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

by Translator: Johnchen

  The Ye Clan cultivators now looked at Han Li with newfound importance considering this new information and exchanged a glance with one another. They then withdrew and stopped attacking the stone puppets in the spell formation for the time being.

  The white-robed late-Nascent Soul stage scholar blinked and sent Han Li a voice transmission, “Fellow Daoist, it seems there are grudges between you and them. I am the Ye Clan Grand Elder, the commanding power of the Great Jin’s Imperial Family. Would you be interested in joining hands? We only need the Eight Spirit Ruler. All the other treasures in the hall will be yours. What do you say?”

  Han Li was stunned to hear this, but maintained a face of indifference and didn't reply.

  Seeing that Han Li possessed great power and controlled the high-grade spirit beast Gui Ling, he continued, “Fellow Daoist, don’t think that we’re being greedy. If you manage to somehow acquire that treasure, you won’t be able to last long by yourself.”

  Han Li frowned and eventually replied through voice transmission, “Your Ye Clan is the greatest noble house in the Great Jin. Why do you need the help of an outsider like me? Didn’t you have two great cultivators when entering this place? Where is the other one?” His expression stirred and began to look around at the faces of these unfamiliar cultivators. He felt a bit of relief now seeing that the Elder Devil wasn’t counted among their numbers, but trepidation still lingered in his heart.

  The scholar’s heart trembled and chuckled a bit, “I didn’t expect that Brother Han would know of that person. To tell you the truth, he should be within this pagoda. Although I have no contact with him, I’m sure he’ll come to aid us during our time of need. Perhaps, he’s already entered the palace!”

  Han Li paused for a moment and replied, “Is that so? But if there is nothing else in the palace, I would only be fanning resentment with these people for nothing.

  Seeing that Han Li was somewhat tempted, the Ye Clan Grand Elder hurriedly pushed, “That’s a simple matter to resolve. We’ve already searched through other areas of the mountain and acquired many powerful treasures in passing. If you gain nothing from the palace, I am willing to hand them all over to you. If you fear that they would take revenge in the future, we can have you become a guest elder of the clan, or even pay you a sum of one million spirit stones.”

  Because the large-headed eccentric and some others had disappeared, the scholar felt great apprehension moving forward now that their current situation had fallen out of control. As such, he spared no effort to rope in Han Li swiftly.

  After a moment’s thought, Han Li chuckled and agreed.“I will take the offer of a million spirit stones. If worst to worst, I will just depart from the Great Jin.”

  “Most excellent. Then the matter is settled. Fellow Daoist can act according to his discretion,” the scholar said with an exceedingly happy tone.

  As the artifact spirit linked to his soul-joined magic treasure, Silvermoon was able to clearly listen in on the deal. She couldn't help but ask, “What? You truly wish to hand over the Eight Spirit Ruler to them?”

  “Of course not,” Han Li leisurely replied, “The Ye Clan is conscious of their own weakness, and I also need their help. With only an oral agreement, neither side is obliged to hold to their terms.”

  Silvermoon sighed, “I also think this is the case. When the great formation is broken through, you will have to prepare to acquire the ruler and make use of all your abilities to escape.” Han Li smiled and said little else.

  At that moment, the scholar channeled magic power into his voice and loudly yelled, “Everyone, since Fellow Daoist Han has arrived, we have a greater chance at destroying this ancient formation. How about we include the Fellow Daoist in our previous arrangement?”

  Grand Immortal Xu coldly snorted, “We’re already enough to destroy the formation. We don’t need another. We will be capturing him.”

  The scholar’s expression sank and he sullenly said, “Brother Xu must be joking. I have no objection should you choose to do so, but do you think you’ll have the time to play around?”

  “That is true,” Lady Mu swept her hair to the side and said, “The High Zenith Sect’s Master Sable and the Heavenly Devil Sect’s Daoist Sevenwonders are soon to arrive from the outside. We maybe have a day at most to acquire the treasure. When the greatest sects of the Devil and Righteous Dao come here, do you believe that the treasure will belong to any of us?”

