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

by Translator: Johnchen

Han Li stared in shocked silence. All that transpired occurred right in front of him, so the details of every action by the ghostly mist and demonic heads, however minute, were deeply engraved in his mind. He was so close that when the mouths of the demonic head was stretched open, he could even see their teeth clearly.

  It was the first time that Han Li had such close proximity contact with the mysterious energies from another plane of existence. He was awed and stunned by the feeling. The demonic heads of the strange sinister blades as well as the ghostly mist on Doctor Mo’s face emanated out a heavy demonic air. This phenomenon could not be explained by common sense. In the past, Han Li had never believed in matters of the supernatural. If it were not for him personally experiencing this today, he would absolutely never have believed in it.

  Yet how could Han Li not be unnerved..? Elements of stories from myths and legends were actually happening in front of his very own eyes.

  At this moment, the state of Han Li’s mind was in turmoil. Knowing that he was the target, Han Li was unsure of how should he react in the face of this extremely bizarre, inhumane power.

  Gradually, the ghostly mist on Doctor Mo’s face slowly started to dissipate. The volume of the mist visibly thinned as the demonic heads devoured it, leaving behind a final layer of darkness and resulting in a faint shadow that clinged onto Doctor Mo’s face.

  As the mist faded, the facial features of Doctor Mo slowly began to be visible, but the moment Han Li saw the face of Doctor Mo, he was thunderstruck, gawking like a retard.

  There was too many things that left him astonished today. However, all the things that had happened before were diminished by what he saw now.

  The exposed facial features belonged to a man about 30 years old in the prime of his life. If one observed for a longer period of time, he or she could tell unquestionably that this was Doctor Mo. He had managed to recover at least a few decades of his vitality!

  A face with a trace of heroic air, eyes that belied with dazzling charm, and a cold smile on his lips, no matter how you look at it, it was a face full of charisma, the face of a extremely handsome man! Deeply alluring and bewitching, it was a face destined to be a lady-killer. Regardless of young virgin girls or old sultry cougars, no females could defend against this sort of charm. At the slightest flick of his finger, as long as he desired it, there would certainly be females delivering themselves to his embrace, unable to extricate themselves from the river of love and obsession.

  After witnessing Doctor Mo’s face, Han Li actually felt like there was someone grinding his heartstrings, smashing his heart to pieces. It appeared that this pretty boy countenance was greatly capable of arousing jealousy in other males.

  As the last remnants of the ghostly mist was devoured by the demonic heads, Han Li suddenly remembered that Doctor Mo had told him before that he was only 30 years of age. It was only because of an accident during the recovery of a grievous injury which drained away his vitality did he become old and decrepit.

  From the looks of it, at the very least up to this point, Doctor Mo did not lie to him. This should be Doctor Mo’s original face, it was just that the methods Doctor Mo used to restore his looks was too mysterious and unfathomable.

  At this moment, Han Li realised that alongside Doctor Mo’s features regaining their youthful look, his body.. and even his hair all underwent miraculous transformations. That jetblack hair, that sturdy body; without a shadow of a doubt it was certain that the physical energy of Doctor Mo had been rejuvenated to the pinnacle stage of his youth.

  “But since Doctor Mo had a way to recover his vitality, why would he still go all out to capture me?” Han Li questioned himself.

  Regarding this, Han Li had his suspicions. After he recovered from the shock, he realised that he was still in immense danger. Neurons started firing rapidly in his brain, repeatedly analysing everything and hoping to find a path of escape.

  From Han Li’s perspective, it appeared that Doctor Mo had been struck dumb. Doctor Mo was just standing there in silence.

  After some time had passed, he finally raised his hand. Using an expression that was akin to looking at a precious newborn baby, Doctor Mo attentively studied his new shiny and velvety skin. After examining himself, he slowly closed his eyes, propping his chin against both of his palms and gently caressing it as if he were enjoying the long bygone feeling of youth.

