Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 76

That is to say, the Blood Trial’s restriction would be sealed for 60 years starting five years later. During this time, the Seven Great Sects would jointly supervise the area and prevent anyone from entering.

Such a temporary seal was not unusual. Every two to three hundred years, the Seven Great Sects would gather and make such a decision.

As the restriction was frequently opened, a large amount of spiritual energy was being released, and the growth rate and quantity of spiritual herbs had drastically decreased.

The intention was to periodically seal the restriction to increase the density of spiritual energy again, so as not to damage the growth environment there.

However, even with these breaks, the spiritual herbs within the restriction decreased year by year.

In particular, the spiritual herbs needed for pill refinement were rare and extremely difficult to find. A cultivator from the Seven Great Sects even argued that to truly restore the restriction to its original state, the break should last for more than a thousand years. These temporary measures would only slightly delay the depletion of spiritual herbs and could not solve the fundamental problem.

Even if his words matched the situation within the restriction, the power holders of the Seven Great Sects had no choice but to make a difficult decision. The quantity of Foundation Establishment Pills was directly related to the rise and fall of each sect.

If there was a shortage of pills for about 50 or 60 years, the Seven Great Sects could manage to make up for the losses and continue. However, if that period lasted for hundreds or thousands of years, it would have a ripple effect that would shake not only the Seven Great Sects but also the entire cultivation world of Yue Country.

Could a place where no one could establish their foundation be called a true cultivation world? When that time came, both the cultivation families and the hermits would leave Yue Country and move their cultivation places to other regions.

They could only hope to gather spiritual herbs from other hidden areas before the spiritual herbs in the restriction were completely depleted.

Thus, even the Core Formation [a high level of cultivation] or Nascent Soul [an even higher level of cultivation] cultivators of each sect were taking action. In recent centuries, they had frequently left their sects to search for hidden areas where they could gather spiritual herbs, trying to find a way out to prevent the visible decline of their sects.

These were the difficulties that Han Li was not aware of. He only knew that the unexpected announcement had eliminated his chance to try again in five years.

Even the most foolish person could tell that the last opening in five years would turn the already bloody Blood Trial into hell.

All the outstanding talents of each family would gather to compete for the last spiritual herbs, making it no different from going to one’s death.

Once this news spread, this expedition would be more brutal than usual, but it would certainly be much better than the last one.

After making up his mind, he went to register for the restriction expedition and was surprised to find that the person in charge was Uncle Wang. They were both surprised to see each other.

In fact, Uncle Wang was probably even more surprised than Han Li. He was speechless at the fact that an entry-level disciple like Han Li was trying to participate in the Blood Trial and at his rapid progress.

It was astonishing that Han Li’s cultivation had reached the 11th level in such a short period. He had risen two levels, not just one, from the 9th level. If Han Li had been one of the disciples with innate talent, it wouldn’t have been so unusual.

However, Uncle Wang had personally examined Han Li and confirmed that he had a Pseudo Spiritual Root [a low aptitude for cultivation]. How could he have made such rapid progress?

It was already surprising that Han Li was at the 9th level when he first entered the sect. It would have been impossible without having his family elders inject magical power or taking spiritual medicines regularly and not undergoing arduous training.

But now, Han Li, who had already reached the 11th level, was standing before him, which was a shocking event. Uncle Wang led Han Li away and re-evaluated his attributes. The result was, of course, the same as before: a Pseudo Spiritual Root.

This fact made Uncle Wang’s head spin.

Han Li pretended not to notice Uncle Wang’s doubts and simply replied that he had been diligently cultivating.

However, he glossed over this amazing cultivation speed by saying that he had eaten an unidentified fruit that he had prepared in advance. He said that he had accidentally eaten a strange fruit when he was young, and since then, an unknown power had allowed him to achieve such amazing results.

This was an excuse that Han Li had prepared in advance in case such a situation occurred.

Perhaps the other party was half-believing, so he needed to avoid Uncle Wang as much as possible for a while and be more careful.

Once he succeeded in establishing his foundation and reached the Foundation Establishment stage [a major milestone in cultivation], his status would be completely different from what it was now. At that time, no matter how suspicious he was, they would not be able to touch him carelessly. After all, the cultivation world was a world where the strong devoured the weak.

After barely explaining his rapid progress, Uncle Wang stopped bothering Han Li and immediately completed the procedures as he wished, telling him the precautions to take during the expedition.

Han Li also continued to express his gratitude and left the place. Upon returning, Han Li sought out the old man, temporarily put aside his Hundred Herb Garden duties, and began to prepare for the Blood Trial with all his might.

The old man was silent for half a day when he heard that Han Li was participating in the expedition. He stared at Han Li with a gaze as if he were looking at a dead man, which made Han Li’s hair stand on end. However, unexpectedly, before leaving, Senior Martial Brother Ma silently threw two medicine bottles at Han Li. As Han Li received the pills, he heard Senior Martial Brother Ma’s cold voice flying away on his magical artifact.

“One is for internal injuries, the other is for external injuries.”

His unexpected action warmed Han Li’s heart. After spending two years together, he had come to know the old man a little. Although he was eccentric, he was a warm-hearted person beneath his cold exterior.

* * *

Three days before the restriction expedition, Uncle Wang conveyed that there would be a discussion about the expedition and that everyone should gather at the main hall.

