Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 747

748. The Black Wind Clan

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‘Tens of thousands every day?’

Han Li had expected a large number of cultivators in the Spirit Realm, but the fact that tens of thousands of low-level cultivators entered and exited a large city daily made his lips twitch.

“It was just wishful thinking on my part. The Three Realms [a vast world or universe] are so vast, and the areas controlled by mortals are just a drop in the ocean. There’s no way the immortals would care about them,” Madam Fang sighed lightly. The Jin-surname man could only smile wryly at the dissatisfaction in her tone. The conflict between mortals and cultivators was well-known, and it wasn’t something a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator should carelessly comment on.

At that moment, someone reported from outside the building.

“Reporting to Madam, I’ve brought the steward of City Lord Cho. Shall I let him in?”

“Yes, let him in at once.”

“Yes!”

The door opened, and three people entered. One was a burly man in a gray robe, and the other two were a girl with a clear face and an old man with white hair. The girl, who had been tightly clutching Han Li’s clothes, showed a look of joy upon seeing the people who had followed them in.

“It’s really Young Miss! Young Miss Da’er, are you alright? Let me see.”

The girl with the clear face rushed over as soon as she saw the child, kneeling on the ground and choking back tears. For the first time, the child left Han Li and hugged the girl, beginning to sob.

“Thank you so much for finding our young miss, Madam Fang! This old one was at a loss as to how to report this matter to the elders,” the old man said, his face full of joy as he thanked Madam Fang.

“It wasn’t me, but Commander Han here who rescued the young miss.”

“Young Master, thank you so much. If this old one reports this to the elders, they will surely repay you.”

“It was a minor effort to rescue your young miss, so there’s no need for repayment. Just take good care of the child,” Han Li said, waving his hand after scanning the old man and confirming he was an ordinary person. Still, the old man thanked him repeatedly with emotion before leaving with the girl and the young woman.

Da’er no longer clung to Han Li, but her dark eyes were full of regret as she kept looking back even as she left through the door. Amused by the girl’s cuteness, Han Li impulsively made a funny face at her before returning to his usual expression.

The girl giggled at Han Li’s action and left the building with a happy smile.

“It seems you’ve grown quite fond of her. However, even if City Lord Cho is truly safe, the city has been destroyed, and countless people have fallen victim to the demon beast horde. No matter how many excuses he has, it will be difficult for him to avoid punishment. Their family’s future doesn’t look too bright,” the Jin-surname man said, having been watching Han Li the whole time.

“That’s not my concern. The Cho family’s future is something they should worry about themselves.”

“Haha, I spoke out of turn. Madam Fang, now that Brother Han has returned, we should go over a few things, shouldn’t we?” the Jin-surname man said with a smile, turning to look at Madam Fang.

“Ah, yes, we should. There’s something I need to ask for Young Master Han’s help with. It seems you’ll have to go somewhere with Immortal Jin this time.”

“If it’s not too much trouble and within my capabilities, please tell me. I wouldn’t want Madam and Immortal Jin’s affairs to be delayed because of me.”

“Actually, one of the groups I lead happened to find something that could greatly increase the probability of a breakthrough…”

Madam Fang slowly began to explain, organizing her thoughts. However, Han Li listened silently, and no one could guess what he was thinking.

* * *

At that moment, tens of thousands of miles away, a purple light was speeding through the forest, pursued by large and small leopard-like demon beasts.

The large leopard demon beasts were enormous, while the smaller ones shimmered with a blue light. It was clear that they were the leader-level demon beasts that had appeared in Anwon City a few days ago.

In front of them, a purple light flashed, and a burly man in a purple robe appeared.

He was rapidly falling downwards, stepping on a square object, and it seemed he had lost control.

Seeing this, the leopard demon beasts behind him rejoiced and chased after him. The large one flapped its wings, emitting countless yellow lights, while the smaller ones opened their mouths, releasing blue lightning with thunderous roars.

The burly man in the purple robe hurriedly stomped his feet, increasing his falling speed. He barely dodged the attacks raining down like meteors and disappeared into the forest below.

The demon beasts did not immediately follow him into the forest but circled above it, chirping and howling strangely.

Shortly after, a faint red light flew from the horizon and stopped beside the two leopard demon beasts. The light faded, and a palace-dressed woman with long, slanted eyes and thick eyebrows appeared.

“Has that man finally exhausted his spirit stones [currency used by cultivators] and can’t use his escape talisman? Useless things! It took you so long to catch a mere Body Refinement cultivator. If I hadn’t had to suppress my spiritual power fluctuations, I would have caught him long ago,” the palace-dressed woman said, revealing a fierce aura as she scanned the area below, then looked at the two demon beasts with a displeased expression. The ferocious leopard demon beasts were frightened by the woman’s gaze and flapped their wings, whimpering.

“Hmph! How can our clan’s bloodline be in the hands of humans? No matter the cost, I will bring the child back. Now that I’ve captured City Lord Cho, I should be able to find out the child’s whereabouts. It wasn’t in vain that I came all the way here myself.”

A strange expression flashed across the woman’s face, and she did not move directly downwards but waited for something.

Soon, a loud noise came from the forest, followed by the sounds of beasts roaring and fists landing. The palace-dressed woman remained motionless in the air with the two leopard demon beasts.

After a while, the commotion subsided, and three black auras and one yellow aura rose up. They were three snake demon beasts and a giant four-legged insect demon beast that was four to five zhang [a Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.3 meters] tall.