  Looking at the narcissism that clouded Doctor Mo’s features, Han Li felt like vomiting. He could not grasp what Doctor Mo was feeling right now – that intoxicating feeling of recovered vitality.

  “Old man Mo, looks like you have fully regained your vitality, hehe let me congratulate you first. It seems that you no longer require disciple’s help, so could you possibly let disciple off the hook? No matter what issues you have in the future, your disciple would help you without question.”

  Han Li was running out of patience. Up to now, he was still unsure of what methods Doctor Mo was going to utilise to deal with him. Han Li pretended to be ignorant and questioned Doctor Mo, hoping to know his fate before making any decisions.

  Chapter 54: Soul-Lock Talisman

  “Han Li, you are really flexible, knowing when to make compromises and concessions. However, letting you go? Do you think it’s even possible?” Doctor Mo sneered. Han Li was shocked at the sound of Doctor Mo’s voice

  When Doctor Mo spoke, his voice contained faint traces of charisma, anyone who listened a sense of attraction and contentment. Compared to his previously bitter and insipid voice, this was totally different. It appeared that in comparison to his current looks, the beauty of his voice was not any worse off.

  Surprisingly, this was the first time Doctor Mo ever called Han Li by his name. Although it does not mean anything much, it allowed Han Li to feel slightly appreciated as it was much much better than being called “little brat” every single time.

  On the surface, one could not really sense any imperfections from the current Doctor Mo. Every single one of his movements was graceful beyond comparison. A handsome man indeed, there was no trace of the senile old geezer from back then. Han Li was sure that back in his youth, Doctor Mo relied on that face of his to dazzle countless females.

  “So what on earth do you intend to do to me, just tell me directly.” Han Li was not a female and thus he was not affected by Doctor Mo’s handsome face. Furthermore, Han Li could tell from the previous conversation that Doctor Mo seemed to have no intentions of sparing him, and as such, there was no need for Han Li to leave him with any pretense of cordiality.

  “What do I intend to do? HAHAHA!” Doctor Mo leisurely stretched his recently revitalized body, coldly smiling without any intent to answer Han Li while taking out another unknown object.

  The unknown object was revealed to be a small holding pouch made from extremely fine silk. The glow reflected off of the silk was extremely radiant, just like the blazing flames of a phoenix. It was extremely eye-catching. Furthermore, the embroidery was exceptionally exquisite. One could certainly tell that this was no ordinary object.

  What could this small holding pouch contain? Could it be another bizarre artifact just like the sinister blades from before? Asking himself these questions, Han Li felt curiosity grow within his heart.

  Doctor Mo cut Han Li’s silent speculations short by quickly opening the pouch of holding. Following this, he cautiously drew out a rumpled piece of yellow paper.

  Han Li was somewhat disappointed. However, he knew that the more ordinary looking an item is, the more difficult would it be for him to anticipate its uses. Caution arose in his heart as he became extremely focused. Thinking back to the incomprehensible events that happened earlier and seeing this seemingly ordinary piece of yellow paper, Han Li was sure that there were bound to be countless enigmatic mysteries behind it.

  Doctor Mo gently held the piece of wrinkled paper between two of his fingers, carefully smoothing it with a serious demeanour. Han Li was now able to see that the piece of paper was not large, about the s
ize of a palm and yellowish with a hint of mold, giving the appearance that this talisman had been created many years ago.

  The most noticeable thing was that the piece of paper was shining with a silvery light, materializing silvery wisps of lines in the air. The lines slowly formed into many strange symbols in the air. Han Li had absolutely no knowledge of these foreign symbols.

  The moment he saw them, however, his heart started to feel as if there were an unfathomable and mysterious energy pulsing within the floating symbols. Even the qi he obtained from the Eternal Spring Arts was moving in his body erratically as if it sensed immense danger, leaving Han Li stupefied.

  Sensing that something was wrong, Han Li quickly focused all his attention on the strange symbols, hoping to understand the mysteries behind them.

