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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Chapter 875: Devilish Qi Depths

  Devil Concord snorted and coldly said, “Why is Fellow Daoist Wei asking when you already know the answer? Don’t tell me you don’t fear what he could become? Since he’s already entered mid-Nascent Soul stage at such a young age and possesses such mighty abilities, by the time he reaches late-Nascent Soul stage we will no longer have our current standing in the Heavenly South.”

  Wei Wuya glanced at Devil Concord and mysteriously smiled. “Hehe! My point of view is a bit different from yours.”

  “So you’re of a different opinion? You may as well say it. Could it be you have the confidence to suppress him after he reaches late-Nascent Soul stage?”

  “Suppress? Why would I want to do that? I am the oldest of the three great cultivators of the Heavenly South. I only have over a hundred years more to live before I perish. Even if he were the reincarnation of a true immortal, he wouldn’t be able to reach late Nascent Soul stage in a hundred years. And even if that’s the case and he suppresses the entirely Heavenly South, what does that have to do with me?”

  After hearing this, Devil Concord said, “Brother Wei is willing to allow one person to forcibly wrest away the power you took such effort and care to obtain? If you were to make an alliance with me, I may even make a few concessions to you.”

  “I’m not interested,” Wei Wuya bluntly responded with a smile, “Doesn’t Brother Concord feel that it is a bit too late to take action? I might be tempted if you made this offer while he was at early-Nascent Soul stage, but now, his abilities are no weaker than ours despite not being at the same stage as us. I have no interest in making an enemy of a cultivator on the same level as my own, neither do I wish to doom my sect to disaster. Brother Concord had best remember that existences on our level are very difficult to extinguish. Even with an ambush and assistance, it still won't be enough. Of course, if you were able to create an entrapment similar to what we used to deal with the Elder Devil, that would be a different story.”

  Wei Wuya then added on, “But from the way I see it, you should avoid doing any underhanded tricks and provoking his wrath. After all, this person could potentially unify the Heavenly South in the future. Don’t forget the mighty Deity Transformation stage cultivators that had unified the Heavenly South in the past.”

  When Devil Concord heard him, he sank into thought and said nothing else.

  Meanwhile, Han Li and Master Sunreach delved about ten kilometers deep into the whirlpool. Under the heavy pressure of the spiritual Qi, the two were unable to quickly fly to the bottom and could only slowly descend.

  Han Li already took out his Bluelight Shield and had it cover his body in a layer of blue light. At that moment, over thirty streaks of golden light began to quickly swirl around his body, taking him even deeper into the whirlpool.

  As for Master Sunreach, he delved down with ease. By depending on a single white flying sword to revolve around his body, he was able to easily cut through the layers of white spiritual Qi in the whirlpool and followed at Han Li’s side.

  Han Li felt a trace of admiration when he saw this. As he expected, late Nascent Soul eccentrics were unique existences.

  With that thought, Han Li then swept his surroundings with his spiritual sense. He was only able to spread it about forty meters below before being repelled, preventing him from seeing any further.

  As for his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, they were able to see a little over a hundred meters below, but all he saw was white mist. However, his Brightsight Spirit Eyes would occasionally spot any spiritual Qi whirlpools when they appeared, allowing him to avoid them with ease.

  Of course, Master Sunreach noticed how nimbly Han Li avoided these hidden whirlpools of spiritual Qi prior to their appearance, causing him to feel rather impressed and even more strongly about winning Han Li over to his side. As for the possible unification of the Heavenly South under Han Li when he potentially reached late Nascent Soul stage, Master Sunreach didn’t care much for it.

  If he wasn’t mistaken, Han Li was a cultivator who wholeheartedly pursued the Heavenly Dao. So long as there was nothing that concerned him personally, he would simply continue to silently cultivate, rather than pursue anything that would cause him unnecessary trouble. Were this not the case, Han Li would’ve seized control over the State of Xi with ease. According to the Righteous Dao’s reports on the State of Xi, when Han Li was an early Nascent Soul stage and later entered mid-Nascent Soul stage, he didn’t reveal any power-hungry tendencies, much to the relief of Master Sunreach.

