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

by Translator: Johnchen

  “Be at ease, there is no way our info is wrong.” The old man surnamed Ding replied with complete confidence. He then formed his hands into an incantation gesture and flung his hand out, causing a streak of bright yellow light to streak across the sky.

  A short moment later, a burst of yellow radiance suddenly shone from one side of the island.

  The old man was happy after seeing this, and hastily turned his head to the other three and explained, “One of our sects’ disciples remained here to monitor the woman. It seems that she has yet to leave the island.”

  After that was said, they waited for a moment more before a streak of red light approached them from the direction of the yellow light. A moment later, the red streak of light arrived in front of them and faded away to reveal a grey-clothed mid Foundation Establishment cultivator that appeared to be about forty years old. His robes were identical to the old man’s robes with azure flame emblems embroidered into them, but the flames were far smaller than those on the old man’s robes.

  When the man recognized old man Ding, he hastily bowed to him and respectfully said, “Disciple greets Martial Uncle Ding and Seniors!”

  The old man waved off his greeting without paying it any attention and asked in a deep voice, “Is the witch still on the island?”

  “She is still there. The witch has yet to leave ever since this disciple tailed her back to this island.” The middle-aged man spoke with certainty.

  The old man spoke with a deep tone, “Good, you’ve done well in your assignment. When this matter is over, you will be promoted to an inner disciple within the sect. Go ahead and lead the way.”

  When the middle-aged man heard this, he had a rapt smile as he repeatedly thanked the old man. He then turned around and flew to the small island.

  In the blink of an eye, the party arrived above the small island. The middle-aged man then pointed to a stone mountain and respectfully said, “On the witch’s return, this disciple saw her approach that mountain and then disappear without a trace. Although I couldn’t investigate closer due to my low cultivation, I reckon that woman’s cave residence is inside that mountain.”

  When the skeletal man heard that, a strange light flickered within his eyes as he gazed at the mountain. He then slowly nodded his head and said, “That’s right. The mountain’s exterior is clearly under the effects of high level restrictions. Unless one were to examine that particular mountain up close, they wouldn’t be able to discover anything strange about the island. It is no wonder why the woman was able to conceal herself here for so many years.”

  Chapter 563: Getting Ahead

  After hearing the skeletal man’s description of the formation, a scowl momentarily appeared on the old man’s face. “Humph! That woman stole all of the young master’s technique records during that day, so it isn’t strange for her to be able to do this. After I break through the spell formations, I will have to trouble you Fellow Daoists to assist me.”

  “Relax, even if the woman possesses exceptional powers, it is still impossible for her to escape.” The skeletal man smiled and spoke with a careless expression.

  The old man agreed and clutched his hands in an incantation gesture as a blinding yellow radiance suddenly erupted from his hands. “Break!” As the old man shouted, the yellow radiance left his hands and struck the mountains down below.

  The blast produced a rumble that echoed throughout the air. The scene of the mountain began to ripple in a manner similar to a large rock suddenly dropping into a serene pond. With a ripple of white light, the scene underwent a massive change, revealing beautiful, verdant mountain along with massive fluctuations of spiritual Qi.

  “This is?” The skeletal and fiendish man gazed at the scene in astonishment and couldn't help becoming dazed with their mouths gaping open.

  Old man Ding swept his gaze past the two and proudly said, “Hehe, this is my sect’s secret Spirit Constraining Formation. It is one of the only spell formations in the world capable of concealing spiritual Qi. That witch’s cultivation is insufficient and she was only capable of concealing a portion of the spiritual Qi. If our own Martial Ancestor were to personally place down this formation, it would be easy for him to prevent it from leaking even a trace of spiritual Qi.”

  Han Li was astonished by this as well, and his heart stirred after hearing the old man’s explanation. If he could acquire the method for creating the Spirit Constraining Formation, his cave residences in the future would be far safer.

  Following the disappearance of the illusion formation, a stone gate was revealed by a pulse of green light at the center of the mountain. It seemed to indicate the location of Yuan Yao’s cave residence.

