Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 198

After Madam Feng urged him, Guk Hon sat down, and Han Li quietly stood behind him, listening to the conversation.

“Didn’t you say there were six people? Could it be that the woman named Seol Seonsa is one of them?”

Madam Feng stepped in to clarify his question.

“The two Seonsas [Daoist masters] from Hwamyeong Island are in a crucial stage of their cultivation and haven’t left their rooms for several days.”

Guk Hon nodded, not saying anything further.

However, Feng Sam-nang seemed very interested in Guk Hon, frequently asking him irrelevant questions, which perplexed Han Li. He couldn’t figure out her intentions.

But when asked if he knew much about the Six Yin Water Breaking Formation, he clearly answered no. When the old man and the young man gave the same answer, her explanation began.

It turned out she was a rare formation master.

* * *

The middle-aged scholar didn’t seem to get along well with the others, but he reappeared in the main hall the next day. He needed to hear from Madam Feng about the precautions for maintaining the formation.

After all, the reason the six pavilions had invited them was because of the formation, so they needed to know.

Three or four days later, the other Seonsas also finished their seclusion and finally showed their faces. He was a tall, imposing man, probably over seven feet, with a fierce, yellow face, but he spoke cheerfully and got along well with the others.

Thus, Han Li and the others listened to Madam Feng’s explanations, occasionally stopping the ship and going out to sea to practice deploying the Six Yin Water Breaking Formation. They needed to coordinate their movements to capture the demon beast in one go during the actual battle.

This slowed down the ship, but Madam Feng always greeted them with a smile and showed no signs of impatience.

Once they were sufficiently familiar with the various changes in the formation, they no longer delayed and headed to their destination at full speed.

After a month, the ship anchored at a small, nameless uninhabited island, and the Seonsas disembarked, guided by Madam Feng.

As soon as they set foot on the island, a blinding golden light flew from the distant sky.

Where the light disappeared, an old man with a golden face was staring at them expressionlessly.

He didn’t seem to emit any fluctuations of magical power, making him seem like an ordinary mortal, yet he also seemed like a possessor of immense magical power, which surprised Han Li.

Madam Ma immediately stepped forward and greeted the old man with utmost respect.

“Ma Sam-nang greets Elder Myo.”

Realizing the old man was a Core Formation cultivator, the others rushed to greet him.

The old man asked leisurely,

“There’s no need for such formalities. Ma Sam-nang, you’ve done well to gather the people on time. Have you trained them sufficiently in the formation? This is a tricky demon beast, so there must be no setbacks in the plan.”

“Elder, don’t worry! Everyone is proficient in the Six Yin Water Breaking Formation, so we can handle the demon beast without any problems.”

Elder Myo glanced at the others and then spoke in a gentler tone.

“Everyone has come to help our six pavilions, so if this matter is successful, we will provide a suitable reward.”

“Don’t worry, Senior, we will do our best.”

The middle-aged scholar’s blatant flattery caused the others’ expressions to change slightly, but they could only agree with his words.

Elder Myo seemed satisfied with their reaction and nodded.

“The formation has already been set up by others, so you just need to maintain it. Elder Go is chasing the demon beast in the nearby sea, and I will join him to lure it this way. It will probably arrive at the formation by tomorrow morning, so show your skills then. For now, take a rest.”

After speaking, he turned golden again and disappeared.

Madam Feng looked at everyone with a serious expression.

“Everyone, please rest as Elder Myo said and prepare for tomorrow’s battle.”

No one objected to this suggestion, so everyone nodded. However, the old man Cheongsanja, who had barely spoken until now, suddenly asked her,

“Seonja Feng [Daoist Feng], I’ve asked you what kind of demon beast we’ll be facing all along, but you haven’t explained. Since we’ll be facing it tomorrow, shouldn’t you tell us now?”

At the old man’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to Feng Sam-nang.

In fact, everyone had found it strange. Although a sixth-grade demon beast was fierce and rare, it was questionable whether it was worth mobilizing so many people and resources to capture it.

Madam Feng smiled wryly at the words and stood looking at the sea.

“It’s not that I didn’t tell you, but I was ordered by the higher-ups to keep it a secret until we arrived at the island. But now that everyone has come this far, I should tell you. The demon beast our pavilion is going to face this time is the Infant Carp Beast (嬰鯉獸).”

At the mention of the Infant Carp Beast, everyone’s faces changed, including the old man Cheongsanja. Han Li didn’t miss these changes and sensed that the Infant Carp Beast was no ordinary demon beast.

The old man Cheongsanja muttered,

“No wonder they were so cautious. If it’s an Infant Carp Beast, it’s understandable. If other forces found out, there would be a bloodbath.”

Han Li felt a chill down his spine at the old man’s low voice.

The middle-aged scholar, with a completely crumpled face, was already arguing with Feng Sam-nang.

“An Infant Carp Beast is said to be a sixth-grade, but it’s actually equivalent to a seventh-grade demon beast! Yet you deceived me by calling it a sixth-grade demon beast. The six pavilions are no different from swindlers!”

He was so angry that he was shouting that it was against all reason. The others were not as angry as the middle-aged man, but they all looked dissatisfied. However, they were powerless cultivators without any backing, so they kept their mouths shut, not wanting to offend the six pavilions.

Madam Feng’s expression hardened for the first time at the words that belittled the six pavilions, and she retorted without hesitation.

