Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 54

Knowing their good intentions, why would he refuse such a good opportunity? He also needed a place to shelter from the wind and rain, so this gathering wasn’t bad. However, Han-lip needed to resolve one question before he could feel at ease and join this group.

“As you all have seen, I am indeed a wandering cultivator. But before joining the group, could you introduce yourselves? Also, are there any duties I would have if I join?”

When Han-lip revealed that he was also a wandering cultivator, the faces of several people brightened.

“It seems that you are still worried, Brother Han. Haha! Of course, you would be. Others also asked similar questions before joining the group.”

The Taoist and the others didn’t show any displeasure at Han-lip’s words; instead, they looked at each other and burst into laughter. Only then did the Taoist speak.

“Let me introduce everyone. These two are brothers, Heuk-mu and Heuk-jin from the Azure Wolf Ridge.”

The Taoist began the introductions. As the two men bowed towards Han-lip, Han-lip also returned their greeting.

“These are the Crimson Lotus Hermit from the Flying Lotus Cave and the Bitter Mulberry Great Master from the Bodhi Dew Mountain.”

His gaze shifted to a plain-looking young woman and a monk with a weary expression.

“As for these two…”

“We are from the Heavenly Water Fortress; my husband is Ho Pyung-go, and I am Woong Dae-ryuk,”

The woman who had spoken earlier smiled and revealed their identities before the Taoist could introduce the couple.

Even though she had interrupted him, the Taoist didn’t seem displeased at all and simply smiled calmly.

“This humble Taoist is Gwae-dan Taoist of the Green Ox Temple on Crouching Ox Mountain, and my Taoist name is Song-moon. Haha, I was the one who first started this group, and for a while, I am leading the group at the request of others. However, I generally do not issue any orders and will only step in to resolve disputes that arise from outside.”

The Taoist humbly introduced himself last. With his spirit and generosity, the Taoist seemed like a good person. Moreover, they seemed to have strong cultivation power, possessing around the 7th or 8th level of the Eternal Spring Art [a cultivation technique].

The Taoist named Song-moon was even more impressive, not as strong as the old man he had met before, but much stronger than himself. Even after a brief internal assessment, Han-lip concluded that there was no harm in joining them.

“Since we are all wandering cultivators, and it seems easier to handle things together, I will join you for a while.”

“Great. If Brother Han joins us, our group will become even stronger.”

Taoist Song-moon was pleased with Han-lip’s words. They had assessed that Han-lip’s cultivation power was not low, so they thought he would be helpful.

“Then, are the people here all the members of the group?”

“There are two more; one is sleeping in the room, and the other went to look around elsewhere.”

Ho Pyung-go pouted, as if she didn’t like the two of them.

“They are not that strange as Madam Ho says; one just likes to sleep a bit, and the other just likes to play around.”

The bald-headed monk explained on behalf of the two.

“You…”

Ho Pyung-go seemed displeased that the monk named Go-sang had said that and was about to add something more.

“That’s enough. Everyone, don’t argue. Anyway, we agreed to fight together when there are conflicts with external forces, but otherwise, we agreed to act freely.”

Taoist Song-moon quickly resolved the situation. Although Madam Ho seemed a bit displeased, she didn’t act recklessly. Taoist Song-moon was the strongest, so she needed to save his face.

“When we gather in the evening, I will introduce the two of them to Brother Han. Those two are indeed quite unique.”

The Taoist also said, as if there was nothing he could do about it. Han-lip became curious at his expression, but he didn’t press further.

Then, Taoist Song-moon asked for Han-lip’s opinion on whether he would travel alone or with them.

Han-lip naturally chose to explore a bit more on his own. Anyone who had just entered the Tae-nam Valley would be curious about this place, and most would want to take some time to look around alone. And most would return to the group after they had finished exploring.

The Taoist, fulfilling his responsibilities, explained to Han-lip the actions and customs to avoid in the small gathering and then handed him a talisman.

He pointed to the lower floor of the pavilion and told him that it was their lodging and to come there to rest if he was tired. He explained that the talisman was the key to unlock the formation on that floor.

After that, they left Han-lip. It was unknown whether they had left to find another wandering cultivator.

While watching their retreating figures, Han-lip’s gaze turned to the talisman. The yellow talisman was shining with a silver light, and an unreadable incantation was written on it. He took a deep breath again and smiled lightly. After carefully folding the talisman and putting it in his pocket, he walked towards the plaza again.

After entering the plaza, he looked at the items on the stalls on both sides, like the other cultivators. According to Taoist Song-moon, there were generally two types of transactions between cultivators.

The first was a primitive method of exchanging items for items, where cultivators would exchange unnecessary items for items they needed. Therefore, there were often cases where no transactions would occur even after setting up a stall for several days.

The second method was a more popular method of using spirit stones as currency for transactions.

As the name suggests, spirit stones were stones filled with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The spiritual energy they contained was helpful for cultivators’ training.

Normally, when sitting in a meditative posture and practicing cultivation, absorbing the spiritual energy of spirit stones would greatly accelerate the cultivator’s training speed.

How a cultivator would transform the scattered spiritual energy they absorbed into pure spiritual energy was another matter. However, this was not the main use of spirit stones. Spirit stones were mainly used to set up formations or to cast spells.

Whether a high-level formation would succeed or not, or how powerful it would be, depended greatly on what kind of spirit stones were used. Good spirit stones not only guaranteed the success of the formation but also greatly amplified its effects.

