Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 309

Yuan Yao led Han Li into a large stone hall, spanning over ten zhang [approximately 33 meters], and offered him tea.

“I’ve heard much about Brother Han’s recent fame. Who would have thought the supreme treasure, the Void Sky Cauldron, would fall into the hands of a Core Formation cultivator? Is it true that you reached the late stage of Core Formation so quickly because you consumed the legendary Heaven Mending Pill?”

She brought up the matter of the Void Sky Cauldron as soon as they sat down. Han Li sighed lightly and shook his head.

“Since you already know, I won’t hide it. The Void Sky Cauldron is indeed with me, but due to my low cultivation, I haven’t even been able to open it yet. It’s more of a burden than anything. My current cultivation has nothing to do with the Heaven Mending Pill.”

Since his cultivation far surpassed hers, there was no need to lie.

“You haven’t even opened the Void Sky Cauldron?”

Yuan Yao was momentarily surprised by his words, then she raised the corners of her mouth and said nothing more.

Her expression suggested she didn’t quite believe him. Han Li, not wanting to explain further, cut straight to the point.

“I’d like to know if you still have any Ten Thousand Year Spirit Liquid left. The rumors of me possessing the Void Sky Cauldron are widespread, so I’ve used up almost all of what I had before and am looking to exchange for more, even at a high price. You won’t be at a loss, so please let me know.”

If she hadn’t possessed the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Liquid in the Outer Star Sea, she wouldn’t be alive today. Having realized the importance of the treasure, he intended to seize the remaining half of the bottle this time.

Yuan Yao frowned slightly and hesitated. Then, her hand brushed her waist, and a blue bottle appeared on the stone table. Without hesitation, she pushed it towards Han Li and said,

“I haven’t used a single drop of the remaining Ten Thousand Year Spirit Liquid. I will give it to Brother Han without accepting any items or spirit stones.”

“You’re just giving it to me?”

“That’s right. No matter how precious the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Liquid is, it can’t compare to the grace of saving my life. Does Senior think Yuan Yao is a woman who doesn’t know how to repay kindness?”

“That’s not what I meant, but…”

Seeing him hesitate, a smile flickered in Yuan Yao’s moist eyes.

“We’ve been through thick and thin together since the Void Sky Cauldron, and you’ve saved my life multiple times, so from now on, just call me Yuan Yao. Why do you keep calling me Senior?”

She mentioned the Void Sky Cauldron, and for some reason, her face flushed slightly. Han Li was momentarily stunned by her beautiful face before regaining his senses and speaking.

“Since Miss Yuan Yao says so, I won’t stand on formality.”

He then picked up the small bottle on the table, opened the lid, and checked the contents. It was indeed the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Liquid. With a satisfied expression, he stored the bottle in his storage pouch. After a moment of thought, he took out two jade-white bottles and handed them to Yuan Yao.

“What are these?”

“These are pills that are effective in enhancing magical power, and they should be helpful for Miss Yuan Yao’s cultivation. Consider them my return gift.”

“As I’ve already said, I’m giving you the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Liquid for free, so I’ll be embarrassed if you give me a return gift.”

“You’ll regret it if you refuse. These pills are made from the cores of sixth-grade demon beasts. If a cultivator at the peak of the early Core Formation stage like Miss Yuan Yao consumes them, they will help you reach the mid-stage of Core Formation.”

“Pills made from the cores of sixth-grade demon beasts?”

Her face, which had been smiling gracefully, was now filled with surprise. Yuan Yao quickly picked up the bottles and examined the contents, and a pure spiritual energy assaulted her nose. She held the bottles tightly in both hands and changed her mind.

“I would have refused if it were anything else, but these pills are essential, so I will gratefully accept them.”

These two bottles were enough to advance Yuan Yao’s cultivation by decades. Han Li also breathed a sigh of relief when the woman accepted the pills he had given her. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to say the next thing.

“That’s a relief. Actually, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask of you. The Nine Spirits Formation of the Azure Sun Sect that I saw outside just now is incredibly effective at concealing spiritual energy. Could you provide me with a copy of the information related to that formation?”

“The Nine Spirits Formation? Certainly.”

