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

by Translator: Johnchen

  The door to the room soon sealed itself with a sparkle of white light and a dense layer of talisman characters. Han Li had placed a restriction on the door to prevent any potential disturbances as he condensed his Nascent Soul.

  Although Han Li didn’t say what this was about, Silvermoon knew perfectly well what was about to happen. She immediately wore a complicated expression on her face with the emotions of admiration, longing, and resentment contained within them. After finally seeing the silent room remain uneventful for a long while, Silvermoon sighed and left.

  Now that she was closely tied together to Han Li, she controlled her thoughts and merely wished for Han Li’s success in condensing a Nascent Soul.

  Not far away, Mu Peiling was slowly flying near the medicinal garden with an inattentive expression as if her mind was wandering.

  Once she thought of her clan’s elders requiring her to wed to that man surnamed Yan, she felt that her future prospects were bleak. The Mu Clan elders didn’t hesitate on deciding an absurd engagement to marry an unruly woman such as herself to the Yan Clan for a political advantage.

  If she were to become a Core Formation cultivator, the clan’s so-called elders wouldn’t dare to criticize her. Instead, they would treat her with respect. After all, everyone knew what a Core Formation cultivator signified to a clan.

  Although this woman possessed a peerless cold elegance, she couldn’t help but grit her teeth and grimace when she thought of this matter. She had always been a competitive character and had never revealed her true thoughts. But with her heart wavering as it was now, it was quite obvious.

  Mu Peiling’s original plan was acceptable. Since she couldn’t oppose her elder’s orders, she would delay off the marriage as much as possible. If she could somehow form a core before that, she could dispose of the engagement.

  But despite her amazing talents, forming her core in a meager thirty years was basically impossible. Even with her desperate efforts, it would take yet another thirty years before she could reach false core stage and make an attempt to form a core.

  While she was happy to take her time, the Mu Clan elders grew impatient and decided to humiliate her, brazenly deciding on the date of her marriage. She was threatened to have her future spirit stones cut off and also mentioned was the possibility of implicating her close family members in the clan.

  Once she thought of this, Mu Peiling felt powerless and couldn’t muster the slightest effort of resistance.

  As for the Drifting Cloud Sect, although she was treated with much favor from her mountain lord and fellow disciples, they were incapable of interfering with these matters as they were tangled in the interests of their own clans and couldn’t do anything to help, much to this woman’s dejection.

  Even more terrible was how the shifted-eyed Senior Martial Brother Yan had somehow acquired information of her recent trip to Dayspring Mountain and bothered her without end. If her magic power wasn’t far beyond his own, it was quite possible this Senior Martial Brother Yan would’ve attempted to forcefully seize her. This had greatly angered this proud woman to nearly release her magic tool and slay him.

  But as it so happened, today was the day to pay a visit to various medicinal gardens. She had bluntly rushed to acquire this task and earlier left Dayspring Mountain, avoiding any entanglement from the man surnamed Yan. Han Li’s medicinal garden would be the third garden she was visiting.

  Once she thought of Han Li, she felt slightly odd. She initially thought that while he was a Qi Condensation disciple, she felt as if he were something of an unravelable mystery. And once the Sword Trial Assembly occurred, she guessed that he had hidden his true cultivation or identity. As such, she had been particularly mindful of his actions.

  But in the past years, he unexpectedly was well-behaved and had done nothing of note. He did little else apart from tending to the medicine garden and chatting with his few friends. This had caused her to become even more interested in him.

  While her expression was relaxed when dealing with him, she actually became more mindful of his actions. Unfortunately, Han Li possessed a low-profile and participated very little in the sect. As such, she only encountered him a few times in these many years.

  With these twenty years having passed, this woman had finally given up, believing her own guesses to be wild imagination. He was at most a reclusive common disciple. With his poor aptitude, Foundation Establishment would be rather unlikely for him.

  Having recalled Han Li, the woman hastened her flight and flew towards his medicinal garden.

