Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 425

While each person examined the jade slip, Han Li observed the Taoist and the old man in green robes.

The Taoist, known as Zhiyang Shangren of the Zhengdao Taiqing Sect, was a middle-aged man with porcelain-like skin and a pleasant demeanor that inspired goodwill.

However, the old man in green robes appeared utterly ordinary. There was nothing remarkable about his attire or appearance, except for his unusually long fingernails. The black nails gleamed sharply, giving them a dangerous look.

He was likely Wei Wuya, the Great Elder of the Nine Nations Alliance.

Wei Wuya sensed Han Li’s gaze and looked back at him over his shoulder, smiling with a hint of surprise. Han Li felt slightly awkward but returned the smile nonetheless.

‘I wonder if he would still smile like that if he knew about my relationship with Nangong Wan.’

Just as Han Li finished his thought, Long Han finished examining the jade slip, his face troubled, and passed it to Han Li.

Seeing the expressions of those before him, Han Li became curious and infused the jade slip with his spiritual sense. After a moment, he too frowned and silently passed the jade slip to the cultivator next to him.

Soon, the jade slip had made its rounds, and the overall atmosphere had become somber. A few even snorted in disdain.

“Now that everyone has seen it, please share your opinions,” Zhiyang Shangren of the Taiqing Sect asked, addressing everyone.

“Aren’t they being presumptuous? They want us to hand over half of the entire Southern Sky Region. They must be very confident they can defeat us?” A cultivator in golden robes spoke coldly.

“Indeed. Asking for half is ridiculous! Do they think we don’t know the Mo people have nowhere else to go? If we drag out the war, it’s obvious who will slowly wither away!”

A plump old man muttered slyly.

“Elder Luo, why do you speak like that? If the war drags on, the Heavenly Huan Sect, being located deep within, might not suffer, but sects like ours could have their foundations shaken!”

“I’m speaking for everyone’s benefit. Sects can always be rebuilt!” The plump old man retorted, seemingly unafraid of the black-clad giant.

“Hah! Easy to say. If the Demonic Path abandons the border states, do you think they’ll help us stop the Mo army? We could move our entire sect to the Heavenly Luo Kingdom right now and retreat without a single casualty.”

“You people…”

“Enough! Whether we engage in a long war or not has already been decided. We’re gathered here to discuss how to stop the Mo mage army, not to create discord.”

The black-clad giant, who had been listening, frowned and rebuked them. At the words of the Joyful Union Old Devil, the three cultivators reluctantly fell silent.

“There’s no need for the three of you to argue. Given the overwhelming momentum of this mage army, it’s been concluded that a long war is unlikely. If we can’t unite most of the forces in the Southern Sky, it will be impossible to stop their advance. If we try to resist with the strength of a single sect or nation, we’ll be defeated one after another, and the damage will eventually spread throughout the Southern Sky. Therefore, this battle is inevitable, and we must utterly defeat the Mo people.”

Zhiyang Shangren explained with a serious expression. The murmuring in the hall subsided again.

“I don’t know what the Mo people are up to, but isn’t it just a matter of fighting them? It’s well known that the Mo grasslands lack resources,” a cultivator from the Spirit Beast Sect suddenly spoke up.

“It’s true that the Mo grasslands lack resources. The resources needed for daily cultivation, like spirit stone mines, are significantly less than the number of mages. However, it’s different when it comes to rare materials. Some are more abundant there than in our Southern Sky.”

A cultivator who seemed quite knowledgeable about the Mo people replied.

“I see. But how can they be so confident they’ll win? They’re allowing anyone except late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators to participate, and they want to settle it in ten matches. Moreover, it’s a life-or-death gamble! Do they think all the cultivators in the Southern Sky are fools?”

The Dongmen Dao cultivator’s face darkened. There must be an ulterior motive behind their proposal.

Han Li also found the proposal unsettling.

The matches would take place between the two camps, preventing ambushes. The participating cultivators would each carry the materials at stake, and the winner would claim the loser’s materials.

The troubling aspect was that the ten matches had to occur simultaneously, and the losers could not flee. Thus, defeat meant death.

“I don’t know what the Mo people are thinking, but it’s also a golden opportunity for us. If we can reduce the number of high-level mages during the matches, the benefits will be considerable.”

“Hah! The Mo people are thinking the same thing, isn’t that the problem?” Another cultivator scoffed at the hesitant suggestion.

“Is there any need to worry? The Mo people proposed a wager match, so we can simply refuse. Then, in seven days, we can proceed with our planned war. Whatever their scheme is, it will be in vain.”

This was the opinion of Elder Huang of the Yihang Chamber of Commerce.

“Unfortunately, Elder Huang’s words make sense, but we must participate in this wager and win,” Zhiyang Shangren said with a sigh, as if there was no other choice.

“What do you mean? Are you saying we should let the Mo people drag us around like this?” Elder Huang frowned. Everyone else nodded, agreeing with the elder’s point.

“We know things are not simple, but the Mo people have captured many cultivators during their advance. The Nine Nations Alliance cultivators are the most numerous, but many disciples from various sects have also been taken. According to the envoys, there are at least a thousand hostages.”

Zhiyang Shangren revealed the truth with a somber face.

“Really? Does that mean if we don’t accept this match, they’ll kill all the hostages? Aren’t the Mo people afraid we’ll retaliate in other ways!” Elder Huang raised his voice.

“They didn’t directly say they would kill the hostages, but they emphasized that this is the last chance to save the cultivators. Each of the ten matches involves not only a large amount of materials but also the return of about a hundred hostages. If we win, they will be released immediately.”

This time, the cultivators did not immediately offer their opinions and instead exchanged glances.

