Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 534

“If he’s the one who killed our Yin Fiend Sect elder and stole our treasures, then even if he’s a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, he deserves to die! But it seems that the Celestial Maiden Tian Lan also has a deep grudge against him. Otherwise, why would Cultivator Ren, as a holy maiden of her clan, stay in the Great Jin for so many years?” Gal Tianhu said with a hollow laugh, implying something.

“If you can kill that person, the Celestial Maiden Holy Temple will guarantee an additional 20% of the conditions promised to your sect. Of course, there is one thing we must retrieve from him first.”

“Let’s make it 30%. Killing someone of that caliber is a big risk for us too. However, regarding the treasures, we will proceed as promised with the Holy Temple beforehand.”

“I accept those conditions.” Ren Yinbing nodded immediately at Gal Tianhu’s words.

“Very well. I hope that as a holy maiden of the Dolol Clan, you won’t go back on your word later. Brother Hu, immediately send a sound transmission talisman [a magical communication device] to all the elders and disciples of the Jin Clan, ordering them to search for that person! Since he appeared in the market, he will surely attend this auction. However, they must move discreetly to avoid attracting the attention of other forces. Also, tell both the low-level disciples and the elders to refrain from engaging him alone. To capture someone like him, we need to lure him into a barrier and attack him all at once.”

Gal Tianhu spoke to another man from the Yin Fiend Sect.

“Should we also inform Sect Master Fang? Wasn’t the Fourth Elder also dispatched by the Sect Master and then killed?”

“I heard that the Great Elder and others are expressing great dissatisfaction with Sect Master Fang because the previous Ghost Banner repair plan went awry, and now the Fourth Elder’s incident has been added to the mix. I also heard that he is in seclusion, refining an important treasure, and even if he rushed here, he wouldn’t arrive before the auction… Still, send him a message. If we fail, we might have to join forces with them to deal with him.”

Gal Tianhu hesitated for a moment at the man’s question before nodding.

* * *

At the same time, Han Li was in a secluded alley, using his spiritual sense [a form of psychic perception] to examine the storage pouch of the emaciated old man. He suddenly stopped walking, and the Great Evolution Divine Lord’s lazy voice echoed in his mind.

“What is it?”

“What could this be? It seems like something I’ve never seen before.”

Han Li turned his palm over and took out a slender, long jade bottle. The bottle, made entirely of cyan jade, was very finely crafted.

Han Li ran his fingertip over the bottle and was startled by the needle-like coldness that pierced him. He shook the bottle, and a sloshing sound came from inside.

“The liquid inside the bottle is strange. I can’t even see inside with my spiritual sense.”

Han Li carefully examined the bottle.

“You can look into it slowly later. This is an alley where ordinary people pass by, so don’t open the bottle carelessly! You’ll only attract attention.”

“Yes.”

Han Li quietly flicked his hand and put the bottle away.

“Now that your identity has been exposed, you must be even more vigilant in Jin City. The Yin Fiend Sect and the Celestial Maiden Holy Temple won’t leave you alone. Moreover, they already know you will participate in the auction and are lying in wait for you.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s unlikely that there will be another mutated spirit beast in Jin City that can see through illusions. As long as I avoid late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, I’ll be fine. This auction is the only chance to gather the remaining materials, so I have to take some risks.”

“Since it’s for gathering materials for the puppet, if things get dangerous, I will also help you using the Great Evolution Divine Needle.”

“Thank you. I’ll feel much more at ease if you do that.”

This was welcome news for Han Li.

* * *

An hour later, Han Li mingled with the ordinary people and returned to the Taoist temple. He chatted with the Taoist priest of the temple before calmly entering his room.

Then, Han Li set up temporary barriers in various places in the room and finally took out the cyan bottle to observe it closely. After a while, he raised his hand and pulled the bottle’s stopper, and a flash of spiritual light made it easy to open.

At the same time, a cold light burst out, and the temperature in the room dropped sharply. Han Li was a cultivator skilled in handling the Purple Aurora Flame, but he still couldn’t help but shiver from the cold.

