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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Half a day later, Han Li collected his fourth bottle, but the thunderstorm showed no signs of stopping. Rather, the rain only grew heavier.

  He pondered to himself before putting away his fourth bottle. He believed he nearly collected enough lightning to create the heavenly flame he needed for the Triflame Fan’s materials.

  But his expression stirred solemn and he suddenly turned to a corner of the sky. He faintly saw a flash, followed by the appearance of a white streak.

  He knew that with the shining spell formation beneath him and the bolts of lightning wildly dancing above him, his position was extremely noticeable.

  The white streak hurriedly shot in Han Li’s direction. It stopped a hundred meters away and the light disappeared to reveal a woman in palace robes.

  She had a slender stature and a dainty appearance with a pair of vivid eyes, seeming to be a beauty in the prime of her youth. Her robes were made of some sort of rare material that not only shined with silver light but also glowed dazzlingly.

  Han Li swept his spiritual sense past her and discovered that this woman was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator much like himself.

  She looked at him and sweetly smiled. She said with a soft, pleasant voice, “I am North Night Island’s Bai Yaoyi. Are you also here on business with Fellow Daoist Fu?”

  Han Li’s heart trembled and he astoundingly asked, “Are you a cultivator from the North Night Palace?”

  Bai Yaoyi chuckled, “I am the North Night Palace’s External Affairs Elder. Since we are located in a remote area, I am surprised that you know of it. May I ask for your esteemed name?”

  Han Li calmed down and answered, “My surname is Han, a vagrant cultivator from overseas. I have indeed come to meet with Fellow Daoist Fu, though I have long heard of your palace’s resounding reputation.”

  Bai Yaoyi stole an interested glance at Han Li and asked, “Oh, does Fellow Daoist Han know or have a relationship with any of the three great overseas Immortals?”

  “I’ve never met them as I’m not someone who often deal with others. I normally cultivate in seclusion on my island.”

  “So it was like that, I’ve been presumptuous. Does Fellow Daoist Han need any assistance in collecting lightning?”

  “Many thanks for the offer, but I am about done. This will be the last bottle.”

  When Bai Yaoyi heard him, she flew a circle in the air and landed on another rock. “Ah, then I will go ahead and rest as we wait.”

  She raised her hand and summoned an umbrella magic tool up into the sky. It swirled in the air before releasing a cloud of white light down below, blocking any rain from approaching her. Then, she calmly sat down and summoned a palm-sized object into her hand in a flash of cold light.

  Han Li narrowed his eyes and immediately glanced at the item. It was as white as fresh snow and shined with sparkling glamour.

  ‘Ice Jade!’ He immediately recognized: the same myriad year ice jade from the bottle the Glacial Quintessence he acquired!

  Using the plate of ice jade in her hands, she closed her eyes and sank deep into meditation.

  It appeared that the woman’s cultivation art wasn’t purely an ice attribute, but rather that of glacial Yin, else she wouldn’t have needed to draw on the support of the jade’s glacial power. This would produce a somewhat similar result to Han Li’s Snow Soul Pills, but it couldn’t possibly compare to the effectiveness, no matter the quality of the jade.

  Though Han Li’s expression remained calm, he unconsciously grew wary of the woman.

  Given how the North Night Palace would rather fight to the death against high-grade demon beasts every several generations than hand over some of their Glacial Quintessence, it was clear to see how much they valued it. If he allowed this woman to know he had her sect’s signature treasure on hand, it would certainly be troublesome.

  Not long after, he put away his fifth bottle full of lightning and slowly floated to the center of the spirit gathering spell formation. Then after striking it with several spell seals, it formed an azure barrier around him, blocking the storm from disturbing him.

  Then, he took a seat with his eyes closed. Of course, he couldn’t refine any of the Triflame Fan’s materials in this woman’s presence.

  Soon, only the sounds of thunder and wind could be heard.

  After an entire day, the rain finally began to slowly go away and the scorching sun appeared in the sky. The weather immediately became hot and humid as miasma slowly restored it domain, enveloping the entire range once more. In addition, the many insects that had taken refuge had again emerged from the ground.

