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

by Translator: Johnchen

  “When after a period of time your Foundation Establishment succeeds, I will come take you to my place personally and receive you as an official disciple. It doesn’t matter if your Foundation Establishment has not yet occurred; I will also give you some pointers on your cultivation technique,” Martial Ancestor Li instructed Han Li.

  “Yes, Master!” Han Li, naturally having no more opinions, very obediently complied.

  “Okay, the time is not early, let’s return to Yellow Maple Valley!” declared Martial Ancestor Li after glancing at the color of the sky.

  Next, everybody once again climbed onto Martial Ancestor Li’s silver python and, after a few days of flight, returned to Yellow Maple Valley.

  As soon as they had entered the valley, Martial Ancestor Li Huayuan brought two stewards with him and went ahead to the official hall. The other people dissipated one by one, returning to their own homes, awaiting the prizes that would be awarded a few days later.

  …

  Within a small cottage in the Yellow Maple Valley’s Hundred Medicine Garden, the little Senior Martial Uncle Ma opened his eyes wide, staring at Han Li as if he had seen a ghost. He muttered in his mouth nonstop:

  “This is impossible; not only did you not die, you also picked up a fortune in the forbidden area, turning in twenty or so spiritual medicines in an instant, and you were accepted by Martial Ancestor Li as an in-name disciple!”

  “Yes, Senior Martial Uncle Ma! Isn’t my good fortune deep and my good luck stunning!” Han Li said, smiling yet not smiling, as he sat opposite the little old man as if he were very pleased.

  The little old man’s facial expression returned to normal upon hearing Han Li’s words, but he began to gaze at Han Li with a strange expression in his eyes. His gaze caused Han Li to feel somewhat apprehensive, unsure of what the other person’s intentions were.

  “Little fellow Han, your harvest from this time’s expedition to the forbidden area truly is not small. It has far exceeded all of my expectations!” said the little old man with a long sigh.

  “I also did not expect it!” Han Li leisurely responded.

  “But do you know the real purpose for why Junior Martial Uncle Li accepted you as an in-name disciple?”

  (TL: The change in Martial Ancestor Li’s title here is mostly due to Senior Martial Uncle Ma’s seniority and status as compared to Martial Ancestor Li.)

  The somewhat sympathetic tone revealed in the little old man’s next sentence caused Han Li to jolt, but immediately after he began to rejoice. However, he was still strongly resisting the movements in his heart; he pretended to be confused and asked in astonishment:

  “Senior Martial Uncle Ma, could it be that Martial Ancestor Li’s accepting of disciples has another reason?”

  “Senior Martial Uncle? Hehe! Since Junior Martial Brother Han Li has already kowtowed to Junior Martial Uncle, you can just call me Senior Martial Brother Ma. I no longer dare to respond to the title Senior Martial Uncle!” said the little old man slowly and methodically, gently shaking his head.

  “Cough! Why does Senior Martial Uncle Ma laugh at Junior Martial Nephew, who doesn’t know that seniority in the cultivation world is assigned by cultivation technique? As long as I have not yet entered the Foundation Establishment stage for one day, Senior Martial Uncle Ma is naturally still my senior,” said Han Li very sincerely, and immediately poured a cup of medicine flower tea for the little old man, handing it to the other person.

  “Not bad, not bad! You indeed can be taught! It seems like you have not yet lost your wits because of this matter, so I will tell you now beforehand. In reality, even if I don’t say it, you will know in three to four more days,” said the little old man faintly, nodding his head in satisfaction.

  Hearing this, Han Li was slightly startled, but he concentrated his attention on hearing the other person’s next utterance. One had to know that he had always been on edge with regards to the matter of Martial Ancestor Li’s sudden acceptance of him as a disciple. Thus, he naturally would not pass up an opportunity to get the inside story beforehand.

  “What rewards do you think you can get, having turned in this many spiritual medicines?” the little old man suddenly asked, changing the subject.

