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

by Translator: Johnchen

  The ape drew a sharp inhalation as it raised its trident into the air to try and parry the mountain, while the skeleton raised its two bone sabers at once before slashing them viciously toward the air overhead in a cross slash strike.

  Two resounding booms erupted as all types of spiritual light intertwined and exploded. The giant ape and the skeleton were both forced downward, yet they managed to arrest their downward momentum after their weapons struck the mountain overhead, stopping it cold in its tracks.

  However, Han Li had just pulled out his Triflame Fan, and there was no joy in his expression upon seeing this.

  A few more thunderous booms erupted as a few more mountains descended, stacking on top of the first one.

  As such, even the ridiculously powerful skeleton and Weeping Soul Beast were unable to withstand this overwhelming assault any longer. Following three rumbling booms, the massive ape's body shuddered as the huge yellow trident in its hands was shattered into countless pieces.

  At the same time, the ape itself shrank drastically amid a ball of black light, reverting back to only around 10 feet tall.

  Without the assistance of the massive ape, the skeleton was plunged into an even more dire situation. As the fourth mountain arrived, the twin bone sabers in the skeleton's hands were snapped in half, and four mountains came crashing down mercilessly in a doomsday-like sene.

  Even the violent skeleton was struck by a sense of fear at the sight of this insurmountable attack.

  Han Li's heart jolted as he raised his Triflame Fan, preparing to lash out with it.

  However, right at this moment, a starting sequence of events unfolded.

  Following a dull thump, the giant skeleton let loose an almighty roar of rage as they blasted out a torrent of five-colored flames, striking the base of the mountain on the bottom.

  A vast expanse of five-colored light exploded, and the speed of the mountains' descent was dramatically slowed to less than a tenth of its original pace.

  However, the mountains behind the one the bottom were unaffected by the five-colored flames, and they continued to pile on more pressure. An earthshattering boom erupted as the four mountains crashed into one another, resulting in an enormous explosion of green light that made it appear as if a green sun had risen into the air.

  Beneath this immense expanse of green light, five-colored flames were surging relentlessly, as if they were supporting the green sun in the sky.

  The combination of the two presented an extremely marvelous spectacle to behold.

  Han Li was a little flabbergasted. He knew that the five glacial flames could be combined to conjure up some kind of strange ability, but he didn't know that it would be this astonishingly powerful.

  In the distance, Hu Qinglei's expression darkened upon seeing this, and two more mountains plunged themselves into the green light at his behest.

  On this occasion, an even more ferocious boom rang out. The spatial fluctuations nearby twisted and warped as the green sun came crashing down with renewed vigor.

  In contrast, the five-colored flames shuddered violently before being forced to dissipate into specks of five-colored light.

  However, Han Li had already prepared himself for this situation, and the massive skeleton immediately fled as five bursts of greyish-white Qi. The cry of a phoenix then rang out as a three-colored Fire Raven erupted from the Triflame Fan, crashing directly into the descending green sun.

  A vast expanse of light exploded once again as the three-colored light slowed the green sun downward momentum this time. However, as the two bursts of light intertwined in the sky, it was quite clear that the three-colored flames were inferior in power, and were forced to descend along with the green sun.

  Han Li's eyes flashed as he pointed toward the small azure cauldron overhead.

  The green net of threads that was initially protecting transformed into an azure spirit cloud before rushing into the air above.

  With the assistance of this azure cloud, the three-colored flames were finally able to keep the green sun at bay.

  However, as two more mountains came crashing down into the green light one after another, the green sun was able to slowly re-initiate its descent.

  Han Li took a deep breath as he swept his sleeve toward the silver lotus flower before him.

  The massive lotus flower swayed before vanishing on the spot. However, in the next instant, seven-colored Buddhist light flashed as the silver lotus flower appeared once again.

  Meanwhile, the small green ruler at the center of the lotus flower began to rotate as the lotus flower expanded drastically once again.

