Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 673

The two men with unfamiliar faces were the new elders of the Ancient Sword Sect and the White Cultivation Garden, respectively. They became even more nervous in front of Han Li, and after greeting him, they wisely refrained from stepping forward.

“Elder Nam, Elder Pung, please go ahead. I’ve been away from the sect for a long time, so I’ll need to rest for a few days before visiting the Ancient Sword Sect and the White Cultivation Garden.”

Han Li’s humble words caused the Fire Dragon Child and Elder Pung to shake their heads repeatedly, saying there was no need and that they would visit the Falling Cloud Sect with the other elders. They agreed to meet again in three days and then departed.

“Senior Lyeorak, other sects have produced new Nascent Soul cultivators who have become elders, but what about our sect? Why did you come out alone to greet me?”

“Ah, Junior Brother, you make me feel ashamed. Over the past hundred years, I’ve relied on your reputation to gather quite a few talented disciples, but their cultivation is still low. However, there are a few who show potential to reach the Nascent Soul stage, so things will improve with time. But this child…”

Lyeorak answered awkwardly, then looked at Jeon Geuma, who was standing behind Han Li.

“She’s a disciple I’ve taken in, but we haven’t formally completed the ceremony yet.”

“Greetings, Grand Uncle.”

At Han Li’s smiling words, Jeon Geuma smartly stepped forward and greeted him.

“Haha, rise! To think that Junior Brother would formally take in a disciple. As your grand uncle, I don’t have much, but I’ll give you a protective magic artifact I obtained a while ago!”

Lyeorak burst into laughter and rummaged through his storage pouch, pulling out a red, sparkling crystal ball, which he handed to Jeon Geuma. The girl hesitated for a moment, then bowed again with a joyful face and accepted the magic artifact.

Han Li simply expressed his gratitude with a smile and headed towards the Falling Cloud Sect with Lyeorak.

On the way, Lyeorak told him about the situation of the Falling Cloud Sect over the past hundred years. The most important news was that Senior Jeong had passed away and that Nangong Wan was still not free from her curse.

He had guessed that Senior Jeong might have died, but hearing it directly made him feel uneasy.

“Junior Brother, don’t worry. It’s true that Junior Sister hasn’t come out of her seal yet, but she has already awakened, so there shouldn’t be any problems. She’s cultivating an important technique inside the ice wall, so forcibly taking her out would undo all her efforts.”

Han Li felt relieved at Lyeorak’s words. It seemed that, as he had expected, Nangong Wan was fine without using the curse-breaking technique.

However, even so, it was a technique he had worked hard to learn, and there might be aftereffects, so it would be better to use the curse-breaking technique.

While they were talking, they arrived at the great formation of the Falling Cloud Sect. Lyeorak had sent a sound transmission talisman on the way, so as soon as they flew in, the thick fog created by the massive formation writhed and dispersed.

Unexpectedly, the entire mountain’s formation was completely deactivated.

Before Han Li could say anything, hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators flew up, led by a dozen Core Formation cultivators. They split into two lines and shouted in unison.

“The disciples of the Falling Cloud Sect congratulate Elder Han on his Nascent Soul Great Accomplishment and his return to the sect!”

They all bowed deeply towards Han Li with excited faces. The news that he had become a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator had also been spread to the disciples of the Falling Cloud Sect through Lyeorak’s sound transmission talisman.

They knew exactly what it meant for a great cultivator to emerge from their sect. The Falling Cloud Sect would instantly join the ranks of the major sects in Tiannan, and the amount of cultivation resources they could enjoy would be significantly different from before. So, it was natural for the disciples to be happy.

Han Li gave a wry smile to Lyeorak beside him.

“Senior Lyeorak, I didn’t expect to receive such a grand welcome.”

“What are you saying? You’ve returned as a great cultivator, so of course, we should welcome you grandly! I’m also planning to hold a banquet soon. We’ll invite the elders of other sects to match your status.”

“Do as you wish, Senior. But I’m not very interested in such things, so I’ll only show my face briefly.”

Han Li had no choice but to agree.

According to the customs of Tiannan, it was right for a cultivator who had reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul to hold a grand ceremony. It would announce to all of Tiannan that a new great cultivator had appeared, and the sect would gain a corresponding reputation.

Therefore, Han Li couldn’t just oppose it. Surrounded by numerous disciples, Han Li returned to the Falling Cloud Sect and entered a large hall.

Han Li’s seat was in the center of the hall, and Lyeorak sat next to him, but slightly pushed to the side, so it was clear to everyone that he was placing Han Li in the seat of honor.

Han Li didn’t say anything about it. If there was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and he didn’t oversee the major and minor affairs of the sect, it wouldn’t look good both internally and externally, and problems were likely to arise.

Therefore, Han Li also acquiesced to this and sat in the center of the hall without saying a word. After all, he had been away from the sect for a long time and didn’t know the internal affairs, so it was appropriate for Senior Lyeorak to handle everything.

Lyeorak was not particularly skilled as a Nascent Soul cultivator, but he was excellent at managing the sect. He first called the new Core Formation disciples and had them greet Han Li one by one, and then he formally announced that Han Li had reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul.

The excited disciples were soon assigned tasks related to the upcoming large-scale ceremony, while Han Li quietly scanned the disciples.

Most of those present were Core Formation disciples, and there were also some Foundation Establishment stewards who handled specialized tasks. When his gaze reached the disciples, they didn’t dare to meet his eyes and bowed their heads in respect.

However, Han Li paused when he realized that his nominal disciples, Ryu Ok and Song, the woman of Baek Bongbong, were not there.

“Senior Lyeorak, I don’t see Junior Sister Song. Has she left the sect on another mission?”

