Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 869

870. Wood Essence Cave

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Han Li scanned the cliff several times with his spiritual sense, but he couldn’t detect anything unusual. However, when Mok Cheong took a few steps towards the cliff and lightly gestured, a green light swept across the cliff, and a huge entrance split open, revealing a jade-colored passage leading inside.

The entrance to the passage was sealed with a green curtain, and strange incantation characters were inscribed all around the passage, making it look very mysterious. However, Han Li was dumbfounded.

‘Even though I know there’s something here, I can’t detect anything with my spiritual sense,’ he thought.

It seemed that the divine abilities of the Earthly Fiend King were indeed extraordinary. While Han Li was increasing his vigilance, Mok Cheong entered the passage first, and the green curtain didn’t affect her at all.

After a moment of hesitation, Han Li followed her. It seemed that Mok Cheong had already taken precautions, as the green curtain didn’t affect him either.

Not long after the two of them entered, a glow enveloped the cliff, and the entrance disappeared. Not only that, but the cyan cliff itself dimmed and returned to its ordinary appearance.

Meanwhile, Han Li followed Mok Cheong for a long time before finally entering a large hall. The hall was completely empty and connected to seven or eight passages.

Han Li could already feel the dense spiritual energy emanating from the ground and the surrounding walls, and he was filled with both joy and worry.

If the wood-attribute spiritual energy was this dense, he would be able to master the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning technique within two years.

However, the fact that Mok Cheong had brought him here showed how important this matter was to her.

“I’ll show you where you’ll be staying, so follow me. For the next two years, you must not leave the Wood Essence Cave and focus solely on cultivation. I’ve set up powerful restrictions all around, so you won’t be able to escape on your own unless I open them for you!”

Han Li merely curled his lips at Mok Cheong’s confident attitude and said nothing. He silently followed her through the passage.

After passing through a large flower garden filled with strange flowers and herbs, he arrived in front of an unknown yellow metal gate.

Mok Cheong stopped there.

“This is the secret chamber where I usually cultivate. I’ll lend it to you for a while. Starting tomorrow, you’ll learn how to use the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning once every seven days. After seven days, come find me in the main hall at noon! I’ll be staying in another secret chamber, so go on in. Oh, and except for a few places where I’ve set up restrictions, you’re free to go anywhere else.”

“Thank you, Senior!” Han Li quickly expressed his gratitude. After speaking, Mok Cheong looked at Han Li calmly before turning and walking away. Once she was out of sight, Han Li sighed softly and entered the yellow metal gate.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

Strange omens appeared above a small, ordinary mountain in the mist. Dark clouds hung low, with blue lightning flashing within, and thunder rumbled incessantly.

Suddenly, a black formation about a dozen feet in size appeared on the ground at the mountain’s peak, flashing black light, and two figures appeared.

The woman surrounded by black energy and the blue-robed young man were none other than Mok Cheong and Han Li.

As they appeared, the thunder grew even louder, and blue lightning flashed within the dark clouds. Mok Cheong raised her head and opened her mouth expressionlessly.

“It’s quite a coincidence that your heavenly tribulation [a trial by lightning to test a cultivator’s strength] has arrived now. With the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning within you and having grasped the basics of the Thunder Driving Technique, this level of heavenly tribulation should be nothing to you. Rather, it will be helpful for your cultivation as you can put what you’ve learned into practice. Try your best to overcome it.”

After speaking, Mok Cheong emitted light from the formation beneath her feet and disappeared. Now, only Han Li remained on the mountain peak.

He smiled wryly. Who would have thought that the second minor heavenly tribulation he would face in the Spirit World would descend like this? Fortunately, he had been taking the Extinction Pills all along, so it wasn’t a terrifying two-colored lightning tribulation like before, but an ordinary blue heavenly lightning.

Even so, Han Li did not underestimate the heavenly tribulation.

He opened his mouth, and a small cauldron flew out, immediately emitting a gray aura that enveloped him. Then, as he let out a low shout, countless golden lightning bolts flowed down his body.

Kwarurung! Kwakwakwang!

