Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 1050

About an hour later, Han Li sat cross-legged in a pavilion on the mountain peak, his brow furrowed. He had intended to deliver the item and leave, but Patriarch Xu had actively persuaded him to stay for a few days.

Then, he mentioned that he might be able to find out the whereabouts of Immortal Bing Bai through the item he had delivered! This made Han Li hesitate.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t curious about Immortal Bing Bai’s whereabouts. From obtaining the Void Sky Cauldron and the Azure Flame Ice in the old Void Sky Hall to the Great Jin’s Northern Night Palace, everything was connected to Immortal Bing Bai.

He also wanted to meet Immortal Bing Bai to resolve some unanswered questions.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to wait for about half a month.’

Of course, if this matter dragged on for more than a month, he wouldn’t wait any longer. And even if he found out the real whereabouts of Immortal Bing Bai, he would have to assess the situation before deciding what to do.

Han Li took out a silver talisman. It was a True Immortal Realm talisman he had found in the Guanghan Realm’s forbidden ruins, its energy depleted.

He hadn’t refined the Combination Realm pills yet, and he wasn’t in a hurry to increase his magic power, so he had been spending his time researching these Immortal Realm talismans lately. He believed that even just understanding the silver ancient script on the talisman would help him learn the talisman techniques recorded in the Golden Jade Book.

Indeed, after researching the talisman, the content about the ‘Heavenly Halberd Talisman,’ which had been stagnant, began to slowly become clearer.

This ancient script talisman, recorded in the incomplete Golden Jade Book, was the only offensive talisman, and although its power was unknown, its complexity far surpassed other talismans.

Even after reaching the Combination Realm and gaining some understanding of the laws of heaven and earth, it still felt difficult, so now his only hope was to research the True Immortal Realm talisman.

Han Li held the silver talisman and used his other hand to draw in the air. As time passed, small and large silver spell characters occasionally appeared, exploding and disappearing, or sparkling and solidifying into shapes.

It was a mysterious sight.

After a while, several moons rose over the mountain range, and it became late at night. Han Li suddenly got up from his seat and went to the window, staring at a mountain peak.

“Suddenly, I feel a strange forbidden fluctuation. This is like….”

Thinking of something, he quickly turned his gaze to the sky. Surprisingly, the silver full moon had turned bright red, making people feel uneasy.

With his blue eyes flickering, he examined the mountain peak and saw a dense gathering of blood-colored energy. An unusual forbidden fluctuation was emanating from that place.

“The stench of blood is overwhelming. Could it be that the Xu family is performing some kind of blood sacrifice? And why now, when I’m here? Is it related to the item I delivered?”

He soon roughly guessed the situation.

…….

Han Li regained his composure and sat cross-legged again. In the following days, except for Xu Tianyu coming to greet him once a day, no other cultivators disturbed his cultivation.

However, judging from the woman’s troubled expression, it seemed that things were not going smoothly for the Xu family.

Every night, he felt similar celestial phenomena and forbidden fluctuations, and every morning, Xu Tianyu would come and try to say something but then leave without saying anything. Han Li was aware of this but didn’t show it at all.

‘Hmm….’

* * *

On the morning of the fifth day, Han Li, who was researching talismans in the pavilion, turned his palm over and put away the talisman.

Outside the pavilion, besides Xu Tianyu, Xu Jiao and an unfamiliar cultivator had arrived. The cultivator, exuding a powerful aura, possessed a late-stage Void Refinement Realm cultivation. It was surprising that the Xu family had so many high-level cultivators.

From downstairs, Patriarch Xu respectfully stated his purpose.

“Senior Han, this is Xu Jiao. If you have time, would you please meet with us?”

“Patriarch Xu has come? I will come down soon, so please come into the main hall and wait for a moment.”

Han Li got up from his seat and went downstairs. As he descended the stairs, he saw the unfamiliar late-stage Void Refinement Realm man. The cultivator, standing next to Xu Jiao, was a young man wearing an old gray robe, looking no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

“Senior, this is Xu Yuan, the Great Elder of the Xu family. He has just finished his closed-door cultivation a few days ago and has come to greet you now.”

Xu Jiao bowed to Han Li and introduced the young man beside him.

“Cultivator Xu Yuan has already reached the peak of the Void Refinement Realm and is preparing to overcome the Combination Realm bottleneck.”

Han Li scanned the young man and smiled.

“As Senior said, I was preparing to overcome the bottleneck. However, it is not an easy task, so I don’t know if I will succeed.”

The young man bowed politely and sighed. Han Li smiled and gestured for them to take a seat.

“Did Patriarch Xu come because you found news about Immortal Bing Bai?”

Han Li asked directly, and Xu Jiao flinched and then gave a wry smile.

“The reason we came to see Senior is to ask for your help.”

“Me?”

“To be honest, the item you delivered contained a clue to the whereabouts of Immortal Bing Bai. However, we are unable to do anything with our power, so we are asking for your help.”

“Tell me in detail what happened.”

“Of course. Senior, do you know about the Blood Soul Great Method?”

“Blood Soul Great Method! It sounds familiar… Are you talking about the Blood Essence Merchant who cultivated the Blood Soul Great Method tens of thousands of years ago?”

Han Li frowned at Xu Jiao’s words.

“You have heard of it! The Blood Essence Merchant was a rare genius of the human race who created a secret technique about blood souls and killed many of the same level of other races.

