Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 884

The monster was a giant, eerie insect, smaller than the Bloodfiend Puppet but with steel-like, hard fur and four black wings flapping on its back.

The insect and the Bloodfiend Puppet were dodging the red light pillars like ghosts while confronting the giant mayfly shadow up close.

At first glance, it seemed as if the red light pillars were piercing their bodies, but they were only grazing the afterimages they left behind. The Bloodfiend Puppet, while evading the attacks, simultaneously sent out a crescent-shaped beam of light with its giant axe.

However, the black insect was not to be outdone, moving its six legs to shoot out dense, sharp black beams.

Their attacks eliminated most of the red light pillars, and some even reached close to the giant shadow, only to be blocked by an invisible force and explode.

“Could it be a Heavenly Rank being?”

“I’m more concerned about the main body of the Six-Legged Cultivator.”

Lady Mi murmured in surprise at the sight of the giant insect’s shadow, while Mu Qing narrowed her eyes and spoke.

“Cultivator Mu, this is not the time to worry about that. A Heavenly Rank being is the most terrifying opponent after a True Spirit in the Mayfly Clan. If a true Heavenly Rank being has appeared, we are all dead.”

“Cultivator Nan, please rest assured. Surely you can see that it’s just a projection of a Heavenly Rank being’s incarnation? It seems that the puppet that the Six-Legged and Bloodfiend Cultivators were chasing used a secret technique to forcibly summon it. When the illusory power is exhausted, it will disappear on its own, so what is there to worry about? The Six-Legged and Bloodfiend Cultivators must know this as well, which is why they are stalling for time!”

“A projection!”

Lady Mi, startled, examined the giant shadow and then let out a long sigh after a moment.

“It is indeed just a projection. It probably only exerts about 20 to 30 percent of a true Heavenly Rank’s power. Moreover, it only has great power but no consciousness, which is why the cultivators have been able to hold out until now. Even so, it’s still incredible! Just look at how the Bloodfiend Puppet and the Six-Legged Cultivator can’t land a proper blow.”

“Of course. In the Mayfly Clan, a Heavenly Rank is second only to a True Spirit, so even a fraction of its power is something we can’t handle!”

Mu Qing said with a smile. Having roughly grasped the situation, the women did not recklessly approach but waited at a distance for the insect’s shadow to lose its power.

Han Li, who had been listening quietly, had his eyes flicker. At that moment, Lady Mi saw the high-level demonic creatures still rolling on the ground and flicked her sleeve.

Then, a black aura enveloped the high-level demonic creatures, preventing them from rolling any further. Lady Mi, having seen this, turned her gaze back to the giant shadow.

Indeed, it was as Mu Qing had said.

Krrrrrr!

The giant shadow, which had been launching powerful attacks, emitted a blinding red light from its body and then shattered into pieces. It eventually turned into a red aura and scattered.

The dense barrage of crimson light pillars also disappeared in an instant. The black insect and the Bloodfiend Puppet, who had been dodging the light pillar attacks, simultaneously stopped, relieved. However, the flickering purple and black lights indicated that they had consumed a considerable amount of energy.

After catching their breath for a moment, they immediately flew back towards Mu Qing and the others, their lights flashing.

“…”

Although it was the Six-Legged Cultivator who had transformed, Mu Qing and Lady Mi did not relax their vigilance and kept their eyes on the insect.

After a while, a black light flowed through the black insect’s body, and it began to take on a human form. It was the Six-Legged Cultivator, who was completely covered in a black robe.

Han Li’s heart turned cold when he saw his face.

The Six-Legged Cultivator’s face was as smooth as a young man’s, and he looked no different from an ordinary man. However, his eyes, which resembled an insect’s compound eyes, were tinged with green.

“Whew, it was Cultivator Six-Legged.”

Lady Mi let out a long breath.

“Cultivator Nan, were you worried that it might not be me?”

“Brother Six-Legged, so you were originally a spirit insect. Then, what is your relationship with the Mayfly Clan?”

Mu Qing’s eyes gleamed as she sharply interjected.

“The Mayfly Clan? I am originally from the Mayfly Clan. I wonder if this answer pleases you.”

The Six-Legged Cultivator smiled and answered confidently. At those words, Mu Qing and Lady Mi’s expressions changed from moment to moment.

