Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 409

Following this, the haggard giant arranged a place for the injured Bok Woon-hak to rest. Under the command of Lee Young-ah and other Core Formation cultivators, they redeployed the cultivators from the Heavenly Peak Valley to strengthen the barrier defenses.

Han Li was inwardly satisfied with their calm and meticulous handling of matters. It seemed the Rescue Alliance hadn’t just randomly chosen anyone to be in charge of the base’s defense.

Thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump!

At that moment, the sound of drums signaling battle began to resound loudly from outside the main hall. The sound grew louder and louder, eventually becoming like thunder.

The expressions of the cultivators inside the main hall darkened.

“It seems the Moran people have already arrived. How hasty!” Old Man Ma’s face was grim as he immediately revealed his killing intent.

“Well, that’s fine. Let’s first observe how the enemy will approach. Now, I’d like to ask a favor of all three of you. You two, come with us as well. Since you’ve already engaged them, tell us in advance if there’s anything we should prepare for.”

The haggard giant first clasped his hands at Han Li and the cultivators who had come to assist, then turned his head and gave instructions to the two Core Formation cultivators who had retreated with Bok Woon-hak.

The cultivator with large eyes and thick eyebrows turned ashen, and the cultivator with thin eyebrows and a long face also looked grim, but they had no choice but to clasp their hands and comply with Commander Ryuk’s orders.

* * *

To the south of Yellow Dragon Mountain, the Moran Dharma Masters, who had gathered in a dark mass, floated up on various magical artifacts, watching the blue-green mist that stretched for tens of miles.

At the forefront of the Dharma Master army stood about a dozen cultivators, the high-level cultivators of the Moran people.

Among them, three Dharma Masters stood out the most. One was wrapped in a red protective barrier and had a thick serpent coiled around his body, with a ferocious face that left a strong impression. Another was so thin and tall that he looked like a standing bamboo. He seemed precarious, as if he might be blown away by the wind.

The last one was covered in black clothes, not revealing any skin, and emitted a faint black demonic aura, accompanied by faint ghostly wails that made one’s legs tremble just by looking at him.

In fact, many other Dharma Masters had gathered around the two Dharma Masters, but the black-clad Dharma Master was alone, as if he were not part of the group.

The other two high-level Dharma Masters discussed something in low voices.

After a while, the two Dharma Masters seemed to have finished their discussion, and the tall Dharma Master flicked his body, wrapped in a blue light, and approached the black-clad man.

“Master Cheon-gok, shouldn’t we start now? This barrier seems stronger than the last one, and the number of Nascent Soul cultivators gathered is not small. It will take quite some time.”

The Nascent Soul Dharma Master spoke with a smile, his manner extremely respectful.

“There’s no need for us to strike first; they’ve come out first. Let’s first assess the skills of the cultivators here and then talk.”

The black-clad man shook his head, his voice rough and dull as if his throat was hoarse. At his words, the bamboo-like, emaciated cultivator was startled and quickly turned to look at the mist.

Indeed, one part of the mist was shaking, creating a passage.

Seven streaks of light emerged from within, revealing Han Li and his group.

Following the haggard giant’s advice, they did not bring any low-level cultivators this time. Apart from the two Core Formation cultivators from the Heavenly Peak Valley, only Chung Woon-ja was a Core Formation cultivator.

Han Li looked at the dark mass of Dharma Masters and first turned his gaze to the dozen or so high-level Dharma Masters at the front. Among them, the black-clad man emitting a sinister demonic aura caught his eye.

As soon as he saw him, the image of the dead Hyun-gol Merchant in his hands came to mind.

‘Is that person also a Ghost Cultivator?’ Han Li, inwardly startled, raised his guard against the black-clad man.

Even after Hyun-gol Merchant had taken over Gok-hon’s body, such a sinister aura had been prevalent, and a ghostly energy flowed throughout his body. But there was also a different feeling, though it was hard to pinpoint what was different.

