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

by Translator: Johnchen

  With that thought, he examined the magic power within his body. Although he had controlled the fan to use less than half its might, it still consumed a third of his magic power.

  He shook his head and turned to walk around the stone wall.

  The buildings he found at the front were all constructed the same: thirty-meters-tall with two floors. He casually walked into the nearest one and found that it was completely bare apart from some furniture. It appeared to be a place for rest.

  Even if this room once possessed the personal items of ancient cultivators, they were all put away when they evacuated.

  Although Han Li had already somewhat anticipated this, he couldn't help but sigh.

  Having seen this, he didn’t hold much hope for the other buildings, and as he expected, they had nothing there.

  When he moved on to look through a few stone buildings that looked like warehouses, he also found that they were completely void.

  All racks, tables, and chests were completely bare. There wasn’t even the slightest sign of tool refinement, much to his gloom.

  But when he left the last of these buildings, he found a stone hall.

  The hall appeared only three hundred meters wide, but was colored a crimson red as if it were molten hot.

  “Spirit Change Hall,” Han Li muttered the letters that hung above its gate.

  Although he was only standing outside, he could feel a familiar aura radiating from within.

  His heart stirred and he soon walked in with his hands behind his back.

  As soon as he entered, he could hear roaring thunder and quickly turned his gaze around the hall.

  Chapter 1011: A Huge Cauldron

  Red mist raged within the spacious hall, and a dozen pillars of flame stood within, each one with a scarlet dragon coiled around them. They all spouted streams of the red mist, completely enveloping a huge cauldron at the center.

  The cauldron itself was twenty meters tall and appeared simply decorated. It was among the largest furnaces he had ever seen.

  But what astonished Han Li was that the red mist scorched it red, completely erasing all trace of its original color. Even from a hundred meters away, he could feel its volcanic heat.

  Ever since he entered the hall, his mouth grew as dry as sand and his skin felt as if it was being assailed by burning needles. If it weren’t for the protective light instantly forming a barrier around him, he would’ve suffered immensely.

  However, this left him overjoyed. His gaze swept past the inferno to immediately focus on the cauldron.

  It was completely still and let out pangs of thunder. From his tool refinement experience, he could tell it was in the process of refinement.

  He now knew he wouldn’t be returning empty-handed.

  Taking a shallow breath, Han Li nimbly slid through the streams and easily made his way towards the object.

  Twenty meters away, he slowed his steps and slowly skirt around it, sensing its astonishing fire-attributed spiritual power.

  Regardless of whatever was inside, it was certain to have gone through some unknown changes given the number of years it spent in refinement. He was quite curious, but didn’t intend on recklessly opening it.

  After encircling it a dozen times, he began to pensively glance at other areas of the hall.

  Given the innumerable years the pillars and cauldron had been active, there had to be an eternally active spell formation. So long as he located the controlling mechanisms and destroyed it, the flames should come to an end and allow him to take the treasure.

  Because the restriction’s purpose was control over the hall, it wasn’t concealed in the slightest.

  Paying further attention to the cauldron, he raised his hand, releasing a three-meter-long streak of gold at an unremarkable corner of the hall.

  With a loud boom, the corner erupted in golden light and the pillars briefly wavered before their streams came to a halt.

  When the light faded away, a three-meter-large hole came into view. A few formation plate fragments surrounded it and a small golden sword was lazily floating above.

  Han Li smiled and waved his hand, retrieving the flying sword into his sleeve in a shriek.

  Without replenishment from the pillars, the red mist gradually disappeared.

  He didn’t immediately take notice of the huge cauldron and instead concentrated his attention on the ground. Blue light flashed from his eyes, and surprise on his face.

  With the spell formation no longer in place, he noticed that a mass of red laid a hundred meters below. The entire hall was constructed over an immense pool of earth-fire. It was no wonder why they were able to continue such an operation for so long.

  Still using his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he turned his gaze to the cauldron and decided to first see what was inside.

  He was momentarily stunned by it. Whatever was in there was an even harsher red than the pool of earth-fire below. But before he could clearly identify what it was, the cauldron suddenly began to tremble. Followed by a crackle, a layer of scarlet blaze flared around the cauldron once more.

  Han Li opened his mouth in astonishment. After a moment of thought, it shifted to one of pleasant surprise.

  After passing through untold years of refinement, it absorbed the essence of the earth-fire to a fearsome degree, changing what was originally an ordinary magic tool into a grand fire-attribute treasure.

  Repeated exposure to elemental Qi over a long period of time was known to cause such an effect, but it was a matter of coincidence and sheer luck for this to occur.

  In the past, a few sects attempted to use this method in an attempt to create some high-grade treasures, but it didn’t take them long to abandon the effort.

  This method didn’t simply take up too much time; it would take the continuous effort of many successive generations. Even then, the odds of success would still be pathetically low. Even in the case of success, the boost in strength was negligible compared to the time and resources spent.

  As for the cauldron here, he was certain this wasn’t intended by the ones who placed it there. It was most likely that the cauldron was in a crucial point in its refinement process, and the cultivators in charge weren’t able to stop it. Lacking any better choice, they activated the spell formation to allow it to continue operations before evacuating the mountain.