Most of the captured hostages were low-level cultivators and not particularly important forces. However, the high-level cultivators gathered here were representatives of their respective sects and families.

If they did not save them and allowed them all to die, morale would plummet before the war even began. In particular, the low-level disciples might be so shocked that they would not fight with all their strength and might even flee.

“I thought they were just barbarians from the grasslands, but they can devise such schemes. It’s different from the previous invasions. Even knowing they have an ulterior motive, we have no choice but to go along with it,” Long Han lamented. The others were also surprised by the Mo people’s cunning.

“I believe everyone understands that we have no choice but to accept this match. No matter what scheme they have, we must defeat their mages.

Based on the format of the matches they proposed, it will be difficult to launch ambushes during the battles, but if we sense anything suspicious, we will immediately stop it. And since this match is a matter of life and death, we will not force anyone to participate.”

Zhiyang Shangren scanned the cultivators in the hall. The cultivators scoffed inwardly.

Not force them? Then who would willingly participate in the match? This match was proposed by the mages, which made it unsettling, and even if it wasn’t, defeat meant death. Having spent hundreds of years in arduous cultivation to reach their current level, how could they easily risk their lives?

Han Li had no intention of stepping forward. It was true that he had agreed to help in this war, but only when his life was not in danger. He had almost died in the battle at Yellow Dragon Mountain, and he had no desire to repeat that experience.

Seeing the expressions of the cultivators in the hall, the Joyful Union Old Devil frowned and sneered. His eerie laughter made some people’s faces change, but still, no one volunteered.

Zhiyang Shangren shook his head, and Wei Wuya simply closed his eyes and did not say a word. In the awkward atmosphere, Zhiyang Shangren spoke again.

“After discussing it beforehand, the three of us have concluded that this match is very dangerous, so we will compensate the winners by allowing them to keep the spoils of war. I’ve heard that some of you have been struggling to find rare materials. Among our three collections, there are materials that should satisfy you.”

Zhiyang Shangren made eye contact with several people as he spoke, including Han Li. Han Li noticed this and was puzzled.

Although the conditions were tempting, most remained silent. Suddenly, Wei Wuya, who had been silent all along, raised his head and moved his lips, sending a voice transmission to the Soul-Locking True Immortal sitting next to him.

Then, the Soul-Locking True Immortal, who had been keeping his head down, brightened and began to move his lips. Unexpectedly, he seemed to be discussing something with Wei Wuya.

After a moment, the Soul-Locking True Immortal hesitated and fell into thought. At the same time, the black-clad giant also sent a voice transmission to the Joyful Union Old Devil.

The Joyful Union Old Devil, who had been sitting with an indifferent expression, raised his eyebrows and darkened his face after hearing the voice transmission from his sect’s Great Elder.

“Very well. If you keep your promise, this True Immortal will take the risk,” the Soul-Locking True Immortal replied after finishing his deliberation. Amidst the surprise of the others, the Cloud Road Old Devil also spoke up.

“Since Fellow Soul-Locking is participating, I might as well go as well. Wouldn’t it be a waste to let all those materials go?”

The other cultivators exchanged glances, feeling uneasy.

Then, the three great cultivators spoke to the cultivators one by one through voice transmissions. Most of the cultivators responded with either joy or concern, agreeing to participate in the match. Only two coldly shook their heads and refused outright.

Han Li watched this and wondered what was going on when Zhiyang Shangren’s voice echoed in his ears.

“Fellow Han, I’ve heard rumors that you’ve been searching for large quantities of refined essence. Is that true?”

It was a proposal he had vaguely anticipated, but his heart still raced. He had openly asked the Heavenly Dao Alliance to search for refined essence, so it was not strange that Zhiyang Shangren knew about it.

“I need it to refine a magic treasure. By any chance, do you have a large quantity of refined essence in your possession, Fellow Zhiyang?”

“Hehehe! That’s right. Fellow Wei and I each have several large pieces of refined essence. It should be enough for a cultivator like you. Are you interested?”

“I will decide whether to participate in the match after seeing the refined essence first.”

Zhiyang Shangren smiled and immediately agreed.

In a short time, five cultivators had declared their participation, and several others, like Han Li, were considering it. This alone greatly satisfied the three great cultivators, including Zhiyang Shangren.

Soon, they stopped exchanging voice transmissions and began discussing how to respond to the mage army.

Even as they discussed the mage army’s strength and formation, Han Li was preoccupied with the thought of the refined essence.

In fact, Han Li was not satisfied with the power of his current natal magic treasure, the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.

It wasn’t that his flying swords were weaker than other cultivators’ natal magic treasures. However, most of the enemies he had faced were either significantly weaker than him or incredibly powerful. Against the weak, he didn’t even need to use his flying swords, as the Azure Essence Sword Qi was sufficient. Against the strong, the flying swords were useless.

However, after seeing the final ability of the Azure Essence Sword Art, the Great Azure Sword Formation, described in the scroll, he realized how powerful the combination of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords and the Azure Essence Sword Art could be.

If he could deploy the Great Azure Sword Formation, he could even contend with a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, in the case of the Void Sky Cauldron, although Yin Yue had praised it as a great treasure, there was no way to verify it, so he still had some doubts.

In his current state, the Great Azure Sword Formation was the most powerful ability he could obtain through effort. But it was impossible without refined essence.

If he had enough refined essence to refine the Great Azure Sword Formation, then considering it wouldn’t be a bad choice.

As long as it wasn’t the Mo Divine Envoy, he had nothing to fear. Even if there was some conspiracy during the match, the barriers that merely blocked the match space would be no obstacle to him with the Wind Lightning Wings and the Purple Aurora Flame.

Having roughly made up his mind, he refocused on the meeting.