Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 566

“……Impossible. No one can escape the Nine True Subduing Demon Grand Formation [a powerful sealing formation] that was deployed using the power of a Heaven Piercing Treasure! Moreover, since a gap has already formed in the sealing barrier, if Senior had escaped, you would have already left Mount Kunwu. At best, you’re just trying to scare me with a strand of your consciousness.”

Xiang Zhili, who had been flustered, regained his composure after considering this.

“How do you know about the Nine True Subduing Demon Grand Formation and the Heaven Piercing Treasure? Could it be that you are a descendant of the Kunwu Three Elders?”

The woman’s voice remained pleasant, but her tone had become chilling.

“I am not a descendant of the Kunwu Three Elders. I just happen to be one of the few in the mortal realm who knows about this matter.”

Xiang Zhili answered, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings.

“Hmph! There’s no need to look around so much. As you said, I haven’t escaped the barrier yet. However, I cannot let you ruin my chance to escape. Stay here quietly for a few months.”

As the woman’s voice faded, the air above the pavilion twisted, and a white vortex appeared. From within, a multicolored aura emerged and enveloped the old man.

“Illusory Heavenly Phenomenon!” [a powerful illusion technique]

Xiang Zhili’s face changed drastically, and he immediately tried to flee. However, the multicolored aura spun around and sucked him in with tremendous force.

When the light faded, Xiang Zhili had vanished.

“It seems I need to sleep a little longer. Foolish things. Come and gather more! When I wake up again, I will leave this place. Kunwu Three Elders, I will make sure you pay the price for sealing me here.”

The woman’s voice laughed madly and disappeared without a sound.

Seven days later, while the Ye family cultivators were breaking through the Mansu Gate and got trapped in another illusionary formation, Han Li was also struggling with a strange restriction, trying to figure out how to escape.

Above the sealing restriction, the small lake was attracting more and more cultivators each day. Already, more than a thousand cultivators had gathered within a few dozen miles of the lake, and among them were about a dozen Nascent Soul stage cultivators [a high level of cultivation].

The most noticeable were the four elders of the Poison Sect, who were floating side by side on the lake. The rest of the Nascent Soul stage cultivators had come in a hurry after hearing the news and were all moving alone.

In front of the Poison Sect elders, one of their disciples was reporting something.

“Great Elder, after investigating the seals in various underground locations, we found that someone has deployed an illusionary formation about twenty miles away from here to hide something. We have dispatched disciples who are proficient in formations to find a solution. However, it seems it will take some time as it is a high-level illusionary formation.”

The disciple, wearing a red turban, spoke respectfully.

“It’s good that you found a clue! Be careful not to let the other cultivators notice, and report as soon as you break the illusionary formation.”

A middle-aged cultivator with a wrinkled face instructed.

“Yes!”

The disciple bowed and took out a talisman for earth escape [a magical item for traveling underground] from his pocket and disappeared into the ground. Another Poison Sect elder spoke.

“Brother Hua, aren’t you worrying too much? There are no Nascent Soul late-stage cultivators in Namgang anyway, and even if Nascent Soul stage cultivators from other sects arrive, they won’t be able to withstand the combined attack of the four of us.”

“That’s true, but as time goes on, more high-level cultivators will gather. It’s not like only our Poison Sect is in Namgang, and if other Nascent Soul stage cultivators arrive before we enter the sealing barrier, the situation will become complicated. Moreover, if more time passes, the cultivators of the Ten Demonic Sects will also get involved.”

The middle-aged man with the surname Hua answered cautiously, and the other Poison Sect elders also showed signs of unease. At that moment, Hua raised his head and stared at something.

The others were startled and looked in that direction.

In the distance, a light flashed, and a gray mist appeared, flying towards them at a terrifying speed. The four Nascent Soul stage cultivators’ faces changed at the immense pressure of spiritual energy emanating from within.

*Poof!*

The mist arrived above the lake in an instant and exploded, disappearing. Instead, five faint white shadows appeared, all of them so vague that it was difficult to tell what they were.

