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

by Translator: Johnchen

  As soon as Han Li recovered from his rush of dizziness, he surveyed his surroundings to find that there was another crimson-robed figure standing next to the teleportation formation.

  As soon as he caught sight of Han Li, the crimson-robed figure cackled, "You're finally here, Fellow Daoist Han. My four Purpleblood Puppets require an injection of power from your Divine Devilbane Lightning. Only then will they be able to serve a substantial purpose when we get to the infernal river."

  "Purpleblood Puppets!" Han Li's heart immediately jolted upon hearing this.

  "Hehe, I'll tell you about the specific details when we get there." The crimson-robed figure was acting in a very polite manner, presumably because he required Han Li's services.

  Han Li naturally wasn't going to state any objections, and thus, he flew toward the black mountain behind the two crimson-robed figures.

  This mountain was around 40,000 to 50,000 feet tall, and the two crimson-robed figures were leading Han Li toward a point halfway up the mountain.

  In the end, they arrived on a nondescript cliff over 1,000 feet up the mountain.

  One of the crimson-robed figures strode forward and made a hand seal with one hand. He then began to chant something before abruptly raising his other hand. The scenes that unfolded next had Han Li completely flabbergasted,

  The entire cliff began to tremor amid a loud burst of rumbling, and black light flashed as a gargantuan moss-covered stone wyrm head appeared. The wyrm head abruptly opened its massive eyes to reveal a pair of crimson eyeballs.

  It swept a cold gaze across Han Li and the two crimson-robed figures, then opened its mouth to reveal a passageway that was shimmering with white light. "Come in!" one of the crimson-robed said emotionlessly before making his way into the passageway with his identical companion. Han Li recomposed himself and carefully examined the wyrm head through narrowed eyes for a moment before entering the passageway.

  The passageway inside was remarkably spacious at around 40 to 50 feet tall, and all of the walls were paved with angular black stones. There were thumb-sized phosphorescent beads embedded into the walls at regular intervals, illuminating the path that led deep into the heart of the mountain. The two crimson-robed figures walked side by side and remained completely silent from the moment they entered the passageway.

  After traversing through the passageway and descending over 1,000 feet underground, they arrived at a series of seven or eight completely identical entrances placed next to one another on a large plot of empty land.

  This was a rather surprising sight to Han Li.

  However, neither of the two crimson-robed beings stopped for even a single instant as they casually made their way into one of the passageways.

  The entire mountain seemed to have been hollowed out, and there were countless passageways interconnected with one another, making this place resemble a massive diabolical maze.

  Through these passageways, one could occasionally catch glimpses of puppets of different shapes and sizes, all of which were wielding different types of massive blades, patrolling through their respective areas.

  Some of these puppets were constructed from metal and shimmering with golden light, some were of a murky grey color, having been constructed from rocks and stones, and there were also some agile puppets carved out of a spirit wood.

  All of these puppets were emitting astonishing spiritual pressure, and there were even a few special puppets that possessed Deity Transformation Stage power. Han Li was quite astonished by what he saw.

  He could tell that Di Xue's proficiency in the art of puppetry was most definitely superior to that of the Monarch of Soul Divergence.

  Of course, that wasn't to say that Di Xue possessed far superior aptitude than the Monarch of Soul Divergence in the art of puppetry. Not only did Di Xue possess a Body Integration Stage cultivation base, there was a vast variety of materials and resources to be found in the Spirit Realm that couldn’t be sourced in the human world, so it would simply be unfair to compare the two. After traversing through this maze-like structure with the two crimson-robed figure's for a while, Han Li finally emerged into a cavernous space with a scorching crimson lake down below. This was a natural underground lava lake! There was a crimson palace floating on the surface of the lake, and even though it wasn't an extremely large palace, it was still over 10,000 feet in size.

  The entire palace emanated an overwhelming aura of blood and gore, but its construction was absolutely exquisite. There was a massive crimson crystal that was several feet in size attached to the top of the palace, and it was emitting a vibrant crimson light. Han Li couldn't help but falter slightly upon seeing this.

  This crystal almost immediately evoked recollections of the strange crystal Han Li had seen on the Spiritseal Tower of the Tian Peng Race's holy city. That crystal was just as massive and mysterious.

  It appeared that some kind of extremely powerful restriction had to have been placed on those crystals.

  The crimson-robed figures suddenly descended after leading Han Li to the edge of the lava lake.

  One of them rustled a sleeve, and a yellow bell immediately shot forth from within before landing in his grasp. Yellow light flashed as a crisp clink sounded from the bell, and as soon as Han Li heard this sound, his consciousness immediately began to waver as he was struck by a sense of feebleness. His heart jolted with shock, and he hurriedly activated his Great Development Technique to dispel those debilitating effects. He then hurried retreated a step and appraised the two crimson-robed figures with wariness in his eyes.

  He didn't believe that the two would suddenly try to kill him here, but he had never let his guard down even for a single instant.

  One of the crimson-robed figures immediately turned around to appraise Han Li with a cold expression, and a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes upon seeing Han Li's ability to retain clarity of mind.

