Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 245

The Extreme Yin Patriarch rattled off numerous conditions in one breath. As if that wasn’t enough, the Mysterious Bone’s voice intruded through telepathy.

“Boy, choose to side with that rogue cultivator. Only then will you have a chance to deal with him. Remember, I’m the only one who knows the pill refinement method for the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng. It’s best to do as I say. Otherwise…”

His words were laced with threats. Han Li secretly glared, his eyes narrowed.

Since all three had their own agendas, a single wrong choice could lead to immense disaster.

If he had to align himself with someone, the Scholar Old Man seemed the most suitable. Although his inheritance might not be substantial, he wasn’t embroiled in any strange grudges, so Han Li wouldn’t risk his life getting caught in other people’s conflicts.

Besides, Han Li didn’t care about the pills or beauties the Extreme Yin Patriarch had promised. And to kidnap Fairy Zi Ling? That was truly outrageous.

However, after hearing the Mysterious Bone’s telepathic message, he couldn’t help but feel troubled. Reaching the Nascent Soul stage and advancing further on the path of cultivation was his current goal, making the Mysterious Bone’s pill recipe essential.

Han Li lowered his head, lost in deep thought.

After a while, he finally raised his head and gave an answer that would disappoint the Scholar Old Man and greatly please the Extreme Yin Patriarch.

“I have long admired the prestige of the Extreme Yin Sect. I wish to receive guidance from Senior Extreme Yin from now on.”

“Excellent! This Patriarch will first accept you as a nominal disciple. After returning to the Extreme Yin Sect, we will hold a formal ceremony for you to become a true disciple. This Profound Yin Ring is one of the ancient treasures I obtained as a set, and all direct disciples possess one. It will serve as proof and a defensive item, so keep it safe!”

The Extreme Yin Patriarch removed a grayish-white ring from his finger and handed it to Han Li, accepting him as a disciple on the spot.

Han Li was slightly surprised as he accepted it. The ring was engraved with ancient patterns and symbols, and it had a faint blue luster, indicating it was no ordinary item.

Just as Han Li was about to show a happy expression, the Mysterious Bone’s sneer reached his ears.

“Profound Yin Ring? That rogue cultivator is trying everything to erase my existence. It’s clearly the Yin-Yang Ring, an ancient treasure I gave, but he even changed the name! Hmph! You won’t have anything to be happy about either. That yin-infused ring can defend and attack enemies. However, it’s incompatible with the yang-infused ring that the Extreme Yin Patriarch possesses, so if you use that ring to attack that rogue cultivator later, it will be suicide.”

Han Li outwardly expressed his gratitude to the Extreme Yin Patriarch, but inwardly, he sighed deeply.

To stay by the side of the Extreme Yin Patriarch, who was so deeply scheming, he had to be constantly on his guard. Even the slightest carelessness could lead to disaster.

Now, he could only earnestly hope that the Mysterious Bone truly had a way to deal with the Extreme Yin Patriarch. Otherwise, he would end up going to the Extreme Yin Sect and becoming the old monster’s disciple!

Moreover, even if he pretended to be an obedient disciple, there was no guarantee the Extreme Yin Patriarch wouldn’t turn on him and cause trouble.

He had brought trouble upon himself.

Now was the time to observe carefully and act cautiously. It was all because his cultivation was inferior to those old monsters.

He had known since entering the cultivation world that the strong would monopolize everything and act tyrannically, but this sense of powerlessness was an emotion he had almost forgotten after becoming a Core Formation cultivator.

He wondered if he was possessed by some kind of demon. He had only followed the secret map out of curiosity, but he had caught the attention of Nascent Soul old monsters, who were difficult to even see once, and had become entangled in complicated matters.

Han Li was frustrated inside, but outwardly, he acted as if he was overjoyed.

The Extreme Yin Patriarch was quite pleased with Han Li’s acceptance of the Profound Yin Ring and his respectful attitude. He exchanged a few words with the old man and was about to leave with Han Li.

