Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 569

570. Konoh Hall, Spirit Treasure Pavilion, Demon Suppression Pagoda

The scholar pondered for a moment before speaking, “Indeed, that Flying Corpse is a problem. If we had more time, joining forces with my uncle to eliminate it would be ideal, but we’re pressed for time. Trying to chase it away might invite disaster, so we should wait for an opportunity to trap and kill it using a restriction.”

Everyone agreed and nodded. Given Eunshiyacha’s incredible earth遁術 [earth escape technique] and stealth, it wouldn’t be easy to shake it off or kill it.

The Ye family cultivators, having mostly recovered their magical power, headed towards the palace exit. Stepping outside, they were speechless at the sight before them.

Large and small stone staircases stretched upwards and downwards, their destinations unknown.

“What should we do? Even if we each take a staircase, we can’t explore them all,” one of the older members said, giving the scholar a wry smile.

“Don’t worry. It means we’re in the right place! But we can’t act alone here. Wandering off by ourselves will likely get us killed rather than lead us to treasure. Let’s check the staircases for markings before deciding,” the scholar, as the Great Elder of the Ye family, calmly decided.

The staircases began in a vast plaza, a few miles away, as white as if carved from jade. Having no better plan, they followed the Great Elder’s instructions and used earth遁術 to fly up. However, they fell to the ground the moment they entered the plaza.

“There’s a flight restriction! How can there be such a thing?” the large-headed giant exclaimed.

They had only flown a short distance, so they were fortunate to have been flying low. A fall from a great height would have seriously injured them. It was a clear sign they were approaching the center of Mount Konoh.

“I’m surprised that Fellow Cultivator Han is from Tiannan. It’s rare to find cultivators from Tiannan in the Great Jin. But regardless, things have become complicated since you killed an Elder of the Yin Fiend Sect and took the Ghost Banner,” Hua Tianqi said near the pavilion, looking curious. He had heard the general situation from Old Man Bu and was quite surprised.

The other cultivators were also shaken and looked at Han Li, which was understandable. Tiannan was far from the Great Jin, a place not even worth mentioning in the Great Jin cultivation world. Yet, a cultivator from Tiannan had fought against the Yin Fiend Sect, which was strange.

“I only did it to protect myself. If the Yin Fiend Sect Elder hadn’t provoked me, none of this would have happened.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. It seems the three of you have been here for a while, so do you know where this place is?” the Nascent Soul stage giant cultivator asked, only interested in their location.

“I know to some extent. It seems that in the Great Jin, this place is called Mount Konoh.”

“Mount Konoh!”

“Konoh!” The Nascent Soul giant and the other cultivators were delighted. Even Old Man Geon was surprised, but the Elders of the Poison Sect already knew and exchanged glances.

“That means someone knows this place’s identity and broke through the sealing restriction. Moreover, to break a restriction of this scale, they must be a considerable force! Brother Geon, I know there’s a conflict with Fellow Cultivator Han’s group, but now is not the time to fight. How about we join forces to drive out the other forces and share the treasures of Mount Konoh? We can settle our personal grudges after we leave,” Hua Tianqi said, stroking his chin.

“…….”

Old Man Geon was silent, and the mountain cultivators, including Sasan Zhenren and the giant, discussed among themselves.

Old Man Bu and Baeyao Yi were relieved. If the three of them joined forces, they wouldn’t necessarily be defeated by Old Man Geon, but it was best to avoid a fight.

Unnoticed, Han Li slightly narrowed his eyes. Fighting Old Man Geon here was impossible, and he would have to wait for another opportunity to deal with the Soul Sealing Pearl.

Thinking this, Han Li asked Hua Tianqi and the others, “Fellow Cultivator Hua, if the illusion array exploded, what happened to the gap in the sealing barrier? Is it possible to leave this place?”

“What’s the situation? It would be faster for Fellow Han to see for yourself, but no one will be able to enter or leave for a few days,” Hua Tianqi sighed and answered honestly. Han Li hesitated, then flew into the light barrier and disappeared.

A moment later, Han Li returned with a dark expression and shook his head at Old Man Bu and Baeyao Yi.

“There’s no way to pass through. But it doesn’t seem like it will take long for the passage to return to normal, so let’s explore the mountain in the meantime.”

The situation was quickly settled.

Old Man Geon gave up fighting after hearing this place was Mount Konoh. He had entered by chance, but he couldn’t return empty-handed after fighting, could he?

The other five cultivators also agreed to move together.

“Now that we’ve joined forces, we can face any cultivator from the Ten Demonic Sects. Let’s move quickly before the treasures are taken!” Hua Tianqi shouted and led the Poison Sect Elders up the stairs first.

Old Man Geon’s white shadows gathered into a single light and followed, and Han Li and the other cultivators also flew into the air.

Meanwhile, the Ye family cultivators had arrived at the white jade plaza.

The vast plaza, spanning hundreds of acres, was made of pure jade, and a dozen white jade pillars stood tall. Each pillar was carved with lifelike spiritual beasts, creating a solemn atmosphere.

