Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 977

978. Discovery

*

“A reward?”

Han Li smiled at those words.

“Are you saying you don’t believe me? If so, I can pay the price right now, not later,” the Gyu Clan man said, his face turning cold.

“Senior Han, I’ve been researching the repair of the Sky Devil Armor for a long time. As soon as we return, I will completely repair it for you. And if you plan to find the True Qilin Source in a few hundred years, I will guide you.”

Somsom looked very calm, seemingly trusting Han Li’s choice. As she expected, Han Li pondered for a moment and then shook his head at the Gyu Clan man.

“I can’t just stand by at this point, so please make your own judgment, Fellow Cultivator.”

“…….”

At Han Li’s words, the Gyu Clan man became furious, and the bloody aura emanating from his body intensified.

Clang!

Han Li sighed briefly and summoned his three-headed, six-armed Dharma Idol [a manifestation of spiritual power], flashing golden lightning. Dozens of blue flying swords swirled at his feet, blooming into a blue lotus. Then, Han Li stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Gyu Clan man.

Somsom smiled, took out a bundle of blue talismans with qilin [a mythical Chinese creature] patterns in one hand, and held a black flag in the other. The talismans and flag, densely inscribed with incantations, were no ordinary items.

As she waved the bundle of talismans and the flag, a black wind and a blue qilin phantom appeared simultaneously, merging in the air. The enlarged qilin phantom glared at the Gyu Clan man, watching for an opportunity.

Even a man with a violent nature had no choice but to hesitate. He was uneasy because of Han Li, who had dealt with the Blood Spirit alone, not to mention the woman.

If he had faced the Blood Spirit one-on-one, his chances of winning would have been only fifty percent. Moreover, wasn’t it said that the incarnation of a Sky Devil had taken residence within it?

“Very well. Since the future is bright, I hope you all take care until we meet again.”

The Gyu Clan man spoke coldly and summoned a cone-shaped flying chariot, emitting a gray aura. A faint ghostly illusion flickered on its crimson surface. The man boarded the flying chariot and flew away as a streak of blood-colored light.

He had immediately retreated, knowing that his chances of winning were not high.

Somsom, with a much more relaxed expression, dispersed the qilin phantom and put away the talismans and flag. She smiled and bowed to Han Li.

“Thanks to you, Senior Han, we were able to chase away that vile man.”

“Are you so relieved? I could have subdued the fellow and used Soul Extraction to learn the secret technique to repair the Sky Devil Armor, couldn’t I?”

Han Li glanced at her and scoffed.

“Although we haven’t known each other for long, I have already grasped what kind of person you are, Fellow Cultivator. You wouldn’t do such a thing without a reason. Besides, although my cultivation is not high, I know quite a bit about secret techniques to seal souls. Even if my soul is scattered, I would not give up information.”

Somsom did not lose her smile despite Han Li’s cold tone. Han Li was speechless at her words.

Han Li was disappointed that he had not obtained the heaven-defying treasure, but he could not do anything about it right now. He was also worried about the state of the Soul Devourer, which had devoured the Sky Devil’s divided soul, and his mind was troubled. It seemed he needed to return immediately and look into this matter.

“All the materials from this Star Realm’s demonic source are mine.”

“Of course. As soon as we return, I will repair the Sky Devil Armor for you and give you a small gift separately as a token of gratitude for helping me this time.”

Somsom readily agreed and even offered additional compensation. Seeing that she was perceptive, Han Li relaxed his expression and nodded.

“The demonic beasts around here must have sensed the battle. We should leave this place immediately.”

Somsom looked down at the remains of the monster on the ground with a gloomy expression and quickly suggested.

“It must have been quite noisy. Let’s move right away.”

Han Li also surveyed the surroundings and agreed. They transformed into streaks of white and blue light and soared into the sky.

* * *

Half a day later, they left the mountain range where the demonic source was located, retracted their escape lights, and appeared on the mountain peak where they had parted ways with Yue Zhong.

