Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 600

Han Li narrowed his brows and asked Kyu-ryung something through telepathy. Kyu-ryung, who was briefly surprised, immediately replied through telepathy as well.

Han Li nodded, his face darkening.

“It’s done, so please take it.”

The Spirit Bird Peacock opened its mouth and emitted a white light. Han Li’s eyes gleamed as he flicked his sleeve, sending out a blue aura to catch it.

When the light faded, a white jade slip the size of his palm appeared. Without hesitation, he raised one hand and poured his consciousness into it. His initially expressionless face gradually changed to one of surprise and concern.

After a long while, Han Li, who had withdrawn his consciousness, sighed lightly.

“Fellow cultivator Seo, is this the method created by your ancestor, Dol-ol? After examining it, I can only express my admiration! To forcibly inject the five elements of spiritual energy into the spirit insect’s body using a method of infusing energy and the spiritual power of heaven and earth to promote evolution… A cultivator who could come up with such a method must be extraordinary. They would have had to go through immense hardship, experimenting one by one to find the best method.”

“Since obtaining the Seo Gold Insect eggs, the Holy Temple has been researching methods of evolution through elders specializing in spirit insect cultivation. It took over a thousand years to finally complete this secret technique. Unfortunately, Seo Gold Insect eggs are very rare, and the necessary materials are precious, so we haven’t been able to cultivate a large swarm of Seo Gold Insects.”

Han Li nodded involuntarily as he listened to his words. If it weren’t for the mysterious bottle and the strange effects of the Unexpected Grass, he would never have been able to raise such a large swarm of Seo Gold Insects.

“Very well. I have saved you two and received the spell, so let’s consider the transaction complete. Now, choose. Will you surrender willingly, or shall I send you on the path of reincarnation?”

Suddenly, Han Li’s expression hardened, and he revealed a menacing aura.

Krrrr, KWA-BANG!

As soon as he finished speaking, silver wings appeared behind his back, and the sound of thunder echoed from his fists as golden lightning bolts appeared.

And behind the Spirit Bird Peacock, a silver flash appeared, and a humanoid puppet silently emerged, aiming at the spirit beast.

The Spirit Bird Peacock was startled and spread its two wings, hiding in the multicolored light. Unexpectedly, a Nascent Soul [a nascent soul is a powerful spirit form achieved by cultivators] enveloped in yellow light escaped from the spirit beast’s mouth and sat on its head.

“Fellow cultivator! Please stop. We, the Heavenly Orchid and the Seo clan, haven’t reached the point of no return. There’s still room to build a relationship. Are you not at all worried about being pursued by the remaining Grand Cultivators? And what about the sect and descendants you left behind in Tiannan?”

“If you speak like that, I might just pursue and annihilate the Grand Cultivators instead.”

Han Li’s expression turned grim.

“There’s no need to go that far! The reason the Holy Maiden and I initially pursued you was because the cultivation world naturally follows the law of the strong preying on the weak. A Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator appeared alone in the grasslands and killed many high-level cultivators, so we had to make an example of you.

Later, you even took the Holy Beast’s avatar, so we had no choice. But the situation is different now! You command two Nascent Soul late-stage cultivators and possess divine abilities comparable to a Grand Cultivator, so you are qualified to interact with our Heavenly Orchid Holy Temple on equal terms.

Moreover, the situation in Kunwu Mountain is unusual, and the more cultivators you can bring to your side, the higher your chances of survival.”

“Are you finished speaking?”

“Do you not believe my words?”

Naturally, the young man from the Seo clan felt his heart sink.

“I can let you go… but how will you convince me that the Heavenly Orchid wants to live peacefully with me? Surely, it’s not with sweet words or life-threatening oaths made in a crisis, is it?”

“Of course not! Since the Heavenly Orchid Holy Maiden is here, I will use a secret technique to summon the true spirit of the Heavenly Orchid Holy Beast and imprint the Holy Beast’s Seal on you. Furthermore, we will make you an honorary elder of our Heavenly Orchid Holy Temple! If you return the Holy Beast’s avatar, we will have something to say when we return to the Holy Temple.”

The young man from the Seo clan hurriedly said at Han Li’s sneer.

“I’ve heard about the Holy Beast’s Seal while passing through the grasslands. The cultivators who have the Holy Beast’s Seal are core members of the Holy Temple. It’s a strange curse that activates if they harbor thoughts of killing each other, and the cursed cultivator suffers a life worse than death, with their consciousness feeling like it’s being pricked by needles for a long time.”

“It’s fortunate that you already know! In fact, the reason our relationship deteriorated was because of the Holy Beast’s avatar.”

The young man from the Seo clan persuaded Han Li.

Han Li began to think silently, and the young man’s Nascent Soul waited anxiously. If the opponent tried to kill them now, he, who was only left with his Nascent Soul, would end here without a chance to escape.

The Nascent Soul late-stage Grand Cultivator could not hide his unease, as if walking on thin ice.

“I am not afraid of the Heavenly Orchid Holy Temple’s retaliation, but I don’t want to create an irreconcilable enemy. However, I will refuse to have the Holy Beast’s Seal imprinted on me and enter the Holy Temple. There’s no reason to carry a potential disaster when I don’t know what kind of strange effects the Holy Beast’s Seal might have. If the Holy Temple doesn’t bother me first, I will stay still. But if you touch me again, I won’t let it go.”

Han Li calmly said, staring at the young man’s Nascent Soul.

“That’s a very reasonable statement! Who would dare to touch you after seeing your strength? Then, will you release the Heavenly Orchid Holy Maiden now?”

The young man from the Seo clan was delighted at Han Li’s positive response.

“It’s too early to be happy. My conditions are just beginning.”

“What are the conditions?”

