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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Without waiting for any warnings from Jin Qing, he took the initiative to sink his spiritual sense deeper into the pearl. After some time passed, he wore a solemn expression.

  Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense and took a deep breath before looking at the middle-aged cultivator and asking, “Ancient cultivator ruins?”

  “I’m not too sure. However, in my experience only an ancient cultivator would be capable of using such an archaic method for preserving a map.” Jin Qing revealed a trace of excitement and spoke in a bit of a hurry.

  Han Li nodded his head. Storing important information in pearls and shells was a common practice by the ancient cultivators of the Scattered Star Seas. As for the pearl, it contained something that resembled a map.

  After a moment, Jin Qing continued, “There are two of these pearls. Together, they form a complete map. I, along with another Fellow Daoist, discovered these at a small store. At the time, they were being sold in a necklace alongside other ordinary pearls. It was then that we each separately took a pearl and agreed to search for the location together.

  “With what you said, you must’ve already found the location described in the map, yes?” Han Li asked pensively while stroking his chin.

  “That’s right. We spent five years searching for it and have just recently found it. But unfortunately, it is blocked by a huge barrier. As we don’t have the slightest understanding of formation spells, we could only turn back in disappointment.”

  “However, we decided that upon returning we would each invite a formation spell expert to help break the barrier. Fellow Daoist Han also knows that very few amongst us rogue cultivators study the Dao of Formation Spells. As such, I can only come to you and shamelessly ask for assistance. Fellow Daoist Han, please feel at ease. So long as you can break the formation, we will give you a portion of the rewards, regardless of whatever the ancient cultivator ruins hold.” Jin Qing saw that Han Li was slightly hesitant and hastily gave an explanation along with a promise.

  Chapter 416: Sand Mountain

  [TL Note: Crooked Soul will not longer be referred to as a clone or a doppelganger. He will now be referred to as Han Li's avatar. It better represents what Crooked Soul actually is: "an incarnation in human form".]

  Han Li unconsciously frowned in thought before saying, “Brother Jin, could you give me some time to think about this? I can give you an answer in two days.”

  “Of course! Please, think it over. If you don’t accept, I will go and see if there are any other rogue cultivator formation spell experts willing to give it a try.” Jin Qing replied with a tone of much consideration.

  After a moment more of idle chatter, he saluted Han Li and took his leave.

  Han Li stood in his original spot as he watched Jin Qing flying farther away, muttering to himself irresolutely.

  Ancient cultivator ruins weren’t exactly a rare find in the Scatter Star Seas, and what they contained greatly varied: from absolutely nothing at all, cultivation insights from ancient cultivators, or even precious items such as previously extinct materials or magic treasures.

  In short, a majority of ruins would have something to salvage, but what one discovered would depend on luck.

  However, Han Li truly didn’t wish to journey in search of an ancient cultivator’s ruins. The Scattered Star Seas were currently beset by waves of concealed turmoil, and anywhere outside of Heavenly Star City was neither safe nor secure. In addition, Han Li hadn’t been tempering his Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords for long so he couldn’t greatly rely on their strength.

  As such, he was truly hesitant to embark on a journey at this time.

  Had someone else asked him, Han Li would’ve already refused but, unfortunately for him, he had a good relationship with Jin Qing. Since he had given Han Li a few cultivation pointers the first moment he met him, Han Li found it embarrassing to refuse him.

  After standing still a while longer in contemplation, Han Li eventually raised his head and lightly sighed, “I still have two days. I should think about this some more.”

  With that, Han Li let the matter go. With a swift turn, he returned to his cave residence.

  Two days later, Jin Qing arrived outside his cave residence once more. Han Li had eventually decided to agree due to their friendship, and for the slight excitement he felt towards the ancient cultivator ruins. Who knows what magnificent items could be found within?

  Jin Qing was naturally overjoyed and left Heavenly Star City alongside Han Li and Crooked Soul, heading towards the ancient cultivator ruins.

