“Fu Cheng?” The Endless Sky Saintess Lin Yinping shook her head, “His appearance doesn’t mean that Han fellow is also there. I’ve also received news that a squadron led by Grand Immortal Xu has been sent into the Great Jin and will soon meet me at the Jin Capital. I will have to stay behind for a while. If we still haven’t found any concrete information, I’ll bring the group to Nanjiang.”
Ge Tianhao paused with surprise and then happily said, “Fellow Daoist Xu has also come? This is great news. The grand elder will be happy to hear this. Then how about I wait with you and meet with them together? After all, the grand elder had instructed me to accompany you at all times.”
The Endless Sky Saintess nodded with a smile. Then, something came to mind and she frowned, “Hm, hasn’t that Han fellow appeared on the coast where three small sects had taken him in as a guest elder? Have your spies acquired any information on the matter?”
“We’ve found nothing, that person is truly cunning. Apart from helping them with a single affair, he hadn’t made an appearance ever since. While I’ve heard this person has a relationship with the Heavenly Talisman Sect, it was merely a passing friendship. I’d reckon he wouldn’t bat an eye if the three sects were destroyed.”
“That’s true. How could he care about the survival of those sects given that he originated from the Heavenly South? In any case, before I arrived in the Great Jin, I’ve already sent spies to find out this person’s true identity. There should be information on him now that so much time had passed. We can ask about it when Grand Immortal Xu arrives, so we’ll be better prepared the next time we deal with him.”
With a moved voice, Ge Tianhao said, “If you can truly acquire information on him and his techniques, he will be far easier to deal with. Do you know specifically when Immortal Xu will arrive?”
Recalling the matter of the sacred beast, she resentfully said, “Around two to three months. With both Immortal Xu and your sect’s grand elder, he won’t be able to run this time.”
Ge Tianhao’s heart stirred when he heard this. Although the woman said that they were pursuing Han Li because he killed many Soaring Tribes cultivators, this person had the abilities that could match a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. The Endless Sky Saintess couldn’t possibly spend so many resources solely for the sake of revenge.
After all, people who were dead do not come back, neither was it wise to continue provoking a fearsome existence as this cultivator sunamed Han. She was certain to have another reason as to why she remained in the Great Jin for so many years. It appeared he would have to find out what their secret was.
As Ge Tianhao schemed, he betrayed none of this on his face.
The Endless Sky Saintess wasn’t nearly as calm as her appearance had suggested as well. She didn’t know how much longer she could conceal the disappearance of the holy beast’s incarnation. During these years, she hadn’t taken the initiative to contact the higher realms even once.
Fortunately, as the holy beast’s incarnation was only restrained, its true body had remained ignorant of what had happened, but she would have to rescue it before this went on any longer. When they move to recover it, she could only hope to exploit the Yin Sifting Sect cultivators as much as she could and prevent heavier losses towards her own.
With that in mind, she resolved herself.
...
In an area bordering Nanjiang and another province, there was a smiling old man that was travelling using body lightening techniques. He was eloquently speaking to his younger Qi Condensation sect members that had journeyed out for the first time and was thoroughly entertaining them.
If Han Li was there and saw the sly look on the old man’s face, he would feel his heart jump. He was Xiang Zhili who he suspected of being a Deity Transformation cultivator.
After Han Li left the Heavenly Talisman Sect, the old man had made an inexplicable disappearance before the upper echelon of the sect could investigate it. This had actually startled the Heavenly Talisman Sect and caused them to suspect it was Han Li’s doing. Afterwards, the sect erased Xiang Zhili’s existence from the records and any mention of him was forbidden. It was rather mysterious that he would appear now after so many years had passed.
The Heavenly Talisman Sect weren’t the only ones on edge though. There were countless significant powers in the Great Jin that felt there were storms brewing underneath the peaceful appearance of the cultivation world. A few particularly powerful sects even looked into the Great Jin’s Imperial Ye Clan, but they weren’t able to find anything concrete. They only found that their upper echelon had started to frequently gather, yet they didn’t know what they were planning.
...
Several months later, a cheerful whistle was let loose from the Silver Serpent Mountains, echoing far beyond the sky. A blinding azure streak flew out from underground and blazed through the air before disappearing off into the horizon.
The cultivators who saw the astonishing scene from a distance were shocked silent.
A week later, the azure streak flew west, passing through the largest forest in the region and thousand-kilometer mountain ranges. Soon, it arrived above a huge basin and dropped down to the side of a mist of toxic yellow miasma that had reached several kilometers in the air.
Just as Han Li landed, an old man stood up from the group of nearby sitting cultivators and smiled, “Fellow Daoist Han, you’re a bit late. Fellow Daoists Bai and Yuan have already arrived several days ago.”
Han Li saluted them and said, “I was refining a magic tool and had just completed it a few days ago. I hope you won’t take offense.”
Bai Yaoyi examined Han Li and softly said, “It is no matter. The Yin winds will be weakened over a period of three months. A few days won’t matter much. Since Fellow Daoist Han has hurried over here after refining his magic tool, how about he take a couple days to rest and recover his magic power?”
