The others raised no objections and followed after, taking off to the air. But not far into their journey, they all fell to the ground.
“There is a restriction preventing flight! Why would it be placed here?” The eccentric shouted.
Fortunately, they hadn’t flown high and thus didn’t suffer any injuries. Rather, they were happy to discover this restriction. This was a sign that they had entered a very important place in the Kunwu Mountains.
Chapter 1005: The Devil Suppressing Pagoda and the Spirit Treasure Pavilion
When Hua Tianqi heard Old Man Fu give him a general explanation, he felt quite astonished, saying, “So it turned out that Fellow Daoist Han is from the Heavenly South. We see very few of your people here. But regardless of what has happened, since you killed the Yin Sifting Sect Elder and acquired his Ghost Sifting Banner, this is not a matter that can be so easily resolved.”
The others were also thrown into an uproar and examined Han Li with a curious gaze. To the cultivators of the Great Jin, they knew the Heavenly South to be some unremarkable place far away. For such a person to appear before them, and provoke the Yin Sifting Sect, aroused great curiosity.
“I was merely protecting myself,” Han Li calmly elaborated, “If it weren’t for their elder taking the initiative to stir up trouble, I wouldn’t be involved in this mess.”
The large man from the group of vagrant cultivatiourss anxiously said, “Enough! In any case, you three have already stayed here for some time and should know where we are, right?”
Han Li’s eyes shifted and he calmly answered, “Of course, this is the legendary Kunwu Mountain!”
“Kunwu Mountain?” The newly arrived were briefly stunned before cheering with joy. Even Old Devil Qian was surprised.
As the Sacred Poison Sect Elders already knew this, they simply exchanged a glance.
Their grand elder, Hua Tianqi, then rubbed his chin and turned to look at the white silhouettes, “It also stands to mention that there are people who have arrived ahead of us. We neither know their number, nor their strength. But since they were able to open such a large seal, they should be quite powerful. Brother Qian, regardless of whatever conflict you have with Fellow Daoist Han, it is not the time to be fighting. Wouldn’t it be better for us to join hands and expel the other group from the mountain? Afterwards, we can divide the treasures Kunwu Mountain provides among ourselves. You can then resolve your grievances with Fellow Daoist Han.”
“Join hands?” Old Devil Qian grew silent as he pondered.
As for Master Scatterwind and his four companions, their hearts stirred and they began to speak amongst themselves through voice transmission.
Under the circumstances, Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi sighed. Although they were confident that they could contend against Old Devil Qian together, they found themselves in an incredibly awkward situation where their hands were tied.
Han Li unconsciously frowned and inwardly sighed. It seemed he would have to find another opportunity to gain the method to dissolving the Soul Seal Curse.
With that thought, he took a look at where the cultivators had emerged and asked, “Fellow Daoist Hua, what is the damage to the opening of the seal after that explosion. Can we still leave?”
Hua Tianqi sighed and said, “How about you take a look for yourself? It might be different later on, but the passageway is definitely blocked for the near future.”
Han Li pursed his lips and after some hesitation, flew directly over to the light screen and disappeared into it.
Bai Yaoyi and Old Man Fu quickly turned their attention over to it.
A short moment later, he emerged from the screen of light with a sullen expression. He looked over to his two companions and shook his head, “It’s true, the passageway is blocked, but it will restore itself eventually. For now, let’s explore deeper up the mountain.”
The following events were simple. Despite the Old Devil Qian’s great arrogance, he knew that it was the wrong place to settle matters. This was a prime opportunity to acquire grand treasures and he didn’t wish to return empty-handed. As such, he was forced to let go of Han Li for the time being.
As for the temporary alliance, they all considered it for a moment before all agreeing to it.
With everyone on board, Hua Tianqi shouted, “Together, we’ll be able to match whoever is ahead of us, even if they are cultivators from the ten great sects. Let us set off before the other party can acquire the treasures first.” Then, he led the way up the stone steps,
Old Devil Qian coldly snorted and his five devils joined together before following after them.
Han Li and company silently flew up the stairs as well.
...
The Ye Clan members were currently standing in front of the white jade plaza.
It spanned over a fifth of a kilometer and was crafted from beautiful jade. There were pillars all around that were over thirty meters tall. Each jade pillar was masterfully engraved with rare, life-like spirit beasts.
However, they weren’t looking at these pillars at all, but at the other end of the plaza.
It was there where the stone steps emerged and huge jade tablets was erected in front of them, containing the names of various locations such as Fortune Cloud Hall and Gold Stone Pavilion. They were all lost in thought as they stared at them.
A cultivator from the crowd spoke up, “There are only three places that we will most likely find the Divine Spirit Treasures. The centermost of these is Kunwu Hall. The Spirit Treasure Pavilion is close by it and the location farthest away is the Devil Suppressing Pagoda.”
The scholar and eccentric said nothing and simply remained lost in thought.
The cultivator added on, “Kunwu Hall is certain to be at the heart of the mountain. And given the name of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, it is obviously where the ancient cultivators kept their treasures. It wouldn’t be odd for the treasures to be there. As for the Devil Suppressing Pagoda, that should be where they imprisoned devils. Under the strange circumstances of the mountain sealing, it is very likely that the Divine Spirit Treasures are being kept there. After all, they would’ve used the power of the treasures to suppress these devils.”