The snake demon beasts were holding a nearly dead human in their hands. It was the burly man in the purple robe who had fled from this place not long ago.

His body was covered in blood, and one of his arms was missing.

The four demon beasts carefully placed the burly man in the purple robe in front of the palace-dressed woman and did not say a word.

“You’ve done well this time. I will reward you handsomely later,” the woman said, nodding with satisfaction as she saw that the human man was still breathing. The snake demon beasts and the giant insect demon beast made strange noises, expressing their joy.

“Impossible. How can an 8th-grade Transformation demon beast be at the Celestial Realm!”

The burly man in the purple robe suddenly regained consciousness, and upon seeing the palace-dressed woman, he was terrified.

“An 8th-grade demon beast? Let’s just say that’s the case. But now is the time for me to ask you questions, not for you to speak. I have no intention of answering a mere mortal. If you listen to me and tell me the whereabouts of the person I’m looking for, I’ll kill you cleanly. If you displease me, I’ll extract your soul and torture it. You know better than anyone what will happen then.”

The woman’s demeanor was elegant, but her words were extremely ruthless. Upon hearing her words, the burly man in the purple robe’s face contorted even more.

“Senior, you are a great figure of the demon race, so why would you have business with a mere Body Refinement cultivator? It seems you have mistaken me for someone else.”

At those words, the palace-dressed woman’s eyes flashed with coldness, and she flicked her finger.

*Pfft!*

A finger-thick red light flew out and pierced the man’s shoulder. The man screamed, and a burning smell filled the air as a dark hole appeared in his shoulder.

“I told you that I would be asking the questions, didn’t I? If you make such a mistake again, I will cut off your limbs.”

“I understand. Please ask me anything.”

“I’m looking for a child named Da’er. You wouldn’t say you don’t know the whereabouts of your only granddaughter, would you?”

“Da’er! You’re from the Black Wind Clan!”

The burly man in the purple robe exclaimed in shock.

“That’s right. It seems you knew all along that our Black Wind Clan’s blood flowed in the child’s body! If you hadn’t kept your granddaughter hidden in the city, why would I have had these demon beasts attack Anwon City? Now that the city has fallen and there’s no way to find your granddaughter, I’ve come to find you.”

“I knew it. How could I have thought I could hide this from the Black Wind Demon King’s divine powers forever…”

The burly man in the purple robe muttered to himself like a madman.

“You humans are incredibly bold. You dared to seduce our Black Wind Clan’s young mistress and even ran away with the clan’s bloodline! Did you really think that if you hid in the Three Realms, our Black Wind Clan wouldn’t find you?” the palace-dressed woman said, raising her eyebrows, her voice gradually becoming sinister.

“My daughter already lost her life because of Da’er! What more do you want from me!” the burly man in the purple robe shouted, gritting his teeth as if he no longer feared death.

“What do I want? Of course, I want to take the child back to the Black Wind Palace. Although she’s half-human and half-demon, she has our clan’s bloodline, so how can we let her grow up among humans? It’s fortunate that your daughter died early. Enough, I’m starting to get annoyed, so let’s get to the point. Where is the child?” The palace-dressed woman’s gaze towards the man grew colder.

“I don’t know!” The burly man in the purple robe, whose expression had been changing constantly, finally managed to speak. The palace-dressed woman raised her hand and grasped the air as if she had expected his answer.

Then, the man’s body was sucked into the woman’s palm, and she grabbed his head.

“Take a good look. This will be the last scenery you see in this world,” the woman said coldly, and a blue light flashed from her fingers. The burly man in the purple robe rolled his eyes and lost consciousness.

Shortly after, his completely withered and shrunken corpse fell from the air and disappeared into the forest.

“This has become troublesome. The old man is so stubborn! He even ordered his subordinates to kill his granddaughter if he didn’t appear within ten days. Even the most cruel beasts don’t eat their own offspring, but humans! He’s trying to prevent the Black Wind Clan from gaining another high-level cultivator, even if it means the end of his family line. It’s fortunate that he was just a Body Refinement cultivator; if he had been a cultivator, he would have been an outstanding figure. He had his subordinates escape with the child when the city fell… Did you really not see the child I’m looking for that day?” the palace-dressed woman muttered, scanning the demon beasts beside her and asking. However, the demon beasts exchanged glances and made strange noises for a while, their expressions respectful.

The woman narrowed her brows and flipped her palm, taking out a blood-red bead.

She made a hand seal and silently chanted an incantation, spitting blood onto the bead. Then, a strange glow began to flow on the surface of the dark red bead. After staring at it for a moment, the woman closed and opened her eyes, looking tired.

“The child I’m looking for is still alive and hasn’t left this area. No matter what, I must find the child within three days! If you fail, you will not survive. But I always reward and punish fairly, so I will reward you for your contribution to the fall of Anwon City. These pills will replace hundreds of years of cultivation, so swallow them. If you find the child’s whereabouts, I will reward you even more,” the palace-dressed woman said, flicking her fingers. A fragrant wind carrying white pills flew towards the demon beasts.

The low-level demon beasts rejoiced and quickly swallowed the pills. They chattered happily for a moment before turning into masses of demonic energy and flying away.

“If I could just use my consciousness and spiritual power, I wouldn’t have to use such stupid things. But I can’t waste any more time, so I need to resolve this matter quickly and leave,” the palace-dressed woman said with a sigh.

She waved her hand, and a red aura flashed. She wrapped herself in a handkerchief-shaped treasure and disappeared from the spot like blue smoke.

* * *