  Over the years the nearby cultivators had tacitly understood that Crooked Soul was Han Li’s avatar, Jin Qing wasn’t surprised to see him tagging along.

  ……

  Two months later, Han Li and the others were flying through a remote area of the Scattered Star Seas.

  According to Jin Qing, they shouldn’t be far away from their destination, given the long amount of time they’d been flying. As expected, they caught sight of a large island less than half a day later.

  The island was expansive with a radius spanning over five hundred kilometers. However, a majority of the island was covered in hills and mountains. From a glance, everything seemed to be covered in yellow dust.

  Han Li gazed down at the island and asked Jin Qing with surprise, “It’s this island?”

  “That’s right. We found this island by following the map. I heard from the nearby mortals that this island is completely uninhabited. Not only are there no spirit veins nearby, but for some unknown reason, there are no trees living on this island either.” Jin Qing explained with a slight trace of puzzlement.

  Han Li was slightly surprised and pondered for a moment before speaking with a smile, “That’s a good sign! The more unordinary the island, the more likely it is to actually be an ancient cultivator ruin.”

  “Hehe! Originally, we also thought the same. We ended up searching the entire island until we found the most likely location.” Jin Qing spoke with satisfaction.

  Han Li faintly smiled. After taking a look around, he casually asked, “You said that there was a formation spell shrouding an area? Where is it?”

  “There is a huge sandy mountain fifty kilometers to the east. One of its sides is sealed off by a large formation.” Jin Qing spoke without hesitation.

  Han Li grinned and said, “Let’s go then! Maybe your partner already arrived and dissolved the formation spell.”

  “Hehe! To tell the truth, that wouldn’t be bad. It would be much less troublesome. At most, they’d just take a larger portion of the treasures within.” Jin Qing stroked his chin and wore a sly expression. When Han Li saw his expression, he involuntarily laughed.

  The two were only joking. Everybody knew that ancient cultivator formations weren’t something that could easily broken through without at least a month or two of trial and error.

  “Let’s go, Fellow Daoist Han! We’d better not keep them waiting.” Jin Qing called out to Han Li before flying off in a streak of azure-white light.

  Han LI faintly smiled and chased after him with Crooked Soul on their magic treasures.

  To a Core Formation cultivator, fifty kilometers was something they could easily traverse in a mere moment.

  A huge yellow mountain entered Han Li’s sight. It was about a three kilometers tall and was entirely covered in yellow sand. As there wasn’t a single trace of green, it gave its viewers an awry feeling as if it were made entirely out of sandy yellow dirt.

  As they flew closer to the mountain, a gale suddenly blew, throwing sand and pebbles into the sky.

  The unending gale immediately caused the nearby area to turn pitch-black, due to the dense layer of sand kicked up by the wind blocking the light.

  Han Li and company held no fear towards a sandstorm. With a flash of brilliance, their bodies were covered in a layer of light, allowing them to steadily fly forward.

  After flying through the sandstorm for five kilometers, it suddenly disappeared, and they were able to easily arrive
at the base of the sandy mountain.

  Jin Qing then flew a small circle around the mountain with Han Li, eventually arriving at several, extremely crude stone buildings. It seemed that they were built by using a stone transformation technique as the buildings all shared the same monotonous grey.

  Before anyone had descended, the door to one of the buildings opened with two men and one woman walking out. The men were both Core Formation cultivators while the woman was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

  “Fellow Daoist Jin, you’ve arrived! How timely! We had only arrived recently.” The cultivator at the center was a refined youth that wore white clothes. Upon seeing Jin Qing, he cordially called out to him in a rather friendly manner.

  “Fellow Daoist Hu came earlier, as I expected. After all, he didn’t have to go back to Heavenly Star City and fetch Fellow Daoist Han.” Jin Qing replied back in an amiable tone. It seemed their relationship was quite good.

  “Fellow Daoist Han?” The young cultivator’s gaze shifted between Han Li and Crooked Soul several times, not knowing who was who.