  After the time it took to finish a meal, Han Li reckoned that he had already delved over thirty kilometers deep and he couldn’t help but take a look up above. There was a white mist of spiritual Qi that he was unable to see through, separating him from the outside world.

  Given the immense pressure that Han Li’s flying swords were subjected to, he reckoned that only mid-Nascent Soul cultivators were able to sink this deep into the whirlpool. Were it not for the fact that his Azure Essence Sword Arts provided a deeper magic power than similarly ranked cultivators, he would find the pressure quite strenuous.

  Just as Han Li sank into his thoughts, Master Sunreach called out to him, “Fellow Daoist Han! We’re about to arrive at the bottom. Be careful!”

  “Many thanks, Brother Sunreach!” Han Li quickly recollected himself and gazed downward.

  As a result, he saw a blinding white radiance flooding his view as if there were layers upon layers of light below him. When Han Li saw this, he slowed his descent. A short moment later, Han Li and Master Sunreach stopped about twenty meters above the white light barrier. With his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, Han Li was able to clearly see countless threads of Devilish Qi squirm

  Staring at the light barrier, Han Li muttered, “So this is suppressing the Devilish Qi. It will prove quite troublesome.”

  Master Sunreach explained, “That’s right, the amount of devilish Qi has turned it into an abyss. It is unknown how far deep it goes. I won’t conceal this from you. My own cultivation art possess some evil warding properties and I attempted to go in. But I was only able to reach about three hundred meters deep before I was unable to further persist. In matters of both its devilish nature and quantity, it isn’t something that common cultivators can touch. Devil cultivators that practice ancient devilish arts will have a massive spike in cultivation if they were to touch it, but conversely, their souls will become corrupt and be lost.”

  Han Li nodded as he listened and stared at the devilish Qi behind the light barrier as he silently mulled over the matter.

  After a short moment of thought, Han Li said, “Brother Sunreach, wait here for a moment. I’m going to take a look and see how formidable this devilish Qi is.”

  “Be careful, Brother Han!” Master Sunreach wasn’t surprised in the slightest by Han Li’s action.

  Han Li didn’t say anything further and his silhouette blurred several times before appearing with the tip of his foot touching the light barrier. Then a foot-long streak of azure sword Qi shot down and instantly pierced through the light barrier and traveled into the devilish Qi before disappearing without a trace.

  Han Li revealed a bit of surprise, but he soon realized something. The light barrier was only effective against devilish Qi; he wouldn’t need to expend any effort to make an opening through it.

  With that thought, the golden swordstreaks revolving around him began to sing with thunder and began to spark with arcs of golden lightning, creating a giant net of lightning around him.

  As of current, his understanding and grasp of Divine Devilbane Lightning had reached a realm beyond comprehension. With his hands forming an incantation gesture, the net of lightning quickly shrank and wrapped around his blue light barrier in the blink of an eye, creating a huge ball of lightning around him. As for his flying swords, they shrank to the size of several inches under his command and quickly flew into his sleeve.

  With that done, Han Li silently sank through the light barrier and enter
ed the devilish Qi without any resistance.

  Thunder loudly rang out and black devilish Qi began to lash out around him, but the rings of thunder dispersed the devilish Qi as they continuously swarmed around him.

  Han Li made no immediately movements. He simply stood in place as he observed the Divine Devilbane Lightning disperse the clouds of devilish Qi. As a result, the devilish Qi quickly restored its original form and rushed around him once more.

  Han Li frowned and his heart sank after he saw the rate at which the Divine Devilbane Lightning was being consumed. He tilted his head in thought before delving deeper into the devilish Qi.

  As of current, Han Li had no mind to spread his spiritual sense past the light barrier. The concentrated devilish essence of the Qi below could corrupt a cultivator’s spiritual sense, inflicting immense harm on anyone foolish enough to do so.