  Apart from the three demons present, all of the cultivators felt great shock upon hearing the names of these two sects. The Ye Clan Grand Elder in particular instantly paled.

  Grand Immortal Xu and Lin Yinping glanced at each other and their previous emotions were nowhere to be seen.

  Although the Endless Skies Temple and the Heavenly Devil Sect had friendly relations, they definitely wouldn’t remotely give them an even share of Kunwu Mountain’s treasures.

  “Fine,” Grand Immortal Xu begrudgingly spoke, “Let’s have him join in breaking the restriction. Once it’s destroyed, the Divine Spirit Treasure will belong to whoever can take it!”

  The others raised no objections, harboring their own intentions.

  Han Li’s lip curled up when he saw this. He then released a dozen golden swords with a shake of his sleeve and began to attack the statues below. The others were also unwilling to delay any further.

  As for the statues down below, they immediately began to move again and wave their sabers towards the air, filling the sky with slices of light and thunderous booms.

  Chapter 1037: Breaking the Formation

  As the others continued to attack the formation surrounding the palace, the two Immortal Form Sect Elders were having a secret discussion.

  The junior woman sent a voice transmission to Lady Mu with a worried tone, “Senior Martial Sister, must we truly aid them in breaking the formation. Elder Xiang mentioned that the palace was connected with the Elder Devil Ancestor’s seal! And how was the Eight Spirit Ruler discovered here?!”

  “Don’t worry, Junior Martial Sister,” Lady Mu quickly calmed, “This isn’t the place where the devil is sealed or the Dragon Call Crest would’ve reacted by now. As for the reason why we must break this formation, it isn’t solely for the ruler. We must reach the ninth floor of the Devil Suppressing Pagoda to restrengthen the seal as it has the core of the formation. However, there is no opening to the next floor, leaving the palace as the only place it could be. I should've explained sooner.”

  “So it was like that. I was wondering why Senior Martial Sister had dragged me here. But the ruler...”

  Lady Mu interrupted, “The Eight Spirit Ruler is a treasure that the ancestors of our sect had left behind. It is only proper for us to acquire it.”

  “That is true, but I fear it would be difficult for us to fight for it.” The beautiful woman glanced at the cultivators and the demons around them and wore a hesitant expression.

  “Perhaps, but don’t forget that you have the Four Skies Ruler, a replica of that very Divine Spirit Treasure. When the fight for the ruler occurs, activate it and see if it has any impact. Even if it isn’t effective, Elder Xiang could come at any moment, and they will be forced to hand it over to him. He has a deep relationship with our sect. If we plead with him, he will be certain to give us some benefits even if he doesn’t directly hand the Eight Spirit Ruler over to us.” A cunning glint shone from Lady Mu’s eyes.

  “That’s also true,” The beautiful woman then paused in thought and worriedly asked, “But what about that black formation from the room that we came from? Could it be that is where the Elder Devil is sealed? It is unfortunate that it had lost its effect, or we could’ve taken a look at it first.”

  “It’s possible. Our sect records don’t mention any specific information on the Elder Devil’s seal.”

  As the two were continuing their secret conversation, the Elder Devil Sacred Ancestor was attempting to break free of its constraints in a hidden space nearby.

  The black mirror, the jade lo
tus, the ring, the authority token and the small black bottle was floating above the huge two-headed wolf, each releasing a black beam of light down below into its body. This produced a layer of eerie devilish light, pushing the talismans and chains a foot off the wolf’s hide.

  The restraints twinkled with light, activating their restrictions in response to this.

  But the most notable of these was the yellow mirrors that surrounded it. They all simultaneously let out a drone, and the bright beams of light had been strengthened, turning them several times thicker.

  The two-headed and four-armed Elder Devil was currently floating in the air and striking the five devilish artifacts with spell seals. His two faces wore grave expressions as they stared at the silver wolf in the air.

  The black teleportation formation below them was covered in a shroud of grey light, causing temporary disruption and prevent any others from barging in.

