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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Marquis Nanlong muttered to himself for a moment before shaking his head and tossing the matter to the back of his mind. He then slapped his storage pouch and summoned a white jade pendant into his hand. He released the pendant into the air and it began to revolve around the two of them.

  Marquis Nanlong raised his hands and formed an incantation seal, launching streaks of various colored spell seals onto the pendant. The pendant cleanly absorbed them and soon shined with a blinding white light. It stopped in front of the barrier of water before screaming with phoenix cries.

  Marquis Nanlong raised his hand and pointed to the jade pendant. As it trembled, a white mist of light sprayed out in front of it.

  A strange scene occurred as the mist of white light passed through the water barrier and distorted the image as if ripping through a painting. As the light shattered, a ten-meter-tall arched stone gate appeared in its place with crimson light sparkling on the surface.

  A huge horned ghost head was carved onto the top of the stone gate, taking up most of the gate’s surface. It appeared true to life and malevolent.

  “This is the Blood Curse Gate?” Lu Weiying stroked his chin as he looked at it. For some reason, he suddenly felt a wave of apprehension upon seeing the gate.

  Chapter 825: Spirit Ether Garden

  Marquis Nanlong glanced at the stone gate with a pensive expression before letting out a long sigh, “That’s right. This is the Blood Curse Gate.”

  Lu Weiying looked at it for a moment and worriedly asked, “The blood Qi on the gate seems to possess a strong devilish nature. Will there be any problems with it?”

  Marquis Nanlong turned to look at Lu Weiying and said, “The gate was sealed by ancient cultivators by using essence blood. Naturally, it will differ from common restrictions. What? Does Brother Lu want to turn back?”

  Lu Weiying shook his head and solemnly said, “Turn back? Since we’ve already arrived, how could I do something so foolish? But we still be careful just in case.”

  After a moment of thought, Marquis Nanlong’s expression relaxed and he said, “That is reasonable. The gate does give one a sense of discomfort. How about this? First we’ll lay down several restrictions outside the gate. If anything strange occurs, we’ll be able to escape without a problem.”

  “Good, then let’s do that.” Lu Weiying promptly nodded.

  As a result, Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying took out several spell formation setup tools and began to place them at the bottom of the pool.

  As Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying made their preparations for the Blood Curse Gate, there were a group of people slowly travelling up a huge black stone mountain in another area of the valley. They were headed by a middle-aged cultivator with a stern face while an azure-robed old man stood by his side. They were Wang Tiansheng, Wang Tiansheng, and Wei Wuya. As for Wang Tiangu, he was following three meters behind them. In addition to the three of them, there were four Ghost Spirit Sect Core Formation cultivators closely following behind them.

  Wang Tiangu glanced at the red mist not far above him and muttered, “This wicked land is truly evil. Even remote areas have a restriction placed every fifty kilometers. You can’t fly for more than ten meters at a time.”

  Wang Tiansheng calmly replied, “The more constrained the area, the more it illustrates we’re in the right place. If we were the ancient cultivators, we would’ve placed restrictions most likely to dissuade other cultivators from treading here. After all, it would take at least a day by foot to travel through here.”

  Wang Tiangu revealed an expression of helplessness and said with a chuckle, “Having spent so much effort on this, I certainly hope we didn’t find the wrong place. We’ve already lost three disciples on the way here.”

  At that moment, Wei Wuya was looking at the mountain top and expressionlessly said, “After we entered the valley depths, we walked for three days. Don’t tell me that we will have to walk for several more days before we arrive.”

  Wang Tiansheng didn’t dare to neglect Wei Wuya and slowly said, “Be at ease, Fellow Daoist Wei. We’ll be there once we pass through this mountain. Once this is done, our Ghost Spirit Sect will be the greatest Devil Dao Sect in the Heavenly South and Fellow Daoist Wei will breakthrough to Deity Transformation Stage. It is only a matter of time.”

  Wei Wuya grew silent for a moment before he derisively snorted, “To tell the truth, I don’t put much stock in the legends of the Spirit Ether Garden. They were most likely false rumors spread by ancient cultivators. If there was such a space that linked the Spirit World to ours, it should’ve already been found. How could it have been kept secret until now?”

