The two didn’t take the distance to heart as the two were confident, they would be able to catch up using their secret techniques. But then, two wounds cracked from the stone walls of the valley.
Silver light flashed and two pillars of silver flames moved to engulf them.
Because the flames traveled at immense speed within the narrow valley, it arrived before them in the blink of an eye.
Spirit Lord Huang Liang chopped his hand through the air without another through, striking down the flames with a yellow sword streak.
But as soon as the swordstreak touched the flame, it was consumed entirely.
The silver flame didn’t stop there and rushed towards them with even greater momentum. The roiling temperatures left the cultivator completely dried out.
Huang Liang’s expression vastly changed and she shouted, “Spirit Extinguishing Bone Flame!”
Soon after, he grasped his hands in an incantation gesture, and he disappeared. The flame pillar engulfed the area where he once was.
Huan Tianqi found himself in a similar situation
He cast a demon wind, but the silver flames cleanly engulfed it. He astonishedly blurred several times in response and let several afterimages in his place to escape the flame.
Huan Tianqi looked at Huang Liang’s still figure with an unsightly expression and explained, “No, it isn’t Spirit Extinguishing Bone Flame! The white bone flame may be silver, but it is also filled with evil Qi. Only Ancestor White Bone can control them and no one else.”
The two silver flames then condensed at the center to reveal a three-meter-wide fireball. It shrunk several times in size to reveal a graceful silver flame bird.
“A fire spirit.” The two were startled to see one.
However, the silver flame bird coldly stared at the two before gently flapping its wings.
Silver light flickered and countless fist-sized fireballs appeared nearby. A clear ring sounded and the fireballs trembled, enveloping the two in a dense barrage of attacks from every direction.
When Huang Liang heard that it wasn’t that Spirit Extinguishing Bone Flame, he felt a wave of relief, and when he saw the fireballs, he snorted coldly. He waved his hand, wildly expanding an eight trigram mirror in front of him.
To his side, Huan Tianqi flipped his hand to produce a ball of silver lightning.
Although the two didn’t know the true nature of the silver flames, they couldn't treat it with contempt and would have to deal with it using full force.
But at that moment, the fireballs that were about to strike them brightly glowed and trembled before disappearing.
The roasting temperatures nearby seemed to completely disappear along with the fireballs.
In his alarm, Huang Liang then narrowed his eyes as he looked at the silver flame bird.
Under his stare, he heard a light bang.
The flame bird combusted of its own accord. It scattered like the fireballs and strangely disappeared.
With a sullen expression, he turned to look at Huan Tianqi.
The Jasper Mouse Clan Elder wore an ashen expression.
As doubt flickered through his eyes, Huan Tianqi coldly said, “Even if the flames weren’t the Spirit Extinguishing Bone Flames, they were still significant. I’ve never heard of a cultivator like that before!”
Huang Liang shook his head and glanced in the direction outside the valley. He coldly laughed and said, “I don’t recognize him. Perhaps he is a cultivator from another region. In any case, this is the first time I’ve seen him in the Heaven Origin Region. But for a lone person to use such small tricks to escape our grasp, we must’ve been quite arrogant. Although it’s too late to place a spiritual sense marker on his body, with our vastly powerful spiritual sense, we should be able to find him in the Setting Sun Tomb if he hasn’t escaped over five thousand kilometers away.”
At the moment, Han Li had already disappeared past the edge of the sky.
Huan Tianqi nodded and agreed.
Afterwards, the two closed their eyes and slowly expanded their immensely powerful spiritual sense.
After just a moment of time, their faces revealed wonder and astonishment as if they couldn't believe what they sensed.
“How can this be possible? All traces of his spiritual power have disappeared. Not a single trace.” Huang Liang opened his eyes to reveal shock.
“I also couldn't find it. Even if he died, traces of his aura should’ve remained for a short time,” Huan Tianqi muttered, “Either his cultivation was far beyond ours, or he used a peculiar technique to conceal his aura from our spiritual sense.”
Spirit Lord Huang Liang frowned, “It must be the second reason! Don’t forget, this person was already concealed nearby yet we weren’t able to find him. It seems that this person must be skilled in formidable concealment techniques.”
“How troublesome. With those abilities, we won’t be able to find him.” Huan Tianqi’s cheek twitched.
“That might not be certain. We might have another opportunity. Now that he’s concealed himself, he won’t be able to travel far with his movement techniques. He should be around a thousand kilometers away. So long as we utilize our subordinates, the entire area will be under our control.
Besides, with your Illusion Flame Moths’ Thousand Moth Technique, I am confident we won’t be able to hide from us forever.” A cold glint flashed from his eyes.
“The Thousand Moth Technique would wear down their vitality, but I guess there is no other choice. It will be worth it to use this technique. However, as for that Setting Sun Crystal...” Huan Tianqi reluctantly nodded and then dropped his gaze to the treasure in Huang Liang’s hand.
Having already decided on the matter, Huang Liang answered, “Hehe, so long as we acquire that item from the spirit clan, I will give the crystal. Even if you can’t find him, I’ll split the crystal in half.”
“Good, that will be fine...”