“I can return the Holy Beast’s avatar, but not right now. It will probably be possible in a few years. Of course, I promise not to harm the Holy Beast’s avatar.”

“You can’t return the Holy Beast’s avatar? That, that’s a bit…”

“There’s still a second condition. To prevent the Heavenly Orchid from changing their minds, I will place a restriction on your and the Holy Maiden’s Nascent Souls. Don’t worry, it’s not a Divine Restriction Technique that controls the opponent. After all, those of us who have reached this level can’t be affected much by Divine Restriction Techniques. I’ll just use the Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts, an ancient secret technique I happened to obtain. You just need to swallow one pill containing my conviction.”

Han Li interrupted the hesitant young man and calmly stated what he had in mind.

“Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts, absolutely not!”

“If you don’t want it, then you two should go to the next world right now. And before the news spreads, I’ll go to the Heavenly Orchid grasslands and kill all the remaining Grand Cultivators, and I’ll give a hint to the Mo-ran people in Tiannan! Then, the Mo-ran cultivators will probably rush to the grasslands with joy. It can’t be helped if the Dol-ol people are wiped out by then.”

“How dare you do such a thing!”

“You know better than anyone whether I dare to do such a thing or not. After all, the reason you tried to imprint the Holy Beast’s Seal was to tie my hands and feet, wasn’t it? There are more than one or two ways to use the Holy Beast’s Seal to restrain a cultivator.

But I dislike being controlled by anyone. If you don’t swallow the Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts, I’ll just take this opportunity to kill everyone and finish it cleanly. I’ll consider it agreed the moment my five fingers bend. One!”

As soon as Han Li finished speaking, he began counting and folded his thumb.

“Then how can we be sure that you won’t harm us using the Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts!”

“I can kill you right now, so why would I waste a pill to do that? Two!”

“But…”

The Nascent Soul sat on the giant peacock’s head, rolling its eyes and muttering. It seemed to be thinking if there was another way out. But when it saw Kyu-ryung blocking the Spirit Bird Peacock and glaring at it, its heart turned cold.

There was no way for him, a Nascent Soul, to escape the ironclad defense of the three cultivators.

“Four.”

Han Li had already folded his fourth finger. Only his little finger remained. At the same time, Kyu-ryung and the humanoid puppet raised their auras, ready to attack.

In response, Han Li simply flipped his hand and took out the Three-Flame Fan. Already, a three-colored light was flowing out, and the cry of a phoenix could be heard.

The young man’s Nascent Soul, hidden in the multicolored light, had lost its color but still kept its mouth shut. Then, Han Li’s lips moved, and it seemed like the last number would come out at any moment.

“I will! Place the restriction on the Nascent Soul!”

Han Li nodded and formed a hand seal, chanting a spell.

After a while, a pill the size of a bean, wrapped in light, flew from between his pale brows towards the young man’s Nascent Soul.

The young man from the Seo clan gritted his teeth and looked at the white light mass with fear. Seeing the sparkling multicolored light within, he knew it was indeed the Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts passed down from ancient times.

As the Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts approached in an instant, the young man from the Seo clan removed his protective barrier under Han Li’s cold gaze, and the white light mass was instantly absorbed into the Nascent Soul and disappeared.

The young man hurriedly used his consciousness to examine the state of his Nascent Soul. However, there was nothing unusual, as if nothing had happened. This made him even more uneasy rather than relieved.

It was said that the Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts was a condensation of a cultivator’s consciousness and could not be scattered or returned to an intangible state at will, and it seemed to be true.

How could one eliminate an intangible consciousness!

“It would be best not to think about forcibly removing it. An ancient secret technique cannot be removed so easily. If you behave yourself, I will not trigger the restriction.”

At those words, the Nascent Soul’s face turned sour.

Han Li turned his head and looked at the unconscious Heavenly Orchid Holy Maiden. He hesitated for a moment but soon absorbed a pill of Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts into the woman’s Nascent Soul.

“Are you going to continue to threaten us with the restriction even after saving us?”

The young man from the Seo clan asked with dissatisfaction, still unable to find anything even after scanning his Nascent Soul.

“Threaten? Let’s say I am. But if you cooperate fully in Kunwu Mountain, we can go our separate ways after leaving this place. You can return to the grasslands and do the work of the Heavenly Orchid elders and Holy Maiden, and I will return to Tiannan and continue my cultivation. The Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts will lose its effect in about 300 to 400 years, so there’s no need to worry.”

“300 to 400 years…!”

The young man from the Seo clan was speechless at Han Li’s calm words.

“We’ve spent a lot of time here, so let’s move quickly.”

Han Li glanced at the still-unconscious Im Eun-byung and waved his sleeve. A blue aura flew out and enveloped the woman, and Im Eun-byung’s eyelids twitched before she opened her eyes wide.

She was startled to see Han Li next to her and immediately flew back a dozen feet, unleashing a silver flying sword from her mouth, showing her vigilance.

“Fellow cultivator Im, please wait a moment!”

The young man from the Seo clan’s Nascent Soul quickly sent a telepathic message, fearing that Im Eun-byung might act rashly. Han Li simply stood with his hands behind his back, watching expressionlessly.

Kyu-ryung returned to his side, and the humanoid puppet disappeared from its spot once again.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Orchid Holy Maiden, realizing that she was under the restriction of the Cursing Thunder of True Thoughts, turned pale and then her eyes wavered in confusion.

Han Li’s eyes gleamed as he was about to say something when suddenly, a loud KWA-KWANG! echoed, and the entire space shook violently.

Then, thick sword energies burst out from the space barrier they were trapped in, swirling in the air before falling down. A hole the size of a palm was torn in the barrier, and two beams of light emerged. When the light faded, cultivators dressed as a Taoist and a Confucian scholar appeared.

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