Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 879

The passage teemed with tens of thousands of demonic creatures. Following the Demon Kings’ orders, the ghost soldiers and puppets moved towards the passage first.

The Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts finally dispersed the black wind concealing them, revealing their true forms. Clad in black, gleaming armor and wielding long weapons like spears or rakes, their skin was a dried-out, corpse-like gray, and in place of heads were green will-o’-the-wisps.

Within the green flames, grotesque skull heads flickered, and the Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts exuded a chilling aura. Han Li stood behind Mu Qing, observing the ghost creatures.

‘There must be a reason why the four Demon Kings deliberately refined and brought so many ghost soldiers with them.’

The low-level demonic creatures, sandwiched between the puppets and ghost soldiers, also entered the passage. However, the Six-Eyed Race and the high-level demonic creatures seemed content to issue orders and had no intention of entering themselves.

The moment some of the low-level demonic creatures stepped into the black canyon passage, silver light flashed from the black curtain.

*Whirr!* *Whirr!* *Whirr!*

Piercing sounds echoed, and countless silver threads enveloped the low-level demonic creatures from all directions. Their sole target was the low-level demonic creatures in the middle. They seemed to have no interest in the puppets or Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts on either side.

In fact, these silver threads were the Underworld Strange Fish they had seen earlier. The strange fish flew in like long needles, delivering fatal blows to the low-level demonic creatures.

Startled, the demonic creatures that had been pushing from behind quickly activated their protective auras, while the Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts and puppets on both sides swung their weapons to deflect the silver threads.

However, the silver threads emerging from the black curtain seemed endless.

*Whoosh!*

Upon hearing the blood-robed figure’s long whistle, the low-level demonic creatures that had entered the passage flew towards the opposite side. They were quite fast for low-level demonic creatures. Just as they had passed about halfway through the passage, an anomaly occurred.

From the black curtain, black shadows suddenly emerged, wailing with bizarre sounds, and various dark, murky things were being shot out in strange ways.

Some black shadows opened their mouths and shot out water arrows, while others charged directly, tearing apart the demonic creatures with sharp teeth and claws.

The demonic creatures hit by the arrows stiffened and fell, while those grappling and biting with the black shadows didn’t last long before disappearing into a sticky liquid that emitted a foul odor.

‘Are those Yin Spirits?’

Upon closer inspection with his Spirit Eyes [a technique to see spiritual energy], Han Li saw that the black shadows were corpses of various shapes, similar to zombies, wandering aimlessly without consciousness.

The Yin Spirits rushed madly towards the living demonic creatures but showed no reaction to the ghost soldiers and puppets on either side.

The tens of thousands of low-level demonic creatures, initially helpless, gradually began to retaliate, spitting fireballs or launching wind blades.

However, what surprised the low-level demonic creatures was that these techniques had no effect on the Yin Spirits. This caused the demonic creatures to become agitated.

“You fools! The Yin Spirits cannot stray too far from the Underworld. As long as you pass through the passage, you will all be safe!”

The Six-Eyed Race’s cold voice echoed through the passage. The low-level demonic creatures quickly understood and desperately ran towards the opposite exit.

The demonic creatures with fast movement techniques crossed the ten thousand-zhang [a unit of length, approximately 3.3 kilometers] distance in an instant, while the remaining demonic creatures endured the attacks of the strange fish and Yin Spirits, protected by the puppets and Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts.

However, only one-fifth of those who entered the passage made it through.

A terrible stench of blood filled the passage. Mu Qing, the white-haired beautiful woman, and the others outside did not step forward but carefully observed the situation inside, as if waiting for something. Then, a large shadow appeared somewhere in the passage.

*Thump.*

The black curtain, which had been stable, suddenly trembled.

*Swish!*

Giant tentacles pierced through the curtain of light and entered the passage. A dozen or so demonic creatures that failed to dodge were grabbed by the shadows and disappeared like lightning.

At that moment, the miserable screams of the demonic creatures were heard, and the black shadow that had swallowed the demonic creatures thrust its tentacles into the passage again. This terrified the low-level demonic creatures, causing them to panic.

“It has appeared. Let’s move.”

The Demon Kings were delighted to see the tentacles.