Huan Tianqi smiled and wanted to say something else when they heard a long screech from behind them along with a heaven-shattering eruption. An astonishing spirit wave spread throughout the sky.
The two felt their hearts tremble and they quickly turned around.
Not far away, the storm from the Immortal Vanquishing Beads had already disappeared. There was a thirty-meter-wide blood lotus twirling through the air along with a person at its center, staring at them with an icy ominous gaze.
It was Xu Tian, who the two had struck while he was down.
Huan Tianqi displayed not even a trace of fear and calmly said, “Fellow Daoist Xu Tian, you still wish to fight us? The person who deceived you has escaped to who knows where. Let us stop for the time being. It might be likely he’ll escape.
Xu Tian glanced around him to find no trace of Han Li. Then he glared at the two and coldly snorted, “I have no choice but to let you go for now. But if there is a chance in the future, I will be sure to test your skills.”
Afterwards, the blood lotus petals beneath him closed together.
Then, it shrieked through the valley at piercing speeds.
Not long after, it could no longer be seen.
Huang Liang and the demon didn’t take the spirit cultivator’s threat very seriously.
Not only is it impossible for spirits to remain in the human and demon domains for long, but the two held the advantage when their forces were combined.
Afterwards, the two had a brief discussion before heading in their own ways.
They prepared to gather their men and seal off an area over a thousand kilometers wide. Not even a fly or mouse would be able to make it through!
Chapter 1313: Heavenly Tribulation
At that moment, Han Li was now at a small mountain over a thousand kilometers away. He had a vastly changed appearance on his face. He was a shorter middle-aged man with long facial hair.
His body completely lacked spiritual Qi as he now appeared to be a run of the mill body refiner. He was meditating on a bolder with an expressionless face.
A while later, Han Li opened his eyes and wore a faint smile. He muttered, “The last thread of spirit flames in my body has been extinguished. Unless they personally examine me, they wouldn’t be able to recognize them.”
Even so, Han Li made no attempt to leave.
Even with his appearance and aura altered, Han Li had no desire to risk any danger.
From then on, he leaped off the bolder and jumped several times, skirting off the mountain.
Not long after, he found himself in front of a cliff covered in dense vines and shrubs.
Han Li swept his gaze around him and nodded with a satisfied smile. Then he took a deep breath and began to pound against the cliff with fists shining in golden light.
Huge rumbles sounded out and a ten-meter-deep cave appeared.
His figure blurred as he strangely shifted into it.
Then inside the cave, he struck above him, instantly covering the entrance in a pile of rubble and sealing it.
The cave immediately became pitch black.
He didn’t mind this in the slightest and summoned a prepared moonlight stone into his hand with a flip of his palm.
He grabbed the stone and slapped it at the top of the cave. With immense force, the moonlight stone easily embedded itself.
Under the faint crystalline light, the stone cave became clear.
Han Li looked for a clean area to sit down. Light flashed from his spirit ring and he fetched a small crimson vial from his storage bracelet. He examined it with curious eyes.
Apart from a continuous red glow, the vial appeared quite ordinary. It had a common glossy surface like porcelain.
As he stroked the vial with his finger, he inwardly muttered and began to think of the spirit Shi Yan’s memories relating to Divine Blood.
A long while later, he frowned and he took out a palm-sized jade alms bowl. He then opened the vial and tilted it over the bowl.
A purple light flowed out from the vial, slowly dripping a deep purple liquid into the alms bowl. It appeared unable to mix into the bowl.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and closely examined it for a long while before extending his finger to touch the liquid. As a result, the purple liquid seemed to jump up of its own accord and wrap around his finger as if it wanted to enter.
However, Han Li raised his brow and golden light flashed from his flesh, stopping the purple drop in its tracks. Then with a flick, he dropped the liquid back into the bowl.
“Not bad. It really is the Spirit Tribe’s Divine Blood.” A trace of interest lit up in Han Li’s eyes.
Afterwards, he put the purple liquid back into the vial and carefully placed it back into his storage bracelet. He now felt at ease to rest peacefully in the cave.
Although he currently possessed no magic power, he still had no need to eat or drink.
Not long after, a sliver of spiritual sense swept past Han Li. When it sensed that Han Li’s body didn’t possess any spiritual Qi, it brushed past him and ignored his existence.
Several days later, threads of spiritual sense often swept past the area, number up to a dozen times in a day.
But after half a month, it eventually died down to two or three times.
Two months later, a spiritual sense that was far more powerful than the others swept past him, but Han Li remained calm, hidden inside the cave.
Then, a half year passed without another reemergence of spiritual sense.
When Han Li sensed this change, he rejoiced.
But he waited several more months before he opened his eyes and broke down the pile of rubble blocking the cave entrance.
He slowly walked out and took a look around him. When he saw there was nothing out of the ordinary, he waved his sleeve with a chuckle and leaped down the mountain like a shooting star.
Not long after, he disappeared into the mountain forests.
A year later in a small city relatively close to Setting Sun City, a young body refiner with an unfamiliar face arrived at the city. He hurriedly purchased a few items and left as quickly as he arrived.
