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

by Translator: Johnchen

  After walking through only ten meters, Han Li was forced to redeploy his water attribute light barrier. Although this would quickly consume his magic power, it allowed Han Li to quickly escape from the blistering underbrush. Making full use of his Shifting Smoke Steps, he turned into a blue ghost that occasionally appeared within the dazzling red light. With each appearance, it had grown farther away.

  ……

  Elsewhere on the Path of Molten Rock walked a middle-aged man.

  He was Bu Wu, a late Core Formation cultivator with earth and fire spiritual roots. He managed to acquire his current cultivation in less three hundred years, resulting in a resounding fame in the local sea territories. Those that were close to him even thought that he was among those that had the highest chance to ascend to the Nascent Soul stage in the next hundred years.

  Bu Wu greatly enjoyed the admirations and praise of others along with their envious gazes.

  However, Bu Wu clearly understood his own circumstances.

  Were it not for the the ancient “Essence Split Pill” that he had found in the stomach of a grade four demon beast he had slain while traveling, he would likely still be lingering at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

  That medicine pill had caused him to feel the sweetness of ancient spirit medicines, saving him a hundred years of bitter cultivation. As such, he had made plans for this journey to Heavenvoid Hall and had purchased a fire dragon worm at great price. He planned to brave the Inner Halls during a moment of distraction and use the worm to acquire the top grade mysterious treasure renowned throughout the Scattered Star Seas, the Heavenvoid Cauldron. With the many treasures contained in the Heavenvoid Cauldron and the rumored Heavenmend Pill, breaking through to Nascent Soul Stage would only be a step away.

  Chapter 460: The Path of Life and Death

  When Bu Xu entered the Heavenvoid Hall and saw so many Nascent Soul eccentrics appear, he felt as if he had been drenched in cold water.

  Any Nascent Soul cultivator that arrived here would naturally go hunt for treasures in the Inner Halls. The Heavenvoid Cauldron was certain to be the most important among them. Although Nascent Soul cultivators had also attended previous openings of the Heavenvoid Hall, there would only be about four of them. But now, there were actually eight Nascent Soul cultivators, causing his hopes to grow very faint.

  But since he had already arrived, he was unwilling to cowardly return. As such, he entered the Path of Molten Rock, holding a slight sliver of hope that it would prove to be as smooth as it had been with the ghost mist.

  To tell the truth, he did hold some fear towards the ghost mist and a later trial, the Boundary of Fantastical Illusion. However, he didn’t hold much regard for the Paths of Ice and Fire and never doubted whether or not he could pass it. This was because he cultivated a cultivation art well known amongst the Scattered Star Seas, the Tranquil Yang Art.

  This cultivation art had forcefully inserted itself among the top ten mental cultivation arts among fire cultivation techniques. He had lost count of how many enemies he had exterminated, turning them entirely to ash with his Tranquil Yang True Fire. As such, he held complete confidence towards treading the Path of Molten Rock and resisting the heat with complete ease.

  Naturally, given his many years of cultivation, he wouldn’t arrogantly think of treading the Path of Molten Rock without any hesitation. He had also prepared two fire protection magic tools, but it wasn’t that he didn’t want to prepare more. It was just that purchasing the Fire Dragon Worm had left him nearly destitute.

  With the assistance of two magic tools and his Tranquil Yang Art, he felt that he would be able to traverse the Path of Molten Rock without problem. But now, Bu Xu felt a deep regret churning in his guts.

  After a short time on the path, he unexpectedly discovered that despite the wondrous fire resistant effects of his Tranquil Yang Arts, he was forced to continuously use his Tranquil Yang Arts at full strength in order to resist the scorching heat that surrounded him. His original thought of ignoring this hostile environment was impossible as his magic power was being depleted far faster than he had anticipated.

  Outside the Heavenvoid Hall, he ordinarily only had to make use of the Tranquil Yang Arts in order to resist scorching flames.

  It was clear that the heat emitted by the Path of Molten Rock was completely different from common flames on the outside. There were certain to be restrictions put in place that suppressed fire attribute cultivation arts.

  As for his two fire resistant magic tools, they had a very limited effect in this strange environment, much to the dismay of Bu Xu.

  In his six hours of walking the path, his magic power had been drained at a visible rate despite having continuously replenished his spiritual Qi with spirit stones. He’d only be able to persist for a day more before his magic power was exhausted, allowing the heat to turn his body to ash.

  Bu Xu naturally didn’t wish to fall here. He nervously rushed forward while sweeping his gaze in every direction. However, his surroundings were quiet and was completely absent of any others. This caused his thoughts of plundering the fire resistant magic treasures of others to prematurely perish.

  The further he rushed forward, the more intensely Bu Xu felt despair. After a quarter hour later, Bu Xu eventually stopped with apprehension contained in his eyes.

  Although he had both skilled techniques and magic power, he didn’t have any hope of arriving at the canyon’s end at this pace. In addition, if he were to encounter any other cultivators in his rush forward, his magic power would be in a sorry state. Forget about him attacking others, he would likely be preyed upon himself once they saw how weak he was.

  Bu Xu anxiously paced back and forth. As time passed, thoughts began to bubble from his mind, looking for a method of survival.

