"No wonder, Celt has captured and killed three of our members during this time. He must have heard from Kassel that it was you who saved us last time. Celt should know your identity by now.
The traitorous Druid, Kassel, had been pursuing Cecilia and her party when Han Shuo suddenly rushed out to block him. Upon returning to the Redbud Knights, Kassel must have reported the situation to Celt. Since many members of the Dark Mantle knew about Han Shuo, the three captives must have revealed the truth under Celt's torture.
"If that's the case, I'd like to take this opportunity to kill Celt as well. I'm sure he hasn't recovered from his injury yet. Now is the best time to do it." Han Shuo's voice was as cold as the tundra wind; he was determined to destroy his enemy at the root.
"You're right, Celt hasn't recovered yet, but that's why he's heavily protected by the guards now. The Redbud Knights are one of the top ten knight troops on the continent, and Celt and Kassel aren't their only experts. This time I heard that the Fire Grand Magus Marceau had also come. The old woman is too powerful and extremely difficult to deal with. Fearing that he had taken this matter too lightly, Emily hastily told Han Shuo all about the Redbud Knights.
Han Shuo's lips curled into a scornful smile as he replied, "That Fire Grand Magus is already dead, so she's no longer a threat. No worries!"
Emily was once again stunned when she heard these words. She stared blankly at the confident Han Shuo, trying to read him, "You killed her too?"
Nodding his head, Han Shuo said, "Yes, still me!"
Emily was speechless.
Pulling Emily into his embrace, Han Shuo whispered with a grin, "I haven't seen you in a long time, and I've really missed you too much. Bringing me to this remote corner, is that what you want me to do... hehehe..."
Han Shuo's hands began to misbehave as he clung to Emily. Panting softly under his skilful hands, her eyes turned soft as she petulantly proclaimed, "I only wanted to discuss business quietly, don't misunderstand!"
"I already misunderstood!" Han Shuo let out a low growl, picked up Emily and ran straight into the cave. Moments later, the sound of muffled panting and groaning echoed from inside.
After a long time, the two came out of the cave, their clothes still a bit dirty. Emily's eyes were watery, moist with a charming submissiveness. Her soft body leaned against Han Shuo as she spoke with a hint of concern, "Cecilia is in charge of this mission. She seems to have some prejudice against you; what should we do?"
"It doesn't matter. My mission and yours don't conflict, and I have no intention of taking credit from her. I just need to kill Celt and then see if I can get some magic crystal ores." Han Shuo didn't care about Cecilia's impression of him, nor did he have any goodwill towards her.
If Emily hadn't been on their team, he wouldn't have stopped Kassel from following them last time.
"Aii!" Emily sighed and said to Han Shuo, "Cecilia is actually a very nice person. She is friendly with everyone, and my personal relationship with her is even better. I don't know why she would be like that with you."
"Let's not talk about it anymore, I have to go to the mine. If anything happens, as long as I know you're still here, I'll come and get you. Rest assured that no one will find me if I don't want them to." Han Shuo had gotten all the information he needed from Emily and didn't want to stay any longer. He was ready to explore the Magic Crystal Mine on his own.
The purpose of the Dark Mantle's trip to the Dark Forest this time was to observe the movements of the Redbud Knights of the Brut Merchant Alliance. Of course, the higher-ups in the Empire needed to know exactly what the Redbud Knights were doing on the border of the Lancelot Empire. Cecilia was responsible for matters beyond the border, so she had taken on this important task. Her reports were needed to slowly unravel the Redbud Knights' intentions.
Magic crystal mines were a scarce resource for any land. However, the underground world was home to all kinds of races, and their numbers were countless, almost beyond imagination. So the higher-ups of the Lancelot Empire didn't want to keep their knowledge of the mine to themselves. They only hoped to disrupt whatever the Redbud Knights were planning and gain enough of an advantage to obtain some magic crystal ores.
When the Redbud Knights entered the underground world, they had vanished without a trace after a tragic defeat at the magic crystal mine guarded by the lizardmen. However, according to Emily, they had not yet left the underground world and seemed to have begun plundering the other races down below.
Different races ruled different parts of the underground world. The dark elves possessed a great deal of dark magic equipment, the merpeople's territory was rich with a variety of beautiful crystals, and other strange races had various rare resources.
For the Celt, exploring the underground world was like entering a hunting ground. Except for the setback at the magical crystal mine, where the lizardmen had hindered his army, all the other races' treasures were his.
