Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 552

The black-clad woman’s words made Old Man Bu hesitate before agreeing.

“Since the Nether River Leaf doesn’t work on Fellow Daoist Han, there’s nothing I can do. Then, I’ll have to leave a mark to confirm that you don’t leave the Southern Border. Would you allow that?”

“Of course. My movements are no secret, so you can use your technique.” Han Li smiled faintly. The old man immediately formed a hand seal and extended his arm, and a blue light seeped into Han Li. Han Li examined it closely, but it was clearly an ordinary mark.

Old Man Bu, with a satisfied expression, retrieved the Nether River Leaf and instructed, “Since Fellow Daoist Bai said he would consider it for three days, my junior sister and I will wait here. Fellow Daoist Yuan and Fellow Daoist Han, you are free to leave and prepare! The Myriad Poison Valley, where the Yin-Yang Cave is located, is full of various poisonous insects and herbs, so it would be wise to prepare related treasures. Although the poison might not be strong enough to harm a Nascent Soul cultivator, you shouldn’t waste your magic power before entering the Yin-Yang Cave.”

“If that’s the case, it’s a piece of cake for us Poison Sect cultivators. Leave it to me. Then, I’ll be off!” The giant laughed heartily, clasped his fist, and then struck his spirit beast bag. Immediately, a giant tortoise spirit beast appeared again, and a gray whirlwind swept as the giant rode the spirit beast into the sky.

Han Li also bid farewell and immediately shot into the sky as a streak of blue light.

Half a year was a bit tight to refine the Three Flame Fan. However, if it was a treasure to deal with ghosts, the Evil-warding Divine Thunder and the Soul-Seizing Bell he possessed were enough.

The reason he was hurrying to refine the Three Flame Fan was mainly to prepare for any eventuality. Even if unexpected dangers arose in the Yin-Yang Cave, the Three Flame Fan and the humanoid puppet would be of help.

With these thoughts, Han Li flew towards Silver Serpent Mountain in the central part of the Southern Border. Ten days later, Han Li was looking down at a peculiar mountain range.

The mountain range, stretching for three to four hundred li [approximately 150-200 kilometers], was thin and long, resembling a wriggling snake. Moreover, the leaves of the trees growing in the mountain range were silver, hence the name Silver Serpent Mountain, meaning the mountain of silver snakes.

Han Li didn’t stay long in the air and descended towards the head of the snake. As he descended, hot winds blew, and the smell of sulfur filled the air.

What was even more surprising was that the sound of ‘thud’ could occasionally be heard from within the volcano, and ash would fly out. There were quite a few cultivators coming and going near the volcano, probably numbering in the dozens.

Most of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and there were a few Core Formation cultivators, but they were few and far between. After all, after reaching Core Formation, they would possess a Core Fire, so there was no need to come here to refine magic treasures.

Han Li descended, his eyes flickering with a blue light as he surveyed the situation. He was looking for the strongest vein of earth fire, heading towards a point between two volcanic vents.

He flicked his sleeve, and seventy-two golden flying swords were released. He formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation, and the flying swords resonated, transforming into a giant golden light several zhang [a unit of length, approximately 3.3 meters] long, tearing the ground apart.

*Kukwakwang!* A tremendous vibration and sound subsided, and after the golden light returned to the form of swords, a huge gap of twenty zhang long had opened up.

The low-level cultivators who were refining magic tools nearby wondered what had happened and focused their attention on this place, and some even approached out of curiosity.

Han Li sensed their actions and released the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator. An overwhelming pressure of spiritual energy spread out from Han Li.

Cultivators within a radius of several dozen li were all startled, abandoning what they were doing and fleeing.

Han Li was satisfied with the sensible behavior of the low-level cultivators around him and disappeared into the gap he had created.

Soon, news spread among the cultivators that a Nascent Soul cultivator had appeared and was staying there. Soon, the area within a ten-li radius of the gap Han Li had created became a kind of forbidden zone, and no one dared to approach.