  His only option for the time being was to use the Brightsight Spirit Eyes to gaze into the pitch-black depths. However, they were only able to look about ten meters deep before he could see no more.

  After sinking about six hundred meters deep, Han Li paused and looked around him. Then a short moment later, he immediately returned up.

  When Master Sunreach saw Han Li appear, he smiled at him and said, “The Divine Devilbane Lightning is clearly powerful. You were able to stay inside for such a large period of time without the slightest damage. It is deserving of its grand reputation.

  “It wasn’t much,” Han Li calmly replied, “Since the devilish Qi isn’t under anyone’s control, it is easily scattered. Let’s return and have the discussion up above.”

  Master Sunreach promptly nodded in agreement. Then, Han Li withdrew his golden lightning and summoned his flying sword before flying back to the surface.

  ...

  When the two arrived at the surface, Wei Wuya calmly asked them, “How was it? With Fellow Daoist Han’s Divine Devilbane Lightning, you should be free to move inside the devilish Qi!”

  After a moment of thought, Han Li answered, “I already gave it a try, but before I agree, I have to first ask you where you want the formation plate. If the location is too deep inside the devilish Qi, I fear that my Divine Devilbane Lightning will not be able to last.”

  Devil Concord then proposed, “Let us return to the cave residence to discuss the specific location. The formation plate is still in the hands of those formation masters. Let us first go retrieve the plate and then have the discussion then. After all, the formation plate wasn’t easily created so we cannot lose it in the process.”

  Chapter 876: Acquiring An Island

  The others raised no objections to Devil Concord’s suggestion to move the discussion elsewhere, and the group headed towards Spirit Turtle Island.

  Han Li asked Master Sunreach for a sealed room to spend the night meditating as they waited for the other two to retrieve the formation plate from the spell formation masters.

  Then, on the morning of the next day, Han Li received a sound transmission talisman from Master Sunreach and promptly appeared at the main hall.

  Han Li walked in with a raised brow, noticing that the three great cultivators were already seated and talking to one another. When Wei Wuya saw Han Li arrive, he called out to him and summoned a faint red jade slip on the table with a flip of his hand. “Fellow Daoist Han, please take a seat. This is the location that you must place the formation plate according to our research of the sealing formation.”

  “Oh! Let me take a look.” With a wave, the jade slip shot into his hand and then he took a seat before immersing his spiritual sense into it.

  A short moment later, Han Li’s face stirred and he withdrew his spiritual sense from the jade slip, wearing a gloomy expression on his face.

  Han Li tossed the jade slip back on the table and raised his head, coldly saying, “Fellow Daoists, do you plan on having me go on a one-way journey to place the formation plate so deep into the abyss?”

  Devil Concord calmly replied, “How can Fellow Daoist Han say that? Although the location for the formation plate is a bit deep, with the Divine Devilbane Lightning protecting you, it shouldn’t pose a problem.”

  “Is that so?” Han Li glanced at Devil Concord and said with an angry tone, “Does Brother Concord believe my reserves of Divine Devilbane Lightning are infinite? Or do you simply wish for me to not return after I place down the formation plate?”

  “You mean to say that you don’t have enough Divine Devilbane Lightning to last the trip back?” Wei Wuya asked with a frown. “From what I remember, Fellow Daoist Han controlled quite a large quantity of lightning during his battle with the Elder Devil. It shouldn’t pose much of a problem.”

  “Could it be that you didn’t delve too far deep into the devilish Qi?” Han Li asked with an odd expression.

  “Yi!” Wei Wuya yelped. “Fellow Daoist Han means to say...”

  Devil Concord’s eyes flickered but he remained silent. As for Master Sunreach, he lowered his head in thought.

  Han Li knitted his fingers together and held them at his chest before he explained with an indifferent tone, “At a certain depth it is clear to see that the devilish nature of the Qi becomes even stronger and it exhausts the Divine Devilbane Lightning at a greater speed. I’ve reached this conclusion after delving a kilometer deep into the abyss. Although I do possess a bit of Divine Devilbane Lightning, I will not be able to delve ten kilometers deep into the devilish Qi and make it back.”

