Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 943

“I will consider the teleportation array. As for cultivation, I recently reached the Nascent Void stage by luck.”

“Nascent Void! Junior Brother, you reached the Nascent Void stage so quickly! Then you no longer need to worry about the limitations of lifespan!”

Hyang Jiryee’s lips twitched, his face filled with envy.

“Although our lifespans are said to be infinite, it’s difficult to live long due to the Great Heavenly Tribulation that occurs once every three thousand years. If we can’t ascend to the True Immortal Realm because the Heavenly Tribulation is becoming more and more ominous, we will die sooner or later.”

“Still, you can cultivate without worry for tens of thousands of years. With your talent, Junior Brother, the Nascent Void stage won’t be your limit. Eventually, the day will come when you ascend to the Immortal Realm.”

“The True Immortal Realm? Both the Human and Demon races have had many talented individuals over countless years, but I don’t know how many have ascended to the True Immortal Realm. I’m just cultivating with the mindset of doing my best.”

Han Li gave a slight smile at Hyang Jiryee’s praise.

“Haha, since you’ll be staying at our inn anyway, let’s talk about this slowly. I think I should go manage the inn now. I’ll visit your room as soon as I’m done. Surely you won’t refuse this old man’s visit?”

Hyang Jiryee glanced outside the door and said with a light laugh.

“This is my first time in Cloud City, so I have many things to ask Senior Brother Hyang. I’ll see you later.”

Han Li nodded, and Hyang Jiryee chose a good room for Han Li and personally guided him there. After Hyang Jiryee returned to the main hall, Han Li activated a barrier formation and fell into thought.

‘To think I’d meet Hyang Jiryee here!’

* * *

When evening came, Hyang Jiryee visited again, and Han Li spent the night talking with him. Through him, Han Li was able to obtain a lot of information about Cloud City and the thirteen Cheonun races.

As dawn approached, Hyang Jiryee got up to leave. When Han Li was about to see him off at the door, Hyang Jiryee turned around as if he had remembered something.

“Junior Brother Han, I may not be able to return to the Human race. But you may have a day when you return! If you ever leave Cloud City and go far away, would you visit this Senior Brother once? I have some things to leave with you and some favors to ask. If you can return to the Human race, it will be very easy to resolve, and it will be helpful to you, so don’t worry.”

“Can’t you tell me what it is now? If something unavoidable happens, I might leave without saying goodbye to Senior Brother.”

“It’s a bit difficult to reveal it now. It will also take some time to prepare the items. I hope you can make time to visit me at least once. If either of us misses this opportunity, we will regret it greatly.”

Hyang Jiryee shook his head and said meaningfully. Han Li promised to do his best. Only then did Hyang Jiryee nod and leave the room.

Han Li gestured towards the door after he disappeared. Then, a white aura appeared on the wall of the room, and the barrier formation was activated.

He didn’t go out the next day either, and it wasn’t until the morning of the third day that he finally left his room. He went to the main hall, but instead of looking for Hyang Jiryee, he jumped down from the room where he was staying.

Han Li had already decided where he wanted to go, and he hailed a spirit beast carriage on the street.

When his gaze reached the giant spheres he had first seen in Cloud City, he felt different than before. He had learned about the identity of the giant spheres from Hyang Jiryee.

The thirteen giant spheres were super-large combat puppets, each with power comparable to a Fusion stage cultivator. Each of the thirteen Cheonun races could control one. Just by looking at the combat puppets, one could guess how powerful Cloud City’s defenses were.

‘No wonder the thirteen Cheonun races made Cloud City their defensive stronghold. At least they don’t have to worry about being attacked by the Gakchi Clan.’

Han Li withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes. The place he wanted to go wasn’t far, and the carriage sped for half an hour before entering a secluded alley.

Han Li got out of the carriage, threw a few spirit stones, and looked around. The alley itself was unremarkable, but there were more pedestrians than on the main street. And the shops on both sides of the main street, despite their small number, had quite a few people coming and going, so business was quite good.

Han Li looked at the shop in front of him, checked the plaque hanging above the door, and then stepped inside.

Inside the shop, there were various forms of scriptures piled up, such as stone carvings, jade bowls, and silver spirit tablets. However, all the items were covered by a faint light barrier, making it impossible to see their contents.

This was a shop that specialized in trading scriptures. According to Hyang Jiryee, there were many such shops in Cloud City. But most of the shops that Han Li was interested in were gathered on this street.

Inside the shop, several alien races were walking around the display cases, looking at the items. They were all Core Formation stage cultivators. The alien races were so engrossed in choosing items that they didn’t pay attention to Han Li’s appearance.

The shop owner was a young woman with skin as fair as snow, pointed ears, and a white crystal stone embedded between her eyebrows. Her beautiful eyes shone brightly, giving her a very intelligent impression.

‘The Crystal Race.’

Han Li was surprised to see her. He had some understanding of the various races of Cheonun, and the Crystal Race was one of the thirteen Cheonun races.

They had a very small population of only one million, and they were weaker than other races, but they had lifespans three or four times longer than the Human race, were handsome, and had high intelligence, reaching high levels in alchemy, formations, and talismans.

Therefore, the Crystal Race was welcomed wherever they went, and despite not being very interested in power or status, they were quite well-treated among the thirteen Cheonun races.

The Crystal Race woman looked at Han Li and scanned him with her dark eyes. Soon, she showed a surprised look, as if she had recognized his cultivation level. She immediately got up and bowed.

“It is an honor to have a Senior of the Upper Realm visit this humble place. Please tell me what you are looking for, and I will help you.”

The woman’s tone and movements were elegant. Han Li was secretly amazed, but he didn’t show it and said,

“There’s no need for that. I’ll look around myself, so please continue what you were doing.”

