Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 186

As the Mulan Tribe’s shamans grew in number, their need for areas rich in spiritual energy and spirit stones increased, making it impossible to accommodate them all on the Great Plains. After all, the plains were not ideal for cultivation. Over time, the Mulan Tribe shamans began to covet the abundant resources of the nine nations, frequently crossing borders to plunder spirit stone mines and other resources.

The cultivation world of the nine nations was not willing to surrender their vital resources, and a bloody conflict erupted. Initially, each nation fought separately and suffered significant defeats against the Mulan Tribe’s combined forces, even losing some territory.

Later, realizing the terrifying strength of their opponents, the nine nations’ cultivation world hastily formed the Nine Nations Alliance, which barely managed to match the Mulan Tribe and reclaim their lost territory.

However, the Mulan Tribe, having tasted victory, did not remain idle. As time passed, the death toll in this conflict only increased. The growing resentment between the Mulan Tribe and the nine nations also affected other tribes, eventually solidifying into a deep-seated hatred between the Mulan Tribe and the Yan Tribe.

Now, just as the Mulan Tribe could not safely enter the territory of the Nine Nations Alliance, the Yan Tribe could not enter the Mulan Plains within a hundred miles and expect to survive. Moreover, they had no idea how many cultivators the Mulan Tribe possessed.

The Mulan Great Plains were so vast that the tribes in conflict with the Nine Nations Alliance were only a small part of it.

Although the Mulan Great Plains did not stretch endlessly, it was so vast that it was said even the Mulan people would experience five seasons while crossing it. Moreover, the Mulan Plains was just what the Mulan Tribe called it; there were also areas where their natural enemies, the Tuwu people, lived.

The Tuwu people, also a nomadic tribe, called this vast plain the Tianlan Plains because they believed in the legendary Tianlan Beast as their guardian deity.

Since different tribes lived on the same plains, it was no surprise that they were in a constant state of conflict. The warriors and cultivators of both tribes had been killing each other for generations.

Every 100 years, both sides would engage in a massive battle in the center of the plains, with tens of thousands of ordinary warriors fighting on the ground and cultivators clashing in the sky.

Naturally, the final victory or defeat was determined by the battle in the sky. Han Li had learned about these things from the scriptures kept in his sect.

The scriptures also stated that at the end of the plains, there was a vast empire that was not even one-tenth the size of the entire Tiannan region. [Tiannan region is a large area where the story takes place.]

In fact, Han Li found it hard to believe. A country ten times larger than the Tiannan region was simply unimaginable.

If the six sects of Yue State were to establish a base in a neighboring country, the Nine Nations Alliance would surely notice.

In any case, the cultivation world of the Nine Nations Alliance was already fighting the Mulan Tribe shamans with a disadvantage of one to ten years, so they would welcome a large-scale helper.

However, how much territory each sect could occupy within their respective countries depended on the sect’s capabilities. This meant that Han Li could not go south of the Tiannan region.

He had considered this before, but after carefully reviewing the information, he realized it was quite troublesome. It seemed he would have to restore the ancient teleportation array first and then think about it again.

In fact, if the area he teleported to was not satisfactory, he could simply return, even if it meant taking some risks.

* * *

Having made up his mind, Han Li quietly ascended onto his magical artifact and left the mountain peak.

Han Li first went to the Tianxing Sect market to gather the materials needed to restore the teleportation array and then headed to Yue State.

This time, he did not take the same route he had taken when he first entered Yuanwu State. Instead, he deliberately made a large detour, aiming to infiltrate through the most remote corner of the border.

Yue State was practically under the control of the Demonic Path, so there was a risk of being hunted down at any time. He didn’t know that his caution had once again helped him avoid a great danger.

The Demonic Path had already dispatched a considerable number of disciples to guard the border day and night, and if he had passed through the area he had originally used, it would have been difficult to avoid a chase, no matter how careful he was.

He secretly entered Yue State and chose only secluded paths, allowing him to safely reach the vicinity of the spirit stone mine where the ancient teleportation array was hidden.

The spirit stone mine was already under the control of the Demonic Path.

From a distance, Han Li observed that there were Demonic Path disciples wearing two types of clothing, green and white, at the mine. The turquoise skull and pink peach blossom symbols indicated that they were from the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Joyful Union Sect.

Having identified the identities of the Demonic Path cultivators guarding the area, he quietly used his stealth technique and entered the hidden underground passage.

He used his magical artifact to break through the entrance he had previously blocked and arrived in front of the partially damaged ancient teleportation array. He was relieved to see that the ancient teleportation array was still intact.

Over the next few days, he first used the newly acquired illusion barrier formation artifact to thoroughly conceal the hidden underground entrance, and then used the improved Five Elements Reversal Formation artifact to protect the cave where the ancient teleportation array was located.

This was to buy time even if he was discovered by the Demonic Path cultivators. After taking appropriate measures, Han Li finally felt relieved and focused on restoring the teleportation array.

The book given to him by Xin Ruyin stated that ancient teleportation arrays were so precise that even a single line drawn incorrectly could cause problems with the entire array. Therefore, the work progressed slowly.

After seven full days, when the restoration of the teleportation array was about half finished, he faced a crisis as his prepared materials ran out.

He was at a loss. He had prepared as much as possible, but he had made mistakes during the restoration work and wasted a lot of materials.

In fact, it was not surprising since he was not a professional alchemist or formation master. Due to his lack of skill, he kept making mistakes, and he had only managed to restore half of it before running out of materials.

It seemed he would have to go out again. If his memory was correct, there was a small market managed by a certain cultivation family a few days east of the spirit stone mine.

