Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 269

Han Li sighed. He didn’t have the power to break the restrictions, so he immediately turned around and walked towards the north stone door this time.

Yuan Yao suddenly shouted at his actions.

“What are you trying to do! There’s a powerful formation there that ordinary cultivators can’t break. Are you really that desperate for treasures?”

Han Li, who had already reached the door, replied without turning his head.

“I want to get out of the Void Sky Hall. Do you have a better idea?”

“That’s not it, but I marked the treasures there first. Are you going to steal them?”

Han Li, standing at the stone door and looking at the blue energy inside, retorted without hesitation.

“Steal? If you had the ability to break the restrictions, the treasures would already be yours.”

Yuan Yao didn’t back down and countered.

“I figured it out after studying it for days. I can open it in just three or four more days!”

“…….”

At her words, Han Li turned around expressionlessly and stood silently.

Feeling uneasy, Yuan Yao eventually backed down first.

“Ah, okay! To be honest, I wouldn’t be able to succeed on my own before the Void Sky Hall disappears again. But if Senior Han wants to break the barrier, my help will save a lot of time.”

Han Li just listened, waiting for her to speak. She must have brought it up because she had a proposal.

“But before we break the barrier together, I need a promise.”

“What kind of promise?”

“If Senior Han gives up the treasures behind the barrier, I’ll give you a suitable reward.”

“Reward?”

Seeing Han Li’s indifferent face, Yuan Yao hesitated a little before opening her mouth.

“How about rewarding you with Millennium Spiritual Milk?”

His face changed in an instant.

“Are you talking about the Millennium Spiritual Milk that can instantly restore all magical power with just one sip, incomparable to any spirit stone?”

Yuan Yao looked into his eyes with a wavering gaze.

“That’s right. I’m saying this because I believe Senior Han won’t kill me for the treasures.”

Having been with him in the Ghost Mist and Lava Cauldron, she realized that while Han Li wasn’t a saint, he wasn’t that evil either.

Of course, if she had any treasures that Han Li would be satisfied with besides the Millennium Spiritual Milk, she would never have shared them. Still, feeling nervous, Yuan Yao’s hand naturally rested on the pouch at her waist.

Although she was no match for him, she possessed one or two powerful treasures that could trouble him. It was thanks to these treasures that she was able to take risks.

Han Li scratched his nose and fell silent, then suddenly looked at the empty space under the dragon head sculpture and sneered. Yuan Yao spoke in a softer tone.

“It’s as Senior Han thinks. The Millennium Spiritual Milk I have has been accumulated here for ten thousand years, and it’s only enough to fill half a small bottle.”

“As you say, if there’s a sophisticated design in such a large spirit eye spring, it would be possible to collect spiritual milk.”

“Then can you promise now?”

Despite Yuan Yao’s bright smile, Han Li’s expression remained cold.

“I need to hear what kind of treasure is hidden here first. If you’re willing to pay such a huge price, it must be a great treasure.”

At those words, Yuan Yao’s spine went cold, and she panicked for a moment, rambling.

“We both came to the Void Sky Hall for the first time, how would I know what kind of treasure is hidden? Aren’t you being too suspicious…”

Yuan Yao, who was talking with a forced smile, quickly changed her words when she saw Han Li’s face becoming colder and colder.

“Ah, I understand! I’ll be honest. I do know what kind of treasure is there. But it’s not as good as the Millennium Spiritual Milk. Still, it’s more important to me than anything else, so I proposed a deal. Inside the barrier is a piece of unrefined Soul Nourishing Wood.”

Alone with him, Yuan Yao’s heart was pounding, wondering if Han Li would suddenly change and do something.

Han Li was startled and asked.

“Are you talking about the Soul Nourishing Wood, one of the three great divine woods, which is said to gradually strengthen the soul and primordial spirit if carried on the body?”

Yuan Yao replied with a slightly dark face, as if something had occurred to her.

“Yes. What I need is not the strengthening of the primordial spirit, but the effect of containing the soul so that it doesn’t lose its reason.”

Han Li looked up at the ceiling of the stone chamber and muttered.

“Soul Nourishing Wood and Millennium Spiritual Milk…”

Han Li looked at Yuan Yao and slowly opened his mouth.

“No wonder there’s a spirit eye spring in a place like this. It was to cultivate the Soul Nourishing Wood. I want the Millennium Spiritual Milk, but I’m also interested in the Soul Nourishing Wood.”

In an instant, Yuan Yao’s face hardened and turned cold. Han Li smiled at her expression and continued.

“The Soul Nourishing Wood that has been cultivated for so long won’t be that small, so don’t worry. What I want is the root with the base, so Miss Yuan can keep the rest.”

Yuan Yao’s face softened, but she still couldn’t shake off her suspicion.

“You only want the base?”

“Of course, along with the Millennium Spiritual Milk you just mentioned.”

Only then did Yuan Yao smile with an understanding expression.

“Hehe, you’re indeed quick-witted. The base of the Soul Nourishing Wood would surely be bought by many sects for a huge sum. Okay, let’s do that!”

Her words were full of playfulness. Rather, she felt more trusting when Han Li added a condition to the deal. Han Li just smiled, with no intention of explaining his intentions.

“Then let’s break the barrier quickly. I’ll tell you what I’ve figured out so far.”

Although she said it with a smile, it was clearly a prompt. She seemed more impatient than Han Li. Han Li pointed to the milky white pond and asked with a strange expression.

“What do you plan to do with that spirit eye spring?”

“Are you kidding? The owner of the Void Sky Hall already placed a powerful restriction a long time ago, and it’s practically one with the inner hall. If I had the ability to break it, I would have already obtained the Void Sky Hall and solved this barrier.”

