Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 870

Han Li continued to refine the lightning beads one by one as planned.

Several days later, a green light flew in from the direction of the flower garden and entered the secret chamber’s door.

‘Hmm…’

A moment later, the yellow door opened, and Han Li, looking puzzled, furrowed his brow at the sound transmission talisman that had appeared. It wasn’t yet time for him to receive instruction in the Gu Lei Technique, so it was strange that Mok Cheong had sent a sound transmission talisman to summon him.

This had never happened before. Han Li slowly walked along the path in the middle of the flower garden. In his storage pouch, there were 30 blue lightning beads, each about the size of a thumbnail, shimmering with a blue light.

In making these, Han Li had used up most of the heavenly lightning he had collected during the Heavenly Tribulation [a trial by lightning]. If Mok Cheong hadn’t urgently called for him, he would have turned the rest of the heavenly lightning into lightning beads in one go.

Just as Han Li was about to enter the main hall, he paused slightly. The old fiend Ji Xue, wearing a blood-red robe, was also inside.

‘Fellow cultivator Han, Fellow cultivator Ji Xue has come. He specifically sought you out,’ Mok Cheong said, holding a teacup and looking at him leisurely.

‘Me?’ Han Li had expected this day to come, but he still showed a hint of surprise.

‘Yes, this old one has some matters to discuss with you. You haven’t forgotten the words I conveyed through the sound transmission, have you?’

‘Of course not. Please, command me as you wish.’ Though he was reluctant, he had no choice but to say it outright.

‘Fellow immortal Mok, did you hear that? This fellow has directly promised to help me. Now, you won’t refuse any longer, will you?’

‘I haven’t refused. However, let me make it clear that Fellow cultivator Han must master the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning as soon as possible. The three months that Fellow cultivator Ji Xue mentioned is impossible, so I’ll give you one month. Otherwise, it will affect the grand matter,’ Mok Cheong calmly replied, taking a sip of tea.

‘…One month is not enough to complete the task. The puppets I’m in charge of are also a crucial matter that cannot be delayed. How about two months? That might just be enough,’ the old fiend Ji Xue said after a moment of contemplation.

‘One and a half months! Not a single day more,’ Mok Cheong mercilessly reduced the time limit from within the black aura.

‘Alright. If it’s one and a half months, then so be it! Then, let’s use Fellow immortal Mok’s teleportation array just once,’ Ji Xue nodded after a moment of consideration.

‘Use it! I’ll teleport you directly to Blood Flame Mountain. When the time comes, I’ll send someone to bring Fellow cultivator Han back,’ Mok Cheong’s voice softened slightly, and he added meaningfully, ‘Haha, feel free to do as you please. Now! Fellow cultivator Han, follow me!’ Ji Xue laughed and stood up first.

* * *

Half a day later, in front of a dark, massive mountain on the fifth level of the Earthly Fiend Abyss [a deep, dangerous realm]. As the teleportation array on the secretly hidden stone platform emitted a black light, two figures appeared. They were Han Li and Ji Xue.

‘…’

Han Li’s heart sank at the sight before him. Right next to the teleportation array stood another man in a blood-red robe. He was grinning grotesquely at Han Li.

‘Fellow cultivator Han, you’ve finally arrived! I need your Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning for my four Purple Blood Puppets. That way, I can use them properly in the Netherworld [the realm of the dead].’

‘Purple Blood Puppets!’ Han Li felt a chill at those words.

‘Haha, let’s move to another place to continue our conversation.’ Perhaps because he needed him, the man in the blood-red robe was being polite to him. At those words, Han Li followed the two men towards the massive mountain.

They led Han Li to the mountainside, about four to five thousand zhang [a unit of length] up. Soon, a cliff about a hundred zhang high came into view.

One of the men in blood-red robes stepped forward, formed a hand seal, and chanted an incantation. What happened next was astonishing.

Rumble!

