Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 803

Han Li fiddled with the piece of wood for a while before putting it away and looking around. This flying carriage was also provided by Nong Dong. It was comfortable and good at concealment, though not as good as the Spirit Cloud Shuttle, but it was faster. Since the Spirit Cloud Shuttle’s concealment wouldn’t work against powerful ancient beasts anyway, it might be better to increase the speed of travel. Other minor problems could be ignored by simply passing through them quickly with the carriage’s speed.

Even as Han Li was lost in thought, the carriage transformed into a faint blue shadow in the sky and moved forward at high speed. Except for Nong Dong, who was controlling the carriage, the others each took a corner and sat silently.

Without realizing it, Han Li found himself close to Ye Ying, who was wearing a white robe, and narrowed his eyes. If he had to pick the most unsettling and inscrutable person among the group, it would be Ye Ying.

She looked young and spoke frankly, but Han Li, who had mastered the Great Evolution Technique to the extreme, felt an inexplicable pressure from Ye Ying. She was even more mysterious than Nong Dong, who was supposedly a scion of the Nong family.

As Han Li was thinking this, the girl, who had been closing her eyes, suddenly opened them and met his gaze. Before he could react in surprise, the girl curled up the corners of her mouth and smiled sweetly.

Unaware that a hint of interest flickered in the girl’s eyes at that moment, Han Li gave an awkward smile and turned his head away.

The journey over the next fifteen days was extremely smooth, and unexpectedly, there were no major difficulties. Nong Dong and Xiao Hong were relieved and hoped that the rest of the journey would be just as smooth.

After a few more days, the surrounding scenery changed. They had reached a desert area filled with yellow sand and hot winds.

“Have we already reached the Southern Gen Great Desert?”

“Yes, this is the Southern Gen Great Desert. And it’s the easiest way to get to the Mu Clan.”

When Cultivator Lee opened his mouth in surprise, Nong Dong replied in a serious voice.

“I’ve heard about this place for a long time. Is there no way to avoid it, as I’ve heard? The Mu and Spirit Clans appear frequently, making it a very dangerous place.”

Xiao Hong frowned as she looked around.

“Cultivator Xiao, the environment here is harsh, but it’s much safer than the other two routes. It’s even more impossible to go around the desert. On one side, there’s the famous Tai Beast Mountain Range, which is full of high-level experts. Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator [a cultivator at the fifth major stage of cultivation] enters, more than half won’t come back alive. On the other side is the extremely dangerous Jiao Abyss Grand Canyon. There are more than a hundred ferocious Jiaolong [a type of dragon] of the Nascent Soul level or higher, and dozens of Jiaolong Kings of the Integration stage [a cultivator at the seventh major stage of cultivation]. There are countless Jiaolong below that level. Not only our two races but also the other races don’t easily provoke them. So, what chance would a few Spirit Transformation cultivators [a cultivator at the sixth major stage of cultivation] have of surviving if they went there?

Moreover, the Southern Gen Great Desert, the Tai Beast Mountain Range, and the Jiao Abyss Grand Canyon are so vast that it would take a full year to avoid them all.

With a large-scale war ahead, do you think the Heavenly City would let us take so much time to complete our mission?”

Nong Dong explained with a wry smile.

“I see. But I heard that crossing this desert is a great ordeal?”

Ye Ying suddenly interjected.

“I also heard such warnings from the elders of my clan before we departed.”

Cultivator Lee also became cautious at the prospect of the Great Desert.

“Then we should get out of the carriage and move on foot. It’s too conspicuous. If we use concealment techniques, we should be able to cross the desert in about a month.”

“Let’s do as the cultivator says.”

At Nong Dong’s words, Xiao Hong exchanged glances with Cultivator Lee and agreed.

“I agree too. It’s too conspicuous to travel by carriage here.”

Han Li also nodded with a smile, while Ye Ying looked indifferent.

With everyone’s agreement, they all got out of the carriage, and Nong Dong put away the magic tool. Then, using concealment techniques, they carefully entered the desert.

Not long after entering the depths of the desert, Han Li felt something strange.

The temperature was so high that it was incomparable to any other desert he had seen before. Flying low, the high heat emanating from the ground made it feel like crossing a giant volcanic zone.

Han Li looked up at the seven blazing suns, then lowered his head and sent out an ice spike with one hand. However, the ice spike turned into white vapor and dissipated before it even touched the ground.

Seeing this, Han Li sighed softly.

“It seems Cultivator Han doesn’t know. This Southern Gen Great Desert was originally a huge volcanic vent!”

A white light flashed beside him, and Ye Ying appeared, smiling brightly.

“Is that so? I’m hearing this for the first time.”

“A long time ago, a Heavenly Phoenix with wind and earth attributes fought with a True Spirit-level Fire Crocodile that lived under this volcano for about a month, causing the volcanic vent to be completely buried and the terrain to change into a great desert.”

The girl seemed to know a lot about this and explained in detail.

“I wondered why the desert was so strange, so that’s what happened. The divine powers of True Spirit-level beings are truly beyond imagination.”

“That’s right. Our human cultivators would have to reach the Great Ascension stage [a cultivator at the eighth major stage of cultivation] to be able to fight against ordinary True Spirit-level beings. If we encounter a strong one among the True Spirits, like the Heavenly Phoenix, we would still have to look up to them. I wonder what it would feel like to have the power of a True Spirit?”

Ye Ying said this with a small smile and flew forward. Han Li looked at the girl’s back with a puzzled expression, but he quickly erased it and silently moved forward.

Ten days later, the cultivators were still flying low across the desert. Even though they were Spirit Transformation cultivators, they couldn’t help but feel a little tired after flying for so long without rest in such high temperatures.

