Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 352

“Senior Brother, then what should we do? Are we just going to let him form his Nascent Soul like this?”

Although his complexion was pale, the silver-haired old man was rather calm.

“That’s right, we just need to wait without doing anything. Although the other party might fail due to inner demons at the last moment, we can’t interfere and ruin things. The person forming the Nascent Soul might feel like months or years have passed, but in reality, it’s almost instantaneous, isn’t it? Junior Brother Ryo, have you already forgotten the inner demons you experienced when condensing your Nascent Soul?”

“How could I forget that? It was a terrible experience I never want to go back to. Inner demons are when the things you fear most happen and the scariest beings appear to gnaw at your mind. If I hadn’t taken a Spirit Stabilizing Pill beforehand when forming my Nascent Soul, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome it.”

The middle-aged man broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about the inner demons he faced when forming his Nascent Soul.

“So, if the other party fails to overcome that hurdle and fails to form their Nascent Soul, it’s not a problem we need to worry about. There’s no need to rush! Especially if the other party is lucky enough to reach the Nascent Soul stage, we can’t stop them anyway, so why bother getting upset? Let’s just wait and see how things go. Perhaps after they succeed in forming their Nascent Soul, we can build a relationship and recruit them into our Falling Cloud Sect!”

“Senior Brother, are you saying that the person might be a rogue cultivator?”

“Yes, most likely a rogue cultivator! If they belonged to a family or sect, why would they risk coming to our Yunmeng Mountain? Besides, no matter how dire the situation, they should have called a large number of high-level cultivators to act as protectors. Do you remember what kind of support the sect gave us when we were forming our Nascent Souls?”

“I remember. For months before attempting to form our Nascent Souls, the sect was on high alert as if a war was imminent, and all the powerful formations were activated. So, that person must be a rogue cultivator.”

The silver-haired old man spoke leisurely.

“If they really reached the Nascent Soul stage as a rogue cultivator, then we should try even harder to bring them to our side. We shouldn’t offend them in the slightest. A rogue cultivator who succeeds in forming a Nascent Soul has gone through much more hardship than those who received support from a sect, so once they reach the Nascent Soul stage, they often display terrifying abilities.

Moreover, they are not bound by any sect, so they are less restrained than people like us and are more sensitive to grudges. That’s why even the numerous large sects in Tiannan don’t dare to offend those old monsters.”

The middle-aged man quietly agreed. Then, the old man’s eyes flashed as he spoke in a low voice.

“It has begun!”

The middle-aged man was also startled and quickly focused his senses. At the same time, the light mass above Han Li’s residence grew larger and gradually coalesced into a single massive flow.

As time passed, the sky within a hundred li [approximately 50 kilometers] radius was covered with magnificent, multicolored clouds. And within the clouds, thunder, lightning, and rain poured down, swirling in all directions around the center of the clouds.

Kwagwagwang!

With a sudden, earth-shattering sound, lightning struck, illuminating one side of the rocky mountain. From that rocky mountain, a pillar of blue light shot up, extending into the clouds in the sky.

Multicolored lights flashed, the dark clouds thickened, and the storm raged even more fiercely. The nearby cultivators all gathered, staying near the rocky mountain, unsure of what to do in the face of this astonishing phenomenon.

Soon, the massive pillar of light condensed into a fist-sized, crystal-like bead, and everyone was unable to move recklessly due to the massive fluctuations of spiritual energy.

Bang!

The light that burst from the crystal bead spread out in various colors, quickly falling downwards before disappearing. At the same time, the nearby rain, wind, thunder, and lightning all stopped, and everything returned to normal.

The gathered cultivators looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Kwahwahwang!

Then, from the middle of the rocky mountain, a sound like a dragon’s roar was heard, and a hundred-zhang-tall [approximately 300 meters] human figure appeared in the sky.

The giant human figure made of light was so dazzling that no one could see its true face, and when its gaze, like a beam of light, swept over everyone, they all held their breath.

Thump.

With a loud crash, the cultivator’s mountain-like body knelt on the ground and remained motionless.

Those with high cultivation levels felt their calves tremble from the impact, while those with low cultivation levels were unable to move, their entire bodies shaking from the overwhelming power.

The giant human figure suddenly chuckled and then scattered into the air and disappeared. The gathered people just stared blankly at the sky, not knowing what had just happened.

* * *

Inside the secret chamber within the rocky mountain, Han Li sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. The only difference was that a tiny, finger-sized baby was playing with his hair on top of his head.

The infant had smooth, soft, blue skin and looked exactly like Han Li. Of course, the fact that it was constantly giggling and laughing was different from his usual serious and taciturn demeanor. Han Li’s body, where the baby was playing, looked healthy and peaceful, as if he were in a deep sleep.

After a while, the baby seemed tired of playing and yawned. Then, it flashed with a blue light and was absorbed into his body near his skull. Then, Han Li’s complexion changed, his eyelids twitched, and he opened his eyes with difficulty. His eyes shone warmly and were exceptionally clear.

Even after waking up, he didn’t get up right away. He just sat there blankly, opening and closing his palm in front of his eyes, and then touched the top of his head.

Only after a long while did a look of bewilderment appear on his face.

After looking around the stone chamber for a while, he got up and stretched. Then, he flicked a finger, sending a blue light towards the stone door. The stone of the secret chamber glowed and opened silently.

“Congratulations on forming your Nascent Soul, Master!”

There, Yin Yue, in the form of a beautiful woman, bowed deeply. Han Li stroked his chin at the unfamiliar title and attitude.

