Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 317

After walking about a hundred yards, the fish completely disappeared, and the ground was covered with soft, black sand. Han Li shone his torch at his feet and faintly saw several footprints.

They seemed to be the tracks left by those who had gathered the fish and vanished. The woman, who had been closely following, bumped her forehead against Han Li’s back and murmured,

“What is it? Is something wrong?”

Without a word, he bent down on one knee and smelled the sand.

“There’s a strong scent of blood. This isn’t an ordinary place.”

He spoke expressionlessly and continued to follow the footprints. Hearing this, the woman moved even closer to Han Li.

After walking for a while, they spotted a faint blue light in the distance. In the pitch-black darkness, a navy-blue entrance floated, large enough for one person to pass through.

The two quickly approached the door and entered.

However, the moment Han Li poked his head in, a white light flashed, and eight pure white swords rushed towards his neck.

A hoarse voice echoed in his ears.

“Who are you? Could you be the new ones?”

More than twenty young men and women surrounded them, all wearing the same green clothing they had seen before.

Han Li scratched his nose and gave a wry smile.

“I think we might be the new ones you’re talking about. It seems outsiders often come here?”

The middle-aged man’s face softened slightly at Han Li’s answer, but he still spoke coldly.

“I can tell just by looking at your strange clothes. Only outsiders dress like that. Still, you’re lucky to have met us. Most people become food for the Yin beasts [creatures of darkness] without even knowing where they are.”

He waved his hand, and everyone withdrew the blades that had been threatening Han Li’s neck. Han Li watched the weapons move away, puzzled.

He had felt an astonishing heat from the blades when they touched his skin, as if they were steel that had just been heated in a fire. When he regained his senses and looked around, he saw that they were on the middle of a small mountain, with an endless yellow desert stretching out in the distance.

He looked up at the sky and was startled.

Something dark and ominous flashed like lightning in the massive dark clouds, a sinister color he had never seen before.

Before he could fully grasp the surrounding scenery, the lean middle-aged man asked,

“Then you didn’t see the others? Our group is outside.”

“I saw a few, but they seemed to be running in another direction, chased by some kind of monster.”

“A monster? What kind of monster are you talking about?”

“From what they said, it seemed to be something called a Fire Scale Beast.”

“A Fire Scale Beast, that’s fortunate. Aho and the others should be able to handle it. Still, for safety, Fan Li, take a few people and go to the nearest exit.”

At the lean middle-aged man’s command, a dark-skinned man quickly left with a few men and women.

The lean middle-aged man turned his head to look at Han Li and the woman.

“I don’t know if you’re lucky or unlucky. To come in when the Spirit Severing Qi [a type of energy] is released once every hundred years. The spatial rifts are larger than ever, and those who touch them can’t escape, no matter how strong they are.

But because of that, the Yin beasts that are usually densely packed nearby have all scattered, so you’ve avoided being eaten as soon as you arrived.”

Han Li was a little surprised by his words but calmly asked,

“Could you tell me in detail where this place is? It seems quite dangerous.”

“Heh, it’s not a place that can be described with just the word ‘dangerous.’ I don’t know what your status was outside, but in this land of Yin and Darkness, no one can eat and live without working. You have to move on your own to survive and not become food for the Yin beasts.”

Han Li frowned and was about to speak again, but the man waved his hand to stop him.

“Now is not the time for such talk. A large number of Yin beasts will soon return to their lairs, so let’s go back to the village and talk again.”

He then ordered the people around him,

“Hurry and seal that secret exit tightly so we can use it next time.”

At the same time, everyone moved nearby stones and quickly blocked the entrance. The lean man looked at the dark clouds in the sky, his face darkening.

“Let’s go now. If nothing happens, Aho and the others will join us on the way. Once the Yin Wind [a dark wind] starts to blow, we won’t be able to return.”

Everyone began to walk quickly at his command, but unexpectedly, no one paid any attention to Han Li and the woman. The beautiful woman looked at them as they moved further away, and asked anxiously,

“Should we follow them?”

Unable to use her magic, she was at a loss and relied on Han Li, who remained calm throughout. Han Li raised his head, looked coldly at the backs of the group, and without hesitation, followed them with large strides.

“Why wouldn’t we go? Let’s go to their village first, assess the situation, and find a way to recover our magic. Now that I think about it, we don’t even know each other’s names. I am Han, a cultivator.”

“I am Mae Eung. I was definitely dragged here with my brother, but we got separated in the Ghost Mist [a mysterious fog], and I don’t know where he is.”

The beautiful woman was the younger sister of the Mae siblings. She subtly revealed her worry as she thought of her lost brother.

“It seems the black lightning has the function of randomly teleporting living beings. There were many cultivators, but the fact that only the two of us fell here is proof of that. If we search slowly, we will meet again.”

The small comfort made the woman feel a little better, and she became curious about Han Li. She had never seen his face before, so she guessed that he might be someone who had entered the island from another place.

The woman had many questions, but she kept her mouth shut as they were not yet close.