Upon hearing the Six-Eyed Race’s shout, the two blood-robed figures, Mu Qing, and the white-haired beautiful woman simultaneously flashed with spiritual light and disappeared from their spots. And when the tentacles appeared in the passage, the five Demon Kings appeared in a bizarre manner.

Except for the Six-Eyed Race, the other four Demon Kings simultaneously reached out and grabbed at the void. Four giant hands of light of different colors appeared and pulled the giant tentacles.

*Kee-ack!*

A strange cry was heard, and the tentacle’s main body was pulled into the passage by an immense force. It was a pale, fleshy mass. Without eyes or a nose, a large mouth occupied half of its body, and a dozen or so long tentacles extended from the round mass of flesh.

The long tentacles lashed out wildly at the Demon Kings.

“Hmph!”

At that moment, a snort was heard, and a black sword light appeared in the void, slicing the giant mass of flesh. Then, someone appeared like smoke and extracted something from inside the mass of flesh. It was the Six-Eyed Race, who had not stepped forward until now.

He held an egg-sized, milky-white crystal in one hand.

“I have finally obtained the Underworld Spirit Crystal. With this, the next gate will be much easier to pass.”

The Six-Eyed Race murmured with satisfaction after examining the item. Mu Qing and the beautiful woman were also very pleased at those words.

“Haha, there’s no way the ‘Spirit of the Underworld’ living in the Underworld’s waters wouldn’t come out after such a commotion. No matter how great its powers are, it’s no match for us when we combine our strength.”

One of the blood-robed figures laughed with a strange sound.

“Now that we have the item, let’s move quickly. It’s fortunate that only Yin Spirits appeared this time and not the powerful ghost creatures like last time.”

Mu Qing flicked her sleeve, emitting a green light that turned the rushing Yin Spirits into ashes. The other Demon Kings did not object and transformed into streaks of light, flying towards the opposite exit.

The high-level demonic creatures and Han Li, along with Jin Ling, who had been waiting for their orders, followed behind Mu Qing. They quickly passed through the passage, and a vast space appeared before them.

However, the low-level demonic creatures were still diligently exiting the passage. After at least an hour, countless demonic creatures, Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts, and puppets had all emerged from the black passage.

The Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts and puppets were unscathed, but some of the low-level demonic creatures had been reduced in number, and the rest were covered in wounds. Still, the demonic creatures possessed strong regenerative abilities, so it was not a major issue.

The Demon Kings did not even glance at the low-level demonic creatures and gathered in one place to discuss something.

They were floating thousands of zhang above the ground, and all that could be seen in all directions was black sand. Occasionally, yellow grass grew, but it was still a desolate place.

And above their heads, a white sky enveloped the vast land.

“Move according to the original plan. The Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts will take the front, and the puppets will move to the rear.”

After the Demon Kings finished their discussion, the Six-Eyed Race flew over and issued orders. Then, all the soldiers moved in an orderly fashion, dividing into several groups.

Han Li still moved quietly behind Jin Ling and Mu Qing. Mu Qing, with her slender figure, stood on a giant golden flower, leading the high-level demonic creatures, while the Six-Eyed Race and the beautiful woman advanced in the dark wind with eight thousand ghost soldiers. The two blood-robed figures commanded the puppets, guarding the rear.

Several hours later, they left the black desert.

‘Hah!’

Han Li involuntarily sighed. The reason was that white bones filled his vision.

At the end of the black desert, a plain filled with white bones awaited them. The size and shape of the bones varied, but it was clear that they were very old.

Even so, the stench of decay still permeated the air, making people uneasy. The formation, which had paused for a moment, flew deeper into the bone plain under the command of the Six-Eyed Race and the beautiful woman.

Even after flying for more than ten li [a unit of distance, approximately 500 meters], it was still a white expanse, and the stench only grew stronger. Han Li, who had already blocked the stench with his spiritual energy barrier, used his Spirit Eyes to observe his surroundings.

Suddenly, Han Li’s calm expression changed.

‘This is bad!’

At the same time, Mu Qing on the golden flower turned her head.

*Swish, swish, swish.*

From the end of the bone plain, where the stench of decay was strong, a gray-white Yin energy was surging. The gray-white energy was endless at a glance, and wherever the energy touched, the white bones rose and moved grotesquely.