“I haven’t told you about that yet. Junior Sister Song has gone to Chuma Valley! She said she wanted to refine a pill, but she was short of a rare spiritual herb needed for it. It’s a spiritual herb that was thought to be extinct, but someone found it in Chuma Valley.”

“She went into Chuma Valley?”

“They say that the spiritual herb can be found even on the outskirts of Chuma Valley, so you don’t have to worry! For some reason, after you went in and came out last time, the central area became very dangerous, but the power of the restrictions on the outskirts has weakened over time. Most of the spatial rifts have also disappeared, so it should be fine if you avoid a few dangerous areas and hidden demonic beasts.

So, over the past few decades, quite a few cultivators have benefited from entering the outskirts of Chuma Valley. Come to think of it, Junior Sister Ryu and your concubine also went together. They are all Core Formation cultivators and have good treasures, so they should be fine.”

“Chuma Valley has changed so much… Ryu Ok and Mo Paeryeong also went?”

“That’s right. I don’t know what kind of elixir you left behind, but your concubine reached the mid-stage of Core Formation in less than a hundred years. Her cultivation speed is so fast that even I was surprised. It seems that reaching the Nascent Soul stage is not impossible for her.”

Lyeorak clicked his tongue, thinking of Mo Paeryeong.

“Mo Paeryeong was originally quite talented.”

Han Li answered, but he was lost in thought. At the time, he thought he would be able to return from the great formation in about ten years, so he didn’t leave behind many pills.

If she had been supplied with enough pills, she would have already reached the late stage of Core Formation. However, he had already reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul himself, and the effect of the All-Encompassing Origin Cultivation Technique was only for Nascent Soul cultivators.

It was useless for reaching the Transformation stage, so it was time to think about her future. Everyone thought she was his concubine, so even if he let her go free now, what man would approach her?

He talked with Lyeorak for a while, then said he had to go see Nangong Wan and got up from his seat. Han Li left Jeon Geuma in the hall for a while and headed alone towards the restriction of the Falling Cloud Sect.

After a while, he appeared in front of the stone chamber within the restriction. With a trembling heart, he released the restriction and entered the stone door. The stone chamber was still clean and well-maintained, and nothing had changed since he left.

The crystal-like ice wall was also the same. The only difference was that the girl inside the ice wall had regained her original beauty and was closing her eyes.

Han Li’s figure blurred, and he moved to the front of the ice wall as if teleporting. His eyes, gazing quietly at the woman, trembled. Just then, the woman’s eyelashes twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes, meeting his gaze.

The two of them were unable to speak for a moment, as if frozen.

“You’ve returned. You’ve been through a lot!”

After a long time, a soft voice with a smile was heard.

* * *

Deep in the center of Chuma Valley.

A tremendous roar erupted from the middle of an unnamed giant mountain. A dense black aura escaped from the cave and covered hundreds of feet, creating a bizarre atmosphere as if a demon god had descended.

“Using the demonic energy left by Goma, I reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul in less than a hundred years and even cultivated the last two stages of the Profound Yin Demonic Qi. It was a good decision to risk coming to Chuma Valley. Now, if I just find a few useful treasures while wandering around here, who can do anything to me?

After that, if I inject demonic energy from the abyss of demonic energy, reaching the late stage of the Nascent Soul won’t be difficult! Other demonic beasts would explode, but I am originally a demonic corpse, so what is there to fear! Then, it will be easy to devour his nascent soul. Then he will be me, and I will be him… I will be the only ‘Han Li’ in this world.”

A hoarse, sharp voice echoed, followed by a bizarre laugh.

* * *

Bamboo forest on the outskirts of Chuma Valley.

A red mass of light shot up from between the bamboo trees, spun around, and tried to flee like the wind. However, three different sword lights chased after it at tremendous speed and caught up with the red mass of light.

As the three sword lights swirled, the red mass of light made a strange sound and fell in the form of a giant bird over a foot long. A white streak of light shot out from the bamboo forest and approached the wreckage of the falling monstrous bird. It was a beautiful woman wearing a white robe.

The woman grasped the air, and a purple spiritual herb rose from the wreckage of the monstrous bird and entered her hand.

“Senior Sister Ryu, how is it this time?”

Two other streaks of light rose from the bamboo forest and appeared next to the woman in the white robe. The woman in the yellow robe spoke first.

“It’s not what we were looking for. This is a Purple Flame Flower!”

“Junior Sister Mo, don’t be impatient. We’ve only searched a part of the outskirts, so we might find the Illusion Spirit Herb in another place.”

The woman in white gave a wry smile, and the woman in the blue palace dress smiled calmly. The women were Ryu Ok, Mo Paeryeong, and Song, the woman of Baek Bongbong.

They had been searching the outskirts of Chuma Valley for fifteen days, and they had found some strange spiritual herbs, but they had not yet found the Illusion Spirit Herb.

Ryu Ok and Mo Paeryeong were impatient, but Song always maintained a calm attitude.

“That’s true, but we’ll have to take risks if we want to search other places. There are still many spatial rifts left.”

“Most of the spatial rifts have already disappeared. If we are careful, there won’t be any major dangers. Besides, the pill we are trying to refine this time is so important for Core Formation cultivators that we have to take that risk.”

Ryu Ok frowned and muttered worriedly, and Song smiled lightly.

“Senior Sister Song is right. I’ve reached a bottleneck, and it’s useless to cultivate, so I definitely need the pill!”

Mo Paeryeong said with a sigh after thinking for a moment.

“If that’s what Senior Sister Song and Junior Sister Mo want, I’ll stay with you until the end.”

Ryu Ok smiled brightly with clear eyes. The three women agreed and quickly disappeared in different directions.

# 675