Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 554

“Since you’ve already prepared the demonic energy, I will do my best to assist you.”

“Excellent. Then, everyone, follow me down into the lake. Although this place is secluded, there might be cultivators passing by by chance.”

The square-faced cultivator was the first to jump into the lake. The other cultivators followed suit.

For a while, the surface of the lake rippled before calming down.

* * *

At the Yin-Yang Cave, tens of thousands of miles away from the small lake, Han Li and his group were struggling with a minor obstacle.

While Han Li emitted golden light to fend off the horned ghosts flying from all directions, Old Man Bu and the other cultivators were using various magical treasures to destroy the ghosts.

The Yin ghosts living in the Yin wind were small in size but had sharp teeth and claws, and they did not fear even high-level cultivators. Han Li frowned instead of rejoicing after killing the Yin ghosts.

“Brother Bu, it’s been several days already. We haven’t found any trace of the Yin-Earth Horses, and low-level ghosts formed from condensed Yin energy keep pouring out endlessly.”

The giant reached out and burned a Yin ghost to death with green flames, saying what Han Li wanted to say.

“Don’t be impatient. This underground cave is so vast, and if the Yin-Earth Horses, which are skilled in concealment, were easy to find, it would be strange. We should recover our magical power and search slowly.”

“However, the magical power we consume to withstand the Yin-Yang winds is not insignificant. Even though I am a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator [a high-level cultivator], my magical power will run out in about two months.”

Bai Yaoyi also sighed, looking around.

They were in a huge passage where the surrounding dirt walls shimmered like black crystals, and a much denser wind than at the entrance was blowing, making their hearts uneasy and giving them goosebumps.

Of course, thanks to Old Man Bu’s bead, the power was greatly weakened, but even with the protective barrier, they could not directly touch the black wind. Moreover, numerous ghosts flew through the black wind.

A cold light flashed, and Bai Yaoyi shattered the last ghost by freezing it. Finally, all the ghosts around them disappeared. The Yin-Yang Cave was filled with Yin wind, making it impossible to send their consciousness far, so it was impossible to explore the entire cave.

After walking for a while, the surroundings suddenly darkened, and the passage split into three. The five cultivators stopped abruptly in front of the passages.

“This won’t do. Since the paths keep branching, how about we split up to explore?”

“Split up? But there’s only one Free Spirit Bead… Without the bead’s protection, our magical power consumption will double. Then, the time we can endure inside the Yin-Yang Cave will be reduced accordingly.”

At Han Li’s words, the giant shook his head, looking at the old man’s bead.

“If it’s about the Free Spirit Bead, I can consume my essence blood to share the light of the Free Spirit Bead with you. The power of the Yin-Yang wind will remain the same, and we will only be able to endure for about seven or eight days.”

Old Man Bu said.

“That much time is enough to search the branching paths. However, we must go back to find Fellow Bu before the light of the Free Spirit Bead disappears to maintain the spell, so it would be good to leave marks on each other to know our locations.”

“What if we encounter a high-level ghost while separated?”

Han Li calmly explained his plan. However, Bai Yaoyi frowned, looking worried.

“If a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator cannot handle a ghost alone, it must be at least a Ghost King level, but this is not the real Underworld, so how could such a ghost appear with this level of Yin energy? There were rumors that someone saw a Ghost King, but no cultivator has actually seen one. We have to take this risk, or we will miss the time when the Yin energy weakens.”

The Yuan Clan giant was from the Southern Border and knew the situation of the Yin-Yang Cave well. Old Man Bu and the black-clad woman could not make a decision right away.

For safety, it would be better to stay together, but the Yin-Yang Cave was more vast and complex than expected, and if they did not act separately, the chances of finding the Yin-Earth Horses would be greatly reduced.

Bai Yaoyi seemed to have the same thought and did not object any further.

“Alright, let’s do that. But considering the duration of the Free Spirit Bead, you must not be more than three days away from me.”

“It seems that there is only one main passage in the Yin-Yang Cave. If so, there is no need to go far even if we search separately. Three days is enough.”

Han Li said, seeing that the middle large passage and the small passages on both sides were clearly divided. As soon as he finished speaking, the old man no longer hesitated and spat blood toward his Free Spirit Bead.

Then, the light of the bead flared up. The old man continuously threw in hand seals and waved one hand in the air, and a dazzling light shot out from the purple bead and flew into the old man’s hand.

He held the purple light mass and scanned the remaining four cultivators before reaching out to the black-clad woman next to him first.

A light flashed, and a layer of purple protective barrier was added around the black-clad woman. It was the same as the original protective barrier that protected everyone, only smaller.

The others confirmed that the secret technique was effective, and then they were all enveloped in the Free Spirit Bead in the same way.

They imprinted marks on each other with their magical power and then split into three groups and entered the passages. Old Man Bu naturally formed a group with his junior sister and entered the largest passage in the middle, while the giant and Han Li scattered to the left and right.

Bai Yaoyi hesitated for a moment and then followed Han Li into the right passage. Han Li also felt the palace-dressed woman following him and slowed down to move alongside her.

“Isn’t something strange here? I heard that this place is so dangerous that no one can come out alive, but other than the Yin-Yang wind being a bit annoying, there’s nothing else, is there?”

Bai Yaoyi asked as she walked with Han Li. Her question was a bit unexpected, but Han Li answered with a calm smile.

