Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 256

Everyone proceeded along the limestone path.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

A heavy reverberation began to emanate from ahead. The continuous sound suggested something enormous was approaching.

Extreme Yin and Qing Yi’s expressions subtly shifted, and they halted.

Man Ho-ja, however, seemed pleased. He chuckled as golden light enveloped him, and golden scales sprouted to protect his body. He had activated the Great Heaven Devil Art [a powerful cultivation technique].

Han Li was witnessing the Great Heaven Devil Art up close for the first time, carefully observing the changes in Man Ho-ja. However, Man Ho-ja’s keen senses detected his gaze. He abruptly turned his head, smiled at Han Li, but the smile was sinister.

Despite a sinking feeling, Han Li couldn’t discern Man Ho-ja’s intentions, so he responded with a smile. Fortunately, Man Ho-ja didn’t stare at him again.

The heavy footsteps grew closer, now within thirty yards. The passage ahead was pitch black, and Han Li couldn’t see what was approaching.

The restrictions were clearly in place, limiting the cultivators’ senses. However, the way the old monsters like Extreme Yin were looking suggested they had perceived something.

‘Hap!’

Before Extreme Yin and Qing Yi could react, Man Ho-ja suddenly charged forward.

Whoosh.

Clang!

He vanished like the wind, and the sound of metal clashing echoed loudly.

Extreme Yin and Qing Yi narrowed their eyes, observing the situation.

Clang!

Though unseen, the continuous sharp sounds indicated something was being smashed. Han Li also had an idea of what was happening.

The darkness fell silent again, and Man Ho-ja’s laughter echoed. Extreme Yin also smiled, as if something had occurred to him, and said,

‘Let’s go. I forgot, it’s been 300 years since I was last here. The guardians of the first floor are no match for our current strength.’

Qing Yi also smiled, looking much more relaxed.

‘Indeed. I was tense, having forgotten. When I came here last, I hadn’t been a Nascent Soul cultivator [a high cultivation stage] for long, so even the first floor was difficult. Fortunately, Man Brother’s Great Heaven Devil Art is the perfect counter to those things. Otherwise, we would have wasted time.’

The two walked towards Man Ho-ja, with Han Li and Oh-chuk following. Hyun-gul, who had maintained a blank expression, looked momentarily surprised but calmly followed.

After another ten yards, Man Ho-ja, standing with his hands behind his back, came into view. At his feet was a pile of silvery, glittering objects.

Man Ho-ja looked at Extreme Yin and Qing Yi and calmly said,

‘These are just a warm-up. The inner hall of the Mirage Pavilion will be more interesting. But their power is weaker than I heard?’

Qing Yi replied with a smile,

‘Man Brother’s Great Heaven Devil Art is amazing. If we had fought with magic treasures in such a confined space, it would have been troublesome.’

Man Ho-ja chuckled at the praise and said nothing more.

The golden scales on his body vanished instantly, and he began to walk as if nothing had happened. He seemed to want to move his body more, still feeling the aftereffects of the recent battle.

Extreme Yin and Qing Yi exchanged glances. If Man Ho-ja was willing to clear the path, there was no reason to refuse. Han Li, passing the silver objects, stopped and looked down.

‘Mechanism puppets!’

It was as he had expected.

He was curious about the grade of puppets that could fight a Nascent Soul cultivator. There was a jumble of various objects: silver, unknown metal, wolf-shaped heads, and pitch-black, matte blades.

Hyun-gul brushed past him and muttered, then walked on without turning his head.

‘Nothing to see. They’re rare materials, but useless for refining magic treasures. Others have already tried.’

Han Li stiffened slightly but looked at the floor as if he hadn’t heard. Among the pile, a cyan gem-like object emitted a cold aura, creating a strange atmosphere.

After a brief sigh, he thought the objects contained the structure and refining methods of ancient puppets, making them worth examining. He picked up the materials that caught his eye and followed the group again.

Even the highest-grade puppets in his Puppet Scripture, the fourth-grade puppets, were only at the level of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators [a lower cultivation stage]. The super-large puppet he had seen before, which attacked once for each medium-grade spirit stone [currency], was a fourth-grade puppet.

However, the wolf-head puppet had clearly surpassed the level of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator [a mid-level cultivation stage]. Although Man Ho-ja had smashed it like a toy, it was evident from Extreme Yin and Qing Yi’s initial tension.

Therefore, there was no reason not to study such high-level puppets. Moreover, in the current situation, there was no chance to enter the stone chamber and obtain treasures.

The three Nascent Soul old monsters were walking ahead, and he was being watched. Even if he approached carefully, they would notice. It was disappointing for Han Li to leave this place empty-handed. So, he consoled himself by collecting the broken puppets.

After the first wolf-head puppet, similar puppets appeared, but they were smashed like mud dolls by Man Ho-ja’s Great Heaven Devil Art, which boasted tremendous defensive power. Extreme Yin and Qing Yi didn’t even need to step forward.

Han Li collected the remains each time. Oh-chuk and Hyun-gul gave him disapproving looks, but the old monsters pretended not to notice.

It was clear that righteous cultivators like Mancheonmyeong were climbing the tower through a different path, but judging from the calmness of Extreme Yin and others, they seemed to have a general idea of their whereabouts.

After the first puppet guard, the group began to turn this way and that instead of going straight. This was strange to Han Li.