The Ye family cultivators passed the pillars and gathered in the plaza.

In front of the staircases were jade steles with names like the Metal and Stone Pavilion, the Auspicious Cloud Hall, and the Spirit Origin Garden.

“The Metal and Stone Pavilion is likely a place to store materials, and the Auspicious Cloud Hall is probably for quiet cultivation. The Spirit Origin Garden, at first glance…” a Ye family cultivator said, examining the steles and deducing each place’s purpose. The others nodded.

“Then, we can narrow down the possible paths to the Heaven Piercing Treasure to three: the Konoh Hall, straight ahead; the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, next to it; and the Demon Suppression Pagoda, in the surrounding area.”

When the Ye family cultivator selected three places, the scholar and the large-headed giant fell into thought.

“The Konoh Hall is undoubtedly the most important place in Mount Konoh. The Spirit Treasure Pavilion, as its name suggests, would have been where ancient cultivators stored treasures. Finally, the Demon Suppression Pagoda would have been where ancient cultivators imprisoned demons. Considering that Mount Konoh is sealed, it’s likely the Heaven Piercing Treasure is here. In ancient times, it was common to use the power of treasures to seal demons.”

“That’s right. It’s likely the Heaven Piercing Treasure is in one of those three places. But we can’t explore them all. At most, we can explore two,” the scholar said after a long pause.

“Two places? Which paths are you talking about?”

“I’m thinking of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion and the Demon Suppression Pagoda,” the scholar answered.

“Hmm? I think the Konoh Hall is more likely to have the Heaven Piercing Treasure than the Demon Suppression Pagoda.”

“Even if the Spirit Treasure Pavilion doesn’t have the Heaven Piercing Treasure, there will be other treasures, so we must go there. However, considering that Mount Konoh is sealed and that two Heaven Piercing Treasures were left behind, it’s likely a powerful demon is imprisoned here.”

“That’s not wrong, but the Konoh Hall is clearly the main building, so we must check it out,” the scholar and the giant exchanged their opinions.

“But the problem is that we don’t have enough people. It’s dangerous to split into two groups, and it’s impossible to split into three,” the scholar said with a wry smile. The giant pondered before speaking.

“Let’s do this! Since there are nine of us, you and I will each take three people to explore the Spirit Treasure Pavilion and the Demon Suppression Pagoda. And we’ll send one Elder skilled in earth遁術 to the Konoh Hall. If the restriction is too strong, they can return and report. Whoever finishes exploring first can then explore the Konoh Hall.”

“Hmm… I’ll follow my uncle’s instructions. However, the Elder who goes to the Konoh Hall alone may be vulnerable to attacks from the Golden Thread Insects or Eunshiyacha, so let’s give him the Mitiantuo [a protective artifact] to carry.”

“With the Mitiantuo, he can survive even in a dangerous situation,” the giant nodded.

Thus, the Ye family group split into two, and Goma quietly stood behind the giant. The cultivator who would explore the Konoh Hall alone was a middle-aged man with a square face who volunteered. He was the most skilled cultivator in the Ye family, excluding the giant and the scholar, and he was also the oldest. The scholar hesitated before taking out a bell made of white bones from his sleeve.

“The Mitiantuo requires the use of essence blood each time it’s used, so Second Brother must be careful when using it.”

“I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry too much,” the square-faced cultivator replied, receiving the treasure.

“I heard that the Demon Suppression Pagoda is where vicious demons and ghosts are imprisoned, and I’d like to go there,” the giant said casually.

“My thoughts are the same as my uncle’s. I was originally going to the Demon Suppression Pagoda, but since you said that, I’ll yield to you. Then I’ll explore the Spirit Treasure Pavilion!” the scholar said, surprised but not minding much.

The large-headed giant did not decline and led Goma and three other cultivators to the stairs behind the stele that read Demon Suppression Pagoda.

The square-faced cultivator bowed to the scholar, held the Mitiantuo, and quickly disappeared along the middle staircase.

The scholar waited until the giant and the square-faced cultivator disappeared into the mist.

“Fellow Disciple Feng, how many sets of formation flags do we have left?”

“Reporting to the Great Elder, as you instructed, we have temporarily set up formations at each restriction we passed. Except for the Amethyst Seven Star Grand Formation, which we purchased for hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, we have none left.”

“Alright, then let’s set it up here. And release the Tiger Head Bee swarm and the Bloodsucking Bat swarm into the formation.”

“Yes!” At the Great Elder’s command, the old man answered and sent purple flags and a disc flying to various parts of the plaza. Only then did the scholar look down at the bottom of the mountain, his mind seemingly complex as he pondered something.

An hour later, the scholar and the others chose a staircase and began to move.

Meanwhile, halfway down the mountain, Han Li and the others were passing through a huge gate called Mansu Gate.

The Ye family cultivators had left behind a sophisticated illusion array, which would have troubled Core Formation stage cultivators for days. But since it was a group of Nascent Soul stage cultivators, it didn’t take them much time.

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