The scholar eventually grunted and said, “Well said. I also feel that the Divine Spirit Treasures should be placed in one of these three areas. However, we do not have the power to look at every location, so we’ll have to choose one of two places.”
“Which two?” The eccentric hesitantly asked.
The scholar paused before answering, “The Spirit Treasure Pavilion and the Devil Suppressing Pagoda!”
The eccentric shook his head and said, “Those two? I feel like Kunwu Hall should be a more likely choice than the Devil Suppressing Pagoda.”
The scholar chuckled and calmly explained, “The Spirit Treasure Hall should most likely net us some treasures even if we don’t manage to acquire the Divine Spirit Treasures. Kunwu Hall is far too obvious a choice, and would be lathered in traps and restrictions. Since the mountain was sealed, I believe that the two treasures would have no purpose being enshrined at Kunwu Hall. It is more likely being used to suppress some sort of unspeakable demon in the Devil Suppressing Pagoda.”
The eccentric eventually shook his head, “That does sound reasonable, but I do believe we should still have a deep look at Kunwu Hall on the merit that it is the core building of the mountain.”
The scholar wryly smiled and said, “I understand your words, but we only have so many people. It is too difficult to split into two groups, let alone three.”
The others began to discuss their plan of action with a few members each finding the other side more reasonable. For a time, a conclusion couldn't be formed.
When the eccentric saw this stalemate, an odd expression appeared on his face and he proposed, “Our group consists of nine members. How about we each take three to explore both the Spirit Treasure Pavilion and the Devil Suppressing Pagoda. As for the last one, they will be an elder particularly sk
illed in movement techniques, and will be sent to make a trip to Kunwu Hall. If they find any problems, they will turn back and we will be notified of what happened. Then if either of us finish our journey smoothly, we can make the journey to Kunwu Hall.”
“That... will be fine. Let’s do that then! However, since this elder will be alone, they will be a target of the Lion Hawk and the Silver-winged Nightfiend. We’ll have to give them the Overflowing Sky Bracelet," the scholar said.
“With that treasure, they should be able to protect themselves from any danger they could encounter.” The eccentric nodded and raised no objections.
They then promptly split their numbers and each headed in different ways. The disguised Elder Devil followed after the eccentric, and the square-faced middle-aged man was chosen to explore Kunwu Hall. It came as no surprise as the square-faced cultivator had the third highest cultivation in the group.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the scholar agreed and offered the bone-white bracelet to him. He warned, “Every activation of the Overflowing Sky Bracelet requires the use of your blood essence. Do notuse it lightly.”
“Don’t worry, I am well aware.” The square-faced cultivator accepted the bracelet with a solemn expression.
The eccentric spoke, “It is said that the Devil Suppressing Pagoda is specialized in restraining vicious ghosts, demons, devils, and other such existences. I don’t know if there are any that are still there, but I will still be heading over there.”
The scholar chuckled and agreed in passing, “It seems we had the same idea. I was originally quite interested in the Devil Suppressing Pagoda, but since Seventh Uncle said it first, I won’t raise any objections. I’ll bring these three to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.”
Chapter 1006: A Horned Woman
The large-headed eccentric promptly led his group of three, including the disguised Elder Devil, towards the steps of the Devil Suppressing Pagoda.
The square-faced middle-aged cultivator saluted the scholar before equipping the Overflowing Sky Bracelet. Then, with a blur, he rushed up the centermost steps towards Kunwu Hall.
The scholar didn’t immediately depart. Instead, he waited until both the eccentric and the square-faced cultivator faded away into the white mist, then turned to an old man at his side, “Esteemed Nephew Feng, do we still have any formation tools leftover?”
The old man respectfully replied, “As per your orders, I’ve placed down a spell formation at every restriction we’ve broken. The only one left is the Sevenstar Myrtle Formation that we purchased for tens of thousands of spirit stones.”
The scholar commanded, “Place it here, and release the two Vampiric Bats and the swarm of Tiger Wasps into it.”
“Yes!” The old man slapped his storage pouch and took out a set of purple formation flags before walking to the side of the plaza.
The scholar then turned to look at the mountain down below. His expression softly wavered as he silently pondered.
Two hours later, they also entered.
...
Far below the mountain, Han Li’s party had finally arrived at the Myriad Cultivate Gate. The Ye Clan had placed a profound illusion there, powerful enough to trap Core Formation cultivators for several days at the very least. But when faced against a large number of Nascent Soul cultivators, it was easily disposed off in only a short amount of time.
When they clearly saw the huge decorated archway of the Myriad Cultivator Gate, all their doubts about Kunwu Mountain were dispelled and they grew greatly excited.
The ragtag party of cultivators then hastily made their way up the mountain.
As a result, they now encountered the other restrictions the Ye Clan had placed behind them. This hadn’t discouraged them, but only drove them forward.
