Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 207

Han Li paid 200 spirit stones, and the woman’s group paid 500 spirit stones before they all stepped onto the teleportation array marked for Yingchui Island.

The white-robed cultivator collected their spirit stones and gave each of them a teleportation talisman. This talisman, similar to the Great Naeyi Talisman, provided a protective effect within the teleportation array, preventing accidents during long-distance teleportation.

Although the distance that could be traveled with the teleportation talisman was considerably increased, it had its limits and was a one-time use item. This meant it was far inferior to the Great Naeyi Talisman.

Even so, it was an extremely precious item, only produced by the Sacred Palace itself and not sold externally.

As Han Li tensed up, a dazzling light emanated from the spirit stones embedded throughout the teleportation array.

The teleportation was very smooth.

When the white light faded, Han Li and the other six people found themselves in a simple stone chamber. There was nothing there except for a Sacred Palace cultivator standing expressionlessly.

The Sacred Palace cultivator was at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment realm and was sitting cross-legged on one side of the stone chamber. When the cultivators arrived, he briefly opened his eyes to look at them, but then immediately closed them again, not paying them any further attention.

A strange fluctuation of spiritual energy could be felt, and it seemed that the stone chamber was surrounded by some kind of restriction [a magical barrier or seal].

The door of the stone chamber was half-open, and through the gap, the voices of other cultivators and the shadows of those passing by could be seen.

Han Li looked around with curious eyes. The five people who had traveled with him left the teleportation array, and the old man among them spoke to Qu Hun.

“If you’re willing, Fellow Daoist, we can cooperate to deal with the demon beasts, and the cost of the demon cores can be divided equally.”

The old man was one of the Core Formation cultivators. Qu Hun rejected his offer outright.

“No, thank you. We have our own plans, so I wish you all a safe journey.”

“That’s a shame. If you joined us, dealing with a sixth-grade demon beast wouldn’t be difficult. It seems like you’re new to this place, so I’ll give you some advice out of concern.

Here, you should be more careful of attacks not only from high-grade demon beasts but also from bandits and cultivators who use evil techniques. If possible, it’s better to travel with several cultivators, so let me know if you change your mind.”

After speaking, the old man led his group away.

Han Li, who had been silent, smiled and followed behind them with Qu Hun.

“Where is this?”

Han Li was a little dumbfounded when he saw the outside of the stone chamber.

He was in some kind of marketplace. Along the street, there were general stores, magic tool shops, talisman shops, and even a few pawnshops. Each shop had its owner sitting there, guarding it.

The shops were mostly crudely made, either built with stones or pieced together with wood. Han Li wasn’t sure if these shops would survive if a strong wind were to blow.

Moreover, this marketplace was scattered haphazardly around the stone chamber he had just come out of, making it very chaotic.

Apart from these shops, it was quiet, and there was no one else walking around.

Han Li suddenly smiled. He had remembered something he had forgotten. This wasn’t a well-developed city in the Inner Star Sea, so most of the people who came here were Core Formation cultivators, or at least mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. So, it was natural that there were few people around.

Also, those who arrived at Yingchui Island went straight to deal with demon beasts and had no reason to stay here. Han Li raised his head and looked around.

After thinking for a moment, he entered a general store.

“Do you have a map of the sea area around here?”

Since the maps of the demon beast islands were constantly changing, he wanted to get the latest map. The owner of the general store was a middle-aged man in the Qi Condensation stage.

“Yes, we do! We have a map with the general terrain and a detailed map. Which one would you like?”

“The detailed map.”

“The detailed map is 100 spirit stones.”

“100?”

Han Li really thought he had misheard. His face hardened, and he immediately showed his anger.

However, when the owner of the general store saw Han Li’s expression, he didn’t seem afraid at all and instead began to explain his difficulties.

“Senior, please don’t misunderstand. I don’t set these prices; I only sell them as instructed by the higher-ups. Moreover, when you pioneers discover new terrain and improve the map, the purchase price is quite high.”

Han Li’s face softened a little at his explanation, and he frowned as he asked,

“Higher-ups? Which alliance manages this?”

Han Li thought that if someone had control of the commercial district on a demon beast island, it wouldn’t be a small force. It might even be a shop run by one of the Four Great Merchant Alliances.

“Haha. As expected, Senior understands. I’m just making a living under the Fengluo Merchant Alliance.”

“The Fengluo Alliance, one of the Four Great Merchant Alliances? The one that runs the Fengluo Auction House in Tianxing City?”

“That’s right, Senior.”

Since he knew the situation, there was no need to argue further, and he immediately took out a mid-grade spirit stone. At the same time, the shop owner smiled and handed the map to Han Li.

“Are all the other shops not under the jurisdiction of the Fengluo Merchant Alliance?”

“Except for that shop to the west, the others have nothing to do with our Fengluo Alliance.”

Han Li didn’t ask any more questions and walked away with Qu Hun. Just as he was about to fly away on the Wind God Shuttle, a green light shot down from the sky and entered a shop that bought items. When the dazzling light disappeared, a burly Core Formation cultivator appeared.

As soon as he appeared, he shouted at the shop and took out a low-grade magic tool from his pocket and placed it down.

“Fan Jia, the goods are here!”

The sky was dyed with the color of sunset, and a monstrous fish, about two or three zhang [approximately 6-9 meters] long, appeared on the ground.

The fish was covered in blue scales, had a snake-like head, and sharp claws on its abdomen. Its back was split open and bleeding, indicating that the demon core had already been harvested.

