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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Once Han Li entered the State of Yuanwu, he first headed toward Golden Horse City.

  After four days, he eventually arrived at the west hills of Golden Horse City.

  Observing carefully from the sky, Han Li eventually found Qi Yunxiao’s residence and slowly descended.

  Han Li jumped off the boat, sweeping his gaze in every direction. What he saw left him stunned.

  The stone rooms leaned at an unsteady angle, and all the rocks and azure bamboo were broken and scattered. They were most likely destroyed.

  Han Li’s face darkened, and he flipped his hand, taking out a magic tool. He then walked over to the mostly toppled rooms.

  Although it seemed like this had occurred long ago, it was still prudent to be cautious!

  Han Li searched the rooms, and among the destroyed interiors, he found a thoroughly rotted corpse.

  Han Li pinched his nose and took a long, careful look at the corpse’s face.

  He wrinkled his brow. The corpse wasn’t Qi Yunxiao but rather the loyal shopkeeper in charge of his store.

  Much to his relief, Han Li found no other corpses in the other rooms.

  After Han Li finished searching, his expression suddenly grew cold. His body turned into a blur, instantly reappearing on the Divine Wind Boat. He then turned his gaze toward the southern sky.

  Above the southern hills, two streaks of deep blue light shot straight toward his location.

  A moment later, they landed not far in front of Han Li. Once the light faded away, an old man and a youth were revealed.

  The old man had a common appearance, aside from his thin, slender eyes and goatee. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and wore an expression of bewilderment.

  The other person was a handsome youth that appeared to be about twenty years old. He was fiercely staring at Han Li with a baleful gaze, despite being only a Qi Condensation cultivator.

  Chapter 350: Instant Kill

  Han Li calmly looked at the two without speaking a word. However, he clearly understood that these two most likely had something to do with Qi Yunxiao’s residence being destroyed.

  In response to Han Li’s silence, the youth couldn’t help but ask, “Who is your esteemed self, and what is your relationship with that fellow named Qi?”

  Upon hearing this, Han Li merely gave the youth a cold glance before ignoring him and turning his gaze back to the old man. It was obvious that with regard to cultivation, the old man was the one who was truly in charge.

  When the youth saw Han Li disregard him, he was furious. Although he knew that Han Li was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his clan was one of the most prestigious clans in the State of Yuanwu. He had never been treated like this before.

  Furthermore, due to the matter regarding Qi Yunxiao, he was already filled with anger. Thus, he clenched his teeth and wanted to release his magic tools. But just as he was about to move his arm, the old man grabbed onto it, stopping him.

  “Not yet! We still don’t know who this person is. We must find that out first before we take further action!” The old man stated with a calm expression.

  The youth then glanced somewhat suspiciously at Crooked Soul, who stood behind Han Li. Crooked Soul didn’t have the aura of a living person, yet he could feel magic power fluctuations from his body. He felt that it was inconceivable.

  When Han Li heard this, his eyes narrowed. The old man was a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator yet he spoke as if he were not to be trifled with, causing Han Li to grow slightly apprehensive.

  “Were you the ones who destroyed this place?” Han Li asked with poise.

  “What relation does Fellow Daoist have with Qi Yunxiao? Are you from the Qi Clan?” The old man responded to Han Li’s question with his own.

  Han Li slightly wrinkled his brow. It seemed the other party wouldn’t honestly answer him as he only exchanged one question for another.

  “Seems like we both don’t wish to answer one another. Wouldn’t it be better to exchange answers with each other? That way we can waste less of each other’s time.” Han Li asked with raised eyebrows.

  The old man was surprised for a moment. But after pondering for a moment, he agreed.

  “Since I was the one who proposed this, how about you ask first?” Han Li said insipidly.

  “Is your esteemed self a member of the Qi Clan?” The old man immediately asked without a trace of politeness.

  In turn, Han Li responded without the slightest of hesitation: “I am not!”

  Having heard Han Li’s resolute reply, both the old man and the youth were surprised and revealed an expression of doubt.

