Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 677

“If you don’t believe me, Brother Zhiyang, why not go to the Falling Cloud Sect yourself? Considering how quickly that cultivator rushed here from the Taijin Sect, I’m sure that’s what you’re planning.”

Merchant Zhiyang’s face hardened, and his silence confirmed the truth of Wei Wuya’s words.

“If I were that cultivator, I wouldn’t go out of my way to be humiliated. But since my time in this world is short, it doesn’t matter to me. Even if that Han fellow’s skills are comparable to a Deity Transformation cultivator, I don’t care. Of course, you and Harmonious Old Devil still have a long time left, so you have every reason to worry.”

“Are you saying you don’t have much time left, Brother Wei?”

Zhiyang was taken aback by Wei Wuya’s nonchalant words.

“I reached my current cultivation level two hundred years earlier than other Great Cultivators, so it’s natural that I’ll depart earlier. It’ll probably be over in a few years. But you and Harmonious still have time, so don’t give up hope of reaching Deity Transformation.”

The old man in the blue robe said wistfully.

“Brother Wei…”

Zhiyang tried to speak, but couldn’t find the words, his face a mixture of emotions.

“I haven’t reached the end of the cultivation path, so even though I’ve controlled the human realm for half my life, it all feels meaningless. …Brother Zhiyang, since I’ve known you for so long, let me give you some advice. Don’t dwell on the matters of Tiannan and the sects anymore, and focus solely on cultivation!

I hope you don’t end up like me, just waiting for the day I die. Besides, judging by that Han fellow’s strength, once I’m gone, you and Harmonious won’t be a match for him. It would be better to give up the empty title of the number one sect in Tiannan and show goodwill.

Everything in the world goes through cycles of rise and fall, so there’s no need to cling to the power of a sect. If you do that, that Han fellow will never push you into a corner, and you’ll have the chance to focus on your cultivation.”

“Thank you for the advice. I will think deeply about what you’ve said.”

Merchant Zhiyang felt the sincerity in Wei Wuya’s words.

“I’ve said all I needed to say, so the rest is up to you. I must return now; this might be our last meeting.”

Wei Wuya cupped his fist and, without waiting for Merchant Zhiyang’s reply, turned into a streak of light and disappeared toward the Seven Spirit Islands. Merchant Zhiyang stood there, unable to hide his troubled expression.

After a long while, Merchant Zhiyang also turned into a white streak of light and flew away, heading toward the Qi Kingdom. It seemed the late Nascent Soul cultivator of the Taijin Sect had decided to meet Han Li in person.

If the newly emerged Great Cultivator was as fearsome as the rumors suggested, he planned to immediately return to his sect, go into seclusion, and focus solely on preparing to reach the Deity Transformation stage, following Wei Wuya’s advice.

A month later, Merchant Zhiyang personally visited the Falling Cloud Sect, but after only half a day, he left and returned to the Taijin Sect. Rumor had it that he declared he would not leave seclusion until he achieved his goal and entered closed-door cultivation.

Thus, Han Li’s reputation as the number one cultivator in Tiannan was solidified, and the Falling Cloud Sect took control of most of the Qi Kingdom within a few months. The other cultivation sects in the Qi Kingdom either surrendered or moved their bases elsewhere.

The Ancient Sword Sect and the White Cult were located in the Cloud Dream Mountain Range, so they were able to maintain their positions and even grow in power. However, they were now practically subordinate to the Falling Cloud Sect, so they couldn’t be entirely happy.

* * *

Inside a cave on the Mother Peak of the Falling Cloud Sect.

Han Li sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, inside a massive formation set up in the secret chamber, refining a pair of white wings. Various spells densely covered the surface of the wings, flowing continuously.

Han Li formed a hand seal, boosting the blue and white pillars of fire from the formation, accelerating the feather refinement. After some time, he withdrew his hand seal, opened his eyes, and pointed at the feathers slowly rotating in the flames.

