Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 787

Han Li carefully examined the restrictions related to the Silver Inscription within Tianyuan City.

Although he found some restrictions that had similar effects to his Myriad Dragon Beads, none were as small, precise, and discreet.

Unless a cultivator with an awareness several times stronger than his meticulously searched the ground, they would never be discovered. This meant it was a unique magical treasure that could be easily refined.

Of course, ‘easy’ was relative; it didn’t apply to those who hadn’t studied the talisman techniques of the Remnants of the Golden Jade Book [a collection of powerful cultivation techniques].

In fact, he had considered making such a magical treasure back in the mortal realm, but one of the main ingredients was already extinct there, making it impossible.

However, upon seeing the main ingredients being traded at relatively low prices in the Setting Sun Star Market, he had purchased all the necessary materials in one go. Looking back, it was a very wise decision.

‘I can’t just ignore someone acting suspiciously in my territory.’

Regardless of how he dealt with them, he needed to find out what they were up to.

Turning into a streak of blue light, he flew from his residence, systematically burying countless Myriad Dragon Beads deep into the ground around it.

Thanks to his speed, he managed to install the restrictions on two-thirds of his territory in just half a day. Afterward, Han Li quietly returned to the eastern part of his residence, set up a bizarre formation in one of the secret chambers, and placed an octagonal formation disc at the center of the formation.

He then embedded dozens of high-grade spirit stones around the formation and cast a series of hand seals to activate it immediately.

*Woong.*

The entire formation emitted a white light, and a silver light curtain descended over the octagonal formation disc, causing the white light to flicker. Han Li nodded in satisfaction and walked out of the main hall.

He didn’t know who had privately invaded his territory, but it was highly likely they were related to the man with the raised eyebrows who had fought him over the territory.

Before obtaining accurate information, he didn’t plan to act rashly but would secretly monitor their actions.

Now, he needed to examine the mysterious lightning patterns, mature the spirit herbs needed for the Silver Inscription spirit talismans recorded in the Remnants of the Golden Jade Book, and refine the Jade Clarity Pill concurrently.

He entered the secret chamber, closed the stone door, and sat on a cushion in the center.

*Paat.*

A blue light flashed as he brushed against the storage pouch, and a jade slip, a golden handkerchief, and a bead appeared. Han Li focused his awareness on the jade slip to re-examine the lightning pattern designs.

He was fiddling with the golden handkerchief when he suddenly threw it into the air. Then, he opened his mouth and spat out a bright red fireball at the spinning handkerchief.

As a result, a flash of light occurred, and the fireball fizzled out with a ‘psheek!’ sound.

‘Hmm.’

Han Li raised his eyebrows and this time pointed at the golden handkerchief, releasing a transparent ice spike. Again, the light of spiritual energy flashed, and the ice spike disappeared.

‘Could it be that objects made of lightning patterns are not affected by the power of the five elements [the fundamental elements of nature in many cultivation systems]?’

Han Li lightly flicked his fingertip, releasing a golden sword qi [a concentrated form of energy used for attacks].

*Sseogeok.*

The golden handkerchief was easily cut into two pieces, exploding and scattering countless fine golden threads. Han Li narrowed his eyes, nodded, and then shook his head from side to side.

Next was the golden bead. The lightning energy it contained was wild and fierce.

*Kwagwagwang!*

Half an hour later, a deafening roar suddenly echoed in the secret chamber, and the walls, densely covered with restrictions, cracked as lightning the size of a bowl wildly surged.

The golden lightning, flashing and writhing, looked like countless golden snakes dancing wildly. Then, a clear sound rang out from the golden center, and a dark, lumpy hill rose, emitting layers of gray rings.

As the gray rings rushed in, the golden lightning that covered the secret chamber was pushed back, condensing into a golden lightning flood dragon within the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light [a powerful defensive technique]. The lightning flood dragon thrashed its tail and head, struggling to break free.

