Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 535

Han Li returned the silver bead on the jade dish back into the bottle and spread his five fingers. A purple flame then rose, forming a thin membrane that sealed the bottle’s opening.

He then formed hand seals and chanted incantations, causing the purple light to flash and the flames to spin above the purple membrane. After a short while, a silvery, brilliant chill slowly flowed out of the bottle’s opening, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

As Han Li released a blue magic seal, the purple membrane absorbed it and transformed back into a fist-sized fireball, tightly enveloping the chill.

He closed the bottle cap and pointed at the purple flame, causing the fireball to flash and fly towards Han Li. Han Li opened his mouth and swallowed it, then sat in a lotus position and closed his eyes.

The Nascent Soul [a nascent soul is a stage of cultivation where the cultivator’s soul takes on a physical form] in his dantian [an energy center in the body] opened its clear eyes wide, watching the silver-tinged purple fireball rotating in front of it. It blinked, formed a hand seal, and generated a blue aura from its entire body.

The purple fireball blazed as the Nascent Soul released a magic seal, and the silver light also turned into flames and mixed in.

* * *

Han Li spent a whole day in the room. Although the head of the Taoist temple was a mortal, he had some knowledge of cultivators’ affairs due to his presence in the Taoist sect. He guessed Han Li’s identity and tried not to disturb him.

When Han Li opened his eyes, he looked visibly disappointed.

“To think that the chill within the Cold Marrow cannot be fused with the Purple Aurora Flame. Does it only have to be used as a material?”

As he opened his mouth, a crystal-clear bead popped out and floated in the air. Looking at the Setting Sun Pearl in front of him, he reached out, and a small bottle containing Cold Marrow appeared on his palm.

Using his other hand, he struck the bottle, causing a silver bead to flow out and disappear into the Setting Sun Pearl. Han Li then formed a hand seal and released his spiritual power. The flames enveloped the bead and blazed fiercely.

He watched it quietly before closing his eyes again.

* * *

In the northern part of the Jin Kingdom, inside a magnificent mansion.

A young man wearing a thin blue robe was sitting in a pavilion, admiring the strange flowers and plants around him. The young man’s face was very similar to Han Li’s. The only difference was the cold, emotionless look in his eyes.

At that moment, footsteps were heard at the entrance of the flower garden, and an old man wearing a black official hat and a silk robe appeared. He looked up at the young man’s cold eyes and felt a chill in his heart.

Fortunately, the young man first withdrew his cold aura and said calmly,

“Are you not Cultivator Yun Yi? I thought it was someone else. Did you come to see me?”

“Elder Han, I came here because I heard some interesting news from my disciples who were sent to scout the market recently.”

The old man with the black official hat approached with a hollow laugh.

“You know that I don’t care much about outside affairs and that I don’t have any duties. If there is anything I need to do, please tell Elder Ye.”

The young man turned his head again, looking at the flowering trees around the pavilion, and replied coldly.

“If it were something else, I wouldn’t have bothered Brother Han. However, this news is related to a cultivator.”

“News related to me? Could it be that you found that person?”

“Yes, it is news about that person. I heard that the Yin Fiend Sect [a demonic sect] cultivators are suddenly going around the market in the city, secretly looking for someone, and the portrait they have is the same person that Elder Han mentioned. Please take a look.”

A white jade slip fell from the old man’s sleeve, and the young man in the blue robe received the jade slip and infused it with his consciousness with a stiff face.

“It’s this person. Why is the Yin Fiend Sect chasing after him?”

“I heard that the Yin Fiend Sect suddenly summoned all the Nascent Soul stage elders in the city, but I don’t know if it’s related to this person. You said that a cultivator with the same name as Elder Han was your family’s enemy, so I decided to leave it to you, but please make sure that the auction is not affected, no matter what you do.

There are items that the Ye family must obtain, and Elder Ye does not want any disruptions.”

“If this is accurate, that person will soon disappear by my hand. But I don’t know how many of the demonic artifacts you asked me to find you have obtained. Don’t forget that this is also part of the condition for working for the imperial family and the Ye family.”

