Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 968

The last doppelganger’s eyes flashed, transforming into a silver dragon that instantly appeared above Woljong, its sharp claws poised to strike.

However, Woljong was not one to passively accept an attack. A loud bang resonated from his body as two white bone flying swords materialized. These swords, crackling with lightning, shot forward, intercepting the dragon’s claws.

Clang!

The white bone flying swords managed to block the claws, but the immense force proved too much, and they shattered. In that brief opening, Woljong spat out a burst of vital essence, attempting to activate a special escape technique to flee. However, he found himself trapped by the crimson aura emanating from the silver dragon.

Shortly after, Woljong’s desperate scream echoed, then quickly faded away. Even his nascent soul was unable to escape, swallowed whole into the silver dragon’s belly.

The remaining two doppelgangers ascended, merging with the dragon, and transformed back into the man named Gyu.

“For them to appear here… Could they be after that? There’s no way anyone else would know about it. Could it be… Regardless, only I am worthy to possess it. Anyone who stands in my way will be devoured.”

The man’s eyes flashed menacingly. He suddenly turned his head and shouted sharply,

“Who’s there? Show yourself now.”

The man stared at the empty space, then frowned and launched a silver flying blade.

The blade sliced through the air, hitting nothing.

“…?”

The man named Gyu looked puzzled but snorted and retrieved the blade. Then, enveloped in a crimson aura, he soared into the sky and flew away. After he departed, the area became as silent as if nothing had occurred.

About an hour later, a faint silver light flickered in the high sky, and a figure appeared. It was a humanoid demonic beast named ‘Guya,’ with pointed ears and a beautiful face.

She stared in the direction where the man named Gyu had disappeared, her expression hardening.

“Who is that? He’s not the one who killed Soju, but his skills are formidable. If I hadn’t used a secret technique to conceal my aura beforehand, I wouldn’t have been able to deceive him. Haa, the outsiders who have come this time are not easy to deal with! I should request backup.”

Guya plucked a hair from her tail, muttered a few words, and scattered it into the air. The hairs transformed into thin silver threads and flew away.

As the silver light vanished into the distance, the woman looked at the mountain range where Han Li and the man named Gyu had disappeared and sighed.

* * *

Han Li followed the demonic bird, Ma Yeonjo, through the dense demonic energy. The little bird kept chirping and urging him onward, but Han Li ignored it, moving at his own leisurely pace. Ma Yeonjo had no choice but to match his speed, slowly moving forward with him.

The demonic energy was so thick that even if one stretched out their hand, they couldn’t see their fingers. Fortunately, golden light emanated from Han Li’s body, and thanks to activating his Brightspirit Eyes [a technique that enhances vision and perception], he could clearly see the surrounding environment.

He was currently walking through a square passage. The passage was made of black rock unlike any he had ever seen before, and the source of the demonic energy seemed to be these strange black rocks.

Han Li was curious about the black rocks. If he wasn’t concerned about a potentially powerful restriction, he would have examined them long ago.

The mountain passage was complex and labyrinthine.

It had only taken Ma Yeonjo about an hour to scout, but Han Li had been walking endlessly. His gaze towards the little bird turned cold.

Ma Yeonjo seemed to sense his gaze and began circling in one spot after turning a few more corners. Han Li relaxed his expression and gestured towards Ma Yeonjo. The bird hesitated for a moment, then slowly approached him.

The little bird, which contained a part of Seomseom’s consciousness, was very clever. As Ma Yeonjo approached and circled above Han Li’s head, a gray aura suddenly flew out from his sleeve.

The startled bird opened its mouth to chirp, but the sound was muffled by the Origin Magnetic Divine Light [a technique that manipulates magnetic forces]. Han Li sent a talisman towards Ma Yeonjo, immobilizing it.

Then, a blue aura flowed through the little bird’s body and disappeared into the gray aura. Han Li curled up the corners of his mouth and turned his gaze forward, narrowing his eyes.

He opened his mouth and spewed out silver flames, which transformed into a silver firebird. It flew around him before seeping into one of the walls. Then, 72 flying swords flew out from Han Li’s sleeve.

As he chanted a spell, the flying swords spun around and transformed into blue lotuses, filling the surroundings before scattering like bubbles and disappearing. However, Han Li was still not at ease and took out two silver talismans and threw them.

What seeped into the ground, turning into golden shadows, was the Armor Talisman [a talisman that enhances defense]. Even when facing a Combined Body stage demonic beast [a powerful demonic beast at a high cultivation level], he couldn’t be careless, even if it was injured. So, he had specially refined the silver and patterned talismans for this expedition.

Although the materials needed for refining were all precious, they were still manageable to gather in a large city like Unseong. Finally, Han Li took out a purple talisman and attached it to his body.

Poof.

A purple mist spread, and his figure disappeared within the silver spell characters. He had used the Great Illusory Transformation Talisman [a talisman that creates illusions] for any eventuality. He led his illusory body and flew towards the front of the passage.

* * *

Outside the cliff entrance.

The moment Han Li restrained Ma Yeonjo, Seomseom’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

The illusory blue Qilin [a mythical creature often associated with good fortune] hurriedly asked.

“Ma Yeonjo has been captured.”

“What? Did he notice something?”

“I don’t think so. He’s a very cautious person, so he probably didn’t want to be monitored while fighting the Star Realm demonic beast [a demonic beast of immense power].”

“This is troublesome. If we can’t grasp the situation of the battle with the demonic beast, it will be difficult to time it.”

The Qilin illusion shook its tail, its expression hardening.

“It can’t be helped! Anyway, he’ll start fighting the demonic beast soon, so let’s move quickly. No matter how powerful he is, it will take quite some time to kill a Star Realm demonic beast. It will be enough time to open the True Spirit’s Blood [a powerful source of energy].”