“Master? So, it seems that Yin Yue hasn’t truly submitted to me until now. That’s understandable, since her cultivation in life wasn’t below mine, so it would have been difficult for her to serve me as her master before I condensed my Nascent Soul.”

Yin Yue replied respectfully with a beautiful face.

“That’s correct. Now that Master has succeeded in forming your Nascent Soul, you have reached the highest level in the cultivation world. Your lifespan has also increased to a thousand years. With such an achievement at the young age of 200, it’s not impossible for you to reach the Transformation stage in the future.”

Han Li nodded lightly.

“Now is not the time to discuss the Transformation stage. Considering that many Nascent Soul cultivators fail to progress beyond the initial stage, it’s a distant matter.”

“I believe that Master will definitely succeed.”

Yin Yue smiled, her red lips alluring.

* * *

Thousands of people had already gathered outside the rocky mountain. They hovered in the air on various magical artifacts, buzzing with excitement.

Although they didn’t know what the recent unusual phenomenon meant, they were all excited by the strange sight. The herb garden that Han Li was in charge of also attracted the attention of many, and some had already approached the restrictions.

However, there was no one inside except for an ordinary herb garden. A certain woman was mixed in the crowd with a complicated expression.

She had seen all of this up close by chance, so she was even more confused and wondered what connection it might have with Han Li.

At that moment, several different streaks of light arrived quickly. The light disappeared, and half a dozen Core Formation cultivators appeared with solemn faces.

Leading them was the calm-faced Elder Feng, followed by an old man in a red robe, the beautiful Song woman, and some cultivators she had never seen before.

Elder Ho frowned when he saw many low-level disciples gathered.

“Disciples, listen. We are designating a ten-li [approximately 5 kilometers] radius around this mountain as a restricted area. Anyone who trespasses will be severely punished for violating the sect rules!”

The low-level disciples were curious about what had happened, but they had no choice but to leave at the strict order of their grandmasters. Soon, the surroundings became quiet again.

“Junior Sister Mo, stay.”

The ordinary-looking Core Formation cultivator and Elder Ho exchanged a few words through telepathy and then called out to her as she was about to leave. The woman immediately flew up and bowed respectfully in front of the Core Formation cultivators.

“Greetings, Masters.”

Elder Feng asked calmly.

“Junior Sister Mo, I heard that this is your responsibility.”

“Yes! This herb garden is managed by the Qi Refining disciple ‘Han Li’ from our peak.”

“Qi Refining? Where is that person now?”

Junior Sister Mo hesitated for a moment before answering.

“That, I don’t know. A few other senior brothers just looked around the herb garden, but they said no one was there.”

The old man in the red robe asked, as if something had come to mind.

“Han Li? Isn’t that the outer sect disciple who won the sword competition about twenty years ago?”

“As Senior Dan said, that is indeed the disciple.”

“For an outer sect disciple to win a prize, that’s certainly strange. Could it be that he was the one who showed signs of forming a Nascent Soul just now?”

Elder Feng muttered, looking at the rocky mountain, and the other Core Formation cultivators also looked solemn. The Song woman’s eyes sparkled as she remained silent.

‘Signs of a Nascent Soul! Did someone just succeed in forming their Nascent Soul!’

While the other Core Formation cultivators knew about it, Junior Sister Mo was dumbfounded by the unbelievable news.

Elder Feng hesitated before making a decision.

“If the other party has already reached the Nascent Soul stage, it’s not something our Core Formation cultivators should handle. Perhaps the two grandmasters will take care of it, so let’s absolutely not offend them. Ah! The grandmasters have already arrived.”

Those who were relieved by his decision quickly looked up, and a flash of light appeared at the end of the sky. Before they knew it, a white streak of light and a yellow streak of light had arrived right in front of them.

Elder Feng and the others immediately parted to make way. The Nascent Soul stage silver-haired old man and Ryo cultivator appeared.

“We will take care of this matter, so you can all leave.”

Elder Feng and the others immediately replied and quickly left. Among them was Junior Sister Mo, who bowed deeply and was about to fly away using her magical artifact when she unconsciously glanced at the herb garden.

‘Could it be that the expert who reached the Nascent Soul stage is that ‘Han Li’?’

* * *

Inside the main hall of his cave dwelling, Han Li, who was talking with Yin Yue, heard an old man’s voice from outside.

“I am Jeong Cheon-gon of the Falling Cloud Sect. Congratulations on succeeding in forming your Nascent Soul. Would it be alright if my junior brother and I stopped by to greet you?”

Han Li’s brow furrowed slightly at the telepathic message before relaxing again.

“Yin Yue, open the restrictions. Since they are people we will have to talk to eventually, let the elders of the Falling Cloud Sect come in. However, after opening the restrictions, don’t show yourself. No matter how skilled a fox demon’s stealth and illusion techniques are, it’s difficult to deceive the eyes of a Nascent Soul cultivator.”

“Yes, Master!”

Yin Yue replied respectfully and walked gracefully.

After a while, the two elders who were waiting outside saw the scenery in front of them change, and the rocky mountain, which had looked ordinary, was soon covered in a blue mist. Within the thick mist, they could see that the evil energy was abundant and the spells were fluctuating, which was clearly a powerful restriction.

The silver-haired old man and Ryo cultivator exchanged glances and smiled wryly.

How embarrassing it was that they hadn’t noticed that the other party had openly set up a cave dwelling within the Falling Cloud Sect and installed such a powerful formation. They would surely be teased by their friends for a while.
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