The green light wrapped around a pitch-black Nascent Soul. Its hands were holding tightly onto a green jade bottle.
Han Li shook his sleeve, releasing a torrent of purple flames that promptly extinguished the devilish flames. However, he took no further actions to chase after the old devil.
Han Li’s calm demeanor only caused the old devil’s Nascent Soul to flee in a panic.
After flickering from view several times, the Nascent Soul appeared hundreds of meters away and turned around, stunned to see that Han Li remained completely still. He couldn't help but stop.
At that moment, the air above the Nascent Soul flashed, followed by the silent appearance of a pitch-black knife.
It was only when the knife arrived right above its head did the Nascent Soul discover it.
By that time, it was already too late. A black streak flashed and the Nascent Soul was cleaved into two.
Then with a bright flourish of silver, Han Li leisurely made his way over.
When the human-like puppet disposed of the two-headed snake, Han Li had it remain in position nearby. Then with his command, it intercepted the Nascent Soul’s escape.
Following that, a strange scene followed.
The Nascent Soul hadn’t disappeared after it was cleaved into two. Rather, it turned into clouds of roiling black Qi, separating into six lines that show off in different directions.
The puppet was alarmed and immediately flicked its fingers.
Suddenly, thunder clapped and a dozen fine arcs of lightning were quickly released, striking the black Qi in a flash.
Several muffled claps of thunder followed a chain of golden explosions.
The black Qi was evaporated.
The devil cultivator known to shake the Scattered Star Seas for hundred of years met his end.
The human puppet took a glance at the area of the explosions. After making certain there were no more remnants of the Nascent Soul, it promptly reached out and summoned the small bottle into its grasp.
It didn’t immediately open the bottle, but instead slowly floated towards Han Li.
The old devil was truly out of luck.
The secret technique to turn a Nascent Soul into a ghost was incredibly rare. Against an ordinary cultivator, one of the ghosts formed from the Nascent Soul may have been able to escape, allowing him the opportunity to return again.
But as it so happened, Han Li experienced such a technique once before during his time in the Moulan Plains and was prepared for such a thing to happen. As such, the human-like puppet made use of the Divine Devilbane Lightning from the bamboo arrow to strike down all the ghost fragments.
If there was even a single moment of hesitation, it would’ve been greatly troublesome. After a ghost fragment hid itself, it will be incredibly difficult to find.
When the human-like puppet flew up to Han Li, it tossed the green bottle over to him.
Han Li caught it and examined it for a moment before revealing excitement on his face.
But before he opened the bottle, ghostly cries shrieked from the distance.
Han Li raised his head and looked over to the Unbreakable Cinque Devils.
Without the old devil controlling the bone banner, its power greatly decreased, allowing the cinque devils to regain the advantage. However, the three skulls embedded on the banner belonged to no ordinary cultivators. Although they were no match for the cinque devils, their desperate flaming rage appeared exceptionally brutal.
When Han Li saw this, he frowned and ordered the cinque devils with an incantation gesture.
Suddenly, three of Unbreakable Cinque Devils flew off, returning to their original skeletal form. The two devils that were fighting with the mist flood dragons also withdrew.
Before the flood dragons and the three skulls from the banner could resume their attack, the cinque devils all formed incantation gestures and opened their mouths.
Five differently-colored icy flames rushed out and fused together, creating a torrent of rainbow flames.
The flood dragon of black Qi was the first to meet the flame, and the result was as expected.
Under the rainbow flames, the black flood dragon’s movements slowed. In the blink of an eye, its movements gradually grew increasingly sluggish until it became nearly still.
The cinque devils then let out a long whistle. Countless palm-sized blades of rainbow ice leaped out from the flames, shredding the black flood dragon until it was only black Qi, only for it to be burned away by the flames.
Chapter 1219: Five Elements as One
The three skulls were faring even worse than the flood dragon.
When the skull’s black Qi contacted the rainbow flame, it slowed and was soon wiped away by the flame.
