Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 361

Han Li, his face calm, entered at the rear of the group and vanished instantly without a trace.

Neither the cultivators ahead of him nor the Fu Clan disciples, who were tasked with monitoring them and lying in wait, noticed anything amiss.

The Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the Fu Clan were welcoming guests inside a lavishly decorated grand hall. There were nearly 300 guests, some of whom had arrived that day, and others who had come and stayed four or five days prior.

Now that the long-awaited banquet day had arrived, all that remained was for everyone to gather in one place and wait for the Fu Clan elder to make an appearance.

However, the mountain cultivators were whispering amongst themselves, while only those dispatched as congratulatory envoys from various sects and clans had the opportunity to engage in friendly conversations with the Fu Clan cultivators.

The Fu Clan head was not in the vicinity of the grand hall but was instead in a secluded pavilion within the city, reading a jade book that emitted a faint glow.

After all, the main figure of the banquet only needed to appear and show his face at the last moment. And in this quiet time, there was something that he, as a powerful figure of the clan, had to attend to.

Inside the pavilion, there was also a burly man with a dignified appearance and tanned skin, who had reached the early Core Formation stage. Around his waist were tied leather pouches of various sizes.

“Hmph! This isn’t the Zi Jin Kingdom, yet they dare to ask us to mobilize our forces and gather information to find something that disappeared from the Spirit Beast Sect? Do they think of our Fu Clan as mere pawns on a chessboard!”

The burly man stroked his chin with interest at the Fu Clan elder’s gloomy muttering as he slammed the table.

“Uncle, please calm your anger. Is there nothing else in the jade slip? If the Spirit Beast Sect cultivators are so urgently looking for something, it must be extraordinary.”

“That’s exactly the problem. They ask us to find it but conceal the specific details! They only tell us to report immediately if any strange signs appear within the Yuan Wu Kingdom.”

“Oh, so that means the Spirit Beast Sect doesn’t want the Demonic Flame Sect to know about this. That’s why they contacted our Fu Clan but didn’t mention any specific information.”

“Yes, you’re right. We outwardly give full support to the Demonic Flame Sect, but we also have ties with the Spirit Beast Sect just in case. But seeing today’s events, it’s clear that we haven’t gained their trust. It would be better to revise our strategy and try to build a relationship with the Ghost Spirit Sect, the weakest of the six demonic sects.”

“That might work, but…”

“Tsk, tsk! I knew the Fu Clan had a foot in the Demonic Flame Sect, but they were also colluding with the Spirit Beast Sect. No wonder they’ve grown so big in just 100 years!”

Just as the burly man was about to express his opinion, a strange male voice came from outside the window.

“Who is it? Which esteemed guest has personally visited the Fu Clan? I, Fu Chunhua, apologize for not being able to greet you in person!”

The Fu Clan elder and the burly man were startled and jumped up from their chairs, but even in his surprise, the elder made a wise decision. It was astonishing that someone had approached so closely without the two Core Formation stage cultivators noticing.

“There’s no need for a greeting. I’m an uninvited guest.”

At the same time as the voice, a blue light suddenly flooded the pavilion. The Fu Clan elder and the burly man were greatly shocked and quickly moved to different corners of the room, forming protective barriers.

The Fu Clan elder released a white flying sword from his mouth, making it circle in front of him, while the burly man calmly grabbed one of the spirit beast pouches from his waist and silently waited for the right moment.

At this moment, the blue light disappeared in an instant, and a cultivator in his twenties with a very ordinary appearance, wearing a blue robe, appeared in the room. It was Han Li, who had infiltrated the city.

Han Li stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the two wary cultivators, and slowly opened his mouth.

“After scanning with my spiritual sense, I found that there are three Core Formation stage cultivators in the entire Fu Clan, and your two cultivations are the highest. You must be the core of the Fu Clan’s power!”

Even as he spoke, Han Li’s face was so calm that no joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure could be seen.

