Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 706

Although Jeon Geum-a and Seok Gyeon were inwardly disappointed that Han Li hadn’t called for them, like the other Core Formation cultivators, they had no choice but to wait quietly in their places.

Even though Nangong Wan and the elders hadn’t given any specific orders, they didn’t dare leave their posts carelessly. Only after Song Yeo-in and the others had disappeared towards the Mother Peak did they start to chat amongst themselves.

They seemed to be friendly with Jeon Geum-a and Seok Gyeon, speaking to them warmly.

Jeon Geum-a and Seok Gyeon, who had mostly stayed at the Mother Peak and focused on their cultivation since their breakthrough due to Han Li’s strict orders, also enjoyed the conversation, as it had been a long time since they had talked to anyone.

Several hours passed since Nangong Wan and the cultivators had gone to Han Li’s residence, but there was no sign of them returning.

* * *

Three months later, a streak of blue light soared above the Falling Cloud Mountain Range and then suddenly vanished without a trace.

Several more months passed, and the Falling Cloud Sect announced that the Great Elder had left the sect to travel abroad.

However, they were vague about the reason for his departure and his destination, so no one knew the exact details.

Other forces were not greatly surprised by this news, as rumors had spread throughout Tiannan about the Great Elder’s failed attempt to enter the Deity Transformation stage half a year prior.

This was good news for the forces that had been wary of Han Li.

If Han Li, already known as the number one cultivator in Tiannan, were to reach the Deity Transformation stage and gain a lifespan of over two thousand years, their ambitions would be suppressed indefinitely.

In their eyes, the reason why Han Li, who had failed to enter the Deity Transformation stage, was suddenly leaving the Falling Cloud Sect and wandering around was clear.

Since it was no longer a problem that could be solved by increasing his cultivation through training, he must have been searching for a fortuitous opportunity [a chance encounter or lucky break].

However, the probability of finding a way to overcome this hurdle was extremely low. Otherwise, the other three great cultivators of Tiannan would not have remained at the late Nascent Soul stage all this time.

Now, there were only two late Nascent Soul cultivators left in Tiannan besides Han Li.

Wei Mu-ae, the Great Elder of the Nine Nations Alliance, had already passed away a hundred years ago, but the Hua Yi Sect had kept this news a secret and only announced it a few years ago.

This news caused a stir in Tiannan for a while. The Nine Nations Alliance was shaken by this, and other sects and forces once again split for their own benefit.

Han Li, who had come out of seclusion, also sighed for a while after hearing this story.

Wei Mu-ae was only one step away from the Deity Transformation realm, but he had failed to cross that threshold and had passed away. What a pity!

This further deepened Han Li’s desire for eternal life. To him, everything except eternal life felt like smoke before his eyes, a passing breeze.

No matter how powerful one was, with the ability to split rivers and overturn seas, it was all useless when one’s lifespan was exhausted. He absolutely did not want to spend this life so meaninglessly.

* * *

Han Li transformed into a streak of blue light and passed through the Peony Plains. His goal for this expedition was to return to Great Jin and collect the Ghost Soul Banners held by the Yin Luo Sect.

Although he had not reached the Deity Transformation stage, he had reached the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage, so his chances of success were higher.

According to his memory, after Jian Nuo-ma’s death, there was only one late Nascent Soul cultivator left in the Yin Luo Sect.

If that person didn’t foolishly confront Han Li, collecting the Ghost Soul Banners wouldn’t be a big problem. However, coincidentally, the Yin Luo Sect’s sect master was someone who held a grudge against Han Li for the loss of his wife.

Han Li was truly worried that while he was away from the Falling Cloud Sect, a great cultivator with a grudge might attack to take revenge before his lifespan ran out. The more he thought about it, the more determined he became to kill his opponent.

Although he had failed to overcome the Deity Transformation hurdle this time, he still had the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light as a backup plan, so he wasn’t completely discouraged.

That was why his trip to Great Jin was not only to retrieve the Ghost Soul Banners but also to take care of some other matters.

Once he started cultivating the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, he would have to stay in one place and couldn’t leave until he had mastered the technique. Therefore, he had to prepare in advance.

First, he needed to find the Solar True Fire and use the Cold Marrow he possessed to create the Yang Return Water. This was the most urgent task.

Having the Yang Return Water would increase his lifespan by a quarter.

Last time, at the Small Extreme Palace, he had learned a clue from Han Ryeo-sang-in’s Nascent Soul about where to find the Solar True Fire, so he was just waiting for the right time.

The other matter was not as important as the first. It would be good if it succeeded, but it wouldn’t matter if it failed. He was just planning to visit the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, where he had previously traded the Heavenly Secret Talisman, and ask about the secret technique to refine a mustard seed space [a small, self-contained pocket dimension].

He remembered that when he participated in the auction in Great Jin, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion’s manager had said that they could refine a mustard seed space using spatial rifts.

He wondered if he could refine the remains of the Spirit Garden he had found in Chuma Valley into a space just for himself.

Many Nascent Soul cultivators, besides their known residences, had separate secret residences.

Some even secretly prepared multiple residences to hide precious treasures or prepare escape routes in case of emergencies.

He had been too busy cultivating to pay attention to such things, but he now thought that such a space would be the most optimal place to cultivate the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.

If he refined his own mustard seed space and connected it to the outside through a hidden teleportation array, even a Deity Transformation cultivator wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

And even if the enemy destroyed the external teleportation array, he could use his divine abilities to find the weaknesses in space and tear his way out, so there was nothing to worry about.

Conversely, a cultivator outside the space wouldn’t be able to tear through the space no matter how hard they tried, as they wouldn’t know the specific location of the space.

This was the conclusion Han Li had reached after much research.

