Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 360

The net of Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning was a technique Han Li had devised for the first time after discovering the spirit object known as ‘Golden Thunder Bamboo’.

Through years of wielding Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, Han Li had learned that it was not only effective against demonic arts and sorcery but also possessed the power to restrain or seal the five elements of spiritual energy.

Long ago, even the aura of the Asura Saint [a powerful demonic entity] or the wind energy of the demon beast Feng Xi had been trapped by the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and rendered unable to escape. This unexpected discovery had brought Han Li great joy.

During the Core Formation stage, his cultivation was still low, and he couldn’t freely manipulate the golden lightning net made from Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning. But now, his cultivation had greatly increased. Moreover, he had successfully cultivated the Great Evolution Art to the fourth level, strengthening his consciousness, so there were no issues.

He didn’t know the identity of the small figure before him, but it was definitely not a living being of flesh and blood. It was likely a variant similar to a cultivator’s Nascent Soul [a nascent soul is a spiritual entity formed after reaching a certain level of cultivation], a crystallization of strange power.

If that was the case, it was worth trying to trap it with the golden lightning net.

The small figure knew about the Golden Thunder Bamboo magical treasure and its efficacy, but it had never heard of this hidden application. That was why it had been so easily caught while trying to resist the golden net with its bare body.

The conclusion was reached in an instant. Han Li had captured the arrogant small figure in one fell swoop. Han Li smiled faintly and reached out his hand. A blue light escaped his hand, wrapped around the golden sphere, and returned.

“Dare to trap me? Release me at once! Otherwise, I will extract your soul, torture you, and kill you!”

The golden sphere trembled, and the enraged small figure inside emitted a shriek. It was an extremely grating, high-pitched sound.

“Extract my soul and torture me? It seems you haven’t grasped your current situation. Why don’t you calmly think about it inside there?”

Thump, thump, thump.

The golden sphere in his hand bounced away, and thin layers of gold overlapped. After consuming almost half of the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning in his possession, the size of the golden sphere had become much larger.

Ignoring the girl’s voice cursing and shouting inside, Han Li brushed past his storage pouch and took out a white jade box. Then, without hesitation, he placed the golden sphere into the jade box and took out several sealing talismans from his storage pouch, carefully affixing them.

At the same time, the voice inside the jade box disappeared. Only then did Han Li’s face, which had been contorted by the high-pitched sound, return to normal.

He looked at the fat cultivator, whose soul was lost and whose body was alive but no different from dead, and then flicked a flame, turning him to ashes. Afterward, Han Li calmly flew back into the city and continued his life in the inn as if nothing had happened.

Not long after, the cultivators of the Yuan Wu Kingdom discovered that the Peng Yi Twin Tyrants, who had been killing unsuspecting cultivators and plundering their treasures, had disappeared one day.

After that, various rumors spread, such as they had been caught by some cultivator or expert and suffered for it.

* * *

Thousand Luo Kingdom, the headquarters of the Six Demonic Sects, a thousand miles from the Yuan Wu Kingdom.

The Qiling Mountains in the western part of the Thousand Luo Kingdom stretched for tens of thousands of miles. The terrain was rugged, and all sorts of spirit beasts and strange insects roamed freely. It was where the Spirit Control Sect’s mountain gate was located.

The moment Han Li sealed the small figure, a roar suddenly erupted from a pitch-black stone chamber in one part of the Qiling Mountains.

“Who is it? Who dares to imprison the Wood Spirit Infant! Listen up! Immediately send the Spirit Control Sect disciples to the Yuan Wu Kingdom, quickly! If you cannot find the Wood Spirit Infant within three months, you will all pay the price with your lives. Also, be careful not to let the Demonic Flame Sect notice anything.”

The old man in the stone chamber was trembling with rage, but he was thorough in his orders.

“Understood! We will handle it as you have commanded!”

A deep male voice answered from outside the stone chamber, and the old man suddenly remembered something.

