A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248

by Translator: Johnchen

  Han Li could not help but feel moved. After he heard the story, if everything he heard was real, then Senior Disciple Li was indeed extraordinary. Senior Disciple Li started as an Unofficial Disciple and yet he could achieve the results he had today, how admirable indeed!

  On Zhang Changgui's side, they reluctantly sent out someone out after a long period of discussion.

  The disciple they sent out looked to be relatively strong, unsheathing a gleaming sword with the thickness of a finger from the scabbard that hung around his waist. The disciple holding the sword was certainly not a person with an ordinary background.

  After Senior Disciple Li sensed that someone entered the ring, he slowly opened his eyes, which seemed to be filled with radiance.

  Suddenly, Senior Disciple Li loudly shouted.

  His sudden shout, akin to a thunderclap. reverberated throughout the entire region, causing buzzing sounds in everyone’s ears. His opponent was likewise affected by the shout and an expression of fear began to surface on his face.

  As he shouted, Senior Disciple Li had already drawn his saber. With a flash of movement, one deceptive action released over tens of blade shadows, trapping his opponent in an encirclement of numerous blades.

  However, Senior Disciple Li’s opponent was quick witted and vigilant. Although he had panicked slightly, the movement of his sword was insidious and crafty, and he managed to parry all of the blade strikes with an impenetrable defense!

  “Who is this person?” Han Li could not help but ask.

  “He is the son of the fifth Elder, Zhao Zi Ling. The skill he executed, Willow Swordplay, is extremely tough to fight against.”

  “How good is he compared to Senior Disciple Li?”

  “Naturally, Senior Disciple Li is still stronger.” Little Abacus said with pride glowing on his face.

  “Hmm, why didn't Zhang Changgui send out a stronger expert instead?”

  “Hehe! Zhao Zi Ling is already the strongest among them. Among us, the junior disciples, who would be able to defeat Senior Disciple Li? No matter who they send, it's useless.” Little Abacus gloated with a hint of taking pleasure in their opponent’s misfortune.

  Indeed, although Zhao Zhi Ling’s swordplay was not chaotic, he lacked any killing intent. He was pressured almost to the point of defeat by Senior Disciple Li, and those with more experience could tell with a single glance that Zhao’s defeat was only a matter of time.

  Han Li watched for a moment before another suspicion rose in his heart.

  “There is one thing I still find strange. Why are all the disciples here of the younger generation? What about all of our seniors? Even if the rules prohibit them from entering the fight, for the sake of excitement, there should still be one or two coming to spectate. However, there isn’t even a single senior disciple. Why is that so?” Han Li candidly voiced out the suspicion in his heart.

  Little Abacus, after hearing Han Li’s question, had a total change in his expression and had a bizarre look on his face as he gazed at Han Li. This made Han Li feel extremely puzzled. Could it be that he had asked a question that was considered taboo in the sect?

  Chapter 19: Battle in Jiang Hu

  “Senior Disciple Han, you are really deaf to the outside world. This was such a massive event in the sect and yet you didn’t know about this? Even though you were in seclusion, your master should have spoken of it to you.” Little Abacus’s tone seemed to get more and more suspicious.

  After hearing the question, Han Li did not even bother to speak. Instead, he took out a medallion and passed it over for Little Abacus to inspect.

  “Senior Disciple Han, what are you doing? When have I ever doubted you? How could I not believe you?! The moment I saw you, I realized that you looked familiar, I must have met you a long time ago, hehe!” Little Abacus quickly scanned the medallion, and upon finding out that Han Li was indeed the disciple of some Elder, he frantically laughed to defuse the tension.

  “Now, can you tell me?” Han Li was still concerned about the question he asked earlier.

  “Of course, there’s no problem.”

  “Damn, this is terrible, I hope I didn’t offend this guy.” Little Abacus mumbled as his heart shuddered, then he told the whole truth of the matter to Han Li.