  Right at this moment, a burst of violent tumbling and surging suddenly erupted from within the crimson lava in the lake down below, following which a giant beast that was around 100 feet in length emerged.

  This was a shelled beast that resembled a giant turtle, but it possessed three elk-like heads with strange vibrant red coral-like horns on those heds.

  The beast seemed to have been summoned by the bell, and as it swam quickly toward Han Li and the others as soon as it emerged from the lava.

  "This is my gate guardian beast, a Chaotic Turtle Beast. This beast possesses a fire spirit body from birth, and can unleash three different types of spirit flames. It's extremely powerful when in its natural habitat of lava, and it took me a lot of effort to tame it. If we want to enter my Bloodflame Palace, we'll have to get around this beast first," one of the crimson-robed figures chuckled."I am truly in awe of your exceptional powers, Senior!" Han Li immediately replied upon hearing this.

  He then cast his gaze toward the lava lake as blue light flashed through his eyes, and his expression changed drastically. With the assistance of his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he was able to see that there were countless transparent threads up ahead, intertwining to encompass the entire lava lake down below.

  One end of those threads was connected to the giant crystal on top of the palace, and if someone were to fly down recklessly from above without being aware of the presence of these threads, they would most likely be sliced into countless pieces.

  Han Li's lips twitched and he drew a sharp breath upon making this discovery.

  At this moment, the Chaotic Turtle Beast had arrived at the shore of the lava lake, and it opened its three mouths to let loose a strange cry that resembled frog croaks.

  One of the crimson-robed figures raised a hand upon seeing this, and a black fist-sized ball shot forth amid an aura of blood and gore.

  One of the demon beast's heads opened its mouth to lap up the black ball by expelling a burst of red light.

  The three heads then let loose low cries in unison, seemingly in a display of joy and elation. It then turned around and la
id a thick tail onto the shore of the lake to act as a bridge.

  The two crimson-robed figures climbed along the tail onto the creature's back, then turned around to face Han Li. Han Li heaved an internal sigh before also making his way onto the beast's back.

  One of the crimson-robed figures shook the yellow bell again, and the Chaotic Turtle Beast swam rapidly toward the Bloodflame Palace at the center of the lake with the trio on its back. The lake wasn't very large, and it only took moments before the beast reached the palace.

  The three of them immediately rose into the air and flew over to the palace gates.

  Han Li had only just descended onto the ground when the palace gates abruptly opened up from the inside, and two groups of beings emerged.

  One group was clad in red armor while wielding fiery halberds, and all of their bodies were covered in scorching flames. The other group consisted of unarmed black shadows that were enshrouded in clouds of grey mist.

  Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward them to find that these two groups of beings seemed to possess signs of life, so they didn't appear to be puppets. The two groups of strange beings strode forward at once before extending respectful bows toward the two crimson-robed figures. "Open the Yinflame Palace; I'm going to give Fellow Daoist Han a warm welcome!" one of the crimson-robed figures commanded.

  The two groups of beings immediately sprang into action upon hearing this. Most of them rushed back into the palace while the remaining group split up into two neat lines as they stood respectfully on either side of the gates. None of them uttered a single word during this process, and it was as if they were all incapable of speech. Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of bewilderment welled up in his heart upon seeing this.

  Chapter 1470: Spirit Servants

  Just as Han Li was appraising these strange beings, one of the crimson-robed figures suddenly asked, "Are you interested in my spirit servants, Fellow Daoist Han?"

  "Spirit servants? Forgive me for my ignorance, Senior; this is my first time hearing about such things," Han Li replied truthfully.

  "Hehe, it's no surprise that you haven't heard of it. These spirit servants are a type of semi-puppets that I've refined," the crimson-robed figure chuckled with a hint of smugness in his voice.

  "Semi-puppets? I really would like to know more about them now," Han Li said with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

  "You seem to be quite interested in these spirit servants; you must also be familiar with the puppetry arts, right? I'd be happy to provide some guidance, but let's go to the Yinflame Palace first" the other crimson-robed figure interjected.

  Han Li naturally wasn't going to state any objections, and he merely nodded in agreement.

  Thus, the group entered the palace, and the gates slowly closed behind them.

  The Chaotic Turtle Beast that was outside the palace also disappeared into the lava again.

  After a while, Han Li and the two crimson-robed figures appeared within a large hall that was over 1,000 feet in area.

  Everything in the hall had been constructed from some kind of strange black and red jade, and upon making contact with the material, Han Li was struck by a scorching sensation, which then turned into a flow of icy coolness.

  This was quite an interesting material.

  Han Li was quite intrigued as he felt the interchanging hot and cold sensation making its way into his body from the jade chair that he was sitting on.

  At this moment, he was situated on one side of the hall, while the two crimson-robed figures naturally sat together at the center.

  The jade tables before the three of them were all piled full of exotic fruits and delectable wines, and there were humanoid figures enshrouded in pink mist standing off to the side, attending to their needs when required.

  Every time someone finished the wine in their cup, one of the humanoid figures would rush forward for a refill in a respectful manner.