The blue lightning in the sky grew more and more numerous, and finally, a deafening roar descended upon Han Li. Each lightning bolt poured down like a torrential rain, falling onto the golden lightning net he had set up in advance.

Han Li formed a hand seal, and golden incantation characters flowed over the golden lightning net, and a golden aura swirled.

Then, a strange thing happened. As soon as the blue lightning touched the golden aura, it was sucked into it. Everything happened silently, as if the golden light was swallowing everything.

Kwakwang!

After a while, most of the numerous blue lightning bolts were absorbed by the golden aura, then bounced back and exploded with a tremendous noise.

Han Li didn’t even blink as he dealt with the first heavenly lightning bolts. And the golden net, which had absorbed numerous blue lightning bolts, grew larger above Han Li’s head, completely covering an area of thirty feet.

After the first lightning bolts ended, the second lightning bolts condensed in the void, becoming thicker and more numerous as they fell. Han Li formed a hand seal and extended his finger.

Kkwagwang!

A golden light flashed, and golden, dazzling incantation characters extended from his fingertip, transforming into a streak of lightning that flew out.

The lightning bolt, transformed into an arrow, entered the golden lightning net.

The lightning net trembled.

The light that had been floating on the surface gathered into several clumps, forming a huge aura, and within it, faint incantation characters flickered.

In that instant, the second wave of blue lightning bolts rushed in fiercely. But this time, the blue lightning bolts, which had increased in power, flew into the golden light like moths to a flame and disappeared silently.

The power of the second heavenly lightning was definitely stronger than the previous lightning bolts.

The golden aura, which had been stable, trembled under the dense downpour of heavenly lightning, and even grew larger while making a buzzing sound.

However, the golden lightning net below also grew much larger, and golden lightning was crackling and jumping up.

Kukung.

After a while, a white gap finally appeared in the golden aura, and it collapsed and disappeared amidst the heavenly lightning bombardment. Now, without any obstruction, the heavenly lightning fell directly onto the golden lightning net.

As the blue and gold lights collided, a loud roar erupted, shaking the entire sky. The golden lightning net was so large that it was able to withstand the onslaught of heavenly lightning, even as it poured down.

Occasionally, the blue heavenly lightning that penetrated the gaps in the net was engulfed by the primordial divine light [a powerful energy source] below and disappeared without a trace. Han Li, standing on the mountain peak, had no intention of releasing the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning again, as if he had another plan.

Kukwakwang!

After a long time, the golden lightning net was finally torn to pieces. The second wave of lightning was also subsiding.

However, the dark clouds in the sky gathered even more densely, shaking violently, and blue lightning beads appeared within them.

The fist-sized beads emitted a blue light and slowly rotated. At a glance, they looked much stronger than the previous lightning bolts.

Han Li also became serious and extended both palms upward. In an instant, a phantom of a small, dark mountain appeared strangely within the gray aura.

At the same time, five phantom skulls appeared in the gray aura, opening their mouths. Five-colored flames poured out, creating a layer of protection outside the primordial divine light.

Then, the small cauldron that had been circling above Han Li’s head glowed and grew larger, transforming into a huge cauldron the size of a mat.

Kurung!

A blue aura surged from the huge cauldron, and a faint sound like thunder could be heard. At that moment, the third wave of heavenly lightning fell mercilessly.

The blue lightning beads were making strange, piercing sounds like huge hailstones. However, Han Li, who had experienced a two-colored lightning tribulation in the early stages of the Transformation Realm, was not about to panic at this level.

The moment the lightning beads entered the five-colored flames, a miraculous scene unfolded. The lightning beads, which had slowed down within the flames, were trapped.

Suddenly, a blue light began to flash within the flames, and over a hundred lightning beads floated into the air.

By the time Han Li was surprised, the black mountain in the gray aura had already turned and swept away the gray aura from all directions. The floating lightning beads disappeared into the gray aura.

Woong-

At the same time, the huge cauldron below emitted a blue light. But strangely, the lightning beads appeared at the mouth of the cauldron.

Kurung!

Numerous blue threads instantly pulled them into the cauldron. Han Li smiled as he watched this.

