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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Han Li seemed to have anticipated this well in advance and he calmly produced a small fiery red cauldron.

  He pointed a finger at the cauldron before making a hand seal in a calm and composed manner.

  A ringing sound immediately erupted from the cauldron as it flew into the air. A resounding boom then erupted as a pillar of fire over 100 feet in length sprang out from within.

  The entire space immediately became scorching hot and all of the ice beasts faltered before cowering in fear.

  The ice beasts had been slowed down, but Han Li didn't stop there. He unleashed another Celestial Technique as the massive pillar of fire dispersed.

  Over 100 Fire Ravens that were roughly the size of fists emerged from the flames before flying toward the ice beasts, leaving clouds of fire in their wake.

  All of a sudden, the surrounding temperatures rose drastically once again as the entire courtyard was inundated in a sea of crimson flames.

  These ice beasts were Profound Jade bodies, but these Fire Ravens were fire essence beings that had been refined for countless years within the cauldron. The ice beasts blasted glacial Qi out of their mouths in a desperate attempt to save themselves, but were all invariably melted and disintegrated in the face of the scorching flames.

  Moments later, all of the ice beasts in the courtyard had disappeared.

  Han Li nodded with a satisfied look before flicking a finger toward the fire cauldron through the air.

  A crisp ringing sound was heard before all of the Fire Ravens swooped through the air and obediently flew back into the cauldron.

  After the lid of the cauldron was replaced, the fire cauldron fell silent again. Almost at the exact same moment, the sea of flames in the courtyard disappeared without a trace as if it had been nothing but a mirage.

  The Fire Raven standing on Han Li's shoulder wasn't very intrigued by the sight of its brethren. Instead, it continued to organize its feathers with its beak, as if it couldn't even be bothered to look at them.

  Han Li stowed away the fire cauldron before disappearing through the gate of the courtyard.

  Not long after that, he appeared in a hall that wasn't very large.

  Within this rather simple and crude hall, there was a small teleportation formation.

  Han Li was not surprised to see this. It appeared as if he already knew that there was a teleportation formation here. He clasped his hands behind his back and proceed to make his way over to the formation for closer examination.

  However, right at this moment, white light suddenly flashed within the formation and it was as if it had been activated, and that something was teleporting through it.

  "Huh?" Han Li was slightly taken aback to see this.

  However, as powerful as he was now, there was no need for him to fear anyone, even if another late-Nascent Soul cultivator from the North Night Palace or even the palace master herself were to emerge from the formation. Thus, he faltered in his footsteps and silently appraised the teleportation formation before him.

  In order to prepare for unforeseen circumstances, the humanoid puppet beside him had also instantly disappeared, concealing itself to survey the situation from the shadows.

  The teleportation formation before him wasn't very large and it appeared that only two or three people could be teleported at a time at most. Sure enough, following a flash of white light, three slender figures stumbled out from within.

  Han Li narrowed his eyes and discovered that all three of them were young women in North Night Palace attire. They were roughly at the Foundation Establishment Stage and the eldest one among them had even reached the False Core Stage.

  However, all three female cultivators wore panicked expressions and were quite disheveled in appearance. One of them had sustained a severe injury on her shoulder and it was quite clear that they had just endured a difficult battle.

  "Who are you? Ah, it's Senior Han!" The three women were initially startled to see a man who wasn't in North Night Palace attire standing in front of the formation. The two women who were unscathed had each summoned a translucent flying sword, but the wounded woman was very elated to see Han Li.

  Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing that. After taking a closer look at that female North Night Palace disciple, he discovered that she was the servant girl who had tended to him in the distinguished pavilion.

  "It's you! What happened?" Han Li asked with a calm expression.

  The other two women didn't know who this "Senior Han" was, but their Junior Martial Sister seemed to be familiar with him and he didn't appear to be an enemy, so they both heaved a collective sigh of relief. They then used their spiritual sense to detect Han Li's cultivation base, upon which elated expressions appeared on their faces.

  However, before the two women could extend a curtsey toward him, white light flashed in the teleportation formation again. A fishy odor then wafted forth as the silhouette of a massive beast appeared within the formation. This was an unidentifiable demon beast with a pair of horns and the head of a horse. It was wielding a green steel trident and there was long black fur growing all over its back.

  The three women immediately hurtled back in retreat as the servant girl urgently cautioned, "Be careful, Senior; this is one of the demons that have attacked our palace and it's trying to kill us!"

  A sinister smile appeared on the demon beast's face as soon as it caught sight of the three women, and it immediately made a charge for them.

  However, right at this moment, red light flashed behind the beast. Immediately thereafter, a massive explosion erupted before an azure figure appeared and vanished in the blink of an eye.

  A bloodcurdling howl erupted from the demon beast's mouth as a gaping hole the size of a fist appeared in its chest. The sections around the puncture wound had been entirely charred black.

  The demon beast swayed a few times before letting go of its trident and falling to the ground.

  Chapter 1115: Demon Beast Invasion

  The servant girl knew that Han Li was a Nascent Soul cultivator whom even the palace elders had to treat with respect. Even though it appeared that the one who had attacked wasn't Han Li himself, but they were definitely somehow related to Han Li. The other two female cultivators were also relieved to see such a powerful demon beast killed so easily.

