Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 727

“Just passing by, you say?”

Cultivator Fan flinched, his face showing disbelief.

“Of course. It would be helpful if I could get a map of the nearby sea area. By the way, this Thunder Essence Core looks intact, but most of its spiritual power has dissipated. If you try to refine pills with this, you probably won’t get anything good.”

Han Li glanced at the wooden box the old man was holding and said with a smile.

“Is that true?”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

The old man was startled, and Cultivator Fan’s expression changed drastically as he angrily retorted.

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you. But if you give me a map of the nearby sea area and answer a few questions, I’ll give you one of my Thunder Essence Cores. It’s not high-grade, but it should be enough for refining pills.”

Han Li flipped his palm, and a core appeared. The core, glowing with a blue light, was clearly rounder and more complete than the previous one.

The expressions of the Five Dragon Sea cultivators changed rapidly. Some had sparkling eyes, while others showed distrust or hostility.

“Who are you to play such tricks?”

Cultivator Fan said sharply, averting his gaze from the core Han Li was holding.

“Tricks? Do I need to do that with just a sixth-grade core?”

Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked with a half-smile.

“Hmph! I wouldn’t care if it were a sixth-grade core from another demon beast, but a Thunder Essence Core is different. You suddenly appear and say there’s something wrong with Brother Fan’s core. What’s your motive?”

Cultivator Sun, who had been silent all along and had a menacing look, spoke coldly.

“You probably took quite a while to kill the Thunder Beast. The beast lasted so long because it drew on the massive spiritual power within the core. And after it died, it couldn’t replenish the core’s spiritual power, so its quality wouldn’t be good. It seems you two don’t have much experience killing high-grade demon beasts, so you didn’t know that.”

Han Li replied nonchalantly. Hearing this, Cultivator Fan and Cultivator Sun exchanged glances, hesitating on what to do.

“Let’s say what you said about the core is true. But what is your purpose in appearing here? I know Cultivator Fan set up an illusion restriction, so why did you deliberately seek us out?”

The old man with a white beard revealed his vigilance.

“There’s no reason for me to be bothered by such a simple illusion array. Besides, this is my first time here, so why would I deliberately seek out cultivators? I was just in a good mood today and gave you some advice. So, will you do the deal I mentioned earlier or not? I don’t intend to stay here long!”

Suddenly, Han Li’s expression changed, and the cultivators inside the pavilion were inwardly startled. Seeing him act so freely in front of Nascent Soul [a high level of cultivation] cultivators, they found it difficult to speak carelessly.

At that moment, a woman in a green robe asked with sparkling eyes,

“It seems you’re not a cultivator from the Five Dragon Sea. If you’re from the Great Jin, do you know Senior Xiang Zhili?”

Han Li paused, narrowed his eyes, and looked at her.

“…You know Cultivator Xiang?”

“Senior Xiang once stayed on the island where I was and gave me guidance on cultivation. I benefited greatly from it! Seeing that you know Senior Xiang, are you perhaps a Spirit Transformation [an even higher level of cultivation] senior?”

The woman stood up abruptly and asked with utmost respect.

“A Spirit Transformation senior!”

“S-Spirit Transformation!”

The other cultivators, who had been sitting and looking outside the pavilion, were also startled and stood up. Especially Cultivator Fan and the menacing old man, who had just been cold and disrespectful, showed fear.

“Since I’ve been found out, there’s no need to hide it. When did you meet Cultivator Xiang?”

Han Li didn’t even glance at the other cultivators, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the woman.

“It was more than two hundred years ago. If it weren’t for Senior Xiang back then, I would still be wandering in the Core Formation stage [a mid-level of cultivation].”

The elegant woman replied with a happy expression. Two hundred years ago was when Xiang Zhili and others discovered the spatial node in the Five Dragon Sea.

‘It seems to be true.’

Han Li judged that she was telling the truth and relaxed his expression.

“It’s good that you know Cultivator Xiang. Take this core and bring me a map of the nearby sea area.”

Han Li reached out and threw the precious core to the woman.

The woman happily received the core, bowed in gratitude, and took out a green jade slip from her storage pouch, walking gracefully to hand it over.

After imbuing the jade slip with his consciousness, he compared it with the information Xiang Zhili had left behind and quickly located the spatial node. It seemed to be not far from here, about a month’s journey away. Han Li nodded in satisfaction.

“Alright, now I have a few questions, so listen carefully and answer them.”

Han Li, having revealed his identity as a Spirit Transformation cultivator, did not conceal his aura and gave orders without hesitation.

The woman in the green robe quickly agreed.

Han Li moved his lips without making a sound, and the elegant woman quietly shone her eyes and answered each question through telepathy.

After hearing the answers, Han Li stroked his chin and lowered his head in thought.

At that time, the other cultivators did not dare to breathe loudly and stood there, looking nervous, lest they offend the Spirit Transformation senior.

“I’ve learned everything I wanted to know, so I’ll be leaving now. You all can continue what you were doing!”

Han Li, having made a decision, flicked his sleeve and disappeared in a green flash. However, no one saw exactly how he left.

Cultivator Fan and the others, who had been anxious, breathed a sigh of relief and looked enviously at the Thunder Essence Core the elegant woman was holding. She had obtained such a precious core with just a map and a few words; her luck was too good.

