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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Hu Qinglei took a cold glance at Violet Spirit before replying, "It's quite simple; aside from giving me the item that you promised, you also have to take a single attack from me without evading nor using your Immortal Vanquishing Beads. If you can do that, then you have yourself a deal."

  Xiang Zhili's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he quickly recomposed himself again. In contrast, Eccentric Wind was looking at Hu Qinglei with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

  Everyone else also wore contrasting expressions.

  Hu Qinglei's drastic change in attitude was already quite perplexing to everyone; all of them were wondering what kind of treasure Han Li could possibly be offering to elicit such a strong reaction from a Deity Transformation cultivator. However, after hearing the additional condition that Hu Qinglei was imposing, everyone was even more befuddled.

  Han Li's pupils contracted as he repeated for confirmation, "I have to take an attack from you and I'm not allowed to evade?"

  "That's right; that's my condition. If I don't teach you a lesson, everyone will think that anyone can just take my concubines away from me as they please!" Hu Qinglei replied in a sinister voice.

  The entire palace fell silent once again as many fell into deep thought. Could it be that Hu Qinglei was trying to kill Han Li, after all? The disparity between a Nascent Soul cultivator and a Deity Transformation cultivator was an extremely drastic one. If Han Li were prohibited from evading, how was he supposed to be able to survive an attack from Hu Qinglei.

  With that in mind, everyone turned their attention toward Han Li, and Violet Spirit's face paled even further.

  After a brief silence, she suddenly gritted her teeth, and said in a bitter voice, "There's no need for you to do this, Brother Han. I've changed my mind; I want to stay here in the Devil Palace. You can leave on your own, Brother Han."

  Han Li faltered upon hearing this before quickly gleaning her intentions.

  However, before he had a chance to say anything in response, Hu Qinglei interjected in a cold voice, "Do you think my Devil Palace is an inn where you can come and go as you please? I've already agreed to this deal, so you can't stay here even if you want to. You won't turn down my condition again, will you, Fellow Daoist Han?"

  Han Li shook his head with a nonchalant expression, and replied, "If it's just one attack, then I really do want to give it a shot."

  Hu Qinglei chuckled as he lifted a hand and pointed a finger toward Violet Spirit.

  All of a sudden, she was struck by a numb yet itchy sensation in her dantian, and she let loose an involuntary cry. Her lithe and graceful figure swayed as several black threads emerged from within her body, disappearing into Hu Qinglei's finger after circling through the air like a group of miniature spirit snakes.

  Only then did Violet Spirit stand up straight again, and her expression lit up with surprise and elation as she felt her magic power circulating throughout her body. She had been unable to use her spiritual power before, but it was now gushing into her meridians. Han Li also swept his spiritual sense toward Violet Spirit upon seeing this, and a content look appeared on his face a few moments later.

  The restriction within her body had indeed ceased to exist.

  "Hand it over!"

  As soon as he lifted the restriction in Violet Spirit's body, Hu Qinglei turned to Han Li with a cold expression.

  A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he abruptly raised a hand, following which a streak of white light shot forth from within his sleeve.

  Hu Qinglei's eyes lit up as he made a grabbing motion, drawing the streak of white light into his hand.

  The white light receded to reveal a white jade vial.

  Hu Qinglei swept a sleeve gently over the vial, and the lid flew off of its own accord. At the same time, rings of black light began to proliferate through the air, creating a black light barrier that prevented others from being able to ascertain the contents of the jade vial with their spiritual sense.

  The precautionary measures that Hu Qinglei was taking made everyone even more curious, and even Xiang Zhili had fallen into deep thought as he stroked his beard absentmindedly.

  A few moments later, Hu Qinglei had verified that it was indeed Glacial Quintessence that was stored within the vial, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

  He replaced the lid of the vial before flipping his hand over, following which the vial completely disappeared.