Perhaps it was because of the pills she had received earlier, but Yuan Yao readily agreed and took out a black book from her storage pouch, handing it to Han Li.

“This is the Azure Sun Sect’s formation scripture. In addition to the Nine Spirits Formation, it contains several other powerful formations. I’ll give them all to Brother Han.”

At those words, Han Li happily scanned the contents of the book. As she said, it contained several formations he had never heard of, including the Nine Spirits Formation.

After briefly examining the contents, he withdrew his consciousness with satisfaction. He then noticed that Yuan Yao looked hesitant, as if she had something to say.

“Miss Yuan Yao, is there something you’d like to say?”

“Now that you know about the Azure Sun Sect, you’ve probably heard about me as well.”

He didn’t know why she was bringing it up now, but Han Li nodded truthfully.

“I heard among the crowd that Miss Yuan Yao was almost forced to become the concubine of the Azure Sun Sect’s young master, but she harmed the young master and fled. Of course, I don’t know if that’s true.”

“All of that is true. I was almost forced to become that scoundrel’s concubine, and I had the foolish dream of living by relying on the power of the Azure Sun Sect. Perhaps Brother Han thinks I’m a shameless woman.”

“Absolutely not. Originally, if one isn’t born into a powerful family or with extraordinary spiritual roots in the cultivation world, how difficult is it to survive? It’s common for many female cultivators to rely on the power of high-level cultivators to survive.”

At those words, Yuan Yao looked at Han Li.

“My fellow disciple, Lian Lu, and I, who came from a small cultivation sect, had ordinary talents, so no matter how hard we cultivated, it was difficult to even reach the Foundation Establishment stage, let alone the Core Formation stage. So, we left the sect to find a partner with high cultivation. But unfortunately, we couldn’t find a suitable person, and we only encountered a bunch of ruffians who harbored malicious intentions towards us.

Later, due to circumstances, I parted ways with my fellow disciple Lian Lu. Several years later, I learned that she had become the concubine of the Azure Sun Sect’s young master. I was angry at her for abandoning our promise and giving up on cultivation, so I went to ask her about the situation. That’s when I caught the eye of the Azure Sun Sect’s young master. He promised that if I became his concubine, he would release Lian Lu from her concubine status.

At the time, I was naive and swayed by his high cultivation and reputation. Although Lian Lu strongly opposed it, I didn’t think deeply and accepted his proposal.”

Her expression became wistful, as if regretting her hasty decision in the past, before turning cold.

“On the way to the Azure Sun Sect, Lian Lu secretly told me about the situation. She had also been deceived into becoming a concubine and was taken to the sect. She said that there were many women in similar situations and that once they entered the Azure Sun Sect, they would completely lose their freedom and live in confinement.

I was greatly shocked, and I tried to escape with my fellow disciple, but who would have known that the young master was such a lecher? He tried to take advantage of me even before we entered the Azure Sun Sect, so I had no choice but to set a trap and ambush him.

As a result, the plan succeeded, but Lian Lu was severely injured by that bandit.

Her nascent soul [a cultivator’s soul after reaching a certain stage] barely escaped from her body and took refuge in a magical artifact. But no matter how strong the yin energy [negative energy] of the artifact was, her soul was losing its strength day by day.

I tried every method I could, but Lian Lu’s nascent soul eventually lost its spirituality, and even if I found a suitable body, I wouldn’t be able to take it over.”

Her eyes filled with pain as she paused. At that moment, Han Li also recalled her entering the Void Sky Cauldron in search of the Soul Nourishing Wood.

“So, you were trying to obtain the Soul Nourishing Wood for Senior Lian Lu’s soul.”

Yuan Yao regained her composure and continued her story.

“That’s right. I learned about the Soul Nourishing Wood growing in the Void Sky Cauldron from one of the books I obtained from the Azure Sun Sect’s young master, and that’s why I went to the Void Sky Cauldron.

But I didn’t know it would be so dangerous there. If Brother Han hadn’t helped me several times, I wouldn’t have been able to escape from there.

Now that Senior Lian Lu’s nascent soul has been nourished by the Soul Nourishing Wood and has mostly recovered its original strength, she can’t take over a body on her own, but she can obtain a body through the Soul Reversal Technique.”