“Senior Nascent Soul, you have graced our humble abode with your presence! What can our Fu Clan do for you?”

Seeing Han Li reveal his cultivation level, the elder showed a faint smile, hiding his unease.

“Are you the elder of this Fu Clan?”

Han Li’s gaze, with narrowed eyes, turned to the elder wearing the purple robe.

“How could I dare to use the title of elder in front of a senior like you? I, Fu Chunhua, am just an old man in charge of the Fu Clan.”

Even as he answered respectfully, the elder’s ominous premonition grew stronger at Han Li’s emotionless words.

‘He certainly didn’t come with good intentions!’

“So, you’re the head of the Fu Clan, which means I didn’t come to the wrong place. I’ve come to collect a debt from the Fu Clan, so I had to confirm if you were the head.”

“A debt? That can’t be. I’ve never met a senior like you in my life. There must be some misunderstanding.”

The elder’s heart sank. The burly man next to him also paled and tightened his grip on the spirit beast pouch. A Nascent Soul stage cultivator had come to collect a ‘debt,’ which was not just ominous but akin to facing a disaster.

“A misunderstanding? That’s impossible. I originally intended to clearly state the reason so that you wouldn’t wander the nine heavens [a euphemism for death] without knowing why you died. But you’re too cunning, not giving me a chance to say nonsense. Just go first. The rest of the Fu Clan members will follow soon.”

Having heard this far, the Fu Clan elder could no longer hold back his anger.

“What did you say? Are you planning to destroy our clan!”

However, his body moved with utmost calmness, and a yellow talisman flashed before being shot towards the back wall. Unexpectedly, it was a very rare Earth Escape Talisman.

“Trying to escape? Do you think you can escape?”

Han Li sneered and, without taking any action against the Fu Clan elder, pointed his finger arbitrarily in a certain direction.

Soon, a blue light flashed and disappeared, instantly piercing through the chest of the burly man who was cowering in the corner of the room. His protective barrier was shattered in an instant, as if it were nothing.

The spirit beast pouch in the burly man’s hand was emitting a black light, but the moment his breath was cut off, it became dim again, and only an angry roar could be heard from within.

The moment the burly man’s corpse collapsed, Han Li’s gaze was directed elsewhere. Killing an early Core Formation stage cultivator was a trivial matter, but he was quite interested in his spirit beast pouch and had already taken it.

Only then did he show a cold smile in the direction where the Fu Clan elder had disappeared. He flicked his sleeve, and a white fox jumped out, bouncing around.

“He’s skilled in earth escape techniques, so I’ll leave him to you. With your cultivation and illusion techniques, dealing with a mid-Core Formation stage cultivator is a piece of cake.”

“Of course! Master, just wait a moment! I’ll be right back!”

The little fox’s face wore an arrogant expression before it disappeared with a flash of yellow light.

At this point, Han Li summoned countless three-colored gold-devouring beetles from the spirit beast pouch on his waist. The swarm of huge beetles flew up like a swarm of bees, circling around his head.

“Go!”

At the same time, the beetles split into groups and instantly transformed into ten three-colored small swords, shooting out of the window.

Then, he took a seat in the middle of the room and sat cross-legged. He was using the Great Connection Technique [a technique to enhance spiritual sense] to bring the entire Fu Clan under his powerful spiritual sense.

It was very easy to distinguish the direct descendants of the Fu Clan. Not only their unique attire but also how many levels they had mastered of their unique cultivation techniques could be discerned.

However, the ordinary workers within the city who had no magical power were not his concern. Under the guidance of his spiritual sense, the three-colored flying swords began to target the Fu Clan cultivators!

At the same time, desperate screams, shouts of startled people, and the stench of blood vibrated within the Fu Clan. While this was happening, the Fu Clan elder was using the power of the earth escape talisman to flee with all his might deep underground.

He intended to run very far away. What happened to his disciples and family members was already beyond his control, and he didn’t want to think about it now.

