Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 427

Zhiyang Shangren seemed to be out of Geng Essence. With no other option, Han Li took out the jade box and placed the piece of the Mysterious Heaven Vine root inside.

He planned to nurture it later with the green liquid from the mysterious bottle. Having witnessed its miraculous effects, he thought it might revive the Mysterious Heaven Vine.

Even if the chances were slim, success would be incredibly profitable. Thinking positively, his disappointment gradually faded.

“Since I’ve obtained the Geng Essence, I’ll participate in the duel in seven days. It’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave now. I need to prepare for the upcoming duel.”

“Fellow cultivator Han, you’re more impatient than I thought. However, it will be a challenging duel, so it’s good to prepare thoroughly. Go ahead, I won’t keep you.” Zhiyang Shangren said with a smile. Han Li nodded, clasped his hands in respect, and walked out of the main hall. But just as he was about to exit, Wei Wuya, who had been standing silently, spoke, his voice resonating in Han Li’s ears.

He sent a voice transmission in a low tone.

“Fellow cultivator Han, considering our past connection when you helped me obtain the Poisonous Dragon scales, I won’t pursue the matter of you taking Nangong away. A forced marriage is not meant to be, so let’s consider the matter between Nangong Xianzi [Fairy Nangong, a term for a female cultivator] and my niece as if it never happened!”

At those words, Han Li was startled and hesitated, but after hearing everything, he walked out of the main hall with a lighter heart.

* * *

As Han Li disappeared, Wei Wuya and Zhiyang Shangren’s gazes darkened. After a moment, Zhiyang Shangren spoke.

“What do you think? Isn’t it strange that fellow cultivator Han possesses materials from an eighth-grade demon beast? Could it be that, as we investigated, he found the ruins of an ancient cultivator during the time he disappeared through the teleportation array? Isn’t it peculiar?”

“Perhaps that’s the case. But what does it matter to us? He’s not the only one who has found ancient ruins and obtained cultivation methods or treasures. Such opportunities are meant to happen. Are you perhaps tempted to kill him and take his treasures?” Wei Wuya sneered.

“Kill him for his treasures? You jest. Not to mention that we are on the verge of war, trying to provoke a powerful figure who escaped from the Peony Immortal would surely cause trouble. Besides, no matter how precious the treasures are, they can’t suddenly elevate someone from the late stage to the Transformation stage [a high cultivation stage]. Why invite disaster? The Dragon Han couple of the Heavenly Dao Alliance are not to be trifled with either.”

Zhiyang Shangren chuckled and shook his head.

While Wei Wuya and Zhiyang Shangren were talking about Han Li, Han Li had already arrived at the main hall’s gate.

Unexpectedly, he saw Dong Xuanya as soon as he came out. She was standing with her head lowered, looking troubled, as if she had just come out of the side hall.

Sensing Han Li’s presence, Dong Xuanya raised her head. Her expression turned strange as she recognized Han Li, a mix of jealousy and resentment.

Han Li felt a bit awkward but pretended not to notice her and slowly walked past her. Dong Xuanya stood there, biting her lip, and watched him intently.

Turning the corner, Han Li frowned and shook his head as the gaze behind him disappeared.

“Master, is that a fellow cultivator you know?” Yin Yue’s voice echoed in his mind.

“We knew each other a long time ago, but we weren’t on good terms.”

“Is that so? But that woman’s expression didn’t seem like an ordinary relationship. Could it be…” Yin Yue chuckled, deliberately leaving her sentence unfinished.

“Don’t talk nonsense. It wasn’t like that.”

Yin Yue wisely shut her mouth at Han Li’s words.

Since Han Li had saved her and didn’t pursue the matter of the stolen Ziyun Dou [Purple Cloud Bucket, a magical artifact] and basket, her attitude towards him had become noticeably friendlier.

Han Li also sensed this, and his trust in her had increased.

* * *

Back at the Luo Yun Sect’s encampment, Han Li told Lvyue about the agreements made in the main hall.

“Junior Brother, is it necessary to take such a risk? No matter how precious the Geng Essence is, your life is the most important. What if something happens to you!” Lvyue expressed his concern upon learning that Han Li would participate in the duel. Han Li smiled and replied lightly.

“Senior Brother Lvyue, don’t worry. I have some confidence, or I would have refused. However, I might not have the capacity to look after the safety of our sect’s disciples during the duel in seven days, so I’ll need you to take care of them.”

“The disciples will manage. But if you need anything for the duel, just let me know.” Lvyue was somewhat relieved by Han Li’s confident words.

“Actually, there are a few things I need for the upcoming duel. Some special materials. Please have some of the junior disciples gather them for me.” Han Li didn’t refuse the offer and took out a jade slip from his storage pouch, handing it to Lvyue.

“If the materials can be found in Thousand Sails City, I will have the disciples find them for you, so don’t worry!” Han Li felt warmth at his words and chatted for a while before getting up. The materials written on the jade slip he gave to Lvyue were auxiliary materials for refining the Spirit Descent Talisman.

Although he was confident in participating in the duel with his current strength, he was always cautious and wanted to prepare something. The Spirit Descent Talisman was the only method that could be completed in a few days to overwhelm his opponent. Refining a flying sword with the Geng Essence to increase its power was not something that could be done in a short period.

However, the problem was the success rate of refining the Spirit Descent Talisman. Originally, he had planned to find a satisfactory brush and practice his talisman-making skills further before attempting it, but with the duel so close, he had no choice. Even if the success rate was low, if he succeeded within seven days, it would be a hidden trump card, and even if he failed, it wouldn’t be a loss.

There was no way to learn another secret technique or obtain a powerful treasure in just a few days. Returning to his bedroom, he sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes.