  The symbols twisted here and curved there, zigzagging around the air, yet there seemed to be something miraculous hidden within the strangely shaped symbols that he was unable to grasp. It was a pity that there was insufficient time for him to figure them out.

  In this instance, Doctor Mo arrived in front of Han Li. When he saw Han Li concentrating exclusively on the yellow paper in his hand almost to the point of being obsessed, a slight hint of mercy involuntarily flashed in his eyes.

  He gently lowered his head, moved his lips closed to Han Li’s ears and slowly said in an extremely low pitched voice:

  “Don’t blame me Han Li, I am also left with no choice, so you best willingly submit to your fate and await reincarnation. I am going to take over your shell of a body now.”

  “What did you just say? What is the meaning of this?!” Han Li was shocked awake by Doctor Mo’s words. He was so terrified by them to the point where his soul almost scattered and flew out of his body. He could sense that a fate worst than death will happen to him momentarily.

  Han Li no longer cared about the threat of the giant fellow behind him and fiercely struggled for his life. Hidden within his clothes, he still had a few items that may proved helpful in creating a distraction, thereby giving him a path of escape.

  “Iron Slave, suppress him fully, don’t even give him the chance to flail about.”

  Doctor Mo’s orders destroyed his last chance for freedom. Two gigantic palms, akin to small mountains, were securely pressing him down, not giving him a chance to move.

  Rivulets of sweat flowed down Han Li’s face all the way down to the ground. He opened his eyes wide, gritted his teeth and listened to Doctor Mo’s incomprehensible muttering.

  Once Doctor Mo began chanting, the piece of yellow paper, wedged between Doctor Mo’s finger, started to flutter intensively at the sound of the spell incantation despite the lack of wind.

  Meanwhile, the silver symbols in the air started to shine with a mysterious silvery glow.

  Even though Han Li’s movements were sealed, he was still clear headed. He understood that the mysterious silvery glow signified that Doctor Mo was about to make his move.

  Doctor Mo looked solemnly at the talisman, and when the last of the symbols glowed with that mysterious silvery light, he roared in delight. Using various special methods, he waved the yellow paper wildly in the air, writing the word for “seal”.

  After the word “seal” was completed, a thunderclap noise rumbled out.

  At the same time, the talisman was pressed firmly onto Han Li’s forehead, staunchly sticking there.

  As the talisman came into contact with his forehead, Han Li lost control of his bodily functions. He couldn’t even blink. Despite this, he was still able to see with his eyes and hear with his ears.He was currently the same as a normal human, unable to circulate his internal energy, akin to a walking zombie.

  (TL: “walking zombie” refers to a person who is unable to cultivate internal energy. In other words, a regular mortal)

  This type of feeling was totally different from that of his acupoints being sealed. After one’s acupoints are sealed, although one could not move, they are still able to feel numbness and itchiness. The current Han Li, however, was not able to feel anything.

  Waves of terror assaulted Han Li. He did not know how Doctor Mo was going to control his body and steal his identity. Was this considered a successful attempt?

  “Don’t rush, your body should still be able to sustain this state for a little while longer.“ Doctor Mo muttered, although Han Li was unsure about whether he was talking to Han Li or to himself.

  Chapter 55: The Third Person

  “You truly are quite cunning,” said Doctor Mo. “If you were left to your own devices, even I would have some difficulty dealing with you.” Doctor Mo spoke in a calm and unhurried tone as he lifted Han Li and carried him outside of the house.

  It was still very hot outside, which made Han Li realize that although he thought he had been in the house for a long time, the events had lasted shorter than he expected.

  Doctor Mo continued to effortlessly carry Han Li as if he were a weightless object, walking at a leisure pace until he passed the medicine garden and came upon a remote cliffside. The silent giant continued to follow Doctor Mo’s footsteps, refusing to leave his side almost as if he were his shadow.

  Through his own eyes, Han Li was able to see that there was more to the cliff than met the eyes. Upon closer inspection, he realized that carved into the cliff was a stone room he had never seen before. This room was similar to the stone room Han Li had cultivated in before, but this stone room was covered with a layer of limewash.