The cliff trembled, and a black light flashed, revealing a massive dragon head made of stone. Even green moss and weeds were growing on it.

Suddenly, the dragon head’s large eyes snapped open. The bright red eyeballs gleamed. An eerie gaze swept over Han Li and the two men, and the dragon head slowly opened its mouth, revealing a white passage inside.

‘Let’s go!’ The men in blood-red robes said expressionlessly and entered side by side. Han Li, suppressing his surprise, carefully examined the dragon head and followed them inside.

The interior was about four to five zhang high, with black stone walls on all sides. The passage was quite long and dark, but there were small night-shining pearls at regular intervals, emitting a faint light.

After descending about a hundred zhang, they reached an open space with seven or eight identical entrances. Unlike the unfamiliar Han Li, the two men did not hesitate and chose one of them to enter.

It seemed that the entire massive mountain had been hollowed out. The interior passages were quite wide and maze-like, and various puppets armed with weapons patrolled the area. Some looked as if they were made of polished metal, while others appeared to be dull gray stones. The puppets that moved quickly and nimbly seemed to be made of carved wood and were very light.

And every puppet emitted a powerful aura, with some special ones seeming to possess the strength of a Transformation stage cultivator [a high level of cultivation]. Han Li was inwardly astonished.

In his view, the old fiend Ji Xue’s puppetry was profound and definitely surpassed the Great Yan Divine Monarch [a powerful figure]. Of course, this was not because Ji Xue was more talented in puppetry than the Great Yan Divine Monarch, but because of the insight of a Composite Body stage cultivator [an even higher level of cultivation] and the abundant resources of the Spirit Realm [a higher plane of existence].

Finally, following the two men in robes, they emerged from the maze into a bright area. Before them was a crimson lake, and a strong heat could be felt.

It was a naturally formed underground lava lake. Above the lava lake floated a blood-red palace. The palace was not large, but it was still over a thousand zhang in size.

A thick stench of blood emanated from the palace, but the building itself was incredibly delicate and refined. At the top of the palace, a blood-red crystal stone emitted an eerie crimson light. Han Li was stunned when he saw it.

The enormous crystal stone reminded him of the bizarre crystal stone of the Sealed Spirit Pagoda he had seen in the Celestial Peng Clan [a powerful clan], and it was very mysterious. ‘There must be a very powerful restriction here as well.’

While he was lost in thought, the men in blood-red robes unexpectedly flew to the side of the lava lake and stopped their escape light.

A yellow bell flew out of the sleeve of one of the men in blood-red robes and landed in his hand. The sound of the bell was very clear, and when Han Li heard it, he felt dizzy, as if all the strength had drained from his body.

‘This is bad!’ Startled, he quickly activated the Great Development Technique [a technique to clear the mind] to clear his mind and hastily focused on the two men. They wouldn’t suddenly attack him, but he couldn’t let his guard down.

As he stepped back, one of the men turned his head and coldly scanned Han Li. Seeing that he was still clear-headed, he looked puzzled. At that moment, a huge beast about ten zhang in size emerged from the crimson lava, writhing.

It had a turtle-like shell, a long neck, and three deer heads. And on its heads were horns that looked like red coral.

The beast reacted immediately to the sound of the bell. As soon as it emerged from the surface, it swam through the lava lake towards Han Li and the two men.

‘This is my guardian beast, the Chun Gui Beast! It is born with a fire spirit body and can simultaneously spew three different types of flames. Its power in the lava is immense, and I remember having a hard time subduing it. To enter my Blood Flame Palace, you must pass this beast,’ one of the men in blood-red robes smiled and looked at Han Li.

‘I can’t help but admire your senior’s divine abilities.’

‘What is that!’ Han Li looked up at the lava lake and his expression changed drastically. When he examined it with his Brightspirit Vision [a special vision technique], he saw countless transparent threads spread out in front of him. All the threads converged on the crystal at the top of the palace. If he had flown over the lava lake without knowing anything, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Han Li, his lips twitching, took a dry breath. At that moment, the Chun Gui Beast roared at the two men in blood-red robes. It sounded like a frog, but it was very strange.

