Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 464

While Scholar Zhong and the evil woman were discussing Chuma Valley, Han Li had already flown a hundred miles away. He smoothly arrived at the cave leading to the outer area, took out the Yang Spirit Ring, and safely escaped from the cave. Then, he arrived back at the bottom of the high cliff, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath. The sky in the center, covered with a strange, blood-colored light, was much more unsettling than this. He spread his senses to confirm that there were no abnormalities around him and then looked at the stone wall next to the cave again. Without hesitation, he stretched out a hand and sent out a blue magic seal, which was absorbed into the stone wall and disappeared. As he chanted, the ordinary-looking cliff shimmered with a blue light, and golden Spirit Devouring Beetles began to pour out. Each beetle carried a small silver crystal, which they dropped. The large ones were the size of a fist, and the small ones were the size of a bean. Suddenly, a pile of silver crystals accumulated in front of Han Li. They were the Silver Essence Crystals! Han Li, who had been calmly observing at first, changed his expression as the crystals piled up. ‘There are more Silver Essence than I thought! It seems there’s enough to refine my old puppets!’ The delighted voice of the Great Yan Divine Monarch echoed in Han Li’s mind. ‘I didn’t expect there to be so much Silver Essence here. I’m gaining a lot of treasures from Chuma Valley this time.’ He flicked his sleeve, and the blue light collected the silver crystals, and the golden Spirit Devouring Beetles returned to the spirit beast pouch. Having finished his work, Han Li took out a fingernail-sized transparent bead from his storage pouch. He opened his mouth and blew blue spiritual energy into the bead, causing it to shine, and a blue dot appeared inside it. Han Li held up the bead, gauged the direction, and then transformed into a blue beam of light and flew up. He checked the bead at each point along the way and adjusted his direction. At this moderate speed, Han Li traveled dozens of miles. While passing through a desolate area, Han Li suddenly gasped. He put a blue protective barrier around his body and descended, stopping about thirty feet above the ground. The corpse of a man, split in two, was lying abandoned in the wasteland. Apart from the pool of blood and the corpse, there was no sign of a storage pouch. ‘Someone couldn’t hold back and started moving.’ It was a corpse killed by another cultivator, not by a spatial rift. Han Li didn’t linger and immediately changed direction and flew away. Unless they were late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators [a high level of cultivation], they wouldn’t be a threat to him, but he had to consider the possibility of several cultivators joining forces to trap him. However, contrary to his suspicions, he didn’t encounter any ambushing cultivators, but he did find two corpses of cultivators who had died from spatial rifts. Following the guidance of the bead, he arrived above a jungle. Han Li looked at the jungle hidden by the trees and pondered for a moment before suddenly crushing the bead in his hand. The blue dot didn’t scatter among the shattered fragments but floated up. ‘Go.’ Han Li commanded in a low voice, and the blue dot began to fly in a certain direction, with Han Li following behind. After a while, the blue dot arrived at a corner of the jungle, changed direction, and descended. The blue dot landed on the ground, circled a large tree, and then disappeared inside it. Han Li confirmed this and landed in front of the tree. He examined the tree and then reached out his hand. Bang! A heavy vibration occurred, and a green light spread, revealing a blue talisman, which Han Li snatched like the wind. Han Li smiled as he looked at the talisman and then threw it into the air. Whoosh! The talisman burst into flames, cutting through the air with a red streak of light. This time, Han Li didn’t follow it but sat cross-legged and recovered the magic power he had consumed while traveling. The red streak of light disappeared somewhere in the jungle, and then a streak of light rose from that place and flew towards where Han Li was. The streak of light hovered above Han Li for a moment, recognized his face, and then descended. When the light disappeared, a beautiful woman in a white dress appeared in front of Han Li. Han Li opened his eyes and looked at the woman. ‘Miss Zi Ling, you came quickly.’ ‘I’ve been waiting for Fellow Daoist Han for days, of course, I’d be quick. Do you know how many cultivators have been searching this place? If Brother Han had been any later, I might not have been able to hold out and would have had to run away.’ Zi Ling’s pleasant voice was tinged with resentment. ‘It’s unexpected that you’d reveal your face here.’ ‘When I first entered Chuma Valley, I was covering my face. But the treasure that was covering my face gradually lost its effectiveness due to some restriction, so it ended up like this. Why, is Brother Han displeased that I’ve shown my face?’ ‘Of course not. By the way, is this the place where you found the first mark?’ Han Li smiled wryly and then asked seriously. ‘It’s highly likely. The Ghost Spirit Sect found the mark first and damaged it, but they wouldn’t have done that if there wasn’t a real mark, would they?’ ‘Since it’s come to this, it’s best to follow the traces of the Ghost Spirit Sect. It’ll save us time.’ ‘I’ll follow Brother Han’s lead. I already planted a unique mark of the Myriad Sound Sect on some Ghost Spirit Sect disciples a month ago. It’s not condensed with magic power but made of a colorless and odorless substance, so I can track them for two months as long as they’re within a certain range.’ ‘You’ve worked hard. Then let’s track the Ghost Spirit Sect first.’ Han Li nodded and stood up. Suddenly, a silver-furred flying squirrel appeared in the jungle, sniffed the air, and then transformed into a silver streak of light and flew away. Han Li and Zi Ling followed closely behind. While Han Li and Zi Ling were chasing after the flying squirrel spirit beast, Elder Zhong’s group was crossing a huge mountain and looking at a basin. Although they had used magic to clear away large obstacles like mud, the basin was damp and full of puddles. However, they had to walk instead of fly. This was because one of the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples had tried to fly up a little and was struck by a red lightning bolt from the sky, almost shattering his protective barrier. The restrictions became even stricter as they moved towards the center of the basin. However, this time neither Wang Tiangu nor Wei Wuya complained. When they reached the top of the mountain, they saw a huge altar-like structure in the center of the basin. There was no room for doubt now. It was the first complete structure they had found since entering Chuma Valley. It was likely an important place and could be related to the Spirit Burial Garden that the Ghost Spirit Sect Master had mentioned. So, everyone moved slowly but didn’t show any impatience. The cultivators abandoned any thoughts of trickery and lined up to move forward slowly. One of the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples led the way for a long time, and when shrubs appeared, he threw fireballs to remove them. After walking for nearly half a day, the group finally managed to approach the altar. The altar, made of carved white rock, was square with steps and was so huge that it was at least several hundred feet high, with the top hidden in the clouds. ‘It seems we’re finally almost there. We should arrive in about two hours… Sect Master Wang, isn’t it time you told us how you learned about the Spirit Burial Garden?’ Wei Wuya emitted a faint green glow from his entire body as he walked. He glided several feet forward silently with each step, not seeming tired at all. ‘Rest assured. When the time comes, I will explain it to Fellow Daoist Wei.’ The Ghost Spirit Sect Master smiled. Wei Wuya nodded, but suddenly, the body of the Ghost Spirit Sect disciple walking at the front flashed with light and then split in two from shoulder to waist. ‘Spatial rift!’ The Ghost Spirit Sect Master’s expression changed, and Wei Wuya and Wang Tiangu behind him also darkened their faces. They didn’t know what tricks the Ghost Spirit Sect Master was using, but they had never encountered a spatial rift while following him. So, they had been tense at first, but now they had almost relaxed. But suddenly, a hidden spatial rift killed a Ghost Spirit Sect disciple, so they couldn’t help but be shocked. The remaining three Ghost Spirit Sect disciples turned pale, and the Ghost Spirit Sect Master was also troubled as he looked at the gruesome corpse. Wei Wuya seemed to be trying to sense something with his consciousness with his eyes closed, but after a while, he opened his eyes again. ‘Spatial rifts cannot be sensed just by having a strong consciousness. Even though I know the location, I couldn’t sense anything.’ Wei Wuya shook his head expressionlessly. Upon hearing that, Wang Tiangu flicked his fingers and shot five fireballs forward. Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Three of them flashed and disappeared in the air, and only the remaining two flew a few more feet and exploded on the ground. ‘It’s a small spatial rift. We can just go around it.’ Wang Tiangu’s voice became more relaxed. ‘This one is small, but who knows how many spatial rifts are hidden along the remaining journey? And we can’t replenish our numbers now. This path should have been free of spatial rifts, so could that person have hidden something?’ The Ghost Spirit Sect Master’s expression didn’t improve as he muttered darkly. Wei Wuya was about to ask something when Wang Tiangu spoke first. ‘What does Sect Master mean…?’ ‘Actually, I was going to tell you when we reached the altar, but I can’t hide it any longer.’ The Sect Master answered with a strange expression, and Wei Wuya and the other cultivators listened intently. The Ghost Spirit Sect Master flicked his sleeve and took out a silver scroll. ‘This is!’ Wang Tiangu recognized the scroll immediately. ‘You recognize it. That’s right. Everything about the Spirit Burial Garden is recorded here.’ Wang Tiangu’s eyes widened at the Sect Master’s words. This scroll was the one that he had taken from the merchant Chang Kun in the Peony Grasslands and given to the Sect Master. The Ghost Spirit Sect Master threw the scroll and made a hand seal, and the scroll unfurled, revealing the back of a scholar with a long sword on his back, looking up at the sky. Wang Tiangu and the other cultivators stared for a long time but couldn’t find anything strange. However, Wei Wuya examined the scroll with his consciousness and his eyes lit up. ‘To figure out the secret of the scroll so quickly. As expected, Fellow Daoist Wei, with your late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, is different. I only figured it out through a secret technique.’ ‘No. It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with a space-manipulating magic tool, so I probably wouldn’t have found it easily if a cultivator hadn’t given me a hint beforehand.’ Wei Wuya replied with an unchanged expression. Then, the Ghost Spirit Sect Master smiled and immediately stretched out his arm, throwing black energy into the scroll and shouting. ‘What are you still doing? Do you need to be threatened with demonic fire to come out?’ ‘Didn’t we agree not to summon me until we reached the agreed location? Calling me out in front of so many cultivators, does that mean you want to break the deal?’ A clear male voice came from inside the scroll, startling the cultivators. Then, a silver light spread greatly from the scroll, and the scholar who had been facing away suddenly turned his body forward and looked at the cultivators. The middle-aged man with a long beard looked quite displeased. The Ghost Spirit Sect disciples who saw this were dumbfounded and couldn’t close their mouths, and Wang Tiangu, who had touched the scroll himself, was in shock. Only Wei Wuya seemed surprised for a moment before quickly regaining his composure. ‘That’s what I should be saying. You said this path would be safe, but there are hidden spatial rifts. Didn’t one of my sect’s disciples die needlessly?’ ‘It was the path I took, so it should have been safe. How could this happen?’ The scholar in the scroll moved his lips and retorted. ‘Then look at it yourself!’ The Ghost Spirit Sect Master pointed in the direction of the spatial rift with a dark expression. Then, a blue light appeared in the scroll, and a faint human figure emerged.