  These humanoid figures in the pink mist were different from the earlier ones that were enshrouded in grey mist. Not only were all of them quite slender, the mist around them emitted a pleasant fragrance that evoked within one a sense of relaxation.

  At such close quarters, Han Li was naturally able to examine these spirit servants from time to time, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.

  "Have you gleaned the secrets of the spirit servants, Fellow Daoist Han?" One of the crimson-robed figures downed his cup of spirit wine before turning to Han Li with a hint of a smile in his voice.

  "I'm afraid I can only identify that these beings seem to be spirits, but also like objects, yet also like neither at the same time. As for the exact intricacies involved, that's definitely beyond me," Han Li replied with a smile.

  "You're not wrong! Spirit servants are indeed beings that are a mix between spirits and objects. They possess souls and their actions appear to be identical to that of a normal person, but most of what they're doing is merely instinctive, and they're being controlled by me using a puppet secret technique. As for how they came to be, I discovered two types of spirit bodies on the Bloodflame Mountain that are unable to attain intelligence, and I infused them into puppets," the other crimson-robed figures explained, finally revealing the origins of these spirit servants to Han Li.

  "Infusing spirit bodies into puppets!" Han Li's expression stirred upon hearing this, and he instantly recalled back to how he had once infused his second Nascent Soul into his humanoid puppet.

  "Indeed. These spirit bodies are yet to manifest complete souls, so they're extremely docile, yet they possess a certain level of spiritual nature, thereby allowing them to complete some simple instructions. On top of that, they're able to fuse together with puppets, so they're perfect for refining spirit servants. It's exactly because of this that I decided to settle permanently on the Bloodflame Mountain," the crimson-robed figure explained.

  "This is also a result of your proficiency in the puppetry arts, Senior. Otherwise, even if others were able to find such spirit bodies, they wouldn't be able to incorporate them into puppets." Di Xue had made the process sound quite simple, but infusing spirit bodies into puppets was extremely difficult. As someone who was proficient in the puppetry arts himself, Han Li was naturally well aware of this.

  As such, those words of praise were truly genuine.

  The two crimson-robed figures glanced at one another, and one of them offered, "If you'd like, I can teach you the secret technique required to infuse spirits into objects."

  "I haven't done anything for you yet, Senior, how could I ask for a reward that I don't deserve?" Han Li was rather surprised, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

  "Haha, it's just a little trick that I managed to invent during my free time; there's no need for you to be so polite, Fellow Daoist Han. I'm going to require a lot of assistance from you in the coming month and a half, and I hope you'll help me to the best of your abilities," one of the crimson-robed figures said with a smile, his tone became even more polite.

  As such, Han Li could only accept this offering with gratitude.

  "Senior Di Xue, seeing as I'm already here, would you be able to tell me how I can assist you in refining your puppets?" Han Li asked.

  "There's no hurry. You've only just arrived at my Bloodflame Palace, so you should drink to your heart's content, then have a good rest. We can discuss those matters tomorrow."The crimson-robed figure waved a hand to brush his question aside.

  Han Li could only comply with a wry smile and down another cup of spirit wine.

  All of a sudden, one of the crimson-robed figures clapped his hands a few times, and a series of shuffling footsteps sounded from outside. All of a sudden, a peculiar fragrance wafted through the air as 12 beautiful young women in five-colored dresses made their way into the room.

  Han Li cast his gaze toward the faint pink mist emanating from the bodies of those women, and he quickly realized what they were.

  These women were also spirit servants, just like the other bein
gs enshrouded in pink mist in the room.

  However, the pink mist on their bodies had become extremely faint, thereby revealing their true appearance.

  Han Li didn't know what materials their bodies had been refined from, but judging from their appearance and complexion, they appeared to be identical to normal Flying Spirit Race women, and they even had a pair of azure wings on each of their backs.

  A flash of blue light appeared in Han Li's eyes, yet he was unable to glean any illusionary techniques concealing the bodies of these women, so this was indeed their true appearance.

  Han Li was quite astonished that these puppets were able to resemble actual living beings so closely.

  Back when he was in the human world, his late-Nascent Soul Stage humanoid puppet was able to fool others into thinking that it was a living being partly due to the fact that its skin had been made from a precious material known as Soft Spirit Jade, which closely resembled human skin. On top of that, very few cultivators in the human world were able to use their spiritual sense to assess the true nature of a late-Nascent Soul Stage puppet, so it was able to regularly confuse his enemies, making them unable to tell whether it was a true human or not.

  However, the bodies of these spirit servants had clearly not been constructed from Soft Spirit Jade. Even when he forced his spiritual sense out of his body to examine these women, his spiritual sense was somehow kept out.

  Thus, Han Li fell into deep thought as he looked at these women.

  If he had to find a difference between these women and normal human beings, then he could only say that the light in their eyes was a little dull, seemingly indicating a slight lack of spiritual nature compared to a normal person.

  Just as Han Li was looking on in wonder and bewilderment, a few young men that were also enshrouded in faint grey mist appeared on either side of the hall.

  All of them had fine and delicate facial features, and they sat down onto the ground with their legs, holding a series of strange musical instruments in their hands.