  “Let’s begin our attack.” A malicious glint appeared in the old man’s eyes.

  The skeletal man nodded and shot out a strange black edge from his mouth. The weapon was rather odd, appearing to be half saber and half sword. As for the fierce man, he let out a roar and hurled a halberd with an ominous, cold aura towards the mountain. Han Li was shocked to see such a massive weapon being used as a magic treasure. Such a weapon was a rare sight indeed amongst cultivators.

  The old man had personally spat a white flying sword out of his mouth with a shout. But when he saw that Han Li had yet to take action, he couldn’t help but be puzzled and ask, “Fellow Daoist, why haven’t you...”

  Han Li faintly smiled and was about to casually make up an excuse when the mountain door suddenly opened, and a green light burst out from within.

  When the old man saw this, he wasn’t able to say anything further. All the other cultivators’ attention had been captured by the sudden change.

  The green light revolved in front of the gate once before fading away to reveal a black-robed woman who possessed striking beauty and skin as fair as snow. The woman smiled with luminous, moist eyes, and her every movement seemed to contain a trace of charm. This was obviously Yuan Yao, who had parted ways with Han Li after leaving Heavenvoid Hall.

  He hadn’t seen the woman for many years, but not only did her appearance remain the same, her charms seemed to possess an even deeper degree of allure.

  When the woman swept her gaze across the people there, her expression immediately changed upon seeing the Azure Yang Sect’s elder. A layer of frost suddenly seemed to cover her face.

  Knowing that her charm techniques would be of no use to the cultivators before her, Yuan Yao’s expression quickly grew unsightly. She turned her gaze away from the old man as if in contempt and icily said, “Why have you Fellow Daoists arrived at this little woman’s residence?”

  When old man Ding saw this, he grew furious in his heart, but as he was a gloomy and shrewd sort, none of it was revealed on his face. Instead, he sinisterly smiled and said, “Witch, there is no point in feigning ignorance. You killed my sect’s young master and took his treasures. Do you still believe you can escape?”

  Yuan Yao didn’t bother to respond to the old man, choosing to examine the other cultivators instead. As a result, she felt her heart sink.

  The old man and the fiendish man were only early Core Formation cultivators such as herself. However, the skeletal black-robed man and the azure robed man with the unremarkable appearance would be quite difficult to deal with. Their cultivations were at mid and late Core Formation, respectively.

  Despite the astonishing power of the several magic treasures in her possession and the few secret techniques that she had cultivated over the years, if those four were to join hands, the results would be far from good.

  The skeletal man and the fiendish man were clearly shocked when they saw Yuan Yao’s beauty, and gave each other a mutual glance of regret. If the woman hadn’t offended the Azure Yang Sect’s Venerable Devil Three Yang, she would’ve definitely been an ideal Dao companion. It was truly a pity.

  As she confronted the dire circumstances before her, her expression remained steady as she bitterly laughed and waved her empty hand. A white light started to revolve around her hand and when she
stroked it, it started to brightly shine and release a large expanse of green and yellow mist. In a mere second, the mist covered the entire mountain.

  When the old man saw this, he shouted and the flying sword in front of him hastily chopped towards Yuan Yao.

  However, Yuan Yao merely laughed and silently disappeared into the mist with a blur.

  The old man frowned when he saw this. Then with an expression of disdain, he clutched his hands in an incantation gesture and pointed at his flying sword. “Humph! You dare to display a trifling illusion formation in front of me?!”

  The flying sword released a clear ring before wildly twirling through the skies. In an instant, it turned into a ten-meter-long disc of whirling light that ruthlessly swept past the mountain and cleanly scattered the fog. A second later, the stone gate could be seen once more.

  When the fiendish man saw this, he pointed to his own magic treasure without the slightest hesitation and caused the halberd to swell in size several times before fiercely chopping at the stone gate. Flashes of yellow and green light erupted each time the halberd struck the gate.

