Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 510

“Senior Daoyan, have you ever seen anything like this before?”Han Li frowned, pondering for a long time before sending a telepathic message to Divine Lord Daoyan.

“Humph, do you think I know everything in the world? I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this. But just the fact that it can block your consciousness from penetrating it is enough to call it a treasure. Ask the person how they obtained it in detail, and then decide whether to take it or not.”

Han Li chuckled at Divine Lord Daoyan’s curt reply and withdrew his consciousness. He then placed the jade box containing the bubble, which had returned to its original state, back on the table.

“Can you tell what kind of object it is?”

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t have the experience to identify it.”

“You don’t know either, Brother Han? I thought you might have figured out its use after seeing the strange phenomenon just now.”

“The phenomenon that occurred earlier was due to enveloping the treasure with a large amount of consciousness. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it seems to be worthy of being called a treasure.”

“Is that so?”

The old man was dubious and tried experimenting with his own consciousness.

After a while, the bubble indeed glowed golden as before, and its size subtly decreased and increased.

The old man exhaled a long breath, his eyes closed with a tired expression, and then opened them after a while.

“I’ve made a fool of myself. Brother Han, your consciousness is truly powerful.”

Jin Yuan looked at Han Li with envy. Han Li just smiled and didn’t say anything in response.

“Brother Jin, how did you obtain this? If you’re uncomfortable talking about it, you don’t have to.”

“It’s not a secret. Rather, I’m worried that you won’t believe me even if I tell the truth.”

Jin Yuan hesitated for a moment before giving a wry smile.

“If you tell me, I might be able to understand the object’s background and come up with something.”

“It’s not a story worth hiding, but I feel bad thinking about the friends who lost their lives trying to obtain this.”

Han Li was briefly surprised by the unexpected hidden story, but he quietly waited, knowing that the other party was about to begin his tale.

“As you might have guessed, I am a mountain cultivator who practices earth-attribute techniques. I may not be good at other things, but I was born with an earth spirit body, so I’m quite skilled in earth escape techniques. If only I hadn’t lacked spiritual root aptitude, many sects would have tried to take me as a disciple.”

Saying this, the old man showed a hint of regret.

“Thus, after reaching a certain level of cultivation, I often explored the desolate mountains and remote areas to find the abodes of ancient cultivators. I wanted to find the relics of ancient cultivators and increase my cultivation overnight and obtain fortuitous encounters. But finding the abodes of ancient cultivators is not easy. It would be a lie to say that I had no gains, but they were insignificant compared to the time I spent. Then, three years ago…”

Jin Yuan paused again and lowered his voice.

“Three years ago, a close friend told me that he had discovered a place that was suspected to be the tomb of an ancient cultivator. He wanted to use my earth escape techniques to explore the tomb. I was delighted and went to meet him on the appointed day, but there were several other cultivators gathered there. I had a feeling that this exploration would not be easy. Indeed, it was only after entering the ancient cultivator’s tomb that…”

The old man’s voice trembled.

“…it was only after entering that we realized that it was the tomb of a certain emperor who was famous in ancient times. The cruel and notorious Emperor Xuanye was a remarkable figure. But we were greatly disappointed. No matter how famous a person was among mortals, they were meaningless to cultivators.

However, when we entered the main burial chamber of the tomb, we found that there were precious materials and magical artifacts used by cultivators buried there! The group was overjoyed and tried to take the treasures, but then the corpses buried nearby rose up and turned into zombies, attacking us. Neither magical artifacts nor secret techniques could inflict any damage on the zombies’ tough bodies. Most of them were caught off guard and torn apart by the zombies. At that time, something strange was also detected from the coffin of the tomb’s owner. It felt like the legendary Emperor Xuanye was about to be resurrected. I was skilled in earth escape techniques, and as soon as I realized that the situation was strange, I was able to escape from that place. Otherwise, I would have been trapped inside and died.”

Recalling the situation at the time, Jin Yuan’s face had turned pale.

