Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 411

Han Li’s eyes flashed coldly as he fiercely spread his hands toward the golden net. The golden light burst out, and the net exploded.

Countless electric arcs scattered, covering the sky even more densely than the net had. The black energies had no choice but to collide with the golden arcs.

“Kuhahaha! Kireuk!”

Each time the black energies touched the lightning, they were accompanied by smoke and horrific screams.

Terrified, the black energies gathered again in the center of the golden net, forming a black infant. The jet-black baby, filled with demonic energy, opened its mouth and spewed out black energy, which layered around it, attempting to resist the lightning of the warding talisman.

A sneer appeared on Han Li’s face at the sight.

Then, the golden light he emitted rapidly thickened, and the lightning shone so brilliantly that it was visible to the naked eye.

“Kihahaha!”

The screams and thunderclaps echoed, gradually fading into silence.

Seeing this, Han Li was relieved and withdrew the golden light, capturing a black remnant.

After glancing at the sky for a moment, he transformed into a streak of blue light and returned to the group of cultivators. The cultivators, as well as Gul-yo and the gaunt mage, stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

The Tiannan cultivators did not know the identity of the black-clad man, but the mages had some knowledge of him.

The mysterious cultivator in black was from a vast empire located in a different direction from the Moran Grasslands. Although they did not know how they had appeared or under what conditions they had agreed to help the Moran Three Tribes’ shamans in the war.

The black-clad man’s techniques and skills should have far surpassed those of the Tiannan cultivators of the same level.

Two Tiannan Nascent Soul cultivators had already been killed by the mysterious cultivators, which was why the Moran Great Shamans trusted and followed them.

The black-clad man had stepped forward for the second confrontation to reduce the number of Nascent Soul cultivators guarding the current restriction.

Yet, a young man with an ordinary appearance had easily killed the black-clad man and even mercilessly finished off the Nascent Soul that had tried to escape. It was no wonder they were shocked.

Barely recovering from their shock, the gaunt mage and Gul-yo exchanged glances and hesitated. They were torn between continuing the confrontation or launching a full-scale attack with their mage army.

At that moment, a faint voice, barely audible, reached the ears of the two mages.

“Today, the mages’ morale has already been broken, so let’s retreat for now. When we return tomorrow, the barrier will be… Haha! I will explain the death of Cheongok to my shamans.”

The gaunt mage and Gul-yo immediately obeyed the order upon hearing the voice.

As they gave the command, a slight commotion arose in the orderly mage army, and they began to retreat.

The two Great Shamans, before following them from the rear, glared fiercely at Han Li.

“Should we pursue them?” Gok Ssang-po asked, watching the retreating mage army disappear into the distance.

“No. Although the Moran people are retreating, they are not fleeing because they lost the war. If we clash with them now, we might be surrounded. It’s best to hold our ground using the power of the Thousand Sound Illusion Formation of Yellow Dragon Mountain.”

The haggard giant shook his head. Han Li’s skill in instantly killing the black-clad man was so unexpected that, despite winning the battle, he was momentarily speechless.

Currently, Han Li had a calm expression as he retrieved the black remnant in his hand and smiled at the others.

He always had a neat appearance and a smile, but the smile he wore after annihilating a Nascent Soul cultivator a moment ago made the others feel a chill. Thus, the atmosphere of subtly looking down on the young man disappeared.

“This time, Fellow Cultivator Han has eliminated the opponent’s high-level mage, which is truly something to celebrate. As soon as I return, I will report to the Alliance and ensure you receive proper compensation.”

The haggard giant said politely with a smile.

Elder Ma and Gok Ssang-po also regained their senses and praised his skills with smiling faces.

Although Han Li noticed their sudden change in attitude, he did not show it and maintained his polite demeanor.

However, when no one was paying attention, he glanced at one of them and curled up the corners of his lips.

After the mage army completely disappeared from sight, the haggard giant created a passage in the clouds, and the cultivators disappeared into it.

Yellow Dragon Mountain returned to its usual tranquility, forming a vast sea of fog.

* * *

The cultivators gathered in the main hall to discuss the battle that had taken place today before returning to their respective residences.

In particular, Elder Ma not only had his cherished treasure damaged but also suffered significant damage to his vital energy and needed rest. Now, only the haggard giant remained in the main hall.

He lowered his head and was lost in thought with a dark expression, and it was impossible to know what he was worrying about.

After a while, his eyebrows shot up, and he spoke in a low voice.

“Who is it? Come out!”

“Hehehe! Brother Ryuk’s magical power is indeed impressive. I had just entered, and you immediately sensed me. It’s no wonder the National Salvation Alliance entrusted you with such an important stronghold.”

From the entrance of the empty main hall, a light flickered, and a smiling face appeared.

“You are a cultivator? What is the reason for your return, even using stealth techniques?”

The haggard giant cultivator recognized the other person and asked with a puzzled expression.

“It’s nothing, I just returned because I have something urgent to discuss.”

“Something to discuss? What is it?”

The haggard giant scanned him with suspicion.

“It’s about Fellow Cultivator Han of the Falling Cloud Sect. There’s a high possibility that he is a spy for the Moran tribe!”

He made a shocking statement without hesitation and slowly approached.

“A spy? How could Fellow Cultivator Han, who killed a Nascent Soul mage today, be a spy! That’s absurd.”

“When I speak to Brother Ryuk, I naturally have evidence, don’t I?”

The man sighed and immediately took out a jade slip from his hand, taking a few more steps closer.

The giant was startled and hesitated, but he had no choice but to rise and extend his arm.

Just as the haggard giant’s hand was about to touch the jade slip, the approaching cultivator’s face twisted fiercely, and a change occurred. The jade slip suddenly transformed into a small green snake, which bit the giant’s forearm with lightning speed!

