Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 304

Han Li was dumbfounded. He had never heard of anyone being able to distinguish people by their scent. He simply considered himself unlucky, but he didn’t show any outward signs of panic. With his cultivation and the treasures he possessed, he had nothing to fear unless the strongest individuals like Manhoja or Punghee appeared. The woman had seen his abilities and had come to him alone at night to talk, so she must have some plan.

“Since you recognized me, I won’t deny it. But I don’t know whether to call you Madam Beom or Sect Leader Beom.”

“It seems you are not pleased that I became the Sect Leader of Myoeum Gate. But if I hadn’t followed the Demonic Path’s orders at the time, Myoeum Gate would have already disappeared. It would be a lie to say I had no desire for the Sect Leader position, but I hope you understand that I had no choice.”

“It doesn’t matter who the Sect Leader of Myoeum Gate is, so there’s no need to talk about that. After all, I’m just an elder in name only. However, I’m interested in what you just said, so let’s hear it.”

Madam Beom looked at Han Li, surprised, and then smiled. “Although not everyone knows Senior Han’s name, you are quite famous among the high-level cultivators. It’s astonishing that a Core Formation cultivator managed to escape with the treasure, the Heavenvoid Cauldron, from among so many Nascent Soul old monsters.”

“Nine out of ten cultivators who know about that incident are probably losing sleep thinking about killing me, and the other one out of ten is probably trying to steal the treasure. Are you thinking the same, Madam Beom?”

The woman shook her head at Han Li’s calm question. “Haha, if I had only reached the Core Formation stage, I might have thought so, but I gave up on reaching a higher realm as a cultivator a long time ago. If someone like me possessed such a treasure, it would only bring disaster.”

“Have you heard any other stories besides the one about the Heavenvoid Cauldron?” He had been avoiding high-level cultivators before, so he hadn’t had a chance to hear rumors about himself. He was trying to gather information now.

“It seems you’ve heard other rumors as well. I know about the person called the ‘Demonic Charger’ who has been killing cultivators and stealing their treasures in the Chaotic Star Sea recently, but I don’t think that person is you. You must be busy hiding after obtaining the Heavenvoid Cauldron, so why would you do something that would attract attention? However, many cultivators have been incited by the rumors, and if the demonic beast surge hadn’t happened, a Demon Extermination Society would have already been formed to specifically hunt down the Demonic Charger.”

Han Li simply nodded slightly, not confirming her words. This made Madam Beom even more nervous. Could it be that the vicious demon in the rumors was really Elder Han?

“Enough, now tell me the purpose of your visit today.”

Madam Beom hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth. Her expression was clearly troubled. “Since you put it that way, I won’t beat around the bush. I came to ask you, Senior, to eliminate that heinous thief, Uncheon So. With the abilities you showed before, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Wasn’t Uncheon So your backer?”

“That’s absurd. As you saw today, I’m just a puppet Sect Leader within Myoeum Gate. It’s only because I possess the Soul Confusion Technique [a mind-control technique] passed down in the sect and have some loyal subordinates that I’ve managed to hold onto the Sect Leader position. Otherwise, it would have been taken from me already.”

“When you took the Sect Leader position by borrowing the power of the Demonic Path, you must have expected this outcome. Anyway, it’s better to live as a puppet Sect Leader than to lose your life.”

The woman smiled bitterly. “But now, even my life is in danger. Recently, a book containing the sect’s secret techniques disappeared along with one of my close disciples. It’s most likely in Uncheon So’s hands. Once that thief’s man masters the techniques, do you think he’ll let me live? If you, Senior, take care of Uncheon So, I will give you half of Myoeum Gate’s accumulated wealth and any female disciples you desire.”

“I’m not interested in such things, so you should leave.” It was a tempting offer, but Han Li immediately refused. It wasn’t that he doubted her words. If she had intended to deceive him with various excuses and launch a surprise attack, it would have been more likely to succeed if she had pretended not to recognize him from the start. However, he didn’t want to waste time in a situation where someone could try to kill him at any moment. Even if the woman offered him the entire Myoeum Gate, it wouldn’t be more important than his own life. Madam Beom found it strange. No matter how desperately she pleaded, Han Li showed no sign of changing his mind. In the end, the woman sighed.

“If I can send you to the Inner Star Sea within a short period, would you help me?” This was her last resort. Han Li’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately asked, “If you can send me to the Inner Star Sea within ten days, I’ll consider it. But there shouldn’t be any Dream Stones [rare teleportation crystals] needed for the teleportation array. Are you lying to me?”

Madam Beom was startled by the cold question and quickly explained, “Of course not. It’s just that Uncheon So has made it seem like there’s a shortage of Dream Stones. However, when Myoeum Gate moved to the Outer Star Sea, we had some Dream Stones among the materials we prepared to install teleportation arrays connecting each branch. I’ve been hiding this because if Uncheon So found out, he might bring in the Demonic Path from the Inner Star Sea, which would further worsen my position.”

At those words, Han Li was naturally overjoyed. He quickly calmed his excitement and coldly ordered, “Show me the Dream Stones and guide me to the location where the teleportation array is installed. I need to confirm that there are enough materials and that the teleportation array is nearly complete.”