  “I am Han Li. This person is my Senior Martial Brother Crooked Soul!” Han Li cupped his fists towards the youth and smiled. On his journey here, Han Li had come to an agreement with Jin Qing that it would be best to conceal the fact that Crooked Soul was his avatar.

  Han Li also discovered that while this cultivator Hu appeared young with smooth and taut skin, there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. It seemed that while his age was quite old, he was good at maintaining his appearance.

  This cultivator Hu should be the cultivator that had simultaneously discovered the two pearls with Jin Qing.

  “I am Hu Yue. Although this is the first time I’ve seen you two, I hope that we will exchange cultivation insights in the future, as there are far too few rogue cultivators that are capable of reaching Core Formation.”

  Hu Yue was quite adept at socializing. With only a few words, Han Li had already acquired a decent impression of him. Afterwards, he introduced the other two to Han Li.

  “These two are Fairy Shi Die[1. Her name, Shi Die (pronounced di-eh), literally means “Stone Butterfly”.] and Brother Jian. Fairy Shi is a greatly renowned formation spell master from Red Moon Island. I am confident that with Fellow Daoist Han alongside her, we will be certainly able to break through the formation. As for Brother Jian, he is a mid Core Formation cultivator, and will prove to be quite useful after the formation is broken.” Hu Yue introduced them with a smile.

  “Let’s get the ugly matters out of the way first. I am only here to assist you in breaking the formation. If any dangers appear after the magic formation breaks, I will not be able to act as I’m only at Foundation Establishment. Also, I will get first pick of whatever spoils that appear.”

  The female cultivator called Shi Die had an ordinary appearance. However, her expression was haughty, and her words didn’t contain a trace of politeness, much to the other’s surprise.

  “Red Moon Island? Could it be that Fellow Daoist Shi has some relation to Red Moon Island’s Daoist Master Shi?” Jin Qing asked with a hesitant appearance.

  After glancing at Jin Qing, she gave an indifferent reply, “He is my father.”

  “Hehe, since it is like that, we will agree with your conditions!” Upon hearing her reply, he gave an immediate response, causing Han Li to look at him in astonishment.

  Han Li then heard Jin Qing’s voice transmission, “Fellow Daoist Han! Daoist Master Shi had treated me with great kindness long ago. I hope Fellow Daoist Han will forgive me.”

  Han Li remained silent and casually smiled towards Jin Qing.

  Chapter 417: Using One Formation to Break Another

  “How about this? If Brother Han and Fairy Shi break through the formation, then they can have the first pick. We will distribute the rest afterwards.” Hu Yue revealed slight embarrassment and hastily mentioned Han Li, going through the motions for the time being.

  The thin, shriveled cultivator surnamed Jian stood to the side and remained silent. He remained somewhat of a mystery to Han Li.

  “Fellow Daoist Hu, wouldn’t it be better to first bring Brother Han and Fairy Shi to the formation and see whether or not the formation can be broken, and leave the distribution for afterwards? If they cannot break the formation, having this talk now would be useless.” Jin Qing proposed with a slight smile.

  Hu Yue patted his head and promptly agreed, “Right! This formation spell is rather strange. Fellow Daoist Jin and I relentlessly assaulted it for an entire day. As a result, we only wasted our magic power on attacks that didn’t damage the formation spell in the slightest.”

  The others agreed and followed in curious anticipation. They flew towards the back of the sand mountain and stopped near an unremarkable shallow slope.

  “Please take a look. The area covered in a yellow mist is where the spell formation is located.” Hu Yue pointed down at an area of the slope while in midair with a solemn expression.

  The others didn’t need it pointed out as there was a huge, dense yellow mist that resembled a huge beast quietly crouching in wait. It gave them an incomprehensibly strange feeling. “Yi! It seems to be a dual attribute earth-wind formation spell. How interesting.” Upon seeing the formation spell’s grandeur, Shi Die’s eyes immediately brightened with excitement.

  Han Li was brought back to attention upon hearing her and looked at her before turning his attention towards the formation spell. Not long after, his expression became solemn.

