Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 184

Was the sixth floor, where Madam Nam, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, had led him, waiting for a Core Formation cultivator? However, waiting for him was a girl of about seventeen years old.

The girl with clear eyes was dressed in simple clothes and was an ordinary person with no magical power, completely deviating from his expectations.

As soon as she saw Madam Nam, the girl ran to her, clung to her, and called her Aunt Nam, making a fuss as if Han Li didn’t exist.

“You have a guest, dear,” Madam Nam said, though she seemed to cherish her very much.

“A guest?” She glanced at Han Li and showed no interest.

“Yes, Master Han wants to see the alchemy recipes that recently came in and the set of magical artifacts made of bee stingers that we bought before. Please guide him. I have to take care of the fifth floor.”

“Okay, then you have to stay longer next time you come up, okay?” The girl looked quite disappointed. Madam Nam smiled kindly and went back downstairs.

The girl finally looked at Han Li and said coldly, “What kind of alchemy recipes are you looking for? We have about eight, but only two are suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they are so expensive that hundreds of spirit stones won’t be enough.”

Rather than getting angry at her somewhat rude words, Han Li smiled. “As long as it’s an alchemy recipe, don’t worry about the price.”

“Then please wait a moment. I’ll have the alchemy recipes and magical artifacts brought out.” In any case, a big spender who doesn’t care about the price was always welcome.

She took out a bell from her pocket and rang it rhythmically, then went to the wooden chair right next to her and sat down first. She didn’t even offer Han Li a seat.

It was a bit unexpected, but Han Li also slowly approached the chair and sat down with a small table between them.

After a while, a young female cultivator brought out two jade boxes.

“Put them here and leave,” the girl instructed.

“Yes, Miss!” The female cultivator answered respectfully and retreated after placing the jade boxes.

It was strange that a cultivator was treating an ordinary girl so carefully.

“Here are the magical artifacts and alchemy recipes. Please take a look yourself. If you like them, I’ll tell you the price,” the girl said, pushing the jade boxes towards Han Li.

Han Li immediately opened the small jade box, and inside were a red book and a white book. He took out the jade book, closed his eyes, and infused it with his consciousness.

One of the two alchemy recipes was the Ancient Spirit Gathering Pill recipe he had received from Lei Manhak, which he already had, so he didn’t need it. The other was the True Origin Pill recipe, which was relatively easy to prepare as long as he had the old medicinal herbs, making it suitable for him.

However, in terms of price, the ordinary True Origin Pill recipe would definitely be several times more expensive than the ancient Spirit Gathering Pill recipe.

After thinking, Han Li put the books back in the jade box with a calm expression and opened the other jade box.

And then, Han Li showed his surprise without reservation. Unexpectedly, there were as many as thirteen thin needles filled with red light.

Although Han Li had encountered many types of magical artifacts, this was the first time he had seen one in the form of needles. The girl saw Han Li’s surprise, glanced up from her book, and then lowered her head again to concentrate on reading.

Han Li didn’t see her expression as he picked up one of the thirteen needles and examined it closely.

Although he had never seen anyone use or possess such a magical artifact, he had heard how terrifying flying needle-type magical artifacts were.

Their attack power was slightly lower than that of ordinary magical artifacts, but because of their small size, they were unmatched in speed, making them ideal for ambushes. Therefore, some cultivators were wary of needle-type magical artifacts, calling them insidious weapons.

Naturally, such small and thin needles required special materials for refinement, and the difficulty was high, so they were rarely seen in the cultivation world. Therefore, those who used such magical artifacts would use them as a last resort to kill their enemies without them realizing it.

Now, there were thirteen of these items in a set, so it was natural for Han Li to be surprised.

“Miss, what is the name of this magical artifact?” Han Li asked.

“Crimson Thread Light Piercing Needles!” The girl put down her book and answered Han Li’s question.

“Good, I will trade for the True Origin Pill recipe and this magical artifact.”

“You want this magical artifact?”

“Is there a problem?”

“It is true that the Crimson Thread Light Piercing Needles are amazing, but before we trade, there is something I need to tell you. Unlike other sets, this set of magical artifacts can only be used when all thirteen are activated together.”

“They must be used at the same time?” It was unexpected news for him. There was a reason why such a precious item had not been traded yet.

“Yes, even my aunt liked this magical artifact, but she gave up after only being able to control eight of them.”

“Thirteen, huh.” Han Li smiled and reached out towards the jade box. At the same time, a red light flashed from the magical artifact, and all the needles floated into the air. Then, thirteen streaks of red light quickly circled around Han Li, instantly turning into a net of red threads.

Even the cool-headed girl was speechless at this sight. He withdrew his hand again and returned the red needles to the jade box.

“Can we trade now?” Han Li asked.

“Of course, if you can use them. With the True Origin Pill recipe, it will be 4,000 spirit stones,” the girl replied, her expression returning to normal as she stated the price with her usual expressionless face.

“4,000!” Han Li looked at the girl and rubbed his nose. It was a higher price than he had expected.

“The alchemy recipe is 1,500, and the magical artifact is 2,500,” she immediately explained the price.

In fact, 4,000 spirit stones was not an exorbitant price. If it weren’t for the situation where the Three Kingdoms Alliance had been defeated by the Demonic Path, such precious items would not have appeared on the market.

Han Li suddenly sat back down and asked, “What is the market price for a thousand-year-old spirit herb?”

* * *

A quarter of an hour later, Han Li left the True Essence Pavilion.

He looked back at the tall pavilion with a playful smile, his steps light. This was because his storage pouch contained the Crimson Thread Light Piercing Needles and the book containing the alchemy recipe.

