Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 88

“How did you get your hands on Feng Yi’s treasure shoes? That guy cherishes the Cloud Stepping Boots like a treasure; he’d never lend them to anyone.”

As he spoke, a figure in colorful clothes appeared from under a large tree. He was a man in his forties with an average build and a face full of pockmarks. What was unusual was that he had about seven pouches of varying sizes hanging from his belt.

He looked at Han Li’s shoes with a face full of questions, as if it were impossible for the Cloud Stepping Boots to be on Han Li’s feet.

“Who are you, and why did you attack me?”

Han Li didn’t answer the man’s question, but instead asked one of his own. He didn’t want to be manipulated by the other’s questions or be intimidated by his presence. The pockmarked man was taken aback for a moment, then glared at him with a fierce aura. He was about to reach out and teach the young brat a lesson, but for some reason, he stopped himself.

“Just because you’re wearing Feng Yi’s shoes doesn’t mean I can’t punish you! Didn’t Feng Yue mention the name of the Spirit Beast Mountain sect when he gave you the shoes? This is really strange. You’re clearly from the Yellow Maple Valley, so how did he give you the shoes? Could you be Feng Yi’s illegitimate son? But you don’t look alike at all.”

He kept looking at Han Li, lost in thought. Han Li was infuriated by the absurd speculation.

“Don’t go around associating me with such a person. Feng Yue has been dead for a long time, and I took these shoes from him!”

“Dead? The madman Feng Yue?”

The man, who had been so fierce, was shocked. He took a step back without realizing it and looked at Han Li with different eyes.

“Did you kill him?”

He asked, rolling his eyes, his initial ferocity completely gone.

“That’s right. So what? Are you going to take revenge for him?”

Han Li put his hands behind his back and silently stared at the man. However, a thread he had secretly taken out from his storage pouch was subtly wrapped around his fingers. He had boldly revealed that he had killed Feng Yue to intimidate the other party into backing down. He didn’t want to get caught up in a fight on the way to the central area, end up in a lose-lose situation, or waste time gathering herbs.

Judging by his tone, he seemed to be acquainted with Feng Yue, but the possibility of him actually seeking revenge for Feng Yue was very slim. Most cultivators didn’t care much for personal relationships, let alone a villain like him.

Of course, if the other party readily offered to take revenge for the dead Feng Yue, he would have no choice but to strike first and seize the advantage. Even if it cost him some energy, if he fully unleashed his movement technique and used the thread in his hand to slit his throat, he could kill him before he even knew what was happening.

Right now, the distance between him and the pockmarked man was too great. No matter how fast Han Li was, he couldn’t guarantee he could kill him in one blow. If the other party used a defensive technique, this thread would be completely useless.

“Revenge? What nonsense are you talking about? Do I look like I have nothing better to do? I did have some dealings with him before, but that’s all.”

He stated his position as if it were nothing. His guard was still up, but Han Li was slightly relieved, though he didn’t show it. At least he didn’t have to start a fight as soon as he entered the central area.

“But young friend, you’re quite skilled. Feng Yue wasn’t someone easy to deal with. Especially those shoes, they’re top-grade magic tools, hehe. They’re really hard to come by.”

The man scratched his nose and spoke more amiably, even changing the way he addressed him. However, as he spoke, he was subtly moving backward. He was trying to increase the distance between himself and Han Li. Han Li smiled wryly at this.

In his opinion, even if he attacked now, his chances of success were probably only one in ten. The man was a master, cunning, and experienced. Moreover, the other party was very wary of him after seeing that he had taken Feng Yue’s magic tools. Having assessed everything, Han Li smiled. There was no need to explain how he had obtained the magic tools.

“Did you create the artwork on the stone wall?”

He simply brought up the matter of the stone wall to start a conversation.

“Bullshit! That was done by the demonic cultivator Han Cheon-ae of the Hwado Sect. I don’t do such pointless things! What a waste of all that blood and flesh! If it were me, I would have fed it to my darlings. I heard that the blood and flesh of cultivators are great for nourishment.”

Han Li, who had been listening to the man with a faint smile, found it hard to keep his expression when the pockmarked man pulled out a large bundle from behind his back, revealing chunks of meat dripping with blood. The villain glanced at Han Li’s expression and became smug.

‘This Yellow Maple Valley brat is too young and inexperienced.’

His face changed so much after just a few words; it would be a major weakness in a real fight. In his opinion, it was very surprising that Han Li had killed Feng Yue. He looked ordinary and didn’t seem to have the ability to do so.

If he was so young and had such shallow magic power, he couldn’t have defeated Feng Yue’s top-grade magic tools like the Yellow Mountain Umbrella and the Cloud Stepping Boots, even if he had a few good magic tools. It was very strange, but it was a fact that the Cloud Stepping Boots were on Han Li’s feet. It was possible that he didn’t kill Feng Yue but got lucky, or there could be another reason.

Jong Oh thought and thought until his head hurt, but he still couldn’t make a judgment about Han Li’s strength. In this situation, he would never provoke the other party. Gambling with his own life was not something a wise person would do. After sorting out his thoughts, the pockmarked man put the bundle back and blinked, giving Han Li an ugly smile.

