Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 901

“Are you saying, Senior, that you are of the human race?” Lian Li asked, surprised and without thinking. “Why do you ask? Is it so strange that this old man is of the human race?” “No, it’s just that I never expected to meet a senior of our race so far from where humans usually reside,” Han Li quickly replied, masking his surprise. “Although this old man is of human origin, my current body is not my own. I happened to obtain the body of a member of the extremely rare Changyuan race. The Changyuan race is naturally adept at various divine abilities and cultivation methods, possessing mysterious powers that would leave even the most talented humans in awe.” The old man explained leisurely, looking down at his palm. However, Han Li could not find any differences, as the old man’s face was identical to that of a human. “There’s no need to look so strangely! The reason I still maintain a human appearance is because I put effort into refining the Changyuan race’s body.” “Your profound divine abilities are truly astonishing to us with our limited experience,” Han Li said, his tone becoming even more respectful. “Speaking of which, after achieving a certain level of cultivation and leaving the human race, I have never returned. I am curious about the current situation of the human race. Could you tell me about it?” “If there is anything you wish to know, Senior, we will tell you everything we know,” Han Li replied without hesitation, glancing at Lian Li. “That would be wonderful! I am curious if some of the friends I made in the human race are still around,” the old man said, smiling brightly. Then, he pondered for a moment, his eyes suddenly gleaming with surprise. “Your cultivations are not high, but the cultivation methods you practice are quite interesting! One of you possesses a half-human, half-ghost body, and the other has chaotic magical power with a bit of demonic energy, yet your bodies are incredibly robust! It seems you have cultivated multiple methods simultaneously or are walking the path of dual cultivation of body and magic.” The old man saw through Han Li and Lian Li’s backgrounds. Lian Li’s face turned pale, and Han Li’s expression changed drastically. ‘To see through everything at a glance…’ Han Li suppressed his surprise and managed a smile, about to reply, but the old man’s calm expression changed. Suddenly, his eyes shifted, and he reached out towards Han Li. At that moment, the 72 Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords in his body trembled simultaneously, and with a powerful suction force, they flew out of his body and circled around him. Han Li was greatly alarmed. He protected his entire body with gray energy and golden lightning, shouting in surprise, “Senior, why are you doing this? Have I done something wrong?” As he shouted, he quietly grasped a dozen or so blue lightning beads in his palm. In his other hand, he held the spirit beast pouch filled with the shimmering black Seokgeum insects. “The shape and forging method are indeed that of the Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords. And there are exactly 72 of them! The color of the flying swords is slightly different, so you must have mixed in other materials later. Surprisingly, you used Gold Thunder Bamboo as the main material, how impressive! This old man has never been able to gather so much Gold Thunder Bamboo…” The old man stared intently at the 72 golden, shining swords. Han Li was dumbfounded as the old man mentioned the name Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords, and a thought suddenly occurred to him. After a long while, the old man sighed and stopped talking to himself. He looked away from the 72 flying swords and unexpectedly closed his eyes. Han Li regained control of the flying swords, and they disappeared back into his body. After a while, Elder Kang opened his eyes again, smiling as he looked at Han Li. “Hehe, it seems that the Azure Origin Sword Manual I left behind in the human realm ended up in your hands! I never even completed this sword manual back then. Yet, you have refined 72 Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords using a divine wood like Gold Thunder Bamboo as the main material and made them your natal magic treasure [a magic treasure that is personally refined and connected to the user’s life force]. You must have suffered greatly.” The old man looked Han Li up and down, as if amazed. “That’s right. Then, Senior, you must be the Azure Origin Master!” Han Li bowed deeply once more. It was an emotional moment to meet the creator of the Azure Origin Sword Manual, which he had been using as his main cultivation method since the human realm. “Azure Origin Master? This old man can be called the Azure Origin Master, and also not. To be precise, I am half of the Azure Origin Master.” “Pardon?” “Long ago, the Azure Origin Master was traveling on another continent when he encountered several powerful enemies. He barely escaped with his life, losing half of his soul and his body. In that moment of crisis, he met a member of the Changyuan race, forcibly took his body, and merged his soul with the other’s to fill the missing half. Thus, the current me has half of the Azure Origin Master’s memories and half of the Changyuan race’s memories. Unexpectedly, this became an opportunity for my cultivation to greatly increase, leading me to my current level. So, it’s not entirely wrong for you to think of me as the Azure Origin Master.” Elder Kang explained calmly, but Han Li was speechless and could only blink. “Although I lost a significant portion of the Azure Origin Master’s memories during the fusion, I remember everything about the Azure Origin Sword Manual. Flying swords made with Gold Thunder Bamboo as the main material would have been the best, but unfortunately, you mixed in other materials to quickly increase their power, which has muddied the wood attribute’s spiritual energy. If you hadn’t, with long-term nurturing, you would have already reached the realm of Sword Heart Communion [a state of perfect harmony between a cultivator and their sword] with the flying swords. If you had reached Sword Heart Communion, a single set of flying swords would have been enough to overwhelm cultivators or demonic creatures of the same level. Haha, in the past, the Azure Origin Master also defeated cultivators at the Void Refinement stage [a high level of cultivation] when he was at the Transformation stage [a mid-level of cultivation] with a set of Azure Bamboo Cloud Swords, and he made cultivators at the Integration stage [a very high level of cultivation] tremble with fear when