  Chapter 638: Nascent Soul (2)

  When Mu Peiling arrived five kilometers away, she felt an indescribable fear suddenly fall upon her. The spiritual Qi in the air suddenly grew turbulent. In the blink of an eye, countless strands of spiritual Qi transformed into a whirlpool, causing her to nearly fall from the sky on the magic tool, catching her unprepared.

  In her great fright, she forcefully circulated all the spiritual Qi in her body to steady her body. She then hastily glanced around and spotted something that left her amazed.

  About three hundred meters in the sky, there were countless specks of spiritual light in the air. They were of countless colors, pulsing from bright to dim, and each contained extremely pure spiritual Qi. They were a beautiful sight to behold.

  Mu Peiling was overwhelmed and she swept her gaze into the distance. She grew pale at the sight. Wherever she turned her eyes, she merely saw countless specks of light filling the sky without end.

  ‘Heavens! What is happening?’ Mu Peiling gazed at this strange scene with wide eyes.

  In fact, this marvelous spectacle surrounded the entire area within fifty kilometers of Han Li.

  As this woman discovered the spiritual Qi transformations, untold numbers of cultivators had also discovered this anomaly. Those with profound cultivations even gazed in astonishment in the direction of the Drifting Cloud Sect thousands of kilometers away.

  Although a majority of cultivators hadn’t seen this before, nor did they know why such an omen appeared, the few that knew were watching with feelings of envy and admiration.

  On the main peak of the Drifting Cloud Sect, in a cave residence that was located several thousands of kilometers high, there was a silver-haired old man that was sitting cross-legged. He had an ashen complexion and breathed heavily as if he were gravely ill. But in the instant the spirit lights appeared several hundred kilometers away, his forehead trembled and he opened his eyes in shock, wearing an expression of disbelief.

  He ceased his cultivation without hesitation and immediately flew out from his cave residence in a streak of white light. A short moment later, the silver-haired old man appeared at the peak of the main mountain, standing on top of a large rock.

  He solemnly stared in the direction of Han Li’s cave residence and his expression wavered.

  At that moment, a streak of yellow light came flying from the sky in the direction of the silver-haired old man’s cave residence. But when it caught sight of the silver-haired old man already standing outside of his cave residence, it flew towards the top of the mountain. The light faded away to reveal a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion.

  As soon as the middle-aged man appeared, he immediately spoke to the old man with disbelief. “Senior Martial Brother Cheng, you must’ve felt it. Am I mistaken? Is there truly someone condensing a Nascent Soul within our Drifting Cloud Sect!?”

  The silver-haired old man narrowed his eyes and replied without turning his head, “Mistaken? Impossible. We’ve both experienced this before. There is someone truly condensing a Nascent Soul within our sect. Moreover, they have already reached the final stage and are just about to finish.”

  The middle-aged man muttered with certainty, “This is baffling! The only late Core Formation cultivators in our sect is Martial Nephew Feng and that spy surnamed Hu. Martial Nephew Feng had spent the last two years striving to reach great perfection stage. He can’t have reached false Nascent stage so soon, let alone f
orm a Nascent Soul. As for the spy from the Heavenly Fiend Sect, his cultivation was already wasted and fell several levels. It can’t be him.”

  “Humph! Of course we know the cultivations of our martial nephews. Although this person may be condensing a Nascent Soul in our Drifting Cloud Sect, he isn’t necessarily one of our sect members.. Perhaps he is a daring character who infiltrated into our sect. After all, the spiritual Qi of the Dreamcloud Mountains is rich and abundant, an optimal spot to condense a Nascent Soul.”

  The middle-aged man frowned and resentfully said, “Senior Martial Brother, what should we do now? It seems he is about to smoothly condense his Nascent Soul.”