  Wei Wuya tensely frowned and turned to Master Sunreach, asking, “So it was like that? Brother Sunreach, you delved the deepest into the devilish Qi out of the three of us. Is this true?”

  “It’s true,” Master Sunreach sighed and nodded in agreement. “When I delved deeper into the devilish Qi using my secret techniques, I felt my magic power drain at a faster rate. I originally believed that Han Li wouldn’t notice and was thinking about warning him.”

  When Devil Concord heard this, his expression changed and he said, “In that case, our original plan to have a cultivator enter the devilish Qi depths with devil warding treasures would fail. Although they would be safe at the beginning, there is danger of becoming corrupted once they delve too deep.”

  “That’s right,” Master Sunreach said with a wry smile, “That’s why I wasn’t very interested in that plan. But since Fellow Daoist Han was still missing at the time, I didn’t raise any objections as there were no other alternatives.”

  Han Li observed their tone of voice and expressions with indifference, but he grew somewhat gloomy. He was unable to tell whether the three truly knew of it or if they decided to keep the matter hidden. Regardless, he wouldn’t easily agree to them.

  Then, the room was filled with silence.

  It was clear that it would be a death sentence to have someone place a formation plate this deep in the depths of the Devilish Qi. Telling Han Li to do it for a virtuous cause would be an even less likely matter.

  Although the four present realized that half the Heavenly South would be affected by the release of the devilish Qi, none of them were interested in sacrificing themselves in preventing this as they already cultivated to such a high stage. If worst came to worst, they would flee from the Heavenly South altogether. They will be able to easily find a place for themselves in the world with their level of cultivation.

  And apart from Han Li, there was no one else that could delve deep enough to place the formation plate, causing the three great cultivators to look at each other in dismay.

  Then, Han Li’s eyes wandered for a moment before speaking with a relaxed voice, “I am also aware that this matter is quite serious and that you all find yourselves facing a dilemma. As such, I have an idea I wish to try.”

  When Master Sunreach heard this, he hastily said, “What’s your idea? Please, tell us.”

  Wei Wuya and Devil Concord felt this spirits roused and hastily turned to Han Li.

  “It’s rather simple. I believe I am able to reach the designated location for the formation plate wit
h the Divine Devilbane Lightning, but I will not have enough to safely return. As such, you will need to hand over the devil warding treasures you’ve gathered over to me so that I will last longer in the devilish Qi. However, since this method does pose quite a bit of danger to me...” With that said, Han Li paused as if hesitant to continue.

  With joy on his face, Wei Wuya hastily said, “That will be no problem! So long as you can place down the formation plate, we’ll lend Fellow Daoist Han all of the devil warding treasures we’ve acquired.”

  “Of course, we won’t have you brave this grave danger for nothing.” Master Sunreach suddenly smiled at Devil Concord and said, “Brother Concord, what do you say?”

  Devil Concord was stunned when he heard this, but after some hesitation, he nodded. “Indeed, if you accomplish this, we plan on handing over one of these islands over to Fellow Daoist Han.”

  “You would present one of the islands to me?” Han Li’s narrowed his eyes.

  “That’s right,” Master Sunreach said with a friendly voice, “To tell the truth, we planned on dividing the islands between seven great sects, but a majority of those sects belonged to our three superpowers. There is one island that is difficult to divide. We originally planned on handing it over to Fellow Daoists Long Han and Feng Bing [1], but it turned out that the two are in seclusion. As such we’ve decided to hand it over to a small unremarkable sect. Now that Fellow Daoist Han is here to brave the danger, we will hand over the island to your Drifting Cloud Sect. Surely no will raise any complaints over this.”

  “Is that so?” Han Li said with amazement. After all, from what he heard, not only did the islands have outstanding spirit veins, but they also have several rich spirit stone mines and other rarities.

  After some thought, Han Li then worriedly asked, “Since the seven islands were a section of the grand formation, won’t they sink back into the ocean when the formation is restored?”