Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 538

In the void about a hundred miles from the underground trade fair, Gal Cheon-ho, exuding black energy, was holding someone’s head with a ferocious expression. It seemed he was using a soul-searching technique to delve into the person’s memories.

The cultivator’s face was contorted, eyes rolled back, and his whole body trembled. Beside him, Im Eun-byeong and a cultivator in golden monastic robes stood expressionlessly.

After a while, the cultivator undergoing the soul-search convulsed, then bled blackish-red blood from his nose and ears, completely losing consciousness. Gal Cheon-ho narrowed his brow, then created black flames in his hand, turning the man to ashes.

“Did you find out this person’s identity? Why were they secretly following us?”

Im Eun-byeong bombarded him with questions as soon as he finished the soul-search.

“He’s a cultivator from the Yeop family.”

“The Yeop family? You mean the Yeop clan, who are part of the imperial family?”

“You’ll be even more surprised to know who sent him. Unexpectedly, there’s an elder in the Yeop family who looks similar to the person we’re pursuing.”

“Then, could they be the same person? How did they end up in the Yeop family…?”

“That’s not certain yet. The person I used the soul-search on was just a hired hand from the Yeop family. However, whether they are the same person or not, there’s definitely a deep connection. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to follow us. If that person is really an elder of the Yeop family, things will get a bit difficult.”

“Is the imperial family’s power that great? From what I remember, the Yeop family is just a clan established by various sects. Are they that difficult to deal with?”

Im Eun-byeong chuckled softly.

“The Yeop family is different from ordinary cultivation clans. They are the imperial family of Daejin and the largest clan, with more than six or seven Nascent Soul stage elders [a high level of cultivation]. Moreover, they secretly gather cultivators and expand their power, so they are comparable to any cultivation sect.

Even the hired hand we just caught wasn’t very high in cultivation, but the flags he wielded were extraordinary. If it weren’t for Im Fellow Daoist’s Myoeum True Mirror, we wouldn’t have known how far they would have followed us.”

“I had a strange feeling since the market, and with the Myoeum True Mirror, there was no way we could miss them. So, what are you going to do now, Brother Gal? Surely you’re not planning to break your promise with the Holy Temple?”

“It’s true that the Yeop family’s power is strong, but it’s not enough to make our Yin Fiend Sect fear them. Besides, this matter involves our sect’s treasure and the life of a law enforcement elder, so even if that person is an elder of the Yeop family, we have to settle things. Im Fellow Daoist, you can rest assured. It’s almost time, so let’s go to the trade fair first.”

Gal Cheon-ho raised his head to check the direction and then spoke.

“I feel relieved to hear you say that.”

Im Eun-byeong nodded. The three cultivators then turned into streaks of light and left the area. Not long after they disappeared, a black light flashed in the void, and a young man in a blue robe appeared.

“The Yin Fiend Sect and the Heavenly Orchid Holy Temple have joined hands. Good, I’ll let you live for now, so help me find that guy. I’ll settle our previous grudges later.”

The young man muttered to himself, then his figure flickered and disappeared.

* * *

Han Li was surrounded by a green protective barrier, looking around with a wry smile.

He was now inside a dark hall, with four to five hundred seats arranged around a circular open space in the middle.

To enter this place, he had to receive a specially made talisman from a masked cultivator, attach it to his body, and pass through a small teleportation array. But surprisingly, as soon as he arrived here, the surroundings were covered in green light.

Startled, Han Li looked around and realized that dozens of cultivators were covered in various colors of light, making their faces impossible to see.

Curious, he took a seat in a corner and tried to spread his spiritual sense, but the various colors of light easily blocked his senses. Although he wasn’t using his full power, it didn’t seem like it would make a difference even if he focused.

As Han Li scanned the hall with his spiritual sense, he could indeed detect a strange formation. It wasn’t a powerful restriction, but an energy that resonated with the light surrounding the cultivators.

He didn’t know what kind of formation was used, but it seemed that the talismans each person had attached to themselves activated automatically when they entered the formation. Since this was a secret underground trade fair, it seemed to be a consideration for the participating cultivators.

With that, Han Li relaxed and placed the disc-shaped magic tool on the table, closing his eyes. He had been worried that the Yin Fiend Sect cultivators might also come to the underground trade fair.

As time passed, the number of cultivators entering increased.

When he opened his eyes, there were already over two hundred cultivators in the hall, and a pure white jade table had been placed in the open space in the middle.

Soon, the jade table began to glow, and a human figure surrounded by white light appeared.

“It’s time, let’s begin the trade fair.”

The figure in the white light looked around and flicked his sleeves, causing bulging storage pouches to spill onto the table. The cultivators’ eyes immediately grew more intense.

“This trade fair, like before, will focus on various rare materials. Of course, if there are truly rare ancient treasures or magic treasures, they can also be traded!

As is customary, the materials we provide can be purchased with spirit stones, but the items that the cultivators bring out later can only be traded. However, in the case of the enormous treasure we have been entrusted with this time, we will trade it for some hard-to-find materials, and if no one has such materials, we will auction it off.”

“What kind of enormous treasure are you talking about? Is it a material, a pill, or an ancient treasure? Please tell us. If we use something that could be traded for it elsewhere, wouldn’t that be a waste?”

Someone asked loudly.

