Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 497

Soon, the inside of the carriage fell silent, broken only by the sounds of the young men using huge hammers to break apart the ice and dismantle the three Yuan-Turtles.

The six most precious claws and ten tail feathers were given to Han Li. The remaining parts were divided between the two tribes, with the Changro tribe naturally receiving a larger share since Elder Han was an invited elder from their tribe.

The burly man from the Bal tribe didn’t receive a large share, but he was content because no one had been hurt by the demonic beast, and they had gained an unexpected bounty.

In one of the Hongrang tribe’s carriages, a young man in a navy blue robe removed his hat, as if it were uncomfortable. This revealed a fair and handsome face, marred only by his slightly thin lips.

However, his expression was now dark. He reached for his neck and pulled out a golden chain necklace with a silver-white key hanging from it. The silver key had the character ‘Pung’ engraved on it in gold.

Excitement, pain, and despair flickered in the young man’s eyes as he looked at it. After letting out a long sigh, he carefully tucked the key back into his chest and began to recover the spiritual power he had just expended.

The group that had collected the Yuan-Turtle remains began to move again.

This time, no one dared to chatter carelessly. Although it had been a brief moment, everyone was deeply shaken by the battle they had just witnessed. In particular, the young people who had been identified as having spiritual roots felt their hearts burning with ambition.

After two uneventful days, as noon approached, Han Li, who was cultivating a mantra in the carriage, sensed that the encampment they had been discussing was nearby.

He didn’t use his spiritual sense to examine everything, fearing that there might be high-level elders guarding it, but the chaotic fluctuations of spiritual energy suggested that many low-level cultivators were present.

After traveling another twenty li [approximately 10 kilometers], the two groups of tribesmen began to whistle. Han Li also brushed his sleeves, removed the cloth covering the carriage window, and looked into the distance.

Black dots appeared on the plains.

Everything was clearly visible to his sharp eyes. The walls, about three or four *jangs* [a traditional Korean unit of length, roughly 3-4 meters] high, were made by mixing stone-like materials. Inside, there were tents favored by the Dolol tribe and some crude wooden buildings.

However, some buildings were made by stacking huge blue stones, and inside them, one or two cultivators wearing unusual attire could be seen.

While examining the encampment, Han Li shifted his gaze to several huge stone pillars outside the walls. The pillars, about the thickness of a person’s embrace, were over twenty *jangs* high.

It seemed to be a large formation guarding the encampment, and judging by the absence of flying cultivators, it also seemed to have the effect of prohibiting flight.

Han Li lost interest and lowered the awning again.

After a quarter of an hour, Han Li’s group also entered the encampment. Since there was no one guarding it, entry and exit were free.

Yeongro consulted with the burly man and then they headed off in separate directions.

Han Li remained inside the carriage, but it was enough for him to grasp the surrounding situation. After all, the tribes resting here were all weak tribes from far away, and the large tribes were near the holy war grounds, so they had no reason to come here.

Therefore, except for a few tents, the others were shabby. The Changro tribe members, who had barely found an empty spot in the corner, also began to set up their tents.

Han Li calmly got out of the carriage and coldly surveyed them. At that moment, Yeongro hesitated slightly and approached him.

“This place is so chaotic that it might be difficult for Elder Han to rest. There is a resting place for elders nearby, so how about staying there for two days and then departing again after things are settled?”

“Alright, I understand. Let’s meet here again in two days.”

Han Li nodded at the old man’s polite suggestion and immediately turned and walked away. The direction he was heading was naturally the tallest structure, the two-story giant stone building.

Cultivators were constantly going in and out of it, so he quickly realized that it was the resting place the old man had mentioned.

After walking for a while, he arrived in front of the stone building. However, Han Li indifferently passed by it, looking at the gate where a monster statue was erected. Although he wasn’t worried about being discovered, he didn’t know what might happen if even a Nascent Soul elder appeared among the Dolol cultivators.

It was best to leave the encampment for a while and return two days later. Han Li calmly left the encampment, took out a small sword from his chest, and flew up on it.

He flew about five or six *li* [approximately 2.5-3 kilometers] and stopped at an inconspicuous pile of stones, then dropped down. He sat cross-legged, focused his spiritual sense, and confirmed that no one was within twenty *jangs* before reaching out to a huge stone. Then, a blue sword aura carved away the stone, creating a cave about two *jangs* deep.

Han Li went inside, sat cross-legged, and released several formation tools. In an instant, the stone cave disappeared from view.

“Master, what’s wrong?”

Eunwol, who was connected to Han Li’s consciousness, immediately sensed his unease.

“Someone is approaching. One Core Formation cultivator and one Foundation Establishment cultivator, but they’ve stopped ten *li* away. Among them, the Foundation Establishment cultivator’s energy feels familiar, like Pungak.”

Han Li stroked his chin and pondered.

“Shall I go and check in my spirit form?”

“No, you’re still not fully recovered from your injuries, and I’m only at the Foundation Establishment level, so it’s best not to stir up trouble. We just need to confirm which direction they’re heading.”

With that, Han Li closed his eyes and sat quietly, waiting. However, after half an hour, he opened his eyes.

“Senior Daeyun, you said that the killing intent in my body can only be removed by a few very rare daggers. Is it true that most of them are from Buddhist sects’ techniques?”

