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

by Translator: Johnchen

  At that moment, he wore a cold expression and he patted around his neck before finding a golden chain that had a silver key linked to it. The key was was thick as a finger and several inches long. Mysterious designs were engraved on it along with a golden character, Féng [2].

  After staring at the key, Feng Yue revealed a strange expression. Then, his face wavered between excitement and pain before ultimately wearing a gloomy expression.

  He let out a long breath before carefully putting away the key. After confirming that no one could see the key as it hung on his neck, he closed his eyes and began to restore the magic power he had just consumed.

  Not long after they finished cleaning the carcass of the last Simian Vulture, the two tribes began to set forth once more.

  This time, none dared to wantonly speak in loud voices. Although the battle against the vultures didn’t last long, it had shaken many of the Soaring Tribes youths. Those with spirit veins felt particularly excited and wished they could fly over to the temple immediately so that they may acquire the vast power of an Immortal.

  The following day was uneventful, but as Han Li was comprehending the incantation to dissolve the Pestilence Demons Soullock Seal, the so-called temple encampment had entered the range of his spiritual sense.

  Out of fear that there would be high-grade Immortals stationed near the encampment, Han Li didn’t dare to sweep his spiritual sense closeby, but he did faintly mix spiritual Qi fluctuations, indicating there were many low-grade cultivators nearby.

  Han Li’s eyes wandered but his face remained expressionless.

  After travelling ten kilometers, both the tribes let out a cheer. Han Li’s expression stirred and he swept his sleeve, opening the carriage’s curtains. He saw flat plains around them and a large black dot in the distance.

  Blue light flickered in Han Li’s eyes and he was able to clearly see what was the black dot.

  There was a wall twelve meters tall formed from thick stone and logs. At the back of the wall, there were lofty tents the Soaring Tribes were fond of and a few crude wooden buildings. Occasionally, Soaring Tribes mortals would roam around them, causing the area to appear rather lively.

  Amongst the tents and wooden buildings, there was a faintly seen hall made from a single huge stone surrounded with sparsely few buildings. A few peculiarly dressed cultivators would occasionally walk into the hall.

  As Han Li’s gaze wandered across this so-called encampment, he would spot huge stone pillars erected across its perimeter.

  These stone pillars glowed with dazzling light, and they were a hundred meters tall and thicker than the width of a person. This was clearly a large scale spell formation placed by the Endless Sky Temple to protect the encampment. There were also no cultivators flying inside the encampment so it was clear to see the spell formation restricted travel by air.

  After sizing up the town, Han Li had no further interest it in and closed the curtain.

  Two hours later, Han Li’s party had arrived at the entrance of the encampment. There weren’t any guards to speak off and the group entered as they pleased.

  Ying Lu and the Tribe Leader Ba had a brief discussion before separating and heading off in their own direction.

  Inside the encampment, Han Li was able to clearly see everything with his spiritual sense. It was exactly as he saw in the distance, chaotic. Fur tents and wood buildings were scattered everywhere and only the main roads were clear. It was clear that apart from the stone structures, the buildings were only temporary shelter for the tribes that were passing through to offer tribute.

  However, those that needed to rest here were all the small tribes that had to travel the farthest. Larger tribes didn’t have the need to travel farther as they resided near the temple.

  As a result, a vast majority of these tents and wooden buildings appeared entirely ordinary with a few that even had patches on them; only the wealthiest tribes among them had a few slightly larger tents with a few minor decorations. It was clear to see these small tribes weren’t very wealthy.

  After difficultly finding an empty area in a remote corner of the encampment, the Grey Heron Tribe began to set up their tents.

  Han Li walked out from the carriage and indifferently observed their actions. Ying Lu hesitated for a moment before he walked over to Han Li and spoke with a respectful tone, “Immortal Han, it is quite disorderly here. I fear it isn’t suitable for the peaceful cultivation of a great Immortal such as yourself. There is a resting area specialized in housing Immortals. How about Immortal Han rest there for the time being? In two days, we will resume our journey.”

