Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 318

In the center of the main hall, a plump old man with a benevolent face looked at them from his chair. “Please, sit down. Since we are all humans, we should help each other. However, the circumstances here are different from the outside, so please introduce yourselves first. Then, I will tell you about the situation here.” Several people were seated next to the old man, one of whom wore a threatening expression. It was the same person who had scanned Han Li with his eyes outside the hall. He scrutinized Han Li as if he would shoot flames from his eyes, then looked at Mae Eung behind him, lost his words, and swallowed hard. Han Li simply smiled and replied calmly, “I have nothing to say other than that I was swept away by a Guimu [a type of ghost or spirit] I encountered by chance at sea. Whatever my status was before, it’s useless here, so what’s the point of talking about it?” “You two must be cultivators. There’s no need to hide it.” He looked at the low-grade magic tool hanging from Han Li’s waist. Although his expression changed, Han Li remained silent. “Although their numbers are not many, you are not the first cultivators to come here, so don’t worry. In fact, our village welcomes cultivators more than ordinary people. Of course, as you know, in the Land of Yin and Yang, spiritual power and magic power do not work, and you can only use the power of Yin and Yang and martial arts.” “What is the power of Yin and Yang?” “Well, it’s a kind of external power similar to magic power. Although you can’t directly use magic like magic power, cultivators can install small formations using the crystals obtained from the bodies of Yin beasts. Cultivators are not only skilled in formations but also have better physical strength than ordinary people, so they are a great help to the village.” Han Li thought for a moment and then asked again, “You seem to know a lot about cultivators. Are there any in this village?” “Of course, there are about six of them, and, though it’s embarrassing, this old man is one of them. Before being dragged here by Guimu, I was a cultivator who had succeeded in the Qi Refining stage [the first stage of cultivation].” Just as Han Li was about to speak again, facing the old man’s sly smile, the main hall shook. Thump, thump, thump… The continuous, enormous vibrations sounded like something huge was running towards the village. Everyone in the hall changed their expressions and rushed outside. Han Li also headed out of the building without delay. Outside, the village elders were directing hundreds of young men and women with serious faces, and they were all climbing onto the stone walls with arrows and spears. Although they all looked tense, they were not at all flustered, as if they had experienced this many times before. A tremendous roar came from afar, but the stone walls blocked the view, so nothing could be seen. Han Li, who had been rubbing his chin for a moment, looked around and then strode forward, kicking off the ground with his toes. He lightly ascended to the top of a tall building. Now, the view of the distant area was clear. Even a little distance from the village, sand and stones were swirling madly in a bizarre black wind, and a black frost-like substance was congealed on the ground. However, the bizarre wind did not cross a point about a hundred yards from the village and disappeared, as if there was an invisible boundary. Through the wind, heavy footsteps continued to approach, and a huge black shadow appeared, revealing an immense aura. Han Li quickly inhaled as he properly examined the black shadow. A giant gray monkey, about a dozen times its original size, was rushing fiercely towards the village, wielding a black wooden club. Its four eyes emitted a red light, revealing a full killing intent. Someone shouted loudly, as if everyone had noticed it. “It’s a Gyojaeng Beast! A Gyojaeng Beast is charging! Get the shields!” At the same time, many women, children, and old people appeared, raising various shields onto the walls, and then hurriedly returned. At this time, the beast had already entered within a hundred yards of the stone wall, and there was a tremendous vibration that seemed like the wall would collapse. Fortunately, that did not happen, but when the giant monkey approached within thirty yards, a purple mist suddenly rose from the ground, turning into huge tentacles that firmly grabbed the giant beast’s two legs. The beast could not overcome its charging speed and fell to the ground, causing the people on the wall to stagger from the impact. Han Li, startled, unconsciously turned his head towards the tower. Indeed, four people were sitting cross-legged there, all emitting purple energy from their bodies and casting spells. ‘Is this the power of Yin and Yang?’ “Attack!” Dense spears and arrows rained down on the fallen beast’s body. “Hoohoohoo!” The giant beast, sensing that the situation was not good, let out a terrible scream and spewed out a cold Yin wind from its mouth. Thud, thud, thud. The arrows that were hit by the wind bounced around and fell before even reaching the beast’s body. However, heavy weapons such as spears reached the beast’s body and inflicted minor wounds. The beast became even more agitated by the minor wounds, and the blood in its four red eyes surged, and thick fur began to rise from the top of its head, taking on a terrifying shape. Then, the fur turned into countless black lights and rushed towards the stone wall. The people on the wall, as if they already knew this would happen, looked tense but tried to block the attack using various shields in their hands. Crack, crack, crack! The sound of something hitting the shields was terrifying. The black light penetrated the shields by several inches, but most of them successfully blocked the attack. However, some who could not cover their entire bodies were hit by the