  To Han Li’s side, the skeletal man was about to send his own strange blade to attack when he suddenly shouted in shock, “Not good! The witch ran from the back of the mountain. Quickly, chase after her!” He then turned into a streak of black light and quickly flew around the mountain.

  When Han Li heard this, a strange expression flickered within his eyes, but he stood in place without moving.

  It appeared the fiendish man was extremely confident in the skeletal man’s words. He immediately stopped attacking the gate after hearing his words and set off after him.

  When the old man saw this, he wore a doubtful expression and hesitantly asked Han Li, “Fellow Daoist, did he speak truly? This old man didn’t sense anything.”

  When Han Li heard him, his face remained unchanged but an odd expression flickered within his eyes as he calmly said, “That Fellow Daoist spoke truthfully, she did flee from an exit on the other side of the mountain. Those two Fellow Daoists have already barred her way and are in the middle of a battle with her.” Han Li’s arms were held behind his back as he gazed into the distance.

  The old man joyfully said, “That is great! If we arrive to assist them, we will certainly be able to capture that witch.”

  Han Li turned towards the old man and gazed at him with a peculiar expression as he leisurely said, “Yes, if we were to head out, that woman would be easily captured. But before that, there is something I’d like to borrow from you.”

  Old man Ding appeared perplexed and paused for a moment before asking, “Borrow? What does Fellow Daoist wish to borrow from me?”

  “Nothing important. Just your head!” Han Li rubbed his nose with a smirk. Then before the old man could respond, he spat a streak of bright azure light from his mouth. It circled once around the old man before his head tumbled off of his body.

  Soon after, Han Li shot out a streak of azure light from his hand, wrapping up the head and dragging it into his hand. He then narrowed his eyes and enveloped the azure light around the head.

  Because he had acted so quickly, the head still wore an expression of a strange bewilderment and had yet to even smell of blood.

  Han Li sighed and muttered, “Don’t blame me. Blame the terrible luck you had for seeing me arrive through the transportation formation.”

  When Ke Yu and the Azure Yang Sect sentry saw this, they were immediately terrified and tried to hastily flee on their magic tools. Unfortunately for them, a casual wave of Han Li’s arm released two streaks of sword light that immediately penetrated their chests.

  He then raised his head and turned to the direction of the mountain while wearing a strange expression.

  Han Li clicked his tongue and said with an impressed tone, “I didn’t expect for Yuan Yao’s cultivation to have reached such a higher level!” He then flew off in a streak of azure light.

  In the sky behind the green mountain, the skeletal man and the fiendish man were in a contest using their magic treasures against a strange red hammer as they continuously cast magic techniques in Yuan Yao’s direction. At that moment, Yuan Yao was completely enveloped in a cloud of black smoke and shot over a hundred streaks of green devilfire, intercepting their magic techniques with rings of explosions.

  But as she fought, she continuously retreated and attempted to think of a plan to flee. As her opponents were rich with battle experience, their perfectly coordinated strikes forced Yuan Yao to focus the entirety of her attention on defending against their attacks.

  When the fiendish man and the skeletal man saw Han Li flying over, they were overjoyed.

  When Han Li arrived near the battle and his light faded away, the fiendish man appeared discontent and hastily called out to Han Li, “Fellow Daoist, quickly help! If we attack together, the woman will be captured without fail. Wait, where is Fellow Daoist Ding? This was a matter of his own sect, how could he possibly delay?”

  “You don’t need to wait for him. Fellow Daoist Ding is right here!” Han Li then expressionlessly reached behind him and tossed the old man’s head to the fiendish man.

  Chapter 564: A Gift

  After hearing Han Li’s tone suddenly turn harsh, the fiendish man felt that something was amiss. When he saw Han Li had tossed over a severed head, he felt his heart drop but he unconsciously blurred forward to catch it. In the same instant he moved forward, he clearly saw the severed head’s face. He felt his heart quake upon realizing that the pale severed head belonged to Old Man Ding.

