Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 509

In a secret chamber twenty feet below ground, the lid of a black coffin shifted, and a pale hand emerged from the crack. As the hand pushed the lid open, a man in a yellow robe and jade crown sat up inside.

The man had a refined face that made him look about thirty years old.

“My heart suddenly races, and my body trembles. Has someone been secretly spying on this place?”

The man muttered, cautiously releasing his spiritual sense to search the peaks, but he found no other Nascent Soul cultivators [a high level of cultivator].

“That old geezer who won’t die must have passed by here. The Black Jade Coffin should conceal my corpse aura, so he wouldn’t suspect anything.”

The jade-crowned man lay back down in the coffin, and the lid closed on its own.

On the surface, Han Li followed the guidance of a cultivator in a blue robe, walking towards a large plaza in the center of the manor. There seemed to be about five or six hundred cultivators of various attire gathered there.

The cultivators were bustling about, trading and haggling over prices. Seeing this, Han Li smiled.

It reminded him of the scene at the Tiannan Small Gathering when he first entered the cultivation world. Thinking about that time, he felt a sense of deep emotion.

In the center of the plaza was a large, temporary tent, with a brilliant white light shining above it. Upon closer inspection, it was a magical artifact. The tent was nearly a hundred feet in size, and many cultivators were going in and out.

Turning his head, he saw halls made of blue stone on the left and right sides of the plaza, with several cultivators seemingly active inside.

The qualifications to enter were that one had to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator [a mid-level cultivator] or higher, except for a few low-level disciples from the three families. There even seemed to be about a dozen Core Formation cultivators [a high-mid level cultivator].

This was just an exchange meeting hosted by a few aristocratic families in a corner of Great Jin, yet the number of high-level cultivators gathered here, excluding Nascent Soul cultivators, was similar to the total strength of a decent sect in Tiannan.

According to the guide, the morning was for free trading, and the auction would begin in the afternoon. The exchange meeting was scheduled for three days, and since it was already the second day, the thousand-year-old Ginseng King would be auctioned off tomorrow.

Han Li observed them for a moment and then walked into the plaza.

Although he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator with an unfamiliar face, no one paid him any attention, and he looked quite ordinary as he blended in with the others.

The items sold at the stalls were, as expected, things that Foundation Establishment or Core Formation cultivators would be interested in. Having handled countless rare materials, nothing caught his eye.

The only stall that made him stop was one selling relatively bizarre magical artifacts and materials. However, even after examining a few items, Han Li didn’t feel they were worth researching and moved on.

Not long after, as he was about to head towards the tent after circling the plaza, he suddenly turned around.

Behind him, a gaunt old man with pointed ears was staring at him. He was a cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

“You seem to have been following me for a while. Do you perhaps know me?”

“Please don’t misunderstand. My name is Geum Won. I wasn’t trying to do anything strange, but it’s the first time I’ve seen someone walking around as if they know everything about various items, so I followed you out of curiosity. I’m truly impressed.”

The old man explained with an awkward smile.

“You have a good eye. But I doubt you followed me all this way just to say that.”

“Hehe! You’re right. This old man has a request.”

“Speak.”

Han Li said with his arms crossed and a blank expression.

“I have a treasure, but I can’t figure out its use or origin. Could you appraise it for me? Of course, if you know what it is, I might sell it to you. After all, with your wealth, you must have enough to spare.”

The old man scanned Han Li’s spirit beast pouch and storage pouch, narrowing his eyes and smiling.

‘A treasure?’

“Alright. To show my appreciation for you following me for so long, I’ll take a look at the item. Let’s go into a private room to talk. I also have something I need to look into.”

Han Li nodded and pointed to a side hall.

“A private room? You have to pay a spirit stone, isn’t that too wasteful….”

“I’ll pay the spirit stone. I just hope your treasure is worth it.”

“Don’t worry, cultivator! This old man risked his life to obtain this item.”

Geum Won chuckled. Without another word, Han Li led the old man towards the side hall.

Inside, there was a wide hall, and in the middle, a middle-aged woman in a blue robe was sitting on a cushion with her eyes closed.

At the sound of Han Li and the old man entering, the woman opened her eyes and stood up.

“Did you come to see the techniques and secret arts that this hall possesses? Or do you need a private room?”

The woman smiled at Han Li and the old man.

“We just need a private room.”

“You must pay one spirit stone, and the private room will be reclaimed when you leave.”

The middle-aged woman reached to her waist and took out a small stone chamber a few inches long. Han Li looked at it, took out a spirit stone, gave it to the woman, and received the stone chamber.

“Is this your first time seeing a Heavenly Mechanism Chamber?”

Han Li examined it with interest.

“Yes, it is. Is it a magical artifact?”

Han Li fiddled with the object in his hand, but it didn’t feel heavy at all.

“It is and it isn’t. It’s very easy to use; you just need to inject spiritual energy. The low-level Heavenly Mechanism Chambers can only change in size, so they’re not quite magical artifacts, but the high-level ones can have formations and restrictions, making them comparable to magical treasures. Of course, what we provide is a common one, with no special functions other than soundproofing and preventing observation.”

The woman explained in detail, and Han Li was inwardly surprised. He thought they were just renting out private rooms, but he didn’t expect such a strange item to exist! There was nothing like this in Tiannan.

“Thank you for the explanation.”

Han Li thanked her and walked in the direction she indicated, with Geum Won following closely behind.