At the appearance of Han Li and the other cultivators, the Dharma Masters also stirred, and the cultivator with the bizarre serpent coiled around his body suddenly transformed into a huge fireball and threw himself forward.

However, not a single one of the cultivators showed any signs of panic, and the haggard cultivator and several other Nascent Soul cultivators coldly watched them.

Under the cultivators’ gaze, the huge fireball stopped about fifty or sixty feet away from them and blazed fiercely. The heat from the fireball could be felt even from afar, causing the cultivators to narrow their brows.

“I am Gul-yo, the Great High Master of the Fire Worship Department. Now that everyone has come out, let’s test our skills. How shall we compete? Would a one-on-one duel be better, or a free-for-all regardless of numbers?” The figure in the flames flickered and boomed with a voice as loud as thunder.

“One-on-one! Let’s leave life and death to fate,” the haggard giant glared and coldly shouted at the figure in the flames.

“Hahaha! That’s what this High Master wants as well. I’ll go first, so you should send someone out too!” The Dharma Master in the flames laughed wildly and boldly issued his challenge. Then, Old Man Ma’s face hardened first, and he transformed into a white streak of light and flew out.

The haggard giant hesitated for a moment whether to stop him, but he simply allowed Old Man Ma to have the first duel.

He also wasn’t sure who was better among the other cultivators, except for Han Li, who had just reached the Nascent Soul stage.

When Gul-yo in the flames saw the white streak of light, he retreated, and soon the two were positioned between the mist and the Dharma Master army. This was to prevent either side from suddenly ambushing the other.

“How is the skill of that Moran High Master? Is there anything we should be particularly careful about?” Commander Ryuk turned his head and asked the long-faced Core Formation cultivator next to him.

“His fire-attribute techniques are extremely powerful, and the movements of the fire serpent coiled around his body are particularly agile, making it difficult to block. One Core Formation cultivator who was guarding the Heavenly Peak Valley with us was wrapped by the serpent and turned to ashes, losing his life.”

“Oh! I see. Brother Gok! If my memory serves me right, the Righteous Qi Cultivation Method of the Howling Crane Pavilion is strong against both fire and water and is the nemesis of evil techniques and ghostly energy, isn’t it? Then, wouldn’t it be more likely to gain an advantage in a fight against a Dharma Master?” The haggard giant asked positively, though he wasn’t entirely sure himself.

“It’s hard to say. If it were a normal fire-attribute technique, there would be no problem, but judging by the opponent’s aura, I’m worried that he has already reached a considerable level. I don’t know if we can gain an advantage even with the Righteous Qi Cultivation Method… Still, he would be the most suitable opponent among us. Even if we can’t win, we’ll be less affected by the opponent’s flames, won’t we?” Gok Ssang-po also couldn’t give a definite answer.

The haggard giant was slightly relieved by Gok Ssang-po’s answer, but Han Li’s eyes were shining instead.

A blue light flickered around his eyes, and a strange expression flashed across his face in an instant.

At that moment, Old Man Ma in the sky formed hand seals with both hands, and a soft light burst from his body. At the same time, a peach-sized silver light shot out from his mouth and transformed into a silver-white wooden board.

The trembling of the silver-white wooden board was like the cry of a phoenix from the Nine Heavens.

Unlike when Gul-yo was laughing madly, he did not do anything and watched it with his hands behind his back. However, a sneer was on his face hidden in the flames.

Old Man Ma’s anger surged when he saw that, and he began to move.

But then, a very small voice was transmitted to his ear. It was a very small sound, but the content was clear and distinct.

Old Man Ma was surprised and turned his gaze to a few people below, then his gaze stopped at Han Li. Han Li was smiling calmly at him.

Old Man Ma initially showed a look of suspicion, but when he saw the serpent coiled around Gul-yo’s body, his expression gradually became serious.

“The serpent coiled around his body is no ordinary demonic beast!” Old Man Ma shouted with a dark face.

