Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 258

Three cultivators stood beside the altar; they were Man Cheon-myeong and others from the Righteous path. They were clearly aware of the Demonic cultivators’ arrival, but they acted as if they were invisible, staring intently only at the golden silkworms. Man Ho-ja, his eyes emitting a cold aura, immediately shot out two golden streaks.

At the same time, Man Cheon-myeong and Cheon O-ja coldly spoke,

“Cold Dragon!”

“Separation Turtle!”

Simultaneously, blue and navy lights erupted, intertwining with Man Ho-ja’s attack.

“What!”

Man Ho-ja’s expression changed, and he waved his hand, causing the two golden streaks to transform into short swords that fell into his grasp. The blue and navy lights did not pursue but circled back to their original positions.

Surprisingly, the lights formed a white dragon, tens of feet long, and a bizarre turtle with a semi-transparent shell.

Man Ho-ja’s face hardened. Cheong-yeok, who had followed him up, cried out in surprise,

“The Cold Dragon of Poong-pa and the Separation Turtle of Cheon-yeon!”

Geuk-eum also expressed his anger upon seeing the two spirit beasts.

“So that’s why they were so arrogant. They borrowed spirit beasts from those two old monsters! I heard those two old monsters cherish their spirit beasts, so what’s going on…”

Man Ho-ja spoke with a dark expression.

“Humph! Man Cheon-myeong is Poong-pa’s nephew, and Cheon O-ja is Cheon-yeon’s fellow disciple. Is borrowing a spirit beast such a big deal?”

Cheong-yeok muttered with a worried voice.

“This has become difficult. If those two beasts attack desperately, even the three of us won’t be able to handle them for long.”

“Cheong-yeok, Geuk-eum! What are you saving your Azure Thorn Bird and Heavenly Corpse for! Although they can’t match those two beasts, they can hold them off for a while. Our goal isn’t to defeat Man Cheon-myeong and the others anyway; we just need to buy time to kill those golden silkworms.”

Despite Man Ho-ja’s shout, Cheong and Geuk-eum hesitated. Man Ho-ja, glancing at them, continued irritably,

“I’ll release my spirit beast too, so don’t worry! Moving with you two is nothing but a nuisance.”

Only then did Cheong-yeok and Geuk-eum’s expressions improve, and they agreed.

However, before Cheong-yeok and Geuk-eum could release their spirit beasts and demonic beasts, a problem occurred on the altar. One of the blue-green silkworms in the golden light trembled and lost its light.

*Pop.*

At the same time, the golden thread the silkworm had been emitting snapped.

“No!”

The faces of the Righteous cultivators, who had been focusing all their attention, contorted. But before they could do anything, the other two golden silkworms also fell into the same state.

The golden light disappeared, and the golden threads they had been emitting snapped. Man Cheon-myeong stood blankly, seemingly greatly disappointed by the sight.

But this was not the end.

*Whoosh.*

The last three tried to resist, but they were sucked into the pit by its immense suction force.

*Thud.*

A heavy thud was heard, and the entire space shook. The navy light in the pit also darkened significantly, and the cold air rapidly decreased.

The faces of the Righteous cultivators darkened.

Cheong-yeok and Geuk-eum, who were about to release their spirit and demonic beasts to clash, also widened their eyes, expressing complex emotions.

“Haha! Hahaha!…”

Then, Man Ho-ja began to laugh, holding his stomach. He looked like he was enjoying it immensely.

Geuk-eum and Cheong also seemed to have come to their senses, and they began to mock the Righteous cultivators with the faces of bystanders enjoying a fire. Man Cheon-myeong’s face turned pale with humiliation.

They had paid such a high price and wasted so much time to obtain the Heavenly Essence, only to end up as the laughingstock of the Demonic cultivators.

Man Cheon-myeong, unable to contain his anger, glared at them with a cold gaze.

“Ahem…”

“…”

Immediately, the laughter of Geuk-eum and Cheong vanished.