“Then this is…”

Han Li pointed at the jade box in surprise.

“It was placed in Emperor Xuanye’s burial chamber, and it’s a treasure that I barely managed to grab when I fled. I thought it must be a great treasure, but no one could identify what it was. It’s a strange object, but since no one knows its use, no cultivator wanted to buy it. So, I’ve been carrying it around all this time.”

Jin Yuan muttered gloomily.

“If it’s an object buried in the tomb of an ancient emperor, it’s natural that no one knows its identity. Many treasures from ancient times have become difficult to find in the current cultivation world. But it’s strange that a mortal emperor would possess so many items of cultivators and guard the tomb as a zombie. Did you go to other cultivators and tell them about the tomb?”

“Of course, I immediately reported it and guided several high-level cultivators back to the place where the ancient tomb was. But the markers I left at the entrance were still there, but the ancient tomb had completely disappeared. It had just turned into a desolate grassland.”

“Could you tell me where the tomb was located?”

“Of course. It’s deep in the Xueling Mountain Range.”

“I heard that cultivators frequently went missing in that area. Could this be related to that?”

Han Li asked with a curious expression.

“I don’t know about that, but if you are interested, I can give you a jade slip with the location marked on it. You can take a look when you have the chance.”

The old man hesitated, but surprisingly, he immediately took out a jade slip from his pocket and handed it to Han Li.

“I will if I have the chance.”

Han Li said, accepting the jade slip after a moment of silence.

“Haha! Seeing you makes me feel at ease, as if I’ve met an old friend. I’ve been able to talk about a story that I’ve been agonizing over for a long time, so please consider this a token of my gratitude. And I’ll sell this to you cheaply. I’m thinking of selling it for a hundred spirit stones. What do you think?”

“A hundred spirit stones seems too cheap. I’ll give you two hundred spirit stones.”

Jin Yuan exchanged the jade box containing the golden bubble for the two intermediate spirit stones that he had been given. When Han Li put the jade box into his storage pouch in front of the old man, he looked regretful.

At that moment, one of Han Li’s spirit beast pouches twitched, and something inside let out a small cry.

“What is this…”

The old man looked down at Han Li’s spirit beast pouch in surprise.

“It’s a low-level spirit beast that I’m raising. It seems to be interested in this object.”

Han Li explained casually.

Jin Yuan still had a suspicious look in his eyes, but he didn’t ask further and left first.

As soon as he confirmed that the old man had left the stone chamber, the smile on Han Li’s face gradually disappeared. With a dark expression, he took out the jade box again, opened the lid, and remained silent for a long time.

“Are you thinking of going to the tomb that guy mentioned?”

Divine Lord Daoyan’s voice suddenly echoed in his consciousness.

“Of course not. I’m not a newbie who just entered the cultivation world, so I won’t risk my life just by believing what someone says. But a tomb of an emperor… it wouldn’t be bad to take a look after I recover my cultivation. However, it’s certain that the guy’s intentions are not good. He says that seeing me makes him feel at ease, as if he’s met an old friend… It’s not like he’s dealing with a three-year-old! Would an old man like that easily reveal such a secret to someone? Especially to a stranger he’s meeting for the first time. It’s even more suspicious that he’s going to such lengths to make a move.”

“Those who have just left their sects and don’t know the ways of the world might be deceived. They might lower their guard, thinking that the other party has taken a liking to them. In the past, I too…”

Divine Lord Daoyan was about to say something but stopped.

“Oh, Senior, have you ever been deceived by such tricks?”

Han Li chuckled lightly, and Divine Lord Daoyan snorted, hiding his embarrassment.

“I had a childhood too. Is that strange?”

“I won’t pry into your past, Senior. But it’s unexpected that Jihun reacted.”

Han Li touched the spirit beast pouch with a serious expression. A black light escaped from it and fell onto the table, and a small monkey with black fur appeared.

The small monkey immediately sniffed and fixed its gaze on the golden bubble.

