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

by Translator: Johnchen

  The demon tortoise then impatiently gulped the rest of the spirit milk and flung the small bottle to the side.

  Not long after, the three felt some of their magic power recover, and they let out a breath of relief. Feng Xi not longer held any of his original suspicions in mind.

  At that moment, a cold glint flickered in the flood dragon’s eyes as he sent Feng Xi a voice transmission, “When we’re done refining the treasure, the human cultivator will no longer have a use. Let me finish him off. The human makes for an irksome presence!” When the flood dragon finished speaking, he coldly swept his gaze over Han Li and displayed harsh killing intent.

  Feng Xi unconsciously turned his gaze to Han Li and indifferently said, “Don’t get rid of him for the time being. Although we won’t need his wood-attribute spiritual Qi in the following days, it is better to be careful. You can kill him after the wings have finished.”

  “Fine, then the human will have a few more days to live!” The flood dragon’s tone was unsatisfied, but he decided to agree to wait in the end.

  Han Li had only seen their lips move and was unable to know what they said. However, his body broke into a chill when their hostile gazes fell upon him and he could faintly guess what they were talking about.

  His face grew unsightly after some thought and he wordlessly sat down cross-legged on the floor. He then slowly closed his eyes as if he were resigned to death.

  The three demons paused after seeing this, but they paid no more attention to Han Li and completely focused their attention on the spirit wings.

  In truth, Han Li’s heart was heavily thumping at that moment. He was slowly transferring slivers of faint gold lightning from his Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords into his body, controlling it so it wouldn’t erupt. Afterwards, layers of Divine Devilbane Lightning began to densely coil around the ball of wind spirit energy that Feng Xi had planted within him.

  The Wind Spirit Energy wasn’t something that Han Li could refine at his current cultivation, and it wasn’t something that the Devilbane lightning could cleanly dissolve. However, he could restrain it for the time being and prevent it from flaring out, drawing from his experience in binding the Celestial Ice Pearl.

  At that moment, the demon tortoise had recovered a portion of his spiritual power. Just as he effortlessly continued to pour spiritual power into the light barrier, he glanced at the flood dragon and suddenly thought of something. He thought to say something, but his mouth suddenly trembled and his expression twisted. With an odd gaze in his eyes, the demon tortoise ceased sending spiritual power into the light barrier and fell to the ground. His mouth was wide open, but not the slightest sound was produced.

  An astonishing scene followed. The demon’s abdomen had suddenly expanded.

  In the following moment, his head and limbs also began to swell with protrusions as if evil spirits had suddenly emerged from within his body and wished to break free.

  When the flood dragon and Feng Xi saw this, their expressions greatly changed and they simultaneously recalled the diluted spirit milk from Han Li’s small bottle.

  Chapter 550: Helplessness in a Crisis

  The Venomous Flood Dragon bellowed and his body flourished with scarlet light as he thought to immediately attack Han Li. But at nearly the same time, the demon’s face immediately grimaced and he fell to his knees with a bang. He helplessly stared at the swelling in his body and remained still in his powerlessness.

  “You’re courting death!” Feng Xi furiously yelled. A flash of white light flickered from his face; his body then disappearing from sight. A moment later, he appeared behind Han Li, and fiercely swiped down with a black claw.

  His movements were near instantaneous. Although Han Li had already prepared himself, he still wasn’t able to keep up with his movements. He could only do his utmost to throw his body to the side.

  Clang! Han Li was pushed away by a huge force and was thrown over thirty meters away. Han Li then stood back up with obvious difficulty.

  The single strike of the grade nine demon beast’s claw wasn’t able to immediately kill Han Li. The demon cultivator couldn’t help but pause, an ominous glint soon flickering across his eyes as he stared at where he had struck Han Li. The tears in his clothes revealed silver white scales. A majority of them were shattered from the strike, revealing a twinkling, jet-black cloth underneath.

  “Inner armor?” Feng Xi was greatly surprised, but he soon scoffed and wordlessly turned into wind once more, disappearing without a trace.