“I’m surprised you’ve never seen a Heavenly Mechanism Chamber before. Well, these items are sold exclusively by the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion to mountain cultivators and high-level cultivators who travel far away, so you might not have seen one. Judging by your cultivation, you seem to be a disciple that a certain sect is raising with great care, so why would you buy such a flashy item? It’s expensive, so it’s better to buy a magical artifact or spiritual medicine.”

“About how much do these Heavenly Mechanism Chambers cost? Are they all this shape?”

“If you buy a low-level one, it’s about a hundred spirit stones. If you buy a high-level one, it varies greatly depending on the restrictions and formations. Just know that they’re much more expensive than comparable magical artifacts. The shapes vary. There are towers, pavilions, mansions, and so on. I’ve heard that the top-tier Heavenly Mechanism Chambers can replicate a small cave dwelling, making them extremely convenient.”

The old man rattled off everything he knew as Han Li showed interest.

“A small cave dwelling?”

“Brother Han, it’s best not to dream about it. Such a Heavenly Mechanism Chamber would cost tens of thousands of spirit stones. When would cultivators like us ever have a chance to see one?”

At that moment, about six stone chambers appeared sporadically in front of them. The stone chambers in the side hall were identical in shape to the small stone chamber Han Li held, and they were glowing with a white light.

Han Li subtly used his spiritual sense to examine one of them. As expected, his spiritual sense was blocked by a restriction. It would be easy to break through such a simple restriction, but if he did, the owner of the stone chamber would immediately realize that someone was monitoring them.

After confirming its effectiveness, Han Li injected spiritual power into the small stone chamber in his hand. A blue light flashed from his palm, and the stone chamber became slightly warm. Han Li then threw it into the empty space without hesitation.

Thump!

The white light faded, and a stone chamber several feet in size appeared.

“Brother Geum, please go in.”

Han Li politely gestured to the old man.

“Then this old man will shamelessly go in. I’ve seen Heavenly Mechanism Chambers many times, but I’ve only been inside a handful of times, hehe.”

Geum Won stroked his short beard and chuckled. The old man opened the stone door and went in first, followed by Han Li, who slowly closed the stone door behind him.

The interior wasn’t very large, but it was quite detailed, with a stone table and chairs, and a long bed made of carved blue stone.

Han Li placed his palm on the wall to confirm that the restriction was activated, then sat down opposite the old man.

“First, could you tell me what you want to know?”

The old man suddenly asked seriously.

“It’s nothing much. I’m planning to stay in Gwanryeong Prefecture for a while, and I’d like to know if there are any taboos related to the aristocratic families or sects here. Judging by your accent, you seem to be a local, so I’m asking you.”

“If that’s the case, I should tell you! Not to brag, but if it’s about Gwanryeong Prefecture or even the entire Ryo Province, there’s nothing this old man doesn’t know. What would you like to know first?”

“The host here is said to be the three great families of Gwanryeong Prefecture, so tell me about them. It would also be helpful if you could tell me about any notable recent events.”

“The cultivation families of Gwanryeong Prefecture… Basically, this area is under the influence of the Confucian sect, so most of the large and small families belong to it. However, the four great families of Gwanryeong are different. Except for the Gong family, the other three families have their own traditions.”

“Four great families? Not the three great families of Gwanryeong Prefecture?”

“It’s only been in the last few years that only three families remain in Gwanryeong Prefecture. Until ten years ago, there were four great families. For some reason, the Poong family fell out of favor with the other three families, and their power was completely uprooted overnight, and all their direct descendants were eliminated. I heard that the Poong family had gathered all their direct descendants to discuss some important matter….”

The old man slowly began to tell his story. Han Li sat and compared what the other man was saying with what Poong Ak had told him.

After the story about the four great families, they moved on to the story of the large and small sects of Gwanryeong Prefecture. The old man, who introduced himself as Geum Won, had clearly traveled to many places, and he knew a lot not only about Gwanryeong Prefecture but also about other regions.

Han Li was very satisfied. He was able to grasp the situation of the cultivation world in the Ryo Province at once, and the information was much more detailed than what he had heard from Jo Mongyong.

However, the old man seemed to be a talkative person, and once he started talking, he didn’t stop. He even added his own opinions and interpretations, talking non-stop for a full quarter of an hour before finally stopping with a slightly regretful look.

Han Li seized the opportunity and smiled as brightly as possible.

“Thank you for telling me so much. Shall we take a look at your treasure now?”

“Of course, we should. I’ve been eagerly waiting for you to appraise it, Brother Han.”

The old man carefully took out a jade box from his storage pouch and placed it on the table.

Han Li used his spiritual sense to scan it and was inwardly startled. The object inside the jade box was pushing back his spiritual sense with a strange force. Now he was truly curious about what it was.

Geum Won carefully opened the lid of the jade box, revealing a golden object.

“Please take a closer look.”

Geum Won pushed the jade box towards Han Li. Han Li raised his eyebrows and silently picked up the jade box, bringing it in front of his eyes.

Only then did he see the object in the dim light. It had a golden sheen on its surface, and it was a hollow bubble inside. It didn’t feel like it had any spiritual energy, so it seemed like an ordinary object.

He examined it for a while and then lightly pressed the bubble with his finger, and it caved in. The soft surface felt like it was really a bubble.

Han Li was a little surprised and released his spiritual sense again to envelop it. But the bubble shimmered and pushed back his spiritual sense again. This time, Han Li pushed back even harder, wrapping the bubble with strands of his spiritual sense.

Then, a strange thing happened.

The golden light on the bubble in the jade box flickered, and it began to move, growing and shrinking in an instant. It was like a heart beating strongly.

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