Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 626

The moment the red flames touched the milky white cold light, they instantly absorbed the cold’s energy. Han Li inwardly rejoiced.

The Taiyin True Flame was indeed one of the three great spirit flames, just as Eunwol had described. Although it was only a single strand and its power couldn’t compare to the Violet Zenith Flame, its ability to absorb things seemed far superior.

Confirming that the Taiyin True Flame was the natural counter to the cold light of the Mystic Jade Cave, he felt much relieved.

After a moment of contemplation, he secretly moved his hands behind his back and flicked his fingers. Several strands of crimson flame seeped into the cold light and disappeared without a trace.

The blue-robed middle-aged man seemed to sense something and turned to look at Han Li. Han Li was startled but casually asked,

“Is there something you wish to say to me?”

The middle-aged man in the blue robe carefully examined Han Li and the surrounding cave walls but found nothing amiss.

“No, it’s nothing. I was just checking to see if Fellow Han was following safely. It’s quite inconvenient to have my senses restricted.”

The middle-aged man, whose surname was Gu Yang, knew that Han Li’s abilities were not ordinary, so he couldn’t completely dismiss his suspicions, but he couldn’t openly express them either.

“I was following just fine. I was just a bit delayed because I was examining the strange cold energy around here.”

“The Mystic Jade Cave has been passed down since ancient times, so it’s no surprise that its cold energy is different from the norm.”

The blue-robed middle-aged man attacked the cold energy with his black flames, and a crackling sound was heard. Han Li was about to reply with a smile when his expression suddenly changed.

They were descending deeper into the underground cave, and it opened into a plaza several hundred feet wide, cluttered with piles of rocks. On one side of the rock pile was a bright red stone building with four walls that seemed to lead somewhere.

The Mystic Jade Cold Energy here was several times stronger than before, and a huge sphere of white cold energy, formed by the condensation of the cold, pulsed atop a natural stone pillar at the center of the rock pile.

Only after a careful examination did Han Li realize that the mystic jade embedded in the stone pillar was of higher quality than the ores he had seen at the entrance. Calming his surprise, Han Li followed the others.

“This is perfect. I was wondering how to gather the cold energy inside the cave, but it’s naturally concentrated here, saving us a lot of trouble.”

Merchant Han Ryeo laughed loudly as he looked at the stone pillar, then flicked his sleeve, sending a blue ice pick towards the milky white sphere of light.

Clang!

A metallic collision sound was heard, and the ice pick shattered into pieces and disappeared.

“As expected!”

Merchant Han Ryeo was rather pleased with the result.

“Right, can everyone see that stone building? It’s made from carved Solar Essence Stones, the only place where the Mystic Jade Cold Energy cannot penetrate. Let’s go inside and rest while I tell you the taboos you must observe in the Mystic Jade Cave. If you make a mistake, you could face disaster.”

“Disaster? What do you mean?”

The old woman’s face hardened as she tapped the ground with her staff.

“In the Mystic Jade Cave, there are more things to be wary of than just the cold energy emanating from the Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Jade. First of all, you cannot take pieces of the Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Jade. Ancient cultivators used an unknown divine power to condense it into one piece, and over the long years, it has almost become one with the cold energy here.

If that weren’t the case, my palace would have mined it first, instead of leaving it piled up like this. If we could mine all the mystic jade here and refine it into treasures, my disciples’ cultivation would improve by leaps and bounds, and we would become a force comparable to the Taiyi Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect, wouldn’t we?”

The blue-robed middle-aged man said with a regretful expression.

“So, there’s no way to obtain it?”

“If you doubt me, Madam Yong, you can try it yourself. Then you’ll immediately see that what Fellow Gu Yang said is not false.”

The old woman frowned as if she couldn’t believe it, and Merchant Han Ryeo smiled.

“Oh, really? This old one is curious about the result, so I’ll give it a try.”

The old woman suddenly raised her staff and aimed it at a bean-sized piece of mystic jade in the rock pile. Then, a yellow light was emitted from the tip of the staff, attacking the mystic jade.