  The False Core Stage female cultivator extended a respectful bow toward Han Li, and said, "Thank you for saving us, Senior! These demon beasts have stormed into the main hall of our Spirit Void Hall. Please lend our palace your assistance, Senior."

  Han Li waved a sleeve through the air to summon a gust of gale-forced wind that swept the body of the demon beast out of the formation. He then turned to the female cultivators, and asked, "They've stormed into the main hall? How did they break through all of the Spirit Void Hall's restrictions?"

  The woman hesitated momentarily before replying with a confused look on her face, "We aren't sure of the specific details, but we were patrolling the hall when we encountered a large horde of demon beasts. They seem to have somehow bypassed the restrictions outside the hall and infiltrated without being impeded."

  "I see. They must've used some sort of special method to access the hall, then," Han Li murmured to himself. There were countless peculiar secret techniques and treasures in this world, so he had learned to expect the unexpected and wasn't overly surprised.

  Just as he was about to say something else, white light flashed within the teleportation formation again.

  The three North Night Palace cultivators were still startled upon seeing this, but they were a lot more assured with Han Li by their side. They merely took a couple of steps backward before focusing their eyes intently on the formation before them.

  The white light receded to reveal a woman with plain features who appeared to be just over 30 years of age. As soon as she appeared, she immediately unleashed a ring with a cautious look on her face to protect herself. However, her expression then faltered at the sight of Han Li and the three female disc
iples.

  She then caught sight of the body of the demon beast lying beside the formation and looked back at Han Li, upon which an elated look appeared on her face.

  "We pay our respects to Martial Aunt Yao!" The three female cultivators were overjoyed to see this woman and they immediately extended respectful salutes.

  The woman waved a hand at the three before making her way over to Han Li and extending a respectful salute of her own.

  "I pay my respects to Senior Han."

  "You know me?" Han Li looked at the woman with a peculiar expression. He had no idea who she was.

  "My name is Yao Man and I once caught sight of Senior from afar while I was patrolling the palace," the woman replied respectfully.

  "I see." Han Li nodded in response.

  The woman continued in a respectful voice as she glanced toward the entrance to the hall, "Senior, are you with our palace elders? The demon beasts suddenly infiltrated the main hall of the Spirit Void Hall and I've been ordered to seek out Grand Elder Arctic Dragon to request for his assistance."

  "Hehe, I'm afraid Fellow Daoist Arctic Dragon won't be able to help you at the moment," Han Li replied with a smile.

  An urgent expression appeared on the woman's face upon hearing this. "I've also heard that Senior is doing something extremely important with our palace elders, but this demon beast invasion is a very serious matter. If the Grand Elder and the others do not step in, our North Night Palace could be razed to the ground!"

  "Oh? Is the demon beast invasion that severe this time? Isn't the palace master also a late-Nascent Soul cultivator? Can't she take care of this matter?" Han Li asked with an intrigued look.

  "I am here at none other than the palace master's behest to request for assistance. Before I left, the palace master was engaged in battle with a powerful demon beast and was unable to attend to any matters other than her battle," the woman replied with a wry smile.

  "Fellow Daoist Arctic Dragon and the others have entered the Profound Jade Cave. If you think you have a way to get them to come out and help you, then go ahead. I'm going to have a look and see just what demon beasts have infiltrated that would pose such a severe threat to the palace." Han Li's body flashed through the air and he appeared in the teleportation formation.

  The woman faltered slightly upon hearing this, but she didn't dare to stop Han Li and could only offer words of caution. "Be careful, Senior. There are many demon beasts infiltrating on the other side so the teleportation formation could send you to a perilous location."

  Han Li nodded and raised a hand, upon which an azure Celestial Technique struck the formation. White light immediately began to flash as teleportation was initiated. Right at this moment, silver light flashed behind Han Li and an azure humanoid figure appeared, seemingly from thin air, before both of them were teleported away.

  The woman was startled upon seeing this, and asked, "Who was that?"

  The False Core Stage disciple hesitated momentarily before replying, "I'm not sure, but that that demon beast over there seems to have been killed by that person."

  "I heard many Seniors from the outside world came to the palace this time; that man must have been one of them. You three wait here. If enemies teleport to this place, then do your best to hold them off for now. I'm going to enter the Profound Jade Cave to see if I can recruit the help of the grand elder and the others." The woman was rather disturbed by the fact that Han Li appeared here by himself, but she quickly recalled that she had been entrusted with an important duty and rushed toward the cave.

  "Yes!" The three female disciples bowed in unison while the woman transformed into a streak of white light hurtling toward the Profound Jade Cave.

  On the other side, Han Li and the humanoid puppet emerged from the teleportation formation. Before Han Li had even recovered from the discomfort brought on by teleportation, the puppet behind him suddenly disappeared on the spot.

  Two cries of anguish rang out in quick succession, followed by a dull thump as something fell to the ground.