  For the past few years, the Seven Mysteries Sect and the Feral Wolf Gang had more and more clashes for the sake of control over the nearby wealthy towns. In total, the two major powers had over 10 clashes, and they both suffered plenty of casualties. Trained as mounted bandits, the members of the Feral Wolf Gang were extremely ferocious as if they were unafraid of death, and they would go berserk at the sight of blood. The disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect, despite having superior martial arts, did not possess the right kind of killing intent that was necessary, and when fighting the Feral Wolf Gang, they would always avoid causing too much damage.

  Thus, in the end, the Seven Mysteries Sect would inevitably suffer more casualties. After a few more clashes, the higher ups of Seven Mysteries Sect couldn't take this lying down and thus, they had mobilized the majority of the disciples within their sect to smash the Feral Wolf Gang’s members into smithereens. There were two reasons why the Seven Mysteries Sect did so. First, the control of the towns within its territory was too valuable to be lost, and secondly, to have the disciples become used to bloodshed, allowing them to gain practical battle experience in Jiang Hu.

  Even so, despite the Inner Disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect holding the advantage during the last few battles, there had been too many casualties. Even some of the older seniors had failed to return to the sect alive. After Little Abacus said this, he could not help but sigh.

  After that, the sect leaders changed their strategy by letting the Inner Disciples take care of some minor missions and gain experience elsewhere in Jiang Hu. After they were more used to combat, they would come back and join in the fight against the Feral Wolf Gang. By doing so, the number of casualties was effectively minimized. Now, after each Inner Disciple had two years of training in the sect, they would be sent down the mountain to take charge of some minor missions to gain experiences before they were tasked to fight against the Feral Wolf Gang. [1]

  As such, the older senior disciples had already been sent out of the mountain, leaving only a few defenders and the junior disciples who had not yet completed their training.

  After listening, Han Li suddenly understood why there were differences on the mountain now compared to 4 years ago.

  Dang! A sound rang out as a sword flew into the sky.

  Zhao Zi Ling’s left hand was pressing on a wound on his right hand, and as he retreated a few steps, his face turned pale while he breathed heavily.

  Under Senior Disciple Li’s ferocious saber techniques, Zhao Zi Ling had no time to retreat, and thus, he had no choice but to use the sword in his hand to block the attack. Because his internal strength was insufficient, the weapon he held had been flung into the air because of the clash.

  “Senior Disciple Li, you are formidable indeed. This junior brother admits his defeat.” Zhao Zi Ling forcefully smiled as he bowed slightly.

  Loud exclamations rang out among the spectators.

  “Senior Disciple Li, what a graceful martial skill!”

  “Senior Disciple Li, excellent saber techniques!”

  “Senior Disciple Li, please give me some guidance!”

  Cries of admiration rang out for their idol, the sound reverberating through the entire region.

  Senior Disciple Li kept the huge saber lifted in the air while his cheeks turned red. Initially, it seemed that he wanted to say something, but his expression suddenly changed as he furrowed his brows as if thinking of something.

  Senior Disciple Li said coolly, “I still have urgent things to do. Goodbye.”

  Turning around, Senior Disciple Li relied on a movement technique to swiftly leave the area.

  “Ze Ze! Not only is Senior Disciple Li proficient in the saber arts, his movement technique is superb as wel
l!”

  “Yes!”

  “Indeed!”

  Words of praise began to ring out.

  Han Li furrowed his brows. This Senior Disciple Li’s martial arts were indeed not bad, but it appeared he liked to be in the limelight, just like a teenager.

  After he reflected, Han Li could not help but smile bitterly. He himself was not any older than Senior Disciple Li, and yet, his thinking was so overly matured, just like an old man’s. It seems that after practicing the oracular chant, his mental state had matured at a faster rate when compared to his peers.

  “Junior Brother, up to now, I still haven’t learned your true name,” Han Li eyed Little Abacus nearby as he suddenly thought of the question.