black light and fell, their fates unknown. The others had no time to worry about those who had fallen and, with another loud command, rained down arrows and spears, repeating the task of blocking the Yin beasts. However, the Yin beast seemed to have no other means of attack other than the fur it shot from its head, and it only continued to struggle and let out terrible howls. The tentacles that had transformed from the purple mist still held it tightly and would not let go. After enduring about six rounds of ranged attacks, the cold wind blowing from the giant beast’s mouth became weaker than at first. Accordingly, the attacks from the wall became more intense, and the beast was already burned and had spears embedded all over its body. Although they were only minor injuries, the giant monkey was wildly swinging the club in its hand, creating craters around it. This time, men who were particularly large and strong appeared on the stone wall as if flying. As soon as they reached the wall, they gauged the distance and threw spears at the giant beast’s body. Swish, swish. The sound of spears cutting through the air one after another made Han Li’s expression change slightly. They were all possessors of considerable inner strength, handling the large spears as if they were blades of grass. At the same time, bloody holes appeared in the beast’s body, and all the spears were embedded, causing the violent giant monkey to be pinned to the ground alive. “Woooaaah!” Cheers erupted from the stone wall, and while everyone was rejoicing, the purple mist that had been holding the giant beast also dissipated. In their excitement, they hurriedly opened the gate of the stone wall and went out, while some remained to treat their injured comrades. Hoohoo! However, before they could fully open the gate, the beast, which had been burying its head in the ground, used its last remaining strength to throw the giant club it was holding with all its might. The club, which had soared high into the sky, began to fall towards the center of the village, and screams erupted from everywhere. But then, someone’s shadow flickered and attacked the falling wooden club with a wave of their hand. The giant club changed direction and fell into an empty space where no one was. And as he slowly landed on the ground, the villagers sighed in relief and approached him to express their gratitude. But he waved his hand and returned to his original position. However, Han Li could not have missed the fact that the stern, pale-faced middle-aged man had cast a cold gaze at him for a fleeting moment. For some reason, he seemed to dislike him quite a bit. While Han Li was narrowing his brows, the wooden gate was opened, and dozens of sturdy young men rushed towards the severely injured beast. One of them used a white sword to cut open the beast’s head and rummaged inside. “Yaaah!” “Wow!” When he showed a green crystal the size of a thumb in his blood-soaked hands, everyone cheered and made a commotion. Han Li blinked and looked at the green stone, and something familiar seemed like something he had seen somewhere before. After thinking calmly, he remembered that he had picked up a green crystal from the remains of the puppet soldiers guarding each floor during the internal war in the Heocheon Palace [a location from a previous chapter], and it looked exactly the same. Han Li’s heart began to pound. He quietly descended from the roof and followed the elders into the main hall. Mae Eung, seeing Han Li re-enter the main hall, lowered her head and followed behind him. When Han Li and Mae Eung entered, everyone was already seated in their respective places. Just as the plump old man was about to speak with a smile, a sturdy young man entered quickly and presented the green stone he was holding in both hands. “Great Elder, this is the crystal found in the head of the Gyojaeng Beast.” “You have all worked hard. Taking advantage of the time when the energy of the Spirit Extinction is released, we have recovered many fish, so we will distribute a larger amount.” “Thank you.” The young man returned with a very happy face. The old man carefully put the crystal into his bosom and then looked at Han Li and the others again with a serious face. “You must have been surprised to see the Gyojaeng Beast, a local beast, just now. This Land of Yin and Yang is only about a hundred miles in radius, but beasts, humans, and various Yin creatures live here.” “There are beasts too?” “When a spatial rift occurs, whether it’s a cultivator or a beast, they are all drawn in.” The old man smiled bitterly and continued. “Beasts cannot use magic here, but they have powerful physical abilities, so they are not enemies that humans or Yin creatures can handle. Fortunately, they establish a base in a certain area, eat Yin creatures, and do not move around much. However, Yin creatures are born from the energy here and have a natural liking for human flesh, so they regularly attack human villages. Of course, most of them are repelled by the villagers working together, but some weak villages are often annihilated. However, even if they succeed, the energy here condenses again, and Yin creatures appear, so it is like an endless war.” Han Li, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth. “Are you saying that there are other villages besides this one?” “Yes, there are about seven or eight human villages scattered throughout the Land of Yin and Yang, though not many. However, the problem is that food is always scarce. This place has too much Yin energy, so there is almost no land where food can be grown, except for some areas, and Yin creatures are highly poisonous, so they can be food for beasts, but if humans eat them, they will die immediately. Therefore, everyone here must find a necessary job to survive. Otherwise, they will be kicked out of the village and die.” The old man’s voice became colder towards the end. # 320