  At the moment, the black wolf head assumed a completely devilish appearance. Not only was its horn several times larger but black lightning also flashed from its surface, occasionally releasing pangs of thunder. The wolf’s eyes were lit with a purple devil flame and began to incinerate the nearby talismans through merely glancinging at them.

  After the infusion of devilish Qi from the five artifacts, the Sacred Ancestor’s soul fragment had accumulated enough Qi and finally began to break free of its constraints.

  As time slowly ticked by, the wolf head eventually destroyed all of the nearby talismans and let out a series of howls. Black light began to sway across its body and it grew even larger as if turning into a world-rending god.

  The net of yellow light beams managed to barely suppress for a short while, but the wolf’s tyrannical expansion had soon broken through, causing all of the mirrors to simultaneously burst into specks of starlight.

  The originally unremarkable Heavenly Star Chains, however, brightly glowed and expanded, remaining tightly wrapped around the huge wolf without even a second’s pause. Furthermore, the chains had white flame ignite across its length.

  The smell of scorched flesh instantly filled the air as the holy inferno burned through the wolf’s pelt, disregarding the devilish light that surrounded it.

  The wolf head grimaced in agony as it felt the white flames burn it and a trace of fear even appeared on its face. She quickly muttered, “Pure Yang Bonefire! I didn’t think that those cultivators were actually capable of fusing this demonic flame with the chains. This will be troublesome.”

  Then, the black wolf head suddenly raised its head and deafeningly howled. Black lightning surged from its horn, releasing a ball of lightning to the sky, only for it to burst into countless arcs of black to rain down on the chains.

  In the blink of an eye, white flames and black lightning raged against one another as if they were two pythons coiled on chains like and let out strange muffled sounds.

  The head hadn’t stopped there. With purple flame surging from its eyes, it let out a soft incantation and opened its mouth again, this time spitting out a mist of inky light all around it, engulfing the world in a wave of black. Deafening crashes could be heard as it wiped away the dense number of restrictions in the distance.

  Joy appeared on the Elder Devil’s face when he saw this.

  Although the devil ancestor’s soul fragment was trapped for countless years, its abilities hadn’t suffered in the least.

  ...

  Outside Kunwu Mountain’s as the opening to the seal, there were a few hundred cultivators gathered around, less than half the number that had gathered there earlier.

  However, Master Sable still remained sitting at the opening and wore a solemn expression.

  This was due to the dozen Nascent Soul cultivators that were heads of the crowd.

  If it weren’t for the fame of the High Zenith Sect and his high cultivation, he suspected they would’ve impatiently head inside already.

  But even so, he couldn't afford to block them for much longer. Many of the Nascent Soul cultivators present actually belonged to a few great sects. Even the High Zenith Sect wasn’t willing to provoke them.

  Eventually, a mid-Nascent Soul old man with a face glowing red emerged from the crowd, “Master Sable, what are you planning? I didn’t come here to waste my time.”

  Master Sable sighed and opened his eyes from meditation. With an even tone, he replied, “Fellow Daoist Luo, didn’t I already tell you? The opening is in no shape for people to pass through. I am only blocking you because I don’t wish for your lives to be spent in vain.”

  The old man Luo annoyedly retorted, “Then why did I hear that the Yin Sifting Sect and Immortal Form Sect cultivators have already entered?”

  Master Sable calmly replied, “That was because Lady Mu had the Sun Moon Shuttle and Brother Xu had the Keen Spirit Peacock to brave the danger. If Brother Luo also has one of the three great spirit shuttles, I won’t block you any further. But you can wait a few more days— the passage will stabilize.”

  “A few more days!? Then all the treasures will be long taken!” Another unhappy voice sounded out, coming from a silhouette shrouded in green light. He floated from the crowd and walked forward.

  “So it was the Jadewisp Horizon’s Fellow Daoist Yu. You’ve also come,” when Master Sable saw this person, he unconsciously frowned. Although he wasn’t someone from the great sects, his poison techniques were well-known in the Great Jin. Even he didn’t want to provoke such a difficult enemy.