  “I will then. In two day’s time, I will come find you.” Han Li nodded and then took off in the direction of the tallest structure in the encampment, a huge two-story stone hall. There were cultivators that would occasionally enter and leave. It was clear this was the building Ying Lu had mentioned.

  After walking a short distance, Han Li arrived in front of the stone hall.

  The entrance had two fifteen-meter-tall sculptures to either side of the entrance, flood dragons with the head of a bull. Han Li took a brief glance before passing it by. Although he was confident his disguise as a Soaring Tribes cultivator was perfect, he felt ill at ease for being near so many other Soaring Tribe cultivators. If there were any Nascent Soul cultivators nearby, it could end badly for him. It would be better for him to leave the encampment and find some place nearby. Then in two day’s time, he would continue to travel with the Grey Heron Tribe.

  By the time they arrived at the Endless Sky Temple, the rumors about him should’ve subsided and he’ll then resume his journey to leave the plains. Although it will still be quite some time until he could enter the Great Jin Empire, the journey would go smoother if he were careful.

  With that in mind, Han Li calmly walked out from the encampment and took out a small sword before using it to fly in a streak of light. About thirty kilometers away, Han Li stopped above an unremarkable field of scattered stone.

  He swept his gaze around him and descended upon a twenty meter tall bolder. He sat cross-legged on it before releasing his spiritual sense around him, sweeping the perimeter for ten kilometers to find there was no one around him. He then turned around and flicked his fingers to the huge boulder in front him. A wave of azure sword Qi cut through it and created a six-meter wide hole inside of it, just enough for a person to enter.

  Han Li sat down cross-legged to test the hole and felt the interim shelter was to his satisfaction. He then walked thirty meters in front of the huge boulder and took out a set of formation flags. Over ten streaks of light shot out and an invisibility spell formation was placed around the boulder.

  From the outside, the huge boulder completely disappeared from view.

  Han Li entered the spell formation in a blur and completely vanished from sight.

  In the blink of an eye, an entire day had already passed. Han Li was silently meditating in his cave, comprehending the incantation that Monarch Soul Divergence had given him. The process went far smoother than he had anticipated and he was close to finishing it, much to his delight.

  As he pondered about a problematic portion of the incantation, his brow stirred and his mind snapped out of meditation. He opened his eyes with a flabbergasted expression.

  [1] The blue-robed cultivator gives his name as Fēng instead of Féng. They are partially homophones apart from their change in tone.

  [2] See above. It is engraved with his clan name.

  Chapter 888: Agony Poison

  Silvermoon immediately felt Han Li’s sudden movements and couldn’t help but ask, “Master! What happened?”

  Han Li stroked his chin and muttered, “There are two cultivators that have stopped about five kilometers away: one at Core Formation stage and the other at Foundation Establishment stage. The aura of that Foundation Establishment cultivator seems familiar. How strange, he seems to be Feng Yue.”

  After a moment of silence, Silvermoon asked, “Do you wish for
me to use my artifact spirit body to observe them?”

  “Forget it,” Han Li shook his head, “You haven’t yet recovered from your injuries. Even with my Foundation Establishment cultivation, I can still simply keep watch over their movements with my spiritual sense until they leave.”

  Silvermoon didn’t raise any objections to his words. Then, Han Li closed his eyes and continued to sit in silence.

  A while later, Han Li let out a yelp and shock appeared on his face. This time, Silvermoon tactfully remained silent as Han Li tightly frowned before having sudden changes of expression.

  “Senior Soul Divergence, if I remembered correctly, you said there were many techniques to dissolve my baleful Qi. Is it true that most of these techniques are Buddhist?”

  “That is true,” Monarch Soul Divergence lazily replied, “Confucians and Daoists also have many of their own techniques to dissolve baleful Qi, but none are as effective as Buddhist techniques.”

  As Han Li’s expression wavered, he said, “Then is it true that the most obvious property of Buddhist techniques is that a majority of them release a seven-colored light when they are activated?”