“Let’s go for another half a day and find a suitable place to rest.”

Nong Dong, who had been watching the cultivators, turned his head and said to the group.

“Yes, I think we definitely need a rest. We also need to recover our magic power.”

Xiao Hong nodded, a hint of fatigue evident on her face.

“Huh, what is that?”

At that moment, Cultivator Lee’s surprised voice was heard. Han Li also looked in that direction unconsciously. However, he couldn’t see anything with his naked eyes.

Raising his eyebrows, he spread out his powerful consciousness and scanned the area, his expression turning strange. The expressions of the other members of the group, who had also used their consciousness to explore, were the same.

“There’s a small city in a place like this, and it’s a city of our human race. Am I seeing this correctly?”

Han Li’s voice was bewildered.

When he scanned with his consciousness, he saw a fairly large green area spread out dozens of miles away, and in the middle of it, there was a small city. Moreover, it seemed that quite a few human mortals and cultivators were living inside.

“How can humans live in such a remote place where the other races appear? Something is strange.”

Xiao Hong frowned, expressing her doubts. Nong Dong raised his eyebrows at her words but remained silent.

“I’ll use my avatar to investigate.”

Cultivator Lee suggested, looking in the direction of the green area.

Then, Cultivator Lee touched the back of his head, and a shadow popped out. The shadow transformed into a small hawk the size of a foot, and it flew toward the city, flapping its black feathers.

Cultivator Lee closed his eyes and focused on the small hawk, which was connected to his consciousness. It seemed he was preparing for any eventuality.

Xiao Hong and Nong Dong exchanged glances, but they didn’t stop Cultivator Lee, as they also thought it was better to check before passing by. Han Li, who was looking up at the city, was also puzzled, and Ye Ying looked interested.

The small hawk was extremely fast, and it didn’t take long for it to return from the city. As the hawk suddenly disappeared into the back of the young man’s head, Cultivator Lee opened his eyes.

“There are indeed humans living in the city. Moreover, there are quite a few high-level cultivators staying there, with about seven or eight Spirit Transformation cultivators. I couldn’t find any Nascent Soul cultivators or higher outside…”

Cultivator Lee said with certainty. Everyone’s expressions changed at his words.

“We don’t know the identity of the city, but it’s better for us to stick to our original plan. It’s easy to get caught up in unnecessary trouble.”

Han Li said calmly.

“I don’t think so. What if something big is happening in the desert and we pass by without knowing anything? It’s important to understand the situation first.”

Nong Dong shook his head.

Han Li’s eyes flashed at Nong Dong’s words, but he didn’t say anything more. Xiao Hong and Cultivator Lee exchanged glances, but they didn’t object, as they thought there was some merit to it.

Then, Ye Ying blinked her pretty eyes and said,

“Isn’t it strange that other cultivators are suddenly gathered in a place like this? Instead, I think we should go our own way, as Brother Han said. Before we get into any trouble.”

“It’s because it’s strange that we need to find out what’s going on. We won’t enter the city, we’ll just look around. Brother Lee said earlier that he didn’t see any Nascent Soul cultivators, so there’s no need to worry too much even if there’s an anomaly.

In a few more days, we’ll enter the One Line Sky. It’s already an extremely dangerous place, and if unexpected variables arise, we might not survive. We need to be careful in everything!”

Nong Dong shook his head, his expression changing.

“What Brother Nong said is not without merit. Let’s do this. Let’s not provoke those cultivators and observe from a distance first. If there are no problems, it won’t be too late to move again.”

Xiao Hong suggested a compromise.

“That would be good.”

Nong Dong nodded, seemingly pleased with the woman’s words. Han Li stroked his chin, and Ye Ying just smiled, both of them remaining silent.

Thus, the group changed direction and, using concealment techniques, silently approached the small city. Although they were moving slower than usual, they were all Spirit Transformation cultivators, so the distance of several dozen miles was quickly closed.

Now, the green area was visible in the distance with the naked eye.

The green area, which was quite large, had small shrubs planted on all sides, and there was a large lake in the middle. Next to the lake, there was a small city surrounded by white stone walls, and a huge city gate, about a dozen feet wide, was visible in the direction the group was flying.

In front of the city gate, cultivators with Foundation Establishment cultivation [a cultivator at the third major stage of cultivation] were standing, wearing yellow robes. Also, around the lake, there were mortals without magic power, and they were bending over, planting something.

Han Li’s group stopped their escape light and secretly scanned the small city with their consciousness.

“That’s right! They’re all humans. Both the mortals and the cultivators seem to be fine. There are about seven or eight Spirit Transformation cultivators inside the city, but I don’t see any Nascent Soul cultivators. Of course, we have to consider the possibility that they are hiding their auras.”

Xiao Hong carefully concluded after examining the city in detail with a secret technique.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual. Have the other cultivators found anything strange?”

Nong Dong looked at the small city for a while before turning his head and asking.

“I don’t feel any fluctuations of restrictions around the city, and it doesn’t seem like they’ve set up any formations. As you all have noticed, the temperature is much lower here than in other areas.”

Cultivator Lee also said after finishing his observation.

“It’s strange. That there’s a green area in a place like this…”

“Why bother with such trivial matters! Let’s enter the city and rest for a while.”

Just as Xiao Hong was about to say something, a strange voice suddenly came from above the group.

Startled, the group immediately scattered, their figures flashing, and cautiously looked up at the sky from several dozen feet away.

From some unknown time, an old Taoist wearing a purple robe was looking down at them with a benevolent face. What was surprising was that he was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage. If the opponent hadn’t been a human cultivator, Han Li’s group would have already fled.

Nong Dong looked at the Taoist in surprise, a faint hint of disappointment on his face.