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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Han Li saw the sound transmission talisman circle around the hill on the island and enter what appeared to be solid dirt. Then, the light disappeared with a flash as if it had entered a restriction.

  A moment later, three people flew out from the earth: two alluring women and an old man. When they spotted Han Li and Lady Fan, they immediately flew towards them in a streak of light.

  The two female cultivators deeply saluted and greeted Lady Fan upon seeing her. Then, they curiously glanced at Han Li. Once they perceived that Han Li was a Core Formation cultivator, they were startled and immediately grew somber.

  As for the blue-clothed old man that had accompanied the two, he arrogantly cupped his fist to Lady Fan and then glanced at Han Li with a trace of confusion.

  The old man had thought to ask some questions, but didn’t receive the chance to speak. Han Li had already identified him as an enemy and gazed at him with a trace of killing intent. He then wordlessly flicked his finger at the old man, shooting a streak of azure swordlight at him at lightning speed.

  “Ah!” The old man was immediately overwhelmed with fear but the swordlight was truly too fast. He could only briefly yell before a finger thick hole appeared in his head.

  The two female disciples paled with fright as they watched the old man’s corpse drop from the sky. But upon seeing Lady Fan’s cold indifference, the two came to a realization and silently glanced at one another.

  “Are all the others down below?” Lady Fan asked the two women with a cold tone.

  One of the women tactfully replied without delay, “Yes! The other five are down below at the spell formation. Disciple will lead the way for Sect Master and Senior.”

  “Yes, show Senior Li the way. We cannot allow any of them to escape.” An eerie expression appeared on Lady Fan’s beautiful face.

  Now sure that Lady Fan had found someone to deal with Yun Tianxiao’s men, the two women didn’t show any further hesitation and brought Han Li and Lady Fan down to the hill.

  One of the women took out a sparkling red command medallion and held it below her before shouting, “Open!” Red light then flew out of the talisman and struck the hill, revealing a fifteen-meter-wide, yellow stone gate within the ripples of red light.

  The female cultivator then smiled at Han Li and said with a pleasant voice, “Here it is. However, the five within are all at mid Foundation Establishment. Senior, please be careful.”

  “I understand,” Han Li expressionlessly said. He then raised his hand and loudly shattered the stone gate with a beam of azure light. With an unchanged expression, Han Li directly flew inside.

  The two female cultivators couldn’t help but glance at each other out of worry. However, Lady Fan held complete confidence in Han Li and called for them to follow her inside.

  After Han Li passed through the stone gate, he found himself in a wide passageway about twelve meters long. However, he unconsciously narrowed his eyes as he saw two cultivators enter the passageway.

  Without taking the time to examine their appearances, he opened his mouth and spat out two small, translucent swords that glowed with azure light. As soon as the swords left his mouth, they immediately flew towards the two cultivators who immediately appeared terrified.

  Not fully understanding what was happening, they flusteredly took out a red scarf and a small yellow shield, wishing to block the incoming attack. Unfortunately for them, they immediately fell to the ground with miserable screams, and their two magic tools followed suit, falling to the ground with their spiritual Qi scattered.

  Han Li stepped over the bodies and continued on his way without stopping. The two small swords started to revolve around Han Li as they followed after him.

  Lady Fan and the other two were delighted by the scene and remained behind momentarily to deal with the corpses.

  When the three women arrived at the end of the passageway, they entered a hall over three hundred meters wide. Han Li was already standing at the center of the hall next to a small transportation formation, and was expressionlessly examining it as he looked down. The hall was filled with the scent of blood, presumably from the three dismembered corpses that were scattered throughout it.

  When Lady Fan saw this, she wore a face of delight and had her two disciples take care of the rest of the corpses.

  After Lady Fan arrived at Han Li’s side, she pursed her lips and respectfully said, “It seems Senior’s cultivation has reached a profound stage. He dealt with those Foundation Establishment cultivators with the ease of slaughtering livestock.”

  “Foundation Establishment cultivators don’t pose any problem to me as I am now. More importantly, this is the transportation formation that you spoke of?” Han Li seemed to have placed his entire mind on the transportation formation before him.