  This formation spell was indeed a wind-earth dual attribute formation spell as the woman had said. At his current level, it would prove quite troublesome to break through it.

  At that moment, Shi Die slowly descended to the edge of the spell formation and enthusiastically took out a strange magic tool.

  She stroked the disc-shaped magic tool before pointing it towards the yellow mist and shooting out a green beam of light. The beam then disappeared without a trace into the formation.

  Shi Die frowned as she took out a fiery crystal ball and rubbed it with her hand several times before sending it into the yellow mist as well. But after flashing several times with red light, the crystal ball was also submerged into the dense yellow mist.

  At this point, the female cultivator’s complexion turned slightly red, involuntarily revealing an expression of worry. She continued to probe the formation spell with another eight different magic tools. However, apart from a yellow copper mirror that was able to shine through an area of the mist, none of the other magic tools had any effect.

  Having seen this, the rest of the party looked at one another and couldn’t help but fly down onto the slope, approaching the woman.

  After a moment more of observation, Han Li saw that the woman wanted to continue sending off magic tools and couldn’t help but inwardly sigh. He gently asked, “Fairy Shi, how about you let me give it a try.”

  “Humph! If Fellow Daoist Han has any tricks, do not hesitate to make use of them. This young woman will not stop you.” From her tone it was obvious that Fairy Shi had become frustrated.

  Han Li became slightly annoyed, but he maintained a calm appearance. Without paying her any notice, he patted his storage pouch and took out over a dozen small flags of various colors. They then surrounded Han Li and began to slowly revolve around him.

  “Formation flags.” Upon seeing the small flags appear, Jin Qing astutely called out the name of the items.

  The others gazed on in astonishment, not knowing what Han Li intended to do with the formation.

  Han Li didn’t pay any attention to their amazed expressions and just pointed to the formation flags. The formation flags then flew off in streaks of brilliance above the yellow mist. In accordance to the arranged pattern, they floated above the mist in a shape vaguely resembling the Big Dipper.

  “Big Dipper Heaven-Earth Formation.” Shi Die recognized the formation by the flag’s arrangement and revealed slight amazement.

  Right after she spoke,
the formation flags began to let out a series of low, long hums. They then each shot out a beam of light, joining together as a concentrated, thick pillar that shot down towards the yellow mist. Soon after, it completely disappeared.

  Having seen this, the others turned their gaze towards the yellow mist, but saw that there wasn’t the slightest irregularity.

  “Brother Han, this is...” Jin Qing couldn’t help but want to ask about a few of his doubts before he was interrupted by a sudden occurrence.

  The originally still, unaffected mist suddenly released a muffled pop as if water were boiling inside of it. The mist started to roil as if a flood dragon were overturning them from within. It appeared as if the mists were suddenly alive.

  At that moment, Han Li’s eyes were radiant, and he shot out several magic seals towards the floating flag formation. Soon, the formation flags began to shoot out a continuous, concentrated beam of multi-colored light.

  Not long after, another astonishing scene occurred.

  The rolling yellow mists started to rise and fall in rhythmic fluctuations and began to form countless protrusions that were the size of steam buns. The protrusions became larger and taller as time passed, as if a monster were about to fly out from within.

  When the others saw this, they felt aghast and involuntarily took a few steps back.

  Fairy Shi hastily ran back forty meters with a changed expression before stopping and turning her head around.

  Bang, Bang...

  A series of deafening booms came from the yellow mist.

  The cultivators had earlier put up their guards. They all hastily readied their defenses and stood firm, watching as the mists heavily swayed as if they were being blown about by violent storm winds.

  Only Shi Die looked on in anticipation, while all the others were fearful.

  The extremely dense mist didn’t end up expelling anything at all. It had just parted away like clouds and disappeared, revealing everything that the formation contained.

  While Hu Yue and the others greatly rejoiced, Jin Qing quickly walked over to Han Li’s side and said with a beaming smile, “Brother Han! I didn’t think you possessed such great skill. Did you break through the entire formation?”