When the skulls saw the flames slowly draw closer, a trace of fear appeared from their eyes and their whimpers grew louder.
The cinque devils sinisterly cackled at this display and soon they stopped spitting icy flames from their mouths, instead suddenly turning to five grey streaks into the sea of flame.
In that next moment, when the rainbow flames nearly arrived at the top of the bone banner where the three skulls resided, five clouds of grey Qi flew out from the flames and took the form of malevolent ghost heads.
They bared their fangs with excitement and sped forward without any abilities.
Crack! The five ghost heads fiercely bit down on the three skulls.
Of course, the three skulls weren’t about to accept their fate. They bit back at the cinque devils.
Suddenly, strange howls and violent screams sounded as the ghost heads and skulls tore at each other with their teeth.
Due to the vast amount of black Qi they earlier released, the three skulls’ vitality was drained. And their position was even worse since they were outnumbered.
In the blink of an eye, the two of the three skulls were torn apart by four of the ghost heads and devoured in large mouthfuls. It took all the strength of the last skull to ward off the fifth ghost head for the time being.
When Han Li saw this, he smiled with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the small cauldron he held in his hand let out a faint sigh.
“What? Does Fellow Daoist Endless Sky have any suggestions for my rainbow glacial flames?”
“Nonsense! But your rainbow glacial flames remind me of many five elemental type techniques from the Spirit Realm. After these techniques are fully used, they are divided into five colors like your glacial flames. However, your glacial flames are incredibly cold. If an opponent mistook your flames for an elemental technique, they would suffer quite a bit.”
(The Five Elements refer to Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water)
Azure light flashed and an azure-robed young boy appeared on top of the Heavenvoid Cauldron. He had red lips, white teeth, and a pair of plump white feet. He spoke leisurely as he glanced in the direction of the cinque devils.
“An elemental technique?” Han Li asked with a start.
“That’s right,” the boy smiled with a trace of mockery, “Since I’ve arrived in your mortal realm, I’ve discovered that there are few cultivators that learn multiple elements; most only learn one. Hehe, if any of those people ascended to the Spirit Realm, I fear they will have no hope of ascending to the Spatial Tempering stage.”
“What do you mean?” Han Li quickly asked with a shaken heart.
“It’s nothing much. It’s still too early to speak with you about the Spatial Tempering stage. However, I will mention that a crucial point of ascending to the Spatial Tempering stage is fusion of the five elements into one. If you manage to raise yourself to the Deity Transformation stage, it would be best for you to primarily cultivate as many of the five elements as you can. Peculiar elements such as wind and lightning are too difficult to fuse together. With the cultivation of the five elements as a priority, you’ll have a greater chance of breaking through to Spatial Tempering. Of course, cultivation methods with multiple techniques are far more difficult to cultivate than ordina
ry techniques. The rate at which magic power gathers will be inferior to single element techniques as well. If you don’t have high hopes for reaching Spatial Tempering, it would be better to only cultivate a single element. With the increased rate at which you gain magic power with a single element, you’ll be able to more easily survive the minor heavenly tribulations that occur every three hundred years!”
Han Li was left stunned by these words. After a long while, he eventually brought himself to say,
“Five elements into one? That will be quite troublesome. My Azure Essence Sword Art is only a wood-attributed technique. As for the wind and lightning attributed techniques, that is understandable. After all, they are variant elements that are formed by combining others. But shouldn’t I cultivate techniques that conform to my body’s spiritual roots? Could it be that heavenly spiritual roots are ordinary in the Spirit Realm? And what is this minor heavenly tribulation that you mentioned? Do humans in the Spirit Realm experience similar tribulation to metamorphosed demon beasts?”
The boy flashed a mysterious smile and chuckled, “I didn’t expect that a few of my words would attract so many questions. In that case, I’ll give you a bit of an explanation.”
