Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 533

Han Li, having left the market, was walking among the crowd not far away.

“Senior! To deceive so many Nascent Soul cultivators using only your spiritual sense, despite not having any magic power, is truly amazing. Even I couldn’t see the true form of the Blessed Grotto Heaven,” he exclaimed.

“What’s so great about that? Once you’ve cultivated the final three stars of the Great Evolution Technique, you’ll be able to deceive others even when they’re right in front of you. If you have talent in illusion techniques, you could even kill low-level cultivators without them even realizing it,” the Great Evolution Divine Lord replied, unfazed by Han Li’s admiration.

“That’s true. Even just the three stars of the Great Evolution Technique are incredibly powerful. I wonder how strong my spiritual sense can become in the future. It’s a shame that even though you taught me the fourth star incantation, I haven’t had the time to properly cultivate it,” Han Li sighed.

“Even if your spiritual root talent is lacking, your aptitude for learning the Great Evolution Technique isn’t bad. Plus, with the help of the Soul Nourishing Wood, your cultivation speed is similar to mine back in the day, so don’t worry,” the Divine Lord reassured him.

“I hope so. But there’s something I don’t understand. Why did you tell me to obtain one of the accessories that my opponent is carrying?”

“Have you forgotten why the Celestial Maiden Tian Lan appeared in the True Origin Realm? Do you think she’ll just leave you alone?”

“Is there any other reason? She’s probably trying to find me. Since I have both the avatar of the Stone Origin Holy Beast and that strange cauldron, she won’t give up on me easily. Seeing that the Celestial Maiden Tian Lan is unexpectedly associating with the Yin Fiend Sect cultivators, things are going to get troublesome,” Han Li lamented.

“That’s exactly why. I previously learned how to refine something called a ‘Resonance Bead,’ which can detect the presence of someone within a hundred miles by borrowing their aura. In the future, it will warn you when she gets within a hundred miles and give you a rough direction. That way, you can prepare for whatever she does. The detection effect will weaken over time, but it should be useful while you’re in the Great Jin,” the Divine Lord explained.

“I see. Thank you for your consideration,” Han Li said.

“I’m not doing this for you, but for the puppets I’m refining,” the Great Evolution Divine Lord retorted.

Han Li simply smiled at the Divine Lord’s response. Suddenly, he changed direction, entered an alleyway, and after making several turns, stopped in front of an empty mansion.

“What is the reason for following me for so long?” Han Li asked, slowly turning around to face the empty space.

“So, Cultivator Lyu is indeed a cultivator from across the sea. You’ve seen through my Ghost Shadow Escape Technique. But don’t worry, I don’t have any malicious intentions,” a man’s laughter echoed, and a lean old man with a cunning face and a sparse beard appeared in a flash of green light. He was a Nascent Soul early-stage cultivator.

“Don’t you know that it’s taboo to follow a cultivator of the same rank? I could kill you right now, and no one would say a word,” Han Li said coldly.

“Why be so hostile? This old man followed you because I wanted to make a deal. It would be beneficial for both of us,” the lean old man chuckled.

“I’m not interested. I have no business with someone who spies on others,” Han Li refused outright, surprising the old man.

“Isn’t that too hasty of a conclusion? It’s not too late to decide after hearing what I have to say. If you don’t make this deal, you’ll be the one who loses out, Cultivator Lyu!” the old man threatened with a meaningful look.

“I’ll lose out? Let’s hear it then,” Han Li said.

“Before we make a deal, I have something to show you,” the old man grinned, touching his spirit beast pouch. A green light emerged, and a tiny spirit beast landed on the old man’s head. The snail-like spirit beast was a vibrant blue-green color with a long horn, and it moved very slowly.

“What do you intend to do by showing me a spirit worm? Are you planning to attack me with poison?” Han Li asked.

“Attack a cultivator with a low-level spirit beast? To be honest, my spirit worm has mutated and gained a strange ability. It can see through all kinds of illusions. When you were confronting the Yin Fiend Sect cultivators, I planted a wisp of my spiritual sense in the spirit beast to observe the situation. You were completely fooled by the bamboo tube that turned into a long sword, but my spirit beast’s eyes couldn’t be deceived,” the old man said, stroking the spirit beast on his palm.

“So, what do you want?” Han Li asked, though he was inwardly surprised that the old man’s spirit worm had the ability to see through illusions.

“It’s nothing much… I just want you to give me three or four treasures, and I’ll keep my mouth shut, hehe!” the old man said, revealing his greed and demanding wealth.

“Are you threatening me right now?” Han Li asked.

“Do you want to kill me to silence me? You should quickly abandon that thought. Threatening a cultivator like me with revenge won’t work, and if you’re appearing here alone, you must have come prepared to escape safely. Besides, I’ve already sent one of my disciples to the group with the Yin Fiend Sect and the Celestial Maiden Tian Lan. If anything happens to me, they’ll immediately reveal the truth about the bamboo tube. This is the heart of the True Origin Realm, and you’re here for the auction, aren’t you? If the Yin Fiend Sect cultivators find out, it will be difficult for you to escape unscathed… If you’re not afraid of four or five Nascent Soul cultivators, what about seven or eight? As far as I know, the Yin Fiend Sect has sent quite a few Nascent Soul elders to the True Origin Realm. If I were you, I would act wisely,” the old man said, taking a step back and smiling slyly. He raised his hand and took a wooden shield from his sleeve. The wooden shield transformed into a yellow barrier, covering him and preparing for Han Li’s attack.