  Wang Tiansheng didn’t reveal any surprise and instead curiously asked, “Since Brother Wei didn’t believe it, why did he immediately accept our invitation?”

  Without further thought, Wei Wuya bluntly said, “Fellow Daoist Wang seemed to mobilize half of the elites of his sect for this matter. It seems that you have some confidence in your trip to Devilfall Valley. Even if you don’t find the Spirit Ether Garden, you should still find a secret ancient cultivator area. Since I knew this, I agreed to allow you to draw support from my reputation and suppress the other cultivators in the valley. The share of treasures you give to me should be quite generous.”

  The Ghost Spirit Sect roared with laughter and said, “Brother Wei is quite sharp! However, this is something you misunderstood. My sect has spent such efforts in order to truly travel to the Spirit Ether Garden. The Spirit Ether Garden isn’t some false rumor. Rather, Devilfall Valley was created by ancient cultivators for the sole purpose of protecting the Spirit Ether Garden. Once we pass this mountain, it will only take six hours before you can personally see it with your own eyes. When we open the way to the pocket dimension it is located in, we will require much of Fellow Daoist Wei’s power.”

  When Wu Weiya heard this, both excitement and surprise appeared on his face. “If you say this with such certainty, you must’ve acquired evidence that the Spirit Ether Garden exists.”

  “That’s right. Our sect has a certain confidence that the Spirit Ether Garden exists. As for the evidence, Fellow Daoist Wei will know when he gets there.” Once the black-robed middle-aged man finished speaking, he wore a mysterious expression. Although he was only an early Nascent Soul cultivator, his confident disposition gave Wei Wuya a feeling of unease.

  Wei Wuya nodded and his expression returned to normal, but he coldly smiled in his mind. No matter how extravagant the Ghost Spirit Sect Master’s words may be, unless he personally saw the Spirit Ether Garden, he would remain completely skeptical. Of course, he wouldn’t say these words directly to him. He simply smiled and changed the subject, saying, “After your sect’s Elder Zhong entered the valley, he had his own matters to attend to. Now that such a long time has passed, do you think you could tell me about his whereabouts? He can’t be like the other cultivators. Surely your sect didn’t send a mid Nascent Soul elder to Devilfall Valley on a trip of leisure?”

  Wang Tiansheng didn’t appear to mind his question and casually replied, “Brother Wei must be joking. I won’t conceal this from you. Elder Zhong has been sent to collect treasures from another secret area of the valley. Of course, while the treasure may be precious, it isn’t nearly as important as the Spirit Ether Garden.”

  When Wei Wuya heard this, he dryly laughed and declined from asking further about the matter. As a result, the party of cultivators continued on their way in silence.

  ...

  In an expanse of rough and uneven stone, there were seven Ghost Spirit Sect disciples scattered around and continuously searching for something. The Ghost Spirit Sect Elder Zhong was floating at the area’s center without making the slightest movement.

  Although his spiritual sense was able to easily envelop the wilderness for tens of kilometers around him, he needed to find a particular mark, something that could only be found with deliberate and meticulous effort. As a result, he stifled his impatience and sent the disciples under hi
s command to slowly sift through the rocks.

  ...

  In another area of the valley, peals of thunder suddenly echoed from a ravine covered in rainbow light. Afterwards, following a storm of lightning and thunder, a group of cultivators emerged from the rainbow light.

  The ones leading them were a green-robed old man and an old Daoist. Although the two didn’t appear to have suffered any injuries, they each had a miserable appearance and ashen complexions. They were Daoist Heavencrystal and Dongmen Tu, the grand elder of the Controlling Spirit Sect.

  The other five green-robed cultivators walked behind them with similarly ruined robes and pale complexions as if they had suffered through quite a bit of pain. As for the two fiendish puppets, they appeared entirely unchanged without even the slightest damage.

  After flying a hundred meters away, Dongmen Tu turned around to glance at the ravine behind him before turning to look at the two fiendish puppets. “We’ve finally broken through the barrier and entered the valley depths. I didn’t think that Fellow Daoist Heavencrystal’s two puppets would rival the power of a cultivator at the peak of early Nascent Soul stage. How truly envious!”