Thud!

The mystic jade flashed, but it was as if nothing had happened, and it remained intact. The old woman’s expression darkened, and her face became grim. This time, she took out an antique blue hammer from her sleeve.

Following her movements, the hammer struck the mystic jade like lightning.

Bang!

This time, a loud explosion was heard as the blue light collided with the mystic jade, but again, the mystic jade only flashed and remained unscathed. The old woman’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Fellow Yong, please don’t be surprised. No matter how powerful a treasure you use to try to take it, the mystic jade will only break, not be mined.”

Looking at Merchant Han Ryeo’s smiling face, the monk beside him asked,

“If that’s the case, your palace wouldn’t have much mystic jade to use either, so isn’t your promise to give us each a piece too generous?”

“Thank you for your concern, Great Master Magu, but even though my palace cannot mine large quantities of mystic jade, we can obtain small amounts, so please don’t worry. Fellow Baek, please show them quickly.”

Merchant Han Ryeo instructed Baek Mong-hyung in response to the monk’s words. The white-clad woman quietly nodded and took out a white bottle from her sleeve.

Under everyone’s gaze, Baek Mong-hyung walked towards the rock pile, opened the white bottle, and used her magic power to extract a drop of liquid. Emitting a faint gray aura, the pitch-black liquid flew towards a grain of mystic jade embedded in the rock pile.

Han Li, who had been standing indifferently, had a flicker in his eyes when he saw the liquid, but the others were too focused on what was happening in front of them to notice.

The liquid seeped into the mystic jade as soon as it touched it and disappeared. The mystic jade was surrounded by a gray aura and flew out of the rock on its own.

The old woman and the monk, as well as Han Li, were all visibly surprised. As Baek Mong-hyung collected the mystic jade, Merchant Han Ryeo explained,

“There is a treasure left by the founder of my palace. It gathers the yin energy of heaven and earth on its own and produces this liquid once every ten years. It’s quite mysterious. Only with this liquid can we mine the mystic jade in the cave. My palace only opens the Mystic Jade Cave once every thousand years, so we don’t have a large quantity.”

“I see.”

The gray-robed monk nodded as if he understood. The old woman looked at the Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Jade scattered throughout the cave with a regretful expression, but she didn’t voice it.

Han Li’s heart was pounding fiercely as he watched the liquid detach the mystic jade.

“Let’s discuss the other matters inside the building made of Solar Essence Stones!”

Merchant Han Ryeo pointed to the red stone building and walked towards it, and the others didn’t object. As they approached, they could see that the entire building was made of a translucent red material, and a strong heat emanated from it. It felt as if all the fire-attribute spirit stones had been gathered in one place.

‘Solar Essence Stone!’

As soon as Han Li heard the name, he thought of the words Solar Essence Fire. There must be a close relationship between the two. There was nothing inside the building, but the Mystic Jade Cold Energy that was rampant outside was not felt at all.

Everyone was relieved and withdrew their flames, then chose a suitable spot to sit cross-legged. As everyone settled down, the monk looked around and asked,

“I didn’t know that your palace had such strange treasures as the Solar Essence Stone in addition to the Ten-Thousand-Year Mystic Jade. This humble monk knows that Solar Essence Stones are formed when Solar Essence Fire condenses deep within the earth’s fire veins. May I ask where you obtained so many Solar Essence Stones?”

“I’m surprised that you know about Solar Essence Stones. However, there’s no way for us descendants to know the origins of the materials collected by our ancestors. Now, it seems like it’s time to tell you about the taboos of the Mystic Jade Cave in detail.”

Merchant Han Ryeo chuckled and changed the subject, and the monk simply smiled and closed his mouth.

At the same time, in a pavilion of the So Geuk Palace, an elegant beauty in white robes was facing a man and a woman across a wooden table. They were Baek Yo-yi and the supervising elder, the white-haired old man.

“So, you’re saying that Elder Han Ryeo has already opened the Void Spirit Hall and taken outsiders inside.”

