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

by Translator: Johnchen

  To tell the truth, the original stalk of Heaven Lightning Bamboo was barely enough to refine even a set of twelve Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. But now that he knew that the green liquid could produce young bamboo shoots, his dire shortage of raw materials was now completely settled.

  However, this only caused Han Li’s ambitions to grow even larger.

  Without having to worry anymore about a lack of the core material, Han Li would no longer be limited to a set of twelve flying swords. He was now inspired to refine the greatest number of Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, a full set of seventy two.

  Although an early Core Formation cultivator lacked the magic power needed to refine and control such a large amount of flying swords all at once, Han Li wasn't in a rush. He could just slowly refine them one set at a time in accordance with his cultivation.

  In any case, so long as the flying swords belonged to the same set, he could store them into his body as a single magic treasure. He would also have no problem using each of the swords separately.

  With that thought in mind, Han Li’s heart blazed with fervent desire and he started to consider whether or not he was capable of this.

  The greatest problem when refining a set of magic treasures was the differences in each treasure’s core material and the difficulty of success during refinement. But with limitless amounts of Heaven Lightning Bamboo, these issues posed no problem.

  What followed next with regards to his refinement were the preparations of the supplementary materials.

  He had long prepared the supplementary materials. Fortunately, refining a set of seventy-two swords would consume the same amount of supplementary materials as refining a set of twelve, so he didn’t have to go look for more. Now he only had to worry about his significant lack of ability for refining magic treasures.

  He didn’t even have any experience in the field of tool refinement. This wouldn’t raise any problems if he were refining a common magic treasure; he would still be able to easily succeed. However, the process of refining even a single one of the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords was much more complex than refining a common magic treasure.

  In addition, each individual flying sword was an incomplete product that was required to undergo treatment with a specific spell formation because they formed a set. As such, a familiarity with spell formations was also required, or else it would be impossible to refine this magic treasure to completion.

  As Han Li was a man of extremely firm will, even when facing such a difficult decision, he would only accept the best or nothing at all. This was also demonstrated by Han Li’s strong determination with acquiring the Heaven Lightning Bamboo.

  For the entirety of the following day, Han Li spent his time pondering over his cultivation plans for the next twenty years.

  Several days later in Heavenly Star City’s market, an unremarkable, small store suddenly had a new owner. He appeared to be a common youth of about thirty years old and had a lofty, broad-faced man with him.

  This youth changed the store name from “Li’s Assorted Goods” to the “Small Green Bamboo Pavilion”. The store only sold talismans and medicine ingredients at first, but half a month later it started selling crude, low grade magic tools.

  But what left the nearby store owners at a loss for words was that the youth didn’t often walk out of his store. He’d spend his entire day looking through a coverless, thin ancient book while occasionally dancing with joy as if he were completely enjoying himself. However, he would sometimes enter the store’s back residence and stay there for long periods of time.

  As for the customers and running the business, they were all handled by the large, straightforward man.

  The nearby store owners were all mortal natives to Heavenly Star City and found it difficult to make a living there. There was one store owner, a graying old man surnamed He [1.https://youtu.be/tcKPXPxdgqA], that had been born with inferior spiritual roots and had reached the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. But even with such low cultivation, old man He had received a great amount of respect from the mortals and was always addressed as Immortal Master He.

  They knew that this youth was a mortal due to his lack of magic power, because a few people had asked Master He previously.

  They gained some courage from this news and would drop by the store, chatting with the youth surnamed Han about his daily life and such.

  After all, this location was rather desolate, and business was slow. They could only drop by each other’s stores and chat to chase away the boredom.

  With the arrival of this unfamiliar face, there was naturally much more for everyone to talk about.

  However, the youth mostly listened and seemed to be somewhat slow of speech and unskilled at chatting with others.

  Furthermore, the youth never revealed his origin. Whenever he was asked this, he would only answer with a silent smile, causing others to quickly drop the matter.

  After several such trips, the others gradually lost interest and no longer visited the Small Green Bamboo Pavilion.

  This had actually caused the youth to let out a breath of relief.

  Of course, the youth and the large man were, respectively, Han Li and Crooked Soul in a disguise. Although Han Li used the most widely known jianghu disguise techniques, it was still more than enough for mortals and low grade cultivators.

  Han Li had not opened this shop to acquire a meager sum of spirit stones, but to temper his heart by immersing himself into the mortal world. He had also specifically chose this location in preparation for his study of the Dao of tool refinement and formation spells.

  To tell the truth, Han Li had always been very interested in tool refinement and formation spells.

  He planned to simultaneously study both fields for twenty years. He didn’t hold any extravagant hope of becoming a genius in either field, but so long as he could acquire a modicum of skill, he would be satisfied. At the very least, he should be able to refine the simplest formation flags and plates.

  However, delving into this field wasn’t a matter of only studying. It required hands on practice. This resulted in Han Li accumulating a large pile of inferior magic tools with no method of disposal.

