Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 371

After a month, Han Li finally returned to his residence in the State of Ji.

With a sigh of relief, he left the woman from the Spirit Beast Sect in his residence and went to check on Mo Peiling, who was staying on a nearby peak.

Satisfied that she was still in secluded cultivation, Han Li made sure to visit the elders of the Fallen Cloud Sect to inform them of his return.

The silver-haired old man and the middle-aged man welcomed Han Li’s return and inquired about his well-being. They had heard that Han Li had annihilated several disciples of the Ghost Spirit Sect and Core Formation cultivators of the Devil Flame Sect, and instead of worrying, they loudly praised him.

They must have been seething over the previous ambush by the righteous and demonic paths. In particular, the silver-haired old man was even more delighted because he had greatly depleted his vital energy to use a secret technique to survive at the time and had not yet fully recovered.

Reassured by their attitude, Han Li chatted with them before returning to his residence. Now it was time to consider what to do with the troublesome beauty.

* * *

Liu Yu suddenly regained her senses.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she was startled by the unfamiliar face in front of her and took a step back. Only when her back touched the stone wall of the chamber did she properly see that a beautiful woman in her twenties was smiling at her.

“Now that you’re awake, please follow me to see our master.”

“Who is your master? And where is this place?”

Liu Yu’s head ached as she couldn’t figure out how she had gotten here. Eunwol smiled leisurely, scanning the other woman’s slender figure.

“Haha, you’ll find out soon enough when you follow me. However, this is Mount Unmong in the State of Ji, so I’m sure a cultivator like you knows where you are!”

“State of Ji, Mount Unmong? Then the Heavenly Dao Alliance…”

“You’re quite clever. This is indeed the Fallen Cloud Sect of the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Miss, please hurry, our master is waiting for you.”

Eunwol’s eyes sparkled as she calmly urged her on.

“Alright! I also wish to see the senior, so please guide me.”

The woman in white was not an ordinary cultivator, so she quickly hid her surprise. Eunwol smiled and gracefully left the stone chamber, and the woman in white silently followed behind.

After a while, the two women entered the main hall one after another.

Han Li was sitting on a stone chair, his clear eyes fixed on a huge protective barrier in the middle of the hall. Inside, a spirit beast was violently ramming its head against it, but the earth-attribute restriction and the thick yellow barrier held firm like a rock.

Liu Yu looked closely and saw that it was an Iron Rhinoceros Beast, with a body like a blue ox, but its back was covered in scales and it had four silver hooves.

Such spirit beasts were not from the ancient primordial era, but they were still very rare in the cultivation world.

She had heard that the Bu family of the State of Wonmu, which had recently been destroyed, had been passing down such Iron Rhinoceros Beasts from their ancestors. It was said that their strength was almost equal to a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator.

‘Could this spirit beast be…?’

Thinking about it, it seemed that the person in front of her had annihilated the entire Bu family and plundered this spirit beast. Liu Yu felt that her future was bleak, having fallen into the hands of such a Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, she was slightly puzzled by Han Li’s youthful appearance. Male cultivators rarely learned techniques to maintain their youth, so most Nascent Soul cultivators had middle-aged or older faces.

At that moment, Eunwol stood respectfully before Han Li.

“Master, I have brought the Spirit Beast Sect cultivator.”

“Alright, you may leave.”

“Yes!”

As Eunwol retreated, Liu Yu bowed to Han Li with an uneasy heart and a submissive expression. However, Han Li coldly scanned her and then turned his gaze back to the Iron Rhinoceros Beast inside the barrier.

He flicked his fingertip, and a thin bolt of lightning shot out, piercing through the barrier and striking the spirit beast’s body. The Iron Rhinoceros Beast screamed as if struck by lightning and collapsed, unable to get back up.

Seeing the powerful spirit beast easily knocked down by Han Li’s single blow, Liu Yu’s face changed, but she quickly returned to her original expression as if nothing had happened.

However, Han Li clearly sensed that her heart rate had increased. He turned his gaze back to Liu Yu and calmly asked,

“What is your name, cultivator, and why were you chasing me? I understand why the Ghost Spirit Sect and Devil Flame Sect cultivators are looking for me, but I don’t think I’ve ever had any dealings with the Spirit Beast Sect.”

Liu Yu hesitated for a moment at Han Li’s question, then bit her red lip and answered in a small voice,

“Senior, you have captured our Spirit Beast Sect’s Spirit-Pointing Infant, so I had no choice but to risk my life to chase after you. If I have offended you, I am truly sorry. I was only acting under orders.”

Liu Yu knew that if she didn’t tell the truth, the Nascent Soul cultivator would find out soon enough. If they used soul-searching techniques, there would be no information they couldn’t uncover.

She didn’t want to become an idiot with a damaged consciousness.

“Spirit-Pointing Infant? You must be referring to that strange green Nascent Soul!”

Han Li frowned, recalling the small, humanoid Nascent Soul he had captured.

“Yes, that’s it. This infant was originally a precious item that our Spirit Beast Sect had refined after much hardship. There was an incident, and the infant escaped, but you captured it, Senior.”

Liu Yu gave a wry smile.

“Refined, you say? That little thing was quite ruthless. If the cultivator it encountered wasn’t me, there would be few in the cultivation world who could withstand it.”