Startled, he unleashed purple flames all over his body to push back the cold light. A thick layer of ice formed in the room due to the cold light, and if he hadn’t set up a barrier beforehand, it would have been noticeable from outside the room.

It seemed that although the cold light was not as powerful as the Purple Aurora Flame, it was similar in power to the Azure Glacial Flame. Han Li grabbed the bottle with his hand covered in purple flames and shook it, and another stream of cold light leaked out.

Again, the ice in the room became thicker, and Han Li examined the white energy emanating from the bottle with his blue eyes.

“This is like…! Take out just one drop and put it on a jade plate to show me.”

Suddenly, the Great Evolution Divine Lord’s voice was heard. Han Li did not hesitate and took out a palm-sized jade plate from his storage pouch and slightly tilted the bottle.

Clink.

A silver liquid dripped down, making a clear sound, and turned into a silver bead on the jade plate, rolling around. Unexpectedly, the silver bead did not feel cold.

“I was right! It’s Cold Marrow, only obtainable from ten-thousand-year-old mystic jade!”

“I think I’ve heard of ten-thousand-year-old mystic jade, but what is Cold Marrow?”

“Cold Marrow is a type of jade marrow, a material for refining pills or making magic treasures. However, Cold Marrow can only be extracted from ten-thousand-year-old mystic jade. If my memory serves me right, I heard that only one bottle has been passed down through generations in the Northern Night Small Palace, located in the northwest of the Great Jin… That’s right, the Setting Sun Pearl you refined was actually made by refining ten-thousand-year-old mystic jade.”

“If it’s that rare, it must have a special use.”

Han Li stared at the silver bead on the jade plate.

“Most of us human cultivators only consider it a top-grade material for refining pills, but the demon clans would risk their lives to obtain it. It can help demon beasts overcome the lightning tribulation [a trial by lightning] they must endure to transform into human form.”

“The demon clans have to go through a lightning tribulation to transform?” Han Li was stunned by this information he had never heard before.

“Yes. There are countless high-level demon beasts in the world, but only a very few that reach the seventh level or higher can successfully overcome the transformation lightning tribulation. After all, the power of thunder is incompatible with most demon beasts. If a demon beast consumes and refines a bead made of Cold Marrow before undergoing the tribulation, it can protect its body to some extent from the power of lightning for a certain period. So, how great of a treasure would it be for demon beasts? Although few human cultivators in the cultivation world know this fact, I used to find the cold-attribute techniques of the Northern Night Small Palace strange and fought with high-level cultivators a few times.

According to what I learned then, every thousand years or so, high-level demon beasts in the Great Jin region secretly gather on the Northern Underworld Island, where the Northern Night Small Palace is located, and engage in life-or-death battles. It’s because they hope that the cultivators of the palace will release at least a little Cold Marrow.”

“Does such a thing happen?”

“It’s not strange. If they undergo the transformation lightning tribulation without Cold Marrow, they are almost certain to die. Moreover, when the time comes, the old monsters of the Myriad Demon Valley will also take the lead, and even if the attack fails, the demon beasts won’t suffer much loss. Of course, the Northern Night Small Palace also has powerful barriers left by ancient cultivators, and there is a cold eye on the island where a yin meridian flows, so the area within ten thousand miles is filled with bone-chilling cold. Demon beasts that have not mastered cold-attribute techniques use most of their power to resist the cold, so they cannot fully exert their strength.

That’s why, even though the demon beasts rush in with great momentum every time, they have never been able to capture the Northern Underworld Island. But how did that guy possess such a precious liquid? Check if there are any special markings on the bottle.”

“There is. There’s a snowflake pattern on the bottom of the bottle. Is that what you’re talking about?”

“That’s the mark of the Northern Underworld Island. It seems that this bottle is indeed Cold Marrow from the Northern Night Small Palace. But how did an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator possess it! And to just leave it in a storage pouch like that, it’s strange.”

The Great Evolution Divine Lord seemed completely puzzled.

