Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 178

After examining all the contents, Han Li unceremoniously poured the items into his own storage pouch and tore apart the storage pouch of the Soul Capturing Sect cultivator. Although the opponent’s storage pouch was far superior in performance, he couldn’t carelessly keep an item that might have unknown marks on it. After resting for a day, Han Li took Gokhun and flew towards the direction of the Yellow Maple Valley, not the battlefield. If something had happened, the news would have reached each sect first, so it wouldn’t be too late to visit the sect to assess the situation and then return to the front lines. On the sixth day after taking off with Gokhun, they arrived at the Taiyue Mountain Range. Han Li decided not to meet anyone and returned to his residence. He was greatly relieved to see that the formation set up outside was intact. Han Li immediately went inside and found the secret room with the Spirit Eye Spring. As expected, the spider eggs had already hatched, and two fist-sized white spiders were floating on the Spirit Eye Spring. The baby spiders were so transparent that it was clear at a glance that they were extraordinary. When the baby spiders discovered Han Li, they immediately jumped out of the Spirit Eye Spring. At first, he was a little surprised, but Han Li didn’t seem to have any intention of avoiding them. The baby spiders landed on his shoulders and playfully crawled all over Han Li’s body. Their affectionate behavior naturally brought a smile to Han Li’s face. It seemed that the restriction he had placed using his blood before was working well. The baby spiders regarded Han Li as a parent and were acting so friendly. Feeling pleased, he took one of them off and placed it on his palm, starting to observe it closely. This young spider was beautiful and lovely, its entire body shining white. The most surprising thing was that the baby spider’s spiritual power had already reached the third or fourth level of Qi Condensation [the initial stage of cultivation], making it a first-grade lower realm demonic beast. The white spider demonic beast was listed as the Blood Jade Spider in the book he had obtained a few days ago, ranked somewhere in the 100s. Although it didn’t match the Giant Mantis called the Golden-Backed Demonic Mantis, it was still a rare species. Han Li played with the baby spiders for a while before taking out a leather pouch and putting the spiders inside. He didn’t know when he would return after leaving, so he planned to take them with him and train them slowly. Afterward, he moved back to his bedroom and took out a small chest from under the bed. Inside the chest were a dozen storage pouches filled with various talismans, and he chose two of them to take with him. He had used up almost all of the talismans he had been carrying, so he was replenishing them in case of an emergency. He hid Gokhun in his residence and immediately flew towards the Yellow Maple Valley. Perhaps because most of them were out at the front lines, he only saw a few Qi Condensation disciples. He stopped one of them and asked about the situation within the valley. As a result, there was no particularly bad news, which made him feel a little relieved. Perhaps Old Man Ma, being at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment [a higher stage of cultivation], would know more. Shortly after, he arrived above the Hundred Herb Garden and was blocked by a white mist caused by a formation. Since he had already returned the token to pass through the formation, there was no way to enter directly. Having seen the power of the Five Elements Grand Formation, how could he pay attention to such a shabby illusion formation? Still, he couldn’t break through someone else’s formation, so he took out a sound transmission talisman, moved his lips, and sent it flying into the mist. The talisman immediately turned into a streak of light and disappeared inside. Not long after, the mist beneath his feet began to stir, and a passage was formed for him to pass through. Han Li smiled and slowly flew inside. At the end of the passage, he saw two people standing in the center of the Hundred Herb Garden, looking up at him. “Senior Brother Ma, it’s been a while.” One of them was Old Man Ma, the owner of the Hundred Herb Garden. “Hmph! It has been a while, and you even sent me a troublesome burden.” “Haha, surely you don’t dislike a fine disciple like Miss So?” Han Li, unconcerned by his expression, smiled at the other person. She blushed and bowed to Han Li. “So Chui-in greets Senior Uncle Han. Thank you so much for your great kindness!” The young woman was the granddaughter of Old Man So. Old Man Ma was about to retort to Han Li’s words when Han Li changed the subject first. “Senior Brother Ma, I’ve come this time because I have an important matter to ask about. It’s a serious matter.” His expression became noticeably serious. Seeing his expression, the old man raised his eyebrows and instructed So Chui-in. “Guard the entrance of the herb garden while I talk with your Senior Uncle Han.” “Yes, Master!” The girl answered respectfully and immediately walked towards the entrance. The old man seemed satisfied with her appearance, showing a hint of doting in his eyes. Han Li secretly smiled. When did he complain about sending a burden, and now he’s showing how much he cares for her? The old man took Han Li to a guest room and sat down. “Junior Brother, what brings you here when you should be at the front lines? And what is it that you need to ask about?” “Ha… it’s a long story.” Han Li sighed deeply and gave a wry smile. Since he had known the old man for a long time, he was certain that despite his rough words, he was not a bad person at heart. So, he roughly explained his encounter with the Soul Capturing Sect cultivator. Of course, he glossed over the details of how he dealt with him, and the main topic was that the Spirit Beast Mountain might be a force planted by the Demonic Path. The old man’s expression, which had seemed uninterested, froze as the story progressed. After a while, the old man finally spoke. “Are you saying that Junior Brother Han destroyed the Nascent Soul [the core of a cultivator’s power] of a Core Formation cultivator? And that the Spirit Beast Mountain are spies of the Demonic Path?” He had an expression that this story was too absurd. Reading the old man’s expression, Han Li couldn’t help but feel bitter. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, as such words were hard for anyone to believe at once. “I also don’t know the truth of this information, so I came to the Yellow Maple Valley first to inquire about the news from the front. If there are no other abnormalities, I can feel relieved and respond to the summons.” “There hasn’t been any other news. Most of it is about requesting large amounts of spirit stones or supplies, and there have been no strange signs.” When the old man answered seriously, Han Li felt a little relieved. “Then that bastard was playing with me. I don’t know whether to curse him to vent my anger or to smile and feel relieved that the war situation is okay.” Ding! Ding! Ding!