Although the market was small, he should be able to find basic materials such as iron, crystal, and jade. Since the core part of the teleportation array was not destroyed, he did not need very rare materials to restore it.

His only concern now was whether that family would still be maintaining the market in this chaotic situation. He was worried about taking the risk of going there only to return empty-handed.

After pondering for a while, Han Li left the cave under the cover of darkness as night fell and flew towards the market.

If he could not find the materials at the place he was going, he would have no choice but to return to Yuanwu State to get the materials. In any case, he had to restore the ancient teleportation array.

He flew east tirelessly in the pitch-black night, and when signs of dawn began to appear, he looked for a place to hide. As he looked down, his expression suddenly changed, and he stared intently at one spot.

He sensed a group of people rushing towards this place at full speed. Without thinking, he descended vertically and hid in the darkness.

As soon as he hid his body and concealed his spiritual energy, a bright white light flashed and approached. Behind the white light, a red mist followed closely, making a ghostly sound, and next to it, there was something like the color of sunset.

Han Li, who was hiding in the forest and looking up, did not notice the white light or the sunset color. Only the blood-red cloud caught his eye.

‘That’s definitely the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Master’s demonic art. Could it be that he’s here?’

Recalling the power of the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Master, Han Li’s expression darkened. At that moment, the white light that had been leading did not pass by but stopped, and a woman in white clothes standing on a sword revealed herself.

The slender woman was wearing a bamboo hat and spoke in a cold voice.

“You little brats dare to chase me like this, do you truly wish to die!”

The cold voice echoed in Han Li’s ears, and he almost jumped up in shock.

‘T-that’s Nangong Wan’s voice. Could it be…’

The woman he had first met had left a deep impression on him despite their short encounter. This voice was very similar to Nangong Wan’s, except that it sounded a little hoarse.

Not only Han Li, but also the figures in the blood cloud and pink light that were chasing her were surprised and stopped about ten yards away from her.

Then, the blood and pink light faded, and the cultivators within revealed their identities.

Within the familiar blood-red cloud was indeed the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Master, Wang Xian, and where the sunset light had scattered, there was the handsome man he had seen at the Spirit Origin Auction, and Dong Xuan’er, who had gone missing.

Dong Xuan’er’s expression was extremely cold, and her previous fox-like demeanor was long gone. Moreover, her cultivation level, which had been at the early stage of Qi Condensation, had now reached the middle stage.

Han Li’s brow furrowed as he saw her standing next to the strange handsome man. At this moment, the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Master and the handsome man were hesitant.

The woman had killed countless Demonic Path cultivators and even Core Formation stage cultivators during the battle at the Yan Moon Sect. If she were to use all her strength to fight them to the death, they would not survive. Thinking this, the Demonic Path cultivators were wary of each other and did not dare to step forward first.

The handsome man rolled his eyes, smiled, and said to the masked woman,

“If Senior Nangong had said that before, I would have retreated, but now, considering the relationship between the Yan Moon Sect and the Joyful Union Sect, even if I wanted to retreat, I don’t know if Brother Wang, the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Master, would do the same.”

The man adopted an attitude of resolving all problems with words and subtly shifted the blame to Wang Xian. How could Wang Xian not be angry after hearing those words!

However, he was not the type to show his emotions at any time, so he simply turned his cold gaze to the man.

“I heard that the Joyful Union Sect has a secret technique called the Profound Moon Yin Absorption Technique. It is said that those who cultivate this technique can enhance their magic power by absorbing the extreme yin energy of women. By absorbing the cultivation of a Core Formation stage senior, it won’t be long before Young Master Quan breaks through from the middle stage of Qi Condensation to the late stage!”

Wang Xian’s words hit the mark, and the handsome man’s face twisted slightly. He had not expected that his opponent would see through his reason for desperately chasing after Core Formation stage cultivators.

At the same time, the masked woman’s eyes flashed with fire, and she gritted her teeth.

“So it was you. All of you, die!”

Her hand moved, and a hazy sword light shot out. At the same time, Wang Xian and the handsome man were shocked and used their blood mist and sunset light to block the attack and retreated.

Even Dong Xuan’er, who was with the sinister man, retreated. An attack filled with the anger of a Core Formation stage cultivator was not something they could easily block.

The white sword light that had covered the sky at the masked woman’s command flew for about ten yards before suddenly disappearing.

At the same time, the woman who had risen onto her magical artifact staggered and looked as if she would collapse at any moment. Seeing this, the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Master and the handsome man, thinking it was an opportunity, rushed forward at the same time.

Han Li’s expression changed, and as he brushed against the ground, thirteen Red Thread Escape Needles appeared in his hand.

He knew how dangerous it was to step forward now, but he could not just watch Nangong Wan die like this.

He was selfish and cold, but he was definitely not a heartless or cruel person. Moreover, even if he could not defeat the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Master and the handsome man, he was confident that he could escape.

Just as he was about to act, the situation in the sky changed again. The woman, who had been staggering unsteadily on her sword, suddenly revealed a chilling gaze as Wang Xian and the handsome man approached.

Wang Xian and the handsome man were also startled and realized that they had fallen into a trap, but it was already too late to create distance.

The woman’s two hands moved, and countless sword energies flew towards the three of them, as if they would cover the sky.

Han Li was slightly relieved at the scene and relaxed his grip on the magical artifact in his hand.

However, even within the woman’s gray-white light, they were stubbornly holding on. In particular, the blue and red light that the handsome man and Dong Xuan’er simultaneously released surprisingly blocked the woman’s attack.

Han Li confirmed this, thought for a moment, and then disappeared from the spot.