While she hesitated, the two had already caught up with the group ahead. Although they could not use their magic, the bodies of cultivators who had washed their marrow [a process of strengthening the body] were incomparable to ordinary people.

The lean man looked at the two with a strange expression, but without saying anything, he increased his speed, and the young men and women also quickened their pace.

Han Li was a little surprised by their pace, which was definitely not that of ordinary people. They did not have deep inner strength, but it was the footwork of those who had learned some basic external martial arts.

However, the more he thought about it, the deeper his doubts about this Ghost Mist became.

The Ghost Mist he had seen in the scriptures was a terrifying disaster, but it was not without a chance to escape. It was too strange that he had lost his magic and been dragged in before even being engulfed by the Ghost Mist.

With such a Ghost Mist, even a Nascent Soul cultivator [a high level of cultivator] would not have been able to escape. However, the lean man’s words about the Spirit Severing Qi being released had cleared up many of his doubts.

Perhaps that was the main reason for the loss of magic. It seemed that they had all been caught in that unusual Ghost Mist, and the other cultivators were likely scattered in other places.

In the distance, a cloud of dust was rising like a dragon, approaching them. A young man with a youthful face recognized the group and called out happily,

“They’re coming back.”

The lean middle-aged man nodded, showing relief, but then his face hardened. A growling sound followed behind the dust.

“Everyone, go help! They’re being chased by Yin beasts!”

He shouted loudly, drew a white sword from his waist, and leaped forward like a bird. The others also realized the urgency of the situation, drew their swords, and ran.

Han Li simply stood there, watching the dust rising in the distance.

The young men and women entered the dust in an instant, and the growling of the beasts grew louder, mixed with the shouts of the young people in the thick fog.

Only after a short while did everything calm down.

The people who reappeared were all covered in blood, and it was impossible to tell if it was the blood of the beasts or if they had been injured. However, there was a strange smile on their faces, as if they had had an unexpected harvest.

They looked at Han Li and Mae Eung with puzzled expressions.

However, the lean man spoke in a low voice, and their expressions soon disappeared.

Everyone gathered and increased their speed, and after an hour, they finally left the desolate desert and saw a dark pile of stones.

It was impossible to grasp its size as it seemed endless like the desert, but the strangely shaped black stones gave off an eerie feeling. However, the others seemed greatly relieved, as if they had finally found a safe place.

At that moment, the dark clouds above became unstable, and the activity of the navy-blue lightning became more frequent. Lightning even struck the ground near them once or twice, creating large and small pits.

Han Li and Mae Eung were startled, but the others seemed used to it and quickened their pace. The lean middle-aged man shouted,

“Everyone, hurry! The village will soon close its gates, so let’s not get trapped outside.”

He then took the lead, and the others began to run like mad. Han Li and Mae Eung had no intention of falling behind after hearing that.

Following them, they turned east and west on the pile of stones for a while, and then suddenly, a huge stone wall appeared before them. The tall stone wall, made by stacking large rocks, was about thirty yards high.

The two ends seemed to be at least a thousand yards long, and sharp, carved wooden stakes were embedded in it, giving it a solemn feeling. In the direction Han Li and the others were heading, there was a huge wooden gate, and next to it, about a dozen men were standing guard with white spears.

They recognized the lean man’s group and shouted excitedly, and the gate opened, welcoming their return.

The guards merely glanced at the unfamiliar Han Li and Mae Eung and did not speak to them. They simply mingled with the returning people and began to chatter.

They were overjoyed when the burly men poured out fish and other seafood from their bags.

Han Li, who had been watching the situation with cold eyes, raised one eyebrow.

Looking at their behavior, it seemed that they were not just happy about the fish and seafood being rare, but that food itself was scarce. Then, Han Li’s gaze swept over the village.

The entire village was surrounded by high stone walls, and all the buildings were roughly built with the black stones they had seen outside.

The most eye-catching thing was the stone tower in the center of the village.

The stone tower was several times higher than the other buildings, seeming to be about four yards high, and a faint purple mist was emitted from its top, enveloping the village’s sky. Whenever navy-blue lightning struck from the sky, it was absorbed by the purple mist and disappeared.

The purple mist was clearly a formation or a restriction, but instead of spiritual energy, only an unknown eerie energy was lingering. Although his consciousness was gone, he could still feel the spiritual energy sensitively.

Han Li’s doubts grew even more.

Around the tall stone tower was a large hall, and several people came out from there, talking to the lean man’s group and occasionally glancing at Han Li and Mae Eung.

Han Li flinched. It was the first time he had met someone with high inner strength here. If they were outside, he could have crushed them with a single finger, but here, it was a power he had to be wary of.

At that moment, the lean man approached them first and pointed to where Han Li and Mae Eung were.

Han Li did not say anything or show any reaction, but Mae Eung, who was next to him, was anxious about what they were going to do to them. The lean man gestured to Han Li and the others.

“Come here. The village elders have something to ask you.”

Han Li, with a calm face, took Mae Eung and stepped forward. They turned and entered the hall, and Han Li followed behind them.

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