  After doing all that, he raised his head to turned his gaze toward Han Li again. The smile on his face faded, only to be replaced by a menacing expression. All of a sudden, black light flashed around his body and he abruptly transformed into a streak of black light as he flew out of the palace, leaving only a cold parting sentence in his wake.

  "I'll be waiting for you outisde, Han brat. Don't make me wait too long."

  Before he had finished his sentence, the streak of black light had already disappeared into the distance, but his voice continued to echo throughout the palace.

  Han Li did not appear to be flustered in the slightest in the face of the daunting task that awaited him. He poured a cup of wine for himself in a leisurely manner, drinking it in a few sips before rising to his feet with a calm and collected expression.

  In contrast, Violet Spirit's brows were furrowed with concern as she asked, Brother Han, are you really going to take an attack from him? He's a Deity Transformation cultivator!"

  "Don't worry, if it's just one attack, then I have a good deal of confidence in myself," Han Li replied with a calm and reassuring smile.

  He had managed to withstand an attack from the avatar of an Elder Devil even prior to reaching the late-Nascent Soul Stage, so he was relatively confident in his ability to take an attack from a Deity Transformation cultivator.

  "Then allow me to come with you, Brother Han. I want to support you," Violet Spirit insisted with a determined look in her eyes.

  Han Li hesitated momentarily at the sight of her resolute expression before nodding in the end.

  Spiritual light flashed over his body as he latched onto Violet Spirit's hand, and the two of them hurtled out of the palace as a streak of azure light.

  All of the other Nascent Soul cultivators also flooded out of the palace. They certainly weren't going to miss out on such a spectacular match-up.

  Even the other two gorgeous female cultivators who were set to become Hu Qinglei's concubines made their way out of the palace with the other servants following a brief hesitation.

  All of a sudden, Xiang Zhili and Eccentric Wind were the only ones left in the palace.

  The two of them sat in silence, seemingly completely disinterested in joining everyone else.

  "Brother Xiang, what do you think about this?" Eccentric Wind asked.

  "What do I think about what?" Xiang Zhili responded expressionlessly.

  "The treasure that Han brat offered, of course. What could he have offered to draw such a strong reaction from Fellow Daoist Hu? There aren't many things in this world that can tempt him to such an extent," Eccentric Wind chuckled coldly.

  "It's just as you said; such treasures are rare, but certainly not non-existent, so what's there to be surprised about?" Xiang Zhili remained quite calm.

  "Brother Xiang, are you really not interested in knowing what such a treasure was? It has to be something that could be very useful to us as well," Eccentric Wind said in a meaningful voice.

  Xiang Zhili heaved a faint sigh, and replied, "So what even if that treasure was something that could help us break through our current bottlenecks or prolong our lifespans for another few centuries? Do you think making a breakthrough now will allow us to ascend to the Spirit Realm? Or do you think that we'll be able to progress to the late-Deity Transformation Stage after a few more centuries of cultivation? If not, then there's no point in distracting ourselves with such inconsequential matters. We should instead be focusing solely on searching for a spatial node. You and I will have a chance at attaining immortality as long as we can find a s
uitable spatial node; everything else is trivial in comparison. "

  Following a brief period of contemplation, a wry smile appeared on Eccentric Wind's face as he said, "You're right, Brother Xiang. I was led astray by my greed there. In reality, regardless of what that treasure was, there's no chance that we'd be able to get our hands on it now that it's in Fellow Daoist Hu's possession. In any case, it appears that he has no intention of disclosing what the treasure was to anyone. I'm more concerned now that he asked that Han brat to take an attack of his; he's not trying to take advantage of this opportunity to kill Han Li, is he?"

  "It'll be fine; I already warned Fellow Daoist Hu against killing Han Li earlier. Besides, Junior Martial Brother Han must be quite confident in his own abilities. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to this condition. Having said that, Fellow Daoist Hu has always been quite volatile and unpredictable, so we should still go and have a look in case any mishaps arise. It'll be really bad for us if he hurts Han Li in a moment of madness."With that in mind, Xiang Zhili's brows furrowed, and he suddenly wasn't as calm and collected as he was before.