  “That seems to be the case. We should stay here for now. Although I don’t know whether or not they have endured the final stage, we would only disturb them if we were to appear. As for the final stage, inner demon backlash, it could take several months or even several years of internal experience to resolve. But in reality, that time actually only passes by in just a moment. Junior Martial Brother Lu, could it be that you’ve forgotten that you experienced backlash during your Nascent Soul condensation?” The silver-haired man’s complexion paled, but his attitude remained calm.

  “How could I have possibly forgotten! I never want to think of it again. Inner demon backlash causes one's deepest fears to appear in their heart. If it weren’t for the Spirit Tempering Pill I had taken before forming a Nascent Soul, I would’ve certainly been unable to make it through the pain.” The middle-aged man surnamed Lu couldn’t help but shudder. His face grimaced when he recalled the experience.

  “That’s right. This person has yet to endure the final stage and hasn’t yet finished a Nascent Soul. There is no point in talking about how we should deal with him. There’s no need to rush. But if he is fortunate enough to enter Nascent Soul stage, it would be too late to block him. Instead of offending him, wouldn’t it be better to just calmly observe him and wait for the outcome? Besides, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing if this person were to form a Nascent Soul in our Drifting Cloud Sect. Perhaps we would be able to befriend him and have him join our sect!”

  The middle-aged man felt his heart stir. “Senior Martial Brother means to say that this person is a vagrant cultivator?”

  The silver-haired man smiled and turned to the middle-aged man, “Yes, that is most likely to be the case. If he were from a sect or clan, why would he dare to sneak into our Drifting Cloud Mountains to form a Nascent Soul? It would’ve been better for him to form a Nascent Soul under the protection of high grade cultivators. Did you remember how seriously the sect treated us when we attempted to form our Nascent Souls?”

  Having recalled previous memories, the middle-aged man couldn't help but chuckle, “How could I have forgotten? In the several months it took for me to form a Nascent Soul, the sect sealed off the mountain and were vigilant of attack. Even a sect protecting formation was laid down. From what you’ve said, it does seem that this person is truly a sectless vagrant cultivator.”

  The silver-haired old man slowly said, “If this person truly is a vagrant cultivator, we should do our utmost to entice him and not offend him. Since it is much more difficult for a vagrant cultivator to form a Nascent Soul than a sect cultivator, their abilities must be impressive; they cannot be underestimated. Furthermore, this cultivator isn’t burdened by a sect, unlike us. He will have fewer misgivings upon acting on grudges than a cultivator who came from a sect. Isn't Eccentric Heavenvenge an example of this? Is it not because of his profound cultivation and superior abilities that we dare not to easily offend him? Does his ruthless and unbridled actions not inspire fear into many of the sects in the Heavenly South Region?”

  When the middle-aged man heard this, he silently nodded his head in agreement.

  Then the old man’s eyes lit up and he softly shouted,“It’s starting!” The middle-aged man was startled and he hastily sent his spiritual sense into the distance.

  At that moment, the specks of light surrounding Han Li’s cave residence became increasingly numerous, and gradually condensed into a single mass of light across the sky. After a short moment, the sky surrounding him by fifty kilometers began to shine with a layer of dense rainbow light. Loud rolls of lightning surged from the mass of light. Soon, it began to quickly concentrate and gather together at its center, Han Li’s cave residence.

  Above the small mountain of Han Li’s residence, a half-kilometer wide sphere of light glistened brilliantly, blinding anyone who dared to look directly at it.

  Suddenly, a world shaking boom clapped through the sky, swaying through the entire mountain. At that moment an azure pillar of light shot towards the sky from the mountain, piercing straight through the sphere of light in the sky.

  The huge sphere of light immediately became covered in dark clouds, bringing about a storm of lightning and wind. Within this storm, the light began to shrink, but its colorful flashes of light only became more dazzling.

  The cultivators nearby had already rushed close to the small mountain at its center and were observing this astonishing phenomenon in the sky. They each looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what they should do.