  It would be a waste to just throw them away, but there was no use in keeping them as they were nearly useless. In addition, in order to refine when he was suddenly inspired, he had to frequently acquire all sorts of odd materials. However, it was a hassle to make trips to the city market every day.

  As it so happened, the fourth layer of the Great Development Technique required the temperament of a mortal heart. Otherwise, he would suffer backlash from his inner demons while cultivating the fourth layer of the Great Development technique.

  After some consideration, Han Li decided to purchase this store and tackle all the problems in one go!

  The location wasn’t too noisy and he wouldn't be disturbed during his studies of tool refinement and formation spells. As it was also in close proximity to mortals, he could personally see how they lived. In addition, he could purchase the materials he needed to refine magic tools and formation spells in a timely manner. Likewise, he could sell off the small items he created, even if it was just a small amount of them!

  After seeing a few low level cultivators purchase some of his personally refined magic tools, Han Li’s mood was greatly lifted.

  Of course, he would still take trips back to his cave residence every few days to mature his Heaven Lightning Bamboo and to take care of his Gold Devouring Beetles and two Bloodjade Spiders.

  But not long after, Han Li witnessed an astonishing scene in his medicine garden. When the child stalk of bamboo growing out his original stalk reached the age of six thousand years, it fell off of the main branch for no reason. Its few leaves also cleanly fell off and upon touching the floor, they immediately turned into leaves of pure, gaudy gold.

  Although he didn’t know what purpose the leaves served, Han Li was unwilling to throw them away and just gathered them into his storage pouch. As for the emerald-green
stalk, he carefully placed it back into the jade paste box and put it away.

  After collecting six pieces, he would have enough to refine the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.

  As such, Han Li restrained his magic power and began his worldly life after he inserted himself among the mortals of the secular world in an obscure corner of the market city.

  Apart from becoming engrossed in reading thin paper book copies of jade slips, he silently observed the surrounding mortal’s complex expressions and various emotions, and began to gradually appreciate them and recall a few memories.

  Chapter 413: Refinement

  The lives lead by mortals differed greatly from those lead by cultivators. Mortals lives were brimming with joys and sorrows, where the old withered and life was born anew.

  In a few short years of observation, Han Li began to recall feelings that he had long forgotten, both positive and negative. Regardless of the emotion, they still caused Han Li’s mind to stir, allowing him a chance for introspection and to now understand these emotions from a cultivator’s perspective.

  Likewise, his comprehension of formation spells and his skill in tool refinement gradually improved over a long period of time. Most notably, Han Li’s store, the Small Green Bamboo Pavilion, had developed somewhat of a reputation in the area over the span of just two years.

  This was because cultivators were able to purchase a few inexpensive yet functional magic tools at Han Li’s store. A few of the luckier customers were even capable of purchasing a few rare intermediate grade talismans at the store.

  After this news spread locally, a few low level cultivators immediately scrambled towards Han Li’s shop.

  These magic tools and talismans had obviously been personally crafted by Han Li. Ever since he entered Core Formation, he was finally able to grasp the mid-grade magic techniques that he long desired. Although they were the lowest among mid-grade techniques, Han Li was still very satisfied with them.

  However, intermediate talisman weren’t something that could be refined using common talisman paper. They could only be crafted using the hide of rare demon beasts, but not just any hide would suffice. Each intermediate talisman had their own unique requirements regarding demon beast hides.

  Fortunately, Han Li had thought of this before he sold off his demon beast materials and had kept a large quantity of talisman materials. Otherwise, he would have had no way of refining the talismans despite having grasped their magic techniques.

  Han Li first practiced using the lesser quality demon beast skins. After feeling that he was capable enough, he then moved on to refining a few particular talismans using rarer materials.

  The talismans that he practiced creating were all attack type magic techniques. Every month or so, Han Li would put one or two of them up for sale in his shop and sell them to the first buyer.

  To a Core Formation cultivator like Han Li, these talismans were of little value as their power paled in the face of magic treasures. As such, he had no purpose to preserve them.

  However, Han Li had clearly underestimated the allure his intermediate talismans had to Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even after raising the price of these talismans several times, these cultivators continued to readily spend their spirit stones without hesitation, allowing Han Li to accumulate a small fortune.

  But it was a pity that intermediate talismans were extremely difficult to create. Even with the many demon beast skins that Han Li had on hand, his rate of success was pathetically low, failing thirty times for every successful talisman he managed to create.

  When compared to his rate of success with low grade talismans, Han Li could only bitterly smile.

  Otherwise, he would’ve accumulated a much larger fortune by selling intermediate talismans.

  In addition, Han Li’s skill at refining tools also increased, causing quite a few mid and high-grade magic tools to appear in his shop. As a result, the Small Green Bamboo Pavilion’s reputation became increasingly well-known. Fortunately, his resounding reputation had been restricted to a small circle of low level cultivators, so Han Li didn’t have to worry about provoking any trouble.

  But at the start of the ninth year, Han Li started to refine formation flags and discs by applying his understanding of a few simple formation spells.