  Chapter 1246: The Eight Spirit Ruler and the Weeping Soul Beast

  Even after doing all that, Han Li displayed no intention of stopping. Instead, he rubbed his hands together before raising them high into the air.

  Two explosive thunderclaps erupted as two arcs of light shot forth from within his sleeves, each of which was as thick as his arm.

  The two arcs of lightning converged to form a massive golden python with a diameter comparable to that of a large bowl, flying directly up into the air at an alarming speed. At the same time, Han Li opened his mouth to expel a glittering and translucent bead, which instantly transformed into a purple wyrm over 100 feet long that also threw itself into the air above.

  Meanwhile, the massive silver lotus was also slowly rising up to meet the green sun.

  Spiritual light suddenly flashed in the air as the green sun overhead split up into eight jade peaks again. However, four of them were already damaged and incompletely, while the other four were in perfect condition. However, as green light began to surge along the surfaces of these mountains, an incredible transformation took place. The eight mountains converged and as opposed to simply stacking on top of one another, they truly combined to form a gargantuan mountain close to 10,000 feet tall, which came crashing down without any delay. At this moment, the purple wyrm, lightning python, and silver lotus flower had also risen up to meet this colossal mountain.

  Spiritual light of all types of colors exploded as lightning, glacial Qi, silver light, and green light intertwined, and the colossal mountain really did pause in its tracks.

  However, the sheer size of the mountain was simply too much to handle; regardless of whether it was struck by lightning or frozen by glacial Qi, the mountain seemed to simply be able to shrug off those afflictions as it slowly continued downward. Even the massive silver lotus was unable to arrest its momentum.

  Down below, Han Li narrowed his eyes as blue light flashed through his pupils. He then let loose a low cry and threw up a mouthful of blood essence.

  The blood essence immediately disappeared into the center of the silver lotus flower in the sky, where it was absorbed by the green ruler.

  Han Li rapidly made a series of hand seals as he began to chant an unintelligible string of incantations.

  Upon hearing Han Li's chanting, Xiang Zhili and Eccentric Wind both looked at one another with surprise etched on their faces.

  Just as the colossal mountain overhead was about to crush the silver lotus flower, eight different types of sharp cries suddenly erupted from the green wooden ruler, following which eight projection emerged, each of which was around an inch in size.

  At Han Li's behest, all of these projections expanded drastically, transforming into eight spirit beast projections over 100 feet in size in the blink of an eye. All of the projections were shimmering with green light, and they appeared to be substantial creatures rather than mere projected illusions. Furthermore, each and every one of those projections was identical to one of the legendary heavenly spirit beasts. All eight of those projections combined their powers to force the colossal mountain up above to a grinding halt, forcing it to only be able to rotate on the spot, but not allowing it to descend so much as a single inch further.

  Hu Qinglei's expression finally darkened upon seeing this.

  Even though he didn't intend to kill Han Li, he really did want to severely wound
Han Li in order to teach him a lesson. If Han Li were able to withstand his attack with such ease, then he would be squandering this opportunity.

  With that in mind, Hu Qinglei appeared to have done nothing, but all of the sharp cries being emitted by the jade peaks suddenly increased in volume at his behest. Countless grey figures shot forth from those mountains, transforming into powerful apes that were each around 10 feet in length.

  These apes weren't actual demon beasts, but instead projections refined by this treasure through sacrificing demon souls. As such, they were virtually unkillable and as they threw themselves down from above, even if they were sliced into countless pieces, they could resurrect themselves almost immediately from the jade peaks. Even though none of them were very powerful individually, they were still very troublesome to deal with nonetheless. However, as soon as these ape projections appeared, the Weeping Soul Beast's eyes suddenly lit up. It let loose a long cry of its own as its body began to expand drastically once again amid a swath of black light.

  However, on this occasion, it only swelled to just over 100 feet in size before letting loose a violent harrumph.

  Bursts of yellow light swept forth from its nostrils, transforming into several hundred streaks of yellow light that shot forth into the air.