  With great calm, Han Li slowly released his spiritual sense to a ten kilometer range. Able to sense everything from the trees to the smallest insect all clearly in his mind, he sank into tranquil meditation.

  Whenever low-grade cultivators made their way up the mountain, they would immediately flee with terror after discovering the astonishing cultivation of the two Nascent Soul cultivators.

  As for Han Li and the palace-robed woman, they remained seated for three entire days.

  On the morning of the fourth day, another high-grade cultivator eventually arrived on the main mountain. This time, it was a man with a towering stature. He had a grotesque appearance and dark, shiny skin. From the result of some unknown technique, he left behind an evil wind in his tracks as he flew here on a large tortoise shell.

  When this large man saw them both, he heartily laughed and found another boulder to sit on. However, he had no intention of meditating. Instead, he took out a sparkling golden book and began to read it.

  His scholarly actions made for a drastic contrast with his appearance. Although they had turned a blind eye to his actions, Han Li was in truth inwardly frowning.

  This towering man was also at mid-Nascent Soul stage. It appeared that Old Man Fu’s objective would be unordinary to gather so many cultivators at their level.

  Chapter 975: The Nascent Cultivating Pill

  Following the new arrival, the three cultivators each tended to their own matters, not bothering to strike up any conversation.

  It wasn’t until half a month later when the miasma had mostly retreated that two more striking lights flew towards the mountain with practiced coordination.

  The two streaks circled above and dropped down in the middle of the three to reveal the Nine Serenities Sect Elder Wei and a beautiful black-clothed woman with thick eyebrows and a solemn face.

  While she remained silent and emotionless, Elder Wei looked at the three with a happy bearing and said, “You three have honored me with your timely arrival. I was originally making preparations in case any of you were missing, but it seems it wasn’t necessary.”

  The large man coldly smiled and bluntly said, “Although I have come, I am currently in a crucial point in overcoming my bottleneck. If Brother Fu’s affairs disinterest me, I will immediately leave.”

  “Don’t worry, Brother Yuan! You should know that I speak truly since I've requested Fellow Daoists Han and Bai to come as well. Ah, but before that, an introduction is due. This is my Junior Martial Sister Chang Zhifang, the Nine Serenities Sect’s internal affairs elder. Since you’ve stemmed from the Nanjiang’s Sacred Poison Sect, we’ll especially need the assistance of a native like yourself, Brother Yuan. As for Fellow Daoist Han, he possesses astonishing abilities and is a vagrant cultivator from overseas. Fellow Daoist Bai is...” Old Man Fu then proceeded to give a quick introduction of one another.

  When the others heard Old Man Fu mention that Han Li possessed astonishing abilities, Cultivator Yuan and Bai Yaoyi both looked at him with a trace of surprise.

  Han Li frowned when he heard this and said, “Fellow Daoist Fu is overpraising me. My cultivation is rather average. Where have you heard of my said ‘astonishing’ abilities?”

  With a deep tone, Old Man Fu deeply said, “There is no need to hide it. Not only have you killed the Old Man Xiao in the Jin Capital, but after the trade meet, did you not also kill the illustr
ious Monk Wickedfire? Given your vast cultivation, what is there to say?”

  “Monk Wickedfire was killed by Fellow Daoist Han?” Cultivator Yuan suddenly looked at Han Li with a vastly changed expression. Bai Yaoyi also revealed shock. Only the black-clothed woman appeared indifferent as if she already knew beforehand.

  Han Li bitterly chuckled and said with a helpless tone, “Brother Fu must be mistaken. While I did kill an unknown early-Nascent Soul cultivator in the Jin Capital, the one who killed this Monk Wickedfire was another cultivator. Do you believe that a vagrant like myself could possess such heaven-defying abilities?”

  “Another cultivator? I heard that there were two similar faced cultivators that fought against Monk Wickedfire. Could it be that it truly wasn’t you?” Old Man Fu’s expression relaxed but he spoke with a tone of doubt.

  Han Li rubbed his chin and said, “Brother Fu truly overestimates me. If I have the power to kill a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator in an instant, why would I need to avoid the Yin Sifting Sect? I could boldly leave and none would dare to block me.”