The Blood Essence Merchant died a long time ago, but Immortal Bing Bai accidentally discovered his technique and kept it. Most of it was close to demonic cultivation methods and could not be learned, but our ancestor cultivated some of the secret techniques and refined a treasure that would help her survive in times of crisis.

The item you brought this time was one of them, the ‘Blood Soul Bottle.’ Inside it is our ancestor’s blood soul, so if we can awaken the blood soul, we can find out our ancestor’s news.”

Xu Jiao calmly explained the story, observing Han Li’s expression. Except for a flicker in his eyes when he mentioned the Blood Soul Bottle, there was no change in his expression.

“The strange celestial phenomena that appeared every night must have been because you were trying to awaken the blood soul.”

“That’s right. We gathered the cultivators that day and performed the awakening ritual. But unfortunately….”

Xu Jiao couldn’t finish his sentence and shook his head.

“Perhaps because the blood soul has been sealed for too long, or perhaps because our bloodline is not pure enough, the awakening ritual has failed repeatedly. The talisman that sealed the blood soul has been removed, so in two days, the unawakened blood soul will dissipate.”

The young man sighed and continued.

“So, you want me to participate in the awakening ritual?”

“We have tried all sorts of methods for the past few days, but nothing has worked. Now, you are our only hope, so please help us.”

Xu Jiao pleaded earnestly.

“If it’s because of insufficient magic power that you failed, I can help. But if it’s a problem with the blood soul or the awakening ritual itself, there’s nothing I can do.”

Han Li stroked his chin and accepted their request.

“If it’s another problem, we will accept it as the will of heaven!”

Xu Jiao was overjoyed and expressed his gratitude, and Xu Yuan and Xu Tianyu did the same.

“There isn’t much time, so let’s check Immortal Bing Bai’s blood soul right away and prepare for the awakening ritual.”

“Yes. The ritual must be performed at a specific time after sunset, but it would be good to take a look beforehand!”

Xu Jiao readily agreed.

If they could find Immortal Bing Bai, the Xu family could become the strongest family in the human race. This was why the patriarch and elders were doing their best to awaken Immortal Bing Bai’s blood soul.

Han Li followed them to the mountain peak where the forbidden fluctuations had been felt until last night. The seemingly ordinary mountain peak was covered with colorful forbidden arrays [magical formations], and soldiers in blue armor guarded the spaces between them.

Han Li scanned the soldiers with his spiritual sense and realized that they were all Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, numbering over a hundred. Compared to the Heavenly Star City, it was nothing to mention, but it was still an enormous force for a single family to possess.

Xu Jiao, who was watching his face, explained from the side.

“They are the family’s secret soldiers and the elite troops. They cannot face high-level cultivators alone, but three or four of them can cooperate to face a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator.”

“Oh, soldiers who are skilled in combined attacks.”

“Haha, that’s right. We have gathered all the family’s forces here to be cautious in case the awakening ritual is disturbed.”

Xu Jiao took out a magic tool, opened the forbidden array, and led everyone to a shrine on the mountainside. A plaque with a large character ‘Xu (許)’ was hung on the shrine’s main gate.

Next to the gate, eight secret soldiers were staring blankly ahead, and instead of a large gate, only a small side door that could barely fit one person was open.

“I’m sorry, Senior. This is where our family’s ancestral temple is located, so you will have to go through the side door to the secret underground hall.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Han Li waved his hand, not caring, as Xu Yuan bowed apologetically. Xu Yuan and Xu Jiao were greatly relieved. Even a minor complaint from their guest would be a great loss for them.

Han Li and the Xu family cultivators passed through the side door and entered the ancestral temple.

* * *

After passing through a long corridor and turning several corners, they finally arrived at the hall behind the main hall of the ancestral temple. Inside, in a secretly hidden chamber, was a white stone staircase leading underground.

Soldiers guarded the entrance to the stairs, but Xu Jiao dismissed them and went straight down.

Whoosh.

A cold wind blew through the dark passage, and moonstones were embedded at regular intervals on both sides, illuminating the surroundings. The passage’s alternating darkness and light created an even more eerie atmosphere.

The stone staircase was not very long, and they soon entered the underground main hall.

“……”

Han Li, looking around the place, narrowed his eyes. The main hall, made of carved black jade, was quite large, and white spell characters were intricately engraved on the walls and ceiling.

The white spiritual energy emitted by the spell characters made the main hall as bright as day.

However, the most eye-catching thing in the main hall was the high platform in the shape of a pond. The hexagonal platform was surrounded by a huge formation, and a circular pond inside it was filled with a scarlet liquid, emitting a subtle fragrance.

More than a dozen Xu family cultivators sat cross-legged in various places around the huge formation, surrounding the platform with the pond. Among them were Xu An and Xu Hua.

“We greet Senior Han! Thank you for lending your strength to our family!”

The Void Refinement Realm cultivators saw Han Li entering with Xu Yuan and Xu Jiao and bowed from afar.

“It’s too early to hear words of thanks. I don’t know if I’ll really be of help.”

Han Li calmly shook his head. Xu Jiao and the elders called the other cultivators and had them all greet him.

From those who looked young to the white-haired elders, their ages varied, but all of them, men and women alike, possessed Spirit Transformation Realm cultivation. These were the true core members of the Xu family.