  Suddenly, he raised his head towards the deep red sky with fluctuating expressions.

  After a determined expression momentarily appeared on his face, his body flashed with yellow light and started to float. His eyes were unblinking and his face appeared cautious.

  After he rose up to ten meters in the air, he was extremely joyful to discover that nothing had happened. At this altitude, he could make use of his techniques to fly and reach the canyon’s end after only a short time.

  Wildly delighted at having found a way out of danger, Bu Xu formed an incantation gesture and turned into a ball of yellow light, disappearing with a blur.

  BANG! Just as Bu Xu flew about hundred meters, a silver bolt of lightning struck from the deep red sky. With a miserable scream, his body scattered into ash while two items then silently fell into the shrubbery below.

  ...

  Somewhere on the Path of Molten Rock, a gorgeous, thirty-year-old woman wearing brilliant blue muslin looked hesitantly at the river of molten rock. Apart from a foot wide stone pillar, there was no other way for the woman to cross the scarlet red river that spanned over a hundred fifty meters.

  The gorgeous woman frowned as she felt the overpowering heat radiating from the river of lava. After a moment of hesitation, she carefully set foot on the red stone pillar.

  When the gorgeous woman stepped foot on the pillar, she immediately wore a pained expression. It was clear that the stone pillar was extremely hot. Even with the protection of the blue muslin, she still felt quite a bit of pain.

  However, this woman was someone who possessed unwavering determination. After gritting her teeth, she slowly walked forward on the stone pillar cautiously.

  At the start, it went quite smoothly. She ended up walking through about halfway unscathed. But as she approached the pillar’s center, she suddenly heard rumblings in the distance.

  The gorgeous woman was stunned and she couldn’t help but turn her head in the direction of the river upstream. Her face then became deathly pale and panic stricken.

  A violent maelstrom rushed down the river and transformed into a huge grey dragon. With bared fangs and claws, it arrived in front of the stone pillar in an instant and wr
apped around the female cultivator who had just taken flight.

  Then with a shriek of despair, the female cultivator disappeared without a trace.

  A short moment later, a sparkling blue item sunk to the bottom of the lava.

  ...

  Near an icy mountain on the Path of Profound Crystal, a middle-aged man was back to back with an old man as they faced over ten crystal beasts. Red and white radiance flashed in every direction, but the battle soon came to an end. The crystal beasts stayed for a moment more before dispersing in different directions, leaving behind two badly damaged corpses.

  ...

  At another location on the Path of Profound Crystal, Zenith Yin was leisurely taking a walk along a road of ice. His body was sparkling with black light and didn’t possess the slightest trace of cold. While the crystal beasts would occasionally unburrow from the snow and attempt to ambush Zenith Yin, they would be easily split in two with a flash of black light.

  Afterwards, he would continue on his way as if nothing had happened.

  ...

  On a hill, Han Li blankly stared ahead of him with a trace of hesitation.

  After rushing through the fiery overgrowth by making full use of the Shifting Smoke Steps, he had returned to his original speed. After all, the Shifting Smoke Steps put too much strain on his body. Even with the resilient body of a Core Formation cultivator, he couldn’t persist in using it for long. Naturally, he could make use of it far longer than when he was at Foundation Establishment.

  After this, he encountered an extremely dangerous swamp of lava. In fact, it appeared more like a pit of lava. Even a person of resilient mind such as Han Li felt cold sweat line his back.

  Were it not for the protection provided by the Glacial Ice Bead that Man Huzi had given him, he would’ve suffered blistering skin and roasted flesh, had he managed to survive it.

  As for the series of strange trees and three flame spirits he later encountered, they forced Han Li to expend a bit of effort before he could safely continue on his way.

  But now Han Li was left stunned by something he had never seen before, an endless black desert with black sand and dunes.

  This strange scene caused Han Li to feel uneasy and unwilling to walk into it.

  However, taking an alternative route was impossible. The expanse of black desert was far too large. If he wanted to make a detour, it would take at least two days. According to the accounts of cultivators that came before him, this trial must be cleared within five days; else, the transportation formation would be sealed, leaving the rest to die.

  As for Han Li, he reckoned that he had only managed to reach the center of the canyon. He didn’t have the time to waste even if he didn’t want to brave this danger. Who knew what monsters laid in wait beneath the black sands?

  Han Li tightly creased his brow and gazed at the scene before him, pondering about what strange dangers laid hidden within. At that moment, Han Li’s heart stirred, and he disappeared with a blur.

  Footsteps soon came from behind where he originally was.

  Chapter 461: Black Desert

  Shortly after Han Li disappeared, a male cultivator slowly walked out from the side of the small mountain. He appeared to be about forty years old and possessed a sallow complexion. He was the cultivator who had treated Zenith Yin so fearfully at the entrance of Heavenvoid Hall.

  At that moment, he was wearing an odd, dark green conical bamboo hat and had a white jade bowl in his grasp. His body concealed a chill that was completely isolated from the blazing heat surrounding him.

  He climbed to the mountaintop and surveyed his surroundings with great vigilance as if he were looking for something. But after seeing that there was nothing, his expression only grew increasingly cautious.

