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

by Translator: Johnchen

  If the Seven Sects were truly able to withstand the invasion of the Devil Dao, he would be able to resume his previous life of cultivation and have these people help him with pill recipes and medicinal ingredients. As such, he wouldn’t need to toil away, needlessly travelling to fetch materials. He could instead use that time for bitter cultivation; his pace of cultivation was certain to greatly increase this way.

  Furthermore, while the cultivation of these Five Friends of Meng Mountain wasn’t too weak, it wasn’t very large either; they were the ideal choice. Thus, Han Li didn’t use such shameful methods in order to control them by force.

  However, Han Li also knew from experience that unless there were enough benefits, low-level cultivators wouldn’t continuously performs errands. Furthermore, he was unsure of their temperament, so he would have to spend more time with them in order to be sure. He would come to a decision once all of this had been concluded.

  “... We are truly ashamed! Until now, apart from recognizing a few cultivators that had also been seized, we haven’t seen the true appearance of the two who gave us our orders! We truly don’t know much about them!” After the youth said all of this, he bitterly smiled.

  “It’s nothing. I already know that the other party is from an evil school called the Black Fiend School. Furthermore, the primary reason why they abduct others is to cultivate evil techniques. That alone is enough.” After Han Li heard this, he indifferently smiled.

  “Senior Han! How about we stay here and wait for reinforcements before acting?” The recently-rescued middle-aged woman suddenly asked a probing question.

  When the other four heard this, they also looked at Han Li with concerned expressions, wanting to see how Han Li would answer.

  When Han Li heard this, he coldly smiled in his heart. It seemed these people were quite eager to halt any interactions with the Black Fiend School. However, how could there be any reinforcements from the Seven Sects! The entirety of the Seven Sects was currently in a war with the Devil Dao. Any forces stationed back at the sects were truly lacking. If he were to go and make a report, he was certain that no one would come.

  But fortunately, on his return a moment ago, he had sent a request to Li Huayuan for help through some Yellow Maple Valley contacts within Yuejing.

  The Seven Sects wouldn’t be bothered by this matter, but it was impossible for his master to ignore him. For the purpose of fulfilling Li Huayuan’s task, Han Li had to provoke such a great problem, and he had no choice but to remain! Otherwise, why wouldn’t he run from an insufferable problem? If he could, he would have already made his escape!

  But in the end, Han Li truly did not know how many reinforcements would come. He reckoned he would be given a few Senior Martial Brothers.

  With this thought, Han Li answered with a relaxed expression, “Naturally, this is out of the question. At the very least, we should clearly scout the other party’s stronghold and their major figures before reinforcements arrive. This way, we will be able to capture them in a net. To vainly wait at the Qin Residence is far too passive, since doing so will only give them time to track us down, leaving us at a disadvantage. We absolutely cannot allow them to so calmly put everything into order!”

  Hearing Han Li’s words, the Five Friends of Meng Mountain looked at each other in dismay. The dark-faced old man stoked his beard and said with a deep voice, “Senior does make sense. However, with the mere clues we have on hand, we will be unable to grab onto their tail! The stronghold we originally stayed at is certain to have been abandoned. We have nowhere to start!”

  The Second Brother silently nodded his head and expressed agreement.

  “Be at ease. From your description of those two Black Fiend School followers, I’ve already discovered their identities. So long as they are captured alive, it’s likely we’ll eventually understand the circumstances of the Black Fiend School."

  Han Li seemed to have already predicted this as he calmly replied.

  These words startled the five at first, but soon after, they revealed pleasant surprise. They felt that Han Li had become even more profoundly mysterious!

  “Good! Since Senior Han already has a plan, we will listen to Senior’s commands.” The dark-faced old man pledged resolutely.

  When Han Li heard this, he nodded his head with satisfaction.

  “We will move tonight. Only by quickly taking action will the enemy be caught off guard.” Han Li narrowed his eyes and coldly said this.

  “Tonight?” The Five Friends of Meng Mountain couldn’t help but reveal amazement.

  Chapter 303: Astonishment

  Although the Five Friends of Meng Mountain were greatly surprised by Han Li’s decision, they felt that his words were reasonable, and so they didn’t oppose him.

  However, when the middle-aged woman asked Han Li about the true identity of the two from the Black Fiend School, she was met with a tactful refusal from Han Li. Han Li only faintly smiled and said everyone would naturally come to know this once they made their move.

  This caused the middle-aged woman to cease further pursuing the matter and reveal an appearance of indifference.

  Not long after, Qin Ping passed on Qin Yan’s commands and arranged a nearby courtyard for the Five Friends of Meng Mountain.

  As Han Li saw them move farther away, an odd expression flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly muttered something to himself that no one else could clearly hear.

  At night, after everyone ate dinner, the Five Friends of Meng Mountain gathered together in the guest hall of the Clear Sound Courtyard. They were preparing to move late at night as Han Li had instructed.

  “This is baffling! I can’t seem to remember!” The fourth brother, a thirty year-old youth, incessantly racked his brains around with a confused appearance.

  “Fourth Brother! You still don’t remember?”

