Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 795

‘The reason for informing you in advance is that Elder Noera wants to provide an opportunity to protect the vital energy of the non-Ascended cultivators before a crisis arises.’ Cultivator Moon spoke with a benevolent expression. ‘Does that mean Elder Noera is preparing a plan to send us out of Heavenly Origin City to avoid the crisis?’ A woman in a blue palace dress asked, delighted. ‘Hmph, the invasion of the alien races is a matter of life and death for our entire human race. No matter how much conflict there is with other cultivators, we cannot neglect our duty to fight against the alien races. Anyone who dares to abandon Heavenly Origin City and run away will be hunted down and killed by us before the Heavenly Origin City Law Enforcement Team can even find them.’ Jo Moo-gwi’s eyes turned cold at her careless words. The faces of the cultivators in the main hall changed drastically. ‘Haha, everyone, don’t misunderstand. The mission to stop the alien races cannot be postponed. Elder Noera is simply trying to prevent all the non-Ascended cultivators from being killed in this crisis. After discussions, we have come up with a plan to preserve some of the non-Ascended cultivators’ strength, but the method is dangerous. That’s why we are informing you in advance and giving you the choice of whether or not to participate in the plan.’ At Cultivator Moon’s words, the cultivators began to murmur, and Han Li also narrowed his brows slightly, lost in thought. ‘Please tell us what it is.’ One of the non-Ascended cultivators asked calmly. ‘It’s simple. Soon, Elder Noera will announce a mission that will take a long time and, if successful, will be recognized as a great achievement. It’s an extremely dangerous task, so most of the native cultivators won’t want to take it on. But if you take on the mission and succeed, you will have made a great contribution, and you can legitimately withdraw from the front lines. If war doesn’t break out, you can return to Heavenly Origin City, and if war does break out, you can take shelter for a while. But let me tell you in advance! Those who undertake this mission have a 50% chance of dying. So, you have to decide for yourselves what choice to make. In fact, there is a high possibility that the alien races won’t invade. You can’t leave Heavenly Origin City without taking any risks, so keep that in mind.’ Jo Moo-gwi finished speaking with a sneer. At Jo Moo-gwi and Cultivator Moon’s words, the cultivators in the main hall swallowed hard and showed their reluctance. A dangerous mission with a 50% chance of death and a 60% chance of an alien race invasion! Even if there was an alien race invasion, most were confident that they could survive if it was an attack by a single race. Considering the possibility that war might not even break out, taking on the mission felt even more dangerous. Of course, it was a matter of life and death, so they couldn’t make a decision easily, and everyone went into deep thought. For a moment, the main hall became as quiet as a graveyard. ‘There’s no need to decide right away. These kinds of missions will be announced one after another for a year. If you take on a mission with a mark, you can automatically get out of your original mission, so even cultivators who are already on fixed missions don’t need to worry.’ Cultivator Moon added a few words. ‘Senior Moon! Even if we complete the mission, how can we solve the problem of the Extinction Pill? Without the Extinction Pill, we won’t be able to withstand the Two-Colored Heavenly Tribulation [a type of powerful trial] even if we complete the mission.’ Han Li asked for the first time. ‘So, you’re Fellow Daoist Han. Don’t worry about that. This mission itself is like a last resort. We plan to distribute all the necessary Extinction Pills before departure. Of course, there will be a restriction placed on the pills, so if you fail to complete the mission, they will automatically disappear. So, you’d better not think about giving up the mission halfway and running away! Otherwise, you know best what will happen.’ ‘I see. Thank you for the explanation.’ Han Li nodded and sat back down. The other cultivators didn’t show it, but they were inwardly smiling bitterly. ‘That’s all I have to say. The first mission will be announced in fifteen days. Those who want to take on a mission should prepare in advance. Although Elder Noera has arranged this mission for us, if other cultivators volunteer, there’s nothing we can do. The meeting is over, so everyone go back and think about it.’ Cultivator Moon smiled and urged them, ending the meeting. Then, he and Jo Moo-gwi were the first to get up from their seats and leave the main hall. Silence lingered in the main hall for a while, and some got up and left, but the remaining cultivators stayed behind, pondering various things. Han Li also didn’t get up in a hurry and was lost in thought. ‘Brother Han, are you interested in this mission?’ Suddenly, someone approached and smiled. ‘So, it’s Fellow Daoist Hwon. I am certainly conflicted. It’s an opportunity given to us by the seniors. However, we must also consider the high risks involved.’ Han Li raised his head to confirm the other person and then answered with a smile. The woman in the blue palace dress was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage [a cultivation stage], and they had met a few times at previous non-Ascended cultivator meetings and were on familiar terms. ‘I heard that you captured Nokyoung during the last patrol. Brother Han, you seem to already have power similar to a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. If you join us, the chances of completing the mission will be even higher. Why don’t you join me in applying for the mission?’ Cultivator Hwon smiled and suggested. Although her face was covered with a blue veil, it was clear that she was a beautiful woman with fair skin and lovely eyes. Han Li was surprised by her suggestion, but he stared at Cultivator Hwon’s face and slowly raised his head. ‘You flatter me. It’s already fortunate if I, who have only recently reached the mid-stage, don’t cause trouble for you and the other cultivators. I still need to consider whether or not to take on the mission.’ It was a polite but subtle refusal. Cultivator Hwon was disappointed by his answer, but she didn’t press further and left after chatting for a while. Although Cultivator Hwon’s cultivation was not low and she had mastered the powerful divine ability called the Three Thousand Emeralds, he preferred to act alone. He had no intention of showing his treasures and divine abilities to others. Moreover, he had an important matter to attend to, so even if the alien race invasion started tomorrow, he couldn’t leave Heavenly Origin City. The Spirit Devouring Beetles, which he had been feeding with Spirit Expectation Grass, had finally met the conditions to become adults a year ago. He had refined them with the attribute secret technique he had learned from Saintess Cheonran, and the spirit insects would evolve within a few months or a year. So, how could he stop the evolution and leave this place in this situation? A blue light streak left the valley and headed towards the city. Returning to the stone tower, he entered the secret chamber, released the restriction, and sat down in a lotus position. He turned his palm over, and a yellow jade bottle appeared. From it, he took out a thumb-sized blue spirit pill and consumed it. Then, a faint blue light appeared from his body. His eyes gleaming, he stretched out both arms and closed his eyes. Poof! A two-inch-sized Nascent Soul [a core of spiritual energy] floated from his crown. Dozens of slender swords were flying around the Nascent Soul, which was standing on a small cauldron. The Nascent Soul lowered its head and looked at the main body stretching out its arms, then blinked its eyes and smiled innocently. It opened its mouth and spewed a silver fireball towards its palm. Then, one of Han Li’s hands was engulfed in silver flames, and a strange thing happened. A black light flickered on the surface of his seemingly ordinary palm, and white bone rings appeared on his five fingers. On each ring, a vivid skull was engraved. The skulls distorted their faces in the silver flames, as if they had awakened from a sleep. Some had very comfortable faces, while others were in pain, and some were expressionless. However, no matter what expression they had, they flickered in the silver flames, changing in size erratically. An even stranger thing was that the hand was also lengthening and shortening according to the changes in the rings. The skin of the palm was gradually turning transparent and white, looking as if it had been carved from jade rather than flesh and blood. The Nascent Soul raised its head and opened its mouth again, this time spewing a fireball onto the other palm. The silver light flared up, and the eerie flames engulfed Han Li’s remaining hand. Surprisingly, this time, the palm in the flames turned pitch black instead of transparent. Also, after a while, small hill-like shapes appeared on the palm and back of the hand, flickering mysteriously. While the two hands were showing different reactions, the Nascent Soul disappeared back into Han Li’s crown. At the same time, Han Li’s body turned a faint golden color, and a faint golden shadow of a human figure appeared behind his back. The golden shadow was vague, but surprisingly, it had three heads and six arms. And the