The others felt their hearts tremble at his words and replied in sync, “As you command, Grand Elder!”
...
Soon, the square-faced cultivator, the Grand Elder, and the old formation grandmaster were gathered above the lake.
“Third Brother, there are two spell formation masters missing: the nephews of Old Fifth and Twelfth. Could it be they betrayed us?” The square-faced cultivator sullenly spoke.
The scholar snorted, “It is more likely they were killed and had their souls scoured. When did they go missing?”
With a face lined in cold sweat, the white-haired old man answered, “About two days ago, Grand Elder. They were in charge of the spell formations farthest away, so their disappearance hadn’t raised any suspicions. We only discovered they were missing after the disciples had gathered.”
The scholar coldly replied, “It seems the problem stemmed from those two. But what happened to them is no longer important. When we enter Kunwu Mountain, we will have all our disciples and spell formation masters depart. Have we verified the location of the seal’s opening?”
“Yes, it is ten kilometers north and three kilometers deep. The opening itself should be a hundred meters wide.”
“Lead the way, we set off now,” The scholar spoke without hesitation.
“Yes, Grand Elder!” The white-haired old man bowed.
The party of nine was led north and soon arrived above a verdant jungle.
The white-haired old man swept his gaze down below before summoning a silver plate with a flip of his hand.
After muttering an incantation, the old man struck it with a spell seal, causing its surface to glow with argent light and talisman characters.
“It’s here!” The old man looked at the spell plate for a moment before confirming its location.
“Good!” The scholar then turned to the old Daoist Nun and said, “Ninth Sister, release your spirit beast. We’re descending.”
The nun uttered a brief acknowledgment and a slapped a spirit beast pouch by her waist. A yellow light shot out from it and expanded to reveal a thirty-meter-long, thousand-legged centipede. Green Qi leaked from its mouth in a rather sinister fashion.
Apart from the white-clothed old man, all the Ye Clan cultivators flew onto the centipede’s back.
The nun shouted out a command and a layer of yellow light surrounded the centipede’s body, covering all of the cultivators that sat on it. Then, it dug straight down, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The old man floated above around for a moment. After seeing no sign that the Ye Clan cultivators would return, he let out a long sigh and flew back.
...
Meanwhile in the sky a hundred kilometers away, there were several blue-robed cultivators wearing red headbands. They were looking at the pillars of light in the distance and exchanged looks of dismay.
A twenty-year-old youth amongst them asked, “What could possible cause such an astonishing scene!”
The tan middle-aged cultivator in charge spoke with a grim expression, “It certainly isn’t ordinary. Junior Martial Brother Yu, quickly report back to the sect. I will bring the rest of the disciples to take a look.”
When he heard this, he flew off on his magic tool.
The others then travelled towards the light.
...
In place further away, there were over a hundred variously-dressed cultivators gathered together on a tall mountain. They all possessed lesser cultivation, with a majority of them at Qi Condensation stage.
Although their cultivation was low, they clearly saw the pillars of light in the distance. They all stood up and gazed in the direction of the light.
...
Underneath a desolate mountain, there stood a plump old man at a half-open stone gate. He was looking at the pillars of light in the distance with a pensive expression.
...
The exposed pillars continued to attract flocks of cultivators from all backgrounds as time passed.
Not long after, information of a grand treasure appearing in the world spread across Nanjiang at a shocking speed.
Several days later, this news spread to the nearby regions, stirring the entirety of Nanjiang with activity.
As this all happened, Han Li found himself standing at the center of a huge teleportation formation within a giant stalactite cave.
He was gloomily looking beneath him, catching sight of the shattered rings that glowed with sparkling red light.
They were the magic tools that were restraining the Silver-winged Nightfiend.
With those rings shattered, he had no idea where the nightfiend could’ve gone.
With that thought, he took a gander at his waist.
There was a jade talisman that glowed luminescent.
It had familiar markings. They belonged to a rarely seen teleportation talisman, one he last saw them in the Scattered Star Seas.
He frowned and flipped his hand to produce a glowing blue medallion: the Greater Teleportation Medallion he acquired long ago.
Fearing that he could be completely torn apart from the spatial pressure, he had summoned the medallion into his hand before the teleportation had finished.
Of course, he couldn't have expected that just as the formation’s light was about to absorb him, a similar talisman would suddenly appear at his waist.
It was unknown if there was something odd about the formation itself, or if the creators had made peculiar arrangements.
Regardless, this formation was quite different from current designs and was worth researching.
As Han Li thought this, he reached for the talisman at his waist, but before he could even touch it, it shattered into specks of light.
Han Li bitterly smiled after a brief moment of surprise.
It was quite painstaking to refine a teleportation talisman, and it would only have enough spiritual power for a single use. It appears this applied to other teleportation talismans as well.
As for the others, he looked nearby to find the Weeping Soul Beast and the two suspended grey cocoons, also attached with now-shattered jade talismans.
As for the Corpse Wolf, it was dead, and the ten-meter-tall Weeping Soul Beast was jumping on top of it and pounding its chest with excitement.