“I don’t know much about this place, but the reputation of being one of the Great Jin’s Seven Forbidden Lands doesn’t seem to be false. The force of the Yin wind is so fierce that even if cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage were protected by their natal magic treasures, their bodies could be torn to pieces. Even we wouldn’t have lasted long without the Free Spirit Bead. Besides, we’ve only been here for a few days and have only encountered low-level Yin ghosts. If we go deeper, more powerful ghosts will appear.”

“Listening to Fellow Han, I think I was worried for no reason. Ah, the Yin ghosts are coming again.”

Before Bai Yaoyi could finish speaking, seven or eight Yin ghosts suddenly rushed in from somewhere. However, a cold light and a golden light flashed out and instantly eliminated the ghosts.

Han Li and Bai Yaoyi continued to search as they moved forward, but they found nothing. When they returned from the cave, a miserable roar mixed with the Yin wind was suddenly heard.

“What is that?”

“That’s the sound of a Refined Corpse. It seems that a high-level ghost is about to appear.”

“A Refined Corpse?”

They immediately headed towards the sound. But as they turned a corner in the passage, a cave suddenly appeared, and a black wind, much stronger and stranger than before, blew fiercely. And the sound they had just heard became even clearer.

“Huh!”

Bai Yaoyi, who was scanning the inside, gasped as she discovered something stuck in the cave entrance. Something was frozen solid and embedded in the wall. Bai Yaoyi raised her hand and shot out a fireball.

Bang!

The red flames melted the ice, and the object inside finally revealed its identity. It was unexpectedly a blue flying sword.

The moment the ice melted, the flying sword, which still had its spirituality, made a clear sound and began to vibrate faintly while emitting a weak light. Bai Yaoyi flicked her sleeve and released a red rope, and soon the flying sword came into her possession.

Bai Yaoyi held the sword in one hand and swung it, creating a long sword light that cut through the wall.

Crack.

Han Li’s face showed surprise as he saw the deep mark left on the wall.

“It hasn’t lost its spirituality even after being trapped for so long. It seems that its owner put a lot of effort into refining it. Judging by the power of the flying sword, its owner must have been a late-Core Formation cultivator [a mid-level cultivator]. But how did it end up here?”

“May I take a look at it for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Bai Yaoyi smiled and flicked her finger, sending the sword flying to Han Li. Han Li lowered his head and began to examine the sword.

After a while, his expression changed strangely.

“What’s wrong? Did you find something?”

“This sword is refined with Blue Essence Crystal, but the refining method is not very good. If they had mixed in a few other auxiliary materials, it would have been much more powerful. This crude refining method was popular about ten thousand years ago, and now the refining method has been greatly improved. Considering various factors, the owner of the flying sword seems to be a cultivator from tens of thousands of years ago, if not an ancient cultivator.”

“I didn’t know that Fellow Han was so knowledgeable about magic treasure refining.”

“It’s nothing. I just remember seeing it in related scriptures. Shall we go inside and take a look now?”

“Yes, let’s go!”

Bai Yaoyi released a white umbrella-shaped treasure from her hand and entered the cave first. Han Li also created a golden protective barrier with the flying swords circling above his head and quietly followed behind her.

The inside of the cave was pitch black, but the ghosts inside seemed to have noticed the presence of the two cultivators and cried out even more fiercely.

“The space isn’t large.”

Han Li said, floating a white moonstone in front of him and casting a hand seal. Then, light was emitted from the moonstone, making the surroundings as bright as day, but the black Yin wind prevented them from seeing far.

After walking about six or seven yards along the cave, there was another entrance not far away, and a faint green light was emanating from it.

Han Li and Bai Yaoyi exchanged glances.

All the previous caves were filled with Yin energy, and there was no light to be found. The only bright places were where abandoned mineral veins flowed, but they were all worthless minerals.

Bai Yaoyi, who was blocking the front with her umbrella, entered the entrance first. However, the woman’s expression turned pale for a moment as she looked inside. Han Li approached her and looked inside, and his expression also changed.

In the stalactite cave, about thirty yards in diameter, green light flickered from the walls and ceiling, and a thick stone pillar rose in the center. And a dried corpse was bound to the stone pillar with iron chains.

The dried corpse had long white hair and exposed black skin, and its abdomen was torn open, revealing its internal organs.

Bai Yaoyi, as well as Han Li, were puzzled by the strange sight. Just as he was about to speak, the blue flying sword in his hand began to vibrate, humming.

Han Li had a hunch and released it, and it turned into a blue light and circled near the stone pillar.

“It seems that the dried corpse was the owner of the flying sword. It seems that someone extracted his golden core [the core of a cultivator’s power] and took his life.”

Bai Yaoyi sighed.

“He wasn’t just killed, but he was caught in someone’s evil technique and offered as a sacrifice while still alive.”

“Offered as a sacrifice while still alive?”

Bai Yaoyi was surprised and looked around the cave floor, and she could vaguely see the remains of a dozen or so formations. Most of them were covered in dust due to the passage of time, so she had not noticed them.

“I can only know what kind of evil technique it is by examining the formation.”

“That’s easy. I’ll do it.”

At Han Li’s words, Bai Yaoyi smiled and opened her mouth. A small fan carved from ice flew out of her mouth and fluttered towards the cave floor.

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