The vast underground world covered a vast area. Even the Dark Mantle, with its large manpower and secure base, could find no trace of the Redbud Knights; Han Shuo would not waste his time on them, of course. He was interested in the Magic Crystal Mine, and even more curious about the powerful being that lived there. He wanted to know how it could force Celt, an enemy armed to the teeth, to retreat empty-handed.
Han Shuo made his way through the lush bushes of the lizard territory like a lightly flying insect. Numerous caves were hidden in the various crevices of the area. Thanks to his powerful consciousness, coupled with a Yin Demon covering the area, Han Shuo didn't attract the attention of a single lizard. He flew all the way to the innermost line, stopping only when he reached a reddish brown mountain with a bald peak.
The underground world wasn't without light all year round. Various glowing plants grew on the thousand metre high rock face, bathing the underground world in a soft, dim light. The reddish-brown bald mountain was about two hundred to three hundred metres high. There were no other plants or animals on it, except for some reddish-brown rocks.
From a distance, the mountain looked like an upside-down gourd, wide at the top and narrower at the bottom. This made one wonder if the slender base of the mountain could bear the weight of the two heavy, gourd-shaped spheres of rock. Many caves, large and small, could be seen scattered across this bald gourd mountain. None of them betrayed their depth, seemingly bottomless and leading to who knew where.
Several reddish-brown lizardmen, weapons in hand, carefully guarded the caves, alert to the possibility that the Redbud Knights might invade them again. There were many untidy footprints, several uneven potholes, and a few bushes with leaves scattered around the mountain as if they had been cut by a sharp knife.
Looking at this scene from the outside, Han Shuo understood that this place must have been the site of the battle. He examined the area carefully and thought of a way to infiltrate the magic crystal mine. Finally, he summoned the Earth Elite Zombie and let it take him into the depths of the bald mountain to assess the situation. If he couldn't use the Earth Elite Zombie to reach the centre of the mine, he would have thought of other ways.
As long as the ground was earth, the Earth Elite Zombie wouldn't be hindered. The earth elite zombie appeared along with Han Shuo's magic incantation, and then disappeared into the earth in the blink of an eye. Through his spiritual connection with the Earth Elite Zombie, Han Shuo knew that it was slowly advancing towards the mine as per his orders.
End of part 1 of the chapter.
However, the Earth Elite Zombie had not yet approached the area when suddenly a howl came from within the Magic Crystal Mine. It shook the mountain as if a sleeping monster had been awakened. A strange energy poured out of the mountain into the earth, heading straight for the Earth Elite Zombie.
Han Shuo could immediately sense the powerful presence within the bald mountain. He quickly assessed the situation and concluded that this was a powerful creature comparable to the Lord of Flames. The Earth Elite Zombie was still far from the mountain, so Han Shuo hastily ordered it to retreat.
The earth elite zombie retreated nimbly, like a small eel, to Han Shuo's feet. It leapt out of the earth to Han Shuo's side without waiting for the strange energy to approach.
Han Shuo waved the white bone staff in his left hand. A mass of black mist appeared, enveloping the emerging Earth Elite Zombie, and the white bone staff emitted a light breeze. As the breeze gradually dissipated the black mist, the Earth Elite Zombie had also disappeared without a trace.
When it reached Han Shuo's feet, the strange energy suddenly lost its target and returned to the depths of the bald mountain. After the mountain-shaking howl, hundreds of lizardmen burst out of the various caves, weapons in hand, cautiously prepared and ready for any incoming attack.
"No wonder Celt failed so many times. With such a powerful creature guarding the Magic Crystal Mine, this would certainly give him a headache." Han Shuo muttered to himself as he slowly retreated into a darker, more secluded corner. He watched the now wary lizardmen from a distance, knowing that they had received word of his invasion with the help of this strange creature.
With such a powerful creature entrenched in the upside-down pumpkin mountain, it would be somewhat difficult for Han Shuo to advance into the mine. This creature had a terrifying spiritual presence, it had even spotted the Earth Elite Zombie sneaking in from underground. Therefore, Han Shuo couldn't guarantee that he would be able to enter the mine by suppressing his presence.
Of course, Han Shuo wouldn't risk it as long as there was a single shred of uncertainty. Not to mention the mighty creature, the hundreds of lizardmen that would endlessly emerge from the mine would put him in a tough spot.
After a moment's hesitation, Han Shuo temporarily dismissed the idea of sneaking in. He would wait for the Redbud Knights to arrive to help Celt, and then decide his next course of action accordingly.
Whether it was Celt or anyone else, as long as their ultimate goal was the Magic Crystal Mine, they would reappear. Han Shuo fully understood this, so he wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he remained hidden under the rocks, silently meditating as he waited for these people to arrive.