The opponent was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator [a high-level cultivator], so no matter how different their paths were, they did not want to easily incur his wrath.

However, Man Ho-ja, unconcerned, glared back and shouted aggressively,

“Does Sect Leader Man want to compete with me? I was curious about the power of the Heavenly Net True Art, the three great divine arts of the Confucian family, so this is perfect.”

Man Cheon-myeong glared at him but eventually regained his reason.

“Let’s go!”

He waved his sleeve and began to descend from the altar. He didn’t even bother with the golden silkworms that had lost their spiritual energy, and he only summoned the white dragon.

Cheon O-ja also retrieved his turtle with a displeased expression and closely followed behind him. The farmer-dressed cultivator had a cold gaze but a better expression.

Both sides increased their vigilance and passed each other.

Man Ho-ja refrained from provoking the Righteous cultivators for a moment and merely sneered, watching Man Cheon-myeong and the others completely disappear.

As soon as they disappeared, Cheong-yeok spoke,

“It will be troublesome if they return, so I will send the Azure Thorn Bird to the entrance.”

Geuk-eum also chuckled ominously and replied,

“Then I will send two Heavenly Corpses to ambush them. If they try to attack, they will buy us some time.”

A fist-sized blue light flew out from Cheong-yeok’s sleeve. And Geuk-eum also made a gesture of throwing something.

Black smoke billowed, and a fishy smell spread as two giant demonic beast-type corpses appeared before everyone.

Geuk-eum pointed to the entrance.

“Go.”

At the same time, the demonic beasts’ bodies became hazy and disappeared from their spots. Han Li, who had fought against the demonic beasts before, felt a chill in his heart as he recalled that day.

However, seeing the silkworms still trembling on the altar, he moved towards them out of curiosity.

Just as he was about to approach the altar, he noticed another cultivator moving in the same direction. Glancing sideways, he was surprised to see that it was Hyun-gul, who had been silent all along.

It was puzzling. Man Ho-ja also approached, muttering,

“The golden silkworms are rare insect demonic beasts, so why did they leave them behind?”

Hyun-gul, who had reached the altar first, examined the golden silkworms and replied,

“They are spirit beasts that have already been forcibly strengthened by consuming Heavenly Azure Flowers. That’s how they managed to pull up the Heavenly Essence a little, but they end up like this when the effects wear off.”

Man Ho-ja laughed at Hyun-gul’s words.

“So that’s how they pulled up the Heavenly Essence with golden silkworms! They used the power of the Heavenly Azure Flower! Man Cheon-myeong’s efforts were all in vain, haha!”

Geuk-eum approached with his hands behind his back.

“I didn’t expect Man Cheon-myeong to have even found the Heavenly Azure Flower. I also thought of that method, but unfortunately, I haven’t found a single one in a long time. However, it’s even more surprising that Wan-bae [junior] knows about this flower.”

His gaze was directed at Hyun-gul. Hyun-gul smiled gently and replied in a small voice,

“I simply learned it by reading various scriptures. It’s just a shameful bit of knowledge in front of seniors.”

“Is that so?”

Geuk-eum spoke lightly, but he was suspicious and observed Man Ho-ja’s reaction. However, he couldn’t question it and went to look down into the deep pit.

The navy light from the pit reflected on his face, creating a strange appearance. Han Li, who had been listening to all of this, could only admire Hyun-gul’s patience and acting skills.

‘Senior…’

It was astonishing how calmly he lowered himself in front of Geuk-eum. He was indeed a terrifying old monster.

Come to think of it, except for Oh Chuk, there wasn’t a single easy person here. They were all old foxes who had lived for hundreds of years and were extremely cunning.

Just as Han Li was feeling gloomy, Cheong-yeok spoke,

“Since they’ve become useless, let’s get rid of them so they don’t bother us.”