“Heavenly spiritual roots are also remarkably rare in our Spirit Realm. Powers and sects of all sizes do their utmost to attract these disciples. After all, those with single elemental spiritual roots would have difficulty entering Spatial Tempering Stage. And Heavenly Spirit Roots may be far more difficult to cultivate, but the Spatial Tempering cultivators they produce are hegemons and sect leaders. When those with Heavenly Spirit Roots breakthrough to Spatial Tempering, a majority of them will be cultivating techniques with two or more attributes. As for the problem with a person's number of spiritual roots, that is easily solved. The humans in the Spirit Realm devised a method to use particular demon beast cores to substitute their lack of spiritual roots. This ‘Core Spiritual Root’ method is somewhat inferior to genuine spiritual roots, there should be no problem in cultivating techniques of other elements. Of course, the core spiritual root method can only be used with preexisting spiritual roots. Mortals cannot use them. In fact, there was a method in the past that used magic tools and treasures as a substitution for spiritual roots. However, this method is incredibly dangerous and slow, so this method is hardly being used. There are cultivators with anywhere from three or four elemental spirit roots that do manage to breakthrough to Spatial Tempering Stage, but they all possess incredible perseverance. They can’t be compared to ordinary cultivators, haha! The so-called minor heavenly tribulation is something that all cultivators above Core Formation stage much experience.”
The boy briefly paused before continuing.
“In the lower realm, Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation cultivators experience a tribulation every three hundred years, thus earning the name ‘minor heavenly tribulation’. At the middle realm, Spatial Tempering, Integration, and Grand Ascension level cultivators experience a grand tribulation every three thousand years. As for cultivators in the very last stage that ascended to the true Immortal realm, they experience Immortal tribulation. Normally, if your cultivation no longer progresses, the following tribulation will be far more powerful than the last. In addition, the increased abundance of spiritual Qi in the spirit realm leads to greater speeds in cultivation, but once one condenses a Nascent Soul, it is a race against time. Each year, many famous cultivators die from tribulation. Fellow Daoist Han shouldn’t think that you will have no problems past Spatial Tempering Stage. Although these cultivator techniques technically have a limitless lifespan provided enough worldly essence, their lives aren’t so peaceful or long. So long as you ascend to the spirit realm, death by heavenly tribulation is only a matter of time.” With that said, the boy’s face grew sullen and his eyes possessed a deep fear.
Han Li wore a grave expression.
The boy didn’t speak much, but his words clearly illustrated that the spirit realm was no paradise. But when Han Li heard that Spatial Tempering Stage cultivators didn’t have a lifespan, Han Li was overjoyed.
Although he already read through a few records mentioning the limitless lifespan of a Spatial Tempering cultivator, he now possessed the full and certain truth.
From his tone, it appeared that a limitless lifespan can only be achieved after he ascended to the spirit realm. Even if he managed to achieve Spatial Tempering in the mortal realm, the worldly essence is lacking, thus limiting his lifespan. At the Deity Transformation stage, one is able to join with worldly essence. Their span won’t be limited by two thousand years once they entered the Spirit Realm. It was no wonder why these Deity Transformation eccentrics were so desperate to find a method to ascend.
As for the tribulations that he mentioned, Han Li was somewhat cautious of them, but he didn’t take them too much to heart.
The matter was a bit too far away from him for his consideration.
After Han Li asked a few more questions related to core spiritual roots and artifact spiritual roots, he eventually grew silent, his eyes twinkling in deep thought.
A short moment later, Han Li fiddled with the dark-green bottle in his hand and flicked off its cap.
Azure light flashed and the bottle rumbled before the cap shot off.
In the next moment, he found that there was absolutely nothing inside of it.
In his surprise, as he thought about what action to take next, a green light abruptly streaked out from the bottle and flew off.
Although Han Li was caught unprepared, he wasn’t about to allow it to escape. With a cold snort, he reached his hand out.
A large azure hand appeared above the green light and slipped down to grab it.