  Eccentric Wind nodded in agreement as he also rose to his feet.

  The two of them swayed in unison before abruptly disappearing on the spot.

  In the next instant, the two of them had appeared outside the palace before vanishing again in a flash.

  A short while later, the two of them stopped some distance away from the palace. High up in their air over 1,000 feet away from them, Han Li and Hu Qinglei were already facing off against one another.

  Both of them were completely calm and expressionless.

  There were many cultivators spectating from down below and hundreds of beautiful Devil Palace female servants had flocked out from the other palaces nearby. All of them were discussing spiritedly among themselves with excitement etched on their faces.

  It was no wonder that they were so excited; seeing the master of the Devil Palace himself in action was quite a rare occasion, even for them.

  Eccentric Wind looked on with narrowed eyes before suddenly turning to Xiang Zhili as he asked, "Do you think that Han brat will be able to withstand the attack if Fellow Daoist Hu uses his full power?"

  Chapter 1245: Jade Peaks

  "That'll depend on what Fellow Daoist Hu wants to do. If it's just an ordinary attack, then he'll have no issues withstanding it. However, if he's willing to sacrifice part of his lifespan to use that spirit treasure of his, then Junior Martial Brother Han will be in some trouble. Fellow Daoist Hu most likely won't do something so foolish, though," Xiang Zhili replied with furrowed brows.

  "Your analysis is spot on, as usual, Brother Xiang, but you may not have heard about this yet; Fellow Daoist Hu recently obtained a treasure that's apparently no less powerful than a spirit treasure. However, this treasure requires the usage of a special secret technique before it can be activated. As long as Fellow Daoist Hu injects some of his magic power into the treasures, it'll be capable of unleashing unfathomable might. I think there's a very good chance that he'll use that treasure, " Eccentric Wind chuckled.

  "Is that so?" Xiang Zhili's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

  Just as Xiang Zhili and Eccentric Wind were conversing with one another, the two people locked in a confrontation in the air above finally sprang into action.

  Hu Qinglei swept a sleeve through the air and a ball of green light shot forth before transforming into an object that hovered in front of him.

  It was an antiquated scroll with peculiar green light shimmering over its surface, striking one with a sense of mystery.

  Hu Qinglei aimed a cold glance at Han Li before suddenly making a hand seal as he began to chant something.

  The scroll slowly began to unfurl amid his chanting voice. A ball of green light began to flash incessantly as the scroll was spread open, revealing a piece of gorgeous scenic artwork containing around a dozen or so green mountains of different sizes.

  However, before anyone had a chance to catch a clear glimpse of the artwork, a burst of green mist rose up from the scroll, instantly obscuring the contents of the entire scroll.

  A series of sharp cries rang out, following which 18 pillars of green light rose into the air.

  An incredible turn of events unfolded!

  The pillars of light receded after hurtling into the air, each of them transforming into a miniature mountain around 10 feet tall. All of them were of a beautiful shade of green and abundant with spiritual Qi. The sharp cries were coming from none other than those miniature mountains.

  Han Li was quite startled by this development. The slightly lackadaisical expression on his face was replaced by a serious one as he immediately flipped his hands over.

  A green wooden ruler and a miniature azure cauldron appeared over his palms.

  He tossed the wooden ruler before him, upon which the projection of a lotus flower instantly appeared. The projection swelled drastically in size, transforming into a massive silver lotus that positioned itself in front of him. Meanwhile, the wooden ruler was slowly rotating at the center of the lotus flower, shimmering with dazzling green light.

  Almost at the exact same moment, Han Li flicked a finger toward the azure cauldron, flinging the cauldron's lid off. A clear ringing sound erupted as a clump of thin azure threads shot forth from within.

  Amid a vast expanse of shimmering azure light, the thin threads transformed into a massive net over 100 feet in size, descending from the sky to shield Han Li.