Old Man Fu grunted and said, “Fellow Daoist Bai is correct. Since we’re to enter the Yin Yang Cave, we need to preserve enough magic power before entering.”
The towering man surnamed Yuan and Old Man Fu’s Junior Martial Sister Chang hadn’t spoken, but they both appeared to silently agree.
“Very well, it seems that it would be rude of me to refuse. We’ll enter the valley after a few days of rest.” Han Li nodded and glanced at the yellow miasma a few hundred meters away from them. It faintly concealed the black entrance to the valley.
With a flip of his hand, he summoned a twinkling green mid-grade wood spirit stone. Then, he sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes.
Although the others were full of magic power, they rested as well, honing their spirits to an optimal state.
After two days quickly passed, Han Li stirred and Old Man Fu promptly shouted, “We set off!” The group then stood up and surrounded themselves in barriers of light.
“With my poison warding scepter, the Myriad Poison Valley will be easily traversed. However, be careful of the small venomous insects in the mists. Do not allow them to cut through your protective light. If it weren’t for the unknown restrictions that were placed on the valley during ancient times, it would’ve been safer to fly in.” With that said, Cultivator Yuan summoned a jade scepter glowing in silver light before heading into the poisonous miasma.
The others followed suit.
Cultivator Yuan pointed his scepter at the edge of the mist and uttered an incantation. Then a silver wave shot out towards the mist, pushing it away and greatly thinning it out.
The large man then used a body lightening technique before rushing in, with the others employing their own techniques to charge into the valley.
Chapter 979: Kunwu Mountain
Half a day later in the depths of Myriad Poison Valley, silver light flashes lit the air, followed by the explosions of huge fireballs. With each rupture, dozens of roasted venomous insects fell from the air. Following a massive rise in temperature, a small sea of flames instantly rose from the ground and turned the insec
ts to ash.
Bai Yaoyi clicked her tongue and said, “Fellow Daoist Han’s control over magic techniques have reached perfection. If you said you were fire-attributed, none would dare to question it.”
“It is only a result of practice,” Han Li indifferently replied, “When I possessed lesser cultivation, I had a preference for using fireballs.”
Then, silver light illuminated the area, and the group of Nascent Soul cultivators became visible as they walked through the sea of fading flames.
Han Li swept his gaze into the distance and came to a sudden stop with a frown. While the sea of flames was thinning the poisonous mist, it faintly revealed something in the distance. Before he could release his spiritual sense, Cultivator Yuan pointed his scepter and had it blaze with silver light, fully illuminating the area in front of them.
When Han Li clearly saw into the mist, he felt his breath turn cold. A hundred meters in front of them, there was a giant ravine at least three hundred meters wide with no end to it in sight. There would also be black Yin winds that occasionally blew out and scattered the nearby poisonous mist. Apart from Han Li and Bai Yaoyi, everyone else had been there before. The group of cultivators didn’t appear particularly surprised that the Yin winds still appeared incredibly violent.
“This is the entrance to the Yin Yang Cave. Everyone, let's take look.” Following the old man’s words, they walked towards the side of the ravine and leaned over.
The ravine was unfathomably deep and contained a fluctuating vortex of pitch-black Yin winds. Ghostly howls and wails could be heard from within.
Han Li’s gaze then turned to the walls and saw that they were a sparkling crystals, appearing to be a dense layer of ice.
After Old Man Fu looked at the huge ravine, let out a long breath and said, “These are only ordinary Yin winds, but once we reach a kilometer deep, the soul-shaking Yin winds will begin to appear. Unprepared, even we won’t be able to last long against them, but that is why I brought the Dark Violet Pearl. They will greatly reduce their level of threat against us.
However, the number of soul-shaking Yin winds will greatly differ depending on your location in the cave. Given our experience, you all should already know to be careful..”
After he waved his hand, he took out a purple ball the size of a fist. Han Li carefully looked at it as soon as it appeared, but when he touched it with his spiritual sense, his vision suddenly blurred and he felt it dazed as if his soul was about to fly out from his body.
He was greatly frightened, but his body began to circulate the Great Development Art of its own accord. A cool sensation then filled his mind, bringing his senses back to normal.
Han Li’s expression remained calm, but his heart was deeply alarmed. As expected of a Devil Dao sect’s signature treasure, it was truly bizarre. As that thought passed his mind, he turned to look at Cultivators Yuan and Bai Yaoyi.
They were continuously shifting their eyes and their faces had turned unsightly. It was unknown what they had used to escape the pearl’s bewitching effects.
Ignoring the aftermath of the three’s prying, Old Man Fu raised the pearl in his hand and began to mutter an incantation. Suddenly, a blinding light flashed and a ring of indistinct light emerged, covering an area of a hundred meters around it. Under the effects of the purple light, Han Li and the other four suddenly felt the vicious power of the Yin winds decreased by over half.
Cultivator Yuan put away his jade scepter and said, “The Dark Violet Pearl is certainly worthy of its reputation!”
With the pearl being held in one hand, he summoned a purple-red mist of light in the other. “There is no point in praising it now. It won’t be until further deeper that you will better know its abilities. Let’s go.” Then, green light flashed from his body and he dropped into the ravine.