  “Is Qi Yunxiao currently dead or alive?” Han Li unhurriedly asked.

  “He’s still alive!” The old man hesitated for a moment before answering.

  The words “still alive”, immediately put Han Li’s heart at ease.

  “What relationship does your esteemed self have with Qi Yunxiao?” The old man cautiously asked.

  “I have a business deal with him,” Han Li coldly responded.

  “A business deal?” Surprise flashed through the old man’s eyes.

  “Where is Qi Yunxiao currently?” Although Han Li asked this casually, he was feeling quite worried.

  “I cannot tell you this!” The old man instantly rejected.

  “Then I will change the question. Why did you attack Qi Yunxiao?” Han Li immediately asked another question without batting an eye at his refusal.

  “He killed members of our Fu Clan. Why shouldn’t we kill him?” The youth to the side quickly answered with a sneer.

  The old man wrinkled his brow, revealing a trace of annoyance, but he didn’t say anything more.

  “So it was like that! However, there are only two of you here. If the Qi Clan were to come here with a formidable character, how would you be able to match them?” Han Li casually asked this while appearing indifferent.

  “How could any foreign cultivator sent by the Qi Clan oppose the two of us from the Fu Clan? Could it be that we are not enough?” The youth proudly answered Han Li’s inquiry.

  “So, you two are here alone?” Han Li suddenly asked with a deep voice.

  “Why are you asking this?” The youth was thinking of how to respond with an angry expression, but the old man at his side suddenly asked this with suspicion.

  However, it was already too late. Han Li suddenly raised his arms and shot two streaks of black light toward the youth. Afterwards, he patted his storage pouch, releasing over ten streaks of white light. In the blink of an eye, those lights transformed into puppet beasts and puppet soldiers.

  Once those puppets appeared, they immediately released a mad barrage of light beams and light arrows.

  When the old man saw this, he felt aghast. His body instantly blurred and appeared beside the youth, summoning a copper coin magic tool in front of him. In an instant, it grew to the size of a table and blocked the incoming attacks.

  A series of explosions could be heard as numerous beams of light struck the copper coin. Each strike pushed the old man further and further back, much to his dismay.

  But in the next moment, the youth next to him let out a miserable shriek, causing the old man to hastily turn his head in dread. But as he turned his head, his neck suddenly felt cold and everything went dark.

  After the old man’s headless body fell to the ground, Han Li was the only one remaining in the air with a faintly shining thread tied to the ring finger of his right hand.

  Just a moment ago, Han Li took advantage of the massive, eye-catching assault to conceal his movements. By using the Smoke Shifting Steps, he was able to travel over sixty meters away from his Divine Wind Boat in a few breaths, arriving behind the two. Then, with a wave of his string, he was able to easily behead them.

  Han Li had found this battle to be as easy as dusting off his clothes!

  Han Li found it quite humorous. In a battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators, elemental defensive barriers basically weren
’t used because they were unable to block the attacks of top grade magic techniques. They required too much time to activate, and they were far too expensive. Thus, most people used defensive magic tools to protect themselves instead of defensive light barriers that they felt were useless.

  That kind of thinking had given Han Li many openings to take advantage of. This was especially apparent when Han Li originally fought the Devil Dao cultivators at the border as a majority of his kills had died in this manner.

  Now that he thought about it, this particular killing technique was quite similar to that of the Black Fiend School’s Blood Servant, Ice Demon. It was as fast as lightning; by the time they hear the thunder, it was already too late. Unfortunately, this technique could only be used on the ground. Otherwise, Han Li would have no one to fear among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

  Han Li lightly shook his head, feeling a great sense of lamentation in his heart!

  He walked in front of the headless corpses and collected their storage pouches. After he inspected them with his spiritual sense, he felt some disappointment.

  Although they possessed three top grade magic tools, they were of common quality. Han Li did not have much use for them. On the other hand, that copper coin was a rarely seen defensive magic tool.

  With that in mind, Han Li restored it to its original size and had it fly into his hand. After happily admiring it for a moment, he flung two small fireballs toward the headless corpses and turned them into ashes. Back in the boat with Crooked Soul, Han Li circled through the vicinity once before taking to the skies.