  The inner armor was clearly an extremely fine treasure for it to be able to withstand one of his strikes. However, the armor wouldn’t be able to save his life a second time.

  Han Li also recognized his previous survival to only be a result of luck. He was sure that strike should’ve been able to kill him. Man Huzi’s Royal Scale Plate was truly an extraordinary treasure to be able to ward off a strike from a grade nine demon beast.

  With the precious time the armor had bought, Han Li firmly regained his footing. Golden lightning surged throughout his body without the slightest thought, accompanied by a blinding flourish of azure light that took the form of a huge azure essence swordshield. He also raised his arms and summoned twenty-four azure swords from within his body, instantly forming a barrier around him.

  Just as Han Li finished doing this, Feng Xi’s tall stature appeared in front of Han Li yet again. With a sinister glare, he opened his mouth and revealed a blinding white light.

  Han Li’s expression abruptly changed as he inwardly cursed in helplessness. He was fundamentally incapable of surviving if the old demon was going to use his demon core in a direct attack.

  As Han Li felt his heart freeze, Feng Xi suddenly closed his mouth and his body swayed. His face wore an unsightly expression as he lost his footing.

  Han Li was immediately roused from his shock, noticing that the demon cultivator had started to tremble. Moreover, his abdomen began to show protrusions. Although this old demon had a much deeper cultivation than the other two, the effects of the green liquid had eventually taken hold.

  Han Li was overjoyed and pointed at him without the slightest hesitation. The twenty-four Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords surged towards Feng Xi and began to wildly strike at him from every angle.

  After only a short moment, Han Li’s smile grew rigid.

  Although the Windbreaker Beast was painfully on his knees and his hands where tightly gripping his abdomen, he had managed to envelop his body in a layer of faint white light. The flying swords alone weren’t able to break through the light barrier in even the slightest. Additionally, the demon cultivator was still able to force his head up to fiercely glare at Han Li. Although he couldn’t speak, his eyes were full of malice.

  With a single glance, Han Li felt his heart drop. Pondering for a short moment, Han Li concluded there should be some sort of treasure protecting Feng Xi. Otherwise, he definitely would’ve been able slay Han Li with even the slightest control over his magic power, given his immense hatred for Han Li.

  Han Li’s heart grew calm at the thought and he quickly formed an incantation gesture with his hands. The flying swords merged together, forming two balls of blinding azure lights. The two balls of light faded away to reveal two azure swords about ten meters long; they glowed with an imposingly cold light.

  With a strange expression flickering within his eyes, Han Li silently opened his mouth and spouted a cloud of azure Qi onto each sword, causing them to flourish with splendor. With a series of light hums, they then chopped down towards the Windbreaker Beast.

  The huge swords fiercely struck the white light with a bang. Azure and white light intertwined, but in the end, the two swords were only able to cut several inches into the white light before they were forcefully repelled.

  Han Li blankly stared at the scene, but Feng Xi wore a trace of a sneer.

  Han Li couldn’t help but tremble upon seeing his expression. Although Feng Xi was crippled, Han Li had no method of harming him. Apart from the throbb
ing in Feng Xi’s swollen abdomen, there wasn’t much of a change to his limbs or head. The demon cultivator seemed to be forcefully suppressing the effects of the green liquid.

  Han Li’s expression changed as he suddenly through of something. He hastily turned his gaze to the other demons and felt his heart tremble.

  The flood dragon and demon tortoise still had inflated bodies. However, their heads and limbs had started to shrink. It appeared that their bodies were releasing the spiritual Qi without restraint. It was clear that they were suppressing the green liquid, but at a much slower rate than the Windbreaker Beast due to their lower cultivation.

  Han Li instantly pointed to the two huge swords, causing them to strike the two demons as streaks of azure light. Since the swords couldn’t deal with the Windbreaker Beast, it would be better to first deal with the other two demons!

  Afterwards, Han Li steeled his mind and slapped the spirit beast pouch at his waist. Countless Gold Devouring Beetles filled the room. With a low-pitch whistle, Han Li directed them towards Feng Xi.