  Because of the complementary insights provided by Qi Yunxiao and Xin Ruting, Han Li was able to avoid making many mistakes and managed to grasp a few minor but crucial skills. But he still ended up fumbling around through trial and error as he tried to refine a set of formation setup tools for the first time. The refinement was extremely difficult, and it consumed a large portion of his time before he managed to produce results.

  However, Han Li wasn’t impatient. Now that he had reached core formation, he had plenty of time to slowly accumulate experience and understanding.

  But most importantly, he had obtained some understanding in the refinement method of the “Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords” as he practiced refining items, hopefully ensuring his success in his first attempt. After all, he wouldn’t have enough materials leftover for a second attempt.

  With Han Li focused on refining magic tools and studying formation spells, time quickly passed, day by day.

  With departing springs and incoming autumns, Han Li’s somewhat renowned Small Green Bamboo Pavilion had unknowingly existed for over twenty years. Han Li now had the appearance of an old man above the age of fifty.

  This obviously wasn’t Han Li’s true appearance, but a measure he had taken in order to conceal his eternally youthful appearance. Due to the passage of time in the mortal world, Han Li had no choice but to turn his appearance into that of an old man.

  As of now, Han Li was standing in the residence at the back of his store and looking around with a peculiar emotion.

  On the day before, he had passed on the store to someone else and concluded his immersion in the mortal world. This was due to having finally matured the long anticipated sixth stalk of Gold Lightning Bamboo to full maturation.

  Having lived here for over twenty years, Han Li’s heart was without disturbance, but he felt a slight feeling of nostalgia upon leaving. His experience in the market city had been a rare period of peace in his life.

  At that moment, he heard noisy shouts from his neighbor, and Han Li couldn’t help but smile upon hearing it. He didn’t need to use his spiritual sense to know that the store owner was spouting out recommendations to his customers, trying to sell off his store defining treasures that hadn’t sold for the past eight years.

  When Han Li had originally arrived, the shop was managed by an old man. He had retired four years ago and now his son watched over the business. Although his son had a fiery temperament, he treated others sincerely. But when he was doing business, he would often loudly brag about his store’s goods, stunning many foreign cultivators.

  Han Li sighed and shook his head before leaving the Small Green Bamboo Pavilion with Crooked Soul. Not long after, the two had completely disappeared from the city market.

  Upon entering his cave dwelling, Han Li immediately brought many tool refinement materials into his hidden room and set down a small magic formation that he had comprehended during the last few years. The formation spell served no other purpose than to conceal Spiritual Qi fluctuations. As such, it was quite suitable for Han Li to use as he refined his magic treasure. He didn’t want others to peak at him halfway through the refinement.

  Han Li quietly meditated in his hidden room for three entire days so that both his spirit and magic power were in peak state before starting the refinement.

  First, he took out the jade paste box from his storage pouch and gently placed it in front of him. He then opened the box, revealing the six emerald-green stalks of Heaven Lightning Bamboo.

  Han Li solemnly gazed at the bamboo and took a deep breath before lightly touching a stalk of the green bamboo. The foot-long Heaven Lightning Bamboo suddenly flew out of the box and quickly stopped, motionlessly floating in
front of his chest.

  With a serious expression, Han Li formed an incantation gesture with his hands, causing glistening light to flow around his face, gradually forming a layer of azure light.

  As the azure light grew increasingly dense, Han Li opened his mouth and spouted out a thin thread of azure core flame towards the Heaven Lightning Bamboo before him.

  Crackle. An arc of faint golden lightning arced from the bamboo, forcefully stopping the core flame from approaching any closer.

  Han Li’s eyes lit with consideration. The azure core flame immediately grew several times thicker and enveloped the bamboo and its lightning, starting the long process of refinement.

  Using one’s core flame consumed a considerably large amount of spiritual power, but fortunately, Han Li came prepared. As he was releasing his core flame, he held onto a deep azure spirit stone and absorbed its Spiritual Qi. When the spirit stone started to insufficient, he casually took out a medicine pill and swallowed it.

  Although the medicine pill didn’t immediately transform into magic power, it contained a great amount of spiritual power, giving Han Li the peace of mind of knowing that he was prepared for the coming war of attrition.

  After three days passed by, the Heaven Lightning Bamboo’s lightning had disappeared due to the lack of spiritual power from its main body. Without anything left to obstruct the azure core flame, Han Li started the process of smelting the Heaven Lightning Bamboo.

  After several more days, the bamboo began to show signs of dissolution. Portions of its trunk began to emit a faint light, releasing densely packed, numerous, small drops of variously colored liquids.

  Over ten days later, the Heaven Lightning Bamboo was finally dissolved of all its impurities, leaving a fist-sized ball of concentrated, dark green liquid. It appeared to be incredibly dense.

  Having seen this small amount of liquid, Han Li could only let out a deep sigh. He had to put in quite a bit of effort just to refine the Heaven Lightning Bamboo.

  Han Li then withdrew his core flame and put away the spirit stone in his hand. Afterwards, he extended his ten fingers and shot out ten thin threads of Spiritual Qi from his fingers, penetrating into the green liquid.