The old man immediately flipped his palm, and a dazzling navy sphere appeared, ready to eliminate the dying giant silkworms.

Han Li scanned the three giant silkworms and shouted in surprise,

“Please wait a moment! Wan-bae [junior] is interested in the golden silkworms, so please allow me to handle them.”

The old man’s face showed surprise.

“You want these? They can’t even use their power and will die soon.”

“I’ve always been interested in strange insect demonic beasts, so I’d like to study them even if they’re already dead. I ask that you grant me my wish, Senior.”

At Han Li’s words, the old man did not reply immediately but scanned him up and down. Then, he made a face as if he understood something. Han Li was puzzled, unable to understand the other’s intentions.

“Ha! This old man is also from the mountains, so I understand your heart. Compared to the Core Formation cultivators [mid-level cultivators] affiliated with sects, you must always be poor.”

The old man nodded, his face showing that he fully understood. Han Li was dumbfounded, but on the outside, he pretended to be embarrassed that his true feelings had been exposed and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

Afterward, he found an empty spirit beast pouch and collected the three golden silkworms. It seemed that Man Cheon-myeong had removed the golden seal that marked the owner when they were abandoned, as they entered the spirit beast pouch without resistance.

Geuk-eum called out to Han Li, showing excitement,

“Han Li, stop wasting time and quickly take out the Blood Jade Spider. We need to see what level of spirit beast it is.”

At those words, Han Li had no choice but to approach. Geuk-eum comforted him with a benevolent face.

“Don’t worry. If we obtain the Heavenly Essence, I will reward you handsomely.”

It was as if he was worried that Han Li wouldn’t give his all. However, Han Li only felt a chill.

Han Li did not show any discomfort and turned his gaze to the pit next to Geuk-eum.

The scene that entered his eyes was quite strange.

The pit was not as deep as he had imagined, only about thirty feet deep. Even to his Core Formation cultivator eyes, it was clear that navy flames were burning below, surrounding a black object that was flickering. That black object seemed to be the Heavenly Essence that everyone was praising.

However, the cold air emanating from the pit would have already frozen him solid if it weren’t for the White Jade Pendant. The navy flames were clearly burning, but they were emitting an immense cold instead.

The longer his eyes stared at the flames, the more dizzy he felt. Han Li quickly averted his gaze and stood upright.

Geuk-eum, standing next to him, also looked down into the pit and said,

“How is it? The Dry Azure Ice Flame is an extremely cold flame that even Core Formation cultivators and old Nascent Soul cultivators cannot touch. If you are engulfed in those flames, even a Nascent Soul cultivator will lose their life. Rumor has it that it’s not from this world, but I don’t know how the ancient cultivators obtained it.”

‘Even Nascent Soul cultivators?’

Han Li sighed deeply, surprised, but soon regained his composure. If that weren’t the case, someone would have taken the Heavenly Essence long ago.

“The Dry Azure Ice Flame is fatal to cultivators, but there are things it can’t burn. For example, the golden threads that the golden silkworms spit out, the Blood Jade Spider’s web, and my fire net, among other special things. Now, summon your Blood Jade Spider.”

Not only Geuk-eum but everyone’s gaze was on him. Han Li did not hesitate and took out the spirit beast pouch, releasing a white light.

When the light disappeared, the Blood Jade Spider appeared. The spider showed vigilance at the sight of so many unfamiliar cultivators.

Man Ho-ja, Geuk-eum, and the others, despite the spirit beast’s aggressive behavior, were examining it with the eyes of someone looking at a treasure.

Man Ho-ja looked at the spider and expressed his surprise.

“It’s so big, a demonic beast that has reached the peak of the fourth level. It could become a fifth level at any moment, so there’s potential!”

“Hehe! My disciple’s Blood Jade Spider is far inferior compared to the Savage Wilderness Variant, but it’s the best at drawing out the Heavenly Essence.”

Cheong nodded in agreement with Geuk-eum’s words.

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