The time had come. If they didn’t go to the Great Canyon now, they would never reach Icefire Island. Han Li summoned the Blood Jade Spider and flew high into the sky.

During the journey, the Extreme Yin Patriarch spoke to Han Li with a kind face, pointing out his mistakes in cultivation. Han Li gained much enlightenment from this.

Han Li sighed inwardly, once again realizing the difference between having a master and not having one. However, Wu Chou, who was watching this from the side, was furious and fuming.

There was no way Han Li wouldn’t notice his hostility. However, he had other plans, so he pretended not to notice his strong animosity.

After the four cultivators flew swiftly for several hours, a huge mountain thousands of feet high appeared. The mountain was very tall and rugged, made of huge blue and black rocks. Also, the middle of the peak was precisely divided as if a ghost had carved it, forming the desolate Great Canyon.

However, what was strange was that red and blue lights were emitted from the very center of this split, making it look extremely bizarre even from afar.

At the entrance of the Great Canyon below the mountain peak, about thirty cultivators were already sitting and waiting for something.

The Extreme Yin Patriarch and the others slowly descended towards the cultivators. A quick glance revealed that the black-clad woman, Yuan Yao, was also among them. She seemed quite surprised to see Han Li with the Nascent Soul demonic cultivators and avoided his gaze, looking a bit flustered.

Han Li wondered why, but soon something came to mind. He immediately averted his gaze and looked elsewhere.

Since Fairy Zi Ling and the young man who was always with her were not there, it seemed she had returned without entering Icefire Island, as she had said.

The remaining cultivators all had serious expressions, but they were calm and composed. Most of their cultivation was higher than Han Li’s, being in the mid or late Core Formation stage.

There were only about six or seven cultivators in the early Core Formation stage like Han Li and Yuan Yao, but they also had calm expressions, as if they were confident in the next stage.

After assessing the situation, he slightly raised one eyebrow. Since the Nascent Soul cultivators were not visible, it seemed that the Extreme Yin Patriarch and the others had arrived first.

As he was thinking this, the Extreme Yin Patriarch found a suitable spot and sat down in a cross-legged position, and Wu Chou naturally sat down next to him.

The Extreme Yin Patriarch said to Han Li with a kind face.

“Han Li, you should also rest next to me!”

Even though Han Li had no intention of getting close to the old monster, he couldn’t refuse. He quietly approached the Extreme Yin Patriarch and sat down in a cross-legged position.

As soon as Han Li took his place, a sound of air being torn apart was heard in the void, and Man Tianming and two other Nascent Soul cultivators descended.

They sneered at the Extreme Yin Patriarch and Qing Yi Layman, then took their places elsewhere and discussed something in low voices.

“Hmph!”

The Extreme Yin Patriarch snorted at their behavior and closed his eyes to gather his magic power.

On the other hand, Han Li looked around as if he was observing something. Anyone with a keen eye would know that he was not actually looking at anything but was lost in thought.

After a quarter of an hour, five or six cultivators arrived continuously.

Among them were the white-clad cultivators of the Sacred Palace, and the only Nascent Soul cultivator who had not appeared was Wan Huzi.

Another half an hour passed, but Wan Huzi did not appear. At this time, Man Tianming and his group looked at them with strange eyes, but the Extreme Yin Patriarch and the Scholar Old Man sat there with indifferent expressions.

However, Han Li, who was sitting next to them, noticed that the Extreme Yin Patriarch and the Scholar Old Man were hiding a slight anxiety.

Without Wan Huzi, they would lose their balance of power with the righteous cultivators, so they couldn’t help but be worried.

More time passed.

Finally, the Extreme Yin Patriarch and Qing Yi Layman couldn’t help but glance at the void. Although there was no day or night in this space and the sunlight was brilliant, Han Li thought that almost a day had passed.

‘What happened to Wan Huzi, who is said to be the strongest among the demonic cultivators in the Void Sky Hall?’

Swoosh.

