Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 364

“What should we do? Another few days have passed, and we haven’t found a trace. If we can’t find it within three months, the sect will dispatch the Law Enforcement Division,” a fierce-looking man anxiously said, sharing his worries with the others.

“Hmph! The Ancestor’s demand to recover the Nascent Soul [a powerful stage of cultivation] within three months was just said in anger. Everyone knows that once the Wood Spirit Infant escapes, a few Foundation Establishment [a lower stage of cultivation] cultivators like us can’t possibly subdue it. Still, we’ll be in deep trouble if we can’t even find a single clue,” a gloomy middle-aged scholar said darkly. A terrified voice from an ordinary-looking woman in green robes followed.

“This isn’t our fault! It’s because that Martial Uncle [a term for a senior disciple], who was supposed to guard the Wood Spirit Infant, tried to merge with it after ditching us and got devoured instead! By the time we arrived, it had already disappeared. Even though we have a magic tool that can track it, how can we chase it when it runs away so fast? Besides, after escaping, its aura can’t be detected at all.”

The scholar scoffed. “Junior Sister, save those words for when the Law Enforcement Division arrives. Still, Martial Uncles Han and Ryu are coming to support us. Given their wood-attribute spiritual roots and cultivation, they might be able to restrain it again. What I’m curious about is how someone is controlling such a ferocious thing like the Wood Spirit Infant without a counteracting magic tool. It’s truly baffling.”

The silent old man among the group coldly rebuked, “Enough! No matter how that person took the infant, we must find him to survive. Haven’t you heard that Ancestor Guang is personally moving?”

“Senior Brother is right. We need to survive first. It’s a pity the teleportation array is malfunctioning, so the two Martial Uncles have to fly here for two days. They might arrive in a day or two, but the person who took the infant might leave the Yuanwu Kingdom by then. We don’t even know which country that cultivator is from,” the fierce-looking giant said, furrowing his brow. The old man replied gloomily,

“Hehe! It seems the junior brothers don’t know. Martial Uncles Han and Ryu were chosen to merge with the Wood Spirit Infant long ago. They received the secret technique years ago, so no matter how far away they are, they can sense the infant’s aura. No matter how far the cultivator runs, he won’t escape them.”

The other three cultivators’ expressions improved, but soon the scholar’s eyes lit up with a question. “But, what if the person controlling the Wood Spirit Infant is the cultivator who annihilated the Bu family? The Bu family was annihilated just a few days after the infant disappeared. It’s hard to see that as a coincidence. Our plan to borrow the Bu family’s power has also gone down the drain. Could someone have found out about our secret alliance with the Bu family and deliberately caused this?”

The female cultivator shook her head and analyzed, “No matter how skilled the opponent is, it’s an overreach to assume they knew about our Spirit Control Sect’s relationship with the Bu family and did this. It’s most likely a coincidence. However, it doesn’t make sense for two Nascent Soul old monsters to appear in the same place at the same time, so it’s highly likely it’s the work of the same cultivator.”

“Oh, the work of the same cultivator. Would you tell us why you think so?” a soft female voice echoed languidly. Soon after, two women in white robes with beautiful figures appeared from behind the large tree where the Foundation Establishment cultivators were talking, with a white light shimmering around them.

“Martial Uncle Ryu! Martial Uncle Han!” The four green-robed cultivators bowed hastily.

“Enough, get up. Tell me in detail what you were just talking about,” the woman with large eyes and a pale complexion spoke softly, her voice seductive. She was none other than Han Yunzhi, who had a slight connection with Han Li in the past! Although her face was the same, her body had become incomparably lithe, and she had grown into a beauty with a bewitching charm. Her cultivation had also increased explosively, and she was already in the early Core Formation stage [a mid-level stage of cultivation].

The old man carefully opened his mouth, representing his junior brothers. “Yes, we obey your orders, Martial Aunt.”

She smiled and found a clean spot to sit cross-legged. Another woman with willow-leaf eyebrows and slender eyes smiled and said, “You have committed a great sin against the sect. If you can’t find the Wood Spirit Infant, even your masters won’t be able to save you.”

She was the Spirit Control Sect disciple who had asked them a languid question before appearing. The old man gave a wry smile and answered sincerely, “Martial Aunt, we are well aware that we cannot escape responsibility for this matter. But we are truly wronged. Please speak well of us to the Ancestor and the two Martial Uncles.”

“Oh? Let’s hear what happened first. Anyway, the person who took the infant is already ten thousand miles away, so we can’t catch up right away. There’s no need to rush,” the woman leaned back languidly and moved her red lips. The old man respectfully began to recount the events of that day. “Yes, I will start from when Martial Uncle and we were ordered to take the Wood Spirit Infant and passed through Kunmu Mountain. At that time, Martial Uncle deceived us…”

While Han Yunzhi listened quietly without revealing any emotion, the other Core Formation female cultivator, Ryu Ok, was constantly blinking her eyes, showing interest in the old man’s words.

* * *

Two days later, Han Li appeared at the border between the Yuanwu Kingdom and the Yue Kingdom, flashing a blue light before disappearing. According to the information he had gathered, the Yue Kingdom was now completely under the control of the Ghost Spirit Sect. The main branch of the Ghost Spirit Sect was located where the Yan Yue Sect’s sect was in the past, and a branch was also located in the Taiyue Mountain Range where the Yellow Maple Valley, where he used to be, was located.

As soon as Han Li entered the Yue Kingdom, he immediately headed towards the Taiyue Mountain Range and sped away.

