Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 967

“That’s right, this isn’t a place to linger. There might be other demonic beasts lurking, so we need to move quickly.”

Seomseom, though surprised, quickly responded. Woljong, regaining his senses, nodded in agreement.

They once again activated their escape techniques and moved forward. This time, they managed to leave the area of thin fog in just half an hour. Without delay, they entered the mountain range ahead.

Unbeknownst to Han Li and his group, the moment they left the fog, a silver light descended from the sky and stopped at the edge of the fog. When the light faded, a woman appeared, her ears pointed and a fluffy tail wagging.

*Bang!*

Silver energy exploded from her body, and magical symbols rapidly spread and disappeared.

“So, they did go this way! This must be the new territory of the mutated human-faced eagles. They possess the blood of the Golden Bird and are under the command of the Blood Lord, which is a bit troublesome, but thanks to that, those guys couldn’t have escaped easily.”

The woman muttered, then transformed into a silver streak of light and entered the fog. An hour later, she appeared at the spot where the demonic beasts had died. She sniffed the air and, with a puzzled expression, performed the same spell as before.

After a moment, the woman’s expression darkened.

“……”

After some deliberation, she raised her head and let out a long howl. After a while, the woman sighed and flew again in the direction Han Li and his group had gone.

* * *

Deep within the Magic Gold Mountain Range, the plains between the mountains were densely packed with demonic beasts. Thousands of various demonic beasts were gathered, not only on the ground but also in the air.

On a tall rock among the demonic beast horde, a giant toad, Geoseo, lay prostrate. Its size was smaller than before, so it wasn’t as noticeable.

After a while, a giant bat with golden patterns flew into the demonic beast horde.

“Lord, it is time.”

“Then let’s move. I’ll say it again, our goal this time is to capture and kill all the outsiders who have entered the mountain range and seize the formation disc from them. We will use it to find the ‘Earthly Immortal’ and offer it to Lord Cheolma. Anyone who finds the Earthly Immortal will receive a great reward.”

Geoseo gave a simple command. Upon hearing this, the demonic beasts scattered in an instant, flying or running to the outskirts. Geoseo also rose and joined the demonic beast army.

However, a black shadow was hiding in the gray-white clouds high above. The black shadow, with its bright red eyes, watched what was happening below.

Once all the demonic beasts had left, what emerged from the clouds was a large red parrot. The parrot looked around, then *bang!* it burst and scattered into a blood-colored mist.

* * *

At the same time, somewhere underground in the Magic Gold Mountain Range.

A giant man in a blood-red robe, who had been meditating on a stone bed, suddenly opened his eyes. The giant man, with a pale face, a large mouth, and a flat nose, had a dark expression.

“What is Cheolsima up to? Lord Seongjo is about to awaken, yet he suddenly tries to slaughter outsiders. What is this Earthly Immortal that he’s gathering high-level demonic beasts to find?”

*Clap! Clap!*

The giant man clapped his hands lightly, and a stone door opened, revealing a woman in a bright red palace dress. She was shrouded in a blood-colored mist, making it impossible to see her face.

“Father, I have come to see you.”

“Hyeolyeong, have Cheolsima and Daan arrived at the Earth Palace?”

“They have not appeared yet.”

The woman answered softly to the giant man’s question.

“Not yet? Something is really going on.”

The blood-robed giant man’s eyes flashed.

“Have you heard any news?”

“Yes, the news is that all of Cheolsima’s subordinates have left their lairs.”

“All of them? Then…”

Hyeolyeong was startled.

“Unlike what you think, they have all gathered on the outskirts. To kill all the Spirit Realm people who have entered the mountain range this time!”

“Why would they kill the Spirit Realm people?”

“That’s why I called you here. It seems to be because of something called the Earthly Immortal. I cannot leave my post because I don’t know when Lord Seongjo will awaken, so you must go and find out what’s going on.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The palace-dressed woman replied and left the stone chamber. As the stone door closed, the blood-robed giant man sighed and closed his eyes again.

* * *

On the outskirts of the Magic Gold Mountain Range.

A Nascent Soul cultivator [a cultivation stage] was fighting two black bear demonic beasts, manipulating a red flying knife above the gray trees. The black bear demonic beasts were large and emitted powerful light from their claws, pushing back the red flying knife.

He was barely clinging to life.

*Caw! Caw! Caw!*

Suddenly, a strange sound was heard from the sky, and black clouds gathered. Upon closer inspection, they were hundreds of black crows with horns. Among them, the largest demonic bird had fierce, blue-green eyes.

The Nascent Soul cultivator was terrified and tried to flee, but he had no time to do so as he was in the middle of a fierce battle with the black bear demonic beasts. He hastily emitted sword energy from his flying knife.

*Caw!*

The leader of the demonic birds cried out, and hundreds of crows scattered. Only a few were cut by the sword energy the cultivator had sent out.

Then, the crows all rushed at the cultivator and began to tear him apart mercilessly. Moreover, the black bear demonic beasts that had been fighting him could not escape their fate and were also captured and eaten.

When one of them spat out a magic tool in the shape of a formation disc, the leader of the demonic birds showed a delighted expression. After taking the magic tool, the leader of the demonic birds led the flock in another direction.

* * *

Five panther-like demonic beasts were spewing gray-white demonic energy from their mouths. As a result, a yellow protective barrier was shaking precariously.

Inside the barrier, two Spirit Realm people were desperately waving formation flags, barely holding on.

* * *

An old man and a neat young man were flying rapidly across a wide plain below the mountain. Behind them, a strange cloud and a black whirlwind were closely pursuing them.

As the distance narrowed, the old man gritted his teeth and took out an old golden talisman.