  Lady Fan eyes brightened as she said, “That’s right! Senior should be able to see that the transportation formation is mostly completed. It is merely missing a few portions of Phantasm Stone before it can be used. As Senior saw the Phantasm Stone two days ago, he should know my words to be true.”

  “Since that is the case, I will naturally deal with Yun Tianxiao. However, does this transportation formation truly lead to Bright Emperor Island at the Inner Star Seas? To the best of my knowledge, that was merely an ordinary, mid-sized island. How could the Devil Dao cultivators have set up another formation at the other end?” Han Li frowned and stared at the transportation formation before him.

  “I heard it before from Yun Tianxiao that Bright Emperor Island has an abandoned transportation formation created during the age of antiquity. The Devil Dao has molded it for their own uses, but the transportation formation is only capable of receiving teleportations. Were it not the only transportation formation capable of accepting a teleportation from the Outer Star Seas, Yun Tianxiao wouldn’t have chosen that location. Senior won’t meet with any troubles after he teleports there.” Lady Fan spoke to Han Li with a blank expression. She knew that the matter of the teleportation was extremely important to Han Li and she didn’t dare to treat him poorly.

  Han Li nodded in response and said nothing else. So long as there were no Nascent Soul eccentrics standing guard on the other side, even if there was some danger to be had, it wouldn’t pose any problem to him with the miraculous abilities he currently possessed. Furthermore, he also knew that even if there was potential danger, it would be far less dangerous than flying all the way to the Inner Star Seas.

  After examining the transportation formation for a while longer, Han Li turned towards Lady Fan and coldy said, “Immediately send your spell formation expert over here to complete this. I wish to use it the moment I return after I kill Yun Tianxiao, and I will be heading out immediately to deal with him. From what you’ve said, he’ll be returning to Twin Peaks Island to manage the hidden city in six days at the latest.”

  He then made his way out of the hall with a stern expression.

  ...

  As the days passed by, Han Li couldn’t help but grow anxious. He clearly understood that the longer he remained in one place, the more likely that the demon cultivator Feng Xi would find him.

  But Han Li felt especially vexed in the face of Feng Xi’s wind spirit energy that had yet to disappear. When he said that it would disappear eventually, had he meant after a single year or several? Or, even worse, was he just lying about that?

  Han Li had even swallowed a few Gold Devouring Beetles and had them nibble at it. But when he attempted this, he soon found that this method wouldn’t work.

  For the beetles to consume the wind spirit energy, they must first eat through the threads of Divine Devilbane Lightning that surrounded it. But after creating a small hole in the threads of lightning, the wind spirit energy immediately flared, causing him to immediately mend the hole in fear. As a result, if he didn’t plan to exterminate Yun Tianxiao and flee to the Inner Star Seas, Han Li would still be roaming the skies in fear of being tracked.

  This ongoing matter filled Han Li’s mind with
anxiousness and dread.

  Chapter 558: Enticement

  After returning to Twin Peaks Mountain, Han Li assisted Lady Fan in exterminating the remaining cultivators that were loyal to Yun Tianxiao. Afterwards, he calmly awaited Yun Tianxiao’s return to the city.

  Five days later, Han Li was sitting in the area behind the city’s hidden hall with closed eyes. Lady Fan was sitting beside him with a fluctuating expression.

  At that moment, a streak of fire flew through the door and Lady Fan’s eyes brightened as it flew into her open hand.

  The fire released a woman’s flustered voice, “Sect Master, it’s terrible! Elder Yun brought Daoist Master Swift Crane with him. They’ve already arrived at the entrance of the city. Sect Master, please make preparations!”

  “What? The old monster Swift Cane arrived with him?” Lady Fan crushed the sound transmission talisman in astonishment and wore an extremely unsightly expression.

  “The Jade Cloud Sect’s Swift Crane?” Han Li opened his eyes with a startled expression, but soon regained his calm.

  “If it isn’t that old Daoist, then who else could it be? It is too late to stop our plans since Yun Tianxiao’s subordinates have already been cleanly exterminated. He will notice something is amiss in the city after being there for just a moment.” Lady Fan’s expression grew pale, but when she saw Han Li’s calm expression, she felt slightly hopeful.

