widened their eyes and quickly unleashed their respective divine powers to block the attacks. Lei Lan bounced thick silver lightning off her body, Bai Bi summoned golden threads, and Jin Xiao released green energy.

The three divine powers combined to attack the tentacles and water arrows.

Kwakwakwang!

Their attacks cut off the tentacles, and a painful roar was heard from within the lake, along with the smell of burning flesh.

Shortly after, the waves surged even more violently, and an eel-like monster emerged, glaring at them. The sight of its countless tentacles was intimidating.

Every time the massive eel monster swung its tentacles, the sound of tearing through the air was heard, and when a blue light flowed through the tentacles, the wounds healed instantly.

Thus, the monster did not think of fleeing but roared even louder, swinging its tentacles.

The three Bi Ling Clan Saints, who had to protect the Dark Flame Fruit, had no choice but to engage in battle with the eel monster. However, Han Li merely watched them with an expressionless face, showing no signs of worry.

Although the monster was violent, it was by no means a match for the three Saints.

Therefore, it was better to focus on dealing with the powerful enemy in front of him.

“What is your connection to the Blood Puppets that appeared earlier?”

Han Li asked, staring at his opponent.

“Haha, Blood Puppets! So, Old Devil Zhi Xue already sent his puppets. Then, you must have killed them? Good, it seems my trip here was worth it.”

Han Li narrowed his brows at the crimson figure’s muttering, and the flying swords within his body were ready to burst out at any moment. But then, a faint sound pierced the air, and his ears began to ache slightly.

‘What is this!’

Before Han Li could figure out what was happening, a cold wind blew, and crimson needles flew at him from close range. The distance was too close, and there was nothing Han Li could do.

The crimson figure smirked cunningly. He had lost count of how many powerful enemies had died from this technique.

Thang!

However, a sound of something colliding was heard, and the thin needles bounced off as if they had hit a steel plate. When Han Li waved a hand and even caught the crimson needles, the crimson figure’s face, which had been sneering, hardened.

“You blocked my Blood River Nether Needles with your bare hands?”

He seemed unable to believe it. Han Li slowly opened his fingers without saying a word. The crimson needles struggled within his palm, but they could not escape because five-colored flames were covering his palm.

However, contrary to his expectations, Han Li’s complexion was not good, and he was even pale. The opponent’s surprise attack had made him feel as if he had just returned from the brink of death.

‘If it were another human cultivator whose physical body did not surpass the strength of a same-level demon beast, they would have died here.’

Although he had escaped the crisis, cold sweat was pouring down his body. It had been a long time since he had felt this sensation of crossing the line between life and death.

However, the figure in the crimson mist was just as surprised as Han Li. He had hardly ever heard of an opponent with such a strong physical body, and he even doubted whether Han Li was a real Bi Ling person.

‘Could he be a demon beast with a powerful physical body in disguise?’