Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 518

“I suppose so.”

Han Li agreed with the Great Evolution Divine Lord’s assessment. Fire-attribute treasures were primarily offensive, boasting greater destructive power than those of other attributes.

He finished speaking and with a flick of his sleeves, sent two beads into the air while casting a spell. The golden and white beads glowed and hovered in mid-air.

Han Li then reached into his storage pouch, retrieving various bottles and jade boxes, leaving only a small cauldron floating in the air.

He formed a hand seal and pointed his finger, causing the cauldron to tremble. Simultaneously, one of the jade boxes opened, releasing a shimmering powder. Han Li opened his mouth and exhaled a blue aura, causing about half of the powder in the jade box to float into the cauldron.

*Whoosh.*

A soft whooshing sound accompanied a stream of blue flames from his mouth. The thin flame, like a small spark, blazed fiercely upon touching the cauldron.

Han Li couldn’t help but smile wryly. With his magic power sealed, even spitting out a wisp of his Nascent Soul’s [A nascent soul is a core of energy formed in the body of a cultivator] power was this difficult.

This time, he levitated a slender jade bottle into the air. As the jade bottle slowly circled, the small cauldron’s lid opened, and a green liquid dripped inside.

Then, Han Li chanted a low incantation, causing the blue flames in the cauldron to intensify. In an instant, a medicinal scent began to emanate from the cauldron.

Han Li narrowed his brows and extended his hand, sending a jade box containing red spirit herbs into the air. In this manner, he added spirit herbs and liquids to the cauldron at regular intervals.

* * *

A full day passed, and the contents of the cauldron were finally complete.

Han Li’s sleeves fluttered, and as the flames of the cauldron disappeared, a silver cauldron landed on his palm.

Upon closer inspection, it contained a viscous liquid. The clear, bluish-green liquid emitted a strange, pungent aroma.

“Is this correct?”

Han Li, after confirming that it matched the description in the jade slip, asked the Great Evolution Divine Lord cautiously.

“Yes, that’s it. I didn’t expect your pill refining skills to be this good. I thought you would fail at least twice. In this aspect, you’re better than I was in the past. Now, if you soak the Heavenly Time Insect in the liquid for seven days, you should be able to remove the poison. After that, you can consume it without worry.”

Han Li was relieved to hear that and, without another word, pointed at the golden bead in the air. The golden bead instantly entered the silver cauldron, and the lid closed.

Han Li placed the cauldron in a corner of the secret room and then looked at the Setting Essence Pearl. Refining this shouldn’t be too difficult. He flipped his palm, creating a purple flame, and sent it towards the Setting Essence Pearl.

At the same time, the white light on the bead’s surface and the purple flame flickered, appearing to merge. Han Li soon exhaled a blue light, enveloping the bead. As the bead shrunk to the size of a pill, he swallowed it again.

With a serious expression, he closed his eyes and formed hand seals, observing the situation within his body.

He saw the Setting Essence Pearl reach his dantian [A vital energy center in the body], surrounded by a lotus formed from the purple flame, rotating. Below, his original Nascent Soul sat cross-legged, forming the same hand seals.

Han Li was slightly relieved upon confirming this.

It was extremely difficult to refine the Setting Essence Pearl with only Qi Refining cultivation. However, if he nurtured it within his body, enveloped by the Extreme Flame Transformation, it would be much easier to refine later, and he could temporarily control and use the Setting Essence Pearl.

Having finished his task, Han Li immediately rested. After about half a day, he released one of his spirit beast pouches into the air.

A white light flowed out, revealing a golden, radiant object. It was the Vajra Condor, still not fully refined. Within the treasure, which was in the form of a golden bubble, the Soul Devourer was lying down, peacefully asleep.

“…”

Han Li’s lips twitched as he looked at it. Nine times out of ten, it was asleep when summoned. It slept far too much. He smiled wryly and extended his finger, sending a blue light into the golden bubble.

The bubble rippled, and the Soul Devourer opened its hazy eyes. Upon realizing it was outside the spirit beast pouch, it turned into a black light, escaped the bubble, and sat on Han Li’s shoulder.

The Soul Devourer gently rubbed its furry head against Han Li’s neck. After spending so much time together, it seemed to regard Han Li as family.

Han Li smiled, stroking the spirit beast’s head, and then turned his gaze to the Vajra Condor floating in the air. A blue aura flowed from his sleeve, circling around the golden bubble, but there was no reaction.

Han Li paused, and after some thought, he formed a hand seal and cast a spell. However, the treasure only flickered a few times and remained largely unchanged.

He took a deep breath and formed another hand seal, chanting an incantation. Various colored spells burst from his fingers. When even this didn’t work, he finally showed a troubled expression.

“Senior Great Evolution, what’s going on? Even with my Qi Refining cultivation, I can’t even retrieve it. It was refined with Vajra Relic, so could it have some strange properties?”

“It’s already strange that a Buddhist treasure like the Vajra Condor could be refined using corpse fire. After all, relics and corpse fire are incompatible. It might not be possible to handle it with ordinary methods. I’ll tell you a secret incantation to retrieve the relic. Try that.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Half a day later, Han Li used the newly acquired spell to barely shrink the Vajra Condor and place it in his hand. However, he couldn’t refine it with the incantation the Great Evolution Divine Lord had given him. His Nascent Soul’s power didn’t work, nor did the incantation the Great Evolution Divine Lord had taught him.

The Great Evolution Divine Lord said that it seemed like he needed ten-thousand-year corpse flames to refine the Vajra Condor. Han Li felt frustrated at those words.