  “That is right. Why? Have you discovered something?” Monarch Soul Divergence asked with a curious tone.

  Han Li lowered his head and muttered, “In that case, this person might be useful. This could be an opportunity.”

  Monarch Soul Divergence grew somewhat annoyed that Han Li wouldn’t answer his question. Just as he thought to ask more about it, Han Li resolved himself and set forth, riding a magic tool out of his cave in an azure streak.

  This action came as a surprise to Silvermoon and Monarch Soul Divergence. But after seeing Han Li act with such haste, they could only save their questions for later.

  Han Li quickly arrived at a small forest rarely seen in the Endless Sky Plains. It spanned about half a kilometer and was made of sparse and short trees. At the center of the forest, there was a patch of empty land that spanned about thirty meters wide where the two previous cultivators resided.

  The blue-robed cultivator was lying facedown on the ground. He was motionless and had a black bloodstain on his back. While it was unknown whether he was still alive, a gorgeous seven-colored light covered his body. There was also other person nearby, a purple-robed old man with eagle-shaped eyes. He was striking at the light barrier with a fire-red flying sword.

  Although the seven-colored light barrier was unordinary, it had already begun to wildly shake and flash with light as it had no master controlling it.

  Han Li didn’t conceal his sudden approach, alerting the purple-robed old man below.

  In the old man’s shock, he swept his spiritual sense past Han Li and relaxed after finding that he was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The old man then surged with killing intent and raised his hand, launching a remarkable fast black streak at Han Li. It was a tri-pointed stake wrapped in black Qi.

  Han Li coldly snorted and stroked the top of his head. Then, a black-green cloud flew out from it and transformed into a meter-long hand, swiping at the approaching black streak.

  The purple-robed old man was shocked when he saw this. Before he realized what was happening, the tri-pointed stake was caught with ease and in an instant, he felt his connection severed. Then, the giant hand began to fly downwards.

  In the old man’s shock, he flusteredly formed incantation gestures, ordering the red flying sword to protect him. But suddenly, the black-green hand disappeared and a second later, it reappeared three meters above him as a fist and fiercely smashed down upon him.

  “Ah!” The purple-robed old man let out a miserable scream before he was pounded into a bloody mush.

  Afterwards, the black-green fist unfolded back into a hand and swiped across the old man’s remains, taking an egg-sized ball of green light.

  The hand then immediately shot back in Han Li’s direction and circled once around him before transforming back into a Nascent Soul. The Nascent Soul sat down on Han Li’s shoulder with a beaming smile and held the tri-pointed stake in one hand and a small ball of green light in the other.

  Han Li’s expression stirred at the sight of this.

  While he was besieged by the Soaring Tribes cultivators, he didn’t use his second Nascent Soul even once, keeping it in reserve for a critical opportunity to escape. However, it now proved far stronger than he had anticipated. A simple transformation technique was capable of easily slaying a Core Formation cultivator without the slightest resistance.

  With that thought, he began to float down and approached the rainbow light barrier.

  At that moment, the red flying sword had fallen to the ground as its master had now perished. It simply shined with faint light as it laid motionless.

  Han Li didn’t pay the sword any attention and walked right towards the seven-light barrier before closely examining it. He was able to clearly see the light barrier had originated from the blue jade pendant floating at the center of the barrier.

  The jade pendant floated a meter above the blue-robed cultivator’s body and it glowed with seven-colored light. A few strange Buddhist characters would occasionally appear in the light. It was the jade pendant Han Li showed to Silvermoon and was inscribed with the words: “Feng of Ning”.

  Han Li stared at the jade pendant for a moment before slowly asking, “How is it, Senior? Is this magic tool refined by a Buddhist Sect?”

  Monarch Soul Divergence coldly snorted and indifferently said, “The materials and magic tool are clearly of Buddhist make. However, it was clearly refined by a high-grade Buddhist cultivator. This magic tool wouldn’t have been able to block the attacks of a Core Formation level magic treasure for such a long period of time if that weren’t the case. It seems there is a relationship between a Buddhist sect and the Feng Clan.”