Han Li frowned and pondered.

“It seems I’ll have to pay a small price to avoid trouble. Fine, what do you want from me?” Han Li asked.

“That’s what I wanted to hear! I’m not that picky, so just pick a few treasures for me,” the old man said, looking very pleased. Han Li raised an eyebrow at the old man’s greed, but he touched his storage pouch and took out a gold and silver mixed bead.

“A few treasures? You’re too greedy. I don’t have anything else, but I do have this ‘Cloud Soaring Bead’ that I obtained by chance. It’s useless to me since it doesn’t match my cultivation method. Remember, if you try to swallow too much, you might burst,” Han Li said, tossing the bead with a displeased expression.

The old man’s face lit up, but he didn’t immediately catch the bead. He tossed the snail-like spirit worm aside and used his sleeve to catch the bead, which was emitting a black light.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the bead, he lowered his barrier and took it in his hand.

“The patterns are unique, so it doesn’t seem like an ordinary treasure. Can you tell me what it’s used for?” the old man asked.

“You’ll find out the use of the treasure when you use it yourself. I guarantee you’ll be greatly surprised,” Han Li replied, still with his hands behind his back.

“I’ll try it then! But you’re not thinking of getting away with just one treasure, are you?” the old man said, injecting magic power into the bead, trying to extort more treasures from Han Li. Han Li smirked at this.

“What if… I intend to send you to the underworld with it?” Han Li said coldly. Before the old man could react, the bead in his hand began to crumble. The bead suddenly transformed into dozens of beetles that flew into the air. They were the Three-Colored Gold Devouring Beetles that Han Li had been carrying, and they fiercely attacked the old man.

Due to the close distance, the old man had no time to dodge, and his face was completely covered by the beetles. If his barrier hadn’t been thick enough, his entire face would have been devoured already.

The old man felt his vision darken as he heard the beetles gnawing at him. He desperately swung his hands, which were filled with black energy, and opened his mouth to scream, trying to call for other cultivators.

However, a chilling sound echoed in his ears, and he felt an intense pain as if his consciousness was being torn apart. Startled, he immediately leaped into the air, and the pain in his consciousness and the beetles that had been covering his vision disappeared at the same time.

However, as he regained his sight, a golden sword with purple flames flew towards him.

“Ugh!” the old man cried out, but he had no time to unleash a magic treasure or use an escape technique. He had to inject all of his spiritual power into his barrier to block this attack. He was furious and regretted provoking this person.

Even so, the yellow wooden shield was a powerful treasure that was not easily obtained, so even a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn’t be able to break it in one go.

However, contrary to the old man’s expectations, the yellow barrier shattered like tofu. The golden sword’s momentum didn’t decrease at all, and the old man’s body was cut in half. The inch-long black Nascent Soul inside was terrified and tried to fly away, but it was trapped in purple ice and couldn’t move.

The golden sword turned around and sliced through the ownerless spirit worm, scattering blood before returning to the purple ice.

*Clang!*

A thick golden lightning bolt flashed from the sword, forming a thin net that trapped the Nascent Soul.

*Crack! Crack!*

The Nascent Soul inside the purple ice disappeared in the golden light.

Only then did Han Li relax his expression and extend his hands towards the corpse. The old man’s storage pouch flew towards him, and a ball of fire from his other hand turned the old man and the spirit worm into ashes.

Immediately, Han Li flew into the air, flashed a blue light, and disappeared.

* * *

A moment later, various colored streaks of light flew in and arrived at the scene. There were five cultivators, a mix of men and women.

Besides Ren Yinbing, Gal Tianhu, and the other four Nascent Soul cultivators, there was also an unfamiliar Core Formation stage youth.

“This is the place. My master’s aura ended here,” the young man muttered anxiously, holding a formation disc in his hand.

“There are remnants of spiritual energy, and I can also sense the aura of someone named Lyu Biwu. Judging by the scattered bloodstains, your master is probably dead,” Gal Tianhu said, his expression darkening as he surveyed the surroundings.

“That can’t be! My master is skilled in escape techniques. There’s no way he would have been defeated so quickly!” the young man said, his face pale with disbelief.

“What do you know? He’s someone who has killed not only early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators but also several cultivators of the same rank. Tell me in detail what your master said,” Gal Tianhu asked coldly.

At that moment, Ren Yinbing, who had spread her spiritual sense to explore the surroundings, picked up something about six meters away, and her expression darkened.

“My master gave me his natal magic treasure, the disc, and told me to report to you seniors immediately if anything happened to it,” the young man said.

“Is this your master’s?” Ren Yinbing showed something to the young man. The young man reached out and took it, his expression becoming even more somber. The yellow wooden fragment was a piece of the shield that his master often used.

“This is a piece of my master’s Wooden Turtle Shield. It’s an extremely sturdy shield, so how could it be shattered like this…?”

“Cultivator Ren, it seems that Elder Cho is already dead. I didn’t believe the stories about him killing cultivators of the same rank in an instant, but he’s even more skilled than I expected. Even though Elder Cho was an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he was skilled in extraordinary escape techniques. For him to die so tragically… It seems like his power is comparable to a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. It seems like we won’t be able to capture him with just the few of us,” Gal Tianhu said, turning to the Celestial Maiden Tian Lan.

“Cultivator Gal, you also need to retrieve the Yin Fiend Sect’s treasure, don’t you? Besides, if the Ghost Banner is in his possession, then your sect’s fourth elder is also likely dead at his hands,” Ren Yinbing said, narrowing her eyes.