Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 989

“Little one, come here.”

Jiseon clapped her hands, calling the white rabbit. As if understanding her words, the hesitant rabbit leaped up and surprisingly nestled into Jiseon’s arms. Jiseon, with a delighted expression, stroked the rabbit’s fur, looking quite pleased. The rabbit, sensing her goodwill, licked Jiseon’s hand.

“Haha, it seems it will gain intelligence soon. Seeing how Fellow Daoist Han has allowed this child to roam freely, it seems he cherishes it quite a bit. In that case, may I help this child develop its intelligence and impart some knowledge to it?”

Jiseon, while stroking the rabbit, asked Han Li earnestly.

“You, you say?”

“The enlightenment and cultivation methods I’ve gained from being a spirit medicine that has gained sentience can only be passed down to those of the same kind. I wish to offer a small help so that it doesn’t stray while cultivating in the future. If this child were to take on a human form like me, wouldn’t it be of help to you in the future, Fellow Daoist?”

“There’s no reason to refuse, but whatever you do, my puppet will be by your side to watch.”

Han Li stared intently at Jiseon, nodded, and stated his condition.

“So be it. It’s not a secret that should be hidden from others.”

“Then, stay here for a year. If you need anything, just tell this puppet.”

Han Li gestured behind him, and Wawa stepped forward.

“From today, follow Fellow Daoist Jiseon. Do not leave her side for even a moment.”

At Han Li’s words, Wawa’s eyes gleamed, and he nodded expressionlessly. Jiseon smiled calmly and carefully placed the rabbit on the ground using her purple aura. Then, she moved to a spot slightly away from where the main body of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng was planted.

*Paaht.*

Jade-green light flowed through her body for a while, and then purple rootlets grew from her arms and legs, burrowing into the ground. Jiseon’s body gradually turned green.

Han Li turned away after seeing the person-sized purple spirit herb take root in the medicinal herb field. He was curious about Jiseon’s other uses, but he had to leave for a trip.

The date for repairing the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor had arrived. Han Li left Piao Lingshui and his second soul at the residence, activated all the restrictions in the eastern region, and then left with peace of mind.

Several hours later, he arrived at Xianxian’s shop. The door was tightly shut, as if they were closed for business. A small fireball flew from Han Li’s sleeve and disappeared inside the door.

“…”

After a moment, the front door creaked open, and Xianxian’s soft voice was heard.

“You came exactly fifteen days later; you truly are a person who keeps his promises.”

“I was eager to repair the armor, so I hurried. Don’t take it the wrong way.”

As Han Li stepped into the shop, the door closed on its own. Inside, a gentle woman was smiling at him.

After confirming it was Han Li, Xianxian immediately formed a hand seal and activated the teleportation formation.

*Woong.*

Light flashed, and Han Li and Xianxian were teleported inside the spatial rift of the shop. As soon as they stepped out of the formation, Han Li’s gaze turned to a certain spot in the space. There, a large formation with about a dozen black crystal stones embedded in it was spread out.

In the center of the formation, a blue bronze cauldron was placed, from which white mist rose, and the space above the bronze cauldron was enveloped in white mist. Although its shape had changed, it was still the same star-realm demonic core of the Demonic Origin, with its cold and sinister demonic energy.

The demonic core had now completely transformed into a jewel, shining black.

“How is it? I’ve been using a large amount of precious materials non-stop to erase the traces of the star-realm Demonic Origin from the demonic core. Isn’t the demonic energy more orderly and less violent than before?”

Xianxian spoke first as she stepped out of the teleportation formation.

“Fellow Daoist Xian, you plan to refine the demonic core separately instead of inserting it whole into the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor.”

“I didn’t know you were also well-versed in refining techniques. That’s right, that’s my plan. Even if the demonic core is inserted whole into the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor, it will be able to repair the major damaged parts of the armor. But it won’t be able to fix the other minor cracks. Such small differences can sometimes determine victory or defeat when facing an enemy.”