The woman in the green robe, unconcerned by their gazes, calmly put away the core and said,

“Now that Senior Han has left, shall we continue the trade fair?”

“Fellow Daoist Bi, that’s not urgent. I didn’t know you had a connection with a Spirit Transformation cultivator. I apologize for my previous rudeness.”

The scholar in the blue robe said with a wry smile and a sigh.

“It was a long time ago, and I was just a Core Formation cultivator. It’s not a connection. Senior Xiang just pointed out a few of my mistakes.”

“Even so, a connection with a Spirit Transformation cultivator is something everyone dreams of. But it’s strange. Why are the top cultivators of the Great Jin gathering in our Five Dragon Sea? Isn’t something huge happening?”

Cultivator Fan muttered, narrowing his brows with suspicion.

“It’s not impossible. But can we interfere in matters that Spirit Transformation cultivators are involved in? If we’re not careful, we could be crushed with a single gesture. It’s best not to even mention such things. We don’t want to offend a Spirit Transformation cultivator…”

The old man with a white beard trailed off meaningfully. The other cultivators’ expressions changed, and they all nodded in understanding.

While the Five Dragon Sea cultivators were secretly speculating about Han Li’s destination, he had already transformed into a streak of blue light and was flying over the sea tens of thousands of miles away.

Having learned from the woman that no Spirit Transformation cultivators had appeared in the nearby sea area recently, he was flying towards the spatial node without hesitation.

If he flew at full speed as a Spirit Transformation cultivator, he would arrive quickly, but that would disturb the heaven and earth spiritual energy and reduce his lifespan.

Therefore, he was maintaining a normal escape technique, even if it took a little longer.

* * *

One month later, Han Li arrived at a vast sea.

The area was completely covered in white fog, but he entered without hesitation.

After flying through the sea fog for about half an hour, he stopped abruptly. He looked around several times and rubbed his hands together.

“Break!”

Two thick streaks of golden lightning shot out, striking the void.

Boom!

Then, the sea fog around the area for several miles disappeared, revealing a small island with a building on it below.

Han Li muttered with a pleased expression.

“Xiang Old Devil and the others didn’t deceive me. They really did have their disciples guard the spatial node! But it’s been over two hundred years, so I don’t know if they’re still there.”

However, three streaks of light flew up from the small island and approached Han Li. Han Li watched them calmly.

When the streaks of light faded, they revealed three middle-aged Core Formation cultivators, one woman and two men.

They scanned Han Li’s face and, filled with surprise and joy, quickly bowed.

“We greet Senior Han. We have been waiting here for a long time under the orders of Ancestor Xiang.”

“You are disciples of Cultivator Xiang? Have you seen me before?”

“No, but Ancestor left a portrait of Senior Han, so we recognized you.”

“I see. You’ve worked hard. I won’t mistreat you. And in the future, I’ll have my disciples guard this place, so you don’t need to be trapped here.”

Han Li nodded and smiled at them.

The three middle-aged cultivators were delighted and led Han Li to the building on the island.

However, Han Li said he would go see the spatial node first, and the cultivators immediately led him in another direction.

After flying for about ten miles, Han Li could sense that the void ahead was strange, even without the three cultivators explaining. He increased his speed, and soon Han Li and the Core Formation cultivators stopped.

Han Li took a deep breath, not blinking as he looked at the huge ball of light with a gray aura.

The ball of light was round and seemed to be about a mile in diameter. Although it was a bit dim, it gave off a strange feeling that seemed to draw in one’s consciousness.

“Is this the spatial node?”

“Yes, Senior! This is the spatial node where Ancestor and the other seniors entered. Ancestor and the other seniors worked hard to stabilize the entrance. They used a special seal to barely stabilize it and minimized the spatial fluctuations to avoid attracting the attention of other Five Dragon Sea cultivators.”

The middle-aged woman among the three Core Formation cultivators replied. However, her expression darkened when she mentioned Xiang Zhili.

All three cultivators knew that their ancestor’s soul lamp had gone out.

“No wonder the spatial fluctuations here are so weak. Cultivator Xiang and the others put a lot of effort into this.”

Han Li also fell silent for a moment, looking at the ball of light in the void. At that moment, the three Core Formation cultivators exchanged glances.

“We have something to report to you, Senior.”

One of the men hesitated before speaking.

“What is it?”

“We’ve been guarding this place for over two hundred years, and we’ve learned something. Although Ancestor Xiang’s seal is in place, the entrance of the spatial node has been fluctuating slightly since a hundred years ago. The fluctuations have become more frequent over time. At first, it was once every few years, but now it’s once a year, lasting about half a month.”

“That’s what happened. You mean the seal alone can no longer maintain the entrance of the spatial node!”

Han Li’s expression changed slightly in surprise.

“It seems so. At this rate, the spatial node will collapse or become unstable within a hundred years at most. When that happens, you won’t be able to enter as easily as Ancestor Xiang and the others did.”

Another man explained respectfully.

“A hundred years, that’s all that’s left?”

“This is just our speculation. Perhaps our worries are excessive.”

The woman quickly said with a smile when she saw Han Li’s troubled expression.

“Whether it’s speculation or not, I’ll find out when I stay here. Since I need to examine the spatial node anyway, I won’t be leaving this place for a while.”

Han Li said calmly after pondering for a moment. Then, he waved his hand, sending the three cultivators back to the small island, and remained alone.