  Having hearing this, Daoist Heavencrystal said,“The puppets are merely puppets. No matter how powerful they may be, how could they compare to your subordinates. With their elemental techniques, I’m sure they would be able to contend against even a late Nascent Soul stage cultivator.”

  Daoist Heavencrystal was clearly wary of Dongmen Tu. As soon as they left the ravine, he kept his distance from him. His puppets stood behind him as they both began to flicker with various colored light.

  When Dongmen Tu saw this, his face grew sullen and he soon sighed. With a wry smile he said, “Isn’t Fellow Daoist Heavencrystal overly wary of me? We’ve spent the last two days in a united effort to break through the formations. Fellow Daoist shouldn’t have anything against me. Wouldn’t it be better to reconsider joining hands and looking for treasure together? It’ll be far safer than heading out alone.”

  “Brother Dongmen, I have nothing against you. It is just that I am fond of being alone. Please don’t suggest joining hands again. Since we’ve already entered the valley depths, we should part ways.” Daoist Heavencrystal chuckled and saluted Dongmen Tu. However, he didn’t depart and was instead staring at him with caution.

  When Dongmen Tu saw this, he frowned for a moment before smiling. “Since Fellow Daoist Heavencrystal is unwilling, I won’t force you. We will split up here. I hope you have a large harvest.”

  “Hehe! Then I wish you luck as well.” Daoist Heavencrystal’s expression relaxed and he headed away with his puppets following after him. Dongmen Tu watched him as he departed into the distance and his face grew sullen.

  Dongmen Tu sighed with annoyance. “That old ghost is truly too cautious. It’s been two days and he hasn’t let his guard down. With those two puppets, searching the valley depths would be far safer.” He then glanced around and slapped his spirit beast pouch. With a gust of wind, a sparkling silver bat appeared in front of him.

  Dongmen Tu raised his hand and tossed a jet-black medicine pill into the mouth of the silver bat. The bat then flew once in the air before shooting off into the sky.

  When Dongmen Tu saw this, he hastily called out to the five cultivators behind him and led the way. In the blink of an eye, the party disappeared from sight.

  Chapter 826: Blood Curse Restriction

  Marquis Nanlong stuck the final formation flag down at the corner of the pond. He wryly smiled, slapping his hands together, and said, “How is it? Are you done with your preparations? With these spell formations placed down, even if a massive problem occurs, we’ll be able to deal with it. Anything further would be a waste of time.”

  Lu Weiying chuckled and said, “I would rather waste a bit more time than encounter any surprises. If there are truly only secret treasures hidden behind the gate, then that will be for the best. But if there is something else there, a little more preparation will be better. Although I covet ancient treasures greatly, I view my own life to be more valuable.”

  When Marquis Nanlong heard this, he shook his head and said little further.

  At that moment, Lu Weiying finished placing down his final formation plate and activated his restriction, creating a layer of indistinct white mist around them. Lu Weiying nodded with satisfaction and turned his head to look at the stone gate glowing with crimson light.

  Marquis Nanlong had already grown somewhat impatient at this point. When he saw that Lu Weiying had finally finished, he immediately took a storage pouch from his waist and flung it into the air. Suddenly, white light poured out from it to reveal the crystalline remains of the ancient cultivator.

  “The Blood Curse Gate is quite strange. Breaking the gate’s restrictions requires either the essence or flesh of the caster. The flesh is obviously gone, but a bit of the cultivator’s essence should still be present in his bones.” Marquis Nanlong spoke with a heavy voice. Then he spat out a golden flying sword and reached out to the floor as he clenched his hand into a fist. The bones suddenly floated off the ground and rose to twenty meters in the air.

  Marquis Nanlong flicked his finger and launched a white spell seal, striking his golden sword at its center. As it hummed, the sword trembled and the tip suddenly burst with blinding golden light.

  Soon after, the sword tip grew brighter until it released a ball of golden light. The ball of light then shot out and struck the bones that were floating in the air, the golden light suddenly ruptured.