Kugwagwang!

The feathers trembled, emitting a blue light, and silver lightning burst out with a thunderous roar, unleashing an immense aura. However, Han Li’s face hardened as if he was dissatisfied.

After a while, he spat out a small blue cauldron from his mouth, and the Void Sky Cauldron spun and quietly landed on the ground.

“What’s the matter? It’s not like I haven’t told you the refining method a couple of times.”

“I refined it as you instructed, but… the Kun Peng’s [a mythical bird] feathers have merged with the Wind Thunder Wings, and they can activate wind-attribute spiritual power, but this is no different from a Three-Flame Fan or a similar imitation. You’re not trying to trick me, are you?”

“How could I! The Kun Peng’s wings are treasures among treasures; how could their power be only this much! Let me take a look myself.”

The cauldron flashed, and the illusion condensed by the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor appeared. Han Li silently pointed at the feathers in the air.

Shuk!

The Wind Thunder Wings appeared above the boy’s head, emitting blue and white light. The boy’s eyes widened as he carefully examined the feathers, his expression changing frequently. After a while, he closed his eyes and pondered.

“I see what’s going on. The refinement of the Kun Peng’s feathers is more difficult than expected, so they barely mixed with the Wind Thunder Wings, but they can’t activate the wind attribute power they originally possessed. That’s why they’re just imitations, and there’s a world of difference between them and a true Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure.”

The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor, who had opened his eyes again, calmly explained.

“Then, what do I need to do to activate the Kun Peng’s power?”

“You’ll either have to switch to a wind-attribute cultivation method or find top-grade wind-attribute spirit stones.”

“It’s impossible for me to change my cultivation method or find top-grade wind-attribute spirit stones.”

“That’s a problem! There are other ways, but they’re impossible in the human realm…”

“So, it’s not that I refined it wrong, but that your expectations were off, and that’s why it turned out like this.”

Han Li bluntly expressed his dissatisfaction as the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor muttered helplessly.

“Well, you could say that.”

“It’s fine. The Wind Thunder Wings can now unleash both wind and thunder attributes, so I’m satisfied with that. Even if I had the immense power you spoke of, my current cultivation wouldn’t be able to handle it anyway.”

After a while, Han Li was the first to relax his expression and stopped arguing. This made the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor startled and look suspicious. Han Li’s cultivation was insignificant, but he felt that he was not someone to be trifled with.

“If you have any conditions, just say them quickly. It’s my mistake, so I should compensate you to some extent.”

The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor, feeling uneasy, finally brought it up first.

“Since Senior has said so, I, as a junior, will follow your lead.”

“……”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Han Li smiled and said this, making the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor roll his eyes in disbelief. Han Li brushed his sleeve, and a blue aura appeared, carrying several strange objects.

A fist-sized, transparent, sticky object, two large and one small jet-black crystal stones, a black and white bead, and a thumbnail-sized jet-black eyeball.

“These are all things I obtained by chance, but my knowledge is shallow, so I don’t know what they are. Senior, you came from the upper realm, so you must be different from me. If you know anything, I would like to learn from you.”

“Huh, where did you get these things? The others are one thing, but those two are hard to find even in the spirit realm.”

The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor scanned the objects and reached out to grab the air. The transparent object and the jet-black eyeball were sucked into the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor’s hand.

“Do you know what these are, Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor?”

“Tell me where you got these two first.”

“One was from an old cauldron that I don’t know when it started burning, and the other is from a three-eyed demon beast.”

“Then I guess my guess is correct!”

The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor, as if he had expected it, first picked up the sticky object and said,

“This is Fire Spirit Silk, the best material for refining fire-attribute armor. It’s originally a very rare ore with yin ghost attributes, but it didn’t melt after being refined in flames for a long time, and it became like this.”

“Fire Spirit Silk?”

Han Li looked at the squishy object the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor was holding, puzzled.