Moreover, more spirit stones were used to cast spells than in the case of formations. When a cultivator cast a spell, its level and effectiveness generally depended on their own cultivation level. Usually, high-level spells that exceeded one’s own abilities could not be used, so spirit stones, which were amplifiers of cultivation power, were of great help.

If a cultivator held a spirit stone while casting a spell, it would continuously replenish the cultivation power that the cultivator was consuming, allowing them to continue casting the spell.

Thus, it became an important tool in battles between cultivators, and it also helped to restore their original cultivation power when it was depleted. Due to the practicality and mysterious efficacy of spirit stones, their price had been constantly rising.

However, due to the excessive mining of spirit stones, the spirit stone veins were dwindling day by day, and today, spirit stones had become rare luxury items in the cultivation world. They were also the best items for transactions between cultivators, and they were the unique currency of cultivators, so they were classified in detail according to their standards and grades.

They were divided into four grades according to the level of spiritual energy contained in the spirit stones. There were four types: low-grade spirit stones, which contained the least cultivation power, followed by mid-grade spirit stones, high-grade spirit stones, and top-grade spirit stones.

They were further divided according to the spiritual energy attributes of the spirit stones. There were five main types: metal spirit stones, wood spirit stones, water spirit stones, earth spirit stones, and fire spirit stones, as well as rarer types such as wind spirit stones and lightning spirit stones.

Since he had nothing to trade, he looked around with the intention of developing his eye for things from the beginning. Although he looked very calm on the outside, the items on the stalls shook Han-lip’s heart.

Not to mention anything else, every shop was filled with talismans. These items were common, but they were what Han-lip needed most right now.

Even if they were low-grade lower realm talismans, they would be enough to cast the Mind Stabilizing Technique. So, if he could get those talismans, he could immediately use another spell to increase his strength. And besides these talismans, he was also equally tempted by various colorful spirit talismans such as the Lightning Fire Talisman, the Fire Dragon Talisman, and the Giant Strength Talisman.

He even found a spirit talisman that looked exactly like his own talisman that created the Golden Shield at a seemingly unremarkable stall.

The price tag next to it read, ‘Diamond Talisman. Low-grade mid-realm defensive talisman, price: nine low-grade spirit stones.’

He went around several stalls and roughly grasped the prices of these talismans. A bundle of low-grade lower realm blank talismans could be bought for one spirit stone. And the refined low-grade lower realm talismans could be purchased for one or two low-grade spirit stones each, depending on the type of spell.

And the mid-realm spirit talismans required six or ten spirit stones, and defensive talismans were sold at a higher price than offensive ones.

Although he didn’t have such items, he had to remember them. After carefully observing the Diamond Talisman at the stall, he realized that its spiritual energy was more abundant than his own. It was clearly a new, unused product, and his old talisman would probably sell for about a third of its price.

After finishing this calculation, Han-lip felt a pang in his heart. Among the cultivators, he was no different from a pauper. As he regretfully stroked the items he had in his pocket, a spirit talisman with a sword drawn on it came to mind.

Even though he didn’t know the name of the talisman, he thought it would definitely be more expensive than the Diamond Talisman.

After that, Han-lip carefully looked for anything similar to that talisman when he looked at the stalls. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a similar type even after going around several stalls. When he reached a stall surrounded by about six people, someone was selling a low-grade high-realm spirit talisman.

Next to the spirit talisman, it was written, ‘Flying Heaven Talisman. Wind attribute low-grade upper realm flying type talisman. Price: thirty low-grade spirit stones or elixirs that replenish vital energy of similar value.’

Han-lip also stopped in front of it after seeing this. It was the first upper realm low-grade spirit talisman he had found. After observing it closely, the spiritual energy on the spirit talisman was incomparable to that of the lower or mid-realm spirit talismans.

“I have two types of elixirs; I don’t know if they will meet your requirements.”

Han-lip finished speaking and presented small bottles with blue and navy colors to the young man. Then, the young man opened the bottle caps, savored the scent, and seemed to be lost in thought.

“How is it?”

“To be honest, the elixirs you gave are better than the ones others brought earlier, but they are still not enough for me.”

The young man hesitated and eventually shook his head. It was a refusal.

Han-lip was greatly disappointed inside at the young man’s words, but he wasn’t too surprised. In fact, the Yellow Dragon Pill and the Golden Ring were ultimately worldly medicines. They were miraculous elixirs for ordinary people, but the difference was clear for cultivators.

Han-lip reached out his hand to take back the medicine bottles, intending to leave.

“If only there were a few more of these elixirs, I would have traded them…”

At that moment, the young man suddenly spoke with a regretful expression. Hearing his words, Han-lip brought back his outstretched arm and smiled.

“When did I say that I only had these two bottles?”

“You have more?”

The young man’s expression changed to one of joy as Han-lip spoke leisurely while looking at him.

“That’s right. But if you want too many, I might have to reconsider this deal.”

“That’s great! I don’t need too many, just give me three more bottles.”

When Han-lip didn’t immediately state the quantity and hesitated, the young man became excited and enthusiastically suggested a specific quantity. It was a completely opposite attitude from his cold one just a moment ago.

How could anyone willingly give away elixirs that cultivated vital energy and helped in the advancement of cultivation techniques?

They were not enough even for their own use! This was one of the main reasons why this young man had not been able to trade the flying talisman for several days.
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