  “My name is Jin Dong Bao. However, Senior Disciple Han can just refer to me as Little Abacus.” Little Abacus was excited after Han Li asked for his name. He figured that he had gained the favor of Han Li and would be able to use him to back him in the future.

  “Next time you are sick or injured, come look for me. I will treat you for free.” Han Li patted his shoulders, turned his body and walked back into the forest region.

  He left behind a dumbstruck Jin Dong Bao, who was still pondering over what Han Li’s words meant.

  Chapter 20: Essence Extraction Pill

  After walking a long way from the mountain region, Han Li could still hear the voices discussing how to settle Fatty Wang and Zhang Chang Gui’s dispute. However, Han Li decided not to concern himself about the matter anymore.

  Whenever he thought Little Abacus’s dumbstruck expression, he could not help but laugh out loud. His small excursion outside the valley had indeed lifted his spirits, and he was no longer as depressed as before.

  He ventured out of the forest and walked straight ahead. A small creek appeared at the end of the path.

  Han Li inclined his head upwards and looked at the fiery hot sun before lowering his head to avoid the glare and to drink some water from the creek. He felt that taking a bath right now would not be a bad idea.

  As he bent downwards, with both of his hands entering the cool creek water, a voice filled with pain suddenly sounded out and reached his ears.

  Han Li was surprised. To think that there would be people in such a remote region.

  Following the sound of the voice, Han Li wandered upstream and found a person wearing a disciple’s robe lying on the ground, his body convulsing while his limbs flailed about.

  The moment Han Li saw the person, he knew that the disciple was suffering from an acute illness, and if he didn’t help now then the disciple's life would be at risk.

  Han Li rushed over and took out a wooden box from his robes. From the wooden box, he drew out silver needles that seemed to reflect light as he pierced them into the acupoints on the disciple’s back.

  After he was done with the acupoints on the disciple’s back, he turned the body of the disciple around and began to work with the acupoints located on his chest.

  When he turned the disciple’s body over, however, Han Li sucked in a deep breath. He was shocked beyond measure. This person… this person, who was flailing about just now, was none other than the Senior Disciple Li that participated in the battle earlier!

  Stunned, Han Li could only gaze at the facial features of Senior Disciple Li.

  The current Senior Disciple Li did not have the air of a peerless expert at all. There was no heroic demeanor to be seen anywhere, only a cold face full of pain and suffering as his features contorted together and white foam leaked from his mouth. It was obvious that Senior Disciple Li was suffering from too much pain to bear, and he was almost to the point of being unconscious.

  Han Li regained his calm as he muttered to himself. Akin to flowing water, Han Li’s hands begin to prick the acupoints on Senior Disciple Li's body continuously with over a dozen needles. When he finished piercing the final needle, Han Li wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead and released a breath. The usage of the silver needles and the strength needed to pierce each acupoint exhausted a huge amount of energy from him.

  After Senior Disciple Li’s body was riddled with silver needles, he finally woke up and regained consciousness.

  “You are…” Senior Disciple Li tried to say something, but he didn’t have enough strength and couldn't say more than a few words.

  “I’m from God Hand Valley. Save your breath and slowly recover your strength. I can only inform you that your illness is very strange. In my estimation, only my teacher, Doctor Mo, would be able to save you. But unfortunately, he is currently away from the mountain.” Han Li took the pulse of Senior Disciple Li as he furrowed his brows in thought.

  “The… Medici.. ne.. is...” Senior Disciple Li’s face paled as his lips shivered, lifting his arms to gesture at something, but he was unsuccessful.

  “You have medicine to cure the illness on your body?” Han Li roughly understood his meaning, and he questioned Senior Disciple Li.

  “Ye….s” Senior Disciple Li saw that Han Li understood his meaning, relaxed his features and nodded his head.