Of course, it was possible to find other secret places to cultivate, but in terms of safety, they couldn’t compare to a mustard seed space.

Of course, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had a monopoly on the secret technique to refine a mustard seed space, so it might be difficult to obtain.

‘But even if they don’t want to give me the secret technique to refine a mustard seed space, wouldn’t they come up with an alternative that would satisfy a great cultivator like me?’

Even forces with late Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t want to become enemies with a great cultivator.

The reason why the Heavenly Secret Pavilion had been able to monopolize the secret technique until now was probably because it wasn’t very useful enough to attract the interest of other forces.

Han Li finished his thoughts and flashed his escape light, disappearing into the far end of the sky.

* * *

In Yuzhou of Great Jin, tens of thousands of miles away from Tiannan, a misty rain was falling on a city nestled by a small mountain.

There were few people walking on the rain-soaked bluestone path, and even those who were, were hurrying to avoid the rain.

At that moment, someone wearing a yellow robe and holding a white umbrella stepped onto the bluestone path. Their face was hidden by the umbrella, but their calm gait made it seem as if they were out for a stroll.

Judging by the fair hand holding the umbrella, they were not a commoner struggling to make a living.

Occasionally, passersby would glance at them with curiosity, but the person in the yellow robe paid no attention.

They turned into a narrow alley that was not very noticeable.

The alley was quite deep, and its end was surrounded by a high wall, with no further path. Yet, the person in the yellow robe walked on without concern.

Swoosh!

Just as the person with the umbrella was about to hit the wall, a strange white light flashed and disappeared.

If ordinary people had seen that scene, they would have thought they had seen a ghost, but a cultivator would have immediately recognized it as a barrier, nothing more than an illusion.

However, even cultivators would have been surprised if they had seen where the person who had just passed through the wall had arrived after passing through several layers of strange restrictions.

Behind the barrier, a jade gate that seemed to be a hundred feet tall appeared. Beyond it, jade stairs connected to a huge, turquoise-colored palace in the air.

The palace was surrounded by a milky white spiritual energy that spread like mist, and rare avian demon beasts floated leisurely, with various strange flowers blooming, making it feel like a paradise where immortals lived.

If someone were to scan this place with their spiritual sense, they would realize that it was not a very large space, but its height was hundreds of feet, making it truly astonishing in size.

Moreover, creating such a palace in the air was not an easy task. Below the huge jade gate at the entrance of the space, warriors in golden armor stood on both sides, expressionless.

The only one among them wearing gray armor, a giant, was speaking to the person who had walked in with the umbrella.

“I told you it’s not possible. No matter how important it is, if you disturb the Pavilion Master while he’s meeting a distinguished guest, I’ll be the only one who gets scolded. Please, just wait here for half a day. I’m already frustrated from guarding this place with these stone statues for half a year.”

It was surprising that a late Core Formation cultivator was only acting as a gatekeeper, but it was even stranger that all those guarding the place were puppets.

The puppets looked exactly like living people, and unless someone told them, most cultivators wouldn’t know their true identities.

The cultivator who had entered the space with the umbrella finally folded the white umbrella and revealed their appearance.

“Cultivator Jo Bong-yu! I’m not joking right now. It’s really important, so I need to see the Pavilion Master right away. I can wait, but I don’t know if that person will wait… If we delay like this and a great disaster befalls our pavilion, will Senior Jong take responsibility?”

The middle-aged man said with a troubled expression, as if he was about to burst with frustration.

“That person? What are you talking about?”

“I am the one you speak of.”

Suddenly, a strange man’s voice was heard from above them.

“Wh-who is it?”

The black-clad man was terrified and immediately deployed a white protective barrier and formed a hand seal, while the surrounding puppets’ eyes flashed and they tried to take flight.

“Senior Jo, wait! You must not be rude to this person, Senior Han.”

The middle-aged man with the pale face turned even paler upon hearing the strange voice, and seeing the giant’s actions, he quickly shouted in alarm.

“Senior Han?”

The giant also paused upon hearing those words. If the middle-aged man from the Jang family was being so cautious, then the opponent was not an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

‘If it’s a cultivator that we can’t handle here, where there are even puppets, then does that mean it’s an old monster from the mid Nascent Soul stage?’

Cultivator Jo sent the puppets that were about to rise into the air back to their places.

“Your judgment is quite quick. Then I won’t need to use my hands on my juniors.”

A blue light flashed above the two men, and a young man in a blue robe appeared with his arms crossed. The giant scanned the opponent with his spiritual sense and was terrified, as if he couldn’t believe it.

Surprisingly, the young man was a great cultivator of the late Nascent Soul stage.

‘When did another new great cultivator appear in Great Jin?’

He felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled how he had just tried to attack the opponent using the puppets. Cultivator Jo hurriedly bowed and paid his respects.

“I was ignorant and did not recognize you, Senior. I have committed a great offense.”

The young man expressionlessly raised his head and looked up at the huge palace, without saying anything else.

The giant didn’t dare to raise his head and was sweating profusely.

Considering the eccentric personalities of the old monsters of the Nascent Soul stage, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to be killed on the spot. But fortunately, the middle-aged man with the pale face stepped forward instead.

“Senior Han, didn’t I tell you that if you gave me a little time, I would report directly to the Pavilion Master and contact you? How did you get here?”

“I’m short on time! I just need to talk to your Pavilion Master directly. So this is the Heavenly Secret Pavilion I’ve heard so much about… It’s said to be inside a mustard seed space, but it’s actually a very rare mobile space that changes its location every few years. It doesn’t disappoint me. You can get up now! It’s your duty to guard the entrance, so I won’t blame you for what happened earlier. I need to meet your Pavilion Master, so please guide me.”