  Feng Xi’s eyes revealed astonishment upon seeing the beetles appear. In the following moment, the countless beetles enveloped the white light in layers and started gnawing at the white light.

  At that moment, the two huge swords chopped down upon the demon tortoise and flood dragon. Although their eyes widened, they couldn’t move in the slightest. They could only watch as the azure swords struck their body. Two violent clangs were produced from the strike, but not the slightest damage was done.

  Han Li was left stunned by the result. “How could this be? The Windbreaker Beast has a treasure protecting his body that is able to block the flying swords. But these demons were able to repel the swords with their bodies alone without receiving even the slightest damage! How could the bodies of these grade eight demon beasts be so hard?”

  Of course, Han Li wasn’t about to give up after just this.

  He pointed to the two huge swords and caused them to release arm-thick bolts of lightning onto the two demons.

  The two demons appeared quite pained upon receiving the lightning, but they remained uninjured. However, their expressions only grew most hostile as a result. Presumably, their first thoughts after regaining control of their bodies would be to tear Han Li apart.

  Han Li felt a slight pang of fear at the thought and then turned his head over to look at his Gold Devouring Beetles. After some thought, he had the Gold Devouring Beetles float into the air and reveal the demon cultivator underneath.

  Although the white light had somewhat dimmed, the demon beast was still safe and sound underneath the white light. It was truly proving difficult for Han Li to deal with. Even after the simultaneous feasting of tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles, they had only managed to slightly weaken it. The power of Feng Xi’s protective treasure was truly beyond reason.

  Just as Han Li hesitated on whether he wanted the Gold Devouring Beetles to continue swarming around Feng Xi, Feng Xi regained the ability to speak.

  The demon wore a vicious expression as he strenuously spoke, “Human! Do you believe that a trifling Core Formation cultivator is somehow capable of dealing with metamorphosis stage demons? In a moment, we will give you a taste of what it means to desire death.” Although his tone was calm, his words were staunch and threatening.

  When Han Li heard those words, he regained clarity of mind. “Humph! Is that so?”

  Without further hesitation, he pointed to the Gold Devouring Beetles in the air, causing them to change direction towards the other two demons with a ferocious buzz.

  The two huge swords then made their way towards the rainbow light barrier.

  Fenx Xi saw Han Li’s actions and started to panic. He hurriedly yelled at him with a fearful expression, “Stop! What folly are you up to? Do you wish to be pursued by all the flood dragons in these seas? And the Thunderstorm Wings have yet to be completed. If you take them out now all will be lost. Furthermore, those spirit wings can only be controlled using both spirit and lightning power. What use is there in you taking it?”

  Han Li sneered and showed no sign of stopping. The insect swarms fell upon the two demons in an instant, and the two huge swords’ strikes had nearly collapsed the rainbow refinement barrier. After all, the barrier’s purpose was to refine magic tools; it wasn’t made with defensive capabilities in mind.

  Feng Xi’s green eyes grew crimson upon see this, but the strange ailment that affected his body continued to prevent him from taking any action.

  In the following moment, the Venomous Flood dragon released a heaven-shaking screech.

  Scarlet bloodlight ruptured from within the beetles. Upon touching the bloodlight, the beetles immediately turned into drops of black liquid and released yellow smoke.

  The scarlet mist was amazingly toxic!

  Chapter 551: Devouring the Flood Dragon

  Han Li squinted while gazing at the scene through the red mist.

  The Venomous Flood Dragon’s scales had been torn away under the onslaught of the Gold Devouring Beetles. However, the shredded skin and flesh underneath spouted out a seemingly endless mist of bloodlight, melting large quantities of the beetles into a black liquid. Not long after, the many beetles that had surrounded the flood dragon had nearly all perished.

  As of current, the mutilated body of the Venomous Flood Dragon was oozing green blood from all over. He stared at Han Li with a bone-deep hatred.

