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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Regardless of how formidable the demon fox’s technique may be, he didn’t believe that it would be able endure the attack of the tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles.

  But just as Han Li was about the open the spirit beast pouch, the silver wolf had taken action, much to his astonishment.

  The silver wolf suddenly opened his mouth and released countless fist-sized spheres of silver light into the mist in a violent torrent. Then with a howl, the wolf charged forward in a streak of silver light.

  Han Li was at such a loss that he stopped summoning his Gold Devouring Beetles.

  In the next moment, all of the silver spheres that had entered the mist began to burst.

  Silver light intertwined with the pink mist, causing the demon fox to shout in furious alarm.

  With that, the silver wolf then entered the mist.

  “What are you doing... Impossible... You... No...” As if having seen something unbelievable, the demon fox began to scream out in fright. An instant later, the miserable wails faded away as quickly as they had appeared.

  When Han Li heard this, his expression changed as he stared into the mist with narrowed eyes.

  Fortunately, the mist began to dissipate from a lack of spiritual power and revealed the previous hidden scene.

  Han Li’s face distorted at the sight of the demon fox’s naked form trembling on the ground. Pink and silver light enveloped different halves of the body with the lights intertwined at the body’s center, continuously releasing sparks as if they were in opposition.

  “Possession?!” Han Li shouted in his bewilderment. The silver light suddenly gained the advantage and slowly encroached on the pink light’s territory.

  “NO!” The young woman suddenly wrapped her head in her arms and screamed in pain. Soon after, her body began to tremble as it body began to change in a series of white flashes. A few seconds later, the woman’s form turned back into that of an exquisite white fox.

  By that point, the last remnant of pink light had been consumed by the silver glow and the body’s astonishing cultivation disappeared without a trace. It now only appeared to be the original low grade demon beast.

  The white fox sat motionlessly on the ground as if it were completely exhausted, but the silver light enveloping its body only became more radiant.

  Han Li tightly held onto the jade scepter in his hand and uncertainty appeared on his face. It was clear that the silver wolf had succeeded in its possession of the body, but he didn’t know if he could continue to restrict or order the silver wolf while it was in the fox’s body.

  A long while later, Han Li released a long sigh. Regardless of how it could be seen, the white fox couldn’t pose the slightest resistance with its current cultivation. As such, there was no need to prematurely strike it down. Moreover, regardless of the silver wolf’s actions it seemed to bear him no malice.

  Of course, Han Li had always wanted to know more about the history behind the silver wolf, but before he could even ask, the artifact spirit had taken action of its own accord. It was clear that the silver wolf had quite a story behind it as he had long since guessed.

  As a result, Han Li sunk into deep thought as his expression began to fluctuate. The white fox’s silver radiance eventually dimmed and it began to stand up on its four limbs.

  As if unsuited to the fox’s body, it knelt down after only taking a few steps.

  Han Li couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

  Having heard this, the white fox turned its head to Han Li with a trace of irritation clear in its eyes.

  He then heard a woman’s voice, “What’s so funny? I’ve just possessed this body. It is only natural that I’ve yet to adapt to it.”

  Just as Han Li heard this, his smile froze as he rubbed his nose and muttered, “So you’re... also a woman?”

  Chapter 615: Silvermoon Wolf

  The female voice coldly said, “Humph! Who's a woman? Do you mean me?”

  When Han Li heard this, he wryly smiled in response and withdrew his magic swords that were revolving at his side. He then calmly said, “I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman. I just want to hear of your origins.”

  The white fox crouched and calmly glanced at Han Li, “My origins? Am I not the artifact spirit of the ancient treasure in your hand?”

  Han Li frowned and gloomily replied, “Of course I know you’re an artifact spirit. However, I’ve never heard of an artifact spirit being capable of possession.”

  The white fox curled its mouth and casually said, “This merely illustrates your ignorance. Have I not already demonstrated that it is possible?”

  When Han Li heard this, he grew silent for a moment. After a short moment, he lifted the jade scepter in his hand and began to carefully look it over.