“The Soul Reversal Technique? Isn’t that a secret art that infuses a soul into a dead body?”

“That’s exactly it.”

“Senior Yuan, do you know what you’re trying to do? Such a technique is not only dangerous, but even if it succeeds, you won’t be able to bear the consequences. Due to the nature of the Soul Reversal Technique, which defies the will of heaven, the caster will suffer a tremendous loss of cultivation. If you perform this secret art with your current cultivation, there’s a high chance you’ll ruin your Core and return to the Foundation Establishment stage.”

However, Yuan Yao’s expression remained calm.

“Of course, I know that. If it were just a matter of taking over another cultivator’s body, I would only need to follow a few principles, but how can I not pay such a price for bringing life back to a dead body?”

Seeing her like this, Han Li warned her, seemingly frustrated.

“Is Senior Lian Lu so weak that she can’t even take over a body on her own, even with the help of the Soul Nourishing Wood? Or couldn’t you perform the secret art after reaching the mid-stage of Core Formation? Then, even if your cultivation drops, it won’t completely ruin your Core.”

“My fellow disciple’s nascent soul has lost too much vitality and has been wandering in the form of a soul for too long, gradually losing her reason. No matter how much Soul Nourishing Wood there is, she will lose her nature within a year or two. At that time, even if I perform the Soul Reversal Technique, she will only wake up as an idiot. Moreover, I recently found a very suitable body and have set up the Soul Reversal Technique formation. If no one interferes, I was planning to perform the secret art within two months.”

Her determination was firm. After a long while, Han Li sighed.

“The reason you’re telling me this is because you need my help, right?”

“I’m sorry to ask for your help again after you’ve already helped me so many times. But the Soul Reversal Technique must be performed in a place with extremely yin energy, and it’s difficult to succeed if someone interferes.

It’s already difficult to conceal the great disturbance that this technique itself causes, and now that the Azure Sun Sect has found me, I have nowhere else to turn for help except to Brother Han.

Please spare a few days to act as my protector while I perform the secret art. This is a matter of life and death for Senior Lian Lu, so no matter what conditions you propose, Yuan Yao will do her best to fulfill them.”

Han Li was speechless at her resolute expression. However, he didn’t want to waste time here. He was already in a difficult situation himself, so he was reluctant to take on another task.

But Yuan Yao’s desperation to save another’s life, even at the cost of ruining her own dantian [energy center], touched some emotion deep within his heart.

Having made up his mind, he smiled wryly.

“Since Miss Yuan Yao is willing to give up her Core to save Senior Lian Lu, I will act as your protector. I don’t need any other conditions. Just tell me about the Soul Binding Pearl you gave me before. I’ve been hesitant to refine it because I’m worried about something. And surely, that extremely yin place isn’t this island, which has already been discovered?”

This time, Yuan Yao was genuinely moved.

“I don’t know how to thank you enough for helping me, Brother Han! The place where I’ll perform the technique isn’t here, so don’t worry. It’s only a few days away, but it should be enough to avoid the Azure Sun Sect’s pursuit for a while.

And the Soul Binding Pearl issue is simple. Originally, the Soul Devouring Flag was also the Azure Sun Sect’s young master’s, so it wasn’t fully refined. Therefore, there’s a slight flaw in the Soul Binding Pearl that controls the Soul Devouring Flag.

The person who refines the Soul Binding Pearl will suffer from severe headaches, and the headaches will become even more severe. I tried to refine it myself to pass through the Ghost Mist in the Void Sky Cauldron, but I couldn’t even reach halfway before the headache kept me from sleeping. I’ll give you the method to refine the Soul Devouring Flag; it’s here.”

She took out a green book from her bosom. Han Li finally felt like his questions were being answered. No wonder it was good at devouring souls but its power was not as great as rumored; it was because the Soul Devouring Flag was not yet complete.

He was a little disappointed and casually tossed the book into his storage pouch.

“Since this place has already been exposed, let’s move immediately, just in case.”

“Yes, I was planning to do that as well. I’ll pack my things for a moment, and then we can leave right away.”

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