“Where am I supposed to find ten-thousand-year corpse flames? Should I go back to Snow Dragon Mountain and bring back the Profound Leaf King?”

At Han Li’s grumbling, the Great Evolution Divine Lord merely snorted and closed his mouth. At that moment, the small monkey, who had been idly sitting on his shoulder, suddenly opened its mouth. A grayish-white flame emerged, surrounding the golden bubble in the air.

The Vajra Condor, which had previously shown no reaction, vibrated and began to shrink and grow within the grayish-white flames. Han Li was extremely surprised by this sight.

“Ten-thousand-year corpse flames?”

The Great Evolution Divine Lord muttered in surprise.

* * *

Nanjun was one of the central regions of the Great Jin Dynasty. In terms of area, it was among the smallest of the 36 prefectures, but in terms of wealth, it was among the top five.

Most of it was plains and water sources, with abundant production and spiritual mountains. Even ordinary people often saw cultivators flying by.

There were many Buddhists, so temples and Taoist temples were built everywhere. From wealthy merchants to farmers, they were all trustworthy and diligent.

There were also many academies, so not only were there academies in the large and small cities, but also in small villages.

These academies varied greatly in rank. In the highest-ranked academies, great scholars taught the Four Books and Five Classics [The core texts of Confucianism] to the children of officials with status. In the lowest-ranked academies, Confucian scholars taught the most basic Confucian ideas and scriptures.

If they discovered outstanding talents, they would recommend them to higher-level academies, which was considered an opportunity for those in difficult circumstances to rise in status overnight.

Confucian scholars who graduated from higher-level academies were welcomed by the Great Jin government, and some of the best graduates from the top academies were recruited by local governors or high-ranking officials with titles.

The Taichang Prefecture’s Taichang City was also a large city with academies built everywhere.

Although it couldn’t compare to the largest Mugwang City, it was the place with the most high-ranking officials, nobles, and wealthy people in Nanjun. There were three or four noble families with titles, and countless ordinary people engaged in various professions.

The Gan family, located west of Taichang City, was one of the merchant families with considerable assets. They were a large merchant family with nearly 20 taverns within the city, but they were only of medium size here.

Even so, the Gan family, which owned a large mansion in Taichang City, which was known for its many wealthy people, had more than 30 or 40 servants.

Around noon on this day, a young man dressed in scholar’s attire appeared in the alley. He carried a long bundle wrapped in gray cloth on his back and seemed to have been living away from home for quite some time.

The young man looked around as soon as he turned the corner, as if searching for something. After a while, he saw a black plaque with the words “Gan Family” written on it and smiled slightly. Reaching the front gate, he knocked on the iron door knocker without hesitation.

*Thump! Thump!*

The sound echoed, and soon someone rushed out from inside the gate and opened it. The middle-aged man in servant’s clothes was startled for a moment, but his expression changed when he saw the young man.

“Who are you?”

The man, who had been about to bow, scanned the young man from head to toe.

“Is this the residence of Uncle Gan Zhi?”

“Uncle Gan Zhi is our master’s name, but who might you be, young master…?”

The servant, who had shown a hint of disdain at the young man’s appearance, quickly changed his expression.

“I am Han Li. I am a distant relative of Uncle Gan Zhi and have come to pay my respects.”

He introduced himself with a smile.

He had already completed a year of closed-door training and had cultivated the Nether King Art to the first level with the help of the Heavenly Time Insect and the Vajra Relic. The murderous aura that had been on the verge of going berserk had stabilized a lot, but he still came to the Gan family immediately as planned.

“So you are Young Master Han. Unfortunately, our master went out early this morning with his friends. May I inform the eldest young master?”

“I would be grateful if you would.”

“Please wait a moment, and I will be right back.”

The servant bowed slightly, closed the gate, and then hurried away. Han Li stood in front of the gate, observing the other mansions nearby, the passing carriages, and the pedestrians.

Even without using his spiritual sense, he could tell that there were quite a few cultivators in the city, and there were also a number of high-level cultivators.

After about a quarter of an hour, the gate opened, and a young man walked out. Behind the neatly dressed young man in silk robes stood the servant who had rushed in earlier.

“Are you Young Master Han? I am Gan Yu. You said you were a distant relative, but I haven’t heard of you. If you don’t mind, please come with me to the reception room for a while.”

Gan Yu looked at Han Li and politely invited him.

“So you are Uncle Gan’s eldest son. I will do as you say, Brother Gan.”

Gan Yu smiled and stepped aside, and Han Li entered the mansion. The black gate closed firmly again.

* * *

An hour later, a man in his fifties, who had gone out early in the morning, returned in a navy blue robe with a clear and bright face.

“What happened at home?”

As soon as Gan Zhi got out of the carriage, he asked the servant standing in front of the gate.

“Master, a young master with the surname Han came, claiming to be a distant relative. The eldest young master has guided him to the reception room and is talking with him.”

“A relative with the surname Han?”

“If he’s not your relative, is he a swindler? Should I report him to the authorities right away?”

The middle-aged servant asked in surprise.

“How can you tell if he’s a swindler right away? There might be such a distant relative that I don’t remember. It’s not your concern, so just guard the gate properly!”

Gan Zhi’s face hardened, and he scolded the servant before hurrying into the mansion and heading straight for the main hall. Even before entering the main hall, the old man heard a familiar laughter.

“Haha! Brother Han is so well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics that I can’t help but admire him. But regarding this passage, I understood it in this way…”

Clearly, his eldest son was excitedly talking with a cheerful voice. The old man’s face darkened slightly, and he felt uneasy, but he gritted his teeth and went inside.

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