Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 454

Countless cultivators lost their lives the moment they entered Chuma Valley. Some, even at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, died after accidentally touching a spatial rift.

Han Li was unaware of this situation, but he was extremely cautious as he traversed this most dangerous place in Tiannan. And he was currently delighted by a tremendous discovery.

Floating in the air with his hands behind his back, he gazed forward with his bright, navy-blue eyes. There was nothing in front of him, and even his spiritual sense yielded the same result.

However, when he activated his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to their fullest extent, he could see a faint, arc-shaped line, about the size of a fist, flickering a dozen or so feet away.

Han Li took a deep breath and withdrew the navy-blue light from his eyes. Now, he could use his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to find hidden spatial rifts that even his spiritual sense couldn’t detect.

It was worth washing his eyes with a large amount of Brightsight Spirit Water to create the Brightsight Spirit Eyes. This meant that the most dangerous problem in Chuma Valley, the spatial rifts, was solved.

However, the problem was that he could barely find them even when using his Brightsight Spirit Eyes at full power, and that Nam Long-hu and the others would notice that his eyes were strange.

Han Li was silent for a moment before finally reaching for the storage pouch and finding a blue bamboo hat. It was a top-grade magic tool that had no other ability than to hide his face.

If he poured enough spiritual power into it, cultivators of the same level, except for Zhong Shi-mun and Wi Mu-ae, would not be able to see his face clearly.

Han Li, wearing the bamboo hat, changed direction again and moved forward, making a wide detour around the hidden spatial rift.

* * *

A woman was flying low through a dense jungle where giant trees grew high into the sky. Her face was ordinary, but her bright eyes were very attractive.

She flew around for a while before stopping.

“Is it not here, or somewhere else? But first, I was told to find the mark left by the Guiling Sect elder. What does that mean? Is there another goal inside Chuma Valley?”

The woman looked up at the yellowish sky and muttered to herself. Then, she suddenly hid her aura, disappeared, and remained motionless under a large tree.

Three streaks of light of different colors were slowly passing by. The three old men sensed something as they passed through the jungle and looked down.

“What is it, Brother Jeong?”

“It’s nothing much, but there’s a Core Formation female cultivator hiding down there.”

“Oh, she’s hiding so carefully. Could there be a treasure nearby?”

The silver-haired old man’s words piqued the interest of the purple-robed old man.

“Brother Lim, there are no traces of restrictions in that thicket. It’s not unusual for a Core Formation cultivator to hide when they see us, is it? We have treasures to find, so let’s not waste time.”

“Brother Gu is right. We don’t have time, so let’s hurry.”

They nodded at the blue-faced old man’s logical words and passed through the jungle.

The woman cautiously reappeared only after they had completely disappeared.

“That silver-haired old man is an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect. It’s a relief that they just passed by.”

She was none other than Zi Ling, who had hidden her true form.

Han Li had told her that he had a clue about the Spirit Nectar Fruit, so he asked her to look for it first, and they would meet again in a few days to move together.

She had readily agreed that day, but Zi Ling had been bothered by Han Li’s condition ever since. In the end, she couldn’t find the mark and, after hesitating for a moment, slowly flew in the direction the old men had disappeared.

* * *

In another lush thicket of Chuma Valley, six Guiling Sect disciples in black robes were searching for something.

And above the thicket, a pale-faced old man was standing expressionlessly, looking down at them. Wang Seon and Yeon Yeo-eon were among them, but the Guiling Sect’s sect leader, Wang Cheon-seong, and others were nowhere to be seen.

Then, suddenly, someone shouted.

“I found it! It’s here!”

The old man immediately descended towards the spot, emitting black light.

“Where is it?”

“Elder Jong, it’s here.”

A Guiling Sect disciple in black robes pointed to a giant tree and respectfully stepped aside. The old man silently examined the tree.

The tree’s shape was very peculiar, with its roots split and a huge branch growing out on both sides in the middle of the tree, making it look like a giant standing from afar.

“Well done. If it is indeed this tree, I will greatly reward you when we return to the sect.”

At his words, the disciples expressed their gratitude with joy.

The old man carefully raised his hand and grabbed the air. Black yin energy slowly flew from the tree trunk into the old man’s hand.

“This is it! Call everyone here.”

Elder Jong finally smiled faintly.

* * *

As time passed, the cultivators scattered throughout Chuma Valley. Some left to find specific treasures, while others randomly searched here and there for treasures.

However, the outskirts of Chuma Valley were not overflowing with treasures as rumored, which disappointed most of them. So, some high-level cultivators went deeper inside.

Han Li had a set goal and an appointment, so he flew along the safest path, avoiding any restrictions he found.

In this way, he flew very slowly and was finally getting closer to the location he had agreed upon with Nam Long-hu.

* * *

On a small mountain in the west of Chuma Valley, two cultivators were waiting for someone. One was Ro Wi-yeong, wearing a white robe, and the other was Nam Long-hu, wearing a gold robe and sporting a beard.

Nam Long-hu paced back and forth, his hands behind his back, about five feet away from Ro Wi-yeong.

“Brother Nam Long, don’t be so impatient. If he was sent to a corner, it will take him quite a while to get here. We even confirmed that he entered the teleportation formation directly, so what is there to be anxious about?”