  All of the apes summoned by the jade peaks possessed abundant demonic Qi, and almost all of them were at the fifth grade or above. In fact, there were even a few that appeared to be at the pinnacle of the seventh grade. However, as soon as the streaks of yellow light swept through them, they were all immediately felled like ants, having been reduced to wisps of green light before being swept away by the yellow light.

  All of those wisps of green light were then swallowed into the Weeping Soul Beast's cavernous mouth.

  Hundreds of ape projections were sucked into the Weeping Soul Beast's belly in an instant. However, after engulfing all of those ape projections, it shrank once again before disappearing into a spirit beast pouch hanging from Han Li's waist as a streak of black light.

  Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this, but he was informed through his spiritual sense connection with the Weeping Soul Beast that it was going to evolve again, and that was naturally fantastic news to him.

  However, not only were all of the spectating cultivators stunned by the sight of the Weeping Soul Beast devouring so many ape projections at once, even Hu Qinglei himself was rooted to the spot. Other people may have been unaware of just how powerful those ape projections were, but Hu Qinglei was the owner of the treasure that had summoned them, so he was naturally well aware of how troublesome they were. As such, he was much more astonished then everyone else was to witness this turn of events.

  Meanwhile, the colossal mountain in the sky had finally been forced to a complete standstill by the combined powers of the eight spirit beast projections.

  Han Li's eyes were slightly narrowed as he looked up at the mountain overhead, wondering if should use some other treasure to completely destroy this mountain.

  All of a sudden, Xiang Zhili suddenly interjected, "Haha, Junior Martial Brother Han and Fellow Daoist Hu really are forces to be reckoned with. Let's end things here for now; if you two continue, I'm afraid that this will escalate into a full-blown battle."

  His body swayed as he disappeared on the spot. In the next instant, he appeared between Han Li and Hu Qinglei, reaching out toward the massive green mountain with a single hand, seemingly in a casual and nonchalant gesture.

  A loud boom erupted as a ghostly claw that was embroiled in black Qi abruptly appeared in the air. The ghostly claw obscured virtually the entire sky as it grabbed onto the massive mountain, lifting it over 100 feet as the claws tightened.

  Han Li stirred upon seeing Xiang Zhili's ability while Hu Qinglei's expression darkened even further.

  "Hmph, I didn't think that you'd already reached such a high level of proficiency in your Giant Spirit Claws, Fellow Daoist Xiang, but why are you displaying this ability now? Are you trying to exert dominance over me?" Hu Qinglei interrogated in a cold voice.

  Xiang Zhili was completely unfazed by Hu Qinglei's menacing expression as he smiled nonchalantly. "My Giant Spirit Claws are merely an insignificant trick; I wouldn't dream of showing it off to you, Brother Hu. I was simply concerned that you'd get caught up into the heat of battle and forget your agreement with Junior Martial Brother Han. You said you were only going to unleash a single attack; I believe Junior Martial Brother Han has already withstood that attack, am I right?"

  Hu Qinglei gritted his teeth before reluctantly replying, "Of course I wouldn't revoke my agreement with a Nascent Soul cultivator. Fellow Daoist Han has indeed satisfied my condition."He then raised a hand and waved it toward the colossal mountain.

  A ringing sound immediately erupted from the mountain amid a flash of brilliant green light.

  Xiang Zhili smiled and the massive claws clenched around the mountain immediately disappeared. The colossal mountain then shuddered before reverting back to eight separate mountains, each of which was around 1,000 feet tall. At the same time, the eight mountains shrank drastically before hovering over to the scroll. By then, they had already been reduced to several inches in size, and all of them disappeared into the artwork on the scroll.

  The 10 remaining jade peaks hovering above Hu Qinglei's head underwent the same process, disappearing into the scroll one after another. The scroll then slowly rolled itself up again and as the green light faded, it transformed into a completely mundane-looking scroll once again.

  Hu Qinglei reached out and the scroll disappeared into his sleeve as a ball of green light.