The escaping green light seemed to have already been weakened. Although it was fleeing with utmost speed, the large hand easily grabbed it from the air.
Within the flickering green light, one could see the vague appearance of a female Nascent Soul.
Han Li couldn't help but stroke his chin at the sight.
He stared at the Nascent Soul and slowly asked, “Who is your esteemed self? Why has Six Paths trapped you inside the bottle?”
“Who are you? Where is that devil Six Paths?” Although the Nascent Soul was trapped, it replied boldly.
Facing a mere Nascent Soul, Han Li simply smiled and lazily replied, “If you’re thinking about seeing him, I fear you will be disappointed. I already sent him to the underworld.”
“What? You killed that old devil? How is that possible? Yi! You’re...” The Nascent Soul trembled and spoke with a tone of disbelief.
Chapter 1220: Breaking the Formation
“You know me?” Han Li said with a tone of bafflement.
Although he knew many female cultivators, he didn’t know any at Nascent Soul-stage apart from Ling Yuling.
After a long pause, the Nascent Soul eventually spoke with an odd tone, “You’re Han Li? When Heavenvoid Hall opened, I saw you once before. It was later said that you acquired the Heavenvoid Cauldron. I didn’t expect that you could’ve escaped the pursuit from those old eccentrics and reach cultivation of this level.”
When he heard her mention Heavenvoid Hall, he recalled where he heard her voice before. A flash of realization sparked in his mind and he doubtfully asked, “You’re... Lady Wen?”
“I didn’t expect that you’d remember me.” She let out a long sigh.
When she confirmed her identity, Han Li wore an astonished expression.
This female Nascent Soul belonged to a woman named Lady Wen, who he originally saw at Heavenvoid Hall. Although her cultivation at the time was significant to begin with, she must’ve acquired quite a few medicines in Heavenvoid Hall and made much progress.
He also remembered what relationship she had with Six Paths.
“If I remember correctly, you should’ve been his Dao Companion!”
Lady Wen resentfully snorted and hesitantly asked, “His Dao Companion? Have you ever seen someone seal their Dao Companion’s Nascen
t Soul in a magic treasure? But more importantly, you truly killed that wretch Six Paths?”
Han Li smiled and wordlessly extended his finger.
After a brief pause, Lady Wen’s eyes followed where he pointed.
Not far away, there was a block of purple ice that sealed a ruined corpse. It originally belonged to Archsaint Six Paths.
Then, the azure hand holding down Lady Wen wildly flickered before disappearing without a trace.
Lady Wen’s Nascent Soul was now freed.
With her freedom restored, Lady Wen quickly shot forward and flew several circles around the corpse before letting out a frigid laugh to the sky, “It really is that old wretch! As scheming as you are, I didn’t expect that you would die first!”
Han Li frowned. Although he didn’t know what happened for Six Paths and Lady Wen to fall out, he had no interest in hearing about it. Soon after, he began to consider what he should do next.
The Nascent Soul’s laughter eventually came to a stop and she looked over to find Han Li wearing a pensive expression. “There is no need for Fellow Daoist Han to trouble himself. I’ve been kept inside that magic treasure for such a long period of time that I’ve weakened to the point where I can no longer possess a body.
My Nascent Soul will have to immediately dissipate for a chance of reincarnation. I am truly grateful that Fellow Daoist Han managed to eliminate my enemy, but with my current abilities, I have no way to compensate you. I can only hope to repay you in my next life.”
With that said, she abruptly slapped the top of her head.
A blinding red light shined and covered the Nascent Soul entirely. Gradually, the Nascent Soul scattered inch by inch before hl until it was no more.
Han Li was shocked.
He didn’t think that Lady Wen would be so decisive that she would end herself without speaking another word to him. Was what happened so disastrous that she would keep this secret to the grave? But even if she didn’t want to tell him what happened, he could fancy a guess.
Although he was somewhat gloomy over what happened, it was better things ended this way. It would’ve been troublesome to figure out what to do with her.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 673