Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 965

Two days later, two groups of different races were flying through the sky above the towering trees, chasing each other.

The ones fleeing ahead were riding in a yellow boat, all wearing navy blue robes. One of them was sitting cross-legged, seemingly injured.

Chasing them was a bizarre cone-shaped flying vehicle. The crimson vehicle was protected by a gray aura, and faint ghostly illusions flickered around it.

On top of it stood a man in silver armor with crimson spikes. It was the man named Gyu who had almost fought Han Li at the Thundercloud Pavilion. He stood on the flying vehicle with a greedy look on his face.

The distance between the yellow boat and the cone-shaped vehicle was rapidly closing.

‘We have no grudges with you cultivators. We will hand over the pursuit artifact and leave the mountain range immediately, so please let us go,’ one of the cultivators on the yellow boat shouted urgently.

‘Let you go? How can I do that? Your essence blood and nascent souls are so nourishing,’ the man named Gyu said, his voice ringing out clearly.

‘So you are indeed an evil cultivator doing such heinous things!’ Upon hearing those words, the man’s face contorted as he shouted. However, the thought of being caught filled them with terror.

The two cultivators controlling the yellow boat spat out blood to increase their speed, and the injured cultivator also had no choice but to stop his healing and add his magical power.

As a result, the speed of the yellow boat increased rapidly, and the distance between it and the cone-shaped vehicle, which had been closing, began to widen slightly. However, the man named Gyu sneered and stomped his foot on the vehicle, and something mysterious happened.

The gray aura around the crimson cone-shaped vehicle surged, and a massive cloud formed.

*Kuaaang!*

The three cultivators who were fleeing ahead were startled and turned around at the strange cry coming from behind. A silver flood dragon burst through the gray clouds and disappeared in a flash.

Startled, they tried to control the boat even faster, but a wave instantly rippled over the yellow boat, and the flood dragon appeared and charged at them.

‘……!’

The three cultivators were terrified, but they immediately formed hand seals and released seven or eight treasures without hesitation. Seeing this, the flood dragon’s eyes turned bloodshot, and it spat out a crimson bead from its mouth. The bead spun around and suddenly emitted a large amount of dark red light.

All the treasures wailed pitifully and fell as soon as they touched the blood-red light. The protective barrier of the yellow boat also melted like candle wax in front of the blood-red light.

The three cultivators were engulfed in the blood-red light immediately after. Miserable screams erupted, and the blood-red light melted the navy blue-robed cultivators into fist-sized lumps of blood.

The silver flood dragon swallowed the lumps of blood in one gulp and then turned back into a human form. The man named Gyu, wiping the blood from his mouth, looked into the depths of the mountain range with a chilling gaze.

* * *

White mist stretched endlessly between the mountain ranges. It stood out even more compared to the surrounding black mist. Han Li and his group stopped in front of it.

‘Is there no other way but to pass through this place?’ Seomseom asked, looking at Woljong.

‘We’ve already wasted two days going around the suddenly appearing demonic bee swarm. It’s difficult to arrive on time without passing through here,’ Woljong frowned and answered honestly.

‘But you said there wasn’t such a mist before. It’s too strange.’

‘It’s not just strange, I can feel a murderous aura in the mist, and there’s a high possibility that a powerful demonic beast is hiding there. The mist itself might have been created by a high-level demonic beast,’ Han Li said, looking at Seomseom, who was sighing.

‘With Senior Han here, it doesn’t matter even if there is a high-level demonic beast.’

‘That’s not true. I can handle one or two, but if there’s a group of high-level demonic beasts, I’ll be too busy trying to save my own life.’

‘A group of high-level demonic beasts? That’s unlikely. High-level demonic beasts rarely live in groups,’ Seomseom said with an awkward smile.

‘It’s not something we can be sure of. Although the mist is thin, seeing it spread over such a wide area, there might be a group of demonic beasts. Either a very powerful high-level demonic beast is living there, or there are many demonic beasts in a group,’ Woljong added, making Seomseom’s face darken.

‘Are you saying we should turn back after coming this far?’

‘I’m not saying we should turn back right away, but we should be careful if we go in. I’ll have to turn back if a crisis I can’t handle arises,’ Han Li said with a smile. Seomseom’s face relaxed at those words, but Woljong’s expression hardened instead.

‘Senior Han, have you decided to go in?’

‘Yes. I can’t just turn back after coming this far for something important. Wol Cultivator, do you want to turn back?’

‘I am indebted to you, Senior, so if you must go in, I will go with you,’ Woljong said, uneasy but gritting his teeth and making his decision.

‘Since it’s decided, shall we go inside? Even if we encounter a powerful demonic beast, you don’t have to worry about me. Although my cultivation is low, I have means to protect myself,’ Seomseom said.

‘Hearing Seom Fellow Daoist’s words makes me feel even more relieved,’ Han Li replied. At Seomseom’s words, Han Li first turned into a streak of blue light and entered the mist, and the Jeongjok woman and Woljong followed him.

Han Li flew at low altitude, constantly scanning his surroundings. He was currently using his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to their fullest extent.

And on his body, magic characters were constantly floating. It was a crystal shield made from materials obtained from the monster moth. It was a precaution against unexpected dangers.

Woljong, who was following Han Li from behind, took out a strangely shaped golden box. When he opened the lid, there was a white, plump larva with silver spots inside.

Suddenly, the larva began to wriggle.