  This time, he would go to that small mountain with Xin Ruyin’s residence. He hoped her home was well hidden enough that it hadn’t encountered any mishaps.

  Six hours later, Han Li arrived at the nameless mountain of Xin Ruyin’s residence.

  When Han Li saw that the fog above the mountain was intact and the same as before, he felt overjoyed.

  After musing for short while, Han Li didn’t dare to fly down. Instead, he flew halfway up the mountain before taking out a sound transmission talisman. He then softly whispered a few words into it before throwing it out.

  The sound transmission talisman turned into a fiery streak of light and flew towards the mountain, suddenly disappearing from sight. Soon after, a large portion of the fog rose and completely enveloped him.

  Han Li stood still as he saw a scene bloom before him, leaving him surrounded by gargantuan trees over three hundred meters tall. He couldn’t help but feel shocked, feeling like an ant among the huge trees.

  Still, he knew that once Xin Ruyin received the sound transmission talisman, she should be quick to come meet him.

  As expected, the huge tree illusions turned into thick fog a short moment later. Then the fog parted and revealed a three meter wide passageway.

  The passage was remarkably long. After traveling for over two hundred meters, he was finally able to faintly see its opening and couldn’t help but grow excited.

  But when he was about twenty meters away from the exit, he suddenly heard a hoarse woman’s voice: “Senior Han, who is that person behind you? You shouldn’t be bringing strangers to this place.”

  Chapter 351: Qi Yunxiao’s Death

  When Han Li heard this, he faintly smiled and immediately explained, “Young Miss Xin has misunderstood. This individual by my side isn’t a living person. He’s just a corpse that I had refined. Once Young Miss Xin inspects him with her spiritual sense, it will be made clear.”

  After Han Li said this, he took the initiative to stop and wait for Xin Ruyin to recognize Crooked Soul as a Jiangshi.

  A short moment later, Xin Ruyin responded, “Ah, I was mistaken. Senior Han, please come in!”

  Xin Ruyin’s tone was apologetic but Han Li paid it no mind, flying forward on his Divine Wind Boat with a smile.

  Just as Han Li flew forward, the scene before him brightened as the bamboo rooms that he had seen on his previous trip appeared once more.

  Two woman were standing in front of the bamboo rooms: Xin Ruyin and her pretty maid.

  While both were wearing pure white clothes, Xin Ruyin’s style of dress left Han Li stunned.

  “Widow Xin pay her respects to Senior Han.”

  When Xin Ruyin saw Han Li arrive, she stepped forward and gracefully greeted him. However, her haggard appearance raised Han Li’s suspicions.

  “There is no need for Young Lady Xin to be so courteous.” Han Li continued on with a few polite niceties.

  At this moment, the young maid behind Xin Ruyin stepped forward and greeted Han Li.

  Han Li inattentively nodded his head in response.

  It was obvious that Xin Ruyin didn’t intend to stand there and have a long chat with Han Li. With a forced smile, she led Han Li to one of the larger bamboo rooms.

  Upon entering the room, Han Li was left dumbstruck.

  Right beside the door, there was a table with a pitch black memorial tablet with the words “Husband Qi Yunxiao” carved into it in large characters. There was a small incense burner in front of the memorial tablet with several lit incense sticks slowly releasing smoke.

  Having seen this, how could Han Li not know what had happened?

  Han Li was beyond surprised to find that Qi Yunxiao had actually passed away.

  After he had recovered from his shock, he lightly sighed and took the initiative to approach the table. After taking out an incense stick, lighting it, and paying his respects, he placed it inside the incense burner.

  “Young Lady Xin, how did this happen?” After he finished paying his respects, Han Li turned his head and asked in a soft voice.

  “There is much to say. How about I give Senior Han a proper explanation in another room?” Xin Ruyin said with a feeble voice as the corner of her eyes reddened.

  As of now, Xin Ruyin was no longer the intelligent and shrewd woman he remembered. He only saw a pitiful young woman.