  Han Li turned to discover a demon beast's body lying in a puddle of its own blood. There were a man and woman standing beside it, both of whom were Core Formation Stage cultivators of the North Night Palace. They were staring at the humanoid puppet, which had one of its shiny golden arms protruding from the other demon beast's chest. The puppet withdrew its arm and the demon beast's body also fell to the ground.

  They had arrived in an identical hall to the one that the other teleportation formation was situated.

  Han Li took a glance at the two North Night Palace disciples before striding away without paying them any heed. He could hear a series of loud clashes erupting from outside the hall, thereby indicating that extremely fierce battles were taking place outside.

  The man and woman were planning to make their way over to Han Li and extend respectful salutes, but Han Li clearly didn't want to speak to them so they remained where they were after a brief hesitation.

  Right at this moment, Han Li and the humanoid puppet had already exited the hall.

  As expected, there were many intense battles taking place outside with a dozen or so North Night Palace disciples locked in combat with a horde of demon beasts. Treasures and demonic Qi flew in all directions amid deafening roars and explosions. Both sides appeared to be evenly matched and were locked in a grueling impasse.

  Han Li only took a cursory glance at the situation before paying no further attention to it.

  Most of the demon beasts and cultivators there were only at the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Stages, so he naturally couldn't be bothered to pay them any heed. He immediately transformed into a streak of silver light which also enveloped the humanoid puppet within, as he rushed out of the hall.

  After all, it was most likely the case the teleportation formation that could take him out of the Spirit Void Hall was located in the main hall.

  At Han Li's speed, he could travel several hundred feet in the time one took to take a breath, so he made it to the hall's entrance in the blink of an eye. However, right at this moment, a ghastly cry erupted from beside him as an unidentifiable monster with pitch-black scales all over its body suddenly appeared. Black Qi was erupting from its mouth and it was throwing itself straight at Han Li in a ferocious manner.

  Han Li couldn't help but heave a faint sight upon seeing this.

  This demon beast's cultivation base wasn't bad, but it was clearly lacking in intelligence. All of the other beasts could sense that Han Li was extremely powerful and were scrambling to avoid him. Who would have thought that there would be an idiot like this offering itself up to Han Li.

  However, Han Li couldn't be bothered to pay much attention to such a weak demon beast. He merely flicked his fingers at the latter and five bursts of piercing azure light shot forth. The demon beast let loose an agonized howl as its protective demonic Qi proved to be completely ineffective in the face of Han Li's attacks. Five large holes were blasted into the layer of demonic Qi before its dead body fell straight to the ground.

  The other demon beasts knew that Han Li was not to be messed with, but they were still petrified by the sight of him killing one of their brethren with such ease. All of them were trembling with fear as they hurtled back in retreat to assess the situation from afar. In contrast, the North Night Palace disciples were completely reinvigorated by the sight of such a powerful ally.

  However, Han Li immediately rushed out of the hall without any intention of remaining at the scene.

  The cultivators and demon beasts in the hall all looked at one another and a brief awkward silence ensued the battle erupted again. On this occasion, the battle was even fiercer than it had been before.

  After exiting the hall, Han Li flew toward the location in his mind that he had secured from Master Arctic Dragon's Nascent Soul using his soul search technique.

  He passed through several places on the way where demon beasts were engaged in heated battles with cultivators. It seemed that the entire
Spirit Void Hall had been infiltrated by the hordes of demon beasts. Along the way, there were naturally a few foolish beasts who dared to attack him. All of them were either stabbed to death by his swords or killed by the puppet's arrows.

  Most of the assailants slain were sixth and seventh grade demon beasts.

  After all, just the spiritual pressure emanating from Han Li's body alone made low-tier demon beasts too scared to approach him. Furthermore, early-metamorphosis stage demon beasts could immediately tell that Han Li was more powerful than then, so they naturally didn't want to engage such a powerful enemy in battle.

  However, as Han Li passing through a long corridor, he was stopped in his tracks by two early-metamorphosis stage demon beasts.

  One of them wore blue robes with long ears and green eyes, while the other had a head of white hair with red skin and three demonic eyes.

  Both of them were exuding powerful killing intent as they glowered viciously at Han Li.

  Han Li looked at the two bodies of North Night Palace cultivators nearby and his brows furrowed slightly. The spiritual energy fluctuations here were extremely chaotic, clearly indicating that an intense battle had just taken place. It was also quite apparent that these two demon beasts had emerged victorious.

  "Step aside. I'm not a North Night Palace cultivator and I have no intention of meddling in your battle!" Han Li said in a cold voice.

  The green-eyed demon was extremely muscular with two massive silver axes in his hands. It began to chuckle in a maniacal manner upon hearing Han Li's words.

  "Step aside? Do you think we're retarded! All human cultivators deserve to die! I just ate a Nascent Soul and it tasted pretty good, and I just so happen to be looking for another one to eat. Your cultivation base appears to be superior to those two, so your Nascent Soul must taste very good."

  The three-eyed demon beast also had a sinister look on its face.

  Among the two demon beasts, one of them was only at the eighth grade while the other one had just ascended to the ninth grade. As such, it was no wonder that they were confident in their abilities to hunt Han Li down.