Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 522

“If it is the Fourth Temple Lord’s order, this disciple will do my best.”

Han Li walked, looking around at the cultivators gathered there.

“You’re refining the materials? Isn’t your cultivation too low? The materials the Lady wants to refine are very precious Bloodsilk Silver. If you mess it up, can you take responsibility?”

A man in a navy blue silk robe looked at Han Li’s cultivation, which was only at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining, and showed a look of disdain.

The girl in palace attire, called the Green Water Lady, was just smiling, but her expression was full of doubt.

“Bloodsilk Silver is indeed a rare material. I can’t be sure I’ll succeed either. How about asking another more experienced person?”

Han Li didn’t get angry at all and instead smiled. At his attitude, some of the cultivators hesitated on how to respond. Then, a handsome man asked with dissatisfaction.

“I heard there’s a very skilled artifact refiner here. Can’t that person refine it for the Lady?”

“Senior Wei has been in seclusion for several days to refine a precious treasure. It will probably be difficult for him to refine materials for the Lady.”

A disciple of the Artifact Refining Hall explained.

“It doesn’t take long to refine materials. Can’t you ask Senior Wei to come out? The royal family has heard of Great Master Wei’s reputation. I would like to meet him in person.”

The green-robed girl quietly requested, and the men of the Artifact Refining Hall were at a loss. Unknowingly, Han Li’s eyebrows twitched.

She spoke politely, but there was a cunning edge to it. The three disciples were swayed by the woman’s words, and one of them surprisingly agreed to inform Old Man Wei.

Han Li sighed. It seemed they had completely forgotten that the old man had told them not to disturb him unless it was very important, and that he had gone down to the underground secret chamber with his two assistants. In this situation, it would be strange if they didn’t suffer a setback for going to him just to refine materials.

As expected, the disciple who had gone down to the underground hall came running back a little later, his face pale.

“Lady, Senior Wei says it’s difficult for him to make time. It seems that Junior Han will have to do it.”

He forced a smile under the gazes of the many cultivators.

“The Artifact Refining Hall of the Yellow Clear Temple is famous. Can’t the three of you refine it for the Lady?”

A young woman among the young cultivators said. She was a bit older, and her purple attire was ordinary, but the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth was charming.

“To be honest with Miss Myeongju, if it were other materials, the three of us would have stepped up. But the method for refining precious materials like Bloodsilk Silver was only passed down by our Senior Master to Junior Han. Besides, we are mainly used to handling ordinary magical artifacts.”

The three cultivators exchanged glances, looking embarrassed, and said as if they couldn’t help it.

“I can’t stay here long since I came with Madam Ok, and I can’t miss this opportunity, so I’ll have to ask Senior Brother to refine the Bloodsilk Silver.”

The Green Water Lady smiled at Han Li with sparkling eyes.

“If the Lady is willing to take the risk, I will do my best.”

“Senior Brother, you just need to do your best. Whether it succeeds or not doesn’t matter much. It’s all up to my luck.”

When the girl said this much, Han Li nodded. However, he frowned slightly, looking at the other cultivators who had gathered.

“There can’t be so many people watching while I refine the materials. It will be difficult to concentrate, and the chances of success will greatly decrease.”

“Only I will watch from the side. The three Senior Brothers will show the others around the Artifact Refining Hall.”

The palace-clad woman didn’t mind at all, but those who came with her were not happy. Still, since there was no explicit objection, Han Li took the girl to the underground hall without another word.

The underground hall was the most important place for refining magical artifacts, so it wasn’t very large, about a hundred feet wide, but it was divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower.

The upper level was where materials were stored, and the middle level was where materials or low-grade magical artifacts were refined using earth fire. [Earth fire refers to naturally occurring geothermal heat used in refining.]

And the lower level, the space about 20 to 30 feet underground, was used to professionally refine treasures of high-grade magical artifacts or higher using the earth fire pond.

The secret chamber that Han Li usually used to refine materials was on the middle level. He took the Green Water Lady into the secret chamber and organized some miscellaneous materials.

“Is this where you refine?”

The girl showed curiosity, looking around the secret chamber. She was especially fascinated by the large cauldron in the center and the gourd-shaped magical artifacts, looking like she was seeing a place where magical artifacts were refined for the first time.

“Has the Lady never refined a magical artifact before?”

“I’ve been following my aunt to cultivate martial arts since I was young, so I didn’t have time for that.”

“It seems the royal family was in a place with a spiritual vein.” [Spiritual vein refers to a location with a high concentration of spiritual energy, beneficial for cultivation.]

Han Li asked as he cleaned up the remnants of materials left in the cauldron.

“Senior, don’t you know my identity? Did you really think I was a daughter of some royal family of the Great Jin?”

The girl paused and smiled with her red lips.

“I haven’t heard anything about the Lady’s identity.”

“That’s good. Then I don’t have to act like a real Lady. I’ve never even seen the face of the Great Jin Emperor. I just have a slight connection to the royal family. I’ve been cultivating in the mountains with my master, so I’ve never been to a place called the royal palace.”

The girl smiled brightly and suddenly changed her attitude, returning from an elegant lady to a lively girl.

‘Not a royal?’

Han Li was dumbfounded.

“Are you surprised? But the title of Lady isn’t fake. My aunt told me that I shouldn’t lose the face of the royal family and dressed me up like this, but I was so bored because so many cultivators kept bothering me.