  “It should be exchangeable for two Foundation Establishment Pills! I had asked around earlier; if one turns in around ten spiritual medicines, one can exchange them for one Foundation Establishment Pill,” Han Li responded obediently. He knew that the other person would definitely have a reason for asking this kind of a question.

  “Hmph! In a few days, when the rewards are granted, you will only have the portion of one Foundation Establishment Pill. You can stop dreaming about getting two!” said the little old man somewhat mockingly.

  “What? How could it be this way! Could there be people who embezzle the rewards?” Han Li almost bounced up, an expression of disbelief on his face.

  There isn’t any embezzlement; no one dares to do that! Only your rewards have decreased. All the others should be receiving their entire reward. Otherwise, who would be willing to participate in the next Trial by Blood and Fire!?” the little old man explained with a slanted mouth.

  “Could the reason be due to Martial Ancestor Li?” Han Li asked seriously after tilting his head and thinking for a moment.

  “You can’t be considered to be too stupid, since you found the heart of the matter so quickly. It really is because Martial Ancestor Li accepted you as a disciple that it would be this way!” The little old man nodded, admiration flashing through his eyes.

  “This sect has an unwritten practice; if there is any clear master-disciple relationship, the master has the right to take half of the disciple’s tribute to the sect as a gift to thank the master. Of course, this is limited to the first time, and cannot be repeated. The spiritual medicines you harvested in the forbidden area can be considered to be a kind of tribute to the sect. Thus, I reckon that the reason why Martial Ancestor Li so zealously accepted you as a disciple is most likely because he wanted your ten or so herbs as a gift. The spiritual medicines that are passed on are halved, and so your rewards are naturally also halved, so you should not hope for two Foundation Establishment Pills anymore,” the little old man explained thoroughly to Han Li.

  Han Li knitted his eyebrows, but he revealed no traces of anger or dissatisfaction, only lowering his head soundlessly. This caused the little old man to feel somewhat shocked and sense that something was off. He naturally did not know that not only was Han Li not angry, he actually let out a long sigh and relaxed the heart that had always been tight.

  It turned out that this new master had wanted his spiritual medicines; this had really been outside of his expectations, but it also caused Han Li to begin to relax. To Han Li, who was about to refine these pills, one Foundation Establishment Pill could not amount to much! As long as he could succeed in refining these pills, he couldn’t care less about the loss of merely one.

  The little old man didn’t know Han Li’s attitude. Seeing that Han Li didn’t make a sound, he thought that Han Li was holding in a stomach of stuffiness but was good at controlling it and didn’t let it leak out. Thus, he lightly laughed and began to comfort Han Li:

  “Although you get one less Foundation Establishment Pill, you exchanged it for being accepted as Martial Ancestor Li’s in-name disciple; you haven’t suffered a huge loss, so it’s not too bad. One has to know that your talent is not very good; even if you were to use two Foundation Establishment Pills, your hopes of successfully entering the Foundation Establishment stage are not too high. It’s more worth it to use one in exchange for gaining Martial Ancestor Li as an influential backer; this way, even if in the future you are still in the Qi Condensation stage, pretty much no one in the sect will dare to provoke you. You should know that although Martial Ancestor Li was not sincerely accepting you as his disciple, you are still carrying his influence. Which regular disciple or steward would give you trouble lightly? In addition, as far as I know, Junior Martia
l Uncle Li is very protective of his face!”

  When Han Li heard this, he was somewhat moved in his heart. When the little old man had sent him the two bottles of pills before he went to the forbidden area, he could already tell that the other person was someone with a cold exterior but a warm heart; this person’s character truly was not bad! But with these words, Han Li remembered them in his heart even more; it seemed as if the other person was worth building a deep relationship with!

  Although Han Li thought this in his heart, outwardly he still pretended to be barely moved by what the little old man said, and after bitterly laughing a few times, he finally opened his mouth to speak, and carelessly spoke with him for a bit.