Somsom silently emitted a silver light from her hand, and the light that had been searching the surroundings returned to her sleeve. She turned to Han Li with a bitter expression.

“As I expected, Fellow Cultivator Yue seems to have met with misfortune. It must be the doing of the Gyu Cultivator or the Blood Spirit, or perhaps a high-level demonic beast that was discovered and killed. If I had known this would happen, I should have moved with Fellow Cultivator Yue, even if it was dangerous. Without a guide, the way back will be even more dangerous.”

“Yue’s death is unfortunate, but even if we had taken him into the demonic energy passage, it’s not certain he would have survived. We will return the way we came. At least we’ve been there before, so it’s better than wandering in unfamiliar places,” Han Li said, having pondered the situation.

“Yes, it’s best to move quickly,” Somsom sighed and replied, having no other option. They once again activated their escape lights and flew along the path they had come.

Unknown to Han Li, hundreds of fire-type demonic beasts were frantically searching along the path they had taken, far away. The one leading the demonic beasts was Oup, the black-horned subordinate of the Star Realm Da’an Demon.

Oup, clad in black armor, had a dark expression. The demonic beast could not take its eyes off the blood-colored bead in its hand. The bead was already broken and had lost its light.

At Guya’s request, the Star Realm Da’an Demon, unable to move directly, had gathered high-level demonic beasts and ordered them to track the location Guya had left behind. However, not long after, the bead that had been indicating the location had shattered.

This meant that Guya was most likely dead. This made it very difficult to track their target. However, Oup was chilled to the bone at the thought of his master’s grim face.

If he failed this time, he might be split apart by his master’s hand instead of the bead. Oup, becoming anxious, let out a long howl and urged the pursuing demonic beasts. The wind mixed with demonic energy surged, and the speed of the demonic beasts increased.

* * *

At the edge of the Demonic Metal Mountain Range, four cultivators were facing each other above a small valley.

There was a white-haired old man, a woman in a palace dress, a member of a different race with green hair, and a lean man with a sharp impression.

“Isn’t it too much to just tell us to move aside?” The old man, a local cultivator with the surname Un from the Thundercloud Pavilion, asked.

“Hmph, we can’t let anyone watch us while we’re investigating this place,” the green-haired member of a different race retorted rudely.

“There’s a limit to how much you can look down on people. We clearly found this place first, so what do you mean by telling us to leave unconditionally!” the woman in the palace dress shouted, unable to hold back her anger.

“Don’t you know that the strong rule? If you don’t want to leave nicely, then try fighting us,” the green-haired member of a different race seemed ready to start a fight at any moment.

“I think that’s too hasty of a decision. To be honest, aren’t we all suspecting that a terrestrial immortal [a powerful being] is hiding in the valley because the formation compass is reacting? But how many times has the formation compass reacted in random places? How about we search together, and if we find a real terrestrial immortal, then we can compete at that time?” the old man with the surname Un calmly suggested.

Despite the old man’s words, the green-haired man stepped forward, ready to use force. At that moment, the man standing next to him approached the green-haired member of a different race and moved his lips. It seemed he was telling him something.

After pondering for a moment, the green-haired member of a different race opened his mouth coldly.

“Let’s see what’s hiding in the valley first. If it’s not a terrestrial immortal, then we’ll go our separate ways, but if it is…” The green-haired member of a different race glanced at the old man and the woman in the palace dress with a cold gaze, then transformed into streaks of light with the lean man and descended into the valley.

“Uncle, what should we do? Are you going to follow them into the valley?”

“Of course, we have to go in. The formation compass reacted, so there’s no way we can’t search,” the old man Un answered without hesitation.

“But those two are…”

“If there’s no terrestrial immortal, they won’t bother wasting their strength on us. If there is, we can’t back down either! We must not forget the purpose of risking our lives to come this far.”

“I said something unnecessary. I will go search the valley.”