“Oh my! Senior Xue, it’s incredibly difficult to catch a Berylscale Fish like this! No one but a divine cultivator like you could catch such a thing!”

A young man in the Qi Condensation stage ran out of the purchase shop, his eyes sparkling. He praised the cultivator while examining the demon beast’s corpse, and the Core Formation cultivator just laughed heartily.

The burly man suddenly turned his head and spoke to Han Li and Qu Hun.

“You two look unfamiliar; did you just arrive at Yingchui Island? Do you want to go hunt demon beasts together?”

Despite the man’s enthusiastic tone, Han Li just smiled and remained silent, while Qu Hun shook his head to refuse. The man seemed disappointed but still spoke enthusiastically.

“I am Xue Yuanqian. I’m quite well-known on Yingchui Island, so come find me if you change your mind.”

After speaking, Xue Yuanqian took the bag of spirit stones he received from the purchase shop and flew away triumphantly.

Having received two offers to team up immediately after arriving here, it was clear that there were not many Core Formation cultivators on Yingchui Island, and they were each forming small groups.

As the books said, even Core Formation cultivators needed companions to safely hunt demon beasts in the Outer Star Sea. Perhaps if he didn’t have his own plans, he would have accepted their offers.

Han Li thought this as he flew up with Qu Hun. He got on his magic tool, looked at the map he had just bought, and then put it away. He then took out his low-grade magic tool.

Yingchui Island wasn’t a large island, so after a short while, the Wind God Shuttle reached the coastline on the outskirts of the island. Han Li, standing on the Wind God Shuttle, once again determined his direction and flew towards the vast sea. However, Han Li couldn’t fly too close to the surface of the water.

Some dangerous demon beasts hid in the seabed and would break through hundreds of zhang [a unit of measurement, approximately 3 meters] of seawater to devour creatures flying above the surface, and cultivators were no exception. So, naturally, Han Li had to be as careful as possible.

Conversely, one shouldn’t fly too high in the Outer Star Sea either. Just like the seabed, bird-type demon beasts would appear in the high sky, searching for prey. Of course, one wouldn’t necessarily encounter all these dangers, but no area in the Outer Star Sea was absolutely safe.

Every year, many cultivators came to the demon beast islands through the teleportation arrays, but many of them crossed the river of no return [a metaphor for death]. There were often stories of Core Formation cultivators being devoured by high-grade demon beasts while trying to hunt them.

Therefore, hunting demon beasts in the Outer Star Sea was not an easy task. For this reason, those who went out to hunt demon beasts usually formed groups with people they knew.

However, it was also forbidden to gather too many people to hunt demon beasts. Once, on a demon beast island, a group of cultivators gathered to hunt, attracting the attention of a seventh-grade or higher demon beast, which led to an attack by a large demon beast army. Naturally, the hunting party was annihilated, and the demon beast island was completely destroyed.

After this happened a few times, no one dared to lead a large group to hunt, and at most, they formed small groups of a dozen or so people.

Naturally, these small groups coveted the Core Formation cultivators who acted alone. Knowing this, Han Li became very alert as soon as he left Yingchui Island.

He spread his powerful spiritual sense to monitor the surroundings, covered an area of several dozen zhang with a protective barrier, and at the same time, activated the Wind God Shuttle at full speed, cutting through the sky.

Han Li stopped and checked his direction after flying for several hours. He was worried that he might have flown in the wrong direction and wouldn’t reach his destination.

In fact, his luck was good today.

He had encountered no difficulties except for spotting a fifth-grade demon beast playing in the distance and detouring around it.

After flying for three days, he finally arrived at a small, fiery red island. The island was entirely covered in crimson coral, reflecting the light.

Han Li stopped above the island.

Han Li stood on the Wind God Shuttle and muttered,

“This must be Honghu Island, the closest coral island, right?”

He looked around the island, confirmed that there were no other cultivators or demon beasts nearby, and then descended.

The island wasn’t large and was made up of large and small coral mounds in an irregular ring shape. Han Li stepped onto the smooth ground, rubbed the dark red sand with his leather shoes, and then took in the island’s terrain.

After a while, he narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtful.

Han Li called Qu Hun to stand guard while he began to walk around the island. He scanned the coral island and then dove into the sea in the middle of the ring-shaped island, disappearing for half a day.

After three days, he stopped his search and made a decision.

Han Li had Qu Hun install the Transferring Five Elements Formation, the Heavenly Wind Blazing Formation, and the Ring Heavenly Net Formation magic tools in the places he had designated.

These three formations covered all the paths that one had to pass through to enter the center of Honghu Island.

After that, Han Li took out all the formation magic tools he had and set up several overlapping barriers in the center of Honghu Island, completely sealing it off.

There was truly no way to escape.

After completing all the preparations and looking around one more time, Han Li finally took out a jade box from his pocket. He opened the jade box with one hand, a strange smile on his face.

Inside was a one-inch-long spirit herb with 13 leaves. All of the herb’s dozen or so leaves were curled up in a circle, making it look very unique.

Moreover, it emitted a faint sunset glow from its entire body, giving off the aura of a divine herb. This was the Rainbow Skirt Grass, the goal of Han Li’s current journey.

In fact, the Rainbow Skirt Grass wasn’t a common spirit herb, but it wasn’t so rare either. It could often be found if one searched the coral islands of the Chaotic Star Sea carefully.

However, it couldn’t survive for more than two days in ordinary soil, making it quite an interesting species.

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