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

by Translator: Johnchen

  This woman coldly laughed after seeing Lady Fan, but she appeared slightly shocked upon seeing Han Li and Crooked Soul. She then turned around and whispered to a middle-aged cultivator behind her, not paying attention to Lady Fan in the slightest.

  “Who is she?” Han Li asked with a calm expression.

  Fan Jingmei gave a start before begrudgingly giving an answer, “Zhuo Ruting, our sect’s Envoy of the Right.”

  “Hm.” Han Li couldn’t help but take another glance at this woman, much to the displeasure of Fan Jingmei.

  Han Li didn’t have any unbecoming thoughts towards this Zhuo Ruting. He merely felt that the grace and appearance of this woman gave him a feeling of strong familiarity, and he couldn’t help but sink into contemplation.

  Lady Fan grew sullen upon seeing this and turned to speak with Crooked Soul. However, Crooked Soul remained expressionless while she spoke and didn’t utter a single word in response, leaving her even gloomier.

  Vetoed. The author is free to share his... discretions.

  Chapter 403: Eccentric Scarletflame

  ‘Nangong Wan!’ Han Li eventually found the origin of his feeling of familiarity.

  Although the appearance of the female cultivator named Zhuo Rutin differed from Nangong Wan, the slight similarity between their elegant grace stirred his heart’s deepest depths.

  Now knowing the cause of this feeling, Han Li looked at Zhou Ruting before turning his gaze away and calming the great disturbance in his heart.

  However, ever since Han Li and Crooked Soul had arrived, Lady Fan and Zhuo Ruting showed no intention of wanting to immediately set off. Instead, they were occasionally looking towards the sky as if they were waiting for someone.

  Han Li was somewhat puzzled by this, but he didn’t bother to ask any questions. Instead, he found a desolate corner and sat there with Crooked Soul, quietly waiting for the mission to start.

  They waited for nearly a day. Were these people not cultivators, each completely patient, they would’ve long started complaining. But even with this being the case, people still revealed dissatisfaction.

  Lady Fan and Zhuo Ruting revealed slight worry under these circumstances and begrudgingly met to converse in whispers.

  When Han Li saw this, he speculated who exactly they were waiting for before suddenly being interrupted by the sounds of thunder coming from the appearance of a black streak at the edge of the sky.

  As the black streak quickly approached them, the many cultivators sitting in meditation each stood up and gazed at it with amazed expressions. In the blink of an eye, the black streak had already arrived above them. Han Li and the others were now able to clearly see that this black streak was actually a black cloud with a diameter of about twenty meters. Its area was large enough to cover the entire mountaintop. With its occasional rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning, it appeared even more bizarre.

  As the crowd was blankly staring at the black cloud, a woman’s cold voice suddenly came from within, “Senior Scarletflame, you can let me down now. I wish to speak with my two Senior Martial Sisters.”

  “Hehe, of course!” An extremely hoarse voice gave a croaking reply.

  Lady Fan’s and Zhuo Ruting’s expressions changed slightly upon hearing the voices and they glanced at one another. The other cultivators figured out the origins of the black cloud and their expressions became bright.

  Just as Han Li was restless and confused, he heard one of the other cultivators mutter, “The Exquisite Sound Sect has quite some ability. They were actually able to invite Turtle Source Island’s Eccentric Scarletflame!”

  Han Li was able to clearly hear this person’s whisper through use of his exceptional Spiritual Sense. After hearing it, his heart trembled.

  When Han Li heard the words ‘Turtle Source Island’ and ‘Eccentric Scarletflame’, Han Li immediately knew of the black cloud’s origins.

  When he was getting acquainted with a few Core Formation cultivators, they had mentioned the grand reputation of “Turtle Source Island’s Eccentric Scarlet Flame” several times. This late Core Formation cultivator had long become well-known in the Scattered Star Seas from the unpredictability of his Water Sunflower Devilish Art and his brutal ruthlessness.

