Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 320

Han Li, heading towards the old warehouse at a brisk pace, encountered a few villagers, but they only watched him with curious eyes and didn’t approach him. Soon, he arrived at his destination.

He looked at the old building, made of black stones like the others, and tried to push the stone door open, but it wouldn’t budge. He gathered his strength in both arms and tried again, and the stone door slowly began to move.

Pleased, he examined the door closely and found it was twice as thick as the other stone doors. As he was about to step inside, a gust of thick, Yin energy rushed out, making him hold his breath.

After a moment, when the outside air flowed in, Han Li lightly exhaled and calmly looked around the building.

The shabby interior was mostly empty, except for several similar-sized stone tablets and a crude stone table in the center of the room. There were no books or scrolls on the table, only a few magical artifacts that had already lost their spiritual energy and looked bleak.

Han Li was puzzled for a moment, then suddenly chuckled as if he had realized something.

How could he find paper or scrolls in the Land of Yin and Yang? And even if there were jade books, he wouldn’t be able to read them without using spiritual power and consciousness.

The magical artifacts on the table must have been sucked into this place along with their owners before they entered the twilight zone. After looking around the entire room, he approached one of the stone tablets and examined its contents.

However, he soon lost interest in the tablet. It was a record of a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s life.

There were over twenty stone tablets in the building, and it wasn’t until he examined the sixth one that he found the insights of the Nascent Soul cultivator he was looking for.

After reading the tablet, Han Li sighed, his heart heavy.

“There were so many taboos to succeed in reaching the Nascent Soul stage. If I hadn’t known this, even with the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, the success rate would have been too low. Being dropped into the Land of Yin and Yang might be a blessing in disguise…”

The tablet contained a detailed record of a cultivator’s journey from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation and then to Nascent Soul. Knowing the insights of a Nascent Soul cultivator in advance would make his future cultivation and path to Nascent Soul much easier.

Han Li read the tablet several times until he had fully memorized its contents, then he examined the remaining tablets. Originally, he had intended to leave after finding what he wanted, but since he had already been dropped into this strange place, he decided to broaden his horizons.

However, most of the contents were not very helpful. In fact, even if they had left behind their life’s work, it wouldn’t be of much interest to him since he already had the Profound Heavenly Scripture. Eventually, he was left with the last tablet. As he casually wiped the dust off it, he couldn’t hide his surprise.

The inscriptions revealed this time were densely packed with very small characters, and there were two different types of writing. One was the common ancient script he could recognize, and the other was the script of the demon race he had seen several times before.

The more he learned, the more excited Han Li became. Surprisingly, it was a kind of textbook for teaching the demon race’s script, and the explanations were so detailed that it was clear it had been left behind by someone who was well-versed in the demon race’s script.

Although it would be difficult to read the demon race’s script right away, if he memorized the textbook itself and slowly learned it, the day would surely come when he could understand the demon race’s script.

Then, he would be able to understand the contents written on the copper coins containing the demon race’s techniques or the scrolls made of demon beast hide. And even if the techniques were not helpful to him, learning the demon race’s script would be of great help in the future.

In any case, it was a truly rare ability.

With his excellent memory, he memorized all the numerous characters on both sides of the tablet. Then, without even glancing at the magical artifacts on the table, he left the stone chamber and began to wander around the village.

He would carefully examine any unfamiliar architectural styles and sometimes exchange a few words with the villagers. The villagers were relatively simple and, while not overly friendly to strangers, they answered his questions sincerely.

For Han Li, it was a valuable opportunity to obtain information about the unfamiliar Land of Yin and Yang.

For example, he learned that there were no mines here, so they used the bones of some special Yin-Yang beasts to make weapons.

Of course, they couldn’t use the bones of Yin-Yang beasts directly as materials. They had to soak them in a special liquid to make them stronger and imbue them with the power of Yin fire, which increased their lethality.

This Yin fire power was not permanent, and each weapon had to be submerged in the liquid at regular intervals to replenish it.

While gathering useful information, Han Li also inquired about the identity of the middle-aged man with the pale face who had shown him displeasure.

He learned that the man, surnamed Bong, had also drifted into this place a few years ago.

He didn’t know what he had done in the outside world, but he possessed amazing martial arts skills and had killed several powerful Yin-Yang beasts, making great contributions to the village. He was now an elder at a young age and was in charge of teaching martial arts to the young people in the village, making him quite respected here.

Han Li was not one to be intimidated by such stories, but he couldn’t shake the impression that he was a troublesome person. After looking around the village and gathering the necessary information, he leisurely returned to his residence.

Just as he reached his door, he heard a man’s voice.

“I’ve expressed my sincerity, so please give me an answer. If Miss Mei marries me, she will never have to worry about food, and I will make sure she doesn’t have to take on dangerous missions and wander outside the village.”

Unexpectedly, it was the middle-aged man with the surname Bong.

Han Li was momentarily stunned, then he smiled wryly. He finally understood the middle-aged man’s motive for constantly expressing his dissatisfaction with him. He was infatuated with Mei Ying and was wary of Han Li, who had come here with her.