While the demonic and righteous cultivators were lost in thought, a loud sound was heard from afar. The Extreme Yin Patriarch and Qing Yi Layman exchanged glances, relieved upon hearing the sound.

The Scholar Old Man chuckled lightly and muttered in a low voice.

“It seems that Wan Huzi is in a good mood, so he must have had an unexpected gain.”

“Hmph! What unexpected gain could there be here? At most, it would be the Source Fruit.”

As the Extreme Yin Patriarch shook his head, the Scholar Old Man was about to say something again when a golden sphere fell like a meteor.

The old man immediately closed his mouth and swallowed the words he was about to say. Han Li’s eyes sparkled as he looked at it.

The cultivators who were seeing the power of the Heaven Piercing Demonic Art [a powerful cultivation technique] for the first time all looked up at Wan Huzi with surprised eyes. The shape of the golden light surrounding Wan Huzi was very unique, creating an atmosphere as if a demon god had descended.

Not only did a blinding golden light pour out from his entire body, but his skin, which was exposed outside his clothes, was covered with dense golden scales.

The scales emitted a beautiful light, and the cool luster made them look very hard just by looking at them. Wu Chou, who was next to the Extreme Yin Patriarch, swallowed hard and said.

“Is that the Heaven Piercing Demonic Art? It’s amazing.”

The Extreme Yin Patriarch, who gave Wu Chou a cold look, said in a not-so-bright tone.

“Hmph, it’s just a turtle shell. Even if the Profound Yin Grand Method [a cultivation technique] is perfected, it won’t lose to the Heaven Piercing Demonic Art.”

Only then did Wu Chou realize that the relationship between his patriarch and Wan Huzi was not good, and that his praise had upset his patriarch. At the same time, he agreed with his patriarch’s words with a troubled expression and kept silent again. At this time, Wan Huzi in the void scanned the cultivators and then descended towards where the Extreme Yin Patriarch and the others were without hesitation.

Thud.

The ground nearby shook when he landed. As Wan Huzi’s golden scales disappeared, the light gradually faded.

Before he could even speak, the Scholar Old Man asked with a smile.

“Brother Wan, it seems you had a good harvest!”

Wan Huzi, who was still excited, answered without hesitation.

“Haha! I had an unexpected gain! I found and killed an Ice Snow Toad near the Source Fruit tree, and the inner core of this toad demon is excellent for enhancing the Heaven Piercing Demonic Art!”

His honest answer was so unexpected that the Extreme Yin Patriarch and Qing Yi Layman couldn’t believe his words for a moment. After a while, Qing Yi Layman, who had regained his composure, smiled and exclaimed.

“I truly congratulate you. If you can further refine the Heaven Piercing Demonic Art, you will be able to fight against the Twin Saints or the Six Paths.”

The Extreme Yin Patriarch also offered a simple congratulations. Wan Huzi smiled as he listened to their words, then was about to say something when his gaze fixed on Han Li.

He made a strange expression, and an astonishing aura emanated from his eyes. Han Li, who received that gaze, couldn’t move a single finger. Especially when his gaze touched him, it felt like his limbs were freezing.

Han Li’s face turned pale, and without even thinking, he activated the Great Development Technique [a defensive technique]. Once his mind was firm, the color returned to his face, and his body returned to normal.

“Hmm?”

Wan Huzi made a puzzled expression without realizing it.

Just as he was about to do something with a happy expression on his face, the Extreme Yin Patriarch’s figure flashed and stood in front of Han Li. The Extreme Yin Patriarch faced Wan Huzi’s aura and opened his mouth with a calm face.

“Brother Wan, why are you doing this? Why are you trying to harm my disciple?”

“Disciple? Are you trying to play with me? Except for that Wu Chou, who is your disciple in the Void Sky Hall?”

Wan Huzi glanced at Wu Chou with a disdainful look and was about to attack if he gave the wrong answer.

Qing Yi Layman hurriedly explained.

“Haha, Brother Wan, it’s understandable that you would misunderstand. Fellow Daoist Wu just took in a new disciple today, so you wouldn’t know.”