As a result, everything around Han Li was empty except for where he was sitting. Half a dozen deep pits had been created. Han Li looked like a person sitting alone on a stone pillar that had risen from the middle of the pits.

He looked up at the small hill, the golden lightning flood dragon, and the surrounding situation, unable to hide his joy.

“The power of the lightning pattern bead increases the power of the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning by more than tenfold! If I hadn’t protected myself with the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light just now, I might have been caught up in it. I could easily kill an opponent of the same level.”

However, he was disappointed by the low success rate of the lightning pattern bead. Although he could use the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, he couldn’t use it all up on this. But then he realized that the lightning power he possessed wasn’t limited to the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning.

Han Li opened his mouth and emitted a blue light. The small cauldron containing the blue light was none other than the Void Sky Cauldron.

He patted the back of his head with one hand, and a gray aura was released, enveloping the black hill that had trapped the lightning flood dragon. With two powerful restrictions in place, the lightning flood dragon could no longer rampage.

In that state, Han Li extended his hand and pointed at the small cauldron.

*Woong!*

The cauldron lid flew off, and the gray aura forcefully pushed the lightning flood dragon into the cauldron before scattering and disappearing on its own. The black hill was also absorbed into his body at Han Li’s gesture.

Looking at the chaotic surroundings, he raised his hand and took out a monkey puppet about the size of two palms, imbuing it with a strand of his awareness. After giving it an order, he moved to another secret chamber. The Void Sky Cauldron followed closely behind him, floating in the air. As soon as Han Li sat down in the new secret chamber, he reached out his hand.

*Shweik!*

The Void Sky Cauldron quickly approached, and as he recited the communication incantation, a blue light burst from the cauldron, instantly growing more than a dozen times in size.

*Teng!*

He flicked the palm-sized cauldron with his finger, and a loud thunderclap echoed from within, as a silver light the size of a human head shot out like lightning.

*Kwagwagwang! Kwakwang!*

The thunder still echoed from inside the cauldron, indicating that more lightning remained. It was the golden and silver heavenly lightning that he had forcibly trapped when he first faced the Small Heavenly Tribulation [a trial of power and skill]. The power of this heavenly lightning was no less than the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, and there was a large quantity of it, making it suitable for experimenting with lightning pattern objects.

‘Hoo.’

Taking a deep breath, Han Li began to continuously flick his ten fingers at the lightning mass, surrounding it with his powerful awareness.

Then, a roar was heard from within the silver lightning, and it split into countless silver lightning strands…

Time passed, and fifteen days had gone by since Han Li had entered the secret chamber.

*Woong!*

The octagonal formation disc within the formation installed in the main hall rang out clearly. A silver light curtain was emerging from the formation disc.

The stone door of the secret chamber, which had been firmly closed, opened, and a streak of blue light rushed out, appearing in the main hall. When the light faded, Han Li was revealed, wearing a golden robe.

The robe’s design was ordinary, but upon closer inspection, faint golden and silver spell characters flickered, making it look extremely ornate and beautiful. However, Han Li took out a blue robe and put it on over the golden robe, carefully concealing it.

He then approached the formation and stared at the silver light curtain formed in the air. Four differently colored dots were flickering on one side of the silver curtain, moving towards the center.

‘…’

Han Li’s eyes gleamed as he silently watched the movement of the dots, and his expression darkened as they approached his residence.

The dots moved quite slowly, and it took a full hour before the four dots stopped about two or three thousand miles away from his residence. Each dot hovered around, circling back and forth.

Finally, Han Li stroked his chin and reacted.

*Wengwengweng!*

He flicked his sleeve, releasing a dozen or so fist-sized Silver Devouring Insects. The Silver Devouring Insects circled the roof once before disappearing outside like the wind.

Han Li loosened his blue robe, revealing the golden robe again. A smile appeared on his face as he touched the hem of the robe with his fingertips.