He made a slightly regretful expression at those words, then suddenly burst out laughing.

Even he thought he was being too greedy. Now, he was trying to take everything he saw. Thinking about the saying that greed leads to trouble, Han Li warned himself.

And without further delay, he summarized the situation in a low voice.

“First, I’ll receive the spiritual milk and hear your understanding of the formation. If the two of us work together, we should be able to break the barrier in two or three days at most.”

Yuan Yao smiled at his words, her face seeming to glow.

* * *

Two days later, a white light flashed above the sea surface tens of miles away from the Void Sky Hall.

Then, a pair of men and women appeared in the air. The two of them looked around cautiously after the light disappeared, and they breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there were no other cultivators nearby.

Naturally, these two were Han Li and Yuan Yao, who had just broken the barrier in the secret room and exited the Void Sky Hall. Yuan Yao looked in the direction of the Void Sky Hall, her eyes shining.

“It seems like the others are still inside the Void Sky Hall. They won’t be able to get out before the set time.”

“The Nascent Soul old monsters might also break the treasure barriers and come out like us.”

Even at Han Li’s words, she didn’t seem to care at all and took out a blue thread.

“Don’t worry. The areas where you’re teleported after breaking a treasure barrier are random. It could be right near the Void Sky Hall, but it could also be hundreds of miles away. No matter how hard they try, they can’t search such a wide area.”

“That’s a relief.”

Yuan Yao looked at him with a seductive gaze.

“Senior Han, do you have a grudge against those old monsters? If so, you should be really careful.”

“That’s not something Miss Yuan needs to worry about. I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first.”

Han Li cupped his fist towards her and disappeared in a streak of light without waiting for her reply. It was a completely indifferent attitude.

Yuan Yao stared at Han Li’s back as if she found it strange.

After a while, a black piece of wood appeared in her hand. The piece of wood was black and bumpy, looking extremely shabby. Yuan Yao looked down at the wood and murmured with emotion.

“Sister Yeon, just hold on a little longer. I’ll refine a Soul-Storing Box with this Soul Nourishing Wood and free you from the pain of your soul.”

Her body turned into a black aura and disappeared in a different direction. In the blink of an eye, silence returned to the sea surface.

At the same time, several people were gathered with dark faces at the altar on the fifth floor of the inner hall of the Void Sky Hall.

The people with crumpled faces were the Righteous and Demonic Nascent Soul cultivators, including Geuk-eum, and Man Hoja was also there with a cold face.

It seemed they had made some kind of agreement regarding the Treasure Pill, as they no longer argued. Man Cheonmyeong opened his mouth with a pale face.

“We’ve joined forces to search and destroy countless puppets and barriers from the third to the fifth floor of the inner hall. And yet, we can’t find them! Geuk-eum! Two of the three missing people are related to you. Are you really saying you didn’t order them to take the treasures and run away?”

Geuk-eum frowned and shouted.

“Humph! Sect Leader Man, how many times do I have to explain! My grandson has already died and left this world. I know this for sure because of the secret technique I personally planted. If the Heavenly Gang Barrier hadn’t blocked me, I would have known the moment my grandson died! If that were the case, would I have just watched the other two take the opportunity to steal the treasures and run away?”

Geuk-eum suddenly looked at Man Hoja and continued in a sinister tone.

“The most suspicious thing is Senior Man. How did this happen while Senior Man was leading everyone away! And you don’t even reveal the background of that junior. Who knows if the two of you were plotting this beforehand!”

Man Hoja glared and retorted without hesitation.

“That’s ridiculous. Even if that guy ran away with the Void Sky Hall, what does it have to do with me? Everyone just followed me to escape, how would I know that the treasures would disappear in that gap? You say that your grandson, Oh-chuk, is dead, but who knows if that’s true or false? You might be secretly rejoicing.”

“You…”

At his words, Geuk-eum’s anger soared to the top of his head.

His beloved grandson had died, and he couldn’t even find his body, yet he was being blamed for everything. Geuk-eum was so frustrated that he was about to jump up and down.

At the same time, as he was about to start arguing again, the old man next to him stepped in to stop them.

“Senior Man and Senior Oh have no reason to fight right now. Whether those three really took the treasures or if anyone among us is involved is something we can think about later. The most important thing right now is that we have to catch those three, whether they’re dead or alive.

Everyone flew to the entrance of the third floor at once, following Senior Man, so even if they moved quickly, they couldn’t have gone down below without passing us.

Also, we’ve already placed several restrictions at the entrance of the third floor, so it’s impossible for them to escape by taking this opportunity. It’s also impossible for them to be teleported out through a secret room. Even if three cultivators in the early stages of the Core Formation joined forces, they wouldn’t be able to pass through any secret room above the third floor.”

The old man logically summarized the current situation. However, Man Cheonmyeong questioned him with a cold face.

“But we’ve searched the entire third to fifth floors, and we haven’t found any trace of them!”

In fact, the three from the Righteous faction were still half-doubtful.

After discussing it through telepathy, they concluded that there was a high possibility that the three old monsters from the Demonic faction were acting according to a script they had prepared in advance. While Man Hoja was luring everyone away, he had his Demonic juniors steal the treasures.

For this reason, the Righteous cultivators were feeling frustrated with the unknown situation, while also keeping a close eye on the Demonic people to prevent them from secretly escaping.

Geuk-eum and the old man were also aware of this situation, but they didn’t know what to do either. They just wanted to find Han Li and Hyun-gol as soon as possible and retrieve the Void Sky Hall.

# 271