Elder Han snorted at the other party’s words and asked.

“Rest assured, we are inquiring about the whereabouts of the demonic artifacts everywhere. Besides, we have already helped you find one, haven’t we? The rest will take some time as they are difficult to find.”

“I only need the Ye family to give me the promised demonic artifacts after 20 years.”

Elder Han’s eyes turned cold again.

“We will definitely keep our promise to Elder Han. Then, please rest now. I will let you know as soon as I get more news about that person.”

The old man smiled awkwardly, cupped his fist, and retreated. The young man watched him leave the flower garden and shook his sleeve, taking out a small, golden sword.

Black energy was swirling around the surface of the sword, but its spirituality had not disappeared, and it was trembling as if it wanted to escape immediately. The black energy was firmly holding onto such a sword.

The young man narrowed his brows and opened his mouth, spitting out crimson blood onto the sword.

*Woong!*

The golden sword howled for a moment, then its spiritual energy immediately dimmed, but it still hummed lowly as if resisting.

“It’s really annoying. How difficult it is to erase the spirituality of a mere item from the mortal realm. If it weren’t refined with Gold Thunder Bamboo, I wouldn’t have put in so much effort.

But since the sword’s owner is in Jin Kingdom, isn’t this an opportunity? If I eliminate that person, I can avenge my grudge and the flying sword will fall into my hands.”

As he revealed his killing intent, the young man’s pupils flickered with black and purple.

* * *

At the same time, in another pavilion of the mansion, two men and a woman were talking around a table.

One of them was the old man with the black official hat who had returned from meeting the young man, and the other man was a middle-aged man with a dignified face and a jade belt around his waist. The woman was the beauty who had appeared at the Huangqing Taoist temple, and she was listening to the old man’s story with a solemn face.

“So, that means Elder Han has agreed.”

The middle-aged man with the angular face spoke as soon as the old man with the black official hat finished speaking.

“That’s right. Moreover, the killing intent he showed as soon as he heard the news of the cultivator with the same name was real. It seems that the word ‘enemy’ is not a lie.”

“But the two people not only have similar names but also similar appearances, and that person even infiltrated the Huangtian Temple where the imperial family’s cultivators reside. I don’t know what his purpose is, but he’s not targeting our Ye family, is he? Isn’t it also strange that the Yin Fiend Sect cultivators are chasing after him?”

The beautiful woman raised her eyebrows.

“I don’t know the situation, but do we need to know? As long as Elder Han is not a spy sent by the Buddhist or Taoist sects and can help our Ye family’s great cause, we don’t need to care about other things.

Elder Han has a high level of cultivation and knows a lot about the ancient times, so he is a necessary person for the grand event in a few years. Therefore, we need to pay attention to the cultivator with the same name as Elder Han. Judging from the fact that the Yin Fiend Sect is chasing after him, there must be something going on. I don’t know if he is targeting our Ye family, but it would be better to help Elder Han eliminate him.”

The middle-aged man with the angular face slammed his hand on the armrest of the chair.

“What the elders said makes sense. But I also feel uneasy about this Elder Han. It seems like he is hiding his true cultivation, and it’s also concerning that he is collecting dangerous killing weapons like demonic artifacts. He is an unpredictable person, so we must not lower our guard.”

The old man with the black official hat suddenly opened his mouth and expressed his thoughts.

“I have a plan for that. We can’t completely trust anyone except the elders from our Ye family. We haven’t shared our plans yet, so Brother Yun Yi, please rest assured. What’s important now is to put the items we want in this auction without other forces noticing! They might interfere or find out about our plans.”

The middle-aged man with the angular face said cautiously.

“Second Uncle, we have prepared for this auction without any errors, so don’t worry. We plan to buy items by bribing inconspicuous cultivators, so no one will know that our Ye family is involved.

If we eliminate them after the auction, there will be even less chance of information leaking out. But what’s going on with the imperial family? The Taiyi Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect are sending Hyun Chil and Chil Myo to the palace.”

The beautiful woman expressed her doubts. The old man with the black official hat also seemed worried, as if he knew about the matter.