  From its rough appearance, Han Li judged that the room was constructed recently. He was certain that he would be able to smell the pungent smell from the limewash.

  Afraid that somebody might come along and disrupt his plan, Doctor Mo ordered the giant, “Iron Slave, stay outside and stand guard. If you see anyone near the house, kill on sight.”

  He then easily opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. His familiarity with the layout of the room suggested that Doctor Mo built this place himself.

  Han Li assumed that with the door tightly-shut and closed windows, the room would be pitched black, but contrary to his belief the room was filled with candles of many different shapes and sizes that were brightly illuminating the room to the point where it seemed as bright as the outside daylight.

  The room left Han Li speechless, but even if he wanted to say something, he was unable to control his body.

  Since he could not control his body, Han Li had no choice but to examine the interior of the room. He noticed a strange pattern in the center of the room. It seemed to be made of some sort of powder, but Han Li was unable to get closer look.

  At the edge of the strange pattern were fist-sized pieces of jade that glowed in the candlelight. With a glance, it was obvious that each piece of jade was a rare and priceless item. If an expert on precious stones were to see such priceless treasures set on the ground, he would feel such an immense heartache that he would be unable to sleep for several nights.

  At this time, Han Li felt his body being roughly thrown by Doctor Mo. His body made a “putong” sound as he crashed into the center of the pattern with his body facing upwards. Unable to move his body, he could only capable of staring at the ceiling.

  To say the least, Han Li was extremely anxious from being unable to anything in his current situation. The fact that he failed to see any of Doctor Mo’s actions made him unable to calm down and heightened his fear. The only consolation he had was that he was not facing the ground or else he would have been been unable to to even look at the ceiling.

  Pu Pu Pu… *sound of puffing*

  A string of strange sounds heightened Han Li’s fear and confusion, but he soon realized that it was the sound of Doctor Mo blowing out several candles. Gradually, the room became dimmed.

  Han Li did not know the purpose of this action, but he did not have much time to ponder on its meaning since Doctor Mo suddenly opened his mouth and said:

  “The method you mentioned, will it really work?… Well I’m betting everything on it”
said Doctor Mo in a cold tone that sounded out of place. This caused Han Li to be bewildered as he did not know if he was the one being spoken to. There were only two people in this room, him and Doctor Mo, so who else could he be talking too. Did Doctor Mo forget about the cursed yellow paper that prevented him from speaking?

  “I guarantee it will work. After all, how could the Seven Ghost Technique that I passed on to you be fake?” A new voice suddenly replied, seemingly out of nowhere. At this point Han Li was beyond being surprised at the sudden appearance of a new character because all the strange things he experienced in the past few hours far exceeded the amount of strange things he heard in the past few years. Instead of being astonished, Han Li calmly deduced from the sound of the man’s voice that he must be a young adult around the age of 20.

  “Heng! What’s the point if it ends up failing halfway?!”

  (TL: “Heng” is an exclamation, not the name of the mysterious man)

  Right afterwards, Doctor Mo released a out a string of curses which caused no amount of shock to Han Li. This type of vulgarity was nothing special coming from Doctor Mo, but his sudden transformation into a pretty boy made his dirty words seem out of place, allowing Han Li to feel a hint of sardonic pleasure in his pitiful situation.

  “If you suddenly pull a trick at the end and make me fall into your trap, who am I to turn to then?”

  Not waiting for the young voice’s reply, Doctor Mo continued on with a self-preserving tone, “I don’t want to hear your useless guarantees. I know you are already dead since I was the one who killed you. How could you not hold bitter hatred for me and try to look for any opportunity to gain revenge? Do you think you can deceive me? ”

  Not giving the other person any chance to refute him, Doctor Mo kept talking almost as if he were taking this chance to pour out all his pent up thoughts and insecurities.

  The mysterious man did not react to Doctor Mo’s spiel. As a result, the only audible sound within the penetrative silence of the stone room was Doctor Mo’s breathing