Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 753

Han Li, having browsed through various shops for spirit tool materials, exited the seventh store with a sigh. The materials weren’t bad, but their quality wasn’t high enough.

‘Would I use spirit tools made from such materials when I’m about to reach the Great Accomplishment of the Vajra Technique [a powerful body refinement technique]?’ he wondered.

‘At the very least, they should be on par with the Golden Flood Dragon Sword I gave to Brother Fan…’

“What’s wrong, Brother Han? Are you not satisfied with the items?” Jeon Heung asked, having carefully observed Han Li’s expression.

“These materials are unusable,” Han Li replied, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

“Then, there’s a place worth visiting. They have many unique items there. Still, I can’t guarantee you’ll find something you like,” Jeon Heung said, acting like a local, immediately suggesting a place to take his companion.

“Then, let’s go there,” Han Li replied, showing interest. The two of them left the street and were about to board a carriage lined up along the roadside when a majestic beast’s cry echoed through the air, followed by a tiger’s roar.

The two monstrous cries reverberated, causing a brief commotion among the commoners and cultivators. Han Li also turned his head towards the sound, spotting a black dot quickly passing overhead.

Three monsters with dragon heads and tiger bodies were pulling a blue carriage, moving away.

“It seems the Desolate Spirit Lord has left his residence. What’s going on?” Jeon Heung exclaimed in surprise as he watched the carriage pass.

“Desolate Spirit Lord? Who is that?” Han Li asked. Jeon Heung looked at him with strange eyes.

“It seems you really came from a faraway place.”

“Is he a famous person in Setting Sun City?”

“Although the city lord is a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator [a high cultivation stage], the number one cultivator in Setting Sun City isn’t him. The Desolate Spirit Lord, who has been staying in the nearby mountains for over ten thousand years, has the highest cultivation. It’s said that he has already passed the Five Elements Unification gate and is an early-stage Refinement Void cultivator [an even higher cultivation stage],” Jeon Heung explained.

‘Early-stage Refinement Void!’ Han Li was startled. As an early-Nascent Soul cultivator, he knew the vast difference between Nascent Soul and Refinement Void cultivators.

Considering that no one among the Three Sovereigns had advanced to a higher realm in the past tens of thousands of years, the Refinement Void stage was likely the highest cultivation level representing the human race.

He hadn’t heard of any cultivators among cultivators or commoners who had reached the Great Ascension or Tribulation Transcending stages, but that could be because they belonged to the lower realms of the Spirit World.

Jeon Heung, who had boarded the carriage, excitedly talked about the Desolate Spirit Lord, while Han Li listened quietly with a smile. After several hours of frantic driving, they stopped at the end of an unfamiliar alley.

Han Li got out of the carriage and looked around, noticing a fairly large shop. The gate was large and tall, lavishly gilded, with a plaque that read ‘Vault of the Heavens Pavilion.’

On either side of the gate, two nearly two-meter-long blue iron pillars were embedded, and red monsters resembling lizards were chained to them with silver chains.

The two monsters rose up the moment Han Li got out of the carriage and stared at him.

“Let’s go!” Jeon Heung followed Han Li out, unafraid of the two monsters, and showed a yellow tag. The monsters then growled lowly, laid back down, and didn’t antagonize them.

The two walked between the monsters, and Han Li frowned slightly as he entered. The seven-meter-wide room was filled with display cases, but they were all empty.

There was a staircase on one side of the room, and a flat-nosed old man was sleeping on a wooden chair next to it. He didn’t seem to care whether anyone came or not.

“Elder Seo! Wake up! I brought a guest!” Jeon Heung went straight up to the old man and shook his shoulder to wake him.

“A guest? Where!” the old man asked, opening his eyes wide and speaking in a sleepy voice.

“I heard this place handles special items, so I came to take a look,” Han Li said calmly, scanning the old man, who seemed to be the owner.

“If you want special items, you’ve come to the right place. We specialize in trading unusual items. So, what kind of item are you looking for?” the old man asked with a smile, looking at Han Li for a moment.

“I’m looking for spirit tool materials.”

“Oh, it’s rare to find people looking for special spirit tool materials. Still, our shop has two items. I’ll go get them right away,” the old man said, immediately running up the stairs with a thud. Han Li watched his back intently and then spoke.

“He seems to be a body refiner. And a very skilled one at that!”

“I know, right! That old man was one of the famous high-level body refiners in Setting Sun City back in the day. But he had an accident in the Setting Sun Tomb decades ago and lost all his strength! Since then, he’s been running a shop in the city to make a living,” Jeon Heung explained.

“So that’s what happened,” Han Li nodded, as if he finally understood. Jeon Heung was about to ask how Han Li had noticed Elder Seo’s cultivation when suddenly, the roars of demonic beasts were heard from outside.

“You beasts!”

Bang! Bang!

Heavy thuds and the sound of something falling hard echoed one after another. Han Li and Jeon Heung turned around in surprise and saw a man and a woman walking through the door.

Behind them, the monsters guarding the door were lying on their backs, unable to move. Jeon Heung, shocked, was only relieved after hearing the monsters groaning.

Han Li’s gaze turned to the man and woman.

Neither of them looked old. The man had a neat appearance and an air of elegance, while the woman was also beautiful. Judging by the pressure of their spiritual energy, they seemed to be Core Formation cultivators [another high cultivation stage].

Moreover, he could tell at a glance that they were young people whose appearances matched their actual ages.

Although there were far more Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators in the Spirit World than in the Mortal World due to the dense spiritual energy and the abundance of mid- and high-grade spirit stones and treasures, it was still surprising to see such high cultivation at such a young age.