  In response, Han Li silently nodded his head.

  Xin Ruyin then led Han Li to a neighboring room and sat down.

  The young maid quickly steeped a pot of tea for Han Li and poured him a cup.

  Han Li lightly sipped the fragrant tea before setting down the cup and speaking with a solemn voice, “I truly didn’t expect that after several months, Fellow Daoist Qi would encounter mishaps. The Heavens truly enjoy toying with men! Ah yes, when did Fellow Daoist Qi and Young Lady Xin marry? Had I known about it, I definitely would have sent a gift.”

  Xin Ruyin bitterly smiled in response. Without waiting for her to speak, her maid answered on her behalf.

  “Senior, my clan’s young madam decided to voluntarily live as Young Master Qi’s widow after his death.”

  Han Li was left utterly shocked and couldn’t help but gaze at Xin Ruyin in astonishment.

  “Xiao Mei speaks truly! I have decided to observe widowhood on Young Master Qi’s behalf.” Xin Ruyin confirmed this, slowly nodding her head in response to Han Li’s gaze of astonishment.

  “This...” Han Li was left speechless.

  “This one has received lifesaving kindness from Young Master Qi on numerous occasions; a debt that can’t possibly be paid back. If Young Master Qi were still alive, it would only be a matter of time before I married him. Now, I am merely doing what I should!” As she calmly said this, Xin Ruyin reached out with her flawless hand and lightly pulled away a strand of her beautiful hair that laid against her forehead.

  Han Li naturally had nothing suitable to say in response. Xin Ruyin then continued, detachedly giving Han Li an explanation of how Qi Yunxiao’s death came to be.

  Due to Han Li’s exhortations, Qi Yunxiao and Xin Ruyin were very careful and rarely went outside after he left. Nevertheless, after two months, Xin Ruyin lacked some direly needed materials to research the spell formation and had no choice but to make a trip to a nearby market city.

  This matter had unexpectedly been found out by Qi Yunxiao. As someone who was wholeheartedly infatuated with Xin Ruyin, he offer
ed to make the trip for her.

  However, they couldn’t possibly have known that the cultivators Han Li had slaughtered to save Xin Ruyin were actually juniors from one of the greatest cultivation clans of the State of Yuanwu, the Fu Clan.

  As many juniors of their lineage had disappeared without reason, the Fu Clan naturally pursued the matter to the finest thread.

  As a result, a few Fu Clan cultivators wandering nearby had come across Qi Yunxiao who had just recently emerged.

  Had Qi Yunxiao been shrewd or experienced enough, he would’ve been able to deal with any situation that arose.

  But unfortunately, he was far too naive and inexperienced.

  After only being asked a few questions related to the disappearance, he lost himself to panic and aroused the suspicions of the Fu Clan members. They immediately wanted to arrest him and bring him back for interrogation.

  Naturally, Qi Yunxiao didn’t wait for himself to be captured. With the formidable magic tools he had on hand, he forcibly escaped from the Fu Clan Qi Condensation cultivators and fled back to his residence.

  As such, Qi Yunxiao had doomed himself to calamity.

  The Fu Clan cultivators were able to quickly track him back to his residence. However, the great formation he had laid down managed to severely injure or kill over ten of their cultivators. In their fury, the Fu Clan had actually dispatched a Core Formation expert.

  After half a day of fierce attacks, they were able to forcibly break through his great formation.

  However, no one had expected that Qi Yunxiao would hastily lay down an even more ferocious illusion formation behind his first formation while the tide was against him. He managed to trap the Core Formation cultivator within, giving him the opportunity to escape.

  Naturally, the other Fu Clan cultivators weren’t going to let him go so easily.

  Although Qi Yunxiao was able to break through their siege by using the remnants of his formation spell, he sustained mortal wounds in the process, and his loyal shopkeeper had died as well. Shortly after arriving at Xin Ruyin’s residence, Qi Yunxiao took his last breath.

  The Fu Clan was unaware of this and resentfully searched for Qi Yunxiao at every location. In addition, they had dispatched experts to monitor his residence.