  The Heavenvoid Cauldron itself had also expanded to several feet in size as it flew into the air overhead.

  Han Li then made a hand seal and golden light flashed over his body. A shiny golden light barrier that clung tightly to his clothes was immediately materialized; this was none other than the Buddhist vajra barrier.

  After setting up his most powerful three lines of defense, Han Li was feeling a lot more secure and assured.

  Upon seeing this, Hu Qinglei said in a cold voice, "Seeing as you're prepared, I won't delay any longer, either."

  Right as his voice trailed off, he let loose a low cry and made a hand seal. A pillar of black light was blasted out of his mouth before disappearing into the green mist.

  He was furiously injecting his spiritual power into the scroll.

  A dull rumbling sound rang out as the green mist surged and tumbled violently. Immediately thereafter, 18 pillars of black light shot straight up into the air, injecting themselves into the 18 miniature mountains up above.

  All of those mountains instantly began radiating scintillating green light while expanding at an alarming rate. Within the span of just a few breaths, they had transformed into colossal objects around 500 to 600 feet tall, turning them into 18 true mountain peaks. The sharp cries they were emitting became even more pronounced as a series of apes appeared on the mountains, each of which was around a foot in size.

  All of the cultivators down below were in awe of the scenes unfolding up above. Violet Spirit was also growing even more concerned.

  "Go!"

  Black Qi flashed over Hu Qinglei's face as he grabbed the air, sending a small mountain hurtling toward Han Li. After grabbing at the air several times in quick succession, seven or eight mountains had already lined up and were preparing to throw themselves at Han Li one after another.

  A normal Nascent Soul cultivator definitely wouldn't be able to withstand an attack from even one of those mountains, let alone seven or eight.

  There were still around 10 mountains left, yet Hu Qinglei merely exhaled and left them where they were. Perhaps it was because he was simply trying to teach Han Li, yet didn't want to actually endanger his life, or perhaps it was because activating all 18 mountains required excessive magic power expenditure; in any case, Hu Qinglei displayed no intention of attacking with the rest of his mountains.

  Han Li was slightly dumbstruck.

  He knew that Hu Qinglei would definitely make full use of this opportunity to unleash one of his most powerful attacks
, but he didn't think he would hurl a few mountains directly at him!

  Setting aside whether these mountains possessed any special abilities, just the sheer enormity of the impact they would create was unfathomable. Even with his spirit treasures protecting him, there was definitely no way that he would be able to withstand so many devastating strikes in succession. If it weren't for their prior agreement, he could easily unleash a movement technique to evade these mountains. However, he had no choice now but to stand still on the spot an act as Hu Qinglei's punching bag.

  A wry smile appeared on Han Li's face, but a thought then suddenly occurred to him as he abruptly patted a spirit beast pouch hanging from his waist.

  A burst of black light instantly shot forth from within, transforming into a small black monkey that was only several inches in size.

  It was none other than the Weeping Soul Beast!

  At the same time, he flapped his other sleeve through the air to summon a small black vial.

  The vial tipped itself over and five humanoid skeletons emerged from within amid a burst of greyish-white energy. These were none other than the Unbroken Cinque Devils.

  Han Li then quickly made a hand seal, and black light began to surge over the small monkey's body. The monkey expanded at a rapid rate, instantly transforming into a colossal ape over 300 feet tall. The massive ape pounded its chest with its mountainous fists as it let loose a long thunderous cry. It then harrumphed violently and a large swath of yellow light swept out of its nose, converging to form a massive yellow trident.

  With its trident in hand, the ape was like a fiendcelestial that had just descended upon the human world.

  Meanwhile, the five sets of humanoid skeletons were also converging, combining to form a massive bone-saber-wielding skeleton that was comparable in size to the giant ape.

  The two colossal creatures stood side by side, one on Han Li's left, and the other on his right.

  Almost at the exact same moment, the first mountain came crashing down with devastating might.

  Before Han Li had even done anything, the skeleton and giant ape sprang into action at the same time.