  Many people had also said that Eccentric Scarlet flame was extremely likely to enter Nascent Soul; it was only a matter of time before he became a great hero similar to Martial Ancestor Zenith Yin. As he was the sole hegemon of Turtle Source Island, no one dared to easily provoke him. As such, he could be considered to be an impressive person of renown. Could it be that the Exquisite Sound Sect had requested for him to come here to assist them?

  Han Li calmly raised his head and carefully examined the black cloud with a vigilant heart.

  At that moment, the black cloud furled out a gap and a slender woman dressed in violet royal garments flew out. She carried herself with graceful elegance, but her face was concealed by a faint purple Qi.

  When Lady Fan and Zhuo Ruting saw her appear, they immediately stepped forward to welcome her.

  “Junior Martial Sister Wang, why is Eccentric Scarletflame here? Could it be that you invited him? That wasn’t necessary!” Zhuo Ruting softly asked with a slight frown.

  “That’s right. This Eccentric isn’t to be easily provoked. Devils are easily invited but hard to get rid of! In addition, our current manpower is already sufficient!” Lady Fan spoke with a heavy expression, revealing a slight trace of dissatisfaction.

  “Didn’t you two Senior Martial Sisters also believe that we had enough manpower while transporting the goods?” The violet-clothed woman faintly stated without paying attention to the other two’s worries.

  Lady Fan immediately understood what she had meant and asked with bewilderment, “Junior Martial Sister, what do you mean? Does the enemy have other problematic characters?”

  Zhuo Ruting also revealed an astonished expression.

  “I’ve received information that their lair is being overseen by their leader, a late Core Formation cultivator. As the manpower that Senior Martial Sisters have gathered fell short, I took a trip to Turtle Origin Island to persuade Eccentric Scarletflame to help us!”

  After hearing this, the two senior women looked at each other in doubt and said no more.

  Although they knew that their junior had paid an enormous price to convince Eccentric Scarletfire to aid them, this wasn’t the time to address it. It was best left for after the matter at hand was concluded.

  At that moment, the violet clothed woman swept her gaze past the cultivators on the mountaintop and sized them up before nodding her head as if she was satisfied.

  “Senior Martial Sisters invited a few more Core Formation cultivators than expected. With the aid of Eccentric Scarletflame, we will definitely be able to kill those evil cultivators and avenge my mother!” The violet clothed woman’s voice turned extremely cold, filled with intense killing intent.

  “Be at ease, we will definitely avenge our sect master and repay this debt!” Zhuo Ruting slowly said as she lightly brushed her beautiful, jet-black hair.

  “That’s right. Sect Master treated us with great kindness. We will give up our lives if it means killing the enemy.” Lady Fan solemnly agreed.

  The violet-clothed woman felt moved and deeply bowed to the two.

  “I have greatly troubled you two Senior Martial Sisters! Since this matter has already been addressed, so long as my mother has been avenged, one of you two will be assuming the position of sect master. I, Wang Ning, do not seek to take that position!” The violet-clothed woman decisively said.

  After this was said, Zhuo Ruting’s beautiful face wore a complicated expression. Her red lips opened but she decided to stay silent in the end.

  As for Lady Fan, although she managed to keep her expression calm, her eyes held a trace of unconcealable excitement.

  Not far from Han Li, a cultivator surnamed Meng muttered to himself, “Tch tch! That must be the Exquisite Sound Sect’s Fairy Violet Spirit. It�
��s such a shame that she concealed her face with a magic technique.”

  When Han Li heard this, his heart stirred. He had heard of the Fairy Violet Spirit before. It was said that she was as beautiful as a goddess and was one of the most beautiful women in the Scattered Star Seas. Could that be her?

  Han Li gazed at the violet-clothed woman in the distance with slight astonishment.

  At that moment, the three woman finished talking, and the violet-clothed woman flew back up towards the black cloud like a goddess. Then the Envoys of the Left and the Right eventually started the operation with solemn expressions.

  Over a dozen streaks of radiance flew from the mountaintop and headed north in a loose flight formation.