But it was clear to see that with each restriction encountered, they grew ever more powerful. Although the party all possessed great cultivation, they resorted to brute force to break each one and became more delayed.
An entire day passed before they arrived at the huge stone hall with the many puppets.
Hua Tianqi glanced at the building with a solemn expression, “Fellow Daoists, be careful. I fear it will be troublesome if there are any restrictions present. The party of cultivators ahead of us must be quite wealthy to be in possession of so many sets of formation tools. It’s likely that they either belong to one of the ten great clans or are a faction of equivalent strength.”
Old Devil Qian coldly snorted and said, “None of those ten are capable of fielding this many high-grade restrictions, especially the Absolute Ice-Fire Formation. I am truly curious about the identity of those ahead of us.”
With a confident tone, Hua Tianqi proclaimed, “In any case, much to our convenience, these people had broken through the restrictions of Kunwu Mountain. Even if they placed a few interim blocades in their place, we will soon overtake them.”
“I hope that is the case,” Old Devil Qian spoke indifferently.
With that said, the group rushed into the large stone hall.
They saw remains of stone puppets litter the floor, and couldn't help but stop and gander.
Hua Tianqi swept his spiritual sense past the stone hall and hesitantly said, “There aren’t any fluctuations of a restriction. How surprising, they didn’t leave any behind.”
Old Man Fu chuckled, “This is to be expected. I reckon that those people ran out of formation tools.”
When the large vagrant cultivator swept his gaze past the hall, he frowned and said, “I’ve never heard of stone puppets.”
“They aren’t, they’re stone spirits. Though a secret technique, demon beast souls were forcefully fused into these statues. This was particularly prevalent during ancient times, but for some unknown reason, it was later lost.” The voice belonged to the taciturn Han Li. He was sifting through some of the stone on the ground and examining it.
Hua Tianqi glanced at Han Li with an odd glance, “Oh, Fellow Daoist Han knows about such an ancient technique?”
“I just did a bit of probing on puppet techniques. It is a pity that these are all damaged, or I would’ve been able to research them.” With that said, Han Li tossed away the stone in his hand, having it roll several times on the ground.
His investigations divulged that the remains of these spirits were made of common stone. They were peculiarly refined, but there were the strange markings of a spell formation carved on their surface. He wasn’t able to clearly read them as they were fragmented.
“If Fellow Daoist Han wishes to acquire one intact, he simply needs to look at the collapsed corridors. Perhaps a few survived!” One of the cultivators spoke to Han Li with a cheerful voice.
When Han Li looked over, he found the speaker to be a middle-aged man with an honest appearance, Master Scatterwind.
As he wasn't from the Great Jin, he didn’t know the about the man’s infamy, but he wasn’t one to judge by appearance. Han Li smiled and thought to say something when Old Devil Qian suddenly shouted, “Evil creature! You’re courting death!”
The cinque devils then raised their hands and released beams of grey light to a seemingly empty space.
With a series of explosions, purple light flared to reveal a four-winged hawk with a lion’s head. It was glaring at everyone present.
The beast had stealthily arrived nearby at an unknown time and laid eyes on ambushing Old Devil Qian’s cinque devils. While no one present would know of its significance, its half-severed claw had been completely restored.
The Lion Hawk seemed to have learned from its previous experience and immediately unfolded its wings upon being exposed. It flew back in a mist of azure light and out the hall in the blink of an eye. The others had been astonished by its sudden appearance and hesitated to act.
“A Lion Hawk! There was such a monster here?” Hua Tianqi gasped and wore a gloomy expression.
If he was by himself, he feared he would’ve met a gruesome end.
Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi exchanged a glanc
e of alarm. They already knew that an even deadlier Silver-winged Nightfiend was lurking about. However they had kept quiet about the matter for their own reasons.
The others paled at the sight of this.
That fearsome ancient bird was an existence that matched late-Nascent Soul cultivators. It wasn’t something that should be provoked.
But now that it was gone, Han Li’s original thoughts to look in the corridor were abandoned.
Since the mountain also had a Silver-winged Nightfiend, it was safer to travel together.
...
After leaving the hall, the Lion Hawk circled down the mountain. After flying for an hour, it arrived beside a massive tree and let out a harsh and howling screech.
“I got it, Stop shouting! Did you want me to take revenge for you? It's not like I wanted to do this. After being trapped for countless years, it wasn’t easy for me to escape, and I’d rather not provoke more trouble. Furthermore, it seems there are two groups of cultivators, all at Nascent Soul stage. This won’t be easy.” These words spoken with the voice of a cracked gong, followed by a flash of green, revealing a three-meter-wide hole in the tree. A black-clothed woman walked out with an annoyed bearing.
She had a wide girth, tan skin, a bun of jet-black hair wrapped around her head, two several-inch-long white horns protruding out from her hair, and an appearance that could only be described as hideous. Red light gleam from her eyes as if filled with anger at the bird’s screeching.
The woman put her hand on his hips and gritted her teeth. “Easier said than done. You were too careless and had half your talon cut off. Why should I take revenge? And didn’t the descendants of the Three Masters here trap us here to guard this mountain on their behalf? I don’t want to follow their wishes.”
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 544