“There are many strange things in this world. Maybe someone stole it, or someone from inside the Northern Underworld Island smuggled it out and he obtained it later. But if it’s only used as a material for refining magic treasures or pills for human cultivators, why have the cultivators of the Northern Night Small Palace protected it from the demon beasts for so long?”

“Some cultivators in the Great Jin have also wondered about that! Officially, they announced that it was to suppress the number of demon clans above the eighth level for the sake of the cultivation world’s peace. One bottle of Cold Marrow could give rise to dozens of eighth-level demon clans, which would create great chaos by forming a force comparable to the Great Jin cultivation world. However, this explanation was just a smokescreen to deceive other cultivators. I once had a fight with someone who was probably the vice palace master of the Northern Night Small Palace, and he had a very bad habit of talking. After killing him and using a soul-searching technique to teach him a lesson, I inadvertently learned a secret about Cold Marrow.”

The Great Evolution Divine Lord paused for a moment, reminiscing about that time.

“A secret…?”

“I probably would have completely forgotten about it if I hadn’t seen the Cold Marrow today. Only a few people in the Northern Night Small Palace know about this matter. In fact, the best way to use Cold Marrow is to refine the ancient elixir, the Yang Return Water.”

“Yang Return Water, the elixir that can regrow bones and flesh, the one that revives the body!”

Han Li gasped at the Great Evolution Divine Lord’s solemn voice.

“No matter how severely injured you are, even if your body is torn apart, or your head and neck are separated, if you apply this elixir to the wound, it will heal instantly! Some scriptures even say that it has the power to revive the dying. Of course, these are just stories passed down, so it’s not certain if they are true, but it is commonly mentioned in various scriptures that Yang Return Water has the effect of extending a cultivator’s lifespan. It increases one’s original lifespan by a quarter, do you understand what this means?”

“That means a Core Formation cultivator can reach the Nascent Soul stage, and a Nascent Soul cultivator can open the path to the Spirit Transformation stage,” Han Li muttered, sighing.

“Of course, Cold Marrow is only one of the main ingredients for refining Yang Return Water. To truly refine it, you need the Solar True Fire, which can be found under ten-thousand-zhang [a unit of measurement] lava. Only Cold Marrow tempered with Solar True Fire can achieve the balance of yin and yang to refine Yang Return Water. Otherwise, you’ll just waste the precious Cold Marrow.”

“Where can we find Solar True Fire? How long can an ordinary cultivator last in ten-thousand-zhang lava? The chances of Solar True Fire forming inside are low, and the chances of finding one that roams freely are even lower. Moreover, even if we gather all the materials, it’s useless if we don’t know how to refine Yang Return Water.”

Han Li said self-deprecatingly, and the Great Evolution Divine Lord paused for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t know how to obtain Solar True Fire either. But I do know how to refine Yang Return Water. Have you forgotten that I killed the vice palace master of the Northern Night Small Palace? I discovered the refining method in his consciousness and recorded it. I’ll give it to you if you need it.”

“It’s fortunate that you know the refining method! Then please tell me quickly. You never know when it might come in handy.”

Han Li was delighted by the Great Evolution Divine Lord’s words. If he could refine Yang Return Water, his chances of reaching the Spirit Transformation stage would greatly increase!

“Solar True Fire is not something human cultivators can obtain, so don’t have too much hope. Otherwise, why would the Spirit Transformation cultivators of the Northern Night Small Palace leave the Cold Marrow behind?”

The Great Evolution Divine Lord gave a few words of advice and threw a yellow jade slip from his bamboo tube. He had copied the Yang Return Water refining method in a short time.

“Thank you! I’m just trying to be prepared for any situation, so don’t worry.”

Han Li took the jade slip and grinned.

“Since your Setting Sun Pearl was also made by refining ten-thousand-year-old mystic jade, injecting a few drops of Cold Marrow will greatly increase the power of the magic treasure.”

With this, the Great Evolution Divine Lord fell silent.

Even if the Great Evolution Divine Lord hadn’t mentioned it, he was planning to do so, but he was more curious about whether it could be used elsewhere. Since the coldness of the Cold Marrow was so great, he wanted to know if it could be fused with the Purple Aurora Flame to increase its power.