This was the Lightning Robe, made using lightning patterns and a large amount of heavenly lightning from the Void Sky Cauldron. He had used over a dozen types of lightning pattern symbols within the Lightning Robe, which would become a new trump card when fighting enemies.

He had also made over a dozen lightning pattern beads. Now, even a Void Refinement cultivator [a high level of cultivation] wouldn’t be able to easily deal with him. Han Li had greatly strengthened his power in a short period.

After silently organizing his thoughts, he straightened the collar of his blue robe again and brushed against the storage pouch, taking out a white jade tablet. It was the Remnants of the Golden Jade Book.

The outer remnants of the Golden Jade Book contained talisman techniques, but they were incomplete. However, at least four types of refinement methods were certain.

There was the Taiyi Purification Talisman he had used before, the Nine Palaces Heavenly Dry Talisman he had applied to refine the Myriad Dragon Beads, and the shadow puppet talisman called the Armor Origin Talisman. And finally, the only offensive talisman, the Heavenly Halberd Talisman.

Except for the fact that the Taiyi Purification Talisman still had a low success rate and required a large amount of materials, he had almost completed his research with the help of the jade slip containing the insights of the Heavenly Orchid Saint’s clone.

The Nine Palaces Heavenly Dry Talisman was originally a celestial talisman used to trap enemies. He had understood about half of it and developed the simple magical treasure called the Myriad Dragon Beads based on that understanding. He was still completely lost with the remaining Armor Origin Talisman and Heavenly Halberd Talisman.

However, he had a chance to see a similar shadow puppet talisman at the Tianyuan City market, which increased his understanding of the Armor Origin Talisman. Since Han Li was already skilled in puppetry, he would achieve good results if he continued his research.

The last Heavenly Halberd Talisman was an offensive talisman of the metal element.

According to the records, if one could use this talisman, they could summon the Heavenly Halberd Blade of the Immortal Realm, and its power was said to be capable of splitting the seas and overturning the earth. However, the talisman refinement method was too profound, and Han Li, as a Deity Transformation cultivator [a mid-level of cultivation], could no longer make progress.

Han Li stroked the jade tablet, lost in thought.

There were countless mid- and high-level cultivators in Tianyuan City, and there were an immeasurable number of people whose magical power and divine abilities surpassed his. Therefore, it was important to prepare various measures to survive at any moment.

Unfortunately, most of the four talismans could not be refined now. However, since he had managed to avoid the attention of even a Void Refinement cultivator when he refined the Taiyi Purification Talisman, having just one or two more would be of great help.

He could take his time researching the other talismans without being impatient.

*Paat.*

Thinking this, Han Li flicked his wrist, and a blue light burst from the storage pouch. When the light faded, silk boxes and porcelain bottles of various sizes appeared on the floor.

He gestured with one hand in the air, and one of the silk boxes flew over. Inside the silk box was a reddish beast hide, which seemed to be no ordinary object, as it was emitting a light of spiritual energy.

Han Li threw the beast hide into the air and began refining it.

*Puhwak!*

He put his hands together and recited a hand seal, and a blue aura enveloped the beast hide. The blue color instantly turned bright red and blazed fiercely.

It was a strange sight.

The beast hide did not turn to ashes in the bright red flames but emitted a blinding light of spiritual energy, gradually becoming transparent.

Han Li then pointed at the other jade boxes. As a result, powders of various colors came out of the jade boxes and were sucked into the flames.

They turned into a light of spiritual energy and clung to the beast hide, and the surface of the transparent beast hide gradually shone with various colors. Han Li flicked hand seals with his ten fingers and closed his eyes.

Now, the only sounds in the secret chamber were the occasional ‘crackling’ sounds from within the flames.

Two months passed like this.

During that time, a dull roar was heard from the secret chamber every few days. After that was repeated a dozen or so times, silence finally returned. Another fifteen days passed, and the door of the secret chamber opened, and Han Li walked out, immediately heading to the main hall.