“Then, please do so!”

The Crystal Race woman calmly bowed her head and stepped back. However, her actions had certainly surprised the others who were choosing scriptures. They were all looking this way with strange eyes.

The alien races noticed that Han Li was a high-level cultivator, and they looked uneasy. They quietly left the place or quickly chose scriptures, paid, and left the shop. Suddenly, only Han Li and the Crystal Race woman were left in the shop.

Han Li casually went to one of the display cases and looked at the scriptures. It was difficult to tell what kind of scriptures they were on the outside, so he scanned one of the stone carvings covered by the light barrier with his consciousness.

The light barrier was unique in that it only allowed a simple reading of the contents, and if one tried to see the contents formally, a restriction would be activated. Most of the scriptures on the display cases dealt with the customs of each race. Not being very interested, Han Li moved to another display case and scanned it with his consciousness.

This time, he seemed to have found what he wanted, and he showed a happy expression after scanning only two books. He reached out his hand towards a navy blue jade plate, and the scripture flew to him. In this way, he collected more than twenty scriptures while going around the shop.

Han Li approached the Crystal Race woman and placed the scriptures on the table.

“I’ll buy them all. How much will it be?”

The Crystal Race woman looked a little puzzled at the pile of items, then smiled and gave an unexpected answer.

“They are not very valuable items. If you want them, Senior, you can just take them.”

“Do you think I don’t even have this many spirit stones?”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just that there is another item that you might be interested in. If you want that, I’ll give you these scriptures for free.”

The Crystal Race woman smiled brightly.

“Oh, then show me what it is.”

“Please wait a moment. It’s a relatively precious item, so I’ve kept it inside. I’ll be right back.”

At his answer, the Crystal Race woman immediately went into the inner room. Han Li didn’t mind and waited quietly. After a while, the woman came out with a black metallic box. The fact that it had two blue talismans attached to it seemed to indicate that it was a precious item.

“Please take a look at the contents. I wouldn’t have brought it out if I didn’t think it was something you needed, Senior.”

The Crystal Race woman smiled at Han Li as if she knew something.

At the Crystal Race woman’s words, Han Li immediately pulled the black box over and scanned it with his consciousness. Although there were restriction talismans attached, they couldn’t completely block his powerful consciousness.

“Hmm?”

Han Li’s eyes changed as he looked at the Crystal Race woman in surprise.

“You weren’t talking nonsense.”

“If you don’t mind, please open it and check the contents and decide. Ah, this isn’t a good place to talk, so would you mind moving to another place?”

The woman’s eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly. Then, she flipped her palm, and a formation disc appeared. She glanced at the door and chanted a spell.

A light rose greatly from the formation disc, and an iridescent aura covered all directions, and the woman and Han Li were submerged in the aura. Han Li sensed a rather strong spatial fluctuation in the iridescent aura, but he didn’t avoid it.

The iridescent aura spun around him and unexpectedly turned into an iridescent formation. The moment he felt the surrounding scenery become blurry, he was in a gray space.

In the small space, which was about a dozen feet in size, there was nothing but a table and two chairs. The Crystal Race woman was standing beside him with a smile.

“This is a small spatial rift for hosting special guests. If we talk here, no one can eavesdrop. Of course, with your divine abilities, Senior, it’s easy to return to the original place even without a formation disc for teleportation.”

The Crystal Race woman said elegantly, moving her red lips. After scanning it with his consciousness, Han Li nodded, as the strength of the spatial barrier wasn’t as strong as she had said.

Han Li swiped the box with one hand, and a black light flashed, the talismans fell off, and the lid opened.

Whirr.

A black aura escaped, making a chilling sound. However, Han Li, as if he had already expected it, opened his mouth and released a golden aura. The black aura was enveloped in the golden light and turned into a black mist pillar, which was then absorbed into Han Li’s mouth.

“Pure demonic energy!”

His face glowed with gold as if he had just taken a tonic. The black aura was very dense, but it wasn’t difficult for him to digest it, as he had mastered the Great Firmament True Devil Art.

A look of surprise flashed in the Crystal Race woman’s eyes. She knew how powerful the demonic energy emanating from the box was. Every time she opened the box, she had to prepare several protective barriers before she could check the contents.

If the demonic energy were to penetrate her body due to carelessness, her cultivation could greatly regress, or she could even lose her life. At that moment, Han Li pointed at the box, and a black object shot out and landed in his hand.

It was surprisingly a half-foot-sized purple battle armor. Surprisingly, there were thorns protruding from the parts covering the shoulders and knees, and the surface was full of black patterns and filled with demonic energy.

The only problem was that there was a large hole in the chest area, and the surrounding area was severely damaged.

Han Li carefully examined the armor. Having mastered the Great Firmament True Devil Art, he could sense the mysterious power contained in this demonic armor. It was the most powerful armor he had seen since entering the cultivation world.

“This purple demonic armor is a treasure I obtained by chance. At first, I didn’t know what it was, but later I found out that it was similar to the legendary Extraterrestrial Demonic Armor. I think it was made by one of the powerful extraterrestrial demon lords. Judging by the extent of the armor’s damage, the original owner is likely already dead. The current power of the armor is only one-tenth of its original state, but if it can be repaired, it can recover about two or three levels.”

The Crystal Race woman explained with a smile.

“If it’s an Extraterrestrial Demonic Armor, then it’s almost a demon at the True Spirit level! I thought the demonic energy contained in the armor was pure…”

Han Li took a long breath, floated the demonic armor he was holding in the air, and released a golden hand seal with one hand. The golden light flashed and was absorbed into the purple armor.

At the same time, the patterns on the surface flickered, and the demonic armor grew several times larger, and the demonic energy it emitted became even denser.

“…!”