Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 465

The blue light was so faint it seemed like it would be blown away by the slightest breeze.

“Are you the Chang Kun Merchant? How is it possible that your Nascent Soul [a stage of cultivation where one forms a nascent soul] hasn’t dissipated and remains here?”

Wang Tiangu asked, still stammering, as if he hadn’t fully recovered from his shock.

“I have limited time outside the scroll, so ask your sect master about your questions. Let’s examine the spatial rift first.”

The scholar ignored Wang Tiangu and, while looking in the direction of the spatial rift, emitted a gray light.

* * * * * *

*Puff*

The scholar’s expression changed slightly as the gray light was silently swallowed by the spatial rift.

“Strange. It certainly wasn’t there before. It seems to be a newly formed spatial rift. It’s just a coincidence, so don’t worry too much and proceed. I’ll be going now.”

*Fwoosh.*

The scholar quickly finished speaking, then turned into a green light and entered the scroll.

As the scholar’s illusion disappeared in an instant, the expressions of Wang Tiangu and the other cultivators became strange. Wei Wuya was silent for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Sect Master Wang, is that person really the Chang Kun Merchant from back then? Even if he is, there’s no need to fear a being that’s only a soul. Did he also tell you about the Spirit Herb Garden?”

“You could say he is the Chang Kun Merchant, or you could say he isn’t. It’s true that he spoke about the Spirit Herb Garden.”

“What do you mean? Is it difficult to answer?”

“You misunderstand. The soul that appeared in the scroll just now is merely a remnant of the soul left by Chang Kun Merchant’s incarnation. When the incarnation was damaged by some restriction while exploring Chuma Valley, Chang Kun Merchant tried to recover it by placing it in a scroll artifact made from Yang Soul Wood [a type of wood with spiritual properties]. But since Chang Kun Merchant is already dead, the remnants of his incarnation are practically a different person.”

“Is that so? It seems you made some kind of agreement with that incarnation, but I won’t interfere. As long as you let me enter the Spirit Herb Garden, it’s none of my business. I have no desire other than to ascend to the Spirit Realm after reaching the Incarnation stage [a high level of cultivation].”

Wei Wuya said coldly.

“You are wise. Since the possibility of another spatial rift appearing is low, let’s move on.”

The Ghost Spirit Sect Master pointed at one of his disciples who was following behind, signaling him to lead the way again. The Ghost Spirit Sect disciple’s face turned a little pale, but he silently turned and walked forward, past the spatial rift.

* * *

“What’s going on? Why can’t I control the spirit beasts all of a sudden?”

Han Li said to Ziling in the icy region made of thick ice. They had entered the center of Chuma Valley through a huge ice canyon covered in blood-colored clouds.

He stood upright, wearing a thin robe, in a place where the wind was so biting it felt like his bones would freeze.

“I don’t know. They were fine on the outskirts, but they suddenly started acting up as we came in. It’s a good thing I retrieved them early, or I don’t know what would have happened. It’s chaos inside the spirit beast pouch as well.”

Upon hearing that, Han Li suddenly brushed his hand across the spirit beast pouch, releasing some of the Gold Devouring Beetles. As he moved them with his consciousness, the small group immediately returned to the spirit beast pouch and did not break free of his control at all.

Han Li stroked his chin, then brushed another spirit beast pouch. A jet-black light spun in the air and fell in front of him.

The light faded, and a small, jet-black monkey appeared. It was Jiao Hun. It was yawning and blinking, as if it hadn’t fully woken up.

Han Li stared at Jiao Hun for a while, then expressionlessly flicked his sleeve and put it away again.

“I don’t know why the spirit beasts are acting like this, but it seems I won’t be able to summon them again. Since the distance isn’t that far within the center, I’ll try to find them with my consciousness. Please stand guard for a moment.”

Han Li didn’t know it, but while Nan Longhou’s Thousand Mile Oriole was fine, the avian spirit beast borrowed from Magician Peony, like Ziling’s flying squirrel spirit beast, had lost control and was acting up. This difference was clearly related to a secret about the center of Chuma Valley.

“Then I’ll trust you, Brother Han.”

Ziling bit her red lip and answered, and Han Li quietly sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Shortly after, a blue light burst from his body, creating a divine atmosphere. Ziling stood quietly beside him, watching Han Li.

Ziling felt strange as she looked at him. It felt good when he seemed surprised by her appearance, but it was too much to call him a simple friend, and it was also unreasonable to call it a relationship between a man and a woman.

They had spent time together, going through life and death, but Han Li had never shown her an opening. Rather, she felt that he was subtly trying to keep his distance from her.

Given his current cultivation and status, she didn’t know how she would respond if he asked her first.

She had been disappointed when she heard from Song Cultivator of the Falling Cloud Sect that Han Li already had a partner named Nangong Wan. It was as if someone else had taken something she had been eyeing first.

Ziling was a little lost in thought as she looked at him, surrounded by blue light. Han Li, who was sitting cross-legged and spreading his consciousness to search a hundred miles around, had no way of knowing her state.

Han Li slightly narrowed his brows and spread his consciousness a little further. However, he still couldn’t sense the aura of other cultivators.

As if he had thought of something, Han Li suddenly threw the spirit beast pouch from his waist. Then, over a thousand Gold Devouring Beetles flew up, glittering gold.

“Go.”

He opened his eyes wide and shot out a blue magic seal.

*Buzz buzz!*

The Gold Devouring Beetles scattered in all directions in an instant.

When Han Li closed his eyes again, the light emanating from his body had become even stronger.

At this time, Han Li was using the Great Connection to its extreme. He had forcibly divided his consciousness into over a thousand parts. He left a few of the clones in his body to prepare for any eventuality, and the rest were attached to each of the Gold Devouring Beetles and spread out around him.