“They are coming for the Three Imperial Seals, so don’t worry. A few days ago, we deliberately spread the news to our side that the refining process in each Taoist temple was nearing completion. They probably started to notice what we are refining, so they are trying to pressure us to sell them to the two families.

Since they took the bait, there is no chance that our true plan will be exposed. Still, just in case, I have made sure that the elders who know about the plan do not wander around alone. It would be a big problem if they were caught by those two old devils and had their consciousness probed. Especially Chil Myo Zhenren [a title for a Taoist master] from the Heavenly Demon Sect is skilled in charm techniques, so even Nascent Soul stage cultivators are likely to be ambushed.”

The middle-aged man with the angular face raised his eyebrows and urged.

“I see. That’s a relief, but… the Three Imperial Seals are something we have refined after going through so much hardship, are we just going to give them away like this?”

The old man with the black official hat said as if it was a pity.

“Of course not! If only one side had come, we might have had no choice but to give them away. But unexpectedly, two families have stepped forward, so there is still a chance. We have already made arrangements, so we won’t give them away so easily.”

The old man and the woman did not know the details, but they could not ask further and kept their mouths shut.

* * *

Time passed, and the day of the auction finally arrived.

The Yin Fiend Sect was still searching for Han Li. However, they only searched the market, inns, and places where the cultivators of Jin Kingdom gathered, so there was no way they could find Han Li, who was refining the Setting Sun Pearl and not leaving the Taoist temple.

Early in the morning, Han Li changed his appearance and transformed into a giant with dark skin. He carried a long sword on his back and left the Taoist temple. He lowered his cultivation to the Core Formation stage [a stage of cultivation] to avoid attracting the attention of others.

As expected, the closer he got to the Jinxi Market, the more high-level cultivators he sensed. Most of them were Core Formation stage cultivators, but there were also quite a few Nascent Soul stage cultivators. It seemed that cultivators with some wealth did not want to miss this auction.

After passing through the barrier and entering the market, the streets were filled with cultivators in various attire, and there were many who wore unique clothing.

As he looked around, he noticed several cultivators wearing black clothes watching the cultivators entering the market. Among them was even Gal Tianhu, but Celestial Maiden Tian Lan was not visible.

Han Li frowned, but outwardly he did not care at all and walked towards the main hall. As he took a few steps, someone’s consciousness scanned him, and when they found nothing, they moved on to the next Core Formation stage cultivator.

The Yin Fiend Sect only checked unfamiliar cultivators or those whose identities were not clear, and they did not touch the high-level cultivators of other sects.

They used their consciousness to scan suspicious people, so the Core Formation stage cultivators did not know, but some Nascent Soul stage cultivators felt displeased and glared at the Yin Fiend Sect group or gave them cold looks.

However, the Yin Fiend Sect had not done anything wrong, and since they were a large sect of the Demonic Path, everyone had no choice but to go on their way with unpleasant feelings.

“Elder Gal, I heard that that person is skilled in illusion techniques that can change his appearance. Isn’t it useless to keep watch here?”

“Please be patient. Cultivator Lim, who has some connections with the Heavenly Demon Sect, has borrowed the Myriad Sound Treasure Mirror from Chil Myo Zhenren of the Heavenly Demon Sect. They are currently refining it with all their might, so they will be able to use it freely within two or three days. It would be good if we could find that person right now, but even if we don’t find him, we can at least make him lower his guard. If we use the power of the mirror to search during the last two days of the auction, there is no way he can escape.”

Gal Tianhu explained calmly to the old man with sharp eyes and a fierce expression who was complaining.

“I wondered why the meticulous Elder Gal would do such a useless thing. If things go as planned, we might be able to achieve great merit before the Sect Master and the others arrive.”

“I hope so too.”

Gal Tianhu gave a dry laugh and looked towards the direction of the Treasure Light Hall.

Although he said this, the opponent was not someone to be taken lightly. He was the one who killed the fourth elder, who was at the peak of the Nascent Soul mid-stage, so how could he be dealt with easily?

Gal Tianhu’s face hardened as he thought this.
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