“This isn’t the complete form of Fire Spirit Silk. A cultivator who is proficient in fire-attribute techniques must extract it in the form of silk. You can’t do it anyway. Fire Spirit Silk is a rare treasure, so it can be used as a material, and even if used as is, it’s much more powerful than ordinary flying swords. But what’s strange is that it should be a light blue color, but it’s transparent.”

“How long does it usually take to make Fire Spirit Silk?”

Han Li’s expression suddenly changed, as if he had thought of something.

“It’s so rare that I don’t know exactly, but it takes a long time. From one hundred to several hundred years. The longer it’s refined in flames, the more the quantity decreases and the purer it becomes.”

“I see.”

Han Li seemed to have realized something from the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor’s explanation.

“What are you thinking about?”

“It’s nothing. Please look at the next item.”

Han Li just smiled faintly and turned his gaze to the black eyeball. The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor was silent for a moment but didn’t ask further.

“…This is an item with a long story. I’m just a divided soul that descended from the spirit realm, and my attributes are incompatible with it, so even if I had it, it would only damage my consciousness, but I’m still tempted by it.”

“Is it that great of an item?”

“What do you know? You’ve probably heard of the celestial spirits like dragons and qilin [a mythical hooved creature], right?”

“Of course, I’ve heard of them. They’ve long disappeared from the human realm, but records of them remain. Are you saying that it’s related to such beings?”

“Not exactly, but you could say it’s similar. It’s the third eye of the Zilie Beast, which is the natural enemy of dragons, and it’s the Destruction Eye, which is famous even in the spirit realm. The Zilie Beast, with three heads and five tails, has an eye in the middle head, and that’s the Destruction Eye.

It’s said that it never opens normally, but only when it tears through space to kill enemies without a trace. Of course, just having this eyeball won’t give you that ability, but if you learn the related secret techniques, it will be useful when attacking enemies in strange ways or breaking through illusions, stealth techniques, and teleportation. Cultivators who learn techniques similar to Clairvoyance would want this treasure at any cost.”

Han Li swallowed hard at those words, unable to take his eyes off the eyeball in the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor’s hand.

“If it were truly the Destruction Eye of a Zilie Beast, its value would be as great as the Golden Jade Book, but judging by this, the three-eyed demon beast you killed must have been a variant spirit beast that inherited the blood of the Zilie Beast! Moreover, you dug it out before the Destruction Eye was fully mature, so I don’t know if you should consider yourself lucky or if it’s a pity.”

The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

“What does that mean?”

“Simply put, if it were the eye of a fully grown Zilie Beast, you wouldn’t even be able to dream of it with your current cultivation, but because you dug out the eye of an immature Zilie Beast, it’s worth trying to learn the Destruction Eye. Of course, its power will be far inferior to the former.”

“So, because it’s a variant spirit beast, it can’t unleash the perfect divine abilities of the original spirit beast.”

“That’s generally the case, but there are always exceptions! The Demon King of the Nine Spirit Mountain in the spirit realm, who has a bit of the Fire Qilin’s blood, inherited the divine abilities related to evolution, and even the true direct descendants of the Fire Qilin are reluctant to fight him. If my memory serves me right, he seems to be planning to find a spatial connection point and cross over to the spirit realm someday, so he will definitely have to cultivate the Destruction Eye.”

The Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor made a strange expression.

“Why is that?”

“The Zilie Beast can’t cross worlds forcibly like the You Tian Kun Peng or the Rahu, but it still has the divine ability to weaken the pressure between realms. Of course, how useful it actually is will depend on the power of the eyeball and your cultivation.”

“I didn’t know it had such a divine ability…”

“You’ll naturally find out once you start cultivating it. Do I have any reason to deceive you?”

At the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor’s words, Han Li simply lowered his head and fell into deep thought. Seeing this, the Heavenly Orchid Saint Ancestor chuckled and began to fiddle with the two objects, giving him time to think.

# 679