After asking the girl about the market price of thousand-year-old spirit herbs, he had taken out two Face-Fixing Pills that contained them, rather than the herbs themselves.

Han Li clearly remembered how the girl’s cheeks, which had been so cold, turned red with heat when he explained that the Face-Fixing Pills would maintain a youthful appearance.

The girl immediately called the alchemist from the True Essence Pavilion to examine the pills, which were rumored to exist but no one had ever said they had made.

When the alchemist appeared and confirmed that the two pills were indeed Face-Fixing Pills, the girl immediately brought her aunt from the fifth floor.

The two women began to whisper to each other, and soon they gave him the alchemy recipe and the magical artifact in exchange for two Face-Fixing Pills and 1,000 spirit stones.

Looking back now, he was lucky.

The story that beauty could be maintained forever would have tempted any woman, but he had not expected that even a clever and powerful female cultivator would be as flustered as a young girl in front of the Face-Fixing Pills.

He had originally thought that they would be worth about 2,000 spirit stones at most, but it was fortunate that the owners of the True Essence Pavilion were all women. If they had been men, it would have been difficult to expect such an enthusiastic reaction.

After the trade, Madam Nam asked where he had obtained the pills, but Han Li flatly replied that he had obtained them by chance and left.

In fact, he was a little disappointed as he left the True Essence Pavilion.

In this chaotic time, there might be other useful items besides the Crimson Thread Light Piercing Needles and the alchemy recipe, but if he continued to trade with pills or spirit herbs, he would attract attention and cause trouble.

Filled with regret, he entered an inn in the market street and booked a room. He planned to rest for the remaining time and visit Elder Seo’s shop tomorrow.

The next morning, Han Li appeared at the magical artifact shop as promised. Elder Seo had been waiting anxiously for him, and as soon as he saw Han Li enter, he excitedly approached him, and the two moved to the back.

* * *

Fifteen days later, Han Li finally left the shop.

However, unlike when he entered, he was deeply disappointed. Behind him, Elder Seo was following with his head bowed in shame, muttering something.

Han Li took a long breath and finally calmed down. He calmly said a few words to the owner and left.

Shortly after leaving the market’s restrictions, he immediately rode the Windwing Boat and flew to the nameless mountain where Shin Yeo-eum was.

In the empty sky, his expression was completely distorted.

He had trusted Elder Seo’s refining skills, but he had wasted all those precious materials and only managed to create one set of magical artifacts.

Moreover, the most cherished parts of the giant mantis were all ruined without a single piece remaining.

Han Li was angry and wanted to scold Elder Seo severely, but when he saw that the old man was too ashamed to even lift his head, he didn’t feel the need to. He even comforted him before leaving the shop.

He sighed and took out five white flying daggers from his storage pouch and activated them. White light circled around him.

These were made from the legs of the white spider, and it was a great comfort that at least this set was successful.

The rest of the legs were all ruined, and his hope of making defensive magical artifacts from the back part was also gone, but he was grateful for this much.

This experience reaffirmed that the more precious the materials, the more important it was to find a truly skilled craftsman. Last time, almost all of the Flood Dragon’s materials had been successfully refined.

He was looking down at the small mountain again.

This time, without Han Li sending a sound transmission talisman, the fog of the formation dissipated, opening a path for him.

He smiled and entered. Even though there were still a few days left until the promised date, Shin Yeo-eum was waiting for him.

“You’ve arrived just in time. The repairs were completed two days ago. If you take this formation diagram and restore it as it is, you will be able to use the ancient teleportation array,” Shin Yeo-eum said, taking out a jade book and handing it to Han Li. Restoring the ancient teleportation array was a pleasant challenge for her, and she was in a good mood because she had succeeded.

Han Li stroked the jade and smiled sincerely, which was rare for him.

Although he had no intention of using the ancient teleportation array right away, it was more important than anything else as a last resort. When he infused it with his consciousness, he saw that some of the damaged parts had been completely restored.

“Miss Shin, you have worked hard,” Han Li said.

“It’s nothing. I enjoyed it very much,” she said calmly and then handed a small storage pouch to Han Li as if she had remembered something.

“I won’t live more than two years at most, so I’ll entrust the formation magical artifacts that my husband and I refined together to Senior Han. I hope they will be of some help in your future cultivation.”

Han Li’s eyes deepened as he looked at her, who was talking so lightly while giving him such important items. After a moment of silence, he took the storage pouch with both hands and opened his mouth.

“Although I, Han Li, am not a gentleman or a hero, I promise you, Miss Shin, that I will do my best to destroy the Bu family and make sure their name is never heard in the cultivation world.”

She smiled at Han Li’s sincere promise.

She knew that someone like Han Li, who did not make promises easily, would be even more responsible for what he said.

“If you don’t have anything urgent, how about staying here for a few days? I’d like to talk about formations.”

* * *

Three days later, Han Li left Shin Yeo-eum’s residence and headed to White Pond Mountain, where cultivators often gathered.

It was a place where cultivators from the Yuanwu Kingdom, families, and clans gathered to share information, exchange ideas, and conduct small trades.

The purpose of going to White Pond Mountain this time was to hear news from the Yue Kingdom’s cultivation world. He would probably be able to make plans based on the information he gathered this time.

Moreover, the date of this gathering was not far off.

White Pond Mountain was not far from Shin Yeo-eum’s residence, and she and Je Wun-so had also participated in the gatherings a few times in their lives. He had heard that these small gatherings were mostly for Qi Refining cultivators.

A day passed, and he arrived at White Pond Mountain.

It was not a very high mountain, but there were three large and small peaks, and the highest western peak was the location of this gathering.

Han Li, who had transformed into a streak of white light, flew towards it.