  Han Li and Crooked Soul occupied a position at the center rear, flying in silence. However, for some unknown reason, the cultivator surnamed Meng flew to Han Li’s side and started gleefully chatting with him.

  “Why has Fellow Daoist Han agreed to help Left Envoy Fan? As for me, it was because one of my concubines was one of her direct disciples. I couldn’t help but assist them! Could it be that Fellow Daoist Han also...”

  “I don’t have much luck with woman unlike Fellow Daoist Meng. Lady Fan merely promised to give me an item worth my time!” Han Li indifferently said.

  “That is truly a pity! Brother, the best things about the Exquisite Sound Sect are naturally their beautiful female disciples. Particularly the disciples that were personally instructed by their two Envoys. Those are truly...”

  Although Han Li remained calm as he listened to the endless jabber, he felt unsure of whether he should laugh or cry. With his speech being overly familiar from the very start, Han Li was reminded of his garrulous Senior Martial Brother back at Yellow Maple Valley and was unable to bear this man any ill will.

  As such, Han Li occasionally gave him an answer while following the lead of those from the Exquisite Sound Sect, flying towards an unknown location.

  The eventually arrived on a desolate island where a few lower level disciples from the Exquisite Sound Sect had been waiting for them for quite some time. They were keeping watch on the bandit’s den on a nameless island not far away.

  Knowing that no one had left the evil cultivator’s den, Fairy Violet Spirit flew down from the black cloud and had Han Li and company rest for a moment. On the next morning, they were going to mount a surprise raid.

  Chapter 404: A Deceptive Situation

  The night quietly passed by.

  Just as dawn broke, the cultivators silently appeared above the evil cultivators’ lair.

  “It’s here?” Fairy Violet Spirit looked down at the small black island beneath her with confusion. The island was truly small and it only had a radius of about two kilometers. It would be more accurate to call this a huge reef.

  “That’s right. Not only have the Golden Cicada Wasps arrived at this location, but the two elders have also confirmed it. Those evil cultivators are here.” Lady Fan softy said.

  The violet-clothed woman then silently nodded her head and no longer held doubt.

  However, this place was obviously a temporary hideout. Not only was the island pathetically small, but there was only an extremely simple illusion formation placed down that was basically worthless.

  “Kill without hesitation!” After Fairy Violet Spirit coldly shouted her command, Eccentric Scarletflame’s bewildering laugh echoed out of his black cloud, easily wiping out their pathetic formation with resounding bolts of lighting. Afterwards the other cultivators bluntly rushed down.

  The sound of their formation breaking had obviously alerted the people below.

  Several sharp whistles sounded out from below. Fifty streaks of radiance flourished out, and a large number of cultivators met their advance. The three Core Formation cultivators leading them were surprised to see the Exquisite Sound Sect. But without waiting for their reply, Lady Fan yelled, “Strike!” She then released a silver wheel magic tool and took the initiative to attack.

  When the other cultivators saw this, they bluntly followed her lead and attacked.

  The sky was suddenly filled with flashes of radiance and deafening whistles.

  Since Han Li was acting under the intention of acquiring the Heaven Lightning Bamboo, he naturally found it embarrassing to stay idle. As a result, he and Crooked Soul casually took out their magic treasures and tied down five Foundation Establishment cultivators, preparing to eliminate them in one blow.

  As two Core Formation cultivators, they should’ve been able to easily deal with a small group of Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, something shocking had occurred.

  When the five Foundation Cultivators discovered that two Core Formation cultivators were attacking them, their clothes were ripped away to reveal fiend demons. Han Li was shocked to the point that his eyes had nearly fallen out of his head despite having seen them before.

  But even with their greatly increased cultivation and speed, Han Li was no longer a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. They only managed to resist for a few moments more before Han Li and Crooked Soul turned them to ash with their magic treasures.

  At this point, Han LI had discovered that their fiend demon transformations were different from that of the Black Fiend School. Not only did their transformations not require an incantation or cocoon, but an elemental blood core wasn’t present in their bodies.