  When Han Li saw her silently staring at him, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her and sourly said, “What is Lady Fan looking at me for? Don’t tell me that you expect me to stake it all in a battle against a Nascent Soul cultivator?”

  Even though he said this, Han Li didn’t feel particularly flustered in the slightest. Since a threat on the level of Man Huzi and Wan Tianming hadn’t arrived, he could make himself scarce without much of a problem. He was confident that he could escape from the hands of an early Nascent Soul cultivator with ease, especially with the miraculous abilities of his newly acquired Thunderstorm Wings. Of course, if it were possible, he still wanted to return to the Inner Star Seas with the transportation formation. As a result, Han Li was thinking of an alternative plan despite his previous words.

  But when Lady Fan heard Han Li, her expression turned pale and she blankly stood in place. She was at a complete loss about what to do.

  A short moment later, a cold glint flickered within Han Li’s eyes. He licked his lips and asked with a serious tone, “Does that Swift Crane have a close relationship with Yun Tianxiao? If I were to suddenly kill Yun Tianxiao, would he take revenge on me?”

  Lady Fan was startled when she heard Han Li, but hastily replied with delighted surprise, “Relationship? Yun Tianxiao merely used our Exquisite Sound Sect to form a loose connection with the old Daoist by giving our disciples over to him as cultivation vessels. He doesn’t care about the matters of our Exquisite Sound Sect. However, you must kill Yun Tianxiao before he can cry for help. Otherwise, the old Daoist might truly intervene out of obligation.”

  “That’s fine,” Han Li then calmly ordered, “Drag that Yun Tianxiao into one of the neighboring rooms alone. I will kill him there in an instant. He won’t have the time to call for help from Swift Crane. So long as you are in charge of the sect, the old Daoist won’t be able to say anything. Afterwards, win over his favor by using some good conditions.”

  Displaying staunch decisiveness, Lady Fan gritted her teeth and agreed, “Yes! Since matters have reached this point, we can only do our utmost. Senior must exert his complete strength and kill Yun Tianxiao as quickly as possible! Please wait in the room farthest away from here for the time being. I will bring him over.”

  When Han Li saw this, he immediately walked to the hall’s side door that led to a hallway with many variously sized rooms.

  When he arrived at the door, Han Li thought of something and suddenly stopped. He turned around with a gloomy expression and icily said, “Sect Master Fan! After I kill Yun Tianxiao, don’t get any ideas of revealing my identity to curry favor with old Daoist Swift Crane. With my current abilities, I can easily escape from Swift Crane’s grasp despite not being able to fight against him. If that happens, Lady Fan should know what would happen to her! These words are only a warning to help you avoid doing something that wouldn’t benefit either of us during a moment of panic.”

  When Lady Fan heard him, she was startled for a moment. Her expression shifted several times before settling on a bitter smile. “Senior jests, I would never do such a wretched thing! Also, I am fully aware that Senior Han is far from a common Core Formation cultivator. Please be at ease, Senior. So long as you eliminate Yun Tianxiao, I will definitely follow through with our agreement.”

  Han Li took a deep glance at the woman before heading off to the farthest room in the hallway without further hesitation. Apart from the somewhat smaller size, it was the overall the same as the other rooms in the hallway.

  Han Li blurred and reappeared on a sandwood chair within the room. Afterwards, he closed his eyes and thoroughly restrained his Qi, preventing himself from being discovered by either Swift Crane or Yun Tianxiao.

  With his late Core Formation cultivation, Han Li was confident that he could conceal himself from the spiritual sense of early Nascent Soul cultivators, but in the end, this was still only a guess. He could only try his hardest despite the slight doubts that he held in his heart.

  In the main hall, Lady Fan was greatly on edge.

  While she had spoken to Han Li as if she was completely confident in him, the woman was also completely unsure as to whether Han Li could kill Yun Tianxiao in an instant.

  Although Han Li had nearly killed Yun Tianxiao at the previous trade meeting with but a raise of his hand, that was likely due to catching Yun Tianxiao off guard. But as Lady Fan was an extremely shrewd person, she forcefully suppressed the distracting thoughts in her mind and poured herself a cup of tea.