The rest of the group followed after him and released their own protective treasures while still keeping inside the purple ring of light: Cultivator Yuan released a dark jade tablet; Bai Yaoyi summoned a crystalline saber; The black-robed woman took out a pitch-black shield; and Han Li spat out several golden swords.
Then, the party glowed luminescent and descended into the ravine. They were soon engulfed by the pitch-black vortex and their surroundings returned to normal.
…
There were eight cultivators above a small lake in Nanjiang, all wearing a different style of clothing and listening to a black-clothed figure in front of them.
These fellows were the Ye Clan leaders that had gathered at the imperial palace several months prior. The eccentric with the large head was standing with a swaying figure among them. At his side stood the square-faced middle-aged cultivator, and behind him was the Elder Devil in the guise of Han Li’s face. He was currently listening to the black-clothed cultivator with a calm expression.
As the black-clothed cultivator possessed far lesser cultivation, he treated his Nascent Soul-stage elders with the utmost respect.
“Four hundred years ago, our Ye Clan found a destroyed stone tablet from antiquity. From that, we found the approximate whereabouts of Kunwu Mountain. This is where our plans had begun to take shape. The mountain was known as the holy land of cultivators during ancient times, but for some unknown reason, they used their grand abilities to sink it into the ground. Let alone the many ancient cultivator dwellings on the mountain, the ancients had sealed two Divine Spirit Treasures alongside it. If our Ye Clan is able to acquire these treasures, our strength will multiply and we will be able to stand against the great sects of the Righteous and Devilish Dao. Over the last hundred years, we’ve dispatched many of our clan disciples over the majority of the Great Jin before finally discovering the area recorded in the ruined fragment beneath this lake. We have already called forth our clan’s formation grandmasters to dissolve the restrictions. Because this matter was of such grave importance, it was under direct supervision of the grand elder. and only a few others were informed.”
The black-clothed cultivator paused, “This ancient restriction was far more profound than we had imagined, with each layer spread across an area of fifty kilometers. A dozen formation grandmasters had spent over a hundred years before finally researching a method to dissolve the seal. By using the power of heaven and earth, we will attempt to turn the sealing restrictions against themselves and clear everything. However, the process of destroying the restrictions has been a huge undertaking. It has already consumed an enormous amount of materials, and required a great number of spell formations to be placed down, but most importantly, the process also required incredibly rare materials. These materials were slowly acquired with care and our actions have been incredibly stealthy. After all, if we allowed this matter to become known, the opportunity would’ve been seized from us. Over time, the restriction breaking spell formations had been gradually established, and now the project is on the verge of completion. The clan’s spell formation grandmasters will only need another month before the final formation is placed. When the time comes, we will create a grand-scale concealment formation and fully suppress the thunderous aftermath of breaking the restrictions. Then, the elders will be able to enter Kunwu Mountain and seize the treasures.”
After he finished, the black-clothed cultivator stood off to the side and remained silent.
“Kunwu Mountain… that was our objective?”
“Inconceivable! I originally believed it was an ancient cultivator residence!”
“Tch tch, so only something as mystical as Kunwu Mountain would have Divine Spirit Treasures.”
For a time, the cultivators couldn’t help but mutter among themselves with unconcealed excitement, the exception being the eccentric with a large head, the square-faced middle-aged cultivator, and the Elder Devil.
With a sullen expression, the square-faced cultivator’s expression sank and he snorted, “Don’t be so excited just yet. Breaking the formation is only the first step in acquiring the treasure. If it were so simple, why would our Third Brother have us gather here and have
our Seventh Uncle lend his assistance? Furthermore, our Third Brother will be delayed for about a month before joining together with us. He has to dodge those spies after all.”
The Ye Clan Elder in Daoist robes couldn’t help but ask, “From Second Brother’s words, do you mean to say that there is something amiss with Kunwu Mountain?”
The square-faced cultivator replied, “More than just ‘amiss,’ it is possible that we will not return.”
“How can that be!” An elder dressed in Confucian robes yelled, “Seventh Uncle and Third Brother are both grand cultivators. Even the more formidable restrictions shouldn’t be able to harm them.”
“If only it were so simple,” the square-faced cultivator grimly said, “Think about it. Kunwu Mountain was the holy land for ancient cultivators. Why would they seal it along with two Divine Spirit Treasures? Who knows what astonishing secrets and dangers lurk within...”
When the others heard this, they couldn’t help but look at each other in dismay.
The eccentric chuckled and said, “Enough of that for now. Those are only the worst possibilities. Perhaps there were some other reasons they were forced to. You don’t need to be worried, but you will have to be careful when the time comes. And if anything happens, I won’t leave it be.”
With that said, the anxiousness on the cultivators’ faces had disappeared.
Then, the square-faced cultivator turned to look at the disguised Elder Devil behind him and said, “Elder Han, you are proficient in many ancient records. We will very much require your assistance when we enter. Be at ease, we have already found two devilish artifacts. After this matter is done, we will hand them over to you.”
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 530