Now that it’s just the two of us, Senior Han, I can finally take a breather. You wouldn’t be gossiping about me behind my back, would you?”

The girl sat down on a chair in the secret chamber and tilted her head.

“Ah… everything will be as the Lady wishes. I will pretend I didn’t hear anything. But it seems your family elder is not an ordinary person.”

Han Li said, a little dumbfounded, and cleared his throat.

“Have you heard of the Four Great Cultivators of the Great Jin? My grandfather is one of them.”

The girl answered proudly, without hiding anything.

“Even if my knowledge is limited, I have heard of the Four Great Cultivators. The Lady is a descendant of one of them. That’s more promising than being of royal blood.”

Han Li had heard about the Four Great Cultivators of the Great Jin from Jo Mongyong. There were cultivators in the late stage of Nascent Soul [Nascent Soul is a high level of cultivation in this world] and some in the middle stage of Nascent Soul, and each of them had great power that was incomparable to cultivators of the same level.

“Is that so? Well, everyone’s attitude towards me changes when they hear my grandfather’s name, so maybe that’s true.”

At her candid answer, Han Li rubbed his nose. He was a little troubled, so he left the girl alone and formed hand seals, sending a magic seal towards the cauldron.

At the same time, the cauldron rumbled, and red flames blazed, and the girl watched his actions with curious eyes.

“Please take out the materials.”

Han Li fully activated the large cauldron and turned his head towards the girl.

“Here! I’ll tell you in advance, what I said earlier is invalid. I only said it out of courtesy in front of other people, and if you mess up the real materials, you must compensate me!”

The girl blinked her pretty eyes and, after touching her storage bracelet, threw an object the size of a fist. The silver stone had countless thin, blood-colored lines like blood vessels.

As he received the stone, Han Li grumbled inwardly. Such a precious treasure would be difficult to compensate for even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, let alone a Qi Refining disciple.

Han Li said nothing, raised one hand, threw the material into the cauldron, added some auxiliary materials, and then sat down in a lotus position.

He took out a talisman and struck his body with it, and a navy blue protective barrier spread out, and he continued to chant spells. As a result, spiritual energy flashed from the gourd-shaped magical artifacts, emitting bright red pillars of fire that gathered into the cauldron.

At the same time, the temperature in the secret chamber rose sharply.

* * *

While Han Li was busy refining the Bloodsilk Silver, in a secluded pavilion on a mountain peak, an old female Taoist with a cold face and a beautiful woman were talking.

“The time is almost up. Our royal family has been planning for over 400 years, and seven or eight emperors have worked hard to get this far. If we fail this time because we don’t get the two treasures, it will bring great disaster to the entire royal family. Our Ye family has been secretly building power, but if we truly clash head-on with other forces like the Buddhist sect, it will be difficult to withstand. The Yu family only talks about protecting the imperial power, but in reality, they move for profit. I’m worried that our Ye family is playing with fire too dangerously these days.”

At this, the female Taoist spoke cautiously.

“How could I not know my aunt’s intentions? But now is the perfect opportunity for our Ye family to completely break away from other forces. You haven’t forgotten how our seventh uncle died, have you? Those who were wary of the royal family’s growing power sent Nascent Soul cultivators to attack and then made up ridiculous excuses to get away with it. It’s said to be the leading family in the cultivation world, but it’s just a scapegoat created by the compromise of other forces. If we can obtain the Heaven Piercing Treasure as the records say and add the power that the Ye family has built up, other forces won’t be able to touch our family recklessly.”

“According to what’s passed down in the cultivation world, the power of the Heaven Piercing Treasure is said to be unfathomable, but I can’t believe the absurd claim that the world will change just by obtaining two treasures. Rather, it will increase the vigilance of other forces, and the treasures may bring disaster. Besides, we must remember that there are beings of different levels in each force. I don’t know how many there are, but if anyone steps forward, our Ye family could be annihilated.”

A cold light flashed in the female Taoist’s eyes.

“The Transformation Stage cultivators are practically invincible in the cultivation world. Even if our senior masters obtain the Heaven Piercing Treasure, they would barely be able to save their lives in front of those old monsters. But don’t worry.

Our Ye family has been secretly investigating the weaknesses of those old monsters for over a hundred years. As expected, they live over a thousand years longer than Nascent Soul cultivators, but there have only been a few cultivators who reached the Transformation Stage in the Great Jin in the past two thousand years. Some of them would have ascended to the Spirit World safely, and it is estimated that only two or three remain in the mortal world.

However, even they have paid a heavy price to stay in the mortal world, so they don’t easily engage in battles and maintain their cultivation at the late stage of Nascent Soul. If so, they are not invincible as the stories say. Also, they will not step forward just to interfere with the rise and fall of a single force.”

“How did you find that out? Don’t tell me you just guessed it all. Many cultivators have tried to find out the secrets and news of the Transformation Stage cultivators for a long time, but they haven’t had any success. To find out this information in just over a hundred years. Do you think I’m so old that my mind is blurry? What are you hiding?”

At the woman’s words, the female Taoist’s expression became even colder, rather than pleased.

“Why would I deceive you, aunt? This news is indeed what our Ye family has found out. However, a new elder recently joined the family, and we learned a lot of facts, but they matched my expectations.”

The woman hurriedly explained at her aunt’s angry look.

# 524