This was because rumors of the missing Divine Blood slowly began to spread.
When a few of the cultivators and body refiners that participated in the battle with the three races verified the matter, it became a hot topic in the following years.
People clicked their tongues in wonder at the thought of a trifling Deity Transformation-stage cultivator seizing the prize from three Spatial Tempering-stage opponents.
Unwilling to give up, Spirit Lord Huang Liang investigated this matter for a good number of years after returning from the city, completely focusing his attention on finding the identity of this cultivator.
As a result, he found nothing. Although the cultivator displayed several powerful abilities, there was no trace of him as if he hadn’t existed before that day.
After another two years passed, Spirit Lord Huang Liang left Setting Sun City and arrived at a wild territory as he previously agreed with Huan Tianqi. This hadn’t captured anyone’s interest as the matter of the Divine Blood had long past.
Several years later, at a huge mountain far from human civilization, there was a pitch-black room inside the mountain where a human was meditating with golden light sparkling from his body.
At his side was a small crimson bottle. It laid flat on the ground as if it were empty.
The person sat motionless and cross-legged. If it were for the faint signs of breathing, he may as well have been a statue.
To a mortal, a hundred years would most likely signify the end of their lifespan. But to a cultivator with profound magic power, it was only the blink of an eye.
After a hundred years, the still mountain suddenly had a squadron of wolf-mounted cavalry. They were slowly traveling through the mountain while escorting several decorated beast carriages.
There were three people in one of the carriages: an old man with greying hair, a seven-year-old boy with a dignified appearance, and a frail girl of the same age.
The old man had a faceful of wrinkles, but the body below his neck appeared as strong and fit as any young person, but his hands appeared to belong to the dried branches of an old tree.
Strangely enough, the old man’s fingernails were not only several inches long, but they were also exceptionally sharp. The red light they displayed was also quite mysterious.
The boy and girl sitting across from him couldn't help but stare at his nails with wonder.
The old man made no effort to conceal his nails and simply looked at the children with a silent smile.
Suddenly, a beast hoofs sounded from the window and man’s voice suddenly said, “Reporting to Elder Huo, the vanguard has returned. The beasts within a five hundred kilometer perimeter of Cloud Dress Mountain have been exterminated.”
The old man’s face stirred and he raised his hand to open the window curtains. “Good, good. With this, my business can open a new trade route without much problem.”
He saw a middle-aged cavalryman saddled on a snow-white wolf. He was facing the carriage with a respectful face.
The old man glanced at the cavalryman and gravely said, “However, are you certain that all the demon beasts on the mountain were slain? It is common for demon beasts skilled on concealment techniques to hide their aura.”
The cavalryman’s face slightly changed, but he quickly replied with a tone of certainty, “That isn’t possible. In addition to demonic Qi, I have asked many cultivators to sweep the mountain with their spiritual sense. There are definitely no demon beasts on the mountain.”
“Oh, so it was like that. It seems there shouldn’t be a problem. Although the cultivators are only at Core Formation-stage, the mountain shouldn’t have any demon beasts at too high a level. In that case, please continue forward.” The old man nodded his head and uttered a word of praise.
But just as he thought to close the window curtain, the sky suddenly changed.
The sounds of an earth-breaking disaster sounded from a distance, followed by conti
nuous thunder and the darkening of the sky. Whistling winds tore through the air.
The vast change in the weather occurred in only the blink of an eye, all before the old man could close the curtains.
“This is...” The middle-aged cavalryman glanced up and stared at the clouds gathering at the peak of the huge mountain.
The old man frowned and pounded the top of the carriage three times.
The carriage slowed and came to a stop.
The old man stepped outside and looked up at the top of the mountain.
Soon, his face vastly changed.
The old man couldn't help but look at a distant mountain peak with bafflement. “Heavenly Tribulation. There is a cultivator undergoing tribulation. How strange, it seems unlike minor or greater tribulation.”
On the huge mountain top, the sky had turned pitch-black and golden-silver lightning bolts danced across the black clouds. Their faint rumbles filled the distant air. White gales shrieked down to ground below and continuously struck the mountain top, cutting through trees and splitting rocks.
At that moment, the entire caravan came to a stop and the cavalryman stared the odd scene completely dumbstruck.
A few other members in the caravan soared into the air and circled once before flying to the old man’s side.
Chapter 1314: Two-colored Lightning Tribulation
The yellow-robed youth with a handsome face seemed to be the leader of the group. He descended next to the old man and respectfully asked, “Elder Huo, can you see what sort of heavenly tribulation that Senior is undergoing? It doesn’t seem to be minor tribulation. Could it be a Spatial Tempering-stage Senior is hidden in the mountain?” His voice carried a faint trace of excitement.
This came as no surprise. Cultivators at Spatial Tempering-stage and higher were a rare sight even in the spirit realm.
The old man shook his head and said, “It isn’t greater tribulation. I’ve seen one before and the lightning was purple and golden. Its might was far greater than this one.”
The yellow-robed youth wore an odd expression and said, “However, minor tribulation isn’t golden. It should be azure. I’ve seen my sect elders undergo it several times.”
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 731