However, Jihun seemed a little hesitant, both fearing the golden bubble and desperately wanting it. It was an inexplicable situation.

But before he could organize his thoughts, black energy suddenly erupted from Jihun’s entire body, and it leaped up, jumping into the golden bubble.

Then, the light of the golden bubble flared up, and gray flames rose within it, surrounding Jihun. Han Li frowned.

Although he didn’t know what was happening, Jihun didn’t seem to be in pain even in the flames. It was as if it was cultivating, and the more it did, the more intense the light of the bubble became, emitting a tremendous wave of spiritual energy.

“Wait, where have I seen this scene before? I definitely remember seeing it…”

At that moment, Divine Lord Daoyan spoke.

“Have you remembered something?”

“Let me think. It must have been a long time ago…”

Han Li didn’t rush him and pondered, watching Jihun in the golden bubble.

…

“I remember now. It’s something I saw from a ten-thousand-year-old corpse king when I was traveling. That corpse king was a high-ranking Buddhist monk in his previous life, but after becoming a zombie, he refined his sarira [relics of a Buddhist monk] into a powerful protective barrier. It was an extremely powerful treasure that activated instantly as soon as it was released, and I had a hard time dealing with it. It was too long ago, and the protective barrier was silver at the time, so I didn’t remember it. But how did it end up in the hands of a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Jin Yuan instead of being inside the corpse king?”

“If you had a hard time dealing with it back then, Senior, it must be a great treasure. I don’t know how that guy obtained it, but what’s important now is Jihun’s safety.”

“Do you still not understand? Your spirit beast is now absorbing the corpse fire within the sarira. Not only are you strange, but the spirit beasts you bring with you are all strange. A spirit beast that is incompatible with ghosts and demons, and even the name Jihun is unfamiliar.”

“Absorbing corpse fire?”

Han Li examined Jihun closely at Divine Lord Daoyan’s words and saw that Jihun was emitting yin energy and gradually swallowing the gray flames. But after listening to the other party’s words, he couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“To be honest, that spirit beast has deviated too far from its original cultivation method. I’m not even sure if I should still call its current form Jihun after several evolutions.”

“No wonder it has a strange demonic pattern on its back. It’s a kind of mutated spirit beast. Judging by the gray-white color of the zombie’s flames, it must be pure corpse fire that is over ten thousand years old. Most cultivators or spirit beasts would die upon contact, but a spirit beast that absorbs it… It’s truly extraordinary! But it’s strange that the treasure hasn’t recognized its owner yet because it hasn’t finished refining. If the refining was complete, the corpse king would have summoned it immediately through his consciousness.”

“Then, after Jihun absorbs all the corpse fire, the treasure will fall into my hands. I haven’t even obtained an Unbreakable Technique yet, but I’m already getting a Buddhist treasure. I’m already looking forward to how miraculous the power of the Vajra Canopy [a protective barrier] made by refining the sarira will be.”

“Moreover, it’s not just any sarira, it’s a Vajra Sarira [a diamond-like relic]. Most sariras are white, but this one is golden, isn’t it? It’s a very rare type of sarira, and the Buddhist who refines it is said to be given a special position called Vajra Protector in the sect. It’s probably similar to the Law Enforcement Elder of other sects.”

“Then, is the protective barrier made with Vajra Sarira even more powerful than the one you saw, Senior?”

“It probably is. Vajra Sarira is famous in Buddhist sects. But I haven’t compared them directly, so I can’t be sure.”

Divine Lord Daoyan hesitated slightly.

Han Li was about to laugh and reply when the golden bubble on the table suddenly vibrated, and a small green light escaped from it.

Surprised, he focused his consciousness on the light, and the green light, which had soared to the ceiling, bounced back as if it had hit something. It was the wall of consciousness that Han Li had created through his Fire Transformation Technique.

At the same time, Jihun snorted and released energy, pulling the golden bubble into its stomach. Han Li watched it and guessed something.

# 512