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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Han Li's eyes narrowed, and he immediately identified what these beings were loading into the underside of this strange object. They were fist-sized objects, but they were of all types of different colors and didn't appear to be spirit stones.

  Furthermore, even though all of these white-robed serpentine beings were emanating spiritual Qi fluctuations, their cultivation bases were inferior even to that of Yan Wu.

  As soon as Yan Wu's group arrived, two of the white-robed beings approached them.

  At this moment, Han Li was carried off the carriage, and carefully placed onto a bamboo chair that someone had sourced for him.

  Han Li looked on with an indifferent expression as the serpentine beings conversed with one another. He couldn't understand anything, but it was quite clear that the two white-robed beings were quite respectful toward Yan Qu.

  Right at this moment, two rows of white-robed serpentine beings suddenly emerged from within the palace on the other side of the plaza. One row consisted solely of women while the other was solely of men, and they slowly made their way toward Han Li.

  All of the conversing serpentine beings' expressions changed upon seeing this, and they immediately backed away to the sides with respectful expressions on their faces.

  The two rows of white-robed beings also stopped before a red-robed being emerged from among their group.

  A hint of surprise appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this being.

  This was a female being with a set of ordinary features and a thin body. Her lower body consisted of a pair of human legs rather than a serpentine tail, and what was even more surprising to him was that he could sense Nascent Soul Stage magic power fluctuations emanating from her body.

  All of the white-robed serpentine beings present also possessed spiritual Qi fluctuations, but the ones with the highest cultivation bases among them was merely a pair of male beings that were around the Foundation Establishment Stage. The rest were all only at the Qi Condensation Stage, just as Yan Wu was.

  As such, a high-grade cultivator like the red-robed woman naturally stuck out like a sore thumb.

  A surprised look appeared on the woman's face after glancing at Han Li, but she soon recomposed herself before hurriedly making her way over to him.

  "Junior Huo Yue pays her respects to Senior Han!" The woman extended a bow and spoke in extremely fluent Flying Spirit Race language.

  "You're the high priestess of the Fire Yang Race?" Han Li asked.

  "Indeed! This is not a suitable place to talk; I suggest we converse in the hall, Senior," the woman said with a smile.

  "Sure, I have many things I want to ask you as well," Han Li replied with a nod.

  "Thank you for gracing me with your presence, Senior! All of you, hurry and invite Senior into the palace." The woman was ecstatic, and immediately turned around to issue an instruction to the white-robed serpentine women.

  The row of serpentine women immediately sprang into a chaotic frenzy, following which two of them hurriedly rushed forward, then carried the bamboo chair that Han Li was sitting on toward the palace in an extremely careful manner.

  The woman then waved a hand, and everyone else also followed along.

  Moments later, Han Li found himself inside a hall within the palace. Han Li and the red-robed woman were the only ones seated within the hall, while all of the other serpentine beings stood off to the sides in a respectful manner.

  "How is your condition, Senior? I can see that you're having a lot of trouble with movement. I have some pills that I refined which can assist in replenishing one's energy and repairing one's body. Would you like some, Senior?" the woman asked in a respectful manner.

  "It's alright, I only encountered a minor issue with my cultivation; I'll be fine after some rest," Han Li replied with a hint of a smile on his face.

  "Hehe, that's good to hear. I received a message from Wu'er informing me that you'd like to ask me some questions, Senior; I'll be sure to tell you everything I know," the woman said.

  "Oh, I wanted to ask you what this region of the sea is known as, as well as whether there are any renowned cultivators in this area," Han Li replied.

  A peculiar look appeared on the woman's face upon hearing this, but she still replied, "This area is known as the Flame Coral Islands, and there aren't any particularly powerful fellow Daoists in the nearby area. The most powerful ones only possess cultivation bases that are comparable to my own."

  "The Flame Coral Islands? Do you have a map of the area?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows.

  "Of course. However, the maps I have are all annotated with text from our Naga Race, so I suggest that you learn our language first before inspecting the map, Senior," the woman proposed with a smile.

  Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and only after a short while did he nod in response. "Sure." The little spiritual sense that he'd retained couldn't be released out of his body, but it was naturally no problem for him to read a jade slip or something like that.

  A fawning smile appeared on the woman's face upon hearing this, and she produced a glossy black stone shard before tossing it toward Han Li.

  After resting for so long, Han Li had recovered some of his magic power, but he was still feeling quite weak and feeble.

  He could tell that the stone shard was something that was similar to a jade slip, so he opened his mouth to expel a burst of azure light, sweeping the jade slip toward his forehead to try and examine its contents.

  However, right at this moment, the stone shard abruptly exploded amid a dull thump, and a burst of inky-black mist dispersed through the air, enshrouding Han Li's entire body within.

  Chapter 1543: Scorching Sun Divine Pill

  Han Li sat still and closed his eyes as the mist descended over him.

  The mist revolved around Han Li for a long while before finally dissipating into nothingness.

  After the mist dissipated, Han Li opened his eyes, and when he spoke again, he was using a language that was identical to what the serpentine beings were using. "This is quite an interesting tool refinement method; I could glean the contents of the stone shard even without using my spiritual sense."

