Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 963

Having left the Thundercloud Pavilion, Han Li suddenly stopped and looked up at the upper floors of the tower.

‘What could be on the fifth floor?’

He suddenly had this question. But soon, he chuckled and shook his head, slowly moving his feet. It would take time to complete the passage test to the Moon Sect, so he decided to look around the village.

The village was not very large, and he was curious about the Seongjok [a type of spiritual being] who had offered rewards for bringing back earth veins. There were shops on both sides of the street, but they were not large, and most of them dealt with demonic beast materials.

Low-level cultivators walked the streets, going in and out of the shops.

‘Is it here?’

As he walked along the road, Han Li narrowed his eyes as he passed a mansion with a garden. A strange restriction blocked his consciousness from penetrating. He guessed that this was where the Seongjok resided.

Han Li did not stop and walked straight past.

Half an hour later, he had circled the village and returned to the front of the tower. There, Seomseom and Woljong were waiting for him.

“It seems that Fellow Cultivator Wol also received the Thunderclap Mountain without taking the passage test,” Han Li asked with a hint of a smile, as if he had guessed.

“Yes, when I went up, Senior Min said he had heard of me and exempted me from the test. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to come out so quickly. Senior Han, thank you for helping me earlier,” Woljong bowed deeply. His attitude towards Han Li was much more respectful than before.

“It’s nothing. I stepped in because your help is essential for this task. I assume Fellow Seom also obtained the Thunderclap Mountain?”

“Of course. It was a powerful illusion, but I had learned some secret techniques to calm my mind, so I passed the test without difficulty.”

“Then we can leave right away.”

“Yes, Senior!” At Han Li’s words, Seomseom smiled, and Woljong nodded. They immediately flew out of the village and headed towards the mountain range. After passing through the blue clouds for a long time, the clouds gradually thinned, and the sound of thunder could be heard.

As they left the Azure Cloud Sea, Han Li stopped at the sight before him. In the distance, a tremendous amount of blue lightning and thunder were striking down. It was as if the whole world was covered in lightning.

“Let’s go.”

Woljong first took out a silver umbrella and activated it. His body was completely covered in silver light. Han Li and Seomseom also took out their Thunderclap Mountains and closely followed behind Woljong.

* * *

An hour later, three silver figures passed through the lightning and looked at the dark, rugged mountains.

‘This is the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range!’

It was a unique landscape. The area close to the ground was filled with thick black energy, and above it was covered with gray mist. The boundary between the two was clear, making it even more bizarre.

Han Li looked down, but the entire mountain was covered in mist, so even the trees and rocks nearby were blurry, and the distant areas were not visible at all.

He pondered for a moment and activated his Brightsight Spirit Eyes. The black mist became much clearer, but his brow furrowed involuntarily. The distant areas were still blurry, so even with his Spirit Eyes, he could not see properly, and his consciousness could not be released far.

If both his Brightsight Spirit Eyes and consciousness were limited, it would be difficult to avoid high-level demonic beasts skilled in stealth.

“Fellow Seom, you must now tell us the specific location of where we are going,” Woljong turned his head towards the Jeongjok [a specific clan or race] woman.

“Of course. I can’t ask for guidance without telling you the location,” Seomseom smiled and took out a pre-prepared stone piece, sending it flying towards Woljong. Woljong attached it to his forehead and checked the contents. Han Li, meanwhile, checked for demonic beasts nearby and watched them.

“You’re going here? This is the furthest part of the outer Demon Forbidden Mountain Range,” Woljong’s expression darkened.

“Fellow Wol, you frequently travel through the depths of the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range, don’t you?”

“It’s fine as long as it’s not during the demonic energy explosion period. But going this deep now is very dangerous. It’s also too far from the entrance, making it difficult to return.”

“There’s no guarantee that we’ll encounter high-level demonic beasts. We can’t turn back now that we’ve come this far, and all I want is to reach our destination within ten days. You’re familiar with the geography of the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range, so I’ll trust you, Fellow Wol.”

“You are very bold, Fellow Seom,” Woljong gave a wry smile and looked at Han Li’s expression. He was asking for the opinion of the most skilled member of the group.

“Fellow Cultivator Wol, if you have something to say, say it.”

“Since Senior Han says so, I’ll be frank. The fastest route is to cross the mountain range, which is much more dangerous, and the route along the outer edge is relatively safe, but it’s impossible to reach the destination by the desired date. So, we have to choose a middle path. A route that is somewhat risky but allows us to arrive on time.”

After much deliberation, Woljong proposed a plan.

“I’m fine with that,” Seomseom immediately agreed, and Han Li nodded. After discussing the details, Woljong explained a few things to be particularly careful about in the mountain range before they set off.

* * *

An hour after they left, four people flew through the world of lightning. After carefully surveying their surroundings, they whispered to each other, took out a formation disc, and flew off somewhere.

Every one or two hours, new groups entered the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range. Some set off alone, while others moved in groups. The largest group was the outsiders led by the man named Gyu, and the next largest was the local Thundercloud Formation cultivators led by the old man named Eon.

However, these two groups split up and began to act separately as soon as they entered the mountain range.

* * *

Three days later, deep within the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range, white spheres the size of cartwheels exploded, creating white whirlwinds. Within the whirlwinds, the remains of beasts torn to shreds by wind blades fell down.

*Boom.*

The whirlwinds scattered like bubbles, and three cultivators appeared in the air. The man holding a white bead was Woljong, and next to him, Han Li and Seomseom floated quietly.

Woljong sighed and put away the white bead.

“Something is strange.”