* * *

“Everything is the same!” Han Li stood on top of a huge pile of rocks, his eyes showing a desolate look. At that time, he had destroyed the mountain itself and left, fearing that his cave dwelling would be discovered by the Demonic Path. Now, after a long time, the place had become a complete wasteland. No one would imagine that a cultivator had built a dwelling under such a huge pile of rocks.

He moved his lips and raised one arm, and light flickered as huge monkey puppets appeared. The giant monkeys moved quickly and began to clear the scattered piles of rocks. It wasn’t really clearing, but rather the puppets were constantly firing various colored light pillars from their ten fingers, which was closer to breaking the huge rocks into small pieces. After a while, a straight passage was opened.

Han Li had the puppets guard the entrance and directly transformed into a streak of blue light and jumped inside. The scene was exactly the same as when he had left in a hurry, and he could tell that no one had found this place. The reason he had come all the way here was not to reminisce about the past, but because of the Spirit Eye Spring. Although he had the Spirit Eye Jade, which was transformed from the Spirit Eye Stone, and the Spirit Eye Water, which was called the best of the Spirit Eye items, the more spiritual objects that emitted spiritual power, the better. The Spirit Eye Spring here was small in scale, but he was thinking of taking it with him since he had come all the way to the Yue Kingdom. Inside the secret room, the well-preserved Spirit Eye Spring was emitting white spiritual energy.

With a complex feeling, Han Li looked down at it, and the memories of the old days when he had just succeeded in Foundation Establishment and made a dwelling here and discovered the Spirit Eye Spring flashed through his mind. It was a memory that felt even more special because it was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday. After watching for a long time, Han Li took a breath and formed a hand seal with both hands, and several magic seals flew out and struck the Spirit Eye Spring. Then, light burst out from the spring, and the surrounding ground shook slightly.

Han Li sat cross-legged without any change in expression and chanted a spell while forming strange hand seals. Soon, an incredible sight unfolded. The spring water bubbled and boiled, then swirled and rose upwards as if an invisible hand was stirring the water. Then, a stream of hazy spiritual energy escaped the whirlpool of spring water and shot out, piercing through the ceiling of the stone chamber and disappearing somewhere. Han Li’s expression also changed subtly as he watched this. The situation where spiritual energy was leaking out was beyond his expectations. But after a moment of hesitation, his face turned cold again, and he increased the speed of his spell.

Now, the ground was shaking more and more violently, and a blinding yellow light was emitted around the Spirit Eye Spring. As the yellow light contracted, the Spirit Eye also became smaller. After a while, he took a low breath, and all the light disappeared in an instant, and a fist-sized yellow bead was floating in the air. And where the Spirit Eye Spring had been, only a huge pit remained. Han Li smiled faintly, then his expression suddenly darkened. The puppets he had placed outside the entrance were under attack. They weren’t broken yet, but they were clearly being pushed back. If he delayed any longer, they wouldn’t be able to hold out.

Without much hesitation, Han Li took out a jade box, carefully placed the yellow bead inside, and transformed into a streak of blue light and flew towards the entrance. As a result, he saw several cultivators in black robes fiercely attacking the giant monkey puppets. And about twenty or thirty feet away from them, a gloomy-looking man who appeared to be about thirty years old was watching the situation with suspicious eyes. When the cultivators who were attacking saw Han Li transform into a streak of blue light and come out, they were startled, and when the gloomy-looking man shouted, ‘Stop!’ they immediately retreated.

The streak of blue light stopped in mid-air, and Han Li revealed his figure. He stood silently with an emotionless face, but his imposing aura revealed that he was a Nascent Soul cultivator. “Senior, please don’t misunderstand, we didn’t attack with malicious intent! It seems that my disciples were drawn by the strange spiritual energy out of curiosity. I am Wu Hong of the Ghost Spirit Sect, a disciple of True Person Suihun of the Ghost Spirit Sect. I absolutely do not have any hostility towards you, Senior,” Wu Hong’s heart sank when he saw Han Li, but he put on the brightest smile he could muster.

“True Person Suihun!” Han Li’s brow furrowed. It sounded familiar, and after a moment of searching his memory, he seemed to know who it was. He was one of the Nascent Soul old monsters of the Ghost Spirit Sect. He was known for being cruel and ruthless, and he was known to favor his own people and hold grudges. Even the white-haired old man of the Fallen Cloud Sect had mentioned him and told him to be careful. Seeing Han Li’s thoughtful face, Wu Hong was convinced that he knew his master and felt a little relieved. But the situation was still uneasy, so he forced a smile.

“To think you know my master, could you be a friend of his! We have been very rude. If we had known you were here, we would never have made such a mistake. If there is anything we can do to help you, please tell us, or we will leave first so that you can do your work freely.” Wu Hong’s impression was fierce, but his tongue moved smoothly, and he was very good at saying words that probed the other party’s intentions. Facing an unidentified Nascent Soul cultivator alone was enough to make even the most courageous cultivator’s spine tingle and sweat profusely.

Han Li stared at the man expressionlessly. Instead of answering, he spread his consciousness to search for the aura of other cultivators within a radius of a hundred miles and found that there was really no one else. If it was as he said, that they had come because they had accidentally sensed a strange aura… Han Li felt a murderous intent. Whether he was a former Yellow Maple Valley cultivator or a current Fallen Cloud Sect elder, there was no reason to let the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators live. He hadn’t even repaid the Ghost Spirit Sect’s young master for trying to kill him in the past, had he? Moreover, if the news that there was an unidentified Nascent Soul cultivator lurking in the Yue Kingdom was known, it would be difficult for him to move around later. He had no desire to be chased to death by fellow Nascent Soul cultivators.

“Huh! That person is…” Just as Han Li was about to strike, one of the black-robed cultivators recognized his face and turned pale.

# 366