“Wait! Also, summon Yun Zhi and Yu Yi and tell them to go to the Yuan Wu Kingdom themselves. They possess wood-attribute spirit roots [a cultivator’s affinity to a specific element], so they are the most suitable candidates to find the Wood Spirit Infant. However, the person who imprisoned the Wood Spirit Infant is likely to be more than ordinary, so tell them to be fully prepared and not to confront him directly, but only to find him. I will deal with that person myself.”

“Yes, I will personally instruct my junior sisters. Then, this disciple will take his leave.”

Then, the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

* * *

Inside the castle hidden by purple mist in the Zidu Mountains, the Fu Clan’s patriarch, Fu Tianhua, was a ruddy-faced and vigorous old man.

The old man, who was usually strict, had been treating people with a kind face lately, which surprised them.

His 400th birthday banquet was approaching, and as the oldest Core Formation cultivator of the Fu Clan, he was in a good mood because even the two protectors of the Demonic Flame Sect were coming to congratulate him in person.

The younger members of the Fu Clan were doing their best to prepare for the banquet without any shortcomings.

“Qing’er, have the honored guests from the Demonic Flame Sect arrived yet? I hope they haven’t been delayed and won’t arrive before the banquet?”

The Fu Clan elder, with eyes as sharp as a hawk, asked while sitting leisurely on a grand chair in the inner hall. His voice was not loud, but it was filled with the dignity that had led the Fu Clan’s revival over the past 100 years.

A fair-faced cultivator who looked to be in his forties bowed and immediately replied.

“Reporting, Senior Sun from the Demonic Flame Sect has already sent a disciple to inform us. He and Protector Mo will be attending this banquet in person. They will surely arrive within a day or two.”

“Elder, that’s right. There’s no need to worry. Considering the more than 100 years of friendship between the two seniors and our Fu Clan, they will not break their promise. If it weren’t for our support, they wouldn’t have been able to hold high positions in the Demonic Flame Sect today. Moreover, didn’t we send the most beautiful female disciples from our clan to them?”

A white-faced middle-aged man chimed in, but the smile on the Fu Clan elder’s face faded.

“I’m not worried that my old friends won’t come. It’s just that as the banquet approaches, my heart feels uneasy, as if something big is about to happen. Has there been any conflict with any noble family or expert recently?”

At the Fu Clan elder’s words, the two men exchanged glances and pondered. The white-faced middle-aged man cautiously replied.

“It is true that our clan has accumulated many grudges with numerous families over the years as we have built our power. Among them, the families that are most hostile to us are the Tan Clan and the Hu Clan.”

“It won’t be them! It’s true that they have been our rivals, but they are families without any high-level cultivators who could overturn the current situation.”

The Fu Clan elder coldly shook his head and continued.

“However, if the two families unite and gather the strength of other minor sects, they might have a chance. In the past, to maintain our relationship with the Demonic Flame Sect, we killed quite a few cultivators from those two families on their behalf… They are lying low now, but their resentment must be immense.”

The elder in the long robe carefully asked.

“Then, what is your intention, Elder?”

“On the surface, we will appease them, but internally, we must tighten our grip! Double the number of soldiers at the outposts in the city and activate the protective barrier, not letting our guard down for a moment. Especially for those mountain cultivators with unclear identities, assign someone to monitor them.”

“Yes! I will handle it immediately.”

The white-faced middle-aged man immediately headed outside, and the others who remained in the main hall did not dare to breathe loudly due to the Fu Clan elder’s uneasy mood.

“Tianyun, summon your third uncle. Tell him to bring the Iron-Backed Sacred Beast in the spirit beast pouch and attend the banquet with me. Only he can freely control our Fu Clan’s sacred beast!”

At the old man’s sudden words, the elder in the long robe was startled.

“Yes? Didn’t you say that we shouldn’t bother Third Uncle with banquet matters since he is at the most crucial point of his cultivation?”