  Hu Qinglei turned his gaze toward Han Li and Xiang Zhili, and a warm smile appeared on his face, as if nothing had ever happened. "Even though I've released Violet Spirit, I'll still be holding a ceremony for my other two concubines in three days. You'll be staying to attend the ceremony, won't you, Brother Xiang?"

  Xiang Zhili was not surprised by this change of attitude at all, and a wide smile also appeared on his face as he replied, "Of course. I've already offered up a congratulatory present, so I definitely have to stay for a few more cups of wine."

  There were countless thoughts racing through Han Li's mind, but his expression remained unchanged as replied, "Senior Martial Brother Xiang and Fellow Daoist Wind haven't left yet, so I'll naturally be staying to attend the ceremony as well."

  "Haha, that's great! Let's go back to my palace and drink to our hearts' content, Fellow Daoists!" Hu Qinglei chortled heartily before flying directly toward his palace as a streak of black light.

  All of the cultivators down below were still reminiscing the epic clash they had just witnessed, and they could only hurriedly follow Hu Qinglei back to the Devil Palace.

  Eccentric Wind also set off to return to the palace, leaving only the stunned and elated Violet Spirit remaining behind on the ground down below.

  "We should go as well, Junior Martial Brother Han. You can rest assured; Fellow Daoist Hu is a man of his word. You've satisfied his condition, so this chapter has been flipped over as far as he's concerned, and he won't look for another excuse to try and get back at you. You can stay with this girl at the Devil Palace for a few days and enjoy each other's company," Xiang Zhili chuckled before heading toward the palace himself.

  A wry smile appeared on Han Li's face, and he shook his head as he slowly descended.

  "Are you alright, Brother Han?" Violet Spirit immediately rushed over with concern, gratitude, and a myriad of other emotions etched on her face.

  "I'm fine, just a little energy-depleted. Are you planning to leave now or after the ceremony?" Han Li asked.

  "When are you planning on leaving? I'll just go with you, Brother Han," Violet Spirit replied without any hesitation.

  "In that case, you'll have to stay here for a few more days; I won't be able to leave right away," Han Li sighed.

  Chapter 1247: Fiery Hell

  Violet Spirit hesitated momentarily before nodding as she replied
, "Indeed, it would be inappropriate to depart now, and you could irk the three Deity Transformation cultivators if you do that. However, it seems that they really are rather wary of you, so I'm sure we should be fine even if we stay here for a few more days.

  After retaining her freedom, all of Violet Spirit's intelligence and resourcefulness suddenly returned to her, transforming her into the Fairy Violet Spirit of old who dared to explore the world on her own.

  Han Li smiled at the sight of the spark that had returned to her eyes, and he traveled back toward the palace.

  Violet Spirit looked on at Han Li's departing figure, and a thought seemed to have occurred to her as a faint blush appeared on her face. She bit down on her lower lip before also making her way toward the palace.

  Three days, a ceremony was held in the Devil Palace as the other two beautiful female cultivators officially became concubines of Hu Qinglei.

  Around 20 to 30 additional devilish cultivators and itinerant cultivators arrived for the ceremony, and the even weakest among them were at the mid-Nascent Soul Stage, while a few more late-Nascent Soul cultivators arrived on the scene.

  This was quite an eye-opener for Han Li as there was no way that such a formidable lineup could be assembled in the Heavenly South Region.

  All of the newly-arrived cultivators were naturally stunned to see the three Deity Transformation cultivators treating Han Li as their equal. However, after hearing from the previous batch of cultivators who had arrived before them about Han Li's epic feats, all of them were even more astonished, and treated Han Li with just as much respect as they extended toward the Deity Transformation cultivators. After all, this was a man who had singlehandedly almost destroyed the Yin Sifting Sect, and also taken a concubine from Hu Qinglei before withstanding one of Hu Qinglei's most powerful attacks. This was clearly not someone they could afford to mess with.

  During these past few days, Hu Qinglei's interactions with Han Li were quite normal, and he made no mention of the incident surrounding Violet Spirit.