He was using the eyes of the Gold Devouring Beetles to search for the mark.

Some of them were caught in hidden spatial rifts or caught by unknown restrictions and could not return. However, Han Li’s clones had no form and were merely attached to the Gold Devouring Beetles, so if they sensed anything strange, they would abandon their bodies and run away, returning to him.

Even so, a dozen or so clones failed to escape in time and were trapped or damaged. In such cases, Han Li would decisively cut off the connection with the clone to prevent the other clones from being affected.

Even so, his face became paler each time his consciousness was severed. Fortunately, his consciousness was so powerful that this level of loss was not a major problem.

He used his consciousness to bring back over a thousand Gold Devouring Beetles. When the last one had safely returned to the spirit beast pouch, Han Li opened his eyes with a sneer.

“I’ve found it, let’s go.”

After speaking, Han Li immediately stood up and turned into a streak of blue light and flew away, and Ziling followed happily.

Not long after, Han Li and Ziling arrived above a pile of rocks. Han Li looked down at a pit that looked like it had been created recently.

“It seems this is where the next mark was. If I remember correctly, we still need two more marks to find the Spirit Nectar Fruit. Now is the perfect opportunity to catch up with the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators.”

He said coldly and flicked his sleeve, summoning the Wind Riding Chariot.

“Let’s move using this from here on out. Miss’s speed is too slow, so if you ride this, we can catch up.”

“There are countless spatial rifts inside Chuma Valley, isn’t it too dangerous?”

Ziling asked in surprise.

“There must be a reason why I’m suggesting this. Besides, shouldn’t we take some risks for the Spirit Nectar Fruit?”

Han Li raised the corners of his mouth.

“If it’s the Brother Han I know, you wouldn’t take risks in something you’re not sure about. It seems you have a way to avoid the hidden spatial rifts. Then I’ll follow you.”

Ziling hesitated for a moment, then smiled lightly and boarded the Wind Riding Chariot like the wind. Soon, the Wind Riding Chariot turned into a white streak of light and cut through the sky under his control.

His judgment was accurate. In less than half a day, they found the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples in a wasteland.

Elder Zhong and the others were busy dealing with an accident restriction that one of the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples had accidentally triggered.

Han Li concealed his aura with his powerful consciousness, so Elder Zhong didn’t notice them. He silently sensed the fluctuations of spiritual energy with his consciousness and realized that the restriction they were dealing with was not very powerful.

At best, it would only draw their attention for a while, but it wouldn’t hold the Ghost Spirit Sect group for long.

However, that amount of time was enough for Han Li to leave them behind.

Han Li used the Wind Riding Chariot to move far around them. In the process, he had to avoid several spatial rifts, but he arrived at a mountain range with a blue glow ahead of the Ghost Spirit Sect group.

“It’s here! That bird-shaped peak must be the mark.”

Ziling immediately recognized one of the peaks in the mountain range and looked at Han Li excitedly. She had said she trusted him, but she had been nervous about the Wind Riding Chariot’s lightning speed.

But they had arrived so quickly and safely without encountering any spatial rifts or restrictions! It was thanks to his Brightsight Spirit Eyes that they hadn’t been caught in any hidden spatial rifts, but it was purely luck that they hadn’t encountered any restrictions.

The direction the bird’s beak-shaped peak was pointing should be where the last mark was.

“Brother Han, should we leave right away, or should we get rid of this?”

“Is it true that the jade slip says the last mark is in the desert and is a thousand miles from here?”

“Yes, then Brother Han….”

“Even if we destroy the peak, the others know that the next mark is in the desert. It will just take them longer to find it. The only way to hold them back is to set up an illusion formation to hide this mountain peak. Whether we can really deceive them remains to be seen.”

“That makes sense. But it will be difficult to hide such a large area and deceive the consciousness of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Is the cultivator also well-versed in illusion techniques?”

“I am not, but there is someone who is.”

Han Li grinned and flicked his sleeve, and a white light flashed inside, revealing a seductive woman. It was Yin Yue.

“Greetings, Master!”

The woman, who bowed gracefully to Han Li, was Yin Yue.

“Who….”

Ziling was quite surprised by the sudden appearance of Yin Yue.

“This is Yin Yue. You can think of her as my subordinate. Yin Yue, is there a way to set up an illusion formation in a short time to hide this mountain peak?”

“It is not impossible if I use Master’s formation artifacts and my illusion techniques. However, I don’t know if I can completely deceive a Nascent Soul cultivator. Also, my illusion technique is not a formation, so it will only exist for two days before automatically collapsing.”

Yin Yue answered respectfully.

“Do as you see fit. Two days should be enough.”

Han Li thought for a moment, then took out the formation artifacts from the spirit beast pouch and handed them to the woman.

“Yes!”

Now, Han Li looked at the bird-shaped mountain peak again and clapped his hands together.

Then, a dozen or so blue sword energies were released, circled the mountain peak once, and then quickly absorbed into his body and disappeared.

*Rumble!*

Suddenly, the bird-shaped peak made a huge sound and collapsed, turning into an ordinary shape.

Ziling stared at it blankly. She knew Han Li was skilled, but she was too surprised that he had destroyed a mountain with just sword energy, without even taking out a magic treasure.

While Ziling was surprised, Yin Yue took two sets of formation artifacts and nimbly circled the cut-off mountain peak, setting up the formation.

Her movements were so swift that the illusion formation was completed in half an hour, and a white mist rose, covering most of the mountain except for the top.

After finishing her work, Yin Yue suddenly flew to the top of the mountain and released a pink aura from her mouth, and an amazing thing happened. The mountain suddenly became strangely distorted and disappeared, and lush bushes took its place.

Han Li nodded in satisfaction as he watched it.