  Han Li was no longer polite as he searched Senior Disciple Li’s body for the antidote. He found many useless items, and amongst them, there was a small white jade bottle which he took out. This bottle was made of expensive material and was also tightly sealed. He guessed that this was what Senior Disciple Li was looking for.

  As he took the bottle and glanced at Senior Disciple Li, his guess turned out correct. Senior Disciple Li’s expression was full of joy as he frantically blinked his eyes.

  Han Li unsealed the bottle, and contrary to his expectations, there was no fragrance of herbal components drifting out, but rather an extremely pungent odor.

  The moment Han Li smelled the odor, his expression turned nasty, and he cautiously took a pink pill out from the bottle. This pill was extremely beautiful to behold, yet it was actually emitting such a pungent smell.

  “Is this a medicinal pill?” Han Li regained his calm face.

  Senior Disciple Li was still unable to speak, but he blinked his eyes to convey to Han Li that this was the right pill.

  “This Essence Extraction Pill was created from orchids, crab tailed flower, hundred year-old egg of blue ant, as well as 23 other rarely seen ingredients. After the pill is concocted, it takes on a pinkish hue and emits a pungent smell. Ingesting it could unlock all of the potential of the human body, consuming one's lifeforce in exchange. Am I right?”

  Han Li coldly glanced at Senior Disciple Li as he listed the pill’s descriptions word by word with an unmistakable tone in his voice.

  The moment Senior Disciple Li heard Han Li words, his face paled as if devoid of blood, and a frantic expression appeared on his face.

  “If you ingest this medicine, you would need to repeatedly ingest it after a certain period of time in addition to suffering an excruciating amount of pain. If you refuse to take it, then in the best case scenario you would be paralyzed, and in the worst case scenario you could lose your life! From the moment you ingested this pill, fate has already decreed that you would be dead in less than 10 years as the pill forcefully unleashes your potential at the expense of burning your life force,” Han Li said without stopping.

  “Don’t you try to lie to me that this is not the Essence Extraction Pill.” Han Li said.

  After hearing what Han Li had said, an expression of hopelessness appeared on Senior Disciple Li’s face while an indescribable shock appeared in his eyes.

  “Are you shocked because this particular medicine is very rare, and yet I know what it is?” Han Li could tell what Senior Disciple Li was thinking.

  “The answer is simple. I, too, have eaten a pill like this.”

  Han Li’s words broke the tension as he continued to shock Senior Disciple Li. After a while, Senior Disciple Li had an expression of disbelief.

  “The way I ate the pill was very different from how you ate it. I only ate a single pill, but I separated the pill into 10 portions, which I slowly ingested ov
er a long period of time. The small amount of drug I consumed was not able to do any harm to my body. Because this particular pill's appearance and the smell it emitted was too obvious, I had a very strong impression of this pill, so I easily recognized yours. I had always thought that other than me, there wouldn't be anyone else who would dare to ingest this type of pill, but who would have thought, my fellow disciple had consumed the pill as well.”

  After saying this, Han Li gaze contained a hint of admiration as well as pity for Senior Disciple Li.

  Unwilling to see the pitiful gaze fixed on him, Senior Disciple Li closed his eyes. However, his heartbeat was erratic and his mind was in chaos.

  “You should have consumed these pills for a few years already. If you refrain from consuming it now, I could beseech Doctor Mo to concoct an antidote for you. Although the antidote won't recover the life force you lost, it should still be able to grant you 20 to 30 years worth of life. Unfortunately, your martial skills will be lost forever. If you continue ingesting this pill, I can deduce from the backlash that happened earlier that you only have, at most, 5 to 6 years worth of your life left, but obviously, your martial arts will only continue to get better and better, even stronger than the might you displayed today. Since you dared to eat such a pill, this tells me that you are a person with an iron will. Since only you can decide your own fate, do you want to throw this medicine away or keep relying on it?”

  Chapter 21: Painkilling Medicine

  Senior Disciple Li’s eyelids lightly shuddered as he pondered intensely, trying to decide which was the better path for him.