  Han Li’s heart trembled. It appeared that the Venomous Flood Dragon’s reputation wasn’t undeserved. His Gold Devouring Beetles had already evolved to a point where ordinary magic treasures could hardly pose a threat to them. It was obvious how deadly the mist of toxic bloodlight was from how easily the beetles had been exterminated.

  Soon, a sneer reappeared on Han Li’s face. The demons had no idea just how many beetles he possessed. Even if he had to expend most of them, he would definitely slay each and every one of them.

  With that thought, he took a quick look at the swarm of beetles that were covering the demon tortoise. He heard the incessant sound of grating from their direction, but the insect swarm appeared to be nearly motionless. If it weren’t for the faint demonic Qi that leaked out from the beetles, Han Li would’ve dared to believe that the demon was already dead.

  Although he felt uncertainty swell in his heart, Han Li raised his arms into the air without any further thought and tossed several spirit beast pouches out. Suddenly, a huge hum of insect wings reverberated throughout the room as over a hundred thousand black-tainted Gold Devouring Beetles appeared.

  Upon seeing such a large quantity of beetles, the flood dragon revealed an expression of despair.

  At that same moment, Feng Xi’s expression abruptly changed to reveal astonishment.

  It was said that exotic spirit insects had a far shorter lifespan than common spirit beasts. Although their incubation period was quite short and they laid hundred of eggs when breeding, they would ordinarily only breed once every hundred years. After hatching and accepting a master, they would need several tens of years of training and nurturing before they could be truly used. Additionally, the greater the power and the higher the grade of the insects, the more time was required. As a result, only a few cultivators were renowned for their insect control techniques in the Scattered Star Seas despite the numerous cultivators that practiced such techniques. They were especially rare to find past Core Formation stage!

  Most insect controllers would only possess about a thousand exotic insects in their lifetime if they were lucky. In most of these cases, they had inherited a majority of their insects from a master in order to acquire such an amount.

  Additionally, exotic insects were said to be far weaker than spirit beasts. It wasn’t uncommon to see an entire swarm of insects be exterminated in a single battle. As a result, there were few cultivators that used insect control techniques despite knowing that their powers were great.

  As a result, Feng Xi and the flood dragon were in disbelief after seei
ng Han Li release such a vast quantity of insects. Despite being metamorphosis stage demon beasts, they still felt fear at the ferocity of Han Li’s beetles.

  Of course, if they knew that this might was coming from insects that had yet to fully mature, they would be left in even greater shock.

  Without paying any further attention to the hate, fury, and fear in the flood dragon’s eyes, Han Li quickly uttered an incantation and had the flying insects separate into several groups before sending them off to maul the flood dragon.

  A mist of bloodlight spurted forth once more from the flood dragon’s wounds, and liquified any Gold Devouring Beetles that it touched. However, the beetles swarming around the ceiling of the room held no fear. After a short moment, the mist of bloodlight shrank and dimmed, eventually disappearing to reveal the flood dragon’s wretched expression.

  Han Li’s eyes brightened as he saw this and had another group of beetles immediately fall upon flood dragon, drowning him once more in a sea of gold, silver and black. This pattern repeated over and over: the swarm would be melted by the toxic bloodlight only to be replaced by yet another swarm after it faded away. Eventually, the Venomous Flood Dragon could no longer endure, succumbing to the repeated swarms of Gold Devouring Beetles.

  When Feng Xi saw this, his expression faintly changed, but he immediately wore a face of calm. He merely stared at Han Li with an icy gaze.

  Han Li snorted and had the insect swarm depart from the body, revealing the remains of the Venomous Flood Dragon. A sparkling fist-sized, blood-red core could be seen within.

  A strange emotion flickered from his eyes, but before he took any action, the demon core took off into the air with a flash of blue light, heading in the direction of the room’s exit. Han Li instantly reached and shot an azure swordstreak from his hand.

  The demon core wobbled through the air from the strike before an inch-long miniature flood dragon suddenly emerged from within the demon core in a flash of blue light. It was the flood dragon’s primal soul.