Although the burly man had the clan’s spirit beast, trying to escape from a Nascent Soul stage cultivator was just wishful thinking. It would be fortunate if he could buy him even a little time.

Even if he weighed the lives of the other Fu Clan members against his own, the result was the same.

‘I must survive!’

If he alone survived, the Fu Clan could avoid annihilation.

Even excluding the main family in Zhaodu Mountain, there were several bases of the Fu Clan in various regions of the Yuan Wu Kingdom, so if he could escape this crisis, it would not be impossible to rebuild the Fu Clan.

The only thing that bothered him was that he had no idea how he had become enemies with a strange Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

He had appeared and said he would eliminate our clan members! The thought of his emotionless face made him feel even colder.

Just as the Fu Clan elder thought he had finally escaped outside the main family, a beautiful woman’s voice reached his ears.

“Your earth escape technique is so slow that it makes me sigh. Why don’t you just offer your neck here and let me carry out my master’s orders?”

The Fu Clan elder was greatly startled and paused for a moment. A white light flashed before his eyes, and a beautiful young woman appeared.

He made eye contact with her, who was smiling seductively like a blooming flower just a few feet away.

“Who are…”

Just as the Fu Clan elder was about to say something, the woman’s mouth opened and emitted a pink mist.

He tried to retreat, seeing the pink mist pouring onto his protective barrier, but a sweet fragrance brushed his nose, and his body and head were already separated, leaving him unable to think.

Eunwol smiled as she looked down at her lifeless prey. A crescent-shaped white light shot out from her hand, and soon blood splattered everywhere.

* * *

The guests inside the grand hall, where the banquet was in full swing, were talking to each other. Several Core Formation stage cultivators were being attended to by the Fu Clan’s younger generation, and the banquet atmosphere was heating up.

It was then that a strange scream was heard. The cheerful sounds of chatter instantly disappeared.

The guests, who had closed their mouths, looked at each other, and the more astute ones revealed their wariness and distanced themselves from the Fu Clan cultivators.

The old man in a navy robe, who was attending to the two protectors from the Demonic Flame Sect, also changed his expression but quickly composed himself and shouted loudly.

“Everyone, don’t panic. It seems there’s a small problem. I’ll call some people to investigate.”

He was the third Core Formation stage cultivator of the Fu Clan and the cousin of the Fu Clan head. After asking for the understanding of the Demonic Flame Sect protectors, he ordered two Fu Clan disciples behind him.

They quickly ran out of the grand hall.

The two Demonic Flame Sect Core Formation stage cultivators kept their expressions unchanged but exchanged suspicious glances. However, the next scream clearly came from the two Fu Clan disciples who had just left the grand hall.

This time, the guests were certain that something had happened and got up from their seats, strengthening their defenses. The old man in the navy robe also took a deep breath with a dark face and gave a low command.

“Activate the barrier protecting the grand hall and quickly inform the elders!”

The cultivator next to him turned pale and immediately took out a sound transmission talisman from his pocket, muttered something, and shot it out.

Just as the talisman was about to turn into a red beam of light and leave the grand hall, something shocking happened to everyone.

“T-This is terrible. The sound transmission talisman can’t get out. It seems we’re already trapped!”

At this, not only the old man in the navy robe but also the other Core Formation stage guests could not remain still. Among them, a Demonic Flame Sect cultivator with a demonic mark widened his eyes.

“Cultivator Fu, if an enemy has really invaded your clan, why don’t you move with me and Brother Sun?”

“I am grateful that the two of you have offered your help first. Please, help us.”

The old man in the navy robe, who was flustered, expressed his joy at the words of the Demonic Flame Sect cultivator.

The other protector of the Demonic Flame Sect, a middle-aged man with an ordinary face named Sun, narrowed his brows but did not refuse his companion’s suggestion and got up from his seat.

However, the other four Core Formation stage cultivators among the guests looked at each other but did not seem willing to step forward.
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