Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 541

The Raging Demonic Flames

Goma showed no interest in the newly arrived cultivator, his killing intent receding as his expression turned blank.

The distance of twenty or thirty li [approximately 6-10 miles] was negligible for a streak of light moving at such speed. As the light faded, the cultivator who stopped a few dozen yards away was revealed to be a disheveled ascetic monk.

His face was sallow, and he held a red alms bowl in one hand and a cyan staff in the other. He looked surprised to see Han Li and Goma facing each other, noting their similar appearances.

“I’m not sure which of you was the cultivator who stepped forward at the trade fair, but I have something to discuss with you,” the ascetic monk said with a sudden smile. Han Li raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

The mid-Nascent Soul cultivator seemed to possess some useful treasures. Moreover, the fact that he had chased after him alone suggested he was quite skilled.

However, having guessed the other’s intentions, Han Li found dealing with him bothersome. Goma, too, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky, paying little attention to the ascetic monk.

This blatant disregard instantly infuriated the ascetic monk. It was the first time he had been so ignored by a cultivator of the same level since reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

Han Li and Goma, with their mid and early Nascent Soul cultivation, respectively, looked very similar. He didn’t believe he would necessarily lose in a two-on-one fight, but his chances of winning would certainly decrease. He suppressed his anger and considered how to handle the situation.

Before he could decide, three streaks of light appeared in the distance, flying towards them. The ascetic monk was confident in his escape techniques, which was why he had caught up to Han Li so quickly. He wondered what kind of divine power the other cultivators had used to track him down.

The problem was that their arrival would interfere with his plans.

With this thought, the ascetic monk looked at Goma and Han Li with a sinister gaze. Sensing his ill intentions, Goma suddenly looked at the ascetic monk and the approaching cultivators, then said irritably,

“How annoying. So many of you are coming to beg for death! Since it’s come to this, I’ll have to send you off first.”

Goma muttered coldly and vanished towards the ascetic monk in a flash of black light.

“Do you want to die?” the ascetic monk shouted, activating the alms bowl in his hand, which enveloped his body in blood-red flames. With his other hand, he threw the cyan staff, which transformed into a cyan flood dragon, to counter the black light.

The cyan flood dragon tore through the black light with its sharp claws, causing the black light to vibrate and dissipate in the void.

The ascetic monk was surprised by this and formed hand seals, sending magic seals into the flames. The flames multiplied several times, and the swirling blue and red flames rose to a height of twenty or thirty yards.

Reassured, the ascetic monk reached for his storage pouch with his other hand, intending to retrieve another defensive treasure.

At that moment, an anomaly occurred.

A black light flashed a few yards away, and a dark purple arm pierced through the flames like lightning.

“Hah!” The ascetic monk felt a chill in his chest and spewed out a large amount of golden mist from his mouth, forming a shield.

Bang!

With a light collision, the golden shield was torn apart like sand by Goma’s claws. The ascetic monk didn’t even have a chance to escape before two large holes were pierced through his dantian [energy center].

Soon, Goma exerted force on both arms, tearing the ascetic monk’s body in two, causing blood and flesh to splatter everywhere.

From the corpse, a red Nascent Soul [the core of a cultivator’s power] screamed and teleported twenty yards away. But it was too late for him to teleport again and escape.

A purple thread-like object flickered behind the Nascent Soul, and his head felt hot. Something had pierced through the ascetic monk’s Nascent Soul’s head, and it was wrapped up and disappeared into the flames.

The three streaks of light saw this from afar and were so terrified that they didn’t dare approach, instead turning around to flee.

They were all early Nascent Soul cultivators who had originally planned to join forces to deal with Han Li. However, they were greatly shocked when the ascetic monk, known for his demonic flames, was brutally slaughtered and even his Nascent Soul was captured.

Suddenly, the three streaks of light sped away.

Han Li felt a chill run down his spine as he watched Goma kill the ascetic monk in an instant, and he stared intently at the flames in the distance.