“Don’t worry too much. Although my injuries haven’t fully recovered, I’ve prepared a special treasure, so if we can obtain the terrestrial immortal, we’ll be able to escape,” the old man seemed confident. They thought of the green-haired member of a different race and the lean man who had gone ahead and quickly transformed into streaks of light and flew away.

However, as soon as they entered the valley, the old man Un felt something strange. The valley, which had seemed ordinary, was like an abyss with no end in sight, and the surrounding black energy was also strange.

He was delighted by the strange scenery. The fact that the valley was peculiar meant that there was a high possibility that a terrestrial immortal was hiding there. The old man Un and the woman in the palace dress each took out their formation compasses and went deeper, checking the signals.

If they hadn’t met the green-haired member of a different race, they would have searched different areas for efficient searching, but now it was too dangerous to go separately.

At the same time, in the depths of the valley, a black object opened its eyes and its green pupils flickered.

* * *

Far away from the valley, a giant toad demonic beast, Geoseo, was flying with seven other demonic beasts, holding a formation compass in its mouth.

A crimson demonic beast next to Geoseo held the formation compass and chattered.

“Lord, it’s this way. I feel a fluctuation from that valley. A demonic crocodile lives there, and I am no match for it, so I had no choice but to ask for your help.”

“If you had recklessly invaded, you would have been swallowed whole by that crocodile. The demonic crocodile is on the verge of entering the Star Realm, so even the great ones don’t dare to touch it carelessly. But are you sure that the formation artifact pointed to the valley? If not, you’ll be punished.”

“You can rest assured. The human artifact definitely reacted to that valley.”

“I understand. If you find a terrestrial immortal in the valley, I will give you a generous reward.”

Geoseo didn’t have high expectations, but he said a word. Until now, the high-level demonic beasts had searched the Demonic Metal Mountain Range, killing the Spirit Realm people and taking their formation compasses, but the formation compasses had made mistakes, and they couldn’t even find a trace of a terrestrial immortal.

As Geoseo and his group were flying with indifferent expressions, a faint blood-colored mist quietly followed them from afar. Within the blood-colored mist, a shadow flickered, barely visible.

* * *

Han Li and Somsom moved very smoothly and managed to return half the way they had come in just five days, reaching the area of faint mist where they had killed the Human-Faced Bird.

In the faint mist, no matter how urgent their journey was, they had no choice but to slow down and be cautious of their surroundings.

Han Li, with a blank expression, continued to use his Spirit Eye Divine Ability to survey the surroundings, holding spirit stones in both hands to replenish his spiritual power.

They had not had time to rest properly due to their hurried travel, but they had consumed a large amount of top-grade spirit stones over the past few days, almost fully replenishing their magic power. Of course, the recovery of the Saint Transformation Devilish Physique was still a long way off.

Whenever he occasionally checked the black spirit beast ring in his sleeve with his consciousness, Han Li could not help but feel frustrated. The Soul Devourer, which had suddenly unleashed tremendous power, was still not waking up. His magic power and physical strength had recovered quite a bit with his tremendous recovery ability, but it showed no reaction even when he tried to wake it.

It wasn’t that there was no way to forcibly wake the Soul Devourer, but after much consideration, Han Li gave up. In his experience, when spirit beasts fell into a deep sleep on their own, it was either to evolve or to protect themselves. He didn’t know what harm it might cause if he forcibly woke it.

Han Li put aside his thoughts about the Soul Devourer and examined his body with his consciousness. In his dantian [an energy center in the body], a blue nascent soul was clasping its hands together, and in front of the nascent soul, a silver fireball was floating.

Within the silver flames, white sparks were mixed, and silver incantations were flashing. Han Li raised the corners of his mouth. The white sparks were the Golden Crow True Flame he had obtained from the Human-Faced Bird.

The divine ability of the Western Spirit Heavenly Flame, which absorbed and fused all kinds of flames, was truly amazing. He was looking forward to seeing how far it could increase its power by continuing to absorb other flames.