  “Regardless, that Old Man Xiao was exceptionally cunning and was skilled in several evasion techniques. Being able to kill him already displays exceptional abilities. In any case, do you recognize the cultivator that killed Monk Wickedfire? Tch tch, the sudden appearance of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator can surely only mean that they come from overseas.” Old Man Fu asked with a greatly interested tone.

  Han Li shook his head and calmly said, “The cultivator who killed Monk Wickedfire only had the same face as me. We don’t have the slightest relationship. "

  “What a pity. If we were able to find him, our odds of success would be even greater.” With that said, Old Man Fu dryly laughed and dropped the topic.

  Cultivator Yuan then asked, “I also heard that a two-headed and four-armed devil appeared near the underground trade meet on the last day. It devoured several early-Nascent Soul cultivators. Was it not for the great cultivator overseeing the trade meeting, the entire group would’ve been eliminated. Does Brother Han know of this matter?”

  Han Li answered, "I don't, I was already far away when it happened."

  Cultivator Yuan wore a doubtful expression when he heard this.

  At that moment, Bai Yaoyi asked, “Fellow Daoist Fu, how about you tell us about this appointment? I wouldn’t have come to such a faraway place if it weren’t for that small favor I owed you.”

  “Of course. However, since this matter is of great importance, it’d be best that we take necessary precautions.” Then, Old Man Fu flicked his fingers all around him and released a dozen streaks of green fire.

  They ruptured into bursts of dark flame and faded away into mists of green light.

  Han Li swept his spiritual sense past them and found the faint fluctuations of the restriction. Although he didn’t know what kind he employed, the ease at which he set it up had caused his heart to tremble. He couldn’t help but think higher of the old man.

  Both Bai Yaoyi and Cultivator Yuan swept their spiritual sense past the restriction as well and they couldn’t help but feel a trace of excitement at how seriously the old man was acting.

  Old Man Fu let out a deep breath and solemnly said, “In truth, I’ve been preparing for this for over the last thirty years, and now a true opportunity has appeared. Have you Fellow Daoists ever heard of an ancient medicine known as the Nascent Cultivating Pill?”

  “The Nascent Cultivating Pill?” Bai Yaoyi and Cultivator Yuan both appeared at a loss, but when Han Li heard this name, his expression stirred.

  When Cultivator Yuan saw this, he asked, “Does Fellow Daoist Han know of the medicine pill?”

  After a moment of thought, Han Li elaborated, “Yes, a little bit. The Nascent Cultivating Pill was an ancient sect’s signature spiritual medicine, and can be considered of divine quality. It was said that when the pill was taken, it would provide immense benefits to the Nascent Soul, allowing them to easily breakthrough bottlenecks. However, the sect wasn’t able to endure the passage of time and the medicine pill formula was lost. Now, there are only a sparse few that know of the its existence.” Were if not for the fact that Han Li was well researched in pill refinement and had read through many relevant ancient records, he would have no knowledge on this.

  Both Cultivator Yuan and Bai Yaoyi showed delight. With much eager, Cultivator Yuan asked, “Brother Wei, you mean to say you know the whereabouts of this pill?”

  It stands to mention that after a cultivator entered Nascent Soul stage, the number of medicines and methods to break through bottlenecks, even from those of ancient times, were reduced to nearly nothing. And if someone came into possession of one, they wouldn’t dare to mention it even to their kin.

  After so many years, such items from antiquity had mostly disappeared. Apart from the few heaven-defying items of legend, most Nascent Soul cultivators had to rely on cultivation advancement medicines to break through their bottlenecks. As a result, those present couldn’t help but stir in excitement when they heard of the pill’s effects.

  Old Man Fu chuckled with a proud expression. “It surprises me that Han Li actually knows of the pill. That’s right though, I acquired the refinement formula for this pill over a hundred years ago.”

  “Fellow Daoist actually has such a treasure?” Cultivator Yuan knitted his hands together and his overwhelming excitement was betrayed from the slight red light blossoming over his dark face.

  Both Han Li and Bao Yaoyi exchanged a similar glance of happiness.

  Old Man Fu nodded. “I am also proficient in pill refinement techniques. So long as I have all the materials, the refinement shouldn’t prove to be a problem.”

