For some unknown reason, the old man felt a sense of dread ever since Han Li transformed the ice flowers in his palm into small blue flames. With the additional appearance of Han Li’s Thunderstorm Wings, he felt that matters had turned for the worse, and decided to flee, rather than continue the fight.
Seeing that the Wind Riding Chariot had been successfully prepared, the old man immediately transformed into a streak of light. Several flashes later, he charged past the obstructed flying swords and towards the Wind Riding Chariot in nearly the blink of an eye.
When the light faded away, the old man was already safely located inside the Wind Riding Chariot. With relief in his heart, he thought to retrieve his pearl and the black mountain, when he suddenly heard thunder at his side.
In flash of light, Han Li suddenly appeared before him.
“Ah!” The old man roared and raised his hand, but it was too late. Han Li’s arm was already shooting towards the old man like a bolt of lightning. The Celestial Ice Flames completely enveloped his hand.
The old man felt his heart sink, but the shields of ice floating around him automatically moved to protect him. In a flash of white light, they appeared in front of the old man just in time.
The old man felt a trace of joy after seeing this. Han Li had attacked his Crystal Ice Shields without any defenses. ‘He was simply courting death! Surely in just a moment, his arm will be frozen through by the frigid Qi.’
With a muffled peng, white and blue light brightly shone.
The old man felt his heart drop at the sudden turn of events. The flame-clad hand was already pressing against his chest. It felt extremely soft to the touch.
Before the old man could even scream, the strange icy flames had quickly spread from Han Li’s grasp, engulfing the old man in a single breath. In a short instant, Han Li saw a majority of the man’s body turn into a statue of ice.
With a fearful expression, the old man hurriedly summoned the core Yang flames that he spent several hundreds of years diligently cultivating. It wound around his neck and released a blinding white light, preventing the ice from spreading to his head. For a moment, the core flames were in a deadlock with the blue ice.
When Han Li saw this, he scoffed. He waved his free hand. A streak of azure sword Qi then appeared in the air and ruthlessly chopped towards the old man’s head. A short moment later, the white light trembled, and the blue frost quickly covered whatever remained of his head.
The severed half of the old man’s face revealed despair, but soon, hostility filled his eyes. A clear sound rang from the top of his head. A Nascent Soul with the old man’s face had manifested.
Han Li’s expression grew sullen and he spat a bolt of lightning towards the Nascent Soul without any reservations.
However, the Nascent Soul immediately disappeared from sight in a pulse of blinding blue light. The bolt of lightning had missed.
When Han Li hurriedly glanced around, he saw that the Nascent Soul was already three hundred meters away. Without any hesitation, it disappeared once more in a flash of blue light.
At that moment, the blue pearl trembled for a moment before disappearing as well. The pearl then reappeared inside the Nascent Soul’s grasp.
The Nascent Soul gazed at Han Li with a resentful expression before silently blurring out of sight. Not long after, it turned into a speck of light that flew towards the horizon. At that distance, it no longer used instant movement and simply tore through the skies, blue pearl in hand. A few seconds later, it could no longer be seen.
Han Li coldly glanced at the departing Nascent Soul and simply grabbed onto the old man’s corpse without moving.
Although his Thunderstorm Wings were also capable of instant movement, the delay between each movement made it so that he was still too slow to catch up to him. Since it escaped his first blow, he allowed it to go free as there was no immediate need to kill it.
At that moment, the old man’s Nascent Soul had already disappeared without a trace. Han Li expressionlessly shook his hand and caused the old man’s frozen corpse to shatter, filling the sky with glossy blue dust.
Chapter 695: Gathering Together
Although he hadn’t dealt with the opponent’s Nascent Soul, the old man’s body was destroyed. It should take decades before he could recover his vitality, let alone possess another body. Finding a suitable body should take quite some time. Even if he begrudgingly possessed an unsuitable corpse, his cultivation would greatly decrease.