Upon reaching the separate demon realm of demonic magic, one would reach a bottleneck and further progress would become increasingly difficult. However, with the breakthrough of each realm, the cultivator's power would immediately increase tenfold, a hundredfold compared to before. Chu Cang Lan was able to fly to the moon at the mere peak of the Nine Change Realm. Reaching that realm in this world could be compared to the gods.
Han Shuo only needed to make a breakthrough from the realm of 'separate demon' to 'Carnal Realm', and then take another step to reach the realm of 'nine changes'. Unfortunately, starting from the Separate Demon Realm, each realm would consist of many obstacles. Without serendipitous encounters during their cultivation, demonic practitioners would have to spend years of hard training before they could take another step forward.
According to Chu Cang Lan's memory, Han Shuo knew that without any chance encounters, it would take at least a hundred years to progress from the realm of 'separate demons' to the realm of 'Carnal'. Even five hundred years wouldn't necessarily be enough to go from Carnal Realm to Nine Changes Realm. No one could say whether the cultivator wouldn't go mad with obsession in the middle of his practice. As for breaking through from the Nine Changes to the Omen realm, even Chu Cang Lan had no idea. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kidnapped Han Shuo, taken him to the moon, and fought against the three strong experts to get a chance to break through in the decisive battle.
"A hundred years is really too long. I must find other ways." Han Shuo muttered, silently imprinting the information about 'chance encounters' from Chu Cang Lan's memory into his heart. He would be ready for any opportunity in the future.
The so-called 'chance encounter' was simply a place with a huge amount of demonic qi suitable for his magical cultivation, or swallowing a treasure that had been nurtured by heaven and earth for hundreds of millions of years. It could also mean refining magical treasures and then using them to nourish the demon infant. There was also the method of devouring fellow demon cultivators.
Sitting cross-legged behind a rock, Han Shuo pondered the feasibility of these 'chance encounters', as well as some other things, such as how to cultivate both magic and demonic magic together. After a few days had passed, Han Shuo's mind brightened as he suddenly thought of a new idea.
The last time he had fought Kosse, Kosse had used his divine artefact 'Revelation' to destroy much of Han Shuo's necromancy magic. The undead creatures and the Acid Bog had all dissipated after being purified under the holy light. For a necromancer like Han Shuo, this was simply a fatal blow.
Had it not been for Han Shuo's practice of demonic magic, which allowed him to create five divine elemental zombies in a mysterious manner, he would have lost the battle against Kosse and the knights.
The reason the Church of Light and the Church of Calamity were so afraid of Han Shuo was because his little skeleton and creatures weren't afraid of light magic. Han Shuo wanted to improve on that.
High-ranking undead creatures like the evil knight possessed frightening lethality and attack abilities, so they weren't too afraid of normal light magic. However, if Kosse used 'Revelation' to unleash the holy light, Han Shuo knew that even evil knights would be hard pressed to avoid serious injury.
Necromancers and the Church of Calamity had a long and illustrious history, but due to the effect of holy light on undead creatures, they'd always been at a disadvantage against the Church of Light. Once this rule was broken, Han Shuo believed that the Church of Light would not be able to maintain its absolute advantage forever.
This is what the Church of Light fears the most, so I should really use this. I have the high ranking evil knight and soon I will be able to summon bone demons and old fey zombies. I don't expect them to have the same ability as the Little Skeleton or the Earth Elite Zombie. But if I refine them with the secret bone method of demonic magic, they shouldn't be afraid of the corrosion of light magic, right?
High-ranking undead creatures like the Evil Knight, the Bone Demon, and the Old Fey Zombie would be terrifyingly deadly without the weakness of Holy Light. When the Church of Light has to face a never-ending stream of undead creatures who are fearless in the face of their light magic, won't they be scared to death?
The more Han Shuo thought about it, the more he understood that this was the fastest way to increase his power. As long as he was successful in creating anti-light creatures, Han Shuo believed that Kosse would meet his maker no matter how many knights he had behind him.
"It looks like I will have to start experimenting with how to rid the undead of their weakness to holy light when I return to the Cemetery of Death this time." Han Shuo thought to himself as he made up his mind.
At that moment, the Yin Demon around Han Shuo sensed a large group of living creatures approaching. He looked in their direction and saw some familiar Dark Elves in addition to the brightly armoured Redbud Knights. Even the dark elf Dana, whom Han Shuo had dealt with before, had brought her tribe to follow Celt.
"Interesting, all my enemies have gathered!" Han Shuo muttered as he rose from his cross-legged position. He was ready to see how this group would deal with the powerful creature residing inside the mountain.