“That’s right. I haven’t even asked for your name yet, young friend. Could you tell this Jong so-and-so?”

“I am Han Li from the Yellow Maple Valley.”

Han Li, whose expression had improved, answered since there was no reason to hide it.

“Hmm, so you’re Brother Han. I haven’t heard of your name before, so you must be a new talent who entered this time. How much do you know about the central area, Brother Han?”

Jong Oh became surprisingly friendly, as if he were meeting a friend he hadn’t seen in years.

“I don’t know much. Brother Jong is older, so I’m sure you know much more than I do.”

Han Li’s wariness grew as he couldn’t figure out the other’s intentions.

“Hehe! If you trust me, Brother Han, how about we exchange information about the central area? It would be beneficial for both of us.”

Jong Oh paused for a moment, then stated his intentions in a low voice. Han Li hesitated, and his face darkened again. There was no rule in the sect that allowed him to privately exchange information with people from other sects. However, although it was written that it was not allowed, in reality, it was common to do so. So, after a moment, Han Li smiled again.

“That’s possible. Exchanging information would be beneficial for both of us.”

“Haha! That’s great. I knew Brother Han wouldn’t be someone who would hesitate. Let’s put our information in jade slips [small, flat pieces of jade used for writing] and exchange them.”

Excitement shone from the pockmarks on Oh Jong’s face. Moreover, he kept rubbing his hands, as if he had high expectations for Han Li’s information. Han Li sneered at this, but verbally agreed to the deal. Copying the information was simple, and after a short while, both Han Li and the other party finished and threw the jade slips to each other.

Jong Oh and Han Li received the jade slips and confirmed that they contained information about the central area. Then, they smiled, each with their own ulterior motives. It was impossible to create false information in this short time, but it was possible to omit some key facts.

With this, the relationship between Jong Oh and Han Li became much closer. Jong Oh even talked about the origins of the cultivation world. The two of them laughing and chatting didn’t look like people who had been about to fight to the death just a moment ago. It seemed that both of them knew when to strike and when to retreat. Han Li was smiling brightly and having an interesting conversation on the outside, but on the inside, he was cursing.

‘Talk all you want. But why are you keeping such a distance?’

Even if he took just one step forward, the other party would take two steps back with an even more affectionate expression. Even though Han Li had no intention of killing him, he was amazed by his caution.

Still, he wasn’t impatient. The inside of the forbidden area was clearly different from the outside.

In the other areas outside the central area, most of the spiritual herbs and rare fruits grew randomly and without any pattern. Whoever found them first could take them, so usually, people would quickly grab them and run away. Therefore, it was rare for bloodshed to occur due to spiritual herbs in these other areas. Usually, people would die at the hands of elite disciples during their clean-up operations or due to murder and robbery.

However, it was different once you entered the central area. According to the testimonies of previous disciples who barely made it back alive, the central area was huge, more than a third of the size of the entire forbidden area. The entire area was surrounded by stone walls, forming a circle, and including the four bronze gates, it could be divided into three main layers. It was clearly divided, like the skin, flesh, and seed of a fruit.

The scenery in this picture was the outermost layer of the central area.

According to the information, this place wasn’t very large, only about one li [approximately 500 meters] wide. The flowers and trees that grew here were all rare and precious, but there were hardly any that could be called spiritual medicines or were practical for cultivators. They were just flowers for appreciation or hobbies.

Many people from the seven major sects speculated that the owner of the forbidden area had deliberately created the first area like this. It was intended to be a garden, to appreciate the colorful flowers and trees that captivated the eyes and mind. So, it was better to go outside the central area than to look for useful spiritual herbs here.

The truly useful spiritual herbs for cultivators grew in the second area of the central area. Most of the disciples from each sect who entered the forbidden area were aiming for this second area. Among these spiritual herbs were the three major herbs that were the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill, so it was naturally the biggest goal, and Han Li had come here with the same intention. When he first saw the information about this area, Han Li was quite surprised.

The entire second area was a huge ring-shaped mountain range, covered in thick fog all year round, making it impossible to see even your own fingers when you held up your hand.

In addition to natural formations like caves, valleys, and cliffs, there were also artificial structures like stone chambers and immortal residences, and naturally, all kinds of spiritual herbs grew there.

The main content of the information that Jong Oh and Han Li exchanged was about the location of the spiritual herbs in this area. No one could be sure that the information would have the location they were in when they entered the mountain. So, to go to the right terrain and find the spiritual herbs, the more information they had, the better.

This mountain was so large and covered in such thick fog that once you entered, you would lose your sense of direction after just a few steps. Then, you would have to grope your way forward, and whether you could return the same way was all up to luck.

What was even more troublesome was that countless demonic beasts lived in this ring-shaped mountain. From the Fire Rats and Wind Chasing Rabbits of the first lower level to the Golden Light Pythons and Ice Fire Wolves of the first upper level, everything that the people of the seven major sects had heard of was there, and even demonic beasts that they had never heard of or seen were all living there.

Most of them were not very strong demonic beasts, with the first upper level being the most common. If several elite disciples worked together, they could certainly be dealt with easily. Of course, if you had to face them alone, you would have to prepare for a tough fight.

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