  Not long after, under the gaze of the astonished bystanders, that huge sphere of light condensed into a translucent, fist-sized ball that contained a fearsome amount of spiritual Qi. Those that observed nearby looked on with amazement, not daring to rashly take any action.

  Chapter 639: Nascent Soul (3)

  With a light bang, the translucent ball brightly flashed, surrounding itself in a mist of rainbow light that was three meters wide. It quickly flew down and bore into the mountain in an instant. At that same moment, the dark storm clouds up above instantly disappeared, restoring the sky to normal.

  This sudden change of events left the surrounding cultivators at a loss.

  In the following moments, a series of dragon-like roars cried from the mountains, shaking the very heavens and earth. A three hundred meter tall silhouette of light then emerged from the mountain.

  This silhouette sparkled with four-colored light and its limbs were incredibly thick, but because of the radiance that surrounded it, none were able to clearly see its true features. They were merely left with an impression of immense awe, causing the onlookers to turn their gazes away in deference. But most astonishing of all was when the silhouette nodded its head, sweeping two beams of dense light across the cultivators present, causing them to lose their breaths in an instant.

  With the sound of several thumps, these cultivators felt their bodies grow heavy and they immediately knelt down. They weren’t able to move in the slightest as if Mount Tai itself were pressing down upon them. Although a few of the cultivators with deeper cultivations were able to force themselves to stand, their legs were trembling and the veins on their forehead throbbed. It appeared to take a rather strenuous effort.

  As these cultivators became filled with apprehension and inwardly cursed, the huge silhouette smiled and its body suddenly scattered, filling the sky with countless specks of starlight.

  This scene has left the observers dumbstruck.

  ...

  Han Li sat cross-legged at the center of the quiet room with his eyes shut. But at the very top of his head, there was foot-tall infant that was amusing itself with his hair.

  This infant had delicate skin, an azure barrier of light surrounding its entire body, and a face entirely like Han Li. However, the happy excitement on its face was entirely different from Han Li’s usual calm and taciturn manner.

  As for Han Li’s main body, his complexion was rosy and his expression was serene as if he were soundly asleep.

  A short moment later, the infant apparently grew tired from its playing and yawned. With an azure flash of light, it entered through the top of Han Li’s head into the body. Han Li’s expression then began to stir and his eyelids trembled. They eventually opened to reveal a hidden warmth contained in his bright, clear gaze.

  He didn’t immediately stand up after awak
ening. Instead, he wore an expression that contained a trace of wild joy. He extended his palm and began to look across it several times. He then raised his hand and rubbed the top of his head with complete puzzlement.

  After the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Han Li’s excitement eventually faded away from his face, only to be replaced with his usual calm.

  He swept his gaze past the silent room and stretched himself before eventually standing up. He then extended his finger and shot a beam of azure light towards the stone door. With a flash of light, it silently opened.

  Having stood guard outside Han Li’s room, Silvermoon transformed into the form of a gorgeous young woman upon spotting Han Li. She immediately lowered her head and respectfully saluted him, “Congratulations Master on forming your Nascent Soul!” Her careful and deliberate attitude somewhat surprised Han Li.

  Han Li rubbed his chin and casually said, “Master? It seems that Fellow Daoist Silvermoon now truly recognizes me! However, that was to be expected. Before I formed a Nascent Soul, my cultivation was around the same level as yours. How could you have fully accepted me then?”

  With complete respect on her face, Silvermoon said, “Master’s words are true. Now that Master has condensed a Nascent Soul, he has now entered the highest realm in the cultivation world. Your lifespan has been lengthened to over a thousand years, but you’ve only lived around two hundred years so far. With just a bit of luck, I believe it is possible that Master will be able to cultivate to the Deity Transformation stage.

  Han Li shook his head and tranquilly said, “It is a bit too early to speak of Deity Transformation stage; it is still so far away.. Most of the Nascent Soul cultivators I’ve met were stuck at early Nascent Soul stage without any way to progress forward. You shouldn’t be too hopeful.”