Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 75

As if completely unconcerned with Senior Brother Yuk’s questions, Han Li raised a finger, causing the giant sword’s light to intensify while the Azure Dragon’s light conversely weakened to the point of being barely visible.

Frustrated, Senior Brother Yuk, determined to take Han Li down with him, gathered the remaining magical power in the Azure Dragon Flag, created a wind seal, and fiercely launched it towards Han Li. Having already fought several times, Han Li immediately used the Extreme Swift Steps to their fullest, swaying his body left and right on the spot. Surprisingly, several afterimages were created, confusing the wind seal that was chasing him.

Simply running away wouldn’t shake off the wind seal’s pursuit.

‘Psh.’

Suddenly, the wind seal fell from the sky, crashed into the ground, and its form eventually dissipated.

Only then did Han Li let out a long breath, finally able to relax. Using techniques learned in the mortal world to fight against a cultivator’s magic was something only he would dare to do, risking his life.

He immediately sat down on the ground, looking towards where Senior Brother Yuk had been.

The wind barrier that had been endlessly swirling had disappeared, and Senior Brother Yuk was lying on the ground, cut in half, with only the giant sword hovering above him, scattering its afterglow.

* * *

When Han Li raised his hand to summon it, the giant sword flew to his side and transformed back into its original form.

‘Crack.’

As he reached out to grab the talisman, it burned to ashes before it could even fall from the sky. Then, a mountain breeze blew the ashes away, leaving nothing behind.

The talisman had completely fulfilled its purpose. It had used up the last of its remaining power, and although Han Li knew the value of the talisman, his heart ached.

However, the one called Senior Brother Yuk was a strong opponent, so how could he have won without paying such a price!

Moreover, the opponent’s Azure Dragon Flag was a rare item, enough to compensate for what he had lost as spoils of war.

And if he added two more Foundation Establishment Pills, there was no need to say more. Once he finished calculating the gains, his mood naturally improved, and this fierce battle felt worthwhile.

If he succeeded in establishing his foundation with the Foundation Establishment Pills he had obtained today, he wouldn’t have to go through the Blood Trial. If he went there, there might be a group of people with abilities like Senior Brother Yuk or even stronger. As the intermediate spirit stone in his hand continued to replenish his spiritual energy, he was finally able to get up.

But just as he was about to straighten his back and get up, an extreme pain surged from his dantian [the energy center in the lower abdomen].

The pain felt like countless needles piercing his dantian, causing his back, which had just straightened, to suddenly bend over, and Han Li’s face turned pale.

After about a quarter of an hour, the piercing pain finally subsided. Han Li, feeling dejected, muttered to himself. The reason for this was clear. It was because he had recklessly swallowed a large amount of herbs. Some of the herbs he had consumed replenished his spiritual power and were used immediately, but most of them gathered in his dantian, clashing with his original magical power. In addition, each herb had different medicinal properties, so if he didn’t expel the energy soon, it would leave a major problem.

He knew that overdosing on spiritual herbs would definitely harm his body, but it was an unavoidable choice to survive.

After sensing that the fierce battle would turn into a long one, Han Li immediately followed what he had learned from Old Man Wu and boldly stopped his defensive magic, blocking all the magical power from escaping. Like clothes getting wet in a drizzle, even a small amount of magical power would gradually leak out, and in the end, a large amount of magical power would be lost.

And Senior Brother Yuk, who didn’t know this, had been casting the Wind Palm Technique from beginning to end in order to be cautious, which caused him to run out of magical power even faster.

If he hadn’t been able to preserve his magical power, it would have been difficult for Han Li to gain the upper hand. It was a difficult fight where he barely managed to survive by using all sorts of tricks, and it also showed how strong his opponent was.

But in the end, Han Li was the one who survived. Once the pain subsided a little, he didn’t hesitate to move his body to where the Azure Dragon Flag had fallen. He bent down again with difficulty and picked up the magic tool, feeling happier the more he looked at it. He immediately put the Azure Dragon Flag into his storage pouch.

Then, he stood in front of Senior Brother Yuk’s corpse. Although his appearance was unpleasant, he rummaged through it to find his spoils of war. The opponent’s storage pouch was neatly placed in the middle of the bisected corpse, making it very easy to find.

Without hesitation, he turned the storage pouch upside down, and immediately a bottle and a box containing Foundation Establishment Pills came into view. Inside the bottle were dark blue pills, which smelled a bit foul, but a powerful spiritual energy could be felt from them.

Now that he had confirmed the Foundation Establishment Pills, it seemed he should look at the other items later. Even though it was the middle of the night, he had just had a huge battle, so it was best to leave this place quickly. Han Li swept all the items back into Senior Brother Yuk’s storage pouch.

Just as he was about to get up, he heard something rushing towards him from behind. Han Li tried to dodge quickly, but he was unable to move due to the sudden, extreme pain in his dantian. What covered him was a soft, fragrant woman’s body.

Han Li quickly took out a spirit talisman and infused a small amount of magical power into it to subdue her. Twisting his body, he barely managed to get out of the woman’s embrace and laid Junior Sister Jin on the ground.

Han Li used Fireball Technique to create a large pit, threw Senior Brother Yuk’s corpse into it, and burned it. Then, he cleaned up the aftermath of the battle, making sure no clues could be found. After wrapping Junior Sister Jin, who was still wearing torn clothes, around his body, all that was left was to leave this place.