As for the two ancient treasures and the storage pouch that were left behind, they were a great profit. Even if he didn’t find Master Cang Kun’s cave residence, this dangerous journey into the Moulan Plains would still turn a profit.
With that thought, he glanced at the faintly silver storage pouch that was left behind from the body.
Han Li calmly reached for the storage pouch and summoned it into his hand. He then immersed his spiritual sense into it and casually probed it, only to be filled with disappointment. Apart from a dozen mid grade spirit stones, there were only a few common tool refinement materials and a few bottles of medicine pills.
When Han Li opened the medicine pills, he found them to be of common quality. It seemed the Moulan Plains were truly lacking cultivation materials. Even a grand Nascent Soul spell warrior lacked decent items.
As for any jade slips, the storage pouch completely lacked them. Han Li was baffled by this and sighed in great disappointment. He originally wished to acquire a few spirit techniques and see if there were any techniques that would greatly increase his strength in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, there was no such luck.
After putting away the storage pouch, Han Li raised his head and glanced at the huge mountain with a fervant gaze. Although the treasure’s master had already fled as a manifested Nascent Soul, the black mountain still remained in its enlarged form, sparkling with black light.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and gently beckoned to the mountain. The masterless ancient treasure flickered with brilliance and quickly shrunk before shooting towards Han Li. By the time it arrived within his grasp, it had already turned back into a miniature mountain.
Han Li curiously weighted the small mountain in his hand. It wasn’t particularly heavy, and he examined it several times through only to find three faint gold character on the bottom of the mountain.
“Thousand Layer Mountain!” Han Li couldn’t help but utter its name. Satisfaction appeared from his eyes.
After putting away the mountain, Han Li glanced at the Wind Riding Chariot and put it away as well.
After glancing in the direction that the old man’s Nascent Soul had fled, Han Li lowered his head in thought before deciding to fly off in a different direction. Not long after, no trace of Han Li could be seen nearby.
...
Among a group of hills, there was no one to be found, only fields filled with straws as tall as men. But not long after, azure light flashed from the horizon.
A short moment later, the azure streak arrived above the hill. It flew around around and faded away to reveal Han Li.
After taking another glance beneath him, he frowned and suddenly flung his sleeve. Several streaks of azure light directly struck the hill like shooting stars.
As a result, the azure light bursted about a hundred meters in the air. A layer of extremely faint white light suddenly appeared in the air. There were four people underneath it that were looking at him, all wearing a faint smile. They were Marquis Nanlong, the white-haired old man, the old man, and the tan-skinned man.
Marquis Nanlong twirled his beard and chuckled, “It is truly fortunate for Han Li to have arrived safely!” He then waved his hand, causing the light barrier to disappear.
“Oh! The others still haven’t arrived?” Han Li replied with a smile and floated down before them.
The tan man shook his head and calmly said, “We fear the other Fellow Daoist may have had trouble fleeing. When we separately fled, Fellow Daoist Long and Fellow Daoist Wang were pursue
d by spell warriors. It is quite a difficult matter to break away from them.”
Marquis Nanlong excitedly said, “However, I feared for you most. If I saw correctly, that Wind Riding Chariot should’ve chased after you. Tch tch! Fellow Daoist managed to easily shake it off despite its amazing speed. It seems I’ve misjudged you.”
Han Li pursed his lips when he heard the Marquis. He could faintly make out a trace of bewilderment from his words.
Han Li wore a calm expression and casually replied, “It was nothing. I merely hold a bit of confidence in my movement techniques.”
Seeing that Han Li wasn’t eager to explain how he escaped, the Marquis tactfully changed the topic and began to talk about the Nine Nation Union’s upcoming war with the Moulan. It would shake the entire continent as a whole.
Excluding the white-clothed old man, the old woman and the tan man both interestedly included themselves in the conversation.