  Countless streaks of sword Qi suddenly wrapped all around the skeleton and completely enveloped it. An instant later, bone dust drifted down from the sky.

  Light flashed from Marquis Nanlong’s eyes and he flung his sleeve. A mist of golden light shot out and swept up all the translucent grains of bone. As for the golden sword Qi in the air, it had already disappeared.

  Marquis Nanlong nodded when he saw that the golden light had swept up the entirety of the translucent bone dust and turned to look at Lu Weiying. When Lu Weiying saw this, he knew what Marquis Nanlong wanted him to do. He clapped his hands together and took out a white flag. With a slight shake, winds began to gather around the flag.

  By then, Marquis Nanlong had already sat cross-legged and formed a hand gesture. With a muffled incantation, various-colored spell seals flew from his hand and struck the golden mist that enveloped the bone dust. Under the influence of the spell seals, the bone dust within the golden mist began to slowly revolve.

  The translucent bone dust gradually twinkled with various colors causing it to grow extremely bright.

  At that moment, Lu Weiying launched a probing strike at the stone gate. Rather than commanding an attack with his spell flag, he launched several fireballs towards the stone gate from his other hand.

  The fireballs roiled through the air as they grew close to the stone gate, crimson light wildly flashed and came to life, condensing into a large mass of scarlet light and taking the form of a three-meter-tall ghost face that was identical to the one carved on the stone gate. After it consumed the fireballs that were about to strike the gate, it flickered and immediately disappeared.

  When Lu Weiying saw the scene, he grew alarmed and with some hesitation, he pointed the flag at the stone gate. The wind dragon that had condensed around the flag then screamed through the air as it charged at the stone gate.

  The ghost face reappeared and its mouth gaped open. A beam of light was shot out of its mouth, engulfing the wind dragon and dragging it into its mouth. Fury and alarm momentarily appeared on Lu Weiying’s face.

  Lu Weiying and Marquis Nanlong couldn’t help but glance at each other in dismay.

  Marquis Nanlong sighed and slowly said, “The Blood Curse Gate is truly quite odd. Let’s just dispel the restriction in accordance to the method Master Cang Kun described.”

  Lu Weiying rubbed his chin and could only nod. Although he had more powerful attacks, the ghost face was truly bizarre. He wasn’t will
ing to overreach himself and potentially ruin this matter. Given Master Cang Kun’s magnificent reputation in the past, his method of dissolving the restriction should prove better.

  “Go!” Marquis Nanlong softly shouted before he pointed to the ball of golden light in the sky. It hummed and glowed magnificently before sweeping towards the stone gate.

  Crimson light flickered and the ghost face reappeared. But as the golden light approached the ghost face, it merged with the bone dust it was carrying and transformed into specks of white light before sticking onto the ghost face.

  When the ghost face touched the specks of light, it suddenly began to dissolve into grey smoke, and the grey smoke soon enveloped the entire stone gate.

  Howling ghostly wails loudly erupted from the center of the smoke and crimson light flickered without end. Thick crimson tentacles began to emerge from the mist and do their utmost to strike at the ground nearby as if the gate were coming to life. But in the blink of an eye, the grey smoke that enveloped it also disappeared.

  When Marquis Nanlong saw this, he shouted, “It’s now! Act!” He then pointed at the golden sword in front of him and he grasped his hand in an incantation gesture. The entirety of the spiritual power in his body was poured into the flying sword through a spell seal and the golden sword tore through the air in a blinding streak of light.

  Lu Weiying’s face turned gloomy and he poured a majority of his spiritual power into the flag before tossing it out. In a flicker of white light, the flag transformed into several wind dragons, all whistling towards the stone gate.

  In the blink of an eye, the golden streak of light and the wind dragons entered the grey mist and a world-shaking tremble appeared as the gales, golden light, and crimson light intertwined, resulting in a chaotic explosion.

  Gales wildly blew away the grey smoke that obscured the sight of the stone gate. When Marquis Nanlong saw what was behind it, he narrowed his eyes and saw that the crimson light had disappeared as if the restriction was completely dissolved.