  Han Li rejoiced after hearing Monarch Soul Divergence’s explanation, knowing his actions hadn’t been in vain. He then stepped forward and pressed his hand against the barrier, covering it in a faint layer of blue flames.

  With his current cultivation, he wasn't able to control a large amount of the Celestial Ice Flames and these meager amount of flames were already pushing his limit. But this proved more than enough as the seven-colored light barrier wasn’t able to withstand its frigid cold for long. Soon after, the light barrier collapsed with a bang.

  Han Li approached the blue-robed cultivator and examined the black bloodstain on his back before frowning.

  He sensed the blue-robed cultivator’s aura had become incredibly unstable and weak. His body already started to emit the scent of death and it was clear his life wouldn’t last much longer.

  Without any hesitation, Han Li struck the blue-robed cultivator’s body with a magic seal and opened his mouth to spit out a cloud of azure Qi that enveloped the blue-robed cultivator. Then with a wave of his sleeve, the youth’s body flipped onto its back.

  Han Li stared at the blue-robed cultivator and immediately felt his blood run cold.

  It was truly Feng Yue, but his complexion was now totally black and his lips had turned a faint purple. It was a horrid sight to behold.

  Han Li grimaced. After a moment of thought, he spread his spiritual sense throughout Feng Yue’s body and blue light flickered from his eyes.

  The poison had already spread throughout his body and he should already be dead by all means. Given how odd this was, Han Li carefully continued his examination.

  A short moment later, Han Li found something and tugged at Feng Yue’s collar. With a zap, a piece of his robes tore off, revealing a chain held onto a silver key.

  The key pulsed with white light and continuously dispersed of the poison at the center of Feng Yue’s chest, which had also turned jet-black.

  Han Li’s gaze wandered and he grabbed onto Feng Yue’s arm. Azure light then glowed from his palm and quickly spread through Feng Yue’s body, slowly dispelling the poison. But suddenly, the azure spiritual Qi that Han Li released was turning black and it began to quickly
spread back to his hand.

  “Agony Poison!” Han Li yelled and his complexion paled. He immediately withdrew his hand and severed his spiritual Qi connection to Feng Yue’s arm.

  “Yi! One of the Ten Absolute Poisons? Youngster Han, you’ve wasted your energy. There is no way of saving this person now.” Monarch Soul Divergence chuckled and spoke with a tone of schadenfreude.

  When Han Li heard this, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes and annoyedly snort. “It might be impossible for me to completely remove the poison, but it won’t be difficult for me to awaken him and keep him alive for ten days. I merely need to use a good number of spirit medicines, but I don’t know if it will be worth the cost.”

  With that said, Han Li stood up and wore a pensive expression.

  Silvermoon then suggested, “Master, how about you awaken him first and have him make a few things clear before you come to a decision?”

  “That’s true. Until I know about his relationship to the Buddhist sects of the Great Jin, I am unwilling to take any further actions.” Soon after, Han Li slapped his storage pouch and produced a small white bottle into his hand.

  Chapter 889: The Vast Essence Pill

  Han Li flipped the small bottle and dropped a fire-red almond-sized medicine pill into his hand.

  A trace of sorrow appeared on Han Li’s face. This was a medicine pill refined from a high-grade demon core and was used to increase the spiritual power of Core Formation stage cultivators. It was a bit of a waste to use it on a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If his magic power wasn’t sealed and Silvermoon wasn’t injured, he’d be able to use a soul searching technique instead of going through all this trouble.

  He held Feng Yue’s chin in one hand and opened his mouth wide with a flip of his wrist. Then with his other hand, he wrapped the pill in azure Qi and flicked it into Feng Yue’s mouth.

  Han Li let go of him and reached his waist to take out a sparkling silver needle. It shined with a cold light as he stabbed various places on Feng Yue’s body in a blur. Suddenly, all the stabbed areas spurted with black blood, releasing a foul stench into the air.