“Seonsa Mo [Daoist Mo], you can’t say that. When did our pavilion ever deceive you? Although the Infant Carp Beast is powerful, it cannot be called a seventh-grade demon beast just because it is a sixth-grade demon beast.

Also, when this pavilion promised the valuable reward of the Gangjin Pill, didn’t you know that a corresponding danger awaited you? If it were an ordinary sixth-grade demon beast, there would have been no need to recruit outsiders.”

At Madam Feng’s logical arguments, the middle-aged scholar was speechless and shut his mouth.

Han Li sneered inwardly. Although her words seemed right on the surface, it was natural to feel uneasy. The others also didn’t look as cheerful as Han Li.

However, after a while, Madam Feng smiled again and said to everyone,

“Of course, the biggest reason why this pavilion didn’t tell you about the Infant Carp Beast is to keep it a secret. That’s why I got permission from the higher-ups in advance. If this matter is successful, we have decided to give each of you a thousand spirit stones in addition to the Gangjin Pill as a reward for keeping the secret. Are you satisfied now?”

At her words, the old man Cheongsanja’s face relaxed, and he nodded in agreement.

The middle-aged scholar still seemed dissatisfied, but after his companion whispered something in his ear, his expression changed, and he fell silent.

After that, people scattered around the uninhabited island, either practicing or resting.

Han Li and Guk Hon found a large rock near the beach and sat facing each other in a cross-legged position. Guk Hon began to concentrate under Han Li’s guidance, and Han Li also closed his eyes and slowly prepared himself.

However, after only a short while, Han Li’s eyebrows twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes, looking at the violently crashing sea.

For some reason, he suddenly felt uneasy, with a premonition that something big was about to happen. But after a long time, nothing happened, and Han Li smiled awkwardly after a moment of contemplation.

It seemed he was too nervous. No matter how good his intuition was, it was impossible not to capture a sixth-grade demon beast with two Core Formation cultivators and a powerful formation to assist them.

Judging by the situation, it was certain that it was an extraordinary demon beast, but a demon beast was still a demon beast. No matter how strong it was, it was bound to have a chance of winning against a cultivator of a similar level.

After calming himself down, Han Li tried to concentrate on his cultivation again. However, even after time passed, his mind was still disturbed, and he couldn’t find stability.

This is bad…

Han Li sighed and had no choice but to get up. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to relax unless he prepared for something.

Han Li looked around and spread his consciousness. Fortunately, there were no other cultivators nearby.

His hand quickly brushed past his storage pouch, and a dozen formation flags and half a dozen formation disks appeared. These were a set of formation tools used to create a barrier called the Azure Water Green Armor Formation.

Without delay, he called Guk Hon, and they began to place the flags and disks within a radius of several tens of feet around the rock where they had been sitting.

Looking at Guk Hon’s busy back as he set up the formation, Han Li felt much lighter. Han Li raised the corners of his mouth and muttered self-deprecatingly.

“I can’t seem to shake off the habit of struggling to survive.”

* * *

The next day, before dawn, those who had been summoned by Feng Sam-nang flew to the sea area about ten miles away from the uninhabited island.

At the same time, golden and brown lights could be seen speeding towards the uninhabited island from a thousand miles away.

And right behind them, a white wave with a diameter of about a hundred feet was chasing them at an incredible speed on the surface of the sea.

Strangely, a sound like a baby’s cry could be heard. The sound was so pitiful that it made the listeners’ hearts shudder.

“Elder Myo, use the Flying Sword Transmission. They should be ready too.”

A loud shout came from the speeding brown light.

“Let’s do it.”

Elder Myo in the center of the golden light immediately responded and then jumped into the brown light, simultaneously sending out a streak of golden light.

The white spray, watching this, seemed to be stimulated, and the crying sound became sharper and gradually grew like thunder.

“Oh no, that vicious thing is going to use the Water Gang Divine Thunder again. We need to go faster.”

Elder Myo’s anxious voice was heard from within the brown light. He seemed to be afraid of something called the Water Gang Divine Thunder.

Before Elder Myo could finish speaking, Elder Go increased his speed, widening the distance from the spray.

“Don’t worry, the speed of my Primal Chaos Bowl won’t be inferior!”

However, the white spray made an even louder baby-like cry like thunder and increased its speed. Surprisingly, the white trajectory it drew on the surface of the water was endless.

* * *

Guk Hon and the others stood at the exit of the formation they were in charge of, holding blue flags. The flags were two feet long, but they emitted a brilliant blue light that was dazzling.

The six Foundation Establishment Late-stage cultivators were all in a cautious mood, standing in the sky on their magical tools, about a hundred feet apart from each other, forming a semi-circular pouch-like shape.

Han Li stood behind Guk Hon, watching the situation, and the young woman also stood next to the middle-aged man, looking worried.

After a while, a golden light pierced through the sky and fell into Feng Sam-nang’s hand, drawing everyone’s attention. She seemed to have received some news, sent the golden light back, and shouted,

“The Infant Carp Beast is about to arrive, so be careful! Once the demon beast enters the formation, you must immediately seal the formation gate.”

Han Li was a little nervous and followed the direction of the returning golden light with his eyes. The others were also on edge and became as quiet as mice.

“Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!”

Not long after, a tremendous sound like thunder was heard, and something was felt to be approaching.

Eventually, golden and brown lights shot out as if riding lightning, and something like a white spray was chasing behind them.

Is that the Infant Carp Beast?

Han Li couldn’t see inside the huge spray, so he couldn’t imagine how fierce the demon beast hidden inside was.

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