… Before he could finish speaking, a huge bell sound echoed continuously from the direction of the Council Hall. The old man and Han Li looked at each other at the same time, their expressions changing drastically. The bell sound only subsided after a quarter of an hour. Old Man Ma, his face darkened, took a deep breath and opened his mouth. “The bell rang eighty-one times. Judging by the situation, there’s a high possibility that the information is true.” Han Li was silent for a moment before calmly raising his head. “Let’s go find out what exactly happened.” “It’s obvious. How could the bell ring eighty-one times, which signifies the imminent destruction of the sect, unless the Seven Great Sects have suffered a crushing defeat?” Han Li and the old man burst out of the guest room together, and So Chui-in, who was guarding the entrance of the Hundred Herb Garden, also looked at her master in surprise at the sound of the bell. The old man lowered his eyebrows and approached her, saying something, and only then did So Chui-in’s expression return to normal. Afterward, the old man and Han Li flew towards the Council Hall on their magical artifacts. On the way, many cultivators were heading in the same direction, but most of them were Qi Condensation cultivators. As expected, there were hardly any useful personnel left in the sect. If the Demonic Path really advanced, the formations protecting the sect alone would not be able to hold out for long. They landed in front of the huge stone hall with dark faces. At this time, about 1,000 cultivators were gathered in front of the hall entrance, but only cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage were allowed to enter the Council Hall. Han Li and the old man entered, receiving the complex gazes of many disciples. However, Han Li was startled when he entered the main hall of the Council Hall. Instead of the commotion and chaos he had imagined, nearly 100 cultivators were silently looking ahead, as if they were mice. The person they were respectfully looking at was not the nominal Yellow Maple Valley Sect Master, Zhong Lingdao. Zhong Lingdao was instead standing respectfully to one side, and an old man in golden robes with white hair and beard was sitting in the seat of honor. The old man had a yellowish face, and his fingernail-sized eyes were lifeless, making him extremely ugly. However, for some reason, as soon as Han Li saw him, his heart sank, and he couldn’t control his trembling. ‘What’s going on?’ Han Li was flustered. The old man in golden robes calmly looked at Han Li and Old Man Ma as they arrived. As he received that gaze, Han Li felt a chill all over his body, as if he had been stripped naked. He had a premonition that all his hidden secrets had been exposed, and his expression changed greatly. The old man in golden robes looked at Han Li, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. “Oh, your Nascent Soul cultivation is quite good. It seems you’ve learned a technique to strengthen your Nascent Soul?” His calm question doubled the fear. What was even more mysterious was that he couldn’t gauge the old man in golden robes’ spiritual power. In such cases, it meant that the difference in their spiritual power was like heaven and earth. This old man, who gave him a strange feeling that he couldn’t even feel from Core Formation cultivators like Yihua Yuan, then… Having quickly made a judgment, Han Li answered with an even more respectful posture. “Reporting to Senior, it is true that I have learned a technique related to the Nascent Soul. Senior’s insight is truly profound.” When Han Li subtly praised him, the old man in golden robes smiled faintly and waved his hand. Old Man Ma and Han Li immediately joined the crowd. Shortly after, a dozen or so more Foundation Establishment cultivators entered. At this time, Zhong Lingdao spoke to the old man with a respectful attitude. “Ancestor, almost all the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the valley have gathered. Senior Uncle Huang is at the Thousand Stone Peak, so he probably won’t be able to come down immediately.” The old man in golden robes’ eyebrows slightly rose and fell, and he gave an ordinary order. “If he can’t come, there’s nothing to be done. Now is a time of great urgency, so let’s begin.” “Yes, I understand.” “Fellow disciples, let me introduce Ancestor Linghu. Ancestor entered the Nascent Soul stage 300 years ago and has been serving as the only Supreme Elder of our sect. I inform you that all matters will be handled according to Ancestor’s arrangements during this crisis of our sect’s destruction.” Zhong Lingdao finished only what was necessary and immediately stepped aside. Even though the Foundation Establishment cultivators had vaguely anticipated the identity of the old man in golden robes, they became a little noisy when they heard the name Ancestor Linghu. He was the only Nascent Soul cultivator in the thousand-year history of the Yellow Maple Valley, a living old man who had lived for almost 800 years. When Linghu lightly cleared his throat, the main hall regained its stability. Who would dare to open their mouths when the ancestor had stepped forward! “You must have heard the Dragon Alarm Bell ringing. Currently, the allied forces of the Seven Great Sects have suffered a crushing defeat, with countless casualties, and are barely maintaining the second line of defense, but they are on the verge of defeat.” At the words of the old man in golden robes, the faces of the cultivators in the main hall turned cold, but only Han Li and Old Man Ma looked at each other without saying a word. “How can that be, Ancestor! The day of the decisive battle with the Demonic Path is still more than a month away.” Some middle-aged cultivator couldn’t help but step forward. “Those at the front lines had the same thoughts as you, and they suffered a crushing defeat in the Demonic Path’s attack.” The old man in golden robes’ face hardened as he rebuked him, and the middle-aged man’s face turned red as he hurriedly bowed and returned to his seat. Watching that scene, the others swallowed their doubts and listened to Ancestor Linghu’s words. “In fact, the main reason for this defeat is not the negligence of those in charge of the front lines, but because a traitor appeared in the Seven Great Sects. It seems that the Spirit Beast Mountain opened the formation while they were in charge of security and called in the Demonic Path people, which is what caused this.” The old man in golden robes was also furious. At the new information, the cultivators cursed the Spirit Beast Mountain, and the hall became chaotic once again.