“Okay, let’s go!”

Seomseom took out a triangular spirit tablet with a black Qilin pattern on one side and dense silver spell characters on the other.

“It’s such a waste to use the Qilin Token [a token associated with the Qilin]. The time and effort I put into making this… I failed so many times during the refining process.”

Seomseom ran her fingertips over the surface of the spirit tablet.

“Is it more precious than what’s in the True Spirit’s Blood! We need to use this to overcome the demonic energy in the cave and go deeper. While that Han guy is holding off the Star Realm demonic beast for you, we need to open the True Spirit’s Blood without anyone knowing.”

“I know, but it’s such a waste to use such a precious item just to hide our aura and move. And we can only use it once.”

Seomseom smiled wryly. However, the Qilin illusion did not respond this time and glared. Seomseom threw the spirit tablet into the air with a serious expression.

Whoosh!

The black spirit tablet spun around, creating a pitch-black whirlwind. The roar coming from within the whirlwind sent chills down one’s spine.

Seomseom quickly formed a hand seal and spat out a blue sword from her mouth, which cut her wrist. A large amount of blood spurted from her wrist, congealed into blood beads, and flew into the black whirlwind.

Surprisingly, the roar within the black whirlwind stopped as the blood beads entered. The rough wind also ceased. Finally, even the black whirlwind disappeared, and a pitch-black Ink Qilin [a dark variant of the Qilin] appeared.

The Ink Qilin was just a vague illusion. Seomseom, facing the illusion, formed a hand seal with a solemn expression, and black spell characters appeared and were absorbed into the Ink Qilin.

Then, the Ink Qilin’s ferocious aura subsided, and it turned into a black light and flew towards them.

Poof.

The woman and the blue Qilin were completely surrounded by a black protective barrier.

“It’s fortunate that I remember where the Ink Qilin was buried. I was able to refine this treasure using the remains and death energy of the Ink Qilin! It’s fortunate that you and I have a symbiotic relationship and possess the Qilin’s aura. Otherwise, it could have backfired on your cultivation.”

“That’s why I said it’s a waste! It’s a treasure that can save our lives in a crisis.”

The blue Qilin chuckled softly, and the Jeongjok woman [a member of a specific tribe] smiled wryly. They soon quietly entered the demonic energy. Not long after they entered the demonic energy, a gray-white pebble fell from the mountainside.

The pebble spun around, dropping dust, and transformed into a golden beetle. A light flashed, and the beetle flew into the cliff entrance.

At that time, Han Li was quietly passing through the passage and entering the main hall, looking around. The place was very large, with a golden formation in the center and twelve pillars engraved with demonic beasts on all sides.

Black energy was escaping from the images on the pillars and gathering in the center of the formation. And in the middle of the formation, a large black monkey was lying on a wooden bed.

The black monkey had three horns on its head and bared its sharp teeth, which shone with a yellow light. And on its chest, the wound had not yet healed, and the bones and flesh were exposed.

A crimson mist surged and was continuously absorbed into the giant monkey’s body. Han Li, who was observing the main hall from the entrance, did not move hastily.

Most cultivators would not be able to sense him even nearby, but it was difficult to completely deceive a mid-Combined Body stage existence [a cultivator at a high level], even with the Great Illusory Transformation Talisman. So, he was maintaining a certain distance and silently observing.

When the golden beetle flew into the mountain from outside the cave, his expression changed. Before coming here, he had hidden a Gold Devouring Beetle outside as a precaution.

He thought that the Gold Devouring Beetle, which had gnawed on the strange foundation stone, had only become harder and heavier, but later he discovered another ability. It was the ability to turn into stone, hide its aura, and lie dormant.

When the mutated Gold Devouring Beetles entered the soil or stone, a strange earth-attribute spiritual power appeared, integrating them with their surroundings. It would be difficult to find them unless someone knew that the Gold Devouring Beetles were hidden and searched for them or had spiritual eye divine abilities.

Although he couldn’t get information directly through the Gold Devouring Beetle because the demonic energy was blocking it, he could sense through his consciousness that the Jeongjok woman was not waiting quietly.

Frankly, it was not surprising.

When she offered to repair the Heavenly Devil Armor in exchange for the materials of the Star Realm demonic beast, he had already expected that she had other intentions. Seomseom didn’t seem like an ordinary Jeongjok, and no matter how precious the demonic beast materials were, they weren’t worth such effort. She even handed him the Heavenly Devil Armor.

She had insisted on the expedition despite facing several dangerous situations in the Demonic Gold Mountain Range. Han Li was convinced that she had another purpose.

However, he was willing to overlook her minor schemes as long as she repaired the Heavenly Devil Armor with the demonic core as promised. He thought that he could control the situation since the woman’s cultivation was not high.

Han Li waited for about an hour in the main hall and confirmed that there were no other restrictions except for the formation and the twelve pillars. And it was also true that the giant monkey was seriously injured and in a deep sleep.

Then, no matter what the woman did, getting the demonic core of the Star Realm demonic beast was the priority. He made a decision, took a deep breath, and took out a dozen blue orbs and a thick bundle of talismans.

He also summoned two fist-sized golden beetles. Having finished his preparations, Han Li formed a hand seal and finally revealed himself. Even while doing so, he kept his eyes on the black monkey.

The monkey was still motionless, and the talismans flew to various parts of the main hall, flashing and disappearing. The blue orbs flew towards the formation, stopped abruptly, and floated above the twelve pillars.

And the Gold Devouring Beetles circled around the formation.

‘Hmm….’

Han Li turned his gaze back to the black monkey, but it was still not moving. He hesitated for a moment, then pointed to a corner of the main hall, and a silver firebird appeared strangely and flew over the formation.