  Han Li felt extremely confused and puzzled. He pondered for a moment on whether or not they had some sort of relationship to the Black Fiend School. But he immediately dropped the thought and attentively looked in the other directions. Now was not the time to ponder these questions. It would be absurd if he allowed anyone to ambush him just because his thoughts were running astray.

  However, what Han Li saw only made his doubts grow stronger. A majority of the evil Foundation Establishment cultivators had underwent a fiend demon transformation. In addition, they formed small groups and were fiercely fighting with all their might.

  The three enemy Core Formation cultivators had earlier been restrained by Eccentric Scarletflame’s black cloud and were unable of escaping. Judging from the incessant rolls of thunder from the cloud, it seemed they were being quite strenuously held in place.

  At the moment, the enemy’s several Core Formation cultivators and many Foundation Establishment cultivators had been reduced to under half of their original numbers in the blink of an eye. But even so, the remaining survivors still fearlessly fought on.

  Their dauntless attitude had left many attacking Exquisite Sound Sect cultivators greatly astonished.

  But at that moment, a fierce whistle pierced the air, leaving the Exquisite Sound Sect cultivators deafened for a moment. Everyone’s expressions had involuntarily changed.

  “Why are you all standing still? Quickly kill them off! Something troublesome is about to arrive!” Eccentric Scarletflame’s words croaked out of his black cloud, waking the many cultivators from a daze and allowing them to continue their fierce attacks.

  When the evil cultivators heard the sharp whistle, their spirits were greatly roused, becoming even more tenacious. For the time being, they were unable to be struck down.

  In the following instant, several streaks of ash gray light arrived above the island.

  When the Exquisite Sound Sect cultivators saw this, they stopped and stared at the five newly arrived Core formation cultivators with grave vigilance.

  The large, middle-aged man leading them had an ashen complexion. Although his facial appearance was ordinary, he wore a menacing expression. His magic power fluctuations far exceeded that of his four allies and appeared to be late Core Formation. The other four were merely early Core Formation cultivators, but they gazed at the Exquisite Sound Sect cultivators with rage all the same.

  “Who are you to dare slaughter the disciples of our Hidden Fiend Sect? We must repay this debt of blood!” His expression grew dark after seeing that there weren’t many of his disciples left.

  The others were stunne
d. These bandits had no idea why they had come to pay them a visit and they actually spoke so boldly and righteously.

  A few of the more quick witted individuals couldn’t help but look towards Fairy Violet Spirit, Lady Fan, and Zhuo Ruting with slight hesitation.

  Fairy Violet Spirit clear, beautiful eyes revealed a trace of doubt and thought to say something before she was interrupted by a shout, “Stop your nonsense! You’ve committed crimes that cannot be repaid even with death!” Elder Zhao who had been closely following Lady Fan suddenly flew out from the crowd and waved his arm, releasing a three meter long streak of fiery light towards the enemy.

  The middle-aged cultivator furiously grimaced and released an ash-gray devilish Qi with a boom. The huge forty-meter-tall aura of ash-gray Qi formed a huge misty ghost face in an instant.

  As soon as the ghost face came into existence, it opened its mouth and fiercely charged forward.

  Elder Zhao’s attack had disappeared within the huge mouth of the ghost face. The ghost face then charged towards Elder Zhao without pause.

  Suddenly, Elder Zhao revealed panic and quickly blurred several times, returning to the group of allied cultivators at a speed much faster than when he had left them. He loudly yelled, “Everyone, act together! He is a late Core Formation cultivator. We don’t stand a chance if we fight alone!”

  These obviously inciting words caused two Core Formation cultivators and a portion of the Foundation Establishment cultivators to immediately release their magic tools and treasures to strike the ghost face.

  However, a majority of them detachedly gazed on with doubt. The scene appeared somewhat messy.

  Having seen this, Han Li’s face slightly twitched, and he slowly slipped towards the back of the crowd along with Crooked Soul. The situation appeared discouraging. Although he didn’t know what was about to happen, Han Li thought to immediately distance himself from the coming danger.