  Han Li furrowed his brow and asked, “From your tone, it seems you are lacking said materials.”

  “Brother Han is quite sharp. Were it not for the fact that I was missing one of its main ingredients, I would’ve refined it years ago. It is for this reason that I wish for you to lend me your strength.”

  Bai Yaoyi frowned and said, “Since you weren’t able to acquire it after so many years despite your position as a Nine Serenities Sect Elder, this item should be truly difficult to find.”

  “Hard to find?” Old Man Fu bitterly chuckled, “This material should be extinct from this world. At the time, I believed the pill formula to be useless, but I didn’t think I’d find traces of it. As such, this caused me to write up plans.”

  Cultivator Yuan impatiently said, “Alright, Brother Fu, please don’t speak in circles. Quickly now, properly tell us what you require.”

  Old Man Fu calmly stated, “The flesh of an Umbra Yin Horse.”

  In his alarm, Han Li narrowed his eyes and asked, “An Umbra Yin Horse? Where did Fellow Daoist find such a thing?”

  When Bai Yaoyi and Cultivator Yuan heard this, they exchanged looks of dismay.

  The old man chuckled and deeply said, “I happened to found traces of it thirty years ago right here in Nanjiang.”

  Chapter 976: The Underworld River Page

  After Old Man Fu declared that he had found the whereabouts of the Umbra Yin Horse, a moment of silence passed. Cultivator Yuan then asked, “Since Fellow Daoist has already found the nest of the Umbra Yin Horse and still needs our assistance, could it be that you’ve encountered a problem?”

  Old Man Fu replied, “Although the horse is extremely skilled in concealment techniques and leaves no tracks as it travels, it isn’t too difficult for me to capture given enough time. But the problem is that its nest lies in the Myriad Poisons Valley’s Yin Yang Cave. I cannot chase after it there, and with its exceptional intelligence, the horse will only journey to the caves entrance at most and won’t take even a step out.”

  “The Yin Yang Cave?” Bai Yaoyi’s complexion paled and Cultivator Yuan gasped as well.

  Having never heard of this place, Han Li bafflingly asked, “What is this Yin Yang Cave? Is it so fearsome?”

  “Fellow Daoist Han doesn’t know of the Yin Yang Cave?” Bai Yaoyi y
elped in surprise and then she said with calmer voice, “Ah, I’ve nearly forgotten that you were from overseas. The Yin Yang Cave is widely known as one of the seven most dangerous places in the Great Jin. Common cultivators do not return once they enter.”

  “What is so dangerous about it?” Han Li curiously asked.

  Old Man Fu explained, “As suggested from its name, it is a place where Yin and Yang clash. Let alone everything else, the soul-chilling Yin winds that blow yearlong are enough to scatter a Nascent Soul. The cave is also host to several kinds of vicious ghosts. Even if a living person is able to endure the Yin winds after entering the cave, the ghosts will devour them.”

  Cultivator Yuan snorted and said, “Not just that but several kilometers deep, there are countless chains of intertwining passages and caves. There were even cultivators that have somehow managed to make it to the bottom, but were unable to clearly explore the depths. The Yin winds would obstruct them from releasing their spiritual sense, and they could see no more than an ordinary mortal. There were even those that said the depths of the cave conceal a fearsome ghost monarch. However, this had forever remained unconfirmed as most are unwilling to brave the risks.”

  Bai Yaoyi relaxed her brow and added, “There is also little of value that was discovered in the cave. In ancient times, it was the location of extremely rare ores, but only inferior veins remain. Now that Brother Fu has discovered an Umbra Yin Horse, it would appear that the Yin Yang Cave isn’t such a simple place.”

  Having passed through Heavenvoid Hall, Devilfall Valley and other such dangerous places, Han Li naturally experienced many of these dangers and he icily said, “Since Brother Fu wasn’t able to capture it after so many years, there must be some complications behind it.”

  Old Man Fu confidently explained, “Correct, that is why I’ve been preparing for the past tens of years. I specifically refined several treasures to resist these ghosts. And to block to soul-scouring Yin winds, I’ve brought my sect’s Dark Violet Pearls. With this, you’ll be able to weaken the Yin winds to half of their power.”