A sharp laugh was heard from within the flames, and the fire extinguished instantly, revealing Goma unharmed.

The opponent was now in a half-human, half-demon form, having undergone a demonic transformation. Although his face still looked human, his arms and legs, revealed from his blue sleeves, were dark purple and twice their original size.

Even more terrifying was the long, purple tongue flicking in his mouth. Goma, who had pierced the ascetic monk’s Nascent Soul with the tip of his tongue, stared expressionlessly at Han Li.

Han Li also narrowed his eyes, not avoiding the other’s gaze.

“Don’t linger here with Goma for too long. It’s not far from the trade fair, and more cultivators will appear,” the Great Yan Divine Lord warned him anxiously.

“I was just planning to see how much stronger he is than Zhu Hun. But now I see that was a very dangerous idea,” Han Li replied calmly, shaking his sleeves to retrieve his flying swords. At the same time, he spat out blood, and the droplets of blood turned into a thick mist that enveloped him.

“Do you think I’ll let you escape?” Goma said, his purple eyes flashing as he retracted his long tongue and swallowed the Nascent Soul. His figure wavered and then disappeared from his spot again.

Han Li didn’t care about the other’s actions and formed a hand seal.

Boom!

Silver wings sprouted from his back, and his figure became blurred within the blood-colored mist.

However, Goma appeared in front of Han Li in an instant, looking terrifying. His speed was so fast that it was clear he hadn’t used his full power when killing the ascetic monk.

Han Li’s expression changed as he was about to disappear.

Goma grinned slyly and shot out his purple tongue, intending to pierce through Han Li in the blood-colored mist in one go.

But suddenly, a chilling tremor echoed in his mind. No matter how incredibly tough Goma’s body was, he couldn’t withstand the piercing pain that resonated in his head.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Han Li disappeared from the spot.

Goma was surprised and released his consciousness to track Han Li, but as soon as he sensed him a hundred li away, Han Li used the Blood Shadow Escape again and disappeared.

“Shadow Transformation Escape? Isn’t that the secret technique of the Iron-Winged Demon? How can a human cultivator use this? But it seems a little different,” Goma muttered to himself, not moving from the spot. Just then, six or seven streaks of light flew in from the distance.

Goma sensed them and his eyes flashed menacingly.

“Good, good. It’s perfect timing, as I’ve already digested all the Nascent Souls I devoured a few years ago.”

With a sinister voice, a dark purple aura emanated from his mouth and enveloped him.

Then, a tremendous roar and a surge of menacing demonic energy followed, and a huge demon with two heads and four arms appeared. With four dark purple eyes flashing, Goma stared at the cultivators approaching from afar.

* * *

Hua Yun Province was located on the eastern coast of Da Jin. There were many ports and seaside villages, so cultivators from beyond the sea would often appear in the markets here to exchange various demon beast materials for inland goods.

Therefore, the markets were always bustling with customers, and some sects managed them, receiving ample funds. Even the small markets far away were quite profitable.

Kai Jiang Town was a small place two hundred li [approximately 60 miles] from the coast, and there was a mountain a few dozen li away. It was a small mountain, only a few hundred yards high and about ten li [approximately 3 miles] in size, which was ignored by the major sects.

Within it was located the Heavenly Talisman Sect, the lowest-ranked sect, which had fewer than a hundred members, including the sect leader, elders, and their disciples. However, the Heavenly Talisman Sect was a very old sect, though its status had declined significantly.

It wasn’t an ancient sect passed down from ancient times like the Taiyi Sect or the Strict Moon Sect, but it was created by the Heavenly Talisman Immortal tens of thousands of years ago and was famous in Da Jin for its three secret talismans. Back then, it was almost comparable to the top ten sects.

The Heavenly Talisman Sect was all about talismans [magical charms]. Their main cultivation methods were too ordinary, and their power rapidly declined over several generations. Now, tens of thousands of years later, they barely maintained their existence with a few special secret techniques related to talisman refinement.

