Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 499

“It seems the Gong family is hostile to the Feng family?”

“Yes. The Gong, Jang, Geum, and our Feng families are considered the four great cultivation families of the Guanju Prefecture. Originally, we didn’t encroach on each other’s territories, but as our family’s power weakened over the past few years, the Gong family joined hands with the other families and made their move.”

Feng Yue spoke, revealing his resentment.

As the eldest grandson of the family, facing death in the grasslands of a foreign race, his resentment towards the other three families was understandable.

“Since the cultivator has answered, let’s return to the topic of the Hao Yuan Pill. I only have about ten left, so you have about ten days left to live. But each one is worth thousands of spirit stones, so are you really going to trade?”

“Thousands of spirit stones?”

Feng Yue was shocked at the exorbitant price. The price of one Hao Yuan Pill was comparable to a top-grade magic artifact.

“I will buy them.”

However, Feng Yue gritted his teeth and answered without hesitation.

“Do you have tens of thousands of spirit stones right now?”

“I don’t have them now, but I will offer the key to the Feng family’s secret cave as collateral.”

Feng Yue took a silver-white key from his neck and handed it over without hesitation.

“The Feng family’s secret cave?”

“It is the only magic artifact that can open the secret cave that our family has used for a thousand years. When the Feng family faced trouble, the elders entrusted it to me, the direct descendant. I’ve never been inside, but I know that the items stored inside are worth more than tens of thousands of spirit stones.”

“You’re offering the key as collateral… How can I verify if this is the real key to the secret cave? Besides, giving this to someone else, do you not plan to revive the Feng family?”

“How can I revive it? Aside from me, the others who fled are either servants or a few collateral disciples. If I, the only direct descendant, die, it means the end of the Feng clan.

Then, wouldn’t the Feng family’s secret cave eventually fall into the hands of the Gong family? In that case, it’s a much better choice to extend my life. If I can’t find a way to detoxify the Gu poison [a type of venomous insect-based poison] within ten days, I will give the key to the cultivator. And the Buddhist sect’s cultivation technique that you are looking for might also be inside.”

Han Li was silent at Feng Yue’s resolute answer before speaking again.

“Alright. Let’s exchange the key for the pills. But before that, you must cooperate with me so that I can verify through your consciousness whether the story about the key and the Buddhist cultivation technique is true.”

“You’re going to use the Soul-Searching Technique? Isn’t that something only Nascent Soul [a high level of cultivation] cultivators can do?”

Feng Yue’s complexion turned a little pale.

“Forcibly searching one’s consciousness would naturally require enlightenment beyond the Nascent Soul stage, but if I have your consent, I can find out a few facts.”

Feng Yue’s heart grew cold at Han Li’s words. As a direct descendant of a cultivation family, how could he not know the fear of the Soul-Searching Technique? Under normal circumstances, he would never have agreed, but looking down at his two hands that had turned black, he had no choice but to accept.

“I will cooperate. But you must only explore the secret cave and the Buddhist cultivation technique, and if you try to find out anything else, I won’t stand idly by.”

“Of course. I have no interest in other matters. Then, this place is too conspicuous, so let’s move.”

Han Li smiled and flicked his sleeve, and a blue light enveloped the young man. Soon, the young man collapsed and was wrapped in a blue aura, floating into the air.

Although his cultivation had fallen to the Foundation Establishment stage, the way he used his magic power was incomparable to ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

At this time, the black cloud that had transformed from the second Nascent Soul also returned from the nearby forest and appeared before him. The baby was still playing with the three nails and the old man’s Nascent Soul with the hawk eyes.

“It’s useless to keep it, so get rid of it.”

Han Li glanced at the old man’s Nascent Soul and said.

The second Nascent Soul understood and giggled, creating a black flame from its small hand and destroying the Nascent Soul. Han Li also flicked his finger, turning the old man’s body into ashes.

Now, the old man named Feng Chim had completely disappeared from this world. Afterward, he used a gesture to pull in the storage pouch and the bright red sword that had fallen to the ground.

Han Li, having erased all other traces, took Feng Yue and boarded a magic artifact, soaring into the sky. Since his cultivation was sealed, he had to be careful.

It was a depressing thought.

His consciousness was still stronger than that of late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, but he couldn’t reveal it now. He was afraid of encountering a Great Cultivator of the Transformation Stage or a cultivator who had mastered a special consciousness technique.

When he was discovered releasing the Gold Devouring Beetles in the grasslands, it was partly because he was careless, but also because he hadn’t spread his consciousness far enough. Moreover, the escape technique of the mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator who was chasing the demon beast was too fast, almost like a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. He had broken through 20 li [approximately 10 kilometers] in an instant, so there was no time to retrieve the Gold Devouring Beetles.

What were the chances of encountering a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with a fast escape technique in this vast Tianlan Grassland?

Also, if they had known a little more about each other, they wouldn’t have started a fight. Thinking about that day, Han Li could only laugh in vain.

Han Li sighed in the air and returned to the pile of rocks where he had been.

* * *

A day passed, and Han Li returned to the garrison. The tents were noticeably fewer than two days ago, and several tribes were preparing to depart.

As he walked towards the location of the Changluo tribe’s tent, Young Luo and others had already made preparations and were waiting for Han Li’s return.