Their shapes were all different, but they were all heading towards the demonic creatures of the alliance where the Six-Eyed Race and others were.

The gray energy quickly approached the vicinity of the alliance demonic creatures. As the alliance low-level demonic creatures became noisy, Han Li’s expression also changed slightly, and he looked at Mu Qing.

However, she seemed calm, as if she had expected this to happen.

While Han Li was puzzled, two streaks of blood-colored light soared from the rear of the formation, amidst the puppets, and flew towards the gray energy.

*Bang!* *Bang!*

The blood-colored streaks of light transformed into a bloody wind and collided with the gray energy.

*Rumble! Rumble!*

Loud sounds echoed in succession, and the bloody wind and gray energy exploded, creating a huge vortex that seemed to pierce the sky. The surrounding skeletons were swept away and shattered by the clash of the gray energy and bloody wind.

However, the remaining skeleton army, covered in gray energy, flew up and collided with the alliance demonic creatures that were flying at low altitude.

There were so many skeletons that they filled the sky.

‘…!’

While Han Li was stunned, he heard the giggling of the white-haired beautiful woman. As she spun around, her white hair fluttering, a giant ghost shadow rose behind her and suddenly grew to hundreds of zhang in size.

The ghost shadow opened its giant mouth and enveloped the flying skeleton soldiers with green energy. Then, a strange thing happened.

The skeleton soldiers touched by the green energy had their gray energy dispersed and fell to the ground. The green energy was endlessly emitted from the ghost shadow’s mouth and, combined with the bloody wind, completely covered the skeleton soldiers.

Mu Qing and the Six-Eyed Race did not need to step forward. Han Li’s eyes widened at the astonishing sight. The bloody vortex stopped, and the blood-robed figures transformed back into streaks of blood-colored light and returned to the rear.

The green energy also dissipated, and the giant shadow behind the white-haired beautiful woman disappeared.

“Those were Yin Bone Fiends. They are the easiest to deal with in the Underworld. I wonder what will appear next…”

Mu Qing murmured as she watched the countless bones scattering in the distance. Han Li and Jin Ling, who were beside her, exchanged glances after hearing her words. Han Li seemed to be deep in thought, but Jin Ling showed no emotion.

Under the Six-Eyed Race’s command, the alliance army advanced again.

* * *

Two days later, above a blood-colored swamp.

Swarms of dark red bats were fiercely attacking the alliance demonic creatures. No matter how much the alliance demonic creatures attacked, the dark red bats returned to their original state. Only by repeatedly killing them or destroying them at once with fire-attribute techniques could they be eliminated.

These bats clung to the bodies of the alliance demonic creatures and sucked their blood. After being drained of blood several times, the alliance demonic creatures became withered corpses.

In addition, a dozen or so giant bats with human faces on their bodies shot out crimson pillars of light from their mouths, turning the alliance demonic creatures into dust.

The pillars of light were so powerful that even high-level demonic creatures would not be unscathed if hit directly. So this time, the Demon Kings themselves stepped forward to attack the blood-sucking bats.

Han Li, surrounded by golden lightning, melted the approaching dark red bats into puddles of blood. Only then did he understand why Mu Qing and the beautiful woman admired the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning [a powerful lightning technique].

The ghost creatures of the Underworld possessed demonic energy within their bodies, making the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning very advantageous against them.

The swarm of blood-sucking bats was not large, but when the four Demon Kings, countless demonic creatures, puppets, and Yin-Armored Dark Ghosts joined forces to attack, their numbers rapidly decreased, and only a few remained.

The remaining three human-faced bats realized that the situation was not good and emitted a blood-colored mist before fleeing far away. Their speed was so fast that they disappeared into the distance after a few flashes of light.

Seven days later, within a strange blue fog, pitch-black ghost shadows of various shapes wreaked havoc on the alliance demonic creatures. Without even getting close, they emitted eerie ghost cries that caused the low-level demonic creatures to faint.

*Dong!*

At that moment, a black bell floated up from within the alliance army and rang, causing most of the ghost shadows to scatter. The remaining ghost shadows let out pitiful cries and hid themselves in the blue fog.