When he arrived at the main hall, the disciples participating in the Blood Trial were gathered, testing each other’s skills. One of them was very familiar: it was Junior Martial Sister Jin, who had almost been assaulted by Senior Martial Brother Yuk.

After Senior Martial Brother Yuk was eliminated by Han Li, a small commotion broke out in Yellow Maple Valley. A low-level disciple who had not yet succeeded in establishing his foundation but was an Earth Spiritual Root [a high aptitude for cultivation] and had received the attention of the upper echelons of Yellow Maple Valley had disappeared.

However, after returning to the sect, Junior Martial Sister Jin, for some reason, kept silent about what had happened that night and never spoke of it.

As a result, Senior Martial Brother Yuk was naturally treated as missing, and the sect contacted various places to find his whereabouts, but without any results, he was gradually forgotten.

Junior Martial Sister Jin’s attitude was markedly different from before. Perhaps she was greatly shocked by her lover’s betrayal, as she exuded an aura that told people not to approach her. The young men who had been attracted to her appearance and tried to talk to her were intimidated and shrank back.

However, this cold and aloof demeanor did not detract from her beautiful appearance but rather added a mysterious charm. Most of the men around her would glance at her.

At this time, Han Li kept his mouth shut and looked at her. The experience of being cruelly betrayed by her lover would make it difficult for her to interact with men in the future, and there was even a high possibility that she would grow old and die alone. He deliberately walked in front of her to confirm that she did not recognize him.

It was the moment when his worry that she might have remembered him completely disappeared.

About half of the reason she was participating in this Blood Trial was due to him. Having lost her Foundation Establishment Pill, she had no choice but to participate in the Blood Trial to obtain one.

The disciples participating in this expedition were truly the elite of the elite. There were six or seven disciples who had reached the late stage of the 13th level. Most of the others had reached the 12th level, and Junior Martial Sister Jin was also at the mid-stage of the 12th level.

Finally, there were only three disciples at the 11th level. Besides Han Li, there was an old man with gray hair and a child who did not look even ten years old.

Seeing this situation, Han Li felt a chill. These three were forcibly included to fill the numbers, and at the same time, he had a premonition that they would become prey.

According to the regulations, the number of disciples entering the restriction could not exceed twenty-five. However, this time, not only had they filled all the spots, but everyone’s level was outstanding, so it was certain that a higher level of trial awaited them compared to other expeditions.

* * *

After Sect Leader Zhong Yingdao’s address and encouragement, two steward disciples entered the hall carrying trays.

On one side was a golden storage pouch, and on the other side was a pile of mid-grade spirit stones [currency in the cultivation world] with beautiful colors. It was to boost morale before the expedition and to distribute the promised items first.

The mid-grade spirit stones could be chosen by each person, so Han Li, who already had earth and fire attribute spirit stones, chose a water attribute one.

Up to this point, no one had any reason to compete. However, when it came time to choose a magical artifact from the storage pouch, the disciples’ faces became serious.

This storage pouch was different from the usual ones. While other storage pouches would produce the desired item when one focused their consciousness and injected spiritual energy, this one completely blocked the cultivator’s detection ability using magical power.

They could only put their hand in and pull out a magical artifact that had been reduced to dozens of times its size to know what it was. In other words, they could only distinguish it from other items by touch.

This storage pouch was clearly made specifically for this magical artifact distribution. Otherwise, who would use such an inconvenient storage pouch?

Although all the items in the storage pouch were of superior quality, defensive magical artifacts were fundamentally rarer than offensive ones. Moreover, even within the same grade, the value could vary greatly depending on their function.

If one obtained a magical artifact that was perfect for them, they could use its help to save their life in the Blood Trial. Therefore, the disciples who were particularly lacking in magical artifacts were even more nervous. However, Han Li was not particularly concerned this time.

He had swept up the rare treasures of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion when he went to the market last time, and he already had two top-grade magical artifacts, as well as the Azure Essence Banner and other magical artifacts.

Adding one more superior-grade magical artifact was not such a thrilling prospect.

After the person right in front of Han Li had chosen their item, most of them had finished their selection. No one revealed or showed what kind of magical artifact they had obtained.

Han Li stepped forward and put only one hand in, stirring around inside. Then, an item with a unique shape caught his hand.

Suddenly remembering something, he pulled it out without choosing anything else, put it into the storage pouch, and quickly checked it. He was momentarily stunned but quickly returned to his original expression.

After the distribution of magical artifacts was completed, several figures entered from outside the main hall. Most of them were the stewards that Han Li had seen when he entered Yellow Maple Valley, including Uncle Wang and Uncle Ye, who had fallen out of Han Li’s favor.

Everyone was more tense than usual and respectfully escorted an old man.

The old man was in his fifties or sixties, and although he had some gray hair mixed in, he had a vigorous aura and tiger-like eyes, which made him look like someone not to be trifled with.

When he scanned the gathered disciples, Han Li felt a strange sensation as if his internal organs were completely exposed in front of him.

Sect Leader Zhong also quickly greeted the old man as he entered, addressing him as ‘Uncle Master Yi’ with every word. He even seemed to be subtly flattering him, which made the disciples watching this confused.

However, the other stewards did not find it strange at all, and when the old man said a few words to Zhong Yingdao, they sent envious and jealous glances. It was as if being able to talk to that old man and use the title ‘Uncle Master’ was a great honor.