  He thought he had spotted a silhouette blur when he gazed at the mountain from afar. But after finding no traces of the person on the mountain, he became even more vigilant.

  After coldly sweeping his gaze past his surroundings once more, he wordlessly inserted two of his fingers into the jade bowl and brushed it upward. A streak of white light then flew out from it and started revolving around his head.

  “Execute!” The sallow-faced man softly shouted, forming an incantation gesture with one hand.

  Peng. The white light trembled for a moment before suddenly bursting into specks as wondrous as starlight scattered from a goddess. The light then completely enveloped a forty meter radius.

  The red land was enveloped in layers of frost upon touching the white light, but nothing abnormal had appeared within it.

  A trace of doubt appeared on the man’s face. After a moment of thought, he didn’t seem to care anymore, believing that he had been mistaken. After putting the matter to the back of his head, he then looked at the black desert with a grave face.

  “This place is truly strange.” The man muttered to himself as he looked at the black desert with a strange gaze. He seemed somewhat hesitant to depart.

  But after a short moment of consideration, he flung his sleeve and shot a streak of red light towards the ground. The light faded away to reveal a small red fox.

  The man flicked his finger, sending a green medicine pill into the small beast’s mouth. The small beast swallowed the pill and expressed great pleasure.

  “Go!” The sallow-faced cultivator bluntly commanded the small beast, pointing towards the direction of the black desert.

  The small beast immediately rushed down the hill at an extraordinary speed, turning into a red streak of light along the way.

  After a short moment, the small fox-like beast had arrived a hundred meters deep into the black desert. It was still unscathed even after running around in a large circle.

  Nothing strange had occurred. It seemed that apart from the color of the black desert, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

  The sallow-faced man revealed an expression of surprise. This was clearly not what he had expected. He had prepared himself for the loss of his Red Fox Beast. As it was but a common grade one spirit beast, he would feel no heartache at all. It didn’t have any notable abilities apart from its nimble movements and exceptional sense of smell.

  He tensely frowned and rigidly stared at the small beast as it ran around the desert in circles before whistling towards it. It then ran over and flew back into his sleeve.

  Afterwards, the man gazed at the black desert in silence with a wavering expression.

  But with only a short moment of hesitation, he started to descend the hill and carefully walked towards the black desert.

  Unknown to him, shortly after he walked down the small hill, Han Li’s silhouette reappeared at the hilltop in a series of fluctuating blurs.

  Although the sallow-faced man used a technique to search a wide area, Han Li was easily able to evade his attack and revealed no trace of himself by using both the nameless Qi restraining technique and the Shifting Smoke Steps. Although the man was a mid Core Formation cultivator, Han Li was very confident that a sudden strike of his nine Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords would instantly slay him, had he drawn closer.

  Han Li had been quite hesitant about whether or not he should kill him. While his two treasures were quite valuable, Han Li chose to have him act as a forward scout.

  But when the sallow-faced man had the small beast explore the black desert to no results, Han Li completely renounced his plan of attacking him. As the greatest dangers were unknown, it’d be better to let him guide the way. Han Li didn’t believe that the black desert was completely devoid of danger.

  With the White Rhino Emblem and Glacial Ice Pearl leaving him unfettered by the heat, he didn’t feel an urgent need to seize those fire resistance treasures.

  The sallow-faced man didn’t perceive Han Li was behind him in the slightest and continued onward into the strange black desert.

  Three meters, six meters...

  The man’s expression grew increasingly tense as he tread deeper into the black desert. He had already activated his bamboo hat and envelope
d his body in a layer of dense green light.

  After the man walked through the desert for about a kilometer without problem, his expression slightly relaxed and he felt great relief. It is commonly said that once one headed this deeply into an area, any dangers it possessed should’ve already appeared.

  Han Li gazed at the man’s silhouette from a distance away with a strange expression. Could it be that he had guessed incorrectly? The black desert was merely frightening and didn’t actually possess any dangers at all? Had he known this was the case, he definitely would’ve ambushed and robbed the man of his two treasures.

  Han Li felt regret! But soon, a startling and abrupt change occurred in the distance.

  The black sand around the the sallow-faced cultivator suddenly floated up and surrounded him without a sound. The sand then released a dim black light that appeared rather strange.

  As the man was rich with experience, he instantly reacted by raising his jade bowl towards the sky. A vast white light scattered from the bowl, adding another layer of defense upon his green barrier.

  At that moment, the black sand turned into countless winged black insects and charged at the shocked man from every direction.

  The man bellowed. With a flourish of white light, he was then surrounded with palm sized shields of ice. They then hurriedly rotated to form a white hurricane around him.

  He had now clearly made out the true appearance of the insects, winged ants. Their numbers were astonishing with no less than ten thousand insects surrounding him.

  The sallow-faced cultivator’s mind quickly churned, trying his utmost to recall the specific breed and weakness of these winged ants. But before he could finish thinking, the black swarm of ants knocked against his ice shield hurricane.

  Clangs rang out in quick succession as the shields repelled the winged ants several meters back. When the man saw this, he couldn’t help but feel slight relief.