“That is…” “If it’s impossible, then I can’t help it.” Han Li’s tone made it clear that he wouldn’t compromise. Madam Beom said with a troubled expression, “The materials are prepared, so I can show them to you tomorrow. However, the location where the teleportation array is being built is far from here, and most of the disciples there are from Uncheon So’s side, so it might be difficult.”

“Since I’m going to deal with Elder Un anyway, what problem are those disciples? It’s enough to break his wings beforehand and strike his body in one blow. By the way, where is Uncheon So now?”

* * *

Two days later, a streak of blue light appeared near an uninhabited island west of Ssangbong Island. After the light disappeared, a man and a woman appeared—Han Li and Madam Beom. Looking down at the small island, Han Li lowered his head. “Is the teleportation array here?”

“Yes, there are a total of eight disciples from the main sect guarding it. Except for two of my people, they are all Foundation Establishment Demonic Path cultivators, so I can’t do anything about them.”

A fierce glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes. “I understand. Call out your people. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Yes!” A sound transmission talisman appeared between Madam Beom’s slender fingers. The talisman soon emitted a red light and disappeared into the island. The sound transmission talisman circled over a hill and then crashed into what looked like an ordinary pile of dirt. The red light immediately disappeared, as if it had passed through some kind of barrier. After a while, three people appeared from the pile of dirt. Two women and a man saw Madam Beom and Han Li floating in the air and immediately flew up to greet them. The voluptuous women bowed to Madam Beom first. “Greetings, Sect Leader!” Then, they examined Han Li and became even more respectful when they discovered that he was in the late stage of Core Formation. However, the old man standing behind them simply cupped his fist towards Madam Beom and looked at Han Li with questioning eyes. The old man was about to open his mouth to ask something, but Han Li, having already assessed the situation, didn’t give him a chance. Without saying a word, he flicked his finger and shot out a blue sword qi. “Ugh!” The old man was greatly surprised, but the sword qi was so fast that a hole was pierced through his head along with his death cry. Seeing the old man’s body falling down in an instant, the faces of the other two women turned pale. However, they confirmed that Madam Beom was calmly floating in the air without saying anything, and they wisely remained silent. Madam Beom asked the women, “Are the others all below?” “Yes! There are five remaining inside the barrier. I will guide you.” “Alright, guide Senior Ryeo. None of them should be left alive.” The two women also realized that Madam Beom was trying to confront Uncheon So with the help of an ally, and they immediately flew towards the pile of dirt. One of the women took out a red-glowing spirit tablet. “Open!” At the same time, light was emitted from the spirit tablet and poured down onto the pile of dirt. As the red ripples grew larger, a yellow stone gate, about five meters high, appeared on top of the pile of dirt. The woman with fair skin smiled at Han Li and urged him, “This is it. However, all five of them have reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, so you must be careful.” “Understood.” *Thud!* As he raised his hand expressionlessly, a pillar of blue light shot out and shattered the stone gate. Behind Han Li, who flew inside, the two women looked worried, but Madam Beom had faith in him and followed closely behind. As soon as he entered the stone gate, Han Li frowned in the limestone passage. He could sense two people approaching, probably having heard the sound of the stone gate breaking. Without even confirming their faces, Han Li opened his mouth and shot out two transparent flying swords with a blue glow. The two startled cultivators tried to block the attack by taking out red cloths and yellow shields. *Swish!* However, as the flying swords passed through, the magical artifacts lost their spiritual power and fell to the ground. Almost simultaneously, screams were heard, and the two cultivators also collapsed. Han Li passed by the corpses without pausing for a moment. The two flying swords returned to Han Li’s side and circled around him. Madam Beom and the others, who were following behind, were delighted and dealt with the remaining corpses. When the three women arrived at the vast hall, which was about a hundred meters in size, Han Li was already standing in the center with his hands behind his back. He was looking at the small teleportation array in front of him, studying it. Next to him, three corpses lay in pools of blood. Madam Beom smiled and left the corpse disposal to the other women, then hurried over. “Is this teleportation array the one you were talking about?” “Yes, as you know, it’s already about 80-90% complete. With the addition of Dream Stones and a little more work, it can be used immediately. The missing materials were checked a few days ago.” Still looking at the teleportation array, Han Li asked with a hint of doubt, “I’ve confirmed that what you said is not a lie, so I will deal with Uncheon So for you. But is this teleportation array really connected to the Imperial Bright Island in the Inner Star Sea? As far as I know, Imperial Bright Island is just an ordinary medium-sized island. How did the Demonic Path cultivators install a teleportation array there?” “Uncheon So said that there is an abandoned teleportation array from the ancient times on Imperial Bright Island. The Demonic Path cultivators discovered it and began to modify and use it. However, it is a one-way array that can only receive teleportations, not send them. So, it is not used often, but because of that teleportation array, cultivators teleported from distant places like the Outer Star Sea can arrive there. Perhaps there won’t be any major problems if you use it, Senior.” Han Li nodded. If there were no Nascent Soul old monsters guarding it, there was little to fear with his abilities.

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