“Are you the shopkeepers working here?” the man asked, scanning Han Li and Jeon Heung with his spiritual sense. After realizing they were a Qi Refining cultivator [a low cultivation stage] and a mortal, he shouted.

He knew that Han Li was a body refiner because he was wearing a spirit tool ring, but he assumed that if he was associating with a mere Qi Refining cultivator, his level was obvious.

“No, I’m here with a guest to buy items,” Jeon Heung quickly replied with a smile, realizing that the man and woman were Core Formation cultivators.

“A guest? Then where did the owner of the Vault of the Heavens Pavilion go?”

“Elder Seo went upstairs to get some items. If you wait a moment, he will be down soon.”

“Junior Sister Ryeo, would it be alright to wait here for a while?” the young man asked the young woman gently, not even acknowledging Jeon Heung.

“It’s fine since my grandfather is chatting with Senior Brother’s master. But will there really be something I want in a place like this?” the woman asked, looking around at the empty display cases, puzzled.

“I’ve only heard about it, and this is my first time visiting this place. My friend said that there are many rare items here. Even if there isn’t an item that Junior Sister wants, it would be good to broaden your horizons, wouldn’t it?” the young man said, clearly trying to win the woman’s favor.

“Since Senior Brother Jeon says so, I guess I’ll take a look,” the woman replied.

Soon, the sound of thumping was heard from upstairs, and the old man came down leisurely, carrying two small boxes wrapped in silk.

“It seems we have more guests. Hmm, did you guests make the demonic beasts at the door like that?” the old man asked, happy to see more customers, but his expression subtly hardened when he saw the demonic beasts outside the door.

“Don’t worry! They were being reckless, so I just gave them a lesson. I didn’t seriously injure them. This Junior Sister Ryeo is a descendant of Senior Desolate Spirit, and if the beasts were to run wild and scare her, would the owner take responsibility?” the young man explained with a friendly smile, knowing the owner’s background.

“…A descendant of the Desolate Spirit Lord, I won’t say anything more. But be careful next time, or I won’t let it slide!” the old man’s expression changed slightly at the young man’s words, but he immediately returned to normal and warned him. He didn’t want to argue with the young man any longer, so he walked straight to Han Li.

Han Li’s eyes lit up, but he didn’t immediately accept the boxes and asked, “Could you please explain what kind of mysterious items are inside?”

“One is a material called Silver Core Stone, but I don’t know much about it, so please take a look yourself,” the old man said calmly, opening one of the silk boxes, revealing a pale silver, fist-sized stone, and unexpectedly handing both boxes to Han Li.

“Silver Core Stone? Wait a minute! We’ll buy that,” the woman, who had been standing quietly, said, delighted at the mention of the Silver Core Stone. The young man immediately reacted and tried to snatch the silk box. A blue aura rushed towards the silk box containing the stone.

Han Li’s eyebrows twitched at the name Silver Core Stone, but his face hardened the moment the young man tried to snatch the silk box.

Thud!

He raised one arm, causing his shoulder to swell explosively, and gripped the two silk boxes tightly. However, the blue aura didn’t retreat and rushed at Han Li, trying to take the items.

The moment Han Li sneered and moved his arm, his body moved backward, and a golden palm struck the blue aura.

Boom!

The blue aura was torn apart like paper by the golden palm and scattered.

“High-level body refiner!” the young man hesitated to form a hand seal after seeing Han Li’s movements.

“Senior Brother Jin, don’t do that! Let’s talk it out nicely. Shopkeeper, it seems you haven’t sold the Silver Core Stone yet. I’ll pay double the original price, so please give it to me,” the woman, Ryeo, stopped the young man and cleverly offered a deal to the old man.

“That won’t do. I know that Senior Ryeo is a descendant of Senior Desolate Spirit, but the Vault of the Heavens Pavilion also has its rules. This isn’t an auction house where items are sold to the highest bidder, but a place where the first person to arrive buys the item at the set price. You can only take the Silver Core Stone if this guest agrees to give it up,” the old man said, unexpectedly refusing the offer, whether such a rule really existed or not.

The hesitant woman had no choice but to look at Han Li this time. However, Han Li was looking down, opening another silk box, and examining a dusty, square ore.

It was clearly smooth like jade on the surface, but its dark color gave it a strange feeling.

“My master is Venerable Gyu Ryong. This Silver Core Stone is essential for Junior Sister Ryeo, so I’ll pay double for it! Give up the item,” the young man, Jeon, watched Han Li and stepped forward. He seemed polite, but his tone was extremely arrogant.

“I refuse,” Han Li replied, touching the gray stone with his finger, without even making eye contact.

“What did you say?”

“If this item is important to your group, isn’t it possible that it’s also essential for me?” Han Li finally looked at the young man and said calmly.

“That’s why I’m offering double the price!” the young man threatened Han Li subtly with a cold gaze. The woman, Ryeo, narrowed her brows but didn’t stop him any further.

“I’m not particularly short on spirit stones. If you back down now, I might even give you some spirit stones as compensation,” Han Li sighed and muttered.

Even if they had a strong background, Han Li had no family to worry about, and if he entered the Setting Sun Tomb like this, he wouldn’t come out again until he overcame the hurdles.

Besides, what threat could mere Core Formation cultivators pose to him after they recovered their magic power? If he couldn’t overcome their strong background, he could just run away.

However, Jeon Heung’s face was turning pale at Han Li’s words, which showed no regard for the other party’s face. Even the expressionless old man was secretly surprised.

‘What kind of identity does he have to be so confident in front of the direct disciples of Venerable Gyu Ryong and the Desolate Spirit Lord!’