Because of Han Li’s immense spiritual sense, he was able to quickly recover from the dizziness of the teleportation and used the opportunity to lethally injure it with a bolt of Divine Devilbane Lightning.
Then, the Weeping Soul Beast followed up with a snort of yellow mist, absorbing all of the Corpse Qi from the wolf’s body and easily finished it off.
The Silver-winged Nightfiend, however, didn’t seem to care, neither did he had any intention of continuing the fight.
He had finally gained his freedom, and decided to immediately use this opportunity to depart with the wind.
Chapter 994: Heaven Reaching Mountain
Han Li had no intention of chasing after the Silver-winged Nightfiend in this new place. Without the barrier trapping the nightfiend, he wouldn’t be able to easily slay it with the Triflame Fan. Also...
He turned to look at the Weeping Soul Beast, who was now waving a white object in its hand, and smiled.
Upon closer inspection, it was a small delicate horse with two green eyes and was half a foot tall.
It was the Umbra Yin Horse, the objective of their dangerous journey.
Just as the teleportation began, it concealed itself once more on the Corpse Wolf’s body. As a result, it was captured when the Weeping Soul Beast had used its yellow mist to extract the Corpse Wolf’s Qi.
If Han Li hadn’t noticed and commanded the Weeping Soul Beast to stop, the Umbra Yin Horse might’ve been devoured.
As for the two flying swords that the nightfiend had captured, it paid them no mind after the teleportation, and Han Li was able to easily take them back. Unfortunately for the black-robed woman’s Nascent Soul, the nightfiend had swallowed it before escaping.
The sole thing tha
t left him gloomy was that his crystal flying needle had been captured by the Silver-winged Nightfiend.
Fortunately, the nightfiend shouldn’t be able to erase his spiritual marks in a short time. There could be an opportunity to seize it back.
Having settled these thoughts, Han Li looked around him. It closely resembled the underground cavern they were in, but no Yin winds were present and the air was filled with an abundant spiritual Qi. It appeared this cave was located above a top quality spirit vein.
He then looked at the spell formation he was stepping on.
From his knowledge and experience, he was able to tell that it was clearly a receiving spell formation. In other words, there was no way to return using the formation.
Han Li frowned in thought for a moment before turning his attention to the huge cocoons.
They contained strong pulses of spiritual Qi, clearly indicating that Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi were still alive.
Han Li hesitated for a moment before waving at the Weeping Soul Beast and summoning the Umbra Yin Horse into his hand. Then, he placed it in a spirit beast pouch after sticking several restrictive talismans on it.
With that done, Han Li raised his hand and released two dense bolts of golden lightning at the grey cocoons.
An explosion sounded out as the lightning wrapped around the cocoons in a huge net.
This battle between the lightning and the threads lasted for a time.
Without the control of the Silver-winged Nightfiend, the Ghostfiend Threads began to disperse layer after layer within the lightning.
Eventually, the cocoons burst to reveal Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi.
The two had pale complexions and unsightly expressions.
After spending so much time trapped by the Ghostfiend Threads, they were certain to have gone through excruciating pain, considering their magic power had been forcefully absorbed by the threads.
Old Man Fu relaxed and saluted him. “Many thanks for your rescue, Brother Han!”
Bai Yaoyi gave a bow and wryly smiled, “If it weren’t for Brother Han’s great abilities, I fear we would’ve all perished. Who could’ve known the Yin Yang Cave was home to a Silver-winged Nightfiend. We weren’t able to defend ourselves when that monster ambushed us. In the struggle, Fellow Daoist Yuan lost his Nascent Soul and perished.”
Han Li faintly smiled when he heard their thanks.
Although the two appeared grateful, Han Li noticed a trace of fear deep within their eyes.
After all, the two were able to clearly sense the battle as they were trapped.
Han Li not only had the power to contend against the Silver-winged Nightfiend, but was even able to force him to flee. The two absolutely wouldn’t stand a chance against him, and given the fact that they were teleported to some mysterious place were no one else was around, they couldn’t help but feel greatly uneasy.
If Han Li possessed malicious intentions, things wouldn’t end well for them.
Without any regard to this, Han Li tossed a spirit beast pouch to Old Man Fu, “The Umbra Yin Horse is in there. If you manage to produce extra pills, give me two of them. Is this acceptable?”
Old Man Fu’s heart relaxed and he said, “Of course. If I produce enough, they are yours.”
Bai Yaoyi smiled, “I also have no objections. I am quite ashamed to have entirely relied on your power. It is only natural for you to receive a higher share.”
Han Li then looked in the direction of the cave’s exit and narrowed his eyes, “Good! Fellow Daoists, you should rest here. I’ll scout ahead and see how it looks outside.”
“Brother Han, please go ahead. We could use the rest.” Old Man Fu raised no objections.
Bai Yaoyi nodded and sat down cross-legged.
Han Li smiled, and azure light glowed from his body before he streaked forward. At the same time, he fully released his spiritual sense in case the Silver-winged Nightfiend was hiding anywhere nearby or if the two cultivators planned on sneaking away. His tracking markers on the two still had a few days before they expired.