Therefore, it was rare for high-level cultivators to appear in such a place, and the duty disciples guarding the Heavenly Talisman Sect were always idle.

Today, two Qi Refining disciples were guarding the entrance, chatting about various things.

“Senior Brother Lee, are they really going to close the market? Even though I haven’t been a disciple for long, I know that the profits from the Three Yuan Market account for half of our sect’s income. If the spirit stones [currency] from there stop coming, won’t we be unable to survive?”

“Whether they close the market or not, there’s nothing our sect can do. The Spirit Wind Sect gave us an ultimatum a few days ago. Either we cooperate with them, or we have to close the market within three months. They’re just bullying us because they have power!” The young man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties and a bit chubby, spoke in contrast to the boy, who looked to be about six or seven years old.

“Cooperate? It doesn’t sound bad, does it?”

“Not bad? I heard from my uncle that if we cooperate, we won’t be able to interfere with the market anymore, and we’ll have to agree to receive only a thousand spirit stones per year. A thousand spirit stones? That’s not even a third of our previous income!”

“If it’s that little, then of course we shouldn’t agree. Even if the Spirit Wind Sect is powerful, will the Golden Crow Mountain and the Bright Yang Valley agree? The Three Yuan Market is jointly managed by those two families and our Heavenly Talisman Sect.”

“If it were just the Spirit Wind Sect, we wouldn’t have anything to worry about. But it seems the Killing Yang Sect is involved. A mid-level sect is no match for a weak sect like ours.”

“The Killing Yang Sect? That’s terrible. It seems like it will be difficult to get through this safely.”

The boy was disheartened at the mention of the Killing Yang Sect. If the sect’s income decreased, the spirit stones received by the low-level disciples would naturally decrease as well.

“It’s okay. Anyway, there’s nothing we low-level disciples can do about it. No matter how bad we are, we’re still better off than the mountain bandits. Let’s just guard the mountain gate properly. Oh, what’s that?” The young man exclaimed in surprise, looking up at the sky. The boy followed his gaze and saw a blue streak of light cutting through the sky.

“It looks like a senior is coming this way!” The boy shouted in surprise at the sight of the incredibly fast blue streak of light. It was his first time seeing such a sight since he had joined the sect.

“Maybe it’s someone who’s come to see our grandmaster,” the young man said, trying to reassure the boy.

The blue streak of light arrived near White Bamboo Mountain, spotted the two Heavenly Talisman Sect disciples, and descended. When the light faded, a young man in a blue robe walked over with his hands behind his back.

“Is this the Heavenly Talisman Sect of White Bamboo Mountain?” The young man looked ordinary, but his aura was immense. It was Han Li, who had disappeared in an instant after the trade fair.

It had already been four months since he had escaped from Goma’s grasp.

“This is White Bamboo Mountain. Do you have any instructions for us?” The disciples couldn’t discern Han Li’s true cultivation, but they knew he was an incredibly powerful expert above the Core Formation stage just by the streak of light.

“It’s fortunate that I found the right place. I need to deliver something that has a deep connection with the Heavenly Talisman Sect, so please inform your sect leader.”

“Yes, senior! Please wait a moment.” The young man hurriedly took out a sound transmission talisman from his pocket, said something into it, and sent it flying. The talisman turned into a ball of fire and disappeared into the restriction. Han Li simply stood there, scanning the mountain with his consciousness. Even with the restriction in place, he could instantly gauge the scale of the place.

He had thought that the Heavenly Talisman Sect wouldn’t be large, but the fact that the number of people in the sect was less than a hundred and that there was only one Core Formation stage cultivator, with no other high-level cultivators, confirmed that it was indeed a small sect, just as Elder Yun had said.

If he hadn’t heard the news that evil dragons had appeared on the coast and hadn’t learned the art of refining the Soul Binding Talisman, he wouldn’t have come all the way here for this matter.

# 543