“Five Hearts United Demons!” [a demonic technique]

Elder Hua’s face hardened.

“If it’s the Five Hearts United Demons, aren’t they the incarnations of Old Man Geon of the Yin Fiend Sect!”

Another Poison Sect elder turned pale upon hearing that.

“If it’s not Old Man Geon, who else in the world would have mastered such demonic arts? Old Man Geon can reside in any of his five incarnations, and unless all five demons are destroyed at the same time, he is practically immortal.”

The middle-aged man with the surname Hua snorted coldly, but he was clearly wary of his opponent.

“I see you know my incarnations well. I wondered who it was, but it’s Poison Sect cultivator Hua. Seeing you gathered here with your sect elders, you must also know about the seal.”

A relaxed voice echoed from the empty air.

“What would I know? I just came to see what was going on since the Poison Sect is nearby. What brings you here, Elder Geon, the Great Elder of the Yin Fiend Sect?”

Hua took a deep breath and barely managed to answer with a smile.

“Oh, is that so? If I remember correctly, the closest sect to this place is the Hwa Seon Sect, but the Poison Sect elders arrived so quickly. I just happened to be in Namgang for some business and stumbled upon this place.”

“With Elder Geon’s status, what kind of business would bring you to Namgang?”

“Well, it’s nothing urgent. I’m just here to quietly deal with a traitor from my sect who fled to this place.”

“I see. You must be going through a lot.”

Hua and Old Man Geon were talking to each other, but neither of them believed a single word the other said. The atmosphere between them became strange.

“We found it. There’s a crack in the north of the seal, and the Poison Sect cultivators are trying to break through the restriction there.”

Someone shouted as they emerged from somewhere near the lake. The surrounding cultivators were all startled and began to murmur.

Several Poison Sect disciples wearing navy robes and red turbans tried to chase after the cultivator who had shouted, but he had mastered a special earth escape technique and disappeared into the sky in an instant.

The faces of Hua and the other Poison Sect elders darkened considerably.

“Hehe… I also have some knowledge of formations. I should help your sect disciples take a look. I’ll go first then.”

Old Man Geon laughed and disappeared below the lake.

“Let’s go quickly! Judging by Old Man Geon’s nature, he might harm our sect disciples.”

Hua, looking angry, flipped his hand and held up a yellow flag he had prepared in advance. As he waved the flag, a yellow aura enveloped the Poison Sect elders, and they disappeared below.

Besides Old Man Geon and the Poison Sect elders, the rest of the cultivators also infiltrated the underground, and about half of the nearby cultivators disappeared.

About twenty miles north of the lake, there was a vast underground space. Below it, a white curtain of light was spread out, and it was so thick that powerful lightning flowed over it. Anyone who approached would be attacked by the lightning.

If they were lucky, they could avoid it, but those who lacked earth escape techniques would be struck by the lightning, and their protective barriers would shake.

There was a place on the curtain of light where lightning did not flow, and several Poison Sect disciples wearing blue robes and red turbans were confronting other cultivators.

The Poison Sect was quite a large force in Namgang, and most of the cultivators gathered here were local cultivators, so they could not easily antagonize them.

At that moment, a red streak of light appeared and coldly shouted.

“This old man needs to go in, so everyone move aside!”

“Senior, this place was discovered by our sect first. Our grand uncles are nearby, so we will contact the elders…”

“Even if it’s Poison Sect’s Hua Cheon-gi himself who is blocking me, this old man will go in.”

The figure in the red streak of light sneered and extended one hand, and a blinding light condensed in his palm.

“Is that so? I don’t know what wrong our disciples have done that Senior Jeong is personally trying to teach them a lesson.”

At that moment, a voice was heard from afar, and various streaks of light blocked the path of the Poison Sect disciples. The one who spoke was Hua, in the red streak of light, along with the other Poison Sect elders.

