Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 377

Han Li, holding the mask, compared it to Lü Luo’s, but they were so identical that he couldn’t find any differences. The moment he stepped onto the stairs, he covered his face with the mask.

Surprisingly, as soon as the mask touched his skin, it felt slightly cool and soft, and it seemed to melt away as if it were nothing.

Upon reaching the second floor, he saw over a hundred fist-sized moonstones embedded in the ceiling and walls, making it as bright as day.

However, what surprised Han Li was that the second floor was several times larger than the first. The building, which appeared to narrow as it went up from the outside, was actually the opposite on the inside.

It defied common sense.

However, the second floor was not as empty as the first. Long chairs were placed along the walls on all sides, and cultivators in various attire were already seated. Judging by their clothing and hairstyles, there were both men and women, and their ages varied.

As the Fire Dragon Child led three new cultivators up, cold gazes and spiritual senses simultaneously swept over them.

However, the reactions of the cultivators varied greatly upon seeing the Fire Dragon Child, who seemed to have no intention of hiding his face. Some showed goodwill, others hostility, and some even subtly exuded killing intent.

However, the Fire Dragon Child didn’t care and led Han Li and Lü Luo to find empty seats, and they sat down side by side.

Only then could Han Li carefully observe the others.

Even with Han Li’s powerful spiritual sense, he couldn’t discern the true faces of the cultivators wearing masks, but just by looking at the spiritual energy they emitted, it was clear that they were Core Formation cultivators. Two of them, unexpectedly, had mid-Core Formation cultivation, and they were seated at the innermost and outermost positions, keeping their distance from the others.

It was an astonishing sight to see over twenty Core Formation cultivators gathered in a small pavilion. Anyone who saw it would be shocked.

Han Li had never seen so many Core Formation old monsters gathered in one place. As his cultivation level increased, the world he encountered also changed.

His gaze quickly scanned the interior and stopped at a certain spot. There, as True Person Tian Jing had said, several impatient cultivators were gathered around a table.

They were moving their lips, exchanging messages through spiritual sense, and taking out and putting away items like bottles and jade boxes from their storage pouches. It was clear that they were engaged in bartering.

However, most of the other cultivators were either meditating or exchanging secret messages using spiritual sense, careful not to reveal their identities to others.

The quiet scene on the second floor was both imposing and comical. The Fire Dragon Child, who wasn’t wearing a mask, was definitely conspicuous on the second floor. However, he wasn’t the only one not wearing a mask.

A fat man sitting opposite Han Li also wasn’t wearing a mask. His waist was about four times the size of a normal man, and the chair was almost collapsing under his weight. However, he didn’t seem to care and smiled at Han Li, noticing his gaze.

The woman sitting next to the fat man was wearing a mask, but her alluring eyes, visible through the mask, were enough to draw people’s attention.

However, none of the cultivators gathered here were fools, so despite the presence of such a beauty, no one even glanced at her.

As Han Li observed this, Lü Luo’s voice reached his ears through spiritual sense.

“Junior Brother Han, be careful. That fat man may look simple, but he and the woman next to him are known as the ‘Twin Fiends of the Joyous Union Sect’! It’s said that if this couple uses their combined secret techniques, they can rival even a mid-Core Formation cultivator, so it’s best not to provoke them.”

Han Li immediately shifted his gaze away from them and added their names to his list of people to be wary of. Then, like the others, he closed his eyes and meditated, waiting for the exchange meeting to begin.

After a while, more Core Formation cultivators wearing masks entered one after another.

It was only when True Person Tian Jing appeared that all the cultivators opened their eyes as if they had agreed to do so. The Taoist was in the process of wrapping a wooden table with white light.

“The time is about right, and everyone who was coming has arrived. If there are no other opinions, let’s begin the exchange meeting.”

“Since True Person Tian Jing has said so, may this old man, who lacks patience, start first?”

A cultivator in a golden robe sitting next to True Person Tian Jing said with a calm smile.

“Haha. If you’re in such a hurry, then please do so.”

True Person Tian Jing smiled and stepped back, seemingly allowing the golden-robed old man to start first.

“Hehe! I’ll do as Brother Tian Jing says, then.”

The golden-robed cultivator immediately stood up with a swagger, clasped his hands in greeting to both sides, and then swept his hand across his storage pouch.

Then, a red light flashed, and a palm-sized wooden box appeared.

The wooden box was made of some strange wood, with a red glow shimmering on its blue-green surface. The gold and silver talismans attached to it indicated that it contained something extraordinary.

Everyone’s attention was focused on it.

The golden-robed cultivator scanned them from behind his mask and pointed at the talismans. The gold and silver talismans fell off, and the wooden box opened.

After a moment, a red light flooded out, revealing a bizarre mushroom enveloped in a red mist.

The mushroom was a few inches in size, its entire body was a fiery red, and the red mist swirling around it gave it a strong sense of being a celestial object.

“Crimson Essence Fungus! It must be at least 3,000 years old! It grows in lava regions, making it difficult for ordinary cultivators to even see. To have such an item, this cultivator’s skill is truly remarkable.”

A cultivator completely covered in black robes sighed deeply, his words filled with envy.

“Crimson Essence Fungus? Then this is the Crimson Essence Fungus among the Icefire Essence Fungus. Just by looking at its radiance and fire-attribute spiritual energy, it truly lives up to its reputation.”

Other cultivators also murmured, and some even whispered to each other without hesitation.

The golden-robed cultivator, seeing that the black-robed cultivator had recognized his item at a glance, showed a hint of surprise before returning to his original expression.