* * *

Thanks to the swift actions of the Luo Yun Sect disciples, Han Li received all the materials he needed in just two days. Han Li was pleased to see them.

‘It was the right choice to become an elder of the Luo Yun Sect.’

Carrying the materials, Han Li returned to the secret chamber and arranged the auxiliary materials one by one around him. He took out the dark green bottle and carefully opened the lid.

Pshhh.

A crimson light emanated from within.

Han Li, who was prepared, clenched his five fingers in the air, and a giant hand with a blue glow enveloped the crimson light.

The crimson light was held in the blue hand, maintaining its shape. Upon closer inspection, it was a crimson flood dragon, only a few inches in size, struggling incessantly in the palm of the hand.

Blue light flickered in Han Li’s eyes as he carefully observed the crimson flood dragon.

On the surface, it looked the same as when it was captured and placed in the bottle a few years ago, but with the Ming Qing Spirit Eyes [a special vision technique], he could see the difference.

The flood dragon’s soul was still powerful, but its eyes were different. Its gaze was somewhat vacant, indicating that it had already lost its rationality.

Han Li sighed.

He had clearly seen how powerful the Poisonous Dragon, an eighth-grade demon beast in the Transformation stage, had been, but now, reduced to a soul, it had lost its reason and reverted to a beast in just a few years.

This stark contrast made him think of the tumultuous fate of those who walked the path of cultivation.

If one day his physical body were destroyed and his nascent soul fell into the hands of an enemy, he would be no different from the Poisonous Dragon.

After a moment of silence, Han Li flicked his hand, and the small flood dragon, enveloped in blue light, broke free from his hand and floated in the air.

Leaving it there, Han Li examined the materials in front of him and suddenly pointed to a piece of spirit beast hide among them. At the same time, a strange cyan spirit beast hide slowly flew up and hovered in front of him.

He spat out the Infant Fire [a special type of flame], and the flames surrounding the spirit beast hide strangely did not burn it.

His ten fingers danced, and Han Li shot out a hand seal.

The flames flickered, and he stopped the hand seal, then gestured towards the white jade box again.

Swoosh!

The jade box flew up on its own, and the lid opened, scattering silver light from within. Following Han Li’s gesture, the silver powder arced into the blue Infant Fire, mingling with the spirit beast hide within the flames.

With a serious expression, Han Li placed the other materials into the blue flames one by one.

Only when the spirit beast hide had changed from a deep green to black and then to a blood-red color did he exhale and begin to chant.

Then, a black aura seeped into the surface of the spirit beast hide covered in blue fire.

Han Li burned the black aura of the hide for over an hour, then placed other materials into the flames and refined them.

After a long time, he looked up, his eyes shining, and blew out the flames on the hide.

Whoosh!

The flames disappeared instantly, leaving only the blood-red hide, which had shrunk to the size of his palm. Han Li checked the condition of the hide and was satisfied.

He no longer hesitated and pointed to the flood dragon’s soul above his head.

Then, the flood dragon’s soul was enveloped in blue light and turned into light, then, as if possessed, it was sucked into the blood-red hide.

Now, there were no traces left on the surface of the hide.

After the flood dragon’s soul entered the hide, Han Li immediately flipped his hand and took out a blue talisman brush and golden liquid.

Han Li dipped the brush into the golden liquid and carefully drew a familiar pattern on the hide. Soon, complex patterns appeared, shimmering in gold.

But just as he was about to complete the pattern, the spirit beast hide vibrated and pulsed, as if something was trying to burst out from within.

However, the golden light emanating from the pattern on the talisman grabbed the flood dragon’s soul like a living chain and pulled it in tightly.

Although it had lost its reason, the flood dragon’s soul was still a high-level spirit beast’s soul, so it sensed the danger and struggled to break free.

Han Li increased the speed at which he drew the patterns. After the hide stabilized for a moment, he changed the liquid in his hand. He dipped the brush in purple liquid and wrote strange characters over the patterns.

Han Li changed the liquid several times, completing various patterns and characters.

Before long, the palm-sized hide talisman was densely covered. As it did, his face became more serious, the speed at which he wrote slowed, and a blue light flickered in his eyes.

Just as he was about to finish, he suddenly felt a strange spiritual energy fluctuation, and a problem arose with the talisman, which was only half-finished.

Han Li frowned, immediately swept up all the materials he had taken out, and with his other hand, he took out a small shield and threw it.

KWAANG!

The shield grew in size and blocked his front, and as soon as it did, a dragon’s roar that seemed to shatter eardrums echoed from within the spirit beast hide, and the hide burst open.

Multicolor light filled the secret chamber, and a huge shockwave crashed into the blue shield. The shield silently blocked the shockwave, and Han Li’s expression changed.

If it was the power of the Spirit Descent Talisman, the destructive power should have been greater if it had exploded during the refining process. As Han Li was suspicious, a blood-red streak of light shot out, trying to escape through the top of the secret chamber.

Just as it was about to reach the ceiling of the secret chamber, a white light spread out and bounced it back. The blood-red streak of light revealed itself to be a small flood dragon.

He retracted the shield and used his Ming Qing Spirit Eyes to examine the state of the flood dragon’s soul.

‘Hmm…’

Although it was still in the state of a soul, it seemed to have exhausted its power and lacked vitality.

Even though the Spirit Descent Talisman had failed, the soul had not collapsed but had only lost some of its power. This meant that it was worth trying to refine the Spirit Descent Talisman repeatedly. Of course, if he tried too many times, the soul’s power would be exhausted, and the power of the Spirit Descent Talisman would be reduced.

Han Li rearranged the auxiliary materials in order and took out a new spirit beast hide.

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