he was at the Void Refinement stage.” Elder Kang looked slightly regretful. Hearing this, Han Li smiled wryly. Elder Kang was right, but Han Li, who was always in danger in the human realm, had no choice but to quickly increase the power of his natal magic treasure. Moreover, to be honest, even now, with his late-stage Transformation cultivation, he could defeat a Void Refinement stage cultivator, and he was confident that he could face an Integration stage cultivator when he reached the Void Refinement stage. “In any case, you have inherited the Azure Origin Sword Manual, and I have half of the Azure Origin Master’s memories, so we are indeed connected by fate. From now on, you must answer my questions truthfully! Did you come here with the outsiders who invaded the Land of the Underworld?” The old man’s expression suddenly hardened, and he asked coldly. Han Li felt a chill run down his spine at Elder Kang’s question. His question indirectly confirmed that they were still in the Land of the Underworld. “Reporting to you, Senior, we were forcibly brought here by someone’s threat. We have escaped from them now, but we hope never to meet them again,” Han Li replied vaguely, but Elder Kang nodded in understanding. “You don’t need to worry that I will be angry about this. The reason I am staying here is because of a deal with the elders of the Fuyu race. As long as you don’t damage the spatial rifts here, I won’t interfere. However, I am interested in the fact that the outsiders found another entrance to this space and defeated the puppets controlled by the Fuyu race. They don’t seem to be ordinary people.” “That’s right. They are demon kings at the mid and late Integration stages, each with powerful divine abilities,” Han Li said with a wry smile. “It’s clear that they threatened you to bring you here because they coveted your Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning! It seems they are still after you even after taking the Underworld Divine Jade, and they are also greedy for the demonic artifacts. Haha, they don’t know they are courting death.” “Is there something wrong with those demonic artifacts?” “It’s not just a matter of something being wrong; they will have a very bitter experience if they find the place where the demonic artifacts are hidden. Not long ago, one of the demonic artifacts took human form after cultivating and devoured the other demonic artifacts in one go, achieving the Supreme Demonic Body. Even if I were to intervene, I don’t know if I could obtain the treasures. Even if they are somewhat skilled, they will have a hard time surviving if they encounter it.” Elder Kang had a strange expression, as if he was smiling and not smiling. “Supreme Demonic Body!” Han Li’s lips twitched. The Supreme Demonic Body was the supreme realm that someone who cultivated demonic arts could achieve. “It is hiding deep within the Demonic Artifacts’ Abyss and is only focused on cultivation. You won’t be able to find it without your Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning. Of course, if the demon kings become too persistent and annoy it, the situation might change. By the way, isn’t there another person who came with you?” “Yes, Senior! My junior sister was separated from us while we were moving together. Do you know where she is?” Lian Li, who had been quiet all along, could not hold back and asked urgently. “Besides you two, there is one more person who was caught in the Seven Gates Locking Yin Formation [a powerful formation that manipulates Yin energy] and came here. I have called her here from another place, so you will meet her soon.” “Thank you. We were worried about our junior sister.” “Elder Kang, why did the Seven Gates Locking Yin Formation bring us here?” Han Li asked, hesitating but curious. “Well, I used the power of the formation to make some preparations in the Land of the Underworld where the Yin energy easily explodes. I can control the degree of the Yin energy explosion! It was to prevent the Yin energy from losing balance and causing the entire space to collapse. The formation where you were sucked in happened to activate at that time,” the old man replied with a smile. “So that’s what it was!” Han Li was about to ask if this space and the black mist were related to Rahu, but he stopped himself. He didn’t want to annoy the old man and incur his displeasure. As he was about to say something, one of the walls of the main hall glowed blue, and another passage appeared. A woman surrounded by Yin energy flew in as a black light flashed. It was Yuan Yao. She had a wary expression, but when she saw Han Li and Lian Li, she was overjoyed. “Brother Han! Senior Sister! You were all here. I’m so glad.” “Another cultivator who practices ghost techniques. Hmm? Something is a bit strange…” The old man, who had been calm, was surprised when he saw Yuan Yao. “Ah, Senior, you are…” Yuan Yao looked at the old man after hearing his voice, while Han Li and Lian Li were puzzled by the old man’s reaction. Then, the old man, who had been looking down, suddenly showed a happy expression and gestured towards Yuan Yao. The moment a blue light flashed from his fingertip, a blue thread flew at an incredible speed and disappeared into Yuan Yao’s body. “Hah!” Yuan Yao quickly protected herself and checked her condition. Lian Li was also surprised and jumped next to Yuan Yao, standing side by side with a wary gaze. If it had been someone with similar cultivation, they would have attacked immediately. However, Han Li simply narrowed his eyes and stayed put. If Elder Kang had malicious intent, he would have already dealt with them when he subdued his flying swords. After a while, the old man calmly spoke, “Don’t panic. I was just checking if my guess was correct. It won’t harm the cultivator.” “What do you mean? I’m meeting you for the first time, Senior,” Yuan Yao said, feeling uneasy at Elder Kang’s words. Then, Elder Kang formed a hand seal, and she felt a burning heat in the area of her dantian. With a whoosh, before she could say anything in surprise, a dark green light covered her face, and leaf-shaped patterns appeared on her forehead and cheeks. “What is this…!” Lian Li exclaimed in surprise at Yuan Yao’s appearance. However, Yuan Yao, who didn’t know what was happening, was confused by Lian Li’s reaction. “Indeed, I was right! She is definitely of the Heavenly Yin Body [a rare physique that is highly attuned to Yin energy]. I have been searching for so long, and she came to me on her own! Fortunately, it’s not too late yet!” The old man burst into loud laughter. Seeing this, Lian Li and Yuan Yao took a step back in fear, looking at Han Li with eyes asking for help.