  As she slowly sipped the tea, she quickly regained her calm.

  At that moment, footsteps came from the hall’s entrance. Soon, a middle-aged Daoist wearing a white crane embroidered robe and a Confucian-robed man entered the hall.

  “Senior Swift Crane, Elder Yun!” Lady Fan deliberately cried out with a surprised expression. She then quickly placed down the tea cup she held at her lips and saluted Daoist Swift Crane.

  Swift Crane indifferently nodded his head and remained silent as if he belonged to a realm beyond hers. But when Yun Tianxiao entered, he unconsciously frowned and his face revealed a trace of confusion.

  Yun Tianxiao returned her salute and angrily said, “Why isn’t Yun Qin attending to the Sect Master? Is she slacking off? I will have to properly discipline her.”

  “Yun Qin! She...” Lady Fan revealed hesitation and glanced at Swift Crane.

  Yun Tianxiao paused for a moment before speaking with an expression of annoyance, “Sect Master, Senior Swift Crane cannot be considered an outsider! Go ahead and speak.”

  Lady Fan wore a similarly displeased expression and responded, “Since that is the case, then I will say it. Yun Qin is attending to a vagrant cultivator who is in possession of some Phantasm Stone and wishes to sell it. Yun Qin was steadfast in wanting to personally deal with the person, so I had no choice but to remain here.”

  Yun Tianxiao was about to say something to Swift Crane, but when he heard the words ‘Phantasm Stone’ his body trembled and he revealed delight. “What? Phantasm Stone?”

  Likewise, Swift Crane’s eyes grew bright upon hearing these words and his eyes narrowed.

  Appearing as if she were wronged, she coldly spoke with a grimace, “Humph! Elder Yun’s close disciple insisted on handling the matter alone, refusing to allow this Sect Master to participate.”

  Yun Tianxiao dryly coughed and said, “Yun Qin had truly overstepped herself. However, I’m sure this wasn’t done deliberately. Sect Mater, where are they? I don’t feel entirely at ease.” He then turned to Swift Crane and respectfully said, “Senior Swift Crane, please wait for a moment. T
here is something that I must deal with first. How about we continue our discussion later?”

  Swift Crane smiled and casually said, “Since Fellow Daoist Yun has some matters to attend to, I’ll just sit here for the time being.”

  Yun Tianxiao immediately revealed delight and turned towards Lady Fan.

  Lady Fan reluctantly said, “Follow me, Elder Yun. I’ll bring you there.” She slowly walked to the side door as if she was unwilling.

  With his mind feverishly occupied by thoughts of the Phantasm Stone, all of his suspicions of Lady Fan’s actions had been wiped clean and he hastily followed after her.

  Swift Crane casually glanced at the two from behind before finding a chair and aloofly took a seat.

  Yun Tianxiao excitedly followed Lady Fan to the room at the very end of the hallway where the door was tightly closed.

  “It’s right here! Have a good chat. In any case, this sect master is simply incapable of interfering with this deal!” Lady Fan snorted and walked back to the hall with dissatisfaction.

  When Yun Tian Xiao saw this, a cold smile momentarily appeared on his face. He then opened the door without any hesitation and directly entered the room.

  Chapter 559: Sudden Developments

  Upon entering the room, Yun Tianxiao spotted a male cultivator sitting at the room’s center. He appeared to be fiddling with something sparkling in his hand. Yun Tianxiao then swept his gaze across the room and astonishingly found no sight of Yun Qin. Startled, his heart trembled as he grew vigilant.

  He stared at the man and slowly said, “Who is your esteemed self and where is that girl Yun Qin?” The magic treasure in his body was already stirring restlessly inside body.

  Han Li chuckled and raised his head, “Could it be that Brother Yun has already forgotten about me?”

  “It’s you?!” Yun Tianxiao was greatly shocked when he clearly saw the man’s appearance. Without any further thought, he fled in a streak of light.

  “Too slow!” Just after Han Li emotionlessly said this, a light pulsed from his hands.