golden magic characters that appeared on his wrists and cheeks slowly rotated. From a distance, it looked like it was covered in golden scales. * * * Ten days later, Han Li walked out of the secret chamber with a calm face and attended the Heavenly Light Hall sermon. After spending three days and nights there listening to the lectures, he left Heavenly Origin City with a satisfied heart and returned to his residence. And less than a month after he returned to his cave, the Heavenly Origin City Elder Council announced a series of missions that seemed dangerous but had great merit. Most of them were related to various alien races, and the people who would take on the missions were mostly Nascent Soul cultivators. This caused a brief commotion in Heavenly Origin City. However, since the missions were very dangerous, there were hardly any volunteers. Around that time, a few uninvited guests suddenly visited Han Li’s territory and came to greet Han Li, the owner of the land. They spent half a day in the cave before quietly leaving, leaving Han Li with a complicated mind. After a few days of deliberation, Han Li finally made a decision. * * * Four months later, most of the Spirit Devouring Beetles successfully evolved with attributes, and there were 6,000 to 7,000 adult Spirit Devouring Beetles. After that, Han Li retrieved the spirit insects and the items in the secret chamber, accepted a dangerous mission in a secret place in Heavenly Origin City, and then disappeared from the city. Soon after, another Nascent Soul captain was appointed to his squad. In Heavenly Origin City, there were often cultivators who suddenly disappeared like Han Li. Some were non-Ascended cultivators, some were ordinary native cultivators, and some were disciples of hidden families. Their only commonality was that they were all Nascent Soul cultivators and had outstanding abilities among their peers. * * * In a forest of distorted, bright red grotesque trees, five young men and women were silently confronting each other, each a few steps apart. They were a man in a silk robe with snow-white lightning-like eyebrows, a woman with a slender figure wearing a black skirt, a young man in a purple robe with blood-red spots on his lips, a pretty young girl in her mid-teens wearing a white robe, and finally, a man in his mid-twenties wearing a blue robe. Standing expressionlessly, he was none other than Han Li, who had left Heavenly Origin City not long ago. The five people looked young, but all of them had cultivation above the Nascent Soul stage, and except for Han Li and the girl in the white robe, who were in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, the rest had achieved great success in the late-Nascent Soul stage. Among them, the woman in the black skirt was Cultivator So of the Black Wind Clan, whom Han Li had met after the demon beast rebellion. The woman stared at Han Li coldly without saying a word, but she was inwardly surprised and flustered. ‘I didn’t expect that two of the cultivators dispatched by the human race for this mission would have mid-stage cultivation. You’re not intentionally trying to ruin this mission, are you?’ The man with snow-white eyebrows spoke. His voice wasn’t very loud, but it echoed in the ears of the other cultivators. At his words, the smile on the face of the young man with blood-red spots faded, but Han Li didn’t care and was playing with a milky white jade pendant. The girl in the white robe blinked her dark eyes and chuckled. None of the three people dispatched by the human race responded. At this reaction, the man with snow-white eyebrows’ face hardened, and he was about to say something when Cultivator So intervened. ‘This mission is a crucial matter for the safety of Heavenly Origin City and both our human and demon races. If we don’t do our best to help, we won’t even be able to reach the mission site, let alone succeed. It will take us half a year just to get there even if we hurry. Since the human race has dispatched three of you for this mission, I believe you are not ordinary people. We will be traveling together for a long time, so let’s introduce ourselves briefly first. I am So Hong from the Black Wind Clan, also known as the Black Phoenix Clan, and this is Cultivator Lee of the Mysterious Hawk Clan.’ At the woman’s confident attitude, the young man with blood-red spots smiled lightly and opened his mouth. ‘I am Nong Dong. The power of extreme fire that surrounds the Fellow Daoist’s body must be the Black Phoenix Clan’s original fire. You have reached a very high level.’ ‘You’re from the Nong family?’ So Hong’s expression changed subtly upon hearing the name of the young man with blood-red spots. ‘I didn’t expect that the Fellow Daoist would know about our Nong family.’