“Hmph! What was is what was, and what is is what is. We cultivators who cultivate the Dao [the path of cultivation] may not be able to predict good or bad fortune, but we do feel a kind of premonition. If we ignore this premonition, the Fu Clan wouldn’t be where it is today. Even if it’s just an old man’s unnecessary worry, we must prepare for it.”

“Yes! I will immediately tell Third Uncle to come out of seclusion.”

The elder in the long robe, feeling a pang at the Fu Clan elder’s appearance, immediately agreed and left the main hall. Even after that, the Fu Clan elder continued to give various instructions, and only after several people had received various orders and hurriedly left did they seem to relax a little. With this level of preparation, they should be able to overcome any crisis.

* * *

Three days later, a considerable number of mountain cultivators had gathered outside the purple mist of the Zidu Mountains. There were at least 30 of them, by a rough estimate.

They were pointing at the purple mist and chattering about something. Han Li was alone, mixed in with the crowd, observing the situation.

It was unexpected that so many Foundation Establishment cultivators had appeared in the Yuan Wu Kingdom. It seemed that the birthday banquet of the Fu Clan’s patriarch was a great opportunity.

Even so, compared to the time of the Seven Great Sects of Yue State, when it was rare to find a cultivator who had succeeded in Foundation Establishment among the mountain cultivators, this was a remarkable change.

100 years had passed in an instant, and facing this change made him feel the passage of time.

Han Li didn’t know, but this was because, before the joint attack of the righteous and demonic paths began, most of the Foundation Establishment pills had been monopolized by the large sects and families.

After experiencing over a hundred years of chaos, it was natural that many sects and families had been destroyed, and their disciples had scattered. As a result, the Foundation Establishment pills had also flowed out into the world along with the cultivators.

Of course, the quantity was limited, but the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators among the mountain cultivators had increased, forming a considerable force, and a very few had even succeeded in forming their Golden Cores through fortuitous encounters, so it was clear that it had brought about a big change.

Whether it was the righteous and demonic paths or the Heavenly Dao Alliance, they tried to absorb these mountain cultivators into their forces or suppress them thoroughly. They prevented them from forming a force that could become a threat.

While Han Li was having these thoughts, a group of male and female cultivators wearing red silk robes flew over on swords.

Among the two Core Formation cultivators at the front, one was an ugly man with demonic marks all over his face, and the other was ordinary-looking but had a chilling glint in his eyes. They were each accompanied by flower-like beautiful female cultivators, and the disciples following behind them were all Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“They are cultivators from the Demonic Flame Sect.”

Someone said, seeing them, and the mountain cultivators who had gathered became noisy.

“Those are Protector Sun and Protector Mo, who are in charge of external affairs for the Demonic Flame Sect. The female cultivators beside them are probably the famous beauties of the Fu Clan. I heard they were offered as concubines to the two seniors.”

A knowledgeable cultivator whispered to the group, but Han Li’s powerful consciousness clearly heard even these private conversations. His gaze swept over the Demonic Flame Sect’s Core Formation cultivators and the female cultivators beside them.

They were indeed beauties worthy of being called exquisite. The Demonic Flame Sect cultivators, unconcerned by the gazes of the gathered mountain cultivators, immediately went to the dense mist and sent a sound transmission talisman.

After a while, the purple mist stirred and automatically created an entrance. Not only that, but the Fu Clan’s disciples even came out to greet them with very respectful attitudes.

Han Li took the opportunity to check the faces of the Fu Clan disciples and then immediately withdrew his gaze. They covered the entrance with mist again after the Demonic Flame Sect disciples entered the passage.

After that, for another hour or two, invited guests entered in pairs or trios.

And after waiting for a long time, the purple mist cleared from the inside, and a middle-aged official with a bothered expression walked out.

“Please forgive the discourtesy of our Fu Clan for making you wait so long. It seems that the scale of the banquet is so large that it is difficult to accommodate many people at once. Now that preparations are complete, please follow me.”

The mountain cultivators’ dissatisfaction was somewhat alleviated by his smooth words. Without a word, the mountain cultivators followed the middle-aged official and disappeared one by one into the mist.
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