  "You're far too kind, Senior; this is just an insignificant trick that we learned through experimentation. Here is a map of the Flame Coral Islands, Senior," the woman replied with a modest smile before tossing a white stone shard over to Han Li.

  On this occasion, the stone shard didn't explode. Instead, it was drawn to his forehead by the spiritual light expelled from within his mouth, and it stayed there in a motionless manner.

  Han Li's eyes narrowed as a hint of bewilderment appeared on his face, but his expression quickly returned to normal again.

  The red-robed woman was rather perplexed by Han Li's reaction, but she refrained from saying anything.

  Moments later, the white stone shard detached itself from Han Li's forehead before springing back toward the woman.

  The woman caught the stone shard and stowed it away, but Han Li remained silent with a contemplative look on his face, seemingly in deep thought about something.

  The woman merely smiled and left Han Li to his own thoughts in silence.

  After a while, Han Li raised his head, and mused, "From what I've gathered, this place is rather close to the Thunder Continent; it's only about half a year's flight away."

  "Half a year! That's only at your speed, Senior. For us, we wouldn't be able to get to the Thunder Continent without at least a few decades, and that's not even taking into account the perils that we'd encounter along the way," the woman chuckled with a wry smile.

  Han Li nodded before asking, "From the maps, it appears that your Fire Yang Race doesn't have control over many islands. Are the other islands inhabited as well?"

  "It's indeed true that our race owns very few islands, and in reality, this Firecloud Island is the only one that's inhabitable. The other islands are merely places that our brethren go to source food and materials from. As for the rest of the
Flame Coral Islands, most of them are under the control of other powerful races, and some are inhabited solely by upper race beings like you, Senior. Our Fire Yang Race is not a powerful nor prominent race by any stretch of the imagination," the woman sighed.

  "I see." Han Li nodded before falling silent.

  However, after a brief hesitation, the woman asked, "You seem to have come from somewhere extremely far away, Senior. May I ask what business you have here? My cultivation base may be quite pitiful, but our race has inhabited this island for a long time, and we'd be happy to provide any assistance we can."

  The woman seemed to be quite eager to please.

  "I am indeed not from this area. I unintentionally triggered some kind of restriction elsewhere and was teleported to this place. During the teleportation process, a minor mishap occurred, and I ended up in this pitiful state," Han Li replied in an indifferent manner.

  "Not at all, Senior. Your mobility is hampered at the moment, but I can sense that your cultivation base is completely unfathomable to me. You must require a place with extremely rich spiritual Qi for your rest and recuperation, right, Senior? Our Firecloud Island may not be very large, but we have a few brilliant spirit veins. If you don't mind, we'd be more than happy to provide a place for you to rest and recover at," the woman said with a respectful smile.

  "You want me to rest on your island?" Han Li chuckled in an ambiguous manner.

  The woman was slightly flustered by his response, and she hurriedly continued, "Rest assured, Senior, the spirit veins on our island aren't inferior to those on the larger islands nearby. On top of that, we also have some rare spirit medicines and a supply of spirit stones on the island that you may use as you please, Senior."

  Han Li's smile faded upon hearing this.

  His voice cooled slightly as he said, "I don't have a habit of taking free handouts, and nor do I like people who act and speak in a roundabout manner. If you have something to say to me, then just tell me in a straightforward manner."

  Only then after hearing Han Li's response did the woman realize that she'd acted in too desperate of a manner, and her expression changed slightly before she heaved a long sigh.

  "Seeing as you've already identified my intentions, then I'll no longer hide anything from you, Senior. All of you can go for now!" The woman's last sentence was directed at the serpentine beings within the hall.

  All of the serpentine beings immediately bowed before exiting the hall.

  Han Li looked on with a calm expression and refrained from saying anything.

  After all of the serpentine beings had left, the woman turned back to Han Li with a solemn expression, and asked, "How do you rate my cultivation base, Senior?"

  "It's passable," Han Li replied in a calm manner.

  "As little as a month ago, I was still like my other brethren and hadn't attained this body that belongs to upper race beings," the woman continued as a peculiar look appeared in her eyes.

  "What are you referring to when you say upper race?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

  "I'm naturally referring to those who've attained upper race bodies. Only cultivators of my cultivation base can attain an upper race body," the woman explained with a smile.

  Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged as he nodded, and asked, "Oh? From the sounds of it, you don't seem to have reached this cultivation base through conventional means. Could it be that you ingested some kind of spirit medicine or used a secret technique to forcibly raise your cultivation base to this level?"

  "Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Senior! I did indeed consume a few rare pills within the race, then used an extremely damaging secret technique to raise my cultivation base to this level. However, because of this, my cultivation base will never progress again, and my lifespan has also been reduced to less than half of other upper beings at the same cultivation base. I've done this because our Fire Yang Race is truly in grave peril, and I have no choice but to put my life on the line," the woman said with a grim expression.

  "Grave peril? Tell me about it." Han Li was rather intrigued.