* * *

Days passed.

At first, no sound was heard from the crack in the volcanic area, but a month later, a rumbling roar began to be heard.

After another month, the sound subsided and changed into a clear cry. And after that echo disappeared, a quiet silence descended.

While Han Li was hurrying to refine the Three Flame Fan, inside the imperial palace of Jin Kingdom, a dozen or so male and female cultivators had gathered. Among them were Taoists, monks, and Confucian scholars, all wearing different attire, but all possessed tremendous cultivation at the Nascent Soul level.

In particular, the cultivator with a square face wearing a silk robe and the old woman with a golden staff were mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, and an old man wearing a black hat was also mixed among them.

They sat quietly on the chairs in the main hall, anxiously looking at the entrance.

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Three hundred years ago, I saw with my own eyes my seventh uncle pass away,” the square-faced cultivator asked the white-bearded cultivator, unable to hold back any longer.

“How could I be mistaken when my uncle’s appearance was so unique? Besides, my uncle’s magic treasure, the Cold Moon Blade, was definitely genuine,” the old man said with a wry smile.

“There’s no need to be nervous. If the seventh uncle is really alive, it’s heaven helping the Ye family, but if it’s a fake, we can just deal with him,” the mid-Nascent Soul old woman muttered ominously.

“That’s true, but we must be cautious about everything,” the square-faced cultivator said, unable to say anything more.

…

After an hour, a bell rang from outside, and a tall, thin shadow appeared at the entrance. He was in the center of the main hall in one step.

He had yellow eyebrows, small eyes, and a head much larger than others, and his neck was particularly wobbly, as if it would fall off at any moment, making him look bizarre.

“Are you really our uncle?” The cultivators in the main hall were startled and stood up after seeing his grotesque appearance. The middle-aged man with a square face regained his composure and asked.

“Have you forgotten my face in a few hundred years? Of course, it’s understandable that you can’t easily believe it since I’ve come back from the dead. Here’s a jade slip containing the third brother’s voice transmission, take a look.” The strange man sent a green jade slip flying from his hand, and the square-faced cultivator immediately received the jade slip and infused his consciousness into it.

The middle-aged cultivator was delighted and bowed respectfully to the strange man. “I never imagined that the death of the seventh uncle back then was a scheme of the previous Grand Elder. Please forgive me for not recognizing you and being rude.”

“Forgive what! It’s good that you’re so cautious, I’m very pleased.” The other cultivators also took turns reading the jade slip, and soon all the cultivators in the main hall greeted him with bright faces.

“Greetings, Uncle.”

“Greetings, Grand Uncle.”

“Enough.” The strange man happily accepted the greetings and sat in the highest seat in the main hall.

“The third brother wrote in the jade slip that you had already reached the late Nascent Soul stage two hundred years ago, is that true?” the old woman asked respectfully.

“Yes, the reason why other sects joined forces to ambush me in the past was because I was close to reaching the late stage. The family made preparations in advance, allowing me to overcome the crisis. After that, I pretended to be dead and focused on cultivation, reaching the late stage.

The previous Grand Elder didn’t want me to show myself unless it was a matter of great importance to the Ye family. The only one who knew about this was the third brother, who recently came to me and told me about the current situation.

He asked for my help as the current Grand Elder. After much thought, I concluded that this matter was related to the survival of the Ye family, so I appeared here,” the strange man explained the situation with a serious face.

“With the power of two late Nascent Soul cultivators, including you and the Grand Elder, it will be a great help. If we gather all the Ye family elders and the elders recruited from outside, we will have a force comparable to the Ten Demonic Sects. The chances of success in this Southern Border endeavor have increased,” the square-faced cultivator said with satisfaction.