Liu Yu didn’t know how to respond to Han Li’s cold gaze and was momentarily at a loss. Fortunately, Han Li looked at her pale face and asked a question.

“But how did you know I had the infant? And how did you track me down so quickly? Did you do something to the infant? If so, it would have definitely triggered my consciousness.”

“There are no restrictions on the infant. However, I and another fellow disciple have learned a special secret technique that allows us to sense the approximate location of the Spirit-Pointing Infant from a distance. There is a distance limit, so if we are more than a hundred thousand miles away, neither I nor my fellow disciple can do anything.”

Liu Yu did not hide the truth and obediently answered Han Li’s questions, sharing the relevant information. Seeing this, Han Li nodded slightly. Regardless of the truth of her words, he was satisfied with her quick-wittedness.

However, Liu Yu’s expression changed at the next question.

“If your Spirit Beast Sect went to the trouble of refining such an infant, there must be a reason. Would you tell me what its purpose is?”

Liu Yu’s face showed hesitation, but seeing his cold gaze, she no longer hesitated.

“The Spirit-Pointing Infant has a very special function. If a cultivator with a wood-attribute spirit root cultivates a special technique and then merges with the Spirit-Pointing Infant, they can replace their own Nascent Soul with it without having to condense their own Nascent Soul. They will then possess the cultivation and abilities comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator.”

Since she had already revealed the secret of the Spirit-Pointing Infant, she wouldn’t be treated well even if she returned to the Spirit Beast Sect.

However, the Nascent Soul cultivator in front of her didn’t seem like someone who would be lenient just because she was a beauty, so she had to assess the situation and deal with the crisis.

“There’s a technique that allows one to possess cultivation comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator. If that were true, your Spirit Beast Sect would have already dominated the demonic path, so why are you just under the Joyful Union Sect? Is there some kind of restriction?”

Frankly, Han Li was shocked by the woman’s story, but he maintained his composure and checked if there were any important details.

“As you said, Senior, the infant cannot be refined in large quantities. The difficulty of cultivating the infant is too great. The refining materials are also extremely rare, and it can only be attempted with the cooperation of the elders in the sect who are facing death.

Moreover, no one knows if it will succeed even after a dozen or so attempts. Also, to perform the fusion technique, you need to gather five infants with different attributes. If even one attribute is missing, the five elements will not be complete, and the fusion will fail.

That’s why our Spirit Beast Sect has been collecting various infants, but we only have about six or seven, and the rarest of them is the metal-attribute infant.

However, a few decades ago, we finally refined a metal-attribute infant, and the sect immediately selected ten Core Formation cultivators to train in the related secret technique. Once all the conditions were met, we planned to select five of our cultivators to perform the fusion ritual.”

Liu Yu spoke smoothly. Although there was no change in her expression, Han Li was engrossed in the story. He rested his chin on one hand and pondered for a long time before slowly opening his mouth.

“Even if you become a Nascent Soul cultivator by taking shortcuts, you will definitely be different from a true Nascent Soul cultivator. There must be shortcomings.”

The fusion infant technique reminded him of the Slaughter Pill that replaced the Golden Core. Of course, cultivating an infant was much more difficult than that.

“You are right. I don’t know everything, but I know that they don’t have the long lifespan of a Nascent Soul cultivator. They only live as long as a Core Formation cultivator.

Moreover, if you perform this secret technique, you will lose the opportunity to form a true Nascent Soul and will no longer be able to make any progress in your cultivation. There are many benefits, but there are also drawbacks.”

Since she had already started talking, the woman decided to reveal everything she knew. There was no point in holding back now.

After listening to the woman’s story, Han Li finally learned about the Spirit-Pointing Infant. It was a spirit creature refined by a cultivator, similar to the Soul-Seizing [a technique to take over another’s soul]. However, the infants were very vicious, as they could even devour a cultivator’s nascent soul.

Han Li suddenly said something that made Liu Yu dumbfounded.

“Your Six-Winged Frost Centipedes are quite impressive. Where did you get them? It would have been difficult for someone of your level to have such ancient spirit insects. Didn’t your fellow disciples or masters covet them?”

“You know about these spirit insects! I obtained the eggs of the spirit insects from the abandoned cave dwelling of an ancient cultivator. I thought they were dead, but when I brought them back and tried to hatch them, a few were lucky enough to be born.

However, the elders of the sect said that the Six-Winged Frost Centipede, an ancient species, has unlimited potential when it reaches adulthood, but it is very difficult to raise. Therefore, they did not covet these, which are still only larvae.”

Liu Yu answered in a slightly surprised voice, but she didn’t understand. It seemed that the other party was interested in the Six-Winged Frost Centipedes, but they were still larvae, so they were not at a level that would catch his eye.

Even though Nascent Soul cultivators could live for over a thousand years, the time and effort required to raise spirit insects like the Six-Winged Frost Centipede was not small.

As Liu Yu found it strange, Han Li made an offer that made her heart race.

“I am very interested in your Six-Winged Frost Centipedes. And I know a way to evolve them in a short time. So, how about we make a deal?”

“I will do whatever you command.”

“I will help your Six-Winged Frost Centipedes grow, and when the spirit insects lay eggs, you must give them to me. Also, I heard that the Spirit Beast Sect has a unique technique for handling spirit insects, and it would be good if you could teach it to me.”

“A technique for handling spirit insects?”

The smile on Liu Yu’s face slightly stiffened.

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