“I’m just saying that you don’t know how dangerous Chuma Valley is. And if that one cultivator isn’t here, this expedition will be a waste of time.”

Nam Long-hu sighed deeply and expressed his concern.

“The Polar Origin Light can only be passed with the Yang-ui Ring, but is that ancient demonic beast, Hwaseom, really that powerful? Honestly, wouldn’t it have been enough just to get the Yang-ui Ring?”

Ro Wi-yeong fully opened his eyes, which had been closed, and asked.

“According to the writings left by Merchant Changgon, it’s a truly terrifying demonic beast. The best thing is for a cultivator who uses a counteracting cultivation method to face it. We could face it, but if we greatly damage our vital energy or get seriously injured, how will we return alive?”

Nam Long-hu explained with a frown.

“You’ve become very cautious since returning from the Peony Plains. But according to what I read in the scriptures, the ancient demonic beast Hwaseom isn’t that powerful. Perhaps the Hwaseom that Merchant Changgon mentioned with such caution might be a mutated one.”

“It could be mutated, or it could have naturally become stronger because there are no natural enemies in Chuma Valley.”

“Then there’s nothing more to say. Anyway, we don’t have to worry about other cultivators finding the ancient ruins first, so let’s wait patiently.”

Nam Long-hu smiled at his calm attitude and was about to say something when his expression suddenly changed and he turned his head.

A streak of blue light was slowly flying in from the distant sky.

“He’s finally here!”

Nam Long-hu, familiar with Han Li’s movement technique, recognized him at once and shouted with joy. Ro Wi-yeong also immediately opened his eyes and stood up.

It seemed that the elder of the Heavenly Extremity Sect was only pretending to be calm on the outside, but he was also a little anxious.

The blue streak of light arrived after a long time, being extremely cautious. The blue light faded, and someone wearing a bamboo hat appeared.

“Are you Cultivator Han?”

Nam Long-hu asked, puzzled, as he couldn’t see Han Li’s face hidden by the blue bamboo hat, even with his spiritual sense.

“Is there anyone else here who was supposed to meet me?”

Han Li replied leisurely, stroking his bamboo hat. Ro Wi-yeong thought Han Li’s bamboo hat was strange, but he pretended to be calm on the outside.

“Don’t joke around. Brother Ro and I have been waiting here for a long time.”

Nam Long-hu was relieved after confirming Han Li’s voice. The three cultivators immediately began to discuss how to kill Hwaseom.

To get to the place where Hwaseom was, they had to go to the center, not the outskirts, and that place was full of even more powerful ancient restrictions.

Unlike the entrance to Chuma Valley, there was not just one path from the outskirts to the center.

They could enter through large and small passages all over the outskirts, but they had no choice but to break the restrictions one by one, as they were layered on top of each other.

In the past, Merchant Changgon had tried it, but he gave up because it took too much time, no matter how hard he tried alone.

After that, he tried all sorts of methods, and with some luck, he found a small secret passage covered with Polar Origin Light.

It was a very secretly hidden passage, so it was difficult to find, and even if someone accidentally entered, they would be killed by the Polar Origin Light. But it was no problem for those who possessed the Yang-ui Ring.

Han Li finished discussing with the two cultivators and immediately flew towards the center without resting. Just as he floated into the air, Nam Long-hu took out several bells from his storage pouch and hung them on his waist.

“These sensing bells detect changes in the vibrations of spatial rifts and ring on their own. They can’t detect all spatial rifts, but they do warn us of most of them.”

Nam Long-hu explained to Han Li, who was surprised.

The bells worked very well as the three cultivators left the small mountain. When a spatial rift appeared, the bells rang clearly to warn them.

However, they were useless against black or completely invisible spatial rifts.

Han Li, who had been activating his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, could see that the bells did not ring when the three cultivators passed by invisible spatial rifts.

However, there were no invisible spatial rifts on the path the three cultivators were taking, so Han Li could keep his mouth shut, pretending not to see anything.

After flying for almost half a day, an unfamiliar mountain range appeared.

It was a small mountain range made up of a dozen or so mountain peaks, but the dark red blood color that covered it behind them created a strange atmosphere.

“That blood color is a powerful restriction, so you must never touch it.”

Nam Long-hu warned immediately upon seeing it.

However, the more they went, the more they couldn’t understand the intentions of the ancient cultivators who had installed such powerful restrictions one after another. Was Chuma Valley used for defense in the past? Or to imprison something…

Han Li was surprised by his own thoughts.

‘Yes, it must have been one of the main strongholds of the ancient cultivators.’

At this time, Nam Long-hu flew to the middle of the mountain peak, which, to the naked eye, was an ordinary mountain range with lush grass and trees and vines.

“It’s here. Merchant Changgon cast a kind of illusion before he left.”

Nam Long-hu seemed a little excited, but he spoke calmly. He shook his sleeve and released a white jade pendant, which flew into the air.

Then, he chanted a low incantation and threw in hand seals, and a white light shot out from the jade pendant.

Soon, something amazing happened.

The rocks, trees, and other things that the white light touched were distorted as if they were paintings and shattered into pieces. The white light made a clear sound and returned to Nam Long-hu’s sleeve.

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