*Bang!*

As the talisman exploded, a dazzling golden light shone like sunlight. Wherever the golden light passed, demonic energy scattered, and the pursuing blue-green cloud and black whirlwind slowed down, wary of the golden light.

However, the golden light did not last long. The old man and the neat young man had disappeared.

Similar events occurred one after another for several days on the outskirts of the Magic Gold Mountain Range. Most of the Spirit Realm people who had entered the mountain range ended up in the stomachs of demonic beasts, and only a few survived.

However, the strange thing was that neither the Spirit Realm people nor the demonic beasts who had seized the magic tools could find any trace of the Earthly Immortal.

And Han Li and his group finally arrived at their destination after a grueling journey.

Han Li stood on a small mountaintop, narrowing his eyes.

“Is this the place the Immortal mentioned? There’s nothing particularly noticeable.”

“That’s why the demonic beasts chose it as a place to recuperate! Brother Wol, you don’t need to guide us anymore, so you can rest nearby. Senior Han and I will be back soon. If we’re quick, we’ll be back in half a day, or at most three or four days. If we don’t return by then, you can go back first.”

“Then I’ll just laze around here.”

Woljong, as if he had expected this, flew to a nearby mountain.

“Senior Han, shall we go?”

Seomseom took a deep breath, looking nervous. Han Li flew with her toward the mountain range ahead. As they entered the mountain range, the demonic bird on the woman’s shoulder spread its wings and circled around before shooting off somewhere.

Han Li and Seomseom followed behind it.

The small bird flew for a long time along a path that seemed endless. It was truly a mountain within a mountain. But after a while, it folded its wings in front of a certain mountain peak and chirped clearly.

Seomseom’s eyes lit up.

“It seems we’ve found it!”

The woman circled around the mountain peak, then landed on the mountainside and carefully examined something. Han Li also withdrew his blue light and stood next to her.

The gray-white cliff in front of them showed no abnormalities except for a dark aura, but Han Li soon noticed something.

As Seomseom called out softly, the demonic bird that had been circling around rushed toward the cliff like an arrow.

*Whoosh.*

The seemingly solid cliff rippled as the demonic bird touched it, turning into a pitch-black aura. The cliff itself was a huge entrance. The demonic bird entered without being affected by the black aura.

“Please wait a moment while I check the situation inside.”

Seomseom sat down on the ground with a serious expression, formed a hand seal, and closed her eyes. She had placed a strand of consciousness on the demonic bird, so she was trying to observe the inside through the small bird.

Han Li stood beside her, lost in thought.

After an hour, the bird chirped, and the demonic bird emerged from the black aura and landed on Seomseom’s shoulder. She quietly opened her eyes.

“Fortunately, the Star Realm demonic beast is still asleep! The demonic bird will guide Senior Han to where the demonic beast is. The demonic energy inside is too thick, so it’s best to finish this quickly.”

“Immortal Seom, you haven’t mastered demonic arts, so you should wait outside.”

The black bird flew up again and entered the black mist, and Han Li stared at the woman before forming a hand seal with both hands.

Then, his entire body was covered in golden, shining scales, and Han Li immediately transformed into a golden streak of light and entered the demonic energy. As Han Li disappeared from view, Seomseom, her smile gone, was lost in thought.

“Okay, let’s go now.”

Suddenly, a blue light escaped from the woman’s body and transformed into a fist-sized illusory image of a Qilin [a mythical Chinese creature].

“Wait a little longer. We’ll move when he starts fighting the Star Realm demonic beast.”

“Why are you being so cautious?”

“You saw his strength from inside my body, didn’t you? Even a ninth-level demonic beast of the Upper Realm couldn’t last long and died. How much of a chance do you think we have if we fight him? If my guess is correct, the Star Realm demonic beast must have prepared something before falling asleep. The best thing to do is to secretly enter the bloodline of the True Spirit while the two of them are fighting.”

Seomseom calmly explained to the illusory Qilin.

“That makes sense. Then let’s wait a little longer.”

The illusory Qilin tilted its head and finally agreed. At the same time, Woljong had roughly dug a cave on a mountain peak and was sitting cross-legged, resting.

But suddenly, his expression hardened, and he took out a box containing strange insects from his hand.

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

The larvae sent out frantic warning sounds. Woljong was shocked and immediately flew out of the cave.

‘Oh no!’

However, the moment he stepped outside the cave, he was in a difficult situation. A man in silver armor was floating right in front of him.

“…Senior Gyu, it was you. I was tense, wondering if a demonic beast had appeared. Do you have any business with me?”

Woljong was uneasy inside, but he put on a polite smile. However, the man named Gyu looked at him coldly and asked in an emotionless voice.

“Where did the other cultivators go?”

“Ah, the others have some business to attend to separately and are waiting.”

“Is that so? Then you can go to the underworld alone.”

A blood-red light flashed on the face of the man named Gyu, and a murderous aura was emitted. Woljong’s expression changed drastically, and he threw the box he was holding, took out dozens of talismans from his sleeve, and spat out a white jade pendant from his mouth.

Then, the larvae in the box popped out, swelled up, and covered the man named Gyu, and dozens of talismans exploded with various colors of light. The jade pendant also turned into a white mist, blocking the man named Gyu.

Woljong disappeared in a flash of white light and reappeared far away. He activated his escape technique and tried to flee as a white streak of light.

At that moment, the man named Gyu struck the back of his head, summoning three men identical to him. One of them summoned blood-red hands from both hands and, with sharp claws, tore through the larvae that were rushing at him, killing them instantly.

And another one spewed out blood-red energy from his mouth, creating talismans that wrapped around the attacks. The blood-red energy absorbed all the light masses and even the white mist, swallowing them into his stomach.