  They probably harbored the thought that they would be able to later return. Of course, such an event never came to be.

  Han Li’s eyes wandered as he pondered about the circumstances. At the same moment, the spiritual light protecting his body brightly glowed in order to better protect himself against the increased scorching temperatures.

  Shortly after, he slapped his storage pouch and summoned a bundle of blue formation flags into his hand.

  His figure blurred and the flags shot at various corners.

  He then appeared in front of the cauldron and examined it several times before muttering an incantation, creating a barrier of blue light around him and the cauldron.

  Within the ice-attribute barrier, the scorching air was greatly cooled.

  In addition, he released his spirit beast pouch and summoned his dozen Six-winged Frost Centipedes.

  They nimbly circled around and eventually converged together above the cauldron, gesturing threateningly as they accumulated their power.

  Han Li relaxed when he saw this and slapped his hands together to cover them in a layer of purple flames before reaching out to the cauldron.

  A large purple hand appeared above it and bluntly grabbed its lid.

  It trembled and the inferno around it surged several times in height. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into a bird that shot towards the purple hand.

  A curious boom sounded out when they made contact and scarlet-purple light flashed together. The bird blocked the hand for the time being.

  When he saw this, an odd expression appeared and he gave a soft command.

  When the centipedes heard this, they promptly sp
at out a stream of white Qi, covering the flame bird, the cauldron, and the purple hand all at once.

  Meanwhile, he raised his arm to the fist made from his Purple Apex Flames and struck it with a spell seal, causing it to surge twice in size. With the surrounding glacial Qi increasing in strength, the hand was able to crush the flame bird and move on to grab the cauldron.

  Masterless, it couldn't offer any further resistance. A soft bang sounded out as its lid was easily struck ten meters into the air, and red light shined from within.

  Just as Han Li thought to check, he immediately heard an unpleasant screech, followed by a scarlet light bolting out from inside. It shot to the very top of the hall with immense speed, forcibly passing through two of the centipedes before they could even react.

  With a thump, the scarlet light struck the top of the blue light barrier. In a mere moment of pause, it quickly melted away an opening.

  He was greatly alarmed and immediately moved to prevent the light from escaping, flicking his fingers and releasing a dozen azure swordstreaks towards it with complete precision.

  They all struck true. Each wave caused the scarlet light to dim, eventually causing it to sway on the verge of collapse.

  It knew matters had turned for the worse and trembled in a different direction.

  But suddenly purple light flashed from behind it and a large hand grabbed it with lightning speed.

  Then, it returned to Han Li with what it’s captive.

  The cauldron seemed to have lost the power to resist. Not only did thunder stop ringing but the flames had disappeared as well. With the centipede’s glacial Qi, it was turned into a block of crystalline ice.

  However, Han Li was more interested in the light that his purple hand managed to catch.

  He stared at the item brought before him and astonishedly muttered, “Greatsun Essence Fire!”

  However, he also heard a sweet and familiar voice ring out through his mind, “It isn’t Greatsun Essence Fire, but its equally famous counterpart: Great Yin Trueflame. One of the three true spiritual flames of the mortal world!”

  Chapter 1012: Great Yin Trueflame.

  Happiness welled in Han Li’s heart and he calmly asked, “Silvermoon, you’ve awoken?”

  Silvermoon slowly said, “I woke up as soon as Master entered the hall. I’ve barely been able to after years of recuperation. I fear I won’t be able to assist Master anytime soon.”

  “Did your spiritual sense suffer any damage?”

  Han Li faintly felt that something was amiss from her tone and he couldn't help but frown.

  With a forced chuckle, Silvermoon answered, “It’s nothing of the sort. I’ve only recovered a portion of my memories while asleep, and feel a bit uncomfortable.”

  Han Li raised his brow in surprise, “You recovered a portion of your memories?”

  Silvermoon let out a long sigh and elaborated with a sad tone, “Yes. It... feels as if the memories belong to someone else entirely.”

  After a short silence, Han Li consoled, “It is good that you’ve managed to remember your past. Perhaps with time, you’ll remember everything.”

  “Perhaps,” Silvermoon softly muttered.

  “Ah yes, you mentioned that this is ‘Great Yin Trueflame,’ is that correct?” Han Li then astonishedly looked at small scarlet firebird he had captured. The bird appeared entirely lifelike and intelligent.

  Silvermoon carefully explained, “There is no doubt it is a ball of Yin flame essence. If I recall correctly, this ball of trueflame should be the lowest grade of its existence, or it wouldn’t have been so easily struck down by mere sword Qi. But it is fortunate that it wasn’t Greatsun Essence Flame. This flame is quite a bit weaker than the Purple Apex Flames as it has recently come to life, but it does have the potential for extreme coldness. If it were the Greatsun Essence Flames, even the lowest grade would be capable of bringing out the fullest of its potential and escape. When the Great Yin Trueflame is nurtured, it will come to possess even greater power than your Purple Apex Flames. It is deserving of its title as one of the three true spirit flames in the mortal world.”