“That means you knew about this place from the beginning and deliberately led us to the Land of Nether. What is your relationship with the Mayfly Clan’s puppets?”

Lady Mi’s voice turned cold in an instant.

“You can’t blame me for that. I knew this was the Mayfly Clan’s sacred ground, but my cultivation was too low at the time, so I didn’t know exactly what was guarding it. You all know how long I was trapped in the Abyss, don’t you? If I had known there was an entrance to this place from the Abyss, I would have come in long ago.

Also, I really didn’t know that the Mayfly Clan had sent puppets to guard this place. It was just our bad luck that we suddenly encountered so many puppets. If I still had ties with the Mayfly Clan, how could I have been trapped in the restriction with everyone?”

Upon hearing his words, Lady Mi and Mu Qing exchanged glances. Although there were no loopholes in his words, they thought that he was not revealing everything.

“What do you think, Cultivator Bloodfiend?”

Mu Qing turned her head and suddenly asked for the opinions of the two blood-robed figures. They had been standing on the puppets’ shoulders without saying a word, but at Mu Qing’s words, they turned their gazes.

“In my opinion, it doesn’t seem like Brother Six-Legged is lying. Brother Six-Legged may not have stayed in the Abyss the longest, but he didn’t stay for a short time either. What good would it do to deceive each other? But surely you don’t intend to go back like this? We’ve already incurred the Mayfly Clan’s displeasure, and if we don’t even get the Nether Divine Marrow, wouldn’t that be too upsetting?”

The blood-robed figure unexpectedly sided with the Six-Legged Cultivator. At his attitude, Mu Qing and Lady Mi’s expressions subtly changed.

After a moment, Lady Mi was the first to relax her expression and put on a smile.

“Since Cultivator Bloodfiend says so, Cultivator Mu and I should trust Brother Six-Legged as well. But if this is the Mayfly Clan’s sacred ground, why aren’t there more people guarding it, or why aren’t the Golden Talisman level [a high cultivation level] high-ranking members coming forward?”

“The reason is simple. The Mayfly Clan discovered the traces of our previous intrusion and had no choice but to send puppets to station here. Although this is the Mayfly Clan’s sacred ground, ordinary members of the Mayfly Clan cannot stay here for long. At best, their cultivation might greatly decrease, and in severe cases, they could lose their lives. If we had really encountered the Insect Sea army… haha, we would have already been reduced to bones.”

The Six-Legged Cultivator sneered with a strange look on his face.

Lady Mi’s spine also tingled at the word ‘Insect Sea,’ but she forced a smile and retorted.

“You’re playing a cruel joke on us. Even though the Mayfly Clan is not well known in other parts of the Spirit World, their reputation is great among the nearby races. Would they really mobilize the Insect Sea army just to catch beings like us?”

“That’s right. As far as I know, even a True Spirit [a very powerful being] would avoid the Mayfly Clan’s Insect Sea army, so they wouldn’t mobilize the Insect Sea army unless it was a matter of life and death.”

Mu Qing also calmly spoke, hiding her fear.

“Hahaha, I didn’t know you two knew so much about our Mayfly Clan. That’s right. In fact, one Heavenly Rank is enough to deal with us. Well then, time is running out, so shall we move? We need to obtain the Nether Divine Marrow and return before the Mayfly Clan sends more people. We’ve dealt with a considerable number of ghost creatures this time, so the journey ahead will be much easier. By the way, how many soldiers and puppets do you have left?”

The Six-Legged Cultivator looked around and asked in a dark voice.

“Although I immediately retrieved them after the puppet attack, I only managed to save about a thousand.”

“This old man is worse off. Some of the Ghost Kings were also seriously injured by the puppets’ self-destruction, and the rest of the ghost creature soldiers were all annihilated by Brother Six-Legged’s wind attribute divine power.”

Lady Mi sighed at Bloodfiend’s words.

“Cultivator Nan, that’s not what I was asking. You said you would raise 8,000 ghost creature soldiers at the beginning, so you took quite a lot of pure Yin energy from me. You must have refined more Yin Armor Dark Ghosts. So now is not the time to be stingy with those ghost creatures.”

The Six-Legged Cultivator’s eyes flashed, and his expression hardened. Lady Mi’s face showed a hint of embarrassment, as if she had been caught off guard.