The beauty’s voice was hoarse, but it was a voice that was hard to forget once heard.

“Reporting to the Palace Lord, the Great Elder has already started his work, but it seems that he has made preparations for an emergency.”

Baek Yo-yi replied respectfully.

“Preparations? He’s just reciting the same old measures he always does. If the enemy’s forces are too strong to be stopped by the formation, he’ll send the core disciples into the Void Spirit Hall to hide in the space, but even that is made worse by the fact that he’s occupying the most important Void Spirit Hall, reducing the places where the disciples can escape.”

The white-haired old man complained.

“You can’t say that for sure. If Elder Han Ryeo reaches the Transformation Stage [a high level of cultivation], it won’t matter how many demon beasts there are. Still, just in case, Fellow Yeop should follow the Great Elder’s arrangements. I heard that demon beasts of level 8 and above have already appeared near Bukmyeong Island and killed the patrolling disciples…”

The beauty raised her eyebrows.

“Yes, Transformation Stage demon beasts have appeared. They must be trying to clear the area outside our palace, surround it, and then advance. It’s the same method they’ve always used, but there’s something that bothers me this time.”

“Fellow Yeop, if you have something to say, speak.”

“According to the information I’ve obtained, the Ice Peak of the Ice Sea is leading the charge, and in addition to the appearance of Cheong Bae-changrang, the Deputy Valley Master of the Myriad Demon Valley, the movements of Old Monster Cha are also unusual.”

The old man hesitated, as if he wasn’t sure.

“Old Monster Cha! That can’t be.”

“Like Fellow Ryu, I don’t want to believe it either. But according to an informant inside the Myriad Demon Valley, the old monster seems like he’s really going to make a move this time, which is a problem.”

“Old Monster Cha is a demon who has been living in the human realm since ancient times, isn’t he? He’s someone who we don’t even know when he reached the Transformation Stage, and if he’s making a move, then our palace is as good as finished.”

Baek Yo-yi shook her head, not believing it.

“Fellow Baek, that’s true, but when the seal of Mount Kunwu was broken last time, didn’t the Goma Saint Ancestor and even the demon beasts of the Spirit Realm appear? This might be related to that.”

“Rumors about the Goma Saint Ancestor and the demon beasts of the Spirit Realm have been circulating among the major sects, but no one knows if they’re true. I was at Mount Kunwu, but I was seriously injured and had to return halfway, so I don’t know the details. …Ah, Fellow Han was at Mount Kunwu until the end, so he might know something.”

Baek Yo-yi narrowed her thick eyebrows and pondered, then thought of Han Li.

“Is he the man you said was staying here in Cheonghae?”

“Yes, that’s the cultivator.”

“That’s enough. Whatever happened at Mount Kunwu, we won’t be able to stop the demon beast army from advancing this time. Old Monster Cha would never leave the Myriad Demon Valley, so he’ll probably just send an avatar.”

The beauty calmly organized her thoughts. Baek Yo-yi and the white-haired old man also knew about the secrets of the Transformation Stage cultivators, so they were greatly relieved by their senior’s words.

“If the old monster sends an avatar, it’s not like we have no chance of winning. If we release all the cold energy of the restriction surrounding Bukmyeong Island, we can stop most of the demon beasts except for the Ice Sea demon beasts. The Ice Sea demon beasts…”

The white-haired old man also offered his opinion.

“We can deal with the Ice Sea demon beasts with the treasures left by the founder. They’ve been kept for this day, haven’t they? Then we only need to be careful of the demon beasts of level 8 and above.”

The beauty regained her composure.

“If the Palace Lord hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Indeed, if we have those, we have no reason to fear the Ice Sea demon beasts. It’s a shame that they’re only effective against the demon beasts of the lower realms.”

“Since things have come to this, the possibility of us successfully defending against the demon beast army’s advance is slim. Let the disciples of the lower realms leave as they can, and only leave the necessary personnel behind to avoid unnecessary deaths.”

“Yes, Palace Lord!”

This time, Baek Yo-yi and the old man replied at the same time.