* * *

Han Li flew west for a hundred miles and finally found an inconspicuous rock and landed. Originally, he had planned to put the woman down and leave immediately, but seeing her face contorted in pain, his heart softened. In the end, Han Li approached her and put a white powder near her mouth.

“The poison won’t be life-threatening, but if it’s not detoxified in time, it will greatly damage your vitality. I guess I’ll do one more good deed and detoxify you. I happen to have the Clear Spirit Powder to do it.”

Han Li didn’t delay any longer and quickly grabbed his medicine bottle and boarded his magic tool. She would wake up soon, so if he didn’t leave now, he would definitely have trouble.

Han Li flew through the darkness for a long time and reached Yellow Maple Valley, where he took a short rest. Then, he waited for the sun to rise and returned to the Hundred Herbs Garden with confidence.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he went straight to his room and locked himself in for three days and nights. Only then did he finally expel the chaotic energy in his dantian.

Even so, due to the aftereffects of the battle, his vitality was greatly damaged, and he probably wouldn’t return to his optimal condition unless he rested well for a month or two. Still, the spoils of war that made all of this worthwhile were waiting for him.

Sitting at his desk, Han Li admired the Foundation Establishment Pills, the biggest gain from this battle. After examining them for a full hour, he discarded the original container and hid them inside the newly acquired auxiliary magic tool, the Copper Mirror. This way, he could prevent the spiritual energy from dissipating even a little.

He regretted the broken flying sword talisman and the Steel Ring, but he was comforted by the fact that two useful magic tools had come out of Senior Brother Yuk’s storage pouch. One was the blue rope he had used to ambush him, and the other was a silver hook, both of which seemed to be high-quality items.

In addition, the wind-attribute low and intermediate talismans and twenty low-grade spirit stones were also a great harvest.

The only regret was that the Wind Palm Technique talisman, which was his only high-grade talisman, had already lost its spiritual power in the battle with Han Li.

While organizing his spoils of war, he destroyed everything except what he would keep to prevent any future problems.

Now it was time to think about the Foundation Establishment Pills. But Han Li didn’t know anything about how to take them.

He wasn’t sure if he could just swallow the Foundation Establishment Pills and be done with it, or if he needed to take other spiritual medicines before taking them to enhance their effects, or even if he needed another helper.

In any case, such precious pills might have an extraordinary method of consumption. Even if he went to the Blood Trial, the probability of failure was high, so he hadn’t been too concerned about the method of consumption, but unexpectedly, two Foundation Establishment Pills had fallen into his hands.

* * *

Han Li went to the Skill Transmission Hall under the pretext of learning new magic techniques. He lingered around Old Man Wu for half a day and finally learned how to take the Foundation Establishment Pills. The Foundation Establishment Pills would take effect simply by being swallowed.

It was great news that no other auxiliary medicines or helpers were needed, but the next thing Old Man Wu said made him feel troubled. The problem was after taking the Foundation Establishment Pills.

* * *

In the northern part of Jianzhou, on the border between Yue and Yuanwu, dozens of yellow-robed people stood facing the wind.

Their physiques and ages varied, but they were all lined up in an orderly manner without a word.

At the head of the line, an old man stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky. Behind him stood four men and one woman, one of whom was Uncle Wang, who had guided Han Li to Yellow Maple Valley.

Behind those five, yellow-robed disciples lined up in two rows, each showing different emotions. Some were nervous and didn’t know what to do, while others had indifferent expressions.

At the end of the line, a dark-skinned young man was constantly looking down at his feet. He didn’t move his gaze anywhere else, as if he was very shy.

This young man was Han Li, and he was one of the Yellow Maple Valley disciples who had gathered to participate in the so-called Blood Trial.

It was truly ridiculous that he had two Foundation Establishment Pills and yet had to choose a path that led to death.

About a month and a half ago, the method of taking the Foundation Establishment Pills that Old Man Wu had told him had shaken Han Li quite a bit.

After taking the Foundation Establishment Pills, one had to go into closed-door cultivation for three months and could only come out after fully absorbing the effects of the medicine. Otherwise, the effects of the medicine would dissipate, losing most of their original function, so the success of the Foundation Establishment Pills could only be known after several months. This long period of time was fatal news for Han Li.

Originally, his plan was to take two Foundation Establishment Pills and, depending on whether he succeeded in establishing his foundation, consider whether to go on the forbidden expedition. If he succeeded in establishing his foundation, he would never go to dangerous areas like the forbidden zone, and he wouldn’t risk his life with a survival rate of one in four.

However, if he failed to establish his foundation with two pills, then this forbidden expedition would become mandatory. If one or two pills didn’t work, he was determined to make countless Foundation Establishment Pills, whether it was three or four, and definitely succeed in establishing his foundation.

With the condition of three months of closed-door cultivation, Han Li’s plan had collapsed, and now he was in a difficult situation where he had to choose one of two options.

If he took the Foundation Establishment Pills immediately, the forbidden expedition would automatically be out of the question, and if he chose the Blood Trial, he would have to postpone taking the Foundation Establishment Pills.

After dozens of days of deliberation, he concluded that with his aptitude, the probability of success was low even with two Foundation Establishment Pills.

In fact, it wasn’t that Han Li hadn’t considered waiting another five years to participate in the Blood Trial again.

Even if he failed to establish his foundation after taking the Foundation Establishment Pills, his Eternal Spring Arts would definitely have reached their peak, greatly increasing his chances of successfully obtaining spiritual herbs.

However, not long after he had this thought, the upper echelons of Yellow Maple Valley announced a major event in the cultivation world, ruining his plan again.

# 77