  “And what are the three true spirit flames? I’ve never heard of them before.” Han Li stared at the firebird with doubt. All he could see from the flame was intelligence with no hint of its supposed greater power.

  Silvermoon bitterly chuckled, “I’ve seen the three once before, but I can’t quite remember the details. It seems my mind is still in disarray.”

  A bright glint flashed from Han Li’s eyes and he pensively said, “Since the thought had existed in your mind in the first place, it should be true. Could this Yin fire be fused with my Purple Apex Flames?”

  Silvermoon warned, “While that should be possible, it’d be better for the Great Yin Trueflame to consume the Purple Apex Flames instead. After all, it is already intelligent and it would be a waste to extinguish it. There is even a possibility of backlash.”

  Han Li nodded, “That is reasonable to say. But before that, I will need to first refine the trueflame. Since it has a trace of intelligence, it will be more difficult to refine.

  Silvermoon smiled, “In addition, you should have this flame take in some Greatsun Essence Flame if given the opportunity. With the convergence of Yin and Yang, it will create unfathomable power. Its likely such power would have never existed in the mortal world before.”

  Han Li frowned and helplessly said, “It would be amazing if I could, but I heard from Monarch Soul Divergence that it isn’t something that cultivators like us can acquire.”

  “That could be,” then with some hesitation, Silvermoon skeptically suggested, “But since you have the Great Yin Trueflame, you may be able to use it to capture the other as their natures mutually oppose one another.”

  Han Li felt his heart stir, but he shook his head and said, “Let’s leave the topic for later. I don’t even know when I’ll have an opportunity to refine the Great Yin Trueflame after all.”

  Silvermoon giggled, “Master, how about first placing the flame underneath a restriction before storing it away? Otherwise, it could escape if you’re careless.”

  “Of course,” Han Li chuckled and had the purple hand float into the air.

  When it arrived above his head, he flicked an arc of lightning off his finger towards it. In the blink of an eye, the blaze wrapped in purple fire had turned into a ball of brilliant golden light.

  Silvermoon chuckled at the sight of this. It was exactly the same method he had used to restrict the Celestial Ice Pearl, but with his current cultivation, it was now much more skillful.

  Soon, he took out a scarlet jade box and placed it inside. Soon after, he turned his attention to the now frozen cauldron.

  Han Li stroked his chin and mused, “It’s reasonable to say that it’s rather strange for the Yin flame to come from the smoldering cauldron. Could it be that it was originally a miraculously glacial item and that it was born from Yin Yang convergence?”

  Silvermoon said nothing, also finding this to be quite odd.

  Han Li’s eyes wandered and he moved towards the cauldron.

  With a flick of his sleeve, a bolt of lightning struck it and wrapped it in a net of gold.

  Then with claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, the net tightened and shattered the ice covering it.

  Han Li calmly examined the cauldron in front of him and then slowly floated up until he was three meters above it.

  Although there were restrictions preventing flight, Han Li was able to forcefully bypass them for a short time through the sheer strength of his cultivation.

  The cauldron’s red light had long disappeared and its interior could be clearly examined. As a result, his expression stirred and he reached out his hand.

  In a gust of wind, a shining object shot out from within, circling once in the air before falling into his grasp.

  It was a fist-sized crystal of some sort. It had the sensation of warm jade and was flexible when pressed.

  Han Li frowned
and muttered, “What is this...”

  “Master doesn’t need to dwell on it. Regardless of whatever material it is, it would’ve changed into something else entirely given the millennia it spent in refinement. However, the Great Yin Trueflame is certain to be related to this item, so it can’t be ordinary.”

  “Very true,” Han Li smiled, “When there is spare time, I’ll properly inspect it.”

  Soon after, light flashed from his hand and the item was placed into his storage pouch.

  Afterwards, he took another appraising glance at the cauldron and made sure nothing else was inside before forming an incantation gesture and striking it with a red spell seal.

  It immediately trembled massively, and its body flashed as it quickly shrunk in size.

  In the blink of an eye, a small half-foot-tall cauldron appeared on the ground and released a series of clear and bright rings.

  The cauldron’s lid flew over of its own accord before shrinking in size and returning to its place.

  With the cauldron intact, the rings grew even louder as if it was happy.

  When Han Li saw the cauldron’s intelligence, his eyes lit up and he swept his sleeve.

  Azure mist swept the cauldron into his hand.

  He brought it before his eyes for a closer look and his face soon became fervent.

  He then formed an incantation gesture and slapped the top with a flash of azure light.

  The small cauldron glowed a brilliant red and the lid opened to reveal countless fist-sized flamebirds, each ugly and completely scarlet.

  With a mental command, these fire-breathing birds flew all around the hall, weaving back and forth with great agility.

  This was the earth fire essence that the cauldron had gathered for countless years. Each one was no inferior to a true fire-attribute spirit bird.

  When he saw this ability, he collected the cauldron with joy as he acquired another method to use in battle.

  After all, the Triflame Fan may be superior, it consumed far too much magic power. He didn’t dare to easily use it.

  But just as he was about to depart, he glanced at the dozen scarlet pillars and his heart stirred, releasing his swords and cutting them all down at their base. He then gathered them all into his storage pouch.