“I didn’t know Brother Six-Legged was such a meticulous person. That’s right. This old man refined 500 more elite soldiers just in case. Although the number is small, their strength is above that of ordinary Yin Armor Dark Ghosts.”

“That’s good enough. If we use the remaining puppets and ghost creature soldiers, we should be able to pass through. As long as we obtain and divide the Nether Divine Marrow, I don’t intend to interfere in other matters. So, I hope that no one will be distracted by other things when the goal is right in front of us. If anyone interferes with this plan, I will not stand idly by.”

The Six-Legged Cultivator warned as he looked at Mu Qing, Lady Mi, and the Bloodfiends. At this, Mu Qing and Lady Mi’s expressions subtly changed, while the two Bloodfiends simply looked at him with gleaming eyes.

“Let’s go.”

The Six-Legged Cultivator transformed into a black light and flew away first, and a dozen or so high-level demonic creatures immediately followed, their lights flashing.

As the Six-Legged Cultivator left, the two Bloodfiends summoned various kinds of puppets, and the white-haired Lady Mi also took out a black leather pouch and released a black Yin wind.

Whoosh-

A gust of sand and dust passed, and ghost creature soldiers armed with black armor appeared. Their armor was thicker and their bodies were much larger than the previous ghost creature soldiers.

“Go!”

At Lady Mi’s command, hundreds of ghost creature soldiers flew up like a swarm of bees, chasing after the Six-Legged Cultivator. Consequently, Yuan Yao and Lian Luo had no choice but to leave Han Li’s side and follow Lady Mi.

As the puppet army took flight, the Bloodfiends’ Bloodfiend Puppets took the lead. Seeing this, Mu Qing glanced at Han Li for a moment and then leaped out, stepping on a golden flower.

“Cultivator Han, let’s follow them.”

Han Li glanced over and saw that Jin Ling was looking at him with a smile that was hard to read. It seemed that she was determined to stick by his side no matter where he went.

Han Li nodded and transformed into a streak of blue light, leaping out, and Jin Ling immediately followed.

* * *

A few days later, deep within the Land of Nether.

In front of a rocky cave in a grayish-white mountain range, various ghost creatures stood. Some were enveloped in blue smoke, while others looked like faint white shadows.

The ghost creatures were in poor condition, their energy depleted. The ghost woman who had fought Han Li also had one arm missing, with only a white sleeve fluttering.

Among the shabby-looking ghost creatures, a puppet wearing blood-colored armor stepped forward. It was one of the Mayfly Clan’s Blood Armor Puppets.

On the surface, it looked no different from an ordinary puppet, but the fear in the eyes of the surrounding ghost creatures revealed their dread of it.

…

How much time had passed?

A long sigh echoed within the cave, and an aged voice was heard.

“As a messenger of the Mayfly Clan, to come seeking this old one. I do not see it as proper.”

At those words, the ghost creatures bowed their heads, and the blood-colored puppet stepped forward and opened its mouth.

“Senior, I had no choice. The strength of the outsiders who broke the barrier and invaded the sacred ground this time exceeded our expectations. Surprisingly, four or five beings comparable to Heavenly Rank beings appeared, and all the other puppet incarnations except for me were defeated.

Moreover, even if we ask for help, it will take at least half a year to open the sacred ground. After half a year, the outsiders will have already escaped. Considering our old ties with your clan, I implore you to help us.”

The Blood Armor Puppet bowed and pleaded.

“Hmph, the agreement this old one made with the Mayfly Clan was only to borrow the sacred ground to prolong my life. I am not dependent on the Mayfly Clan. Moreover, I have already paid enough for that. When entering the Land of Nether this time, I reluctantly agreed because you said you needed the cooperation of high-level ghost creatures, but now you want me to personally step forward and annihilate the Mayfly Clan’s enemies? Do you have any shame?”

“Senior, I do not know what agreement you made with our clan. But with your divine powers, dealing with them would be a trivial matter. If you do not wish to step forward yourself, please lend us the Five Dragon Guillotine.”

“The Five Dragon Guillotine is one of the top two treasures this old one possesses. Why should I give it to you? I repeat, I paid the elders enough to enter the Land of Nether.”

The old man’s voice became a little colder, as if unpleasant memories had surfaced.

Sensing this, the blood-colored puppet’s heart sank, and it hurriedly took out a black bottle from its bosom.

It was a very small and delicate bottle, about the size of a thumb.