“What do you mean by strange? It’s just a few low-level demonic beasts appearing. It’s happened several times before,” Seomseom asked with a puzzled expression.

“I’m not talking about other low-level demonic beasts, but the appearance of the Demon Crow swarm is unusual. They usually live deep in the mountain range and have a symbiotic relationship with the high-level demonic beast, the Three-Headed Badger. Their appearance means that the symbiotic high-level demonic beast is also nearby. That’s why I asked you to guard the surroundings while I dealt with the Demon Crow swarm, just in case.”

“Demon Crow swarms sometimes live alone. Isn’t it possible that Fellow Wol is seeing such a case for the first time?”

“Absolutely not. Demon Crows are common demonic birds found in the depths of the mountain range, and their habits are well known.”

“Then how can we explain the current situation?” Han Li opened his mouth, his eyes gleaming.

“Either the symbiotic Three-Headed Badger died, and the Demon Crow swarm fled here because they couldn’t find a new one in time, or they were forced to abandon their instincts and move to the outer edges due to a more powerful high-level demonic beast.”

“Which do you think is more likely, Fellow Wol?”

“The first is unlikely. Demon Crows are weak birds among low-level demonic beasts, except for their slightly faster flight speed. If the Three-Headed Badger they relied on died, they would have been eaten by other demonic beasts before even reaching this place. The demonic beasts in the mountain range are not so easy to deal with.”

“That means a powerful high-level demonic beast deliberately sent the Demon Crows here. Targeting us,” Han Li’s gaze turned cold.

“Unfortunately, that’s probably the case. It’s probably a high-level demonic beast with considerable intelligence.”

“Then what should we do now?” Seomseom narrowed her brows.

“We need to increase our speed as much as possible to shake off the demonic beast. When a high-level demonic beast with intelligence appears on the outer edges, it must have another purpose. If we have to, we’ll have to kill it. If we keep letting it send other demonic beasts or follow us, it will be a big problem later. Haha, I’m only saying this because Senior Han is here. If I were alone, I would have used a different method. A method that takes a very long time, which we can’t use now because we’re short on time.”

At Woljong’s suggestion, Han Li asked Seomseom.

“What do you think, Fellow Seom?”

“Fellow Wol knows more about the demonic beasts here than we do, so it’s best to follow his lead. With Senior Han here, we have no reason to fear anything except a Saint Realm demonic beast.”

“If that’s what you two want, I won’t object.”

“Then we must leave immediately. It’s a shame that we can’t fly at full speed for fear of attracting the attention of other demonic beasts.”

As soon as Woljong finished speaking, they flew off using their movement techniques. Han Li’s blue light was incredibly fast without a trace, and Woljong’s speed, covered in white energy, was comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Seomseom, who had taken out a golden flag, moved with each flash of light, following Han Li and Woljong.

As they disappeared from sight, a crimson light flickered somewhere ten miles away. A dozen pairs of red eyes gleamed through the black mist.

As Han Li’s group passed through hundreds of feet in an instant, swarms of black bats that lived nearby flew up, baring their sharp teeth and attacking ferociously.

Of course, these low-level demonic beasts were not a big threat, so before Han Li could even step in, Seomseom sent out numerous golden lights to deal with the bat swarms. However, instead of being pleased, Woljong suddenly stopped his movement technique and sighed deeply.

“Senior Han, Fellow Seom, I don’t think we can go any further. A demonic beast is chasing us, and its speed is comparable to ours.”

“Are you sure?” Han Li asked calmly as the blue light faded.

“I’m sure. Although my magical power isn’t high, I’m quite skilled in sensing techniques and tracking demonic beasts.”

At Woljong’s words, Seomseom’s expression worsened. Han Li remained silent for a moment.

Even without Woljong saying so, he knew that a demon was following them at a distance. Even though he couldn’t release his consciousness far, he had confirmed the faint figure surrounded by demonic energy with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes. Although it was hiding its body in the black demonic energy, its massive body could not be easily concealed. He had deliberately not mentioned this fact and waited to see Woljong’s skills. It seemed that he knew a lot about the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range and was quite skilled, which was why Seomseom had hired him.

“Senior Han, should we set a trap and wait to deal with the demonic beast?” Seomseom asked cautiously.

“There’s no need for such trouble! Since the demonic beast is chasing us, we can just go find it and kill it. I’ll go, so you two wait here.” As a blue-white light flashed behind Han Li, crystal wings unfolded.

*Whoosh!*

The moment he flapped his wings, he disappeared into the blue-white lightning. The Jeongjok woman and Woljong stood blankly in the air.

“Is it okay to let him go alone? Although it’s not a Saint Realm demonic beast, some of the powerful high-level demonic beasts are no match for even cultivators of the same level,” Woljong suddenly came to his senses and expressed his concern.

“He must be confident, that’s why he went,” Seomseom seemed to have a lot of faith in Han Li’s abilities. At her words, Woljong narrowed his brows but did not say anything more.

*Kuwakwang!*

Just then, a loud roar echoed in the distance, followed by the roar of an enraged beast. Soon, the roar turned into a miserable scream and faded away.

Woljong and Seomseom exchanged glances. Not long after, a blue streak of light flew towards them.

“It’s Senior Han,” Woljong was happy to see Han Li’s return, but his expression suddenly became strange.

“Fellow Wol, take a look at what kind of demonic beast it is. It looks a bit unusual…” Han Li, who had appeared from the blue light, threw something dark and lumpy.

Woljong flinched and quickly raised his hand to examine the black object. Roughly, it looked like a demonic beast’s head with a lot of fur, like a monkey’s head, spinning in the air.

“This is!”