As Han Li was no saint, the thought of killing them for their treasures briefly appeared in his mind.
However, he knew too little about the Nascent Nurturing Pill. Even if he were able to acquire the formula for it, his odds of creating it weren’t very high. The two had also given him a favorable impression, so he had no desire to kill them.
As such, he had taken the initiative to release them after a moment of thought.
When he left the main chamber, he found a flight of stairs that went up. He wasn’t able to see where it ended.
Strange, could it be they were deep underground?
Feeling somewhat surprised, he flew directly up.
Not long after, Han Li grew astonished. He had flown up the stairs for a while, but it still kept going.
Although he had only flown for a short time, his speed was quite impressive. If it weren’t for the fact that his spiritual sense was able to clearly see his surroundings, he would’ve suspected he had fallen into a restriction of some sort.
‘How could a passage possibly be so long?’
Han Li had flown several kilometers before finally seeing the light at the end.
When he flew out from the passage, his environment lit up and he found himself in a large paved area. The entire floor which spanned over three kilometers was made of stone bricks. And he could smell the sweet fragrance of plants.
The spiritual Qi was even more dense than down below at the teleportation formation.
However, this all paled in comparison to what he saw when he swept his gaze forward.
At the end of the paved area, there was a tall cliff face, and when he looked up, he only saw a mountain without end.
There was also a tall mountain wall behind him. It appears that he was lying at their valley.
Han Li looked to the sky for a long while only to find a few winding cliffs.
Then without another thought, and he took to the skies.
After flying several kilometers, Han Li eventually flew out from the valley, revealing a sight he couldn't believe. Soon, he hastily shot forward and circled his surroundings before returning to his original place.
The only word that came to Han Li’s mind was “Big”.
Han Li had seen countless mountains over his lifetime, the largest of them being the Heavenly Star Island’s sacred mountain.
The huge mountain before him appeared to be a pillar reaching for the heavens, and what he saw alone could even be divided into eighty-one stories to house a vast number of cultivators to his lowest estimate.
He was currently at the base of the huge mountain, and couldn't make an accurate comparison in size to the Heavenly Star Island’s sacred mountain, though he could take a guess at which was larger.
When he raised his head, he saw a deep turquoise sky without end. The valley he emerged from was nothing but an insignificant crack in the mountains.
But what especially troubled Han Li and rendered him speechless was that the mountain had a huge restriction placed on top of it.
When he looked to the outskirts, he saw a white light-barrier appearing to cover the mountain in its entirety.
Such a massive sight left Han Li in awe; This was definitely the doing of ancient cultivators.
With some hesitation, he hastily flew over and arrived in front of it by the time it took to finish a cup of tea.
He was nothing but a mere speck in comparison to the massive barrier.
He examined it for a long while but flew back, unable to see precisely how thick it was.
‘There is no point in testing its power,’ he thought. Let alone a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, even a Deity Transformation cultivator wouldn’t be able to destroy it with brute force.
When Han Li looked back at the mountain, he couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of any sound. He couldn't even hear the birds chirping, as if the mountains had no life at all.
This was quite odd with the fiercely abu
ndant spiritual Qi surrounding the mountain, giving Han Li a bizarre feeling.
With a gloomy expression on his face, he returned to the valley and arrived back at the teleportation formation.
Chapter 995: Purple Mist
When he returned to the cave, he found Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi meditating.
Han Li had no intention of bothering them. Rather, he paused momentarily before slapping his storage pouch, taking out a pile of formation flags and plates, and tossing them into the air.
Multi-colored light enveloped the entire cavern. It was a simple spell formation that had the effects of concealment and detection, allowing an early warning if anybody were to trespass.
The other two turned a blind eye to Han Li’s actions and remained still in place.
Han Li smiled when he saw this and sat down cross-legged at a corner of the cave before joining them in meditation.
Over the span of a day, Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi gradually restored their magic power and arose shortly after.
When the two stood up, Han Li’s face stirred and he opened his eyes, asking, “Fellow Daoists, have you recovered your strength?”
Bai Yaoyi sweetly smiled and replied, “Many thanks for your protection, Brother Han. We have just about restored our magic power.”
Old Man Fu looked at the center of the huge teleportation formation and asked, “Has Brother Han already gone outside to see where we are?”
Han Li calmly answered, “Yes, but I’m not sure. We are in the depths of a giant mountain and are surrounded by a gargantuan restriction.”
Old Man Fu’s eyes lit up and he confidently said, “Since Brother Han is an overseas cultivator, he wouldn’t be too familiar with the famous features of the mainland. I might be able to recognize where we are.”
Han Li chuckled and casually replied, “Oh, is that so? In that case, please ahead and take a look.”
When Bai Yaoyi heard this, her eyes lit up. “From Brother Han’s tone, there seems to be something peculiar about the mountain. Shall I take a look too?”
Han Li nodded indifferently.
As he possessed abilities far greater than the other two, it was only natural that he became their leader.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 538