“I will not interfere with your plans, just tell me when you need me. Whether the Ye family can break free from the control of the demonic forces depends on this matter!” After that, the elders of the Ye family, the first family of the Great Jin, stayed for half a day and then dispersed from the main hall.

* * *

At that time, in a secret chamber located in the official residence of the imperial city, a dark demonic aura was rampant. A faint image of a two-headed demon could be seen, its eyes flashing with black and purple light.

“Hah!” As he uttered a low shout, the demonic aura was instantly absorbed into the demon’s body, and as he formed a hand seal with his four arms, explosive sounds were heard from various parts of his body, and he transformed into an ordinary young man.

It was the demon who had been staying in the Ye family.

“My body has almost recovered now. As long as I don’t encounter a few old guys, there won’t be many who can match me in the Great Jin. It’s about time the Ye family guys started moving… I’ve leaked information about the ancient era, so they’ll definitely come looking for me!” The demon muttered, letting out an eerie laugh.

* * *

At the same time, in the secret cave of the Yin Fiend Sect outside Jin Kingdom, Galen and the Heavenly Orchid Saintess were talking.

“I heard that Gu Youzong [a sect name] Bu Xing has appeared in the Southern Border. If I hadn’t heard that he had accompanied a Han family guy to the underground trade fair, I wouldn’t have even found a clue. Perhaps the Han family guy is also in the Southern Border with Bu Xing. The Grand Elder of our sect has already departed for the Southern Border on business. He said that if he finds that guy on the way, he will deal with him directly. Are you going, Fellow Daoist Lin?”

“There’s no guarantee that the guy is with Bu Xing just because Bu Xing is in the Southern Border. I heard from the grasslands that Great Master Xu and some of the Holy Temple Masters have already departed. They should arrive soon, so I will stay in Jin Kingdom. If there’s no other information by then, we’ll all head to the Southern Border together,” the Heavenly Orchid Saintess shook her head.

“Fellow Daoist Xu is coming! That’s great. The Grand Elder will be pleased too. Then, I will wait here with you. Anyway, the Grand Elder ordered me to stay by your side.”

“Now that I think about it, didn’t you say that the Han family guy appeared on the coast and was listed as a guest elder of a minor family? You’ve been sending disciples to monitor him all along, is there any other news?”

“No. He’s a cunning fellow, so he won’t appear again. Besides, after looking into it, his relationship with the Heavenly Talisman Sect is nothing special. Even if we wipe out all three families, they wouldn’t bat an eye.”

“Indeed, a cultivator from the Heavenly South wouldn’t care about the life or death of a sect in the Great Jin. Still, we’ve already sent masters to the Heavenly South to investigate him, so we’ll have news soon. It will be easier to deal with him if we know more about him!”

“Oh, if we can find out about his cultivation techniques and secret arts, it will be much easier to deal with him. By the way, when will Fellow Daoist Xu arrive?”

“At most, two or three months, right? If Fellow Daoist Xu comes this time and joins forces with your sect’s Grand Elder, that guy won’t be able to escape this time.”

Galen thought it was strange as he listened to the woman’s words. Although she said she was taking action because he had killed many Heavenly Orchid masters, the opponent was someone with power comparable to a late Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, the Saintess was staying in the Great Jin for several years to capture him, and this time, even the Great Master and Holy Temple masters from the Heavenly Orchid grasslands were coming. There must be a big secret.

While Galen was making various guesses, Lin Yinbing’s speed was not slow either.

It had been quite some time since the Heavenly Orchid Saintess’s clone had been captured, so she couldn’t hide this matter forever.

She hadn’t dared to contact the Upper Realm first for several years. Fortunately, the Heavenly Orchid Saintess’s clone was only imprisoned and not killed, so the main body hadn’t sensed it, but it was only a matter of time before she found out if time passed.

To save the Saintess’s clone as soon as possible and minimize the losses of the Heavenly Orchid masters, she had to obtain the cooperation of the Yin Fiend Sect cultivators as much as possible.

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