  "Half a year ago, one of our neighboring Naga Race branches, the Sabertooth Race, was completely wiped out. All of the female beings in the race were eaten with only their bones left behind, while all of the male beings disappeared. Not long after that, the neighboring Scorpiontail Race also suffered the same fate. There are only these three branches of the Naga Race, including our Fire Yang Race, in this region of the sea, and none of our three branches are all that powerful, but we've always helped one another and managed to keep our races alive. Now that the other two races have been eradicated, our Fire Yang Race is most likely next. I still haven't been able to find out the reason why those two races were destroyed, but what we've managed to deduce is that there should be more than one perpetrator involved; most likely from one of the other powerful races. The high priests of the other races were not inferior to me in power at the time, which is why I did this to myself and forcibly raised my own cultivation base," the woman explained.

  "Oh, so you want me to stay here to protect your race. Are you that confident in me? Aren't you afraid that even I won't be able to save everyone?" Han Li chuckled.

  "I don't know what your true cultivation base is like, but it's most definitely well above mine. As for your injuries, our Fire Yang Race still has a Scorching Sun Divine Pill that can heal all injuries as long as one isn't dead. If you're willing to stay and assist me, I'd be glad to offer the pill to you, Senior!" The woman gritted her teeth and finally brought out her trump card.

  "Scorching Sun Divine Pill? That's a fire-attribute pill, right? The severity of my injuries is not something that you can imagine, Fellow Daoist; the divine pill you're offering may not be very effective for me," Han Li replied with furrowed brows.

  Despite what Han Li was saying, the woman could sense that he was interested, and she immediately continued, "Rest assured, Senior, not only was this pill refined using the inner core of a Twin-headed Flame Wyrm, it's been nurtured within earthen flames in our race ever since it was first refined, and thousands of years have passed since then. As such, I'm quite confident in its efficacy."

  A hesitant look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this.

  "How about this? You can stay in our race for a few days and consume the divine pill. If the pill really does prove to be ineffective, then I won't request your help any longer, but if it works..."

  "If this Scorching Sun Divine Pill really can heal my injuries, then I'll naturally help your Fire Yang Race survive this ordeal. However, I have to make this clear first; if your enemies are too powerful for me to handle, then our agreement will be void," Han Li said in a calm voice.

  "Of course! I wouldn't expect you to risk your life for an insignificant race like ours, Senior." Not only was the woman not disheartened by Han Li's disclaimer, she was instead ecstatic.

  Thus, Han Li nodded in agreement and accepted this arrangement.

  The events that unfolded next were quite simple. Han Li made some inquiries about the foreign races in the nearby region of the sea, and the woman answered all of them before taking Han Li to a silent cultivation venue.

  She produced a white veil-like treasure and gently swished it through the air, following which the treasure transformed into a large white cloud that was several tens of feet in size.

  The cloud flashed and lifted both Han Li and his chair up from the ground, hovering at altitudes of several tens of feet.

  The woman also flew onto the cloud, then chanted something, and the cloud flew out of the palace gates.

  All of the serpentine beings waiting outside the gates bowed respectfully to see off the departing duo.

  The cloud wasn't traveling very quickly, but the entire island was only several hundred kilometers in size.

  As such, the woman and Han Li soon arrived at the foot of a small yet lush and elegant mountain.

  Chapter 1544: Zhu'er and the Blac
k Rakshasa Race

  There was a courtyard consisting of several green wooden cabins situated at the foot of the small mountain, and the cloud stopped in front of the courtyard as the woman turned to Han Li with a smile.

  "What do you think of this place, Senior Han?"

  Han Li took a deep breath, and he nodded with a pleased expression as he sensed the rich spiritual Qi surging toward him.

  The woman was ecstatic to see this, and the white cloud immediately descended into the courtyard at her behest. She pushed open the doors of one of the wooden cabins, then turned to Han Li, preparing to carry him into the cabin.

  However, Han Li suddenly smiled at this moment, and said, "There's no need to trouble you any further, Fellow Daoist; I can go in on my own."

  Han Li's body swayed as he spoke, and he stood up on the white cloud before slowly hovering down from it.

  The woman was quite startled to see this.

  "My injuries still haven't healed, but I can at least move around now," Han Li explained with a smile.

  "Then I must congratulate you, Senior. I was considering sending a few of my disciples over to look after you, but it seems that won't be necessary now; I'm sure you don't want to be disturbed, Senior," the woman said as her expression reverted back to normal.

  "Indeed, I'd rather not have anyone close to me while I recover from my injuries. This is quite a good place; I'll stay here for a while. It'd be best if you could get that Scorching Sun Divine Pill to me as soon as possible. If it really does prove to be effective, I'll do my best to recover as quickly as possible, and I'll be sure to do what I can for your race thereafter," Han Li said with a serious expression.

  "Of course, Senior. It's just that the Scorching Sun Divine Pill is still being nurtured within the earthen flames, so it'll take me several days to extract it. I hope that's alright with you, Senior," the woman explained.

  "I'm naturally willing to wait a few days. You can go now; I'd like some rest," Han Li replied with a calm nod.