“…Huh!”

The giant was about to shout in surprise, but his face instantly turned purple and then black, and he collapsed silently.

“The reputation of the Twin-Tailed Jade Serpent is not false! In terms of toxicity alone, it is comparable to the ten legendary poisons. Even a Nascent Soul [a high-level cultivator] cannot escape once bitten. It’s amazing. If only it had wings to move it faster…”

The villain, filled with glee, examined the corpse that had already begun to melt from the poison.

The small snake, which had removed its fangs from the corpse’s forearm, shook its tail, and surprisingly, two slender tails appeared.

“Hiss!”

The snake quickly returned to its owner’s palm and flicked its purplish-black tongue. The villain summoned a remnant with his other hand and began to search for something.

“How can this be! There’s no spirit tablet… I clearly saw it being placed inside the remnant!”

He overturned the remnant in frustration, and white energy flowed out, scattering a few crude magical artifacts and spirit stones on the floor.

His face turned pale as he checked the contents, and he immediately transformed into a streak of green light, trying to escape through the entrance of the main hall.

From the middle of the main hall, a long sigh was heard, and silver light flickered everywhere. The silver barrier appeared in layers, trapping him inside like a giant silver wave.

“Hmph!”

A sneering sound came from the green light, and without slowing down, it touched the spirit beast pouch. Then, a jet-black spirit beast leaped out and slammed its head against the barrier.

“Bang!”

Despite the dull sound, the silver barrier did not even waver and bounced the spirit beast away.

The man gritted his teeth in surprise and immediately opened his mouth, spitting out a navy-blue rake. In an instant, the magical treasure and the cultivator became one, and the even larger navy-blue light collided with the barrier once more.

“Clang!”

Despite the tremendous sound, the navy-blue light was bounced back several meters and fell to the floor.

“Brother Gok, don’t waste your energy. This place is the center of the Yellow Dragon Mountain restriction. If you willingly entered the place where the barrier is the strongest, you shouldn’t even think about leaving.”

The voice echoing inside the main hall was very familiar, identical to the voice of the haggard giant who had just melted away.

“I knew it! That corpse was a puppet wearing a human skin! I heard that there was someone in the National Salvation Alliance who could refine puppets that looked exactly like cultivators, and it was true.”

The navy-blue light disappeared, and a figure appeared. It was Gok Ssang-po of the Spirit Beast Sect. His face was pale, and his eyes were gloomy, but he was barely maintaining his composure.

“I’m surprised that Brother Gok knows the situation of the National Salvation Alliance so well. You’ve even heard of the Substitute Puppet… That’s right. The one who died at the hands of the cultivator just now was merely a puppet I was controlling. Isn’t it amazing that it could even deceive the eyes of a Nascent Soul cultivator?”

Outside the main hall, a white light flashed, and the haggard giant appeared. He looked back and forth between Gok Ssang-po inside the barrier and the puppet’s corpse, which had already turned into black blood.

“Hmph! Just having the same outer skin is useless. If I hadn’t been unable to check your condition due to the spread of your consciousness to avoid suspicion, how could you have deceived me!

Besides, I should have realized that even the extreme poison of the Twin-Tailed Jade Serpent is not enough to kill a Nascent Soul cultivator in one go. Overconfidence was the cause of my defeat.”

“Of course. You can’t expect a mere puppet to have the same perfect effect as a Body Double. However, this alone has allowed us to find a spy who colluded with the Moran tribe, so it’s not a waste of the enormous spirit stones we spent to make it!”

Gok Ssang-po’s face twisted, and he fell silent before asking coldly.

“Judging by your tone, it seems like you knew I was coming and prepared in advance. Did I do anything suspicious after arriving at Yellow Dragon Mountain?”

“No. How could I suspect a Spirit Beast Sect elder without any evidence? It’s just that I prepared with some doubt after hearing someone’s advice. Fellow Cultivator Han, Elder Ma, please come out now!”

The haggard cultivator shook his head and then turned his head left and right, shouting. Gok Ssang-po’s expression, which had barely maintained its composure, changed.

From the stone walls on both sides of the main hall, yellow light shone, and Han Li, still calm, and Elder Ma, with a dark expression, appeared.

“I never imagined this! Fellow Cultivator Gok, how could you do such a thing! What did the Moran mages promise you that made you act so rashly!”

“Huh, what’s the problem if I’m a Moran?”

“You’re a Moran?”

“Hmm?”

This time, the cultivators, including the haggard giant, were bewildered.

“Of course! Do you think it’s easy to persuade a Nascent Soul cultivator like me? How would you Tiannan cultivators understand the difficulties of the Moran Grasslands? Every year, even the most talented low-level mages miss their most important cultivation opportunities due to a lack of elixirs and spirit stones, and they disappear into dust after only a hundred years.

What right do you have to monopolize such good resources for you Tiannan cultivators! If we had the resources of Tiannan, the number of Moran mages would double in less than a hundred years. If we could build up that much power, we could defeat the detestable Tuol people’s shamans and dominate the entire Moran Grasslands!”

Gok Ssang-po shouted with a crazed look in his eyes. The haggard giant and Elder Ma hesitated, unsure of how to respond to his reaction.

“Defeat the Tuol people… From what I’ve heard, the main force of the Moran tribe has already been defeated in a decisive battle with the Tuol people, and the Tuol people have occupied most of the Moran Grasslands. That’s why the Moran tribe is so eager to invade the Tiannan region.”

Han Li, who had been listening with a blank expression, suddenly interjected.

“H-How do you know about that? …You must have eavesdropped on my transmission with Elder Ak.”

# 413