  This Senior Martial Uncle Ma, seeing that Han Li had seemingly recovered from this setback, was very happy in his heart, and not long after he said his goodbyes and left. The Hundred Medicine Garden naturally was once again under Han Li’s care.

  Chapter 213: Preparation

  Although the journey to the forbidden area had only taken ten days, Han Li felt as if several years had passed. Thus he lied down on his bed in the Hundred Medicine Garden for a long while basking in comfort and longing.

  Not only did he finally return with his life intact from this trip he gambled his life with, he had also perfectly accomplished his goals. Now he could indulge in a truly worry-free and sound sleep. It seemed that all of the struggles from the mortal world were far away from him in a flash as he slept.

  Han Li slept until the afternoon of the second day before awakening.

  After Han Li woke up, he quivered with excitement. He immediately started to set up his plans for the future!

  His first matter of business would naturally be to mature the three main medicines as soon as possible and properly preserve them. As for the other auxiliary medicine ingredients, he would naturally leave them for last. However, complete preparation for all of this was not a matter of tens days or half a month. According to Han Li’s estimates, at the very minimum, he would need several years before being completely ready to start refining the pills.

  As a result, Han Li wasn’t in a hurry with his spiritual medicines. Instead, he arranged his harvest from the forbidden area.

  The result was that he obtained over ten mid-grade spirit stones, several hundreds of low-grade spirit stones, a large pile of magic tools of all grades, several chunks of the centipede demonic beast’s outer shell, several materials from the Inky Flood Dragon, and a bunch of rubbish.

  However, apart from these items there were two items that Han Li were most interested in: a figurine holding a bow and arrow and a lustrous silver book page.

  This figurine was mainly carved from wood, with complete ears, nose, mouth, and eyes; it seemed gentle, as if it were alive. Furthermore it was dressed from head to toe in an extremely realistic metal armor suit with a bronze bow in hand. This was the magic tool that Han Li previously acquired from his elders; it was the high-grade magic tool ‘Puppet Bowman’.

  After he obtained the magic tool, Han Li did not make use of it. That was because this magic tool required a secret soul splitting technique. The puppet required a sliver of spiritual sense to enter it in order to control it.

  This soul splitting technique was not possible until one reached Foundation Establishment! It should be known that only cultivators at Foundation Establishment or higher have the sufficient spiritual sense to endure the pain of dividing one’s soul. With the mere spiritual sense of a Qi Condensation cultivator, before even completing the soul splitting, the person would have already fallen into demise and gone mad.

  It is often said that an Immortal’s spiritual sense could be used to look in all directions and to scan through items. However, this isn’t the true significance of splitting one’s soul. Originally, spiritual sense was nothing more than a small external technique. However, after cultivating the secret technique to split one’s soul, it would be equivalent to having one, even several separate individual divine senses, with each divine sense capable of controlling several tools. The more times one divided their soul, the more magic tools they could control simultaneously.

  It should be known that when Qi Condensation disciples normally confronted an enemy, at most they could use two magic tools at the same time. If they used any more, they would no longer be able to control them with ease. After all, who didn’t have five or six magic tools on hand? If they were to throw them all at their opponent, it would definitely be ineffective and would cause the opponent to be baffled for a moment!

  After Han Li fiddled with the figurine for a good while, he placed it down and took a look at the silver book page.

  This silver book page was from the spoils Han Li obtained from the barefoot man of the Giant Sword Sect. The top was bumpy, textured with many peculiar decorative designs. It seemed very mysterious. Han Li pondered over it for the majority of the day without even a clue and could only set it aside for the time being.

  Like that, in the following days, Han Li studied the silver book page while waiting for news from the upper echelon. He was seeing whether or not what the old man had said was true, that his reward had been reduced!

  On the afternoon of the fourth day, Martial Uncle Wang and an unfamiliar steward went to find Han Li and only brought a single Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward. What they said was basically the same as what the small old man had said! Martial Ancestor Li had taken away the spiritual medicines under the pretext of his disciple’s filial tribute to his master.