  The skeletal man was similarly aghast when he saw that it was the head of Old Man Ding. With great coordination, the two quickly drew close to one another the instant they discovered the situation had gone awry. They then commanded their magic treasures to return to them before staring at Han Li with vigilant expressions.

  Although Han Li was a late Core Formation cultivator, if the two of them joined hands, they could possibly rival him. As a result, they didn’t appear to possess the slightest fear.

  Not far away, Yuan Yao was watching all of this unfold in utter confusion. Despite not using the opportunity to escape, she still maintained the devilish technique that surrounded her body and had her strange red hammer revolve around her out of caution as she silently observed the strange actions of Han Li and the others.

  Han Li shot a deep glance at Yuan Yao before turning his gaze back to the skeletal man and the fiendish man. Without offering any further explanation, he waved both his arms with a faint smile and over twenty small azure swords flew out from his sleeves like two schools of fish. Then in a sudden burst of light, the flying swords shot directly at the pair of cultivators.

  When the skeletal man and the fiendish man saw this, they couldn’t believe their eyes and had incredulous expressions on their faces.

  Ordinary Core Formation cultivators had to exhaust most of their fortune just to refine a single magic treasure, and now this traitorous ally before them had suddenly took out over twenty flying swords. With this single display, the two immediately knew that Han Li was no ordinary late Core Formation cultivator, and didn’t stand a chance against him.

  The skeletal man’s expression paled and he suddenly yelled, “Scatter! To each his own!”

  Just as he finished yelling, he transformed into a black streak of light and flew away. Upon hearing this, the fiendish man immediately retrieved his halbard without another word and rushed away in the opposite direction. His speed wasn’t much slower than his partner’s. He seemed to be exceptionally proficient in running away.

  When Han Li saw this, his expression grew solemn, and he quickly formed an incantation gesture with both his hands before pointing to his flying swords. The swords then glowed with azure light before each sword produced three identical swordlights, transforming the original twenty four swords into ninety-six and doubling the strength of each of their auras. Han Li then flung his sleeve and imposingly uttered, “Separate.”

  As soon as the
word was uttered the azure swords split off in two groups. Each group of flying swords then united together with a pulse of azure light and formed their own distinct swarms of light before swiftly setting off.

  Han Li’s use of the divine ability Swordshadow Phantasm Technique[1] left the skeletal man and the fiendish man deathly white when they turned their heads around to look. They then began to circulate the entirety of the magic powers in their bodies while fearing for their lives.

  Han Li stood still and merely glanced at the two with a trace of pity. The swarms of swordlights traveled at a speed that ordinary cultivators couldn’t hope to match. Unless they had heaven-defying treasures similar to Han Li’s blood-red cloak or Thunderstorm Wings, the two of them didn’t have the slightest chance of survival.

  After only a short moment, the swarms of swordlight had traveled several kilometers away and chased down the skeletal man and the fiendish man. They could only helplessly turn around and summon their magic treasures in an attempt to block the sword swarms. But under the overbearing assault of their superior numbers, the swords tore their bodies apart in quick succession, each death accompanied by a miserable scream.

  Han Li then calmly released the Swordshadow Phantasm Technique, and had the swords fly back with the now ownerless storage pouches.

  With the swords flying back into his robes like birds returning to their nest, Han Li turned to look at the black mist in the distance with a mysterious smile.

  To his surprise, before he even spoke Yuan Yao giggled and said, “So it’s Fellow Daoist Han. I didn’t expect that in the tens of years we were apart Brother Han’s abilities would reach this stage. This little woman truly holds you in great esteem!” Soon after she said this, the black mist slowly dispersed to reveal the stunningly beautiful woman. She then silently gazed at Han Li with luminous eyes and a wide smile.

  “I didn’t expect for Fellow Daoist Yuan to recognize me. You gave me quite the fright!” Han Li chuckled and then dissolved his appearance exchange arts without hesitation, restoring his original appearance in a flash of white light.