Seomseom flew eight small mirrors in the golden light, making them circle around her. The ancient patterns engraved on the back of the mirrors looked quite useful. Of course, Woljong and Seomseom also took out other treasures to guard against the unknown dangers lurking in the white mist.

Han Li was also secretly holding a blue lightning bead, ready to throw it if he encountered a strong enemy. Fortunately, the white mist surrounding them was different from demonic energy, so there was no risk of being demonized.

Even in this mist, his consciousness and spirit eye divine abilities were limited, so he couldn’t see far, and Han Li was carefully guarding his surroundings.

They moved forward quietly. It was best to pass through quietly without provoking whatever was in the mist.

* * *

They flew through the white mist for more than half an hour.

Han Li still had a calm expression, but Seomseom showed signs of impatience. Woljong also had a dark face and frequently checked the strange insect in the box.

*Bbeeeek! Bbeeeek!*

Suddenly, a hurried insect cry came from behind. When they turned their heads, the larva insect that Woljong was holding was standing upright and emitting a strange warning sound.

The silver spots on the larva were flashing, and the demon pattern on its head turned bright red.

‘A high-level demonic creature has appeared nearby. It’s approaching us quickly!’

‘Tell me which direction it is,’ Han Li asked without panicking, while Woljong shouted urgently.

‘It’s southwest, and there are a total of… five of them,’ Woljong said, his face turning pale as the larva’s warning sound grew louder.

‘I don’t know what kind of high-level demonic beast it is, but five of them will be quite troublesome,’ Han Li muttered, looking southwest, and immediately summoned 72 blue swords from his sleeves. As he chanted a spell and pointed to the sky, the swords disappeared, and blue lotuses began to bloom in their place.

The lotuses spun around and connected to form a blue light barrier. It was Han Li’s Spring Dawn Sword Formation. He had to deploy the sword formation to trap and fight multiple high-level demonic beasts at once.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to guarantee the safety of the Jeongjok woman and Woljong while fighting the demonic beasts. They were essential for this trip, so he needed to protect them.

‘Sword Formation!’ Seomseom immediately recognized Han Li’s actions and was delighted, and Woljong also looked relieved upon hearing those words. Han Li calmly gestured towards the blue light barrier.

*Paat.*

As the blue energy flew out, the light barrier became blurry and disappeared from view. Seomseom and Woljong were relieved by the mysterious changes of the Spring Dawn Sword Formation and hid closer to Han Li. Han Li didn’t say anything since Seomseom and Woljong had discreetly kept their distance.

Meanwhile, the cries of birds from the southwest became even more chaotic. Upon hearing the sound, Han Li became uneasy and found it difficult to concentrate. Then, the Great Cycle [a cultivation technique] immediately activated, circulating through his body and clearing his mind.

When he turned around, Seomseom was fine, but Woljong’s eyes were becoming unfocused, and a red aura was appearing on his face. Seeing this, Seomseom realized that there was something wrong with the bird cries and hardened her face.

*Shhh!*

She threw a talisman in her hand, covering him with a white chill.

‘Ah!’ Woljong trembled as the cold air seeped in. His body became cool as if cold water had been poured over his head, and his hazy mind cleared.

‘Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist!’

‘It’s nothing,’ Seomseom smiled and didn’t say anything else, but Woljong was puzzled. His cultivation was far superior to Seomseom’s, so why was she unaffected?

‘Does she possess a treasure related to mental techniques?’

At that moment, the mist in the southwest surged, and black shadows flew in with a fierce momentum. They were all demonic birds that looked like bald eagles, but they had the faces of women and four cyan eyes above and below.

The faces of the women, which would have looked elegant under normal circumstances, were now terrifying.

Four of the five demonic birds were in the early Nascent Soul stage [a cultivation stage], and the largest eagle in the middle was in the late Nascent Soul stage.

‘Kee-ruk! Spirit Realm people, how wonderful. It’s been so long since I’ve tasted Spirit Realm people!’ the large demonic bird muttered in a strange voice as it looked at Han Li and his group.

Han Li coldly examined the demonic beasts. However, the late Nascent Soul demonic bird seemed to be intelligent and did not immediately attack, but instead hovered in the air, scanning them. Han Li frowned at this and threw the beads he was holding.

The beads turned into five streaks of blue light and flew strangely towards the demonic birds.

*Kee-ruk!*

The leader demonic bird was not flustered by the unexpected attack and let out a cry, causing the other eagles to scatter.

At this, Han Li formed a hand seal with one hand, and the five blue light masses did not chase the demonic birds but gathered in the center.

*Kwaang!*

*Kururung Kwakwang! Kwakwakwang!*

The blue lights collided and exploded, and at the same time, countless lightning bolts appeared strangely, covering the area. The five demonic birds, who had been avoiding Han Li’s attack, were helpless against the falling lightning bolts.

*Kee-ru-ruk! Kee-ru-ruk!*

Woljong was delighted to see this, but then the bird cries sounded again. Soon after, five pillars of light burst out from the lightning, scattering the blue lightning bolts.

The thunder stopped, and the five demonic birds escaped the blue lightning and circled in the air. They were extremely angry. Except for the leader, they were all covered in wounds and smelled of burning feathers.

The demonic birds with burnt feathers flew in furiously. They seemed desperate to tear Han Li apart.

The leader demonic bird looked at the calm Han Li and sensed that something was wrong.

*Kee-ruk!*

The demonic bird made a sharp sound, calling the other four eagles. But it was already too late. Han Li’s sword formation had spread widely, and the eagles had entered the range of the Spring Dawn Sword Formation very quickly.