To him, all the paths looked the same, but the three Nascent Soul cultivators chose a path without hesitation, turning left and right repeatedly.

If Extreme Yin or Qing Yi, who had been here 300 years ago, had acted this way, it would have been less strange, but they had been following Man Ho-ja since entering the inner hall.

It was strange that he, who was visiting for the first time, was leading the way, and Extreme Yin and Qing Yi were following. Han Li looked for strange markings or differences as he walked.

They reached a small teleportation array after eight wolf-head puppets were smashed by Man Ho-ja’s bare fists.

The teleportation array was in the middle of a cross-shaped road, emitting a faint light. Qing Yi grumbled,

‘Now it’s the second floor. I don’t know what tricks those righteous bastards are using to stay ahead of us.’

Man Ho-ja responded coldly,

‘Hmph! So what if they’re ahead? The Mirage Pavilion isn’t something easily obtained.’

He entered the teleportation array without hesitation. Qing Yi smiled at the sight.

After Man Ho-ja entered, Qing Yi and Extreme Yin turned to look at Han Li with meaningful eyes. Han Li felt a chill at their gaze.

Forced by their gazes, he stepped onto the teleportation array. A white light flashed, and he was teleported. After regaining his balance, he looked around and his face hardened.

It was the same cross-shaped road as the first floor, with the same limestone path. If Man Ho-ja hadn’t been standing with his hands behind his back, he would have thought the teleportation had failed.

As he looked puzzled, the teleportation array lit up again, and Extreme Yin and the others walked out. Extreme Yin looked around and muttered with a displeased expression,

‘How are they running away so fast? We’ve completely lost track of them now.’

Qing Yi replied coldly from behind him,

‘It’s fine. We were tricked by their strange proposal outside the inner hall. But so what if they went first? It’s foolish to try to obtain the Mirage Pavilion with just a few Core Formation cultivators. Besides, even if they find the treasure first, it’s not too late to ambush them and take it.’

‘Qing Brother is right. But we can’t waste any more time, so let’s hurry.’

Qing Yi then spoke to Man Ho-ja,

‘The snake puppets on this floor are tricky, so Man Brother should be careful. To save time, Oh Brother and I will help. We can’t give those righteous bastards any more time.’

‘Snake puppets, you say? That sounds interesting! Do as you wish.’

Thus, the demonic group moved. The difference between the first and second floors became apparent. The frequency of cross-shaped intersections was much lower, and there were powerful restrictions and traps on the paths.

These dangers were not a big deal for Nascent Soul old monsters like Man Ho-ja, but they were fatal to Core Formation cultivators. Han Li, walking behind the old monsters, broke out in a cold sweat once or twice.

If he had entered the second floor alone, he would have died from the restrictions and traps. It was only when Han Li passed the fifth door on the second floor that the snake puppets Old Man Qing had mentioned appeared.

The puppets were threatening.

They had long, narrow blue and red eyes, four arms protruding from their bodies, and black scales that gave a sinister impression.

The two front hands held blue spears, and the two back hands held black whips covered in hooks.

Swish!

As soon as the snake saw Man Ho-ja and the others, it turned into a black streak of light and charged. Its speed was extremely agile. Man Ho-ja’s wild laughter, fueled by the Great Heaven Devil Art, erupted.

A surprising thing happened!

The snake puppet’s movements were unpredictable, using the spears and whips to entangle Man Ho-ja’s steel-like body. Though it couldn’t damage him, he couldn’t attack without using a magic treasure.

The blue spears only deformed after being struck by Man Ho-ja’s golden hands, but they didn’t break.

‘……?’

Man Ho-ja seemed surprised. At that moment, Extreme Yin and Qing Yi stepped forward.

Extreme Yin used the Heavenly Fire Han Li had experienced before. A pitch-black fireball rose from his hand and shot out.

Bang!

One of the snake puppet’s arms, unable to escape because it was dealing with Man Ho-ja’s Great Heaven Devil Art, disappeared completely.

Qing Yi, on the other side, opened his mouth and spewed out a blue light.

Pop pop pop!

The blue light circled the puppet, and after a while, small explosions were heard. The snake puppet lost its balance and staggered.

Man Ho-ja seized the opportunity to thrust his golden hand into the puppet’s chest and pulled out a cyan gem. The snake puppet lost power and collapsed.

Man Ho-ja looked back and forth between the puppet and the cyan gem, then anger flashed across his face, and he clenched his fist.

However, the gem, expected to be crushed, remained intact even when he opened his hand.

Man Ho-ja’s expression, usually fierce, changed slightly.

When caught in his golden hand, using the Great Heaven Devil Art, most treasures, even magic treasures with sufficient spiritual power, would be crushed instantly. If they were of a lower grade, they would often be scattered into powder.

As he stared blankly at the cyan stone, Qing Yi approached with a smile.

‘It’s not surprising, Man Brother! Previous cultivators have experimented with this strange stone. It can’t be broken with force, melted, or used for refining, so it’s useless.’

‘Perhaps only ancient cultivators could handle it. Even sects specializing in puppet refining say they have no way to deal with it.’

Man Ho-ja suddenly threw it towards Han Li, as if hiding his awkwardness.

‘The things of ancient cultivators are abnormal. You like these old things, so take it.’

Confused, Han Li diligently received it. He immediately grasped the situation and put the cyan stone into his storage pouch. Then, he stepped forward and began to collect the remains of the snake puppet as well.

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