Marquis Nanlong mysteriously smiled and said, “I recall that the last war with the spell warriors lasted over ten years. Who knows how many years this war will last. However, the Heavenly South’s Devil Dao, Righteous Dao, and even Brother Han’s Heavenly Dao Alliance will have to send soldiers. And given the Drifting Cloud Sect’s position in the Heavenly Dao Alliance, a Nascent Soul elder will be required to participate in the battle. Perhaps Fellow Daoist Han will have another chance to visit the Moulan Plains!”
The old woman nodded her head and softly said, “In addition to the three superpowers sending assistance to the Nine Nations Union, there are also a few vagrant cultivators that volunteer to block the spell warriors with many an expert among them. The Moulan are incredibly difficult to hold off.”
The tan man frowned and mused, “However, I am quite baffled as to why Moulan would launch an attack despite knowing that the powers of our Heavenly South have united against them. From their current forces, they don’t have a chance of winning, considering what had happened in the last war. It isn’t wise for them to take the initiative to attack with just this. In the last war, they redoubled their attack because of an abrupt wave of reinforcements. Could it be that most of their tribes will be participating in this war?”
“That certainly is possible, but...”
As the conversation continued, much time had unknowingly passed by.
Suddenly, Marquis Nanlong suddenly paused in the middle of comment and he turned his head to the sky. The others unconsciously followed his gaze and their faces grew serious. It was possible that a spell warrior would arrive instead of one of their scattered cultivators. They were in the Moulan Plains after all.
They saw a flash of light from the horizon, revealing one black streak and two crimson spheres of light flying towards them. Marquis Nanlong attentively glanced at them for a moment before calming down.
Marquis Nanlong smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Just Fellow Daoist Wang and his two juniors.” When the others heard this, they also appeared happy.
A short moment later, the streaks of light grew closer. This time, Marquis Nanlong directly removed the restrictions, allowing Wang Tiangu and company to land next to the rest of the party.
When Wang Tiangu saw Han Li amongst the party, he revealed a trace of surprise and said, “Yi! Fellow Daoist Han arrived earlier than we did. That is truly surprising!” It seemed he also saw the Wind Riding Chariot pursue Han Li. It was likely he basked in schadenfreude at the time.
Han Li swept his gaze to Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan at his side and calmly replied, “It was merely a fluke! However, Fellow Daoist Wang was able to escape without injuries while looking after two juniors. You truly have my admiration.” His tone seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
Wang Tiangu indifferently replied, “Hehe, the spell warrior pursuing me wasn’t fast in the slightest. My two juniors and I joined hands to employ one of our sect’s movement techniques. We were able to easily shake them off. It isn’t comparable to escaping pursuit from the Wind Riding Chariot.”
Han Li inwardly sneered. Just as he thought to say something further, his expression suddenly changed and he swallowed his words.
Marquis Nanlong raised his head to the sky and yelped with a joyful expression, “Yi! Fellow Daoist Long is coming. It seems our luck is quite good. We can all hurry to our destination unharmed. I was actually pondering whether or not we’d be able to succeed in breaking the formation if we were missing a few members!”
When the party heard this, they all revealed joy. If they were were incapable of acquiring the treasure because of a missing member, it would be a rather depressing matter.
The white-clothed old man suddenly broke his silence and gravely said, “Not good! It seems Fellow Daoist Long is injured and is still being pursued!”
Once the others heard this, Han Li and the others hastily turned their eyes to the sky with shock. They saw that there was actually a green and red streak of light closely pursuing the stern-faced cultivator. In the blink of an eye, they had already arrived at the hill where the party was located.
Marquis Nanlong’s expression quickly turned sullen.
Chapter 696: Alarmed Retreat
“It seems Fellow Daoist Long has encountered some trouble. Two spell warriors are chasing after him. Everyone, set out!” With that resolute shout, Marquis Nanlong flew towards the sky in a ball of golden light.
The others glanced at one another before successively following suit. Suddenly, eight streaks of various colored light appeared above the hills, hastily flying towards the stern-faced cultivator surnamed Long.