“Oh? You have some discerning eyes. How could this be an ordinary demonic beast? It is formed by the condensation of the fire-attribute spiritual energy between heaven and earth.” Then, when Gul-yo shook his body, light burst from the red serpent’s body and soared into the sky. Horns sprouted from the red serpent’s head, and claws grew, transforming it into a fire-attribute dragon with shimmering red scales.

“A transformation of fire-attribute spiritual energy!” The haggard giant exclaimed in surprise, and Gok Ssang-po’s face also contorted.

Old Man Ma’s heart also grew heavy. The opponent’s fire-attribute technique was so advanced that he had surprisingly reached the stage of refining fire-attribute spiritual energy. This level was by no means the level of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

He had originally predicted a 70% chance of winning against the opponent, but now that was meaningless. The old man sighed deeply and waved his sleeve, and something colorful quickly popped out and flew in front of him.

At the same time, the cultivators below, as well as the Dharma Masters in the distance, showed curiosity and looked at it.

It was a long, thin, rolled-up yellow scroll, several feet long.

The scroll was placed in front of Gul-yo, and as Old Man Ma chanted solemn incantations, it slowly unfolded. Inside the unfolded scroll was a very ordinary-looking Bagua diagram [a traditional Chinese cosmological diagram].

Just as everyone was puzzled, Old Man Ma sent a simple magic seal, and a colorful light flooded from the scroll, and an incredibly huge wave of spiritual energy began to spread.

Sensing the danger, Gul-yo could no longer afford to be relaxed and stretched his finger towards the old man.

At the same time, the fire-attribute dragon that had been floating in the air opened its mouth, and a crimson flame erupted, pushing Old Man Ma and the scroll into a sea of fire.

The haggard cultivator and others watching from below were not too worried. If Old Man Ma had taken out a treasure after recognizing the dragon’s true nature, they didn’t think he would be defeated so easily.

Indeed, as Old Man Ma formed hand seals in the sea of fire, light flashed from the scroll, and a gale blew. A hazy pillar of wind rose from the Bagua diagram, sweeping across a dozen feet in all directions.

The surrounding flames were swept into the pillar of wind, losing their momentum and about half of them were extinguished.

“Hap!” With the old man’s roar, a silver streak of light shot out from the pillar of wind and rushed straight at Gul-yo, not caring about the fire-attribute dragon.

Gul-yo’s expressionless face twitched, and he raised one hand. A red flying blade extended from his palm and stretched out to block the silver streak of light.

The red blade, shining like a ruby, was dazzling, and it clashed fiercely with the silver streak of light in the air.

The red and silver lights mixed, and the outcome was not immediately clear.

Gul-yo’s eyes turned cold, and he flipped his palm over, taking out two one-inch-long red flags.

Swish!

The small flags cut through the wind and instantly grew to a length of one foot, and pillars of fire soared out and converged on the dragon’s head.

“Go.” As Gul-yo finished his incantation, he released a red aura from his mouth, and the dragon trembled and hid within the aura. From below, it looked like a red mist was shaking.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, and if you looked closely, you could see a blue light flickering only in his pupils.

Using the power of the Bright Sight Spirit Eyes, he saw that the dragon was frantically devouring the red aura within the red cloud. In the blink of an eye, the dragon, having swallowed the red cloud, had grown to a size of over ten feet, almost as big as a house.

At this time, the hazy whirlwind and the sea of fire in various places disappeared at the same time, and Old Man Ma appeared.

Old Man Ma, holding the Bagua diagram in his hand, looked at the enlarged dragon and threw the scroll into the air.

Then, the scroll soared straight into the sky, piercing through the clouds and disappearing. Gul-yo momentarily followed the scroll with a surprised gaze.

The moment he chased the scroll, a colorful light poured down, and an incomparably huge Bagua diagram appeared, covering tens of feet in all directions as it fell.