Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 480

The old men had their disciples carry out the tasks. However, when two disciples from each family went to the spring, an unexpected event occurred.

Above the spring, about three or four yards up, a thunderous sound suddenly echoed. After the multicolored light faded, a pitch-black mass of light appeared.

The pitch-black mass of light distorted the space with a strange, rustling sound, and a spatial rift appeared in its place.

*Pshoo!*

As all the cultivators stared with wide eyes, someone emerged from within and fell into the spring. Afterward, the spatial rift shook violently before disappearing.

As soon as the person fell into the spring, they shone and stood up.

“…….”

His expression became strange at the gazes of the cultivators staring at him. Hwang Won-myeong and the other old men were also speechless.

The young man, dressed in a blue scholar’s robe, was embarrassed but maintained his composure. As a blue light flashed from his entire body, the spring water that had soaked his clothes instantly evaporated.

“Where is this? Is this the Dongyu Kingdom?”

The young man asked Hwang Won-myeong, the most skilled cultivator among those present.

“This is Yeongju in Dongyu Kingdom. May I ask for your esteemed name?”

Hwang Won-myeong’s heart trembled as he sensed the young man’s cultivation. He couldn’t gauge the depth of the opponent’s cultivation at all. This meant that the opponent was at least a Core Formation cultivator. The other two old men also sensed Han Li’s cultivation and, with their hearts sinking, paid their respects.

“Yeongju, huh…”

It was Han Li, who had just emerged from the remnants of the Spirit Medicine Garden. It had also been 27 years since the battle at Chuma Gul.

Hwang Won-myeong and the other cultivators glanced at the spring water behind them. The spring water, which was already only half full, had lost half of its volume when Han Li fell into it. The remaining amount of spring water was now very little.

The three old men felt a pang of pain at this, but they barely managed to maintain a smile in front of Han Li. Han Li also smelled a peculiar fragrance from the water on his body, so he glanced back.

This action made the old men uneasy. What if he liked the spring water that the three families had protected for so long? However, Han Li didn’t care about the spring water and calmly said to the three old men,

“I have been out of the world for a long time and do not know what has happened in Tiannan. Can the three of you tell me about the important events that have occurred recently?”

“Yes, of course. If you don’t mind, we would like to invite you to the main hall of our Hwang family. We will serve you tea and answer any questions you may have.”

They were greatly relieved that Han Li showed no interest in their treasure, the spring water, and spoke respectfully.

“I have many questions, so let’s do that.”

“It is truly an honor to be able to host someone like you, Senior!”

Hwang Won-myeong said with a smile and had some disciples return ahead to prepare. He then guided Han Li toward a pavilion halfway up the mountain peak.

The other two old men also instructed their disciples and followed closely behind.

“It’s rare for the three families to be so close.”

On the way, Han Li listened to the situation here and was puzzled.

“Families like ours have nowhere else to go, so we are like this.”

Hwang Won-myeong gave a wry smile.

“I see that some of your disciples have decent talent. Why haven’t you sent them to a large sect? If their talent is good enough, they could become outer disciples, if not direct disciples.”

“There is something you don’t know, Senior. There are many cultivation sects in our Dongyu Kingdom, but most of them only select disciples from certain cultivation families. Moreover, even if one or two outstanding disciples emerge from our families, we cannot easily send them away because we need manpower to maintain the family.”

The round-faced old man, one of the other two old men, answered Han Li’s question in detail.

The old men, who were elders, might have had higher cultivation if they had entered a large sect in their youth. However, they remained here, leaving behind regrets for the sake of their families’ survival.

Han Li’s eyes gleamed as he calmly nodded. Soon, pavilions appeared, and the old men led him to the highest one.

Shortly after, as they reached the entrance of the pavilion, a young female disciple who had been waiting in advance greeted them.

“Senior, please come inside. Although our Yeongrin Mountain does not produce special spiritual herbs, our spiritual tea is worth trying.”

Hwang Won-myeong said as he guided Han Li into the main hall of the pavilion. The main hall was about 20 to 30 yards wide, which was spacious for a small family’s main hall.

Han Li sat down, receiving the respectful gazes of the three old men. The old men stood beside him, not thinking of sitting down.

At this moment, a beautiful female disciple brought tea. She served tea to Han Li and then carefully retreated.

Han Li picked up the teacup and took a sip. At first, it was slightly bitter, but soon he could feel a unique fragrance.

“Good. It is indeed good tea.”

The corners of Han Li’s lips slightly curved upward.

“Senior, are you perhaps not from Dongyu Kingdom?”

The round-faced old man couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked.

“Yes, I am not a cultivator from Dongyu Kingdom. I will only ask what I need to and leave, so don’t worry about me staying here and bothering you.”

“No, it is an honor just to meet someone like you, Senior. How could we worry?”

Hwang Won-myeong was startled and his face changed when Han Li gave the old man a smile that was not quite a smile.

“That’s enough. I was once a low-level cultivator myself, so how could I not know your feelings? If you answer well, I won’t leave empty-handed either. After all, meeting me can be considered fate.”

“We will answer to the best of our ability, whatever you ask! Although our family is small, we are well-informed about the surrounding news, so we will definitely not disappoint you.”

Hwang Won-myeong was greatly pleased by Han Li’s words.

“You must know about the incident where many cultivators entered Chuma Gul to find treasures after it was opened. Since Changzhou is not far from here, tell me what you know.”

“Of course, we know about Chuma Gul very well.”

Hwang Won-myeong, who had not expected this question, was a little puzzled but immediately answered.

“It has already been over 20 years since numerous cultivators entered Chuma Gul to find treasures. The Guiling Sect found a safe way, and hundreds of Core Formation and higher cultivators entered Chuma Gul.