  The youngest of them, the fifth sister, asked this with a mysterious smile as she lazily sat in her chair.

  “Fourth Brother, you’ve always said that Senior Han appeared familiar and that you had seen his face somewhere. However, you haven’t been able to remember when or where. This doesn’t sound very convincing to your youngster sister. Did you want to have a favorable relationship with Senior Han so badly that this mistook his identity?!”

  It was clear that this young woman’s words were filled with ridicule.

  “En, that’s very possible. After all, this Senior’s appearance is quite common, so it’s normal for Fourth Brother to be familiar with him!” The second brother teased as he tasted some tea.

  However, his eyes didn’t leave the middle-aged woman at his side for a moment. He was continuously looking at her still attractive appearance and continued to glance at her belly with a sense of happiness.

  However, this third sister, the middle-aged woman, saw the fourth’s brother distraught appearance and couldn’t help but make a scornful face with all her strength, causing him to laugh uncontrollably; his normally shrewd and profoundly strong appearance was nowhere to be found at the moment.

  “Humph! You’re all talking drivel. I’m certain I’ve seen him before, but it doesn’t seem to have been recent. It should’ve been quite a few years back, else I wouldn’t have forgotten about it,” the youth said with unwillingless as he unhappily glared at the young woman and the tall, thin man.

  “A few years back? Fourth Brother, several years ago we were bitterly cultivating and didn’t leave seclusion. How could you have seen Senior Han? Could it be that you saw him when you were still wearing diapers?” The middle-aged woman chuckled as she made fun of the youth.

  “Third Sister, you...” The youth cried out angrily to the middle-aged woman with an embarrassed expression.

  “Several years ago, Fourth Brother hadn’t always been in secluded cultivation. Could it be you’ve forgotten? Before we met Fifth Sister, we participated in the Immortal Ascension Assembly. After the two to three month journey, we unfortunately returned with failed ambitions, but luckily, we didn’
t receive any serious injuries!” The dark-faced old man indifferently interrupted with these words.

  “What! Everyone participated in the Immortal Ascension Assembly!?” The fifth sister blinked several times and revealed a very curious expression. On the other hand, her Second Brother and the middle-aged woman looked at each other with bitter smiles.

  “There is nothing to say. That was the first time we truly knew the meaning of ‘viewing the sky from the bottom of the well’!” The middle-aged woman sighed.

  "What? Fourth Brother, at that time you said to me.... Yi!”

  The young woman turned her head with great curiosity to see what her second brother was going to say about the Immortal Ascension Assembly, but she saw that he had a face filled with shock.

  “Fourth Brother, what’s going on?”

  The others also saw that the youth’s expression was rather queer, so they asked this with astonishment.

  “Second Brother, do you remember that day at the Immortal Ascension Assembly when Eldest Brother and Third Sister separated from us? I was feeling gluttonous at the time and privately went to a restaurant at Jia Yuan City to sneak in a meal.” The youth didn’t answer the other party’s suspicions and suddenly mentioned an old affair from the time. This caused the tall, thin man to feel indescribably strange.

  “Of course I remember. At that time, although I concealed this matter for you, Eldest Brother still found out and fiercely rebuked you!” The second brother answered with slight confusion.

  “That’s right. At the time, didn’t I see a young cultivator there who I suspected wanted to participate in the Immortal Ascension Assembly? His cultivation was only of the seventh or eighth layer, so we felt that he was overestimating himself,” the youth added with a bitter smile.

  “It was too long ago. I don’t remember it very clearly. Why are you talking about this?!” the second brother asked, hesitant.

  He truly did not know why his fourth brother was suddenly talking about this matter.

  The others also heard their puzzling words and felt greatly baffled.

  “What? Senior Han was the young lowly cultivator?” The thin, tall man jumped up from his chair with an unconvinced expression.

  “What’s this all about? Speak clearly!” After recovering from astonishment, the dark-faced old man wrinkled his brow and asked this.

  “It’s like this, Eldest Brother!” The thin, tall man hastily gave a general description of what happened that year. When the others heard this, they felt it was inconceivable.

  “Fourth Brother, are you saying Senior Han was that seventh layer Qi Condensation cultivator from back then?” The young woman gulped her saliva as she said this. Soon after, she realized her bearing was graceless and couldn’t help but blush.

  As the others were shocked, none of them paid attention to this minor action of hers.

  “Is Fourth Brother mistaken? After all, that matter occurred over ten years ago, and Senior Han’s appearance shouldn’t completely match his age.”

  “No, that person was certainly Senior Han! His appearance is exactly the same at that time. Apart from his age, his appearance is completely similar.” The youth was shocked at first, but after some thoughts, he became more certain.

  Hearing this youth’s decisive and resolute words, the others looked at each other in dismay.

  In a brief ten years, this person with such low cultivation was actually able to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. These people couldn’t help but feel pain in their heart from this fact.

  For a brief moment, nobody had the thought to further speak.

  “Enough. Regardless of whether Senior Han was the person from that year, he’s currently a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator, and we have to treat him as such. Don’t ask him anything you shouldn’t, understood?” After the old man muttered to himself for a moment, he became the first to speak.