Xianxian explained, slightly surprised by Han Li’s question.

“My refining skills are not that great, so just repair it as you see fit. I have no doubt about the refining skills of the Ding Clan.”

“Before repairing the armor, I will activate the restrictions in this space. I will need a little help from you then, Senior. I should be able to complete the repair in about three days.”

“That won’t take too long. It’s for repairing a treasure, so I will help without reservation.”

“Then, let’s start right away.”

Xianxian immediately took out a formation disc and sent it flying above her head. She flicked her fingers, sending out various colored hand seals, and the formation disc spun around before disappearing into the void.

*Kurung.*

Soon, a gale blew in the upper part of the space, dark clouds gathered, and gray energy flowed out from all directions. The surroundings turned dim, and it was impossible to see even an inch ahead.

Han Li did not panic and sent a white light orb from his sleeve to float around him. Then, he saw Xianxian approaching the large formation with light steps.

He also moved without hesitation. He took about two steps slowly, but it was as if he had teleported, and he was right behind her.

*Woong.*

Xianxian sent hand seals toward the formation, and black light flowed as the formation was about to activate.

‘The demonic energy is quite pure.’

The amount and purity of the demonic energy emitted from the formation were considerable. He didn’t know when she had gathered so much demonic energy.

As Xianxian chanted an incantation, a blue light rose behind her, and a large Qilin [a mythical hooved Chinese creature] phantom appeared. The Qilin phantom did not move at first, but as the woman’s chanting became faster, it slowly opened its mouth and spat out a fireball the size of a human head.

The fireball strangely contained both black and blue energy and flew toward the bronze cauldron in the center of the formation.

*Hwareuk.*

Black and blue flames blazed on the surface of the bronze cauldron.

“Senior Han, please take out the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor.”

At Xianxian’s request, Han Li immediately took out a large jade box. He brushed off the restriction talisman attached to the jade box with one hand, and the lid opened on its own, and black energy flowed out from within.

A purple armor appeared from within the black energy. The armor, with sharp thorns on its shoulders and knees and covered in black patterns, had a large hole in its chest and severe cracks around it.

Xianxian summoned a crystal-like protective barrier and pointed it at the jade box.

*Shwiik!*

The purple armor was pulled into the formation by an invisible force. Before the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor reached the center of the formation, the bronze cauldron vibrated and engulfed the armor with black and blue flames, sucking it in.

A roar echoed from inside the cauldron, and the patterns flashed with black light. At the same time, silver spell characters appeared all over the large formation and flowed fiercely into the cauldron.

*Kurung.*

Xianxian chanted the incantation again, and the ground around the formation vibrated. From the four corners of the formation, faint yellow stepping stones rose. The stepping stones had smooth surfaces, and each had a dark, tattered flag stuck in it. And below them, various containers were placed.

Seeing this, Han Li’s expression changed slightly before returning to normal. As the chanting grew louder, the flags grew larger, and Xianxian stopped her hand seals and turned around.

“While I’m repairing it, just infuse the flags with your magic power according to my instructions.”

“Understood.”

As the woman pointed to the formation artifact in the void, numerous hand seals popped out from within and flew to various parts of the space. The dark clouds grew thicker, and the gray energy in all directions also intensified.

Soon, the figures of Han Li and Xianxian were shrouded in darkness, and only the roar could be heard.

Three days later, the shop door opened, and someone calmly walked out, caught a spirit beast carriage, and left the place.

“…”

Xianxian was still staring blankly at the bronze cauldron inside the spatial rift. The once intact bronze cauldron was now covered in cracks. Moreover, the formation below and the crystal stones embedded in various places were all shattered.

A small Qilin phantom floated in the void, pondering something.

“That armor, there’s something to it. If it were just an ordinary Heaven-Devouring Devil’s armor, would this have happened?”

“That’s right. To think that a demon from another realm would send its consciousness across space while we were repairing the armor! If the demonic energy and the demon’s consciousness had condensed and manifested, we would have been in trouble.”