  After Han Li heard this, he coldly chuckled to himself but his exterior appearance didn’t reveal the slightest complaint. Seeing this, the two stewards, who originally believed that they would have to waste time explaining clearly, let out a sigh of relief. Then they left, saying goodbye with beaming smiles.

  After Han Li saw the pair’s departure, he laughed at himself for a moment and put away his newly obtained Foundation Establishment Pill. Now he could take the time to shut himself away and consume the Foundation Establishment Pills after he refined them. After all, for each day he couldn’t refine medicine pills, Han Li would be unable to peacefully enter seclusion.

  Like that, month by month passed by. Three years of time flashed by and Han Li’s pill refining preparations were finally completed. Within this rather lengthy period of time, several matters had occurred.

  After Junior Martial Sister Chen consumed her rewarded Foundation Establishment Pill, she bitterly cultivated for an entire year. In the end, she succeeded in establishing her foundation and entered Foundation Establishment. However, her elder brother’s luck wasn’t very good. Although it was his second time consuming the Foundation Establishment Pill, he had failed to make a breakthrough and lingered just outside of Foundation Establishment. It was said that this Great Young Master of the Chen Clan had lost complete confidence in the Immortal path and simply left the sect, returning to his clan to handle affairs.

  Furthermore, Han Li’s reputation in Yellow Maple Valley had gradually risen, and he could now be considered a minor celebrity!

  With regards to the tale of his great stroke of luck in the forbidden area, obtaining a large number of spiritual medicines and becoming the in-name disciple of Martial Ancestor Li, it had fluttered about through the sect on the first year of his return, causing other low level disciples to burn with great envy. But by the second year, this matter had gradually settled down.

  However, there was still a small incident during this time. That Old Man Ye who reneged on over half of the agreed items suddenly sent over the rest of the long overdue items without exception. There was even a bit extra! This caused Han Li to greatly experience firsthand the ease and confidence brought by having a greatly influential backer, and he could not help but be secretly pleased by his position! It seemed that his position of being an in-name disciple of Martial Ancestor Li had quite a few truly good benefits!

  (TL: “Having an influential backer” - literally “/the shade is plentiful underneath a large tree”)

>   However, with regards to paying his respects to his master, Han Li truly had no words to say! Apart from being assigned as an in-name disciple to the man and receiving a personally transcribed copy of the 《Azure Essence Sword Arts》 from him, Han Li did not hear anything else from him in these three years. It seemed that he had completely forgotten about Han Li long ago!

  Apart from a few unspoken complaints, Han Li was quite satisfied with his current situation. He currently was wholeheartedly throwing himself into the first steps of refining the Foundation Establishment Pills. He naturally did not wish for anyone to disturb him.

  However, his life of near seclusion had finally come to a close. About three days ago, Han Li finished maturing the last auxiliary spiritual medicine he required and thus possessed all his ingredients. All he needed was one last thing!

  After several days of ordering and packing, Han Li packed his ripened spiritual medicines in a neat order and headed toward Yue Lu Hall.

  Yue Lu Hall was exactly the same as Han Li had last seen it several years ago. Naturally, those who were guarding the transportation formation had already been replaced with another two Foundation Establishment disciples. However, the procedure was the same along with the same intolerant gazes, causing Han Li to laugh inwardly. Regardless, he still entered Yue Lu Hall without any trouble.

  Walking along the signless passage, Han Li saw that ugly man who caused him much unhappiness. He was currently sleeping inside the stone room!

  Han Li wrinkled his brow. After muttering to himself for a moment, he took out a small bell magic tool. Then he walked up to the ugly man and lightly shook the bell next to his ear.

  This small bell wasn’t much to Han Li’s ear but it caused to ugly man to act as if his buttocks were on fire. He immediately jumped and loudly yelled unclearly, “What’s happening! Who is it? Yi! What are you up to?”

  The ugly man was still clearly half asleep. For the moment, he actually didn’t use coarse language toward Han Li! Han Li didn’t see this as rude and immediately mentioned his title as an apprentice to his master.