  “I understand.” The youth hesitated for a moment before sincerely replying. His expression eventually returned to normal.

  “Alright. Everyone, return to your rooms and refine Qi! Be sure to make your preparations.”

  After hearing these words, everyone gave each other a mutual glance before returning to their rooms.

  Immediately after, the Clear Sound Courtyard became silent.

  About an hour later, the sky grew completely dark.

  A person suddenly walked out from a side room in the Clear Sound Courtyard.

  This person opened the room door with careful secrecy and took a look in every direction. Then that person silently walked out of the small courtyard.

  This person took advantage of the pitch black night to walk to the corner of some faraway place. After some hesitation flashed through her eyes, this person immediately became resolute.

  This person took out a small box from her bosom with some nervousness and thought to open it.

  Suddenly, this person heard a sigh come from behind them, causing her figure to tremble. This person almost dropped the box she held in hand from fright. This was because the voice sounded much like Han Li’s.

  “Why are you doing this?” She heard an additional familiar voice almost at the same time; it seemed to be filled with sorrow.

  Then this person clearly saw several individuals come out from nearby with bright moonstones in hand. Underneath the dim moonlight, they appeared to have an expression of disbelief.

  “Why are you doing this?” The dark-faced man asked with much lament.

  “Why what? I’m only testing out a magic tool!” This person’s incomparably pale expression gradually returned to normal. She unexpectedly said this as if nothing had happened.

  “Hand over whatever’s in your hands and let me see what it is!” From the pitch-black darkness, Han Li descended from the sky like a feather and commanded her with a normal expression.

  “That’s improper! Why do I have to let an outsider look at my magic tool! I naturally won’t! Right, Fourth Brother?”

  This suspicious figure was actually the young woman among the Five Friends of Meng Mountain.

  At this moment, although she was trying her hardest to preserve her ordinary appearance, she firmly held the small box protectively, absolutely unwilling to let it go.

  “Fifth Sister, give that item of yours to Senior Han!” The dark-faced old man grimly ordered with an ice-cold tone.

  Chapter 304: Heavenly Lightning Seed

  “Eldest Brother, could it be you doubt me?” The fifth sister said with an unyielding false smile.

  “It’s because everyone trusts you that they’re giving you this chance. You only have to show us what’s in that box. Take the initiative to open it and dispel everyone’s doubts!” The old man coldly said.

  Hearing the old man’s words, this fifth sister’s expression became extremely colorful, continuously alternating between shades of white and red.

  When she took a look at the others, they all looked at her with an expression of lament, causing her heart to feel cold. She didn’t know what else to say.

  After a moment of consideration, she came to a decision. Putting away the small box, she quickly took out a blue bead that she raised over her head, saying harshly, “Do not pressure me! You should all recognize this Heavenly Lightning Seed. All I want is to leave this place!”

  The woman’s actions caused the expressions of the other friends of Meng Mountain to greatly change, especially that youth who had a particularly good impression of her; his appearance was extremely miserable.

  “It seems we no longer need to see what’s inside that box! Fifth Sister, you have truly associated yourself with evil.” The old man furiously yelled and suddenly stepped forward with his hands raised.

  “Don’t come over, Eldest Brother! Otherwise I will truly use this on you!” The fifth sister revealed a frantic appearance and brought the blue bead in front of her, making a throwing gesture.

  Seeing this, although the old man’s hair went wild, he truly did not dare to approach
. After all, he clearly understood the might of this Heavenly Lightning Seed.

  “Fifth sister, do you really plan on using that Heavenly Lightning Seed to deal with all of us? That magic tool was given to you because your cultivation was far too low. We all intentionally pooled together our magic stones to buy this to you for self-defense, especially Fourth Brother, who took out all of his savings for it. Now you unexpectedly want to use it to deal with us? Is this not excessive?” The middle-aged woman asked with extreme disappointment.

  When the youth to the side heard this, he moved his lips as all sort of feelings welled up in his heart, but he wasn’t able to say anything.

  When the fifth sister heard the middle-aged woman’s words, her appearance revealed traces of shame, but they faded away in an instant. She then unyieldingly said, “What’s the use in saying all of this? We are not alike. I must reach Foundation Establishment above all else. Those from the Black Fiend School said that so long as I have enough merits, they won’t just give me a Foundation Establishment Pill. They would have me directly enter Foundation Establishment through forceful means. Furthermore, their method wouldn’t carry any danger!”

  When the tall, thin man heard this, he wrinkled his brow and couldn’t help but speak.

  “Fifth Sister, it isn’t too late to turn around! Do you really think you can enter Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill? They are certain to bully a youth such as yourself and deliberately fool you!” The second brother of the five friends said with great sincerity.

  “Humph! Second Brother, you need not lecture me! As for whether or not this is true, I already know this. For things to have reached this point, there is nothing to conceal. In truth, I had already become a member of the Black Fiend School when they first appeared two years ago. As a result, I am aware of the school master’s great powers which you outsiders couldn’t possibly imagine!”

  After the young woman coldly snorted, she uttered a series of words that greatly shocked everyone else.