“I can only say that it is a truly hard-to-find item. The items that can be traded for it are not things that cultivators would normally use for trade, so you don’t have to worry.”

His confident words piqued everyone’s curiosity, but no one asked any more questions. The cultivator pointed to one of the storage pouches, and a black light flashed, revealing a black fruit shaped like a jujube in his palm.

“This is an Yin Jujube. It’s a three-hundred-year-old fruit that grew from the tomb of someone born in an Yin year, Yin month, and Yin day [referring to specific times in the Chinese calendar], refined for 49 days using a secret technique that utilizes the energy of vengeful spirits. The starting price is 100,000 spirit stones, and the price can be increased by 5,000 or more each time.”

As soon as the cultivator in the white light spoke, Han Li felt a chill in his heart.

“120,000.”

“140,000.”

“145,000!”

For a material called Yin Jujube, which Han Li had never heard of, the cultivators began to compete fiercely, raising the price. Most of them seemed to be filled with dark energy, so it seemed to be a material used by demonic cultivators.

In the end, the Yin Jujube was sold for 190,000 spirit stones.

“This is Blood Yang Iron. It’s made by fusing the nascent soul [the core of a cultivator’s power] of a cultivator who uses a fire-attribute technique with iron under the scorching sun by three cultivators at the Core Formation stage or higher. It’s an excellent material for refining fire-attribute magic treasures. The starting price is 150,000 spirit stones, and the price can be increased by 10,000 or more each time.”

“180,000.”

“200,000!”

This time, it was a material that Han Li had heard of. Although there weren’t many cultivators who wanted Blood Yang Iron, they all raised the price because they needed it, and it eventually sold for an astonishing price of 250,000 spirit stones.

“Ghostly Grass…”

Items that exuded a sinister aura just by their names appeared one after another, and the cultivators bought them at high prices. The situation at the underground trade fair was indeed extraordinary.

Han Li could only smile wryly as he touched his storage pouch. For the first time, he was worried that he didn’t have enough spirit stones.

“This is Jade Rubber. It’s produced once every thousand years by the Jade Rubber Tree, a spiritual creature of heaven and earth, and it’s needed to make strange magic treasures or puppets. The starting price is 120,000 spirit stones, and the price can be increased by 5,000…”

“150,000.”

The moment the cultivator in the white light took out a white, glue-like item, Han Li’s eyes flashed, and he offered a price.

Few cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage were interested in refining puppets or strange magic treasures. So, Han Li was able to easily obtain the Jade Rubber for 170,000 spirit stones after competing with only three or four people.

Among the items that came out later, there were two that Han Li needed. He spent 190,000 and 310,000 spirit stones respectively to win the bids.

The latter was a very famous material for refining magic treasures, so many cultivators rushed to get it, and he barely managed to obtain it.

With this, Han Li had used up almost all of his spirit stones. Fortunately, no more materials needed for puppet refining came out, so he was relieved.

After the auction of the last item, all the storage pouches on the jade table were empty. The cultivator in the white light, seemingly pleased with the results of this trade fair, smiled lightly and said,

“The trade fair is now over. Now, cultivators can submit the items they wish to trade here. I would like to remind you in advance that we are not responsible if you choose the wrong items or trade fake items.

Also, as per the rules, whether you trade one item or several items at once, you must pay 10,000 spirit stones per person if the trade is successful. Now, do as you please! As long as you follow the rules, this old man will only watch, no matter what happens.”

The cultivator spoke a few words, then his figure flickered and moved to the outside of the open space, sitting down in a cross-legged position. Although he couldn’t be seen because of the white light, he must have closed his eyes and entered meditation.

Nevertheless, everyone was not surprised, and several streaks of light moved simultaneously. Eventually, a cultivator who arrived faster than the others, enveloped in red light, approached the back of the jade table and clasped his hands.

“Since I arrived first, please wait a moment, everyone else.”

The other streaks of light turned back to their original positions. Han Li chuckled at the sight. It was advantageous to trade quickly if you wanted the materials you needed.

However, it was rare for someone else to trade for the materials he needed first. This was because what was a rare material for him was often an unnecessary material for others.

The materials Han Li wanted were particularly rare, but they were not commonly used materials, so he wasn’t too worried.

Indeed, the cultivator in the red light brought out some rare materials and wanted to trade them for other materials needed to refine pills.

After a while, several cultivators traded for some of them, and the cultivator in the red light retreated with a satisfied expression. After that, several others successfully traded in a similar manner.

However, when a cultivator in yellow light presented a fist-sized navy blue metal and asked to trade it for a water-attribute material that Han Li had never heard of, no one stepped forward. The cultivator had no choice but to retreat from his spot, looking dejected.

Starting with him, cultivators who failed to trade began to appear occasionally, and after thirty or forty people had stepped forward, it became rare for anyone to succeed.

Of course, some found the materials they wanted, but they didn’t have anything to trade, so they secretly negotiated to exchange them for other treasures. Most were rejected, and only a few were lucky. Fortunately, Han Li was among the lucky ones.

Han Li’s strategy was simple. He used rare thousand-year-old spiritual herbs and some high-grade demon pills to trade for the materials he wanted. These two items were needed by most cultivators, and although they could sometimes be obtained through auctions, it was difficult to obtain large quantities at once.
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