The women here were not ugly, but their skin was rough and dark, and unless their features were exceptionally beautiful, they were not considered beauties. So, it was not surprising that Elder Bong had fallen in love with Mei Ying at first sight.

Although Mei Ying was not as stunning as Yuan Yao or Zi Ling, she was quite beautiful.

With a resolute voice that she had not shown when she was with him, Mei Ying coldly replied,

“I will pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. How can a cultivator become a mortal’s person? Please leave.”

“Hmph! Miss Mei, you still don’t understand the situation. In this Land of Yin and Yang, cultivators are just weak and useless beings. Even if that man who came with you were here, would he have the strength to resist me? With my martial arts, which have roamed the Western Sea, I could kill him right now, and no one in the village could stop me.”

Elder Bong, angered by her rejection, was threatening her in a sinister voice. Mei Ying, who had never expected a mortal to threaten her, trembled.

“Are you daring to threaten me?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?”

“What are you doing!”

Han Li didn’t know what was happening, but he heard Mei Ying’s sharp shout. He just scratched his nose, looking troubled. Although it was not his business, it was too heartless to leave her alone as a fellow cultivator who had come here with him.

Thud!

He kicked the door open and stepped inside.

The middle-aged man, who had just cornered the woman and was grinning maliciously, immediately turned around at the loud noise.

The middle-aged man’s expression darkened. And Mei Ying, with a pale face, immediately hid behind Han Li when she saw him.

She warned him at his appearance.

“Fellow Daoist Han, be careful!”

“Don’t worry.”

Elder Bong looked at Han Li coldly and asked unpleasantly,

“When did you come back? There’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.”

He was confident that his inner strength was so deep that he could hear even the sound of a leaf falling within ten feet, so Han Li’s silent appearance was unsettling.

Han Li didn’t bother to answer his question and instead spoke leisurely about something else.

“It seems you are very confident in your martial arts, but trying to show it off against me is a foolish idea.”

“Foolish? Your saying that is proof that you are the foolish one. I’ll start by cutting off your arm as punishment!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man shot out like an arrow, his right hand fiercely trying to grab Han Li’s shoulder. It looked as if Han Li’s shoulder would be torn in two.

Han Li, who had been watching his opponent expressionlessly, suddenly moved left and right, creating three identical afterimages.

The middle-aged man was startled and tried to grab all the afterimages in a wide arc. But there was nothing to grab.

“Then…”

Just as the bewildered middle-aged man was trying to figure out the situation, a blue sword flashed behind him and silently touched his neck.

The cold sensation on his neck made his whole body break out in goosebumps. Han Li’s emotionless voice followed.

“It’s best not to move. I don’t want to be kicked out of the village for killing someone, but if you insist, I will grant your wish.”

The middle-aged man’s body stiffened.

Judging by the sharpness of the sword on his neck, it seemed that the opponent could easily cut his throat with just a slight movement of his finger.

He now had an unbelievable expression on his face. He hadn’t sensed Han Li approaching from behind at all.

“You said you would cut off one of my arms, so to repay you, I’ll do the same to you.”

Han Li didn’t wait for his opponent’s reaction and swung the small sword with lightning speed.

Swish.

Following the blade that moved at an impossible angle, one of the middle-aged man’s arms was severed from his body with incredible ease.

“Ugh!”

Whether he had extraordinary endurance, the middle-aged man swallowed his scream despite the extreme pain of having his arm cut off. Large beads of sweat formed on his forehead and dripped down, but he stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

Han Li sheathed his killing intent and turned back to his original position.

“Remember this. If you ever come here again, it won’t be your arm that’s cut off, but your head!”

If he could use the Roving Shadow Step to subdue his opponent, killing him wouldn’t be difficult. But many people had seen the middle-aged man come here, so he couldn’t act recklessly.

That’s why he ended it here, even though he knew it would cause trouble in the future. Of course, he also had the intention of dealing with the middle-aged man without anyone knowing if the opportunity arose.

“I was blind. I didn’t know you were such an expert. I apologize for my rudeness.”

The middle-aged man, his face pale, left the room after saying this, staunching the bleeding from his shoulder.

Mei Ying watched him leave, took a breath, and then bowed to Han Li, her face slightly flushed.

“Thank you so much for your help.”

“If you really have no feelings for him, avoid him in the future. However, if you plan to stay here for a long time, doing as he says might not be a bad choice.”

“That’s impossible! From the moment I stepped into the cultivation world with my brother, I vowed not to marry anyone who wasn’t a high-level cultivator. How could I give my heart to a mortal with no spiritual roots?”

Han Li had nothing to say, so he just sat on a chair and closed his eyes. Mei Ying asked with anticipation on her face,

“Fellow Daoist Han, is there really no way to escape from this place?”

Han Li slowly opened his eyes, looked at her, and calmly said,

“You know the way to escape, Miss Mei. I don’t know of any other way.”

Mei Ying’s eyes turned red, as if she didn’t believe Han Li’s words at all.

# 322