Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 732

After a month passed with no reaction at the spatial node entrance, Nangong Wan ordered Quan Jin’er to reactivate the sealing formation. She left a few disciples behind and returned to the Chaotic Star Sea.

Since Han Li hadn’t left behind his soul lamp [a magical artifact that indicates a person’s life status], Nangong Wan and her disciples had no way of knowing whether he had safely reached the Spirit Realm or if he had perished like other Nascent Soul cultivators, unable to withstand the spatial storms and the pressure between realms.

This was one of the reasons Han Li hadn’t left behind his soul lamp. Leaving even a sliver of hope was better than succumbing to despair!

* * *

Han Li lay on the ground, completely still.

He could only feel the hot, dry earth beneath him and try to gauge how much time had passed.

If his memory was correct and he counted the cycle of day and night in the human realm as one day, then he had been lying here for over three months.

Above him, in the sky, were three blazing suns and four dim moons. It was a bizarre sight.

Soon, when it became completely night, those suns would turn into moons. Then, when midday came again and the moons all turned into suns, there would be seven suns in the sky. It seemed that there were always seven celestial bodies in the sky here.

According to his senses, both day and night here were strangely long, about three times longer than in the human realm. The temperature difference between day and night was also extreme. If it weren’t for his special constitution, he would have died already.

‘This place is definitely not the human realm. But whether it’s the Spirit Realm…’

Han Li could only speculate; he couldn’t be sure of anything.

First, the spiritual energy here wasn’t very dense. It was only about the same as a place with a common spiritual vein in the human realm.

Second, the way he arrived here was very unusual, and everything was unexpected. So, he couldn’t be sure if he had safely arrived in the Spirit Realm.

Thinking about what he had experienced at the spatial node, Han Li’s expression darkened, and he felt a deep sense of regret.

However, if he hadn’t done what he did at the final juncture of the spatial node, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the continuous spatial storms.

Most of the defensive treasures he had prepared were destroyed, and the same was true for spirit treasures like the Eight Spirit Ruler. Even the Fire Spirit Talisman had been ineffective and had disappeared into the spatial storm.

But his current situation wasn’t good either.

When he had just left the spatial node and arrived here, he had been forcibly separated from Bing Feng, and the restriction she had placed on him had been triggered.

If he hadn’t been able to suppress the backlash of the restriction thanks to the various secret techniques he had mastered, he might have already suffered a backlash of his magic power and died.

However, the remaining power of the restriction was still coursing through his body, rupturing his meridians [energy channels in the body]. It was only thanks to the immortal body power of the Wood Origin Pearl that he had managed to prevent his entire body from being completely destroyed.

When he had first fallen here, he was constantly tormented by the power that was destroying his body and the power that was constantly trying to heal it. These two forces were circulating throughout his body.

Moreover, the destructive power was acting faster than the healing power, so he couldn’t use his magic power or move his body.

If he had left it like that, his body would have inevitably collapsed. In desperation, Han Li endured the extreme pain and forced his nascent soul [a cultivator’s spiritual core] to push all his treasures out of his body and into the storage pouch. Then, he made his nascent soul scatter, forcibly pushing its immense power into his physical body.

The price for preventing his body from collapsing was that he would have to live without magic power for a hundred years, unable to absorb spiritual energy or spread his consciousness. Now, if a high-level cultivator scanned his body with their consciousness, they would think he was an ordinary person. Of course, he had survived thanks to this desperate measure.

After three months, the power of the restriction had almost disappeared, and most of his meridians had recovered. If things went as expected, he would probably be able to move in another month.

As he thought this, he turned his head and saw nothing but endless stretches of bluish-gray sand.

He was lying alone on the desolate earth, buried in sand and gravel, unable to move.

The sun above his head had turned back into two, and then finally only one remained, gradually darkening.

However, Han Li didn’t close his eyes; instead, he opened them wider, his dark blue eyes scanning his surroundings.

Not long after, a desolate cry echoed in the air, and black dots appeared in the distance. There were at least twenty of them, circling in the sky before gliding down.

They were unexpectedly strange birds with the heads of hawks and the bodies of eagles. Each was about four or five feet long, with sharp claws and jet-black wings that looked very menacing.

The strange birds were incredibly fast, reaching thirty feet above the ground in an instant. Their hunting target was clearly Han Li, who was lying on the ground as if dead.

Han Li’s eyes flashed coldly, but his body didn’t move at all. He simply turned his head and took a deep breath.

A lump of bluish-gray sand and gravel strangely gathered and flew towards Han Li.

Just as it was about to be sucked into his mouth, Han Li exhaled again, creating a light breeze that made the lump of sand and gravel spin around.

At that moment, Han Li’s gaze was already on the strange birds that had flown to within about fifteen feet. The strange birds had their mouths wide open, and a nauseating stench of blood wafted from them.

As the strange birds got closer, he made the lump of sand and gravel spin around near his mouth and blew out a gust of air. A white gale blew out from his mouth, attacking the birds with the lump of sand and gravel.

*Puff puff puff!*

With the sound of air being torn, the sand and gravel rained down on the bodies of several strange birds. The strange birds, screeching sharply as if metal was rubbing against metal, scattered in all directions. Countless streaks of blood fell, indicating that they had suffered serious injuries.

But then, a shocking thing happened.