The woman’s heart trembled as she thought about it.

“It’s fortunate that Fellow Daoist Han resolved it with the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning before the demonic energy could condense. Otherwise, we would have had a hard time.”

“…To force a consciousness to descend across realms, it must have been an existence comparable to a True Spirit [a powerful being]. What exactly was the identity of that armor? I didn’t notice anything strange while repairing it.”

“I didn’t find out anything either because there wasn’t enough time after that incident. If I had known this would happen, I would have never handed over the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor! I should have made an excuse to keep the armor for a while and sent him away with another treasure.”

At Xianxian’s words, the Qilin phantom suddenly blamed her.

“I wanted to do that too. But if I had said I didn’t want to hand over the armor, how do you think Fellow Daoist Han would have reacted? He was smiling the whole time, but if something went wrong, he would have attacked me immediately. I would have had to fight an opponent comparable to a Saint Race Elder, risking my life. I used up almost all my precious treasures while escaping from the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range, so there was no chance of winning.”

Xianxian grumbled and gave a wry smile.

“It would have been better if we hadn’t lost so much vitality in the Demon Forbidden Mountain Range. If we had borrowed the power of the spatial restrictions and combined our strength, we could have snatched the armor and escaped.”

The blue Qilin phantom muttered, unable to let go of its regrets.

“It’s okay. No matter how miraculous that armor is, it’s still a demonic artifact. Even if we kept it, we wouldn’t be able to use it properly. We can’t lose a powerful person we’ve just built a relationship with.”

“Well, if you think that way, there’s nothing I can do! Anyway, we just did a good deed for someone else. The Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor could have been a fortuitous encounter for you.”

“It seems like you are enough of a fortuitous encounter for me?”

Xianxian smiled faintly at the sighing Qilin phantom.

“That’s true. What you lack now is not a fortuitous encounter but cultivation and divine powers. If you don’t focus more on cultivation, you might miss another good opportunity like this. Let’s move on from this matter. What about the thing I asked you to investigate?”

“Not yet! The ones who know its whereabouts are a small number of old monsters from the star realms, so it’s difficult to find out.”

“You still have to find out. Without it, entering the ancient ruins is like a death sentence.”

“I know. That’s why I’m looking for other ways. I’m trying to buy or borrow it from the disciples of those old monsters.”

Xianxian explained her plan. While the Ding Clan woman was discussing future plans with the Qilin phantom, Han Li was on his way back to the eastern region in a spirit beast carriage.

He was very disturbed. He had never imagined that such a thing would happen just from repairing an armor.

“…”

Han Li fiddled with an object in his sleeve. It was the jade box containing the repaired Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor. Unlike before, the jade box was now covered with restriction talismans.

Nothing happened while repairing the armor, but later, problems arose one after another. The fact that the formation stopped working for no reason or that the bronze cauldron cracked for no reason was still acceptable.

But suddenly, a powerful consciousness broke through the spatial barrier and rushed straight into the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor! It was such a sudden event that even Xianxian seemed dumbfounded.

Fortunately, Han Li had experienced such things before, so he quickly released the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, scattering about half of the consciousness and repelling the rest.

Normally, after this, the consciousness should have known it had failed and fled across space. But the owner of the consciousness must have desperately needed the armor, as it surprisingly jumped into the pure demonic energy within the formation and began to condense its demonic body.

Startled by this, Han Li released all the remaining Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning in his body, creating a lightning storm within the small space.

No matter how powerful the demon’s cultivation was, it could not withstand the continuous barrage of Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning with its demonic body not yet fully condensed.

The demon, riddled with holes from the golden lightning, could not even scream properly and returned to nothingness along with its consciousness. In this way, Han Li and Xianxian realized that the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor had an unusual power.

Han Li noticed that the Ding Clan woman seemed troubled, and although he didn’t show it, he didn’t let his guard down. In the end, she reluctantly handed him the jade box containing the Heaven-Devouring Devil Armor.

*