As soon as they saw him, Young Luo was overjoyed and escorted him to the carriage, and the group immediately set off. As soon as Han Li got into the carriage, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

However, not long after the carriage departed, the surroundings became noticeably noisy. He opened his eyes and lifted the curtain, and he saw a group he hadn’t seen before.

It seemed that while he was gone, Young Luo of the Changluo tribe had proposed to move with the chiefs of other tribes.

They all had a cultivator with them, but since they were such weak tribes, their cultivation was not worth mentioning. Even though Han Li’s cultivation was sealed and he was only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment, he had become the highest-level cultivator in this group.

Han Li stroked his chin and smiled bitterly.

He had thought he might get some help by joining a group of the Dolol tribe to cross the grasslands, but it felt like he had only increased his burden.

At that moment, the Honglang tribe’s group hurriedly approached, and Han Li was about to withdraw his consciousness while focusing on one of the carriages. However, a very faint consciousness brushed past the group.

If Han Li’s consciousness hadn’t completely surpassed the opponent, he would never have noticed the faint sensation. Han Li’s expression changed, and he quickly concealed his aura.

Indeed, the faint consciousness scanned the entire group and then slowly circled the carriages where the cultivators were, before returning without any gains.

Han Li looked at the garrison with a grim gaze.

At the same time, on the second floor of a pavilion made of blue stone in the center of the garrison, there were three Dolol people. Among them, an old man who looked frail suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Senior, did you discover something?”

Next to the old man stood a man and a woman. The middle-aged giant asked with a changed expression.

“Don’t worry. It’s not the outsider. It’s just that a cultivator is dying from a potent poison, and it’s amazing that he’s still alive.”

The frail old man gave the middle-aged man a dissatisfied look.

“Uncle, Brother Lye was just worried, so don’t be too harsh. You may not fear the outsider, but I’m worried about what will happen if countless tribesmen and low-level cultivators get caught up in the fight.”

The woman in the palace attire quickly stepped forward with a smile to defend the giant.

“There’s no need to save face for this old man. Even if the opponent is injured, I can’t do anything about it. But I must find out how that person cultivated so many Gold Devouring Beetles, so there must be other upper realm cultivators staying in other garrisons like me.

When the time comes, we will cast a net, and after the Opening Ceremony, the Saintess and two Great Cultivators will summon an avatar of the Holy Beast using the sacred artifacts. Then, we will be able to search for that person at an incredible speed.”

“I see. No wonder the cultivators who gave the orders haven’t been urging us separately since then.”

The woman in the palace attire breathed a sigh of relief.

“Who doesn’t know that you’re scheming? But I can’t blame you. Even though he’s seriously injured, how can you deal with an enemy that we can’t handle? If there were no Great Cultivators, I wouldn’t be able to hold him back either. You just need to know this fact and pretend to carry out the orders diligently.”

“Yes! Senior!”

“Yes, Uncle!”

The middle-aged giant and the woman in the palace attire answered happily at the old man’s words. They had been worried that their scheming would be discovered, but they were relieved that the senior in front of them had said this.

“Then, did you find anything strange about the cultivator you just discovered? Should I go investigate right away?”

The giant asked the old man.

“That person is…”

The old man paused for a moment and stroked his beard.

“It’s fine. He’s surviving because he took a precious elixir and has a treasure that protects him from poison, so it’s not that strange. Besides, no matter how much he endures, he will die soon. However, it seems that he has a background because he possesses treasures that don’t match his low cultivation. So, rather than letting him die in my territory and causing trouble, it’s better to let him go far away.”

“Yes, I will unconditionally follow your instructions, Senior.”

The giant did his best to please the old man, but the old man ignored him and glanced in another direction, lost in thought.

The old man wasn’t sure if it was a delusion, but he had felt a sense of pressure from the cultivator in the group that had just left the garrison. However, it was so fleeting, and when he checked a second time, there was nothing unusual.

However, the possibility was still open. First, that he had a delusion, and second, that the cultivator’s consciousness far surpassed his own. That meant that the cultivator was the outsider.

However, there was no reason to mention either. If it was a delusion, he would just lose a little face in front of his juniors. But if it was really that person, it would be a big problem.

In front of the middle-aged giant and the woman in the palace attire, he had pretended to want to capture the outsider, but the truth was different. He was one of the many cultivators who had fought him before, so he knew how powerful his divine abilities were and how skilled he was in battle.

The cultivators who had died that day were engulfed in purple flames, and even their Nascent Souls were trapped, meeting a tragic end. Even if he was injured, the old man alone would be as good as dead if he faced him.

‘That’s enough, there are no other Nascent Soul cultivators nearby anyway. Let’s not make a fuss over a strange guess.’

After all, the Great Cultivators and the Saintess would appear soon.

Han Li moved about ten li and only after confirming that no consciousness was following him did he finally feel relieved. Although he was a little relieved, he still didn’t let his guard down and focused on concealing his aura as much as possible.

Only then did he take out the storage pouch of the old man named Feng Chim that he had obtained yesterday and examine it. Among the miscellaneous items, Han Li picked up a small bottle, smelled it, and shook his head. Then, he picked up another bottle and repeated the same action.

Then, Han Li, who had opened a green jade bottle that didn’t look special, was about to identify the contents when a streak of purple aura rose from inside the bottle. He immediately opened his mouth and released a blue aura, instantly enveloping the purple aura.

However, in an instant, the blue aura began to turn black from the inside.

# 501