The remaining strange birds didn’t attack Han Li; instead, they attacked their fallen comrades.

The wounded and bleeding strange birds were quickly torn to pieces, and the other demonic beasts, with green blood dripping from their mouths, flew back up into the sky, satisfied, and disappeared.

Thus, Han Li was once again left alone on the bluish-gray sand desert…

Han Li’s expression was indifferent, as if he was already used to such things. His eyes sparkled as he pondered other thoughts.

After some time passed again,

The last sun in the sky gradually darkened and changed shape. It was a sight he had seen countless times while lying here, but the beautiful sight of seven crescent moons rising high in the sky always stirred his heart.

“…”

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he tried to turn his head, but he could only move his jaw slightly. He couldn’t do anything else.

After a long time, he faintly heard the sound of horses’ hooves and the miscellaneous sounds of a carriage rolling. It seemed that people were passing by, pulling a carriage.

Han Li frowned and hesitated. He couldn’t decide whether to attract their attention and call out to them or not.

If he didn’t call out first, it would be difficult for them to find him, half-buried in the sand.

However, this dilemma didn’t last long.

A small, bright red bird strangely appeared, circling around him at a distance of about three or four feet and chirping.

The chirping wasn’t very loud, but it spread out clearly for several miles around. It was clearly meant to inform the group pulling the carriage.

Han Li sighed deeply.

At this point, trying to chase away the little bird like before would be pointless, so he decided to wait quietly. As expected, not long after, the ground vibrated slightly, and someone came galloping towards him.

*Neigh!*

Several riders on demonic beasts approached Han Li, staring coldly at him, half-buried in the sand from a distance. Han Li turned his head and glanced at them.

Their attire was a bit strange, but they were definitely humans.

Han Li was somewhat relieved.

The riders on the demonic beasts were all young men or middle-aged men between twenty and forty years old, but their attire was different.

Some wore shiny, polished armor, while others wore crude armor made of bone fragments, covering only the most important parts.

However, they all carried heavy-looking, club-like weapons, half of which were thick and tapered to a point, resembling the fangs of a wolf, reminiscent of a wolf-toothed club.

However, what caught Han Li’s attention wasn’t the people but the demonic beasts they were riding.

Surprisingly, the blue demonic beasts had jet-black heads with straight horns, and their backs, bellies, and thick four legs were covered in thick armor.

While Han Li was observing them, the riders on the demonic beasts seemed to relax a bit, thinking that Han Li looked ordinary. However, they didn’t approach carelessly.

Among them, a burly man with a deep scar on his face turned his head and said something to a young man next to him.

The young man with short hair rummaged through his belongings for a while, then took out a white disc-like object. He moved his demonic beast and slowly approached Han Li.

The young man spoke some unintelligible words a few feet away from Han Li. When Han Li didn’t react, he looked down at him and finally raised his hand, emitting light from the disc.

A blue pillar of light, the thickness of a bowl, extended from the center of the disc and touched Han Li’s body.

Han Li calmly allowed the pillar of light to touch his body and shine. He didn’t have the strength to move anyway, and he could tell at a glance that the pillar of light wasn’t for attack but for measurement or some other purpose.

After the pillar of light disappeared, the disc flickered. The young man lowered his head and examined the disc, then suddenly shouted in surprise, turning to the others.

The riders who had been waiting behind him were startled and murmured for a while. Then, the burly man with the scar on his face loudly asked the young man something. After hearing the answer, he looked at Han Li, who was lying on the sand, with surprised eyes.

He moved his giant wolf closer to where the young man was. He said something to Han Li, but Han Li could only blink his eyes, unable to understand a single word.

A middle-aged man, scratching his chin, suddenly spoke in a different language.

Han Li’s expression changed slightly upon hearing those words. Although he still couldn’t understand them, they sounded much more familiar, resembling one of the ancient languages of the human realm.

The man, seeing Han Li’s expression, was delighted and quickly said a few more words, but Han Li shook his head with all his might.

The burly man seemed a bit troubled and took out a yellow wooden box and opened the lid. Inside, there was a pale yellow, fingernail-sized bead, and a faint light of spiritual energy flickered.

The middle-aged man looked as if he was about to die of regret, lowered his head, hesitated for a long time, and then gritted his teeth and picked up the bead.

When he turned his other hand over, a ring with a unique shape appeared. There were several spells engraved on the surface, and a jade-colored crystal the size of a bean was embedded in it.

When the burly man brought the bead to the ring, a bright light spread out, and the bead shone brightly.

Then, without hesitation, he threw the bead onto Han Li’s body. As soon as it touched Han Li’s body, it mysteriously melted and disappeared.

‘What is it?’

Han Li felt a cold energy extending from the bead and entering his head, and he became inwardly tense.

If he could move his magic power, he would have immediately pushed the bead away, but now he couldn’t even move a finger, so he had no choice but to endure it.

Fortunately, he didn’t sense any malice in the man’s actions, so Han Li didn’t show any signs of panic.

The cold energy circled around his head and disappeared, and suddenly his head began to ache as if it would break.

It felt like something was being forcibly pushed into his head.

Han Li couldn’t release his consciousness, but the consciousness he possessed within his body was very powerful, so he cleanly absorbed the knowledge and learned the unfamiliar language.

It was the language the man had been speaking.

*