Chuma Gul was a very dangerous place, so most of the high-level cultivators stayed on the outside. Nevertheless, due to the restrictions and spatial rifts, less than half of the cultivators who entered returned alive.

However, the big problem was that after the Guiling Sect cultivators entered the center, they accidentally released two ancient demonic beasts that devoured Nascent Souls [a high level of cultivation]. The Guiling Sect Master and others died on the spot, and the Nascent Soul cultivators in the center joined forces to fight a great battle, but they only managed to kill one, and the other escaped from Chuma Gul.

Even Senior Wei, one of the three great cultivators, and a Mo Lan Clan divine envoy were there. Many seniors lost their lives in that battle.

However, as Chuma Gul is known as a sacred place for ancient cultivators, the harvest of the cultivators who returned alive was also great. Some seniors found spiritual pills and cultivation methods that extended their lifespan and increased their cultivation.

This news spread, and the Tiannan cultivation world was in an uproar. Afterward, many more cultivators entered Chuma Gul, braving the dangers of spatial rifts and restrictions. However, none of them returned.

As a result, the atmosphere in the cultivation world became subdued, and Chuma Gul was once again forbidden, and no one dared to set foot there.”

“What happened to the escaped demonic beast?”

Having heard this far, Han Li’s heart grew heavy.

“I was just about to tell you, but that demonic beast caused a great disaster in the Tiannan cultivation world.”

Han Li’s expression darkened further at Hwang Won-myeong’s words. Han Li waited silently for the next words.

“When the demonic beast escaped, some seniors announced that the demonic beast would not stay in the human realm for long and would soon return to the other realm. So everyone was relieved.

However, the demonic beast attacked high-level cultivators, recovering its energy with Nascent Souls, and in just a few years, about six or seven Nascent Soul cultivators lost their lives. Yet, it showed no signs of returning.

So, the three great cultivators gathered about a dozen Nascent Soul seniors and set out to subjugate the demonic beast. However, the cunning demonic beast did not engage in a full-scale battle with the subjugation force and instead targeted lone cultivators.

It even attacked the Mo Lan people, so the Mo Lan people also dispatched divine envoys to participate in the subjugation. Eventually, the demonic beast was cornered by the subjugation force, which led to the demonic beast going even more berserk.

It began to slaughter not only high-level cultivators but also low-level cultivators. It is said that it annihilated about a dozen cultivation families and several cultivation sects in a few months.

In the end, an elder of a demonic sect, on the verge of death, used a secret technique to successfully track the demonic beast and surrounded it at Nakheon Mountain in Pungdo Kingdom. The demonic beast’s cultivation, having recovered its energy, was almost equivalent to a Deity Transformation cultivator [a very high level of cultivation], so two of the three great cultivators and one Mo Lan divine envoy had to fight together.

In the fierce battle, where attacks of tremendous power were exchanged, the other cultivators did not dare to intervene, and the main peak of Nakheon Mountain was leveled that day.”

Hwang Won-myeong paused for a moment to catch his breath.

“Was the demonic beast eliminated in that battle?”

“We don’t know. Some say that the demonic beast used a mysterious secret technique to escape from the crisis, but our family’s capabilities were not enough to verify the truth of the rumors. However, it has not appeared in the Tiannan region since the subjugation battle.”

Hwang Won-myeong hesitated before telling even the rumors. Han Li stroked his chin and fell into thought.

If they had truly annihilated the demonic beast, how could Wei Wuyae and others hide the truth? It was clear that something had happened, and they had not announced the truth properly. But it was strange that the demonic beast had disappeared after that.

It was unknown whether it was injured and not showing itself or whether it had left the Tiannan region.

“Cultivator Hwang, besides the events of Chuma Gul and the demonic beast over the past 20 years, has there been anything else special? I would like to hear about anything.”

Han Li calmly asked about other matters as well.

“There have been various events, but nothing as big as the Chuma Gul incident. The only thing that caught people’s attention was that shortly after the demonic beast disappeared, a strange whirlpool suddenly appeared on the sea surface off the coast of the Gye Kingdom near the Boundless Sea.

A large amount of spiritual energy was emitted from the huge whirlpool, unexpectedly purifying the sea surface of the Boundless Sea nearby, and surprisingly, seven small islands appeared around the whirlpool.

Each island had a great amount of spiritual energy and possessed rare, top-tier spiritual veins [a place where spiritual energy is concentrated], so the three great cultivators joined forces to hold a competition to determine the ownership of these islands.

Many sects participated, but in the end, the seven major cultivation sects gained ownership of the islands. Many cultivators tried to enter the whirlpool to find out its identity, but the deeper they went, the greater the pressure became, and they could not withstand it.

It is said that one of the three great cultivators, Daoist Ziyang, went down about 3,000 yards before he had to turn back.”

Hwang Won-myeong, after thinking for a moment, recounted this story.

“A huge whirlpool? How could such a thing happen?”

“How could I lie to you, Senior? This event shook the cultivation world for several years, and if you ask anyone, you will immediately know the truth.”

Hwang Won-myeong said with a smile.

Han Li became quite interested in this matter and began to ask about other things as well. In particular, he asked in detail about the movements of the Mo Lan people and the righteous and demonic paths.

Hwang Won-myeong told everything he knew without hiding anything, and the two old men next to him occasionally added explanations, satisfying Han Li.

Before long, he was able to learn about the major and minor events that had occurred recently.

Apart from the news about Chuma Gul and the whirlpool, there were only stories about the discovery of spiritual medicines or treasures and disputes between sects, but Han Li listened to the three old men’s words with a serious expression throughout.

However, he did not ask about the Falling Cloud Sect. After all, it was too far from the Gye Kingdom, so there was no way that such a small family would know the specific details.

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