  A vigilant expression appeared in the white fox’s eyes and she coldly asked, “What do you plan on doing?”

  Han Li sighed and calmly asked, “Nothing in particular. I am merely curious as to how useless this jade scepter is now that you’ve successfully possessed the demon fox. If I were to shatter this, would anything happen to you?”

  The white fox’s expression massively changed and it fiercely glared at Han Li. But after only a short moment, it thought of something and its imposing attitude soon disappeared. The white fox insipidly said, “You don’t need to test me. It is true that if you shatter the jade scepter, I will disappear as well. After all, artifact spirits are one with the treasures that contain them.”

  Afterwards, white light flashed from the fox’s body and a huge pressure began to emit from it.

  Han Li’s heart trembled, and his expression immediately became tense.

  The white fox glanced at Han Li and said, “There is no need to be worried. I merely find it inconvenient to speak to you in beast form, so I am transforming into a human.”

  When Han Li heard this, he felt somewhat surprised but a bit more at ease as well.

  At that moment, the white fox glowed with a blinding silver light, causing Han Li to unconsciously take a few steps back.

  The white glow faded away to reveal a young woman with an alluring beauty. Apart from her shining green eyes being replaced with a clear black, the woman’s appearance was exactly the same as before it had been possessed. It seemed a demon beast’s human form was permanent and it was incapable of being changed.

  As Han Li pondered to himself, the young woman unconsciously covered her body. She then hesitantly asked, “Does Fellow Daoist have any clothes? I feel... unaccustomed to this.” After that was said, the woman revealed an expression of slight shyness.

  Han Li was stunned for a moment, but he soon took out a few reserve clothes from his storage pouch and handed them over.

  “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist!” The young woman took the clothes and began to drape them on her body, covering herself.

  Han Li’s expression stirred. The woman’s every action excuded an undescribable gracefulness. Even women from noble households would find it difficult to match her. It was incredulous that she was originally a silver wolf.

  Having finished putting on her clothes, the woman turned to Han Li and slowly said, “You may call me Silvermoon. As for my origins, it’s not that I don’t wish to tell you, but I cannot remember them myself. You should know that when a demon’s soul is refined into an artifact spirit, their consciousness will fade away and they become an obedient entity for their master to command. But for some unknown reason, I one day regained awareness and recalled a few memories of when I was alive. Although it is a rather small amount, I regained some ability for independent action. I faintly recalled that I was once a member of the Silver Wolves Clan. As such, I’ve named myself Silvermoon Wolf since I do not have any memory of my original name.” As she said this, the young woman elegantly took a few steps as if to slowly get accustomed to her new body.

  A pensive expression appeared on Han Li’s face as he stroked his chin. “The Silvermoon Wolves Clan? I have no records of such demon beasts.”

>   Silvermoon frowned and said, “This merely came from a portion of my shattered memories. Perhaps I remembered incorrectly.”

  Han Li pondered for a moment before solemnly asking, “Alright, you’ve lost the memories of your past, but what about the matter of an artifact spirit taking possession of another body? Don’t tell me that all artifact spirits can do this. If this were true, the cultivation world would’ve long ago been thrown into disarray.”

  The young woman coldly smiled and countered, “Do you really believe that I can casually possess any flesh body as I wish?”

  Han Li narrowed his eyes and stared at the woman, “What do you mean?”

  Silvermoon pursed her lips and explained, “The technique that I just used can’t strictly be considered possession. It is merely an innate ability of us Silvermoon Wolves called Soul Devouring. By using our manifested souls, we may directly attack the soul of another. Of course, once we devour their souls, we may temporarily take control of the new body. However, this cannot last for a long period of time, otherwise our souls will merge with the possessed body and we will no longer be able to return to our own. Additionally, this ability is a double-edged sword. Our spiritual sense isn’t particularly stronger than those of other demon clans. If we were to come across an opponent with a stronger spiritual sense, our lives would be thrown away. As a result, none dared to rashly use it. However, to someone without a body like me, it doesn’t particularly matter.”