* * *

Half an hour later, the dark clouds that had gathered over the small mountain gradually disappeared. The heavenly tribulation was over. Han Li was already sitting cross-legged in his secret chamber inside the Wood Essence Cave.

A small cauldron was floating in front of him, with lightning flashing inside and a low rumble of thunder sounding from time to time. Han Li looked at it and calmly extended his hand. Then, the cauldron slowly fell into his palm.

Tung!

Woong

Han Li tapped it lightly, and the cauldron trembled, spitting out an egg-sized lightning bead. The light of the lightning bead flickered and pulsed, but it was tightly bound by blue threads and could not escape.

It was the lightning that Han Li had collected from the heavenly tribulation. It was not comparable to the gold and silver heavenly lightning he had collected before, but it was much stronger than ordinary lightning. He planned to use this opportunity to refine the lightning beads.

‘One or two of these would pose a slight threat to a Void Refinement Realm cultivator. But if I were to detonate a dozen or so beads at once, even a Body Integration Realm cultivator wouldn’t be able to withstand it with their bare body,’ he thought.

So, he used the newly learned Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning Thunder Driving Technique to block the first two waves of heavenly lightning, and stored the rest in the Void Sky Cauldron. There was quite a lot of blue lightning, enough to produce dozens of lightning beads.

The inherent power of the heavenly lightning was different, so it would be weaker than before, but if there were dozens of them, they could be used as a trump card in a moment of crisis.

This heavenly lightning was not very threatening, but the heavenly tribulations would become more powerful day by day.

After seven or eight more heavenly tribulations, Han Li would not be able to block them easily.

Moreover, the great heavenly tribulation that came after the Void Refinement Realm was extremely dangerous, and many people died without being able to withstand the first great heavenly tribulation.

‘Right now, the biggest task is to escape this crisis and leave the Earthly Fiend Territory,’ he thought.

Han Li’s face darkened as he thought about the immediate crisis. For a year, Mok Cheong had truly done her best to teach him the Thunder Driving Technique, and he had also managed to master the release method of the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and the lightning refining method in a short time.

As his cultivation speed increased, Mok Cheong’s attitude became much gentler, and she would sometimes guide him on other cultivation problems besides the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning.

It was not difficult for her to guide a cultivator in the Transformation Realm, so Han Li benefited greatly from her. However, that didn’t mean he could quietly settle down here.

During that time, he had secretly tried to find an exit several times and tried to understand the loopholes in the surrounding restrictions, and he had also researched ways to remove the four marks in his body. If he could solve these two problems, he would run away immediately.

However, the more he learned, the more surprised he became. The restrictions spread throughout the Wood Essence Cave were so profound that once one began secluded cultivation, it was no different from imprisoning oneself in a cage.

Of course, it wasn’t that Han Li had no way to break the restrictions. Whether it was the primordial divine light or the Spirit Devouring Heavenly Flames, if he used his full power, the restrictions would eventually be broken. But the moment he took action, Mok Cheong would find out, and it was obvious what would happen to him after that.

The marks that the four Fiend Kings had placed on his body were even more troublesome. It was as if they had taken root in his body, and there was no way to push them out.

The only way was to slowly refine them with the infant fire within his body, but how could the marks of Body Integration Realm Fiend Kings be easily melted away! Moreover, the moment he did such a thing, the owner of the mark would definitely sense it.

And even if he did refine them, it would take three or four years. This made him truly depressed. However, he had found another temporary solution.

That was to use the power of the primordial divine light and the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning to temporarily prevent the four marks from sensing him in the worst-case scenario. He hadn’t tried it directly for fear that the other party would notice, but he estimated that he had a 70% chance of success.

Of course, preventing the marks from sensing him like this was only a temporary measure.

Once the four Fiend Kings forcibly summoned the marks within a certain distance, he would not be able to hide his location. Han Li sighed deeply, as if pushing all his worries and troubles out of his body.

Then, he floated the small cauldron he was holding again and began refining the lightning beads. This was the place where Mok Cheong had cultivated before, but he had set up several restrictions again, so he didn’t have to worry about anyone spying on him.

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