  In truth, he didn’t actually care about them. He wouldn’t bat an eye if they all lost their lives to the unstable opening.

  But he had previously acquired a secret report that the breach in the seal was the doing of the Ye Clan. Just as he was pondering about the nature of the Ye Clan’s plans, he immediately received an order from his sect, requiring him to only enter with the assistance of the Heavenly Devil Sect’s Daoist Sevenwonders and to prevent anyone else from entering.

  The one who had given him the order was a peculiar existence in their sect, one who even he didn’t dare to disobey. Why else would he exert himself for such a troublesome affair.

  But since the order called for two late-Nascent Soul cultivators, the matter can’t be simple.

  As he had expected, he soon acquired a jade slip not long after he was guarding the opening, detailing the information of what lay inside. When the old man read through it, he felt greatly startled and couldn't help but regret ever allowing Old Devil Qian and the others to enter first.

  But now that matters have reached this stage, he didn’t dare to have any more enter the seal as well.

  If this number of people all entered, who knew what problems they could stir. If the sealed entity was released, nobody in the mortal world could hope to stand against it. Furthermore, there were Divine Spirit Treasures that couldn't be allowed to fall into the hands of others.

  Chapter 1038: Devil Restricting Ring

  Confronted against the two impatient cultivators, Master Sable dryly coughed. As he considered what to say to pacify them, a cold voice chimed from the distance, “What? Do you plan on charging through even with both the Heavenly Devil Sect and High Zenith Sect blocking you?”

  Suddenly, Old Man Luo’s expression vastly changed. A black light shot before them from the distant horizon.

  It faded to reveal a hook-nosed middle-aged man in black scholar robes.

  As soon as he appeared, the old man’s bearing turned completely gloomy.

  “Daoist Sevenwonders!” He coldly gasped.

  It wasn’t to say that Sevenwonders was superior to Master Sable, but that he was notorious for his extremely cruel acts as the Heavenly Devil Sect’s enforcement elder. As Old Man Luo was only a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, he was entirely unwilling to upset him.

  “Fellow Daoist Sevenwonders must be joking. Since your esteemed sects view this matter with such severity, it seems the passage must truly be dangerous. Waiting a few more days is perfectly acceptable.” The old eccentric chuckled and drew back into
the crowd.

  The cultivator in green mist silently withdrew as well.

  With the appearance of the top sects of both the Righteous and Devilish Dao joining hands, dissonance stirred in the crowd.

  As of current, even an idiot would know that whatever being sealed was of grave importance. Why else would the two greatest sects be willing to spare such a strong force?

  But under the pressure of two vastly powerful factions, the vagrants and those from smaller sects didn’t dare complain. Even those from the larger sects were unwilling to stir up trouble.

  Eight Heavenly Devil Sect cultivators flew in their direction, all at Nascent Soul stage.

  As soon as they arrived, they silently took out formation plates and spell flags, quickly erecting a huge restriction in the blink of an eye and creating a dense white mist over the seal’s opening. The High Zenith and the Heavenly Devil Sect cultivators then disappeared into the formation without a trace.

  Right after, many of the cultivators that wished to observe them looked at each other in dismay.

  Inside the restriction, Master Sable sighed and smiled to Daoist Sevenwonders, “Fortunately, you made haste. I fear I wouldn’t have been able to ward them off much longer. Your reputation should strike them with fear.”

  The middle-aged scholar put on an insincere smile and said, “Do you wish to yell my name to those outside?”

  Master Sable dryly laughed, “Perish the thought.”

  “Alright, let’s get back to the matter at hand,” Sevenwonders frowned and said, “These orders are not something we can simply disobey. On the way, I heard that the Yin Sifting Sect already managed to enter. Did you let them in because Old Devil Qian be among them?”

  “Before I came, Old Devil Qian and a few vagrant cultivators had already entered. Later on, some Yin Sifting Sect and a few Endless Sky Temple cultivators entered as well with one of their grand immortals in tow. At the time, I hadn’t known the grave importance of the seal and wasn’t resolved to block them.”