One of the men in blood-red robes raised his hand and shot out a black bead that reeked of blood. One of the beast’s heads then spat out a red aura and swallowed the black bead.

The three heads roared softly at the same time, and, seemingly in a good mood, it turned its body and brought its long, large tail out of the water. The men in blood-red robes climbed onto the Chun Gui Beast’s back along its long tail and simultaneously looked at Han Li.

‘…’ Han Li sighed inwardly and climbed onto the beast.

As Han Li got on, the man in the blood-red robe rang the bell again, and the Chun Gui Beast quickly headed towards the Blood Flame Palace in the center of the lake. The lava lake itself was not very large, so they reached the palace in an instant.

They flew to the front of the palace gate, and the moment Han Li’s feet touched the ground, the tightly closed palace gate slowly opened, and two groups of people walked out.

One group was clad in red helmets and armor, holding fire spears, and engulfed in flames. The other group was shrouded in gray mist, with black shadows vaguely visible.

Han Li felt a slight hint of life from them. They were not puppets.

The bizarre two groups bowed deeply to the men in blood-red robes as they emerged from the palace.

‘Open the Yin Fire Hall. I must entertain Fellow cultivator Han,’ one of the men in blood-red robes stepped forward and coldly commanded. Upon hearing those words, the two groups immediately returned to the palace, and the remaining ones stepped aside to clear a path.

They were all silent, as if they couldn’t speak at all. Han Li, though he didn’t show it, felt puzzled.

As he was observing them with a strange look, one of the Ji Xue men spoke to Han Li. ‘Why do you look like that? Fellow cultivator Han seems interested in this old one’s spirit attendants.’

‘Spirit attendants? I’ve never heard of them before due to my limited knowledge,’ Han Li was a little surprised but answered obediently.

‘Haha, that’s understandable! The spirit attendants are half-puppets created by this old one’s unique secret technique.’

‘Half-puppets? When I gain more knowledge, I should study them.’

‘Since Fellow cultivator Han is interested in spirit attendants, it seems you’ve learned puppetry. I can teach you that, but for now, let’s go to the Yin Fire Hall!’ The other Ji Xue man’s eyes lit up. Han Li nodded in agreement, and they entered the palace. The palace gate slowly closed, and the Chun Gui Beast, which had been still, completely submerged itself back into the lava.

After a short while, Han Li and the two men in blood-red robes arrived at a large hall about a hundred zhang in size.

Everything there was made of dark red jade stones. They were hot to the touch, but the heat turned cool the moment it entered the body. Han Li sat on a dark red jade chair, marveling at the strangeness.

As he took a seat on one side of the hall, the two old fiends Ji Xue sat side by side in the center. On the dark red table in front of them were fruits and wine, and a figure surrounded by pink aura stood behind them, serving them.

Unlike the black figures in the gray aura they had seen at the gate, the figures in the pink aura were all slender and emitted a clear fragrance. Just smelling the fragrance made one feel at ease. Han Li, who was observing the spirit attendants up close, often fell into thought.

‘I wonder if Fellow cultivator Han has recognized the mysteries of the spirit attendants,’ one of the Ji Xue men emptied his wine cup and asked with a smile.

‘I am too foolish, so I thought the spirit attendants were like souls or puppets,’ Han Li replied with a smile.

‘That’s a good answer! The spirit attendants are indeed such beings. They appear to act like normal people and possess souls, but all their actions are merely unconscious reactions. I control them using my puppet secret technique. Their bodies contain two types of spirits that I found in Blood Flame Mountain,’ the other Ji Xue man explained about the spirit attendants with a smile.

‘You refine spirits and put them into puppets!’ Han Li became even more interested upon hearing that. He was especially intrigued because he had experience using a puppet’s body with his second nascent soul [a second soul formed through cultivation].