The white streak of light that was rushing towards their location immediately grew faster upon spotting them. In an instant, it arrived before the party and faded away to reveal the stern-faced cultivator. His face was pale as if he had suffered damage to his vitality.
“Many thanks for your assistance. I cannot thank you all enough!” The stern-faced cultivator saluted the party and his anxious expression was replaced with gratitude.
Marquis Nanlong floated in the air and asked with a voice of concern, “It is no problem! Are you alright? How did you get two spell warriors to pursue you? I recall that only one went to chase you.”
The stern-faced cultivator bitterly smiled and helplessly said, “I’m fine. But after being pursued for the greater half of a day, another spell warrior tagged along the pursuit. I spent two days trying to outrun them, and my vitality is quite worn down!”
The old woman sighed and said, “It was no wonder why Fellow Daoist Long fled here. Apart from Fellow Daoist Nanlong and Fellow Daoist Yun, nobody else would’ve been able to escape from two early Nascent Soul stage spell warriors.”
Han Li glanced into the distance and smiled, “However, regardless of how powerful these two pursuers may be, they are rather quite courageous to stay here for the time being. Do they not fear retaliation for overreaching themselves?”
Needless to say, when the two spell warriors spotted Han Li and company, they simply stopped rather than immediately fleeing. They merely gazed at them from a distance.
Their appearances were clear to see from the party’s immense spiritual sense. One of them them was golden skinned and wore a crown of feathers along with hemp robes. The other had a sinister appearance and wore green robes. They were both spell warriors at the early Nascent Soul stage.
Marquis Nanlong snorted and coldly shouted, “You two Fellow Daoists still haven’t left? Could it be you wish for us to take action? If you two aren’t careful, you will meet your end here!”
The hemp-robed spell warrior glanced at them and caustically said, “What an arrogant tone! Although we aren’t a match for you, it is beyond your powers to kill us. We don’t need to attack you, merely delay you for half a day. Do you really believe you will have a chance of leaving? It would be better for you all to obediently sit in place. Perhaps we may allow your souls to reincarnate!”
Marquis Nanlong furiously laughed and began to glow with blinding light, “Delay us for half a day? Do you believe that we w
ill allow it?”
The green-robed spell warrior expressionlessly said, “Perhaps! As masters of the Moulan Plains, it is only proper for us to entertain our guests!”
Marquis Nanlong’s expression grew sullen, “Humph! It seems you won’t recognize defeat until you see your own end. Brother Yun, let’s attack!”
However, the white-clothed old man revealed a trace of helplessness and sighed, “I originally wished to preserve magic power for the matters ahead, but we cannot have these two buzzing on our tail. We can only attack!”
With that said, he opened his mouth and spat out a silver dharmic wheel[1. Eight-spoked wheel, Dharmachakra]. The wheel was fist-sized and glittered with light. It gradually expanded to a meter in length.
When the two spell warriors saw this, they immediately stepped back. Brilliance began to shine from their body as they cautiously glanced at the old man.
As for Marquis Nanlong, he wordlessly swept his sleeve and tossed out a golden flying sword. Han Li and company also began to silently summon their magic power and slowly drifted forward.
At that moment, a red streak of light suddenly shined from the horizon in the direction of the two spell warriors. As the fiery light neared, the party couldn’t help but cease their attacks.
The two spell warriors naturally knew that something had appeared behind them. The hemp-robed spell warrior calmly beckoned to the fiery light and revolved once above his head before steadily dropping into his hand. It combust into flames and began to burn at the center of his hand.
It was a sound transmission talisman!
“What?” The hemp-robed spell warrior quickly scanned its contents with his spiritual sense and cried out in alarm. Marquis Nanlong and company were able to clearly see the shock on his face.
This person suddenly turned his head to the green robed spell warrior and sent him a voice transmission. The green-robed spell warrior’s expression changed upon hearing him and also yelped. The two carefully examined the cultivators present before their gazes arrived onto Han Li. Their expressions grew grave.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 373