  Having seen Han Li’s astonishment, she guessed what Han Li was about to ask and hurriedly continued, “Please don’t ask me about the specifics of Soul Devouring. It is only something I have an instinctual grasp of. But there is no need to worry, Soul Devouring possesses many restrictions and isn’t something that I can casually use. It would’ve been impossible for me to use it as an artifact spirit if I weren’t originally a Silvermoon Wolf. Had I not been fortunate enough to come across this Four Pupiled Fox, I wouldn’t have used it. I would’ve merely chosen to remain inside the jade scepter instead. According to my memories, the Four Pupiled Foxes were innately vulnerable against Silvermoon Wolves. With its spirit already possessed by the Cadaver Demon and without having to deal with the original body’s master, I was luckily able to succeed in possessing it.”

  Han Li closely looked into her eyes and found nothing strange. He couldn’t help but doubtfully ask, “Four Pupiled Fox? Was it not a Snowcloud Fox?”

  “Its namesake, the innate devil pupils, only appear after its cultivation has reached the greater success stage. Our Silvermoon Wolves Soul Devouring is a joke in comparison to their devil eyes with their fearsome deadliness. But while their appearance is extremely similar to a common Snowcloud Fox, when it fully used its technique I immediately recognized it.” Silvermoon faintly smiled and unconsciously revealed a captivating beauty.

  Han Li pursed his lips and raised his most pressing concern, “The demon fox’s cultivation reached that of a grade seven demon beast. That isn’t considered having reached greater success stage? And how come it is capable of taking human form when it had yet to breakthrough to metamorphosis stage? Moreover, how was the demon fox’s cultivation able to change so suddenly? Don’t tell me that you and the demon fox had been concealing this body’s true cultivation all along.”

  “Haha! Fellow Daoist sure has many questions. However, I haven’t spoken to anybody else in countless years so I don’t mind. I truly don’t know why the demon fox was capable of transforming. I reckon that the Cadaver Demon saw that the situation was disadvantageous and decided to use a technique to forcefully graft a portion of its cultivation onto the demon fox. That was how its cultivation was able to reach such heights. The Four Pupiled Fox’s true cultivation is still that of a genuine low grade spirit beast. Also, the Cadaver Demon wasn’t able to stray too far away from its body once it grafted its cultivation onto the demon fox due to the room’s restrictions. As for why I am currently in human form, it is mostly because I am raising my cultivation to the border of a grade eight demon beast by using secret techniques. However, my cultivation will slowly decrease and I will turn back into a demon beast. It will be at least a month before I can use this technique again.”

  After that, Han Li didn’t continue his questioning. Instead, he lowered his head in thought. A long while later, he indifferently said, “Although this hasn’t dispelled all of my doubts, I’ve reached a general understanding. However, there is something I wish to ask Fellow Daoist Silvermoon. What do you plan on doing with that body?”

  Silvermoon revealed a mysterious smile and chuckled before asking, “Would Fellow Daoist kill me if I told you that I planned on cultivating with it?”

  Chapter 616: Master of an Artifact Spirit

  Han Li didn’t directly respond to her question and responded with raised eyebrows, “From the techniques and abilities that you displayed today as well as during that time in Heavenvoid Hall, it seemed that you deliberately allowed me to acquire the jade scepter. Is that right?”

  Silverwolf felt somewhat stunned by his question, and she smiled with luminous eyes, “As the jade scepter’s tool spirit, I didn’t have much of a chance to leave Heavenvoid Hall by myself. I needed a cultivator to bring me out. On that day, I didn’t use my full abilities to resist capture. And with my cultivation greatly reduced after breaking free from the Heavenvoid Cauldron, my full resistance wouldn’t have been able to stop a Nascent Soul cultivator. In the end, it would’ve been better for me to fall into the hands of a Core Formation cultivator instead.”