“Now that you know what this is, I won’t explain further. A 3,000-year-old Crimson Essence Fungus is a top-grade refining material needed to refine fire-attribute elixirs. I will exchange it for 100,000 spirit stones or an earth-attribute refining material of the same grade.”

‘100,000 spirit stones?’

Han Li was startled as soon as he heard the price. It wasn’t because the price was too high, but because it was much lower than he had expected.

When he was in the Chaotic Star Sea, he needed about ten thousand spirit stones to buy a high-grade demon core. Moreover, something as rare and precious as this would be comparable to, if not better than, the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, which could be used to refine fire-type elixirs. Han Li, like the other cultivators, was tempted.

While Han Li was internally assessing the situation, other cultivators also showed interest.

Several of them approached the golden-robed cultivator, exchanging messages through spiritual sense and showing him various items.

However, the golden-robed cultivator quickly glanced at the items and decisively rejected the trades. Those who were rejected had no choice but to return to their seats, grumbling.

“Is there no one else? This 3,000-year-old Crimson Essence Fungus is something I put a lot of effort into obtaining. It took me five or six years to get it! 100,000 spirit stones is definitely not an expensive price. However, I would prefer to exchange it for an earth-attribute material of the same grade, but I am willing to trade for a slightly inferior material.”

The golden-robed cultivator seemed eager to get rid of his material, and when no one stepped forward for a while, he anxiously called out. Han Li glanced at the others, but although some were sending greedy glances, they didn’t get up from their seats.

It seemed that it wasn’t because the price was too high, but because they didn’t have a suitable material to exchange right away.

Even the Fire Dragon Child next to him had a look of extreme regret on his face. His cultivation method was undoubtedly a fire-attribute one, so having a fire-attribute Crimson Essence Fungus would be of great help.

Seeing this, the golden-robed cultivator had no choice but to pick up the wooden box again. He was about to retrieve the fire-attribute Crimson Essence Fungus.

Han Li moved his lips.

“Please wait a moment. Are you interested in an earth-attribute demon core?”

The golden-robed cultivator stopped his hand and immediately turned his gaze to Han Li, who was sending the message through spiritual sense. He was surprised and quickly replied through spiritual sense.

“You have a demon core? But this is a Crimson Essence Fungus. At least a seventh-grade demon beast’s demon core is needed for a trade. If it’s a sixth-grade, then at least two are needed.”

Han Li briefly weighed the pros and cons. He had used almost all of the demon cores he had for refining elixirs, and now he only had a few very expensive and rare demon cores left.

If he could get the Crimson Essence Fungus with one seventh-grade demon core, it would definitely be a profitable deal for him. He could continue to grow the Crimson Essence Fungus using the green liquid, but he couldn’t do that with demon cores.

However, apart from this point, it was difficult to weigh the two.

In the Chaotic Star Sea, no matter how precious a seventh-grade demon beast’s demon core was, it was less valuable than the Crimson Essence Fungus. But this was the Tiannan Region. Even a sixth-grade or fifth-grade demon core was as rare as stars in the sky. After all, there were hardly any high-grade demon beasts left on the Tiannan Continent.

Considering everything, exchanging one seventh-grade demon core for a 3,000-year-old Crimson Essence Fungus seemed fair.

Having made up his mind, Han Li suddenly stood up and walked towards the golden-robed cultivator. Lü Luo and the Fire Dragon Child were startled by his sudden action.

However, Han Li walked straight up to the golden-robed cultivator, threw the jade box he was holding, and didn’t say a word. The golden-robed cultivator opened the jade box with a nervous expression, and his eyes were filled with joy.

“I’ll trade!”

He spread his hand, sealed the Crimson Essence Fungus back into the wooden box, and handed it directly to Han Li. And the jade box he received from Han Li quickly disappeared into his storage pouch.

Han Li nodded, put the wooden box he received into his storage pouch, and returned to his seat under the gazes of the others.

Lü Luo and the Fire Dragon Child were curious, but they didn’t ask for details and simply sent congratulatory messages through spiritual sense. Now, many Core Formation cultivators were looking at him with new eyes.

At least, the fact that he was a cultivator who could produce a material equivalent to the Crimson Essence Fungus was enough to pique the interest of others.

However, Han Li didn’t care at all. With his current abilities, unless he encountered a late-Core Formation cultivator, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to escape even if someone ambushed him.

“Very well. Now that the first trade has been completed, how about we proceed in order from the cultivator next to him?”

True Person Tian Jing looked at the female cultivator sitting next to the golden-robed cultivator with a smile and asked.

“Alright. Then I’ll show my item first.”

A woman in a light green dress stood up gracefully.

“I haven’t had the same kind of fortuitous encounter as the cultivator next to me, so I don’t have such a precious treasure. However, I am skilled in refining techniques, and I have a ‘Binding Immortal Ring’ magic treasure that doesn’t have an owner yet. If you perform the ritual to imprint an owner on it, you can use it like a natal magic treasure [a magic treasure that is personally bound to the user]. The materials, such as gold essence, are ordinary, but its power is definitely not weak, and it can be used for both offense and defense.”

The woman calmly explained the item she was going to trade and flicked one of her sleeves. A white bracelet a few inches in size appeared. The white ring that popped out of the woman’s sleeve kept flashing as it grew and shrank in size.

The woman quietly pointed her fingertip, and the ring vibrated, expanding to a length of ten feet like the wind, emitting an astonishing spiritual energy.