“Yes. Aside from Buddhist sects’ techniques, there are a few in Confucianism and Taoism, but they are less effective than Buddhist techniques.”

Daeyun Shingun’s languid reply came.

“Then, is it true that when using Buddhist techniques, they emit seven colors of spiritual energy?”

“Yes! How did you discover something like that?”

“Then… that person might be useful.”

Han Li immediately jumped up and transformed into a blue streak of light, flying towards the location. He quickly flew ten *li* and headed to a small forest in a grassland.

Inside, there was an open space about ten *jangs* wide, and two cultivators were there.

The young man in the navy blue robe was lying on the ground, bleeding black blood from his back, but he was surrounded by a seven-colored protective barrier. And the other one was an old man in a purple robe with sharp eyes like a hawk, who was striking the seven-colored barrier with a red flying sword.

In that situation, the old man couldn’t help but be surprised when Han Li suddenly appeared.

The old man, startled, checked Han Li’s cultivation with his spiritual sense and relaxed his vigilance, seeing that he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Instead, he decided to kill him immediately, and he flashed a black light and sent three nail-like magical tools flying, which were very fast.

Han Li sneered and touched his essence, and a black mist burst out, instantly transforming into a huge, greenish-blue hand about ten *cheoks* [a traditional Korean unit of length, roughly 30 centimeters] in size and flew away.

Without realizing it, the old man’s three nails were caught by the giant hand, and the connection to the nails was severed.

“…Huh!”

At that sight, the old man was terrified and tried to summon the flying sword that was attacking the young man to protect himself. But the dark green giant hand disappeared mid-air and suddenly appeared above the old man’s head, swinging its fist.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

The old man in the purple robe let out a death cry and collapsed. The green fist opened its tightly clenched fingers and found an egg-sized, greenish-blue light mass in the old man’s corpse.

Then, the giant hand returned to Han Li and transformed into a green infant, sitting on Han Li’s shoulder. The infant was holding three black nails in one hand and touching the greenish-blue light mass with the other, looking delighted.

Han Li’s eyebrows twitched.

When the Dolol people surrounded him, he had left a second Nascent Soul as a last resort to save his life. But today, when he tried attacking with it, its power was beyond his expectations.

He had used the Tonghyeon Transformation Technique from the Profound Yin Great Method that he had taught the second Nascent Soul, and it had instantly captured a Core Formation cultivator. It seemed that even a second Nascent Soul was still a Nascent Soul.

Han Li landed on the ground and slowly walked towards the seven-colored barrier. Next to it, the red flying sword had lost its master’s control and was lying on the ground, emitting a faint light.

Han Li didn’t even look at the flying sword and approached the seven-colored barrier, examining it closely. As expected, the barrier was emanating from a faint navy blue jade pendant.

It was the jade pendant with the inscription ‘Jeojungpung’ that he had shown Eunwol.

“Senior, is this a magical tool refined by a Buddhist sect?”

“Judging by the materials and refining techniques, it’s not quite a Buddhist treasure, but I can feel the touch of a Buddhist high monk. Otherwise, there’s no way a top-grade magical tool could withstand a Core Formation cultivator’s magical treasure for so long. It seems that the Pung family has some connection with Buddhism.”

Daeyun Shingun, now understanding Han Li’s intentions, calmly explained. Han Li immediately showed a happy expression. This time, he had another reason to help this person.

He placed his hand on the barrier and created a faint navy blue flame. With his current cultivation, he couldn’t use a large amount, so this was the best he could do. But there was no way the seven-colored barrier could withstand the extreme cold.

Bang!

The barrier collapsed, and Han Li approached the young man in the navy blue robe and checked his back, which was stained with dark red blood. His energy was very weak, and he was almost dying, but he was still breathing.

Han Li immediately cast a spell on his body and opened his mouth, exhaling blue energy. Then, he flicked his sleeve and turned the young man over.

As Han Li examined his condition in detail, his expression worsened.

It was indeed Pungak, but his face had turned black, and his lips were purple, as if he had been attacked by a deadly poison. If he had been hit by such a deadly poison, he should have died immediately, so it was a miracle that he was still alive.

He scanned the other person’s entire body with his spiritual sense and examined his body again with his sharp eyes. And after a while, he found a key on his neck.

The silver-white key, bound by a chain, was emitting a white light and constantly pushing back the poisonous energy that was rushing towards the young man’s heart.

Hesitating, Han Li lifted one of his wrists and infused blue spiritual energy, and a strange thing happened. The poison, which had been pushed back for a moment, showed signs of trying to cross over his spiritual energy.

Startled, he immediately cut off the connection with the spiritual energy he had infused into the young man’s body.

“Gu Poison…”

Han Li was shocked and shook his hand, his face turning pale.

“Gu Poison [a type of venomous poison created by mixing insects and other creatures] among the Ten Deadly Poisons, I’ve wasted my time. This person is absolutely beyond saving.”

“Even if a complete detoxification is impossible, it is possible to make him regain consciousness for a while. However, the amount of spiritual medicine needed would be considerable, and I’m not sure if he’s worth it.”

After speaking, Han Li straightened his body again.

“Master, it seems like you should wake him up for a moment, check, and then make a decision.”

This time, Eunwol said with a smile.

“That’s right. If I let him die like this without asking about his relationship with the Great Jin Buddhist sect, I’ll feel frustrated.”

Han Li said with a sigh and then took out a white bottle from his storage pouch.