  After muttering to himself for a moment, Han Li asked with a deep voice, “That day, I wasn’t the only Core Formation cultivator there. Why didn’t you fall into the hands of the other two? Did you choose me?”

  Silvermoon’s expression stirred and asked, “You mean the youth surnamed Wu and the Ghost Dao cultivator that planned on killing you for the Heavenvoid Cauldron?”

  “That’s right!”

  Silvermoon pursed her lips and sweetly smiled, “I simply found them undesirable! One was eerie and filled with ghost Qi and the other shriveled and hideous. Although you aren’t a majestic figure, you could be considered somewhat pleasing to the eye. Do you find these reasons acceptable?” She seemed both earnest and joking as she said this.

  Han Li found himself overwhelmed with a feeling of not knowing whether he should laugh or cry.

  “Since Fellow Daoist is unwilling to speak of it, I won’t press you since I have a more important question to ask. Have you been able to observe my actions over the years from within my storage pouch?” Han Li’s question was spoken with an icy tone, causing the temperature in the room to instantly drop.

  Her smiled vanished and she seriously responded, “That’s right. Regardless of whether it is Brother Han’s techniques or magic treasures, I have been able to observe everything. I even know of the small, heaven-defying bottle of yours.”

  Although he had faintly guessed as much, Han Li’s expression instantly grew gloomy upon hearing her. He icily glanced at the young woman in silence as if he were thinking of a countermeasure.

  Silvermoon ignored Han Li’s icy expression and asked with a weak smile, “Could it be that Fellow Daoist Han plans on killing me? After all, if any of the cultivator clans were to know that such a heaven-defying treasure were to exist, Brother Han would surely meet a miserable end.”

  When Han Li heard her, his eyes narrowed and his gaze became sharp as a blade’s edge.

  With a hostile expression, Han Li chillingly said, “Since Fellow Daoist Silvermoon is fully aware of this and dares to brazenly mention it, are you not afraid that I will destroy your linked treasure? If you were to perish, there wouldn’t be any leaked secrets. Or do you believe that I wouldn’t be able to kill you?”

  Silvermoon shook her head and serenely said, “With your current abilities and magic treasures along with my unfamiliarity with this body, it is unlikely that I could prove to be your opponent. And after seizing this body through Soul Devouring, my cultivation greatl
y decreased. If we were to fight, I’d only have a thirty percent chance of victory if I’m being generous. Besides, my housed treasure is in your hands. I could disappear as soon as you willed it.”

  Han Li coldly snorted, but the young woman continued her explanation without a care, “I am very much satisfied that Fellow Daoist Han has been able to tolerate me this far without killing me. While you can’t be considered a chivalrous hero, you are still clearly someone who understands debts of gratitude. If I hadn’t taken action to block the demon fox’s attack, Brother Han probably wouldn’t have given me the opportunity to speak so much rubbish.”

  Han Li didn’t deny her, instead calmly admitting, “Even if I give you the opportunity, if you aren’t able to convince me, I will still take action. I cannot allow any knowledge of the bottle to escape.”

  Silvermoon explained with an appreciative expression, “That’s fine. Brother Han’s words are still in line with my predictions. If Fellow Daoist Han were not ruthless and decisive, he wouldn’t have made it this far on the path of cultivation, and I definitely wouldn’t have saved you. After all, I don’t wish to be immediately discarded after recognizing a master.”

  Han Li was stunned for a moment before he sneered and said, “Recognizing a master? What is that supposed to mean? Do you really believe that I’d release you over a few words?”

  The woman’s eyes brightly stirred as she further explained, “Of course it isn’t such a simple matter. According to my knowledge, your set of Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords has no artifact spirit. I am capable of shifting my main soul from the jade scepter over to your Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords for the time being. With this, your flying swords would become far stronger, and you could end my life with a single thought. This should be enough for you to release me. After all, as your artifact spirit, you’ll be able to sense if I have even the slightest malice towards you. Also, since my flesh body cannot be separated too far away from my main soul, there will be no fear of me abandoning you.”