“Oh, I didn’t know that Brother Hua was here. I apologize for my rudeness. What I said earlier was a joke, so please don’t take it too seriously.”

Contrary to the expectations of the other cultivators gathered here, the old man in the red streak of light chuckled and backed down. It was hard to believe that he was the same person who had been exuding a menacing aura just a moment ago.

“Are you not the famous Sasan True Man, Jeong Wi! It’s truly an honor to meet you in person.”

Someone laughed at the sight, and five white shadows appeared between the red-lighted old man and the Poison Sect elders.

“Five Hearts United Demons! Elder Geon of the Yin Fiend Sect is also here!”

The cultivator in the red light seemed greatly surprised. Old Man Geon’s words were not just for show; the man called Sasan True Man was indeed a very famous figure in the Daejin cultivation world [a fictional world].

Of course, he was not famous for his great divine powers, but for his despicable nature of being ‘strong against the weak and weak against the strong.’ Therefore, among the lower-level cultivators, meeting Sasan True Man was considered almost a disaster, and even the higher-level cultivators were rumored to bow down to him in front but stab him in the back when the opportunity arose. Thus, many cultivators, and even some Nascent Soul stage cultivators, were grinding their teeth at him.

However, he was a Nascent Soul early-stage cultivator who was not bound by anything, and he had once obtained a strange treasure from the ancient era called the Four Directions Flying Sky Boots. When he used his earth escape technique, he could match even a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator.

When the Great Elder of the Yin Fiend Sect appeared, Sasan True Man immediately retreated into the crowd of other cultivators with a sly smile. He looked like a mouse in front of a cat.

Seeing his opponent retreat, Old Man Geon also had no intention of dealing with him any further and turned his head towards Hua Cheon-gi.

“Brother Hua, are you going to stop me from entering as well?”

“What are you saying! How could the Poison Sect dare to hinder Elder Geon’s movements? However, there is an illusionary formation deployed here, so we were planning to solve the restriction and inform everyone. We can’t have anyone recklessly entering the restriction and suffering harm.”

“Oh, we almost misunderstood your sect’s kindness. But do you think I would be defeated by a mere illusionary formation? I would like to go in and take a look first. Is that alright with you?”

Old Man Geon asked with a sneer at the obvious excuse.

“Of course. If Elder Geon wants to go in, we will absolutely not stop you.”

Hua Cheon-gi, as if he had already given up, answered without hesitation and waved his hand. The other three Poison Sect elders were full of dissatisfaction, but they did not oppose the Great Elder’s decision.

“I’ll go first then.”

Old Man Geon laughed wildly, and the five white shadows shot towards the curtain of light. Suddenly, a blue light flashed on the surface and then disappeared.

“If any other cultivators want to enter, I won’t stop them.”

Hua Cheon-gi watched the curtain of light return to its original state and then looked around at the surrounding cultivators with a wrinkled face.

As soon as he finished speaking, the cultivators who had been eagerly waiting for an opportunity began to hesitate. Sasan True Man was also mixed among the other cultivators, remaining silent.

When the Poison Sect cultivators were blocking the way, they thought they were trying to monopolize the entrance and wanted to jump into the sealing barrier right away. However, now that they had willingly stepped aside and a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator had entered first, they became cautious.

First of all, the illusionary formation that was said to be deployed in the gap of the barrier did not seem easy to deal with, and what if the Great Elder of the Yin Fiend Sect, who had entered first, attacked them because they were annoying?

Seeing this, Hua Cheon-gi scoffed and left them alone, instructing his disciples.

“There’s no need to keep watch any longer. We’ll take care of it ourselves, so you can go back up now.”

“Yes, Great Elder!”

Seven Poison Sect disciples bowed and then shot up into the ground and disappeared. Following them, Hua Cheon-gi and the four Poison Sect elders jumped into the illusionary formation and disappeared.

However, most of the remaining cultivators had come alone or at most in groups of two or three. In this situation, they were reluctant to jump into the illusionary formation with such forces.

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