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

by Translator: Johnchen

  This was the projection of a faint silver wyrm.

  The wyrm projection was extremely blurry and indistinct, making the onlooker only barely able to identify it as a wyrm, but all of the blades of lightning disappeared like sandcastles in the tide after striking the projection.

  After absorbing so much lightning, the wyrm projection had swelled to several times its original size, almost filling up the entire cage as it raised its head to let loose an enraged roar.

  All of a sudden, the cage began to screech and groan as if it were to struggling to hold itself together.

  All of the beings present drew a sharp breath in unison upon seeing this.

  Just a projection conjured up by this purple beast in its infantile stage was this powerful; it was indeed displaying astonishing potential.

  At the sight of the astonishment etched on everyone's faces, the elderly man knew that he had achieved the intended effect, and he chuckled as he raised a hand up into the air.

  Brilliant golden and silver light erupted, and the thin chains appeared again before hurtling toward the cage to bind the small beast.

  The chains were somehow able to completely disregard the wyrm projection and wound themselves tightly around the purple fox's body, rendering all of its struggles completely futile.

  Immediately thereafter, the silver wyrm projection that it had conjured up vanished, and the black cage settled again.

  Xiao Buyi knew the importance of striking while the metal was hot, so before everyone could recover from their shock, he immediately announced, "I'm sure all of you have witnessed this beast's powers and no longer have any doubts about its capabilities. This starting price for this mystical beast will be 80,000,000 spirit stones; let the bidding begin!"

  "85,000,000!"

  "90,000,000!"

  ...

  As expected, after witnessing the beast's powers, a series of astonishing bids were made, and within mere moments, the price had been bid up to over 100,000,000 spirit stones.

  However, Han Li merely sat on the spot and didn't participate in the bidding.

  This beast did indeed possess brilliant potential, but it would definitely take a long time to nurture. He already had his Weeping Soul Beast, Leopard Kirin Beast, and his Gold Devouring Beetles, so another spirit beast would most likely be superfluous to his requirements.

  On top of that, even if he were tempted to bid for the beast, he simply didn't have enough spirit stones to participate in the bidding anyway.

  At this point, even the holy race beings on the upper level were beginning to participate in the bidding. As such, even if he hadn't purchased the Glazed Heavenly Flame Liquid earlier, the chances of him securing the beast now were extremely slim.

  However, at this moment, a peculiar look appeared on Han Li's face as he appraised the silver fox in the cage.

  Perhaps it was simply a figment of his imagination, but the appearance and demeanor of the bound purple beast somehow struck him with a sense of familiarity. In his eyes, the small beast bore a strong resemblance to Silvermoon.

  Even though Silvermoon's true form was a silver wolf, she had also possessed a spirit fox in the human world, so it wasn't particularly strange that there was a certain level of resemblance between the two.

  Even though he was well aware of this, he still couldn't help but feel slightly saddened at the sight of the pitiable purple fox that was bound in the cage.

  Back when Silvermoon had left him, he certainly hadn't failed to notice the emotions hidden deep within her eyes prior to her departure.

  However, at his pitiful cultivation base at the time, he couldn't do anything aside from look on as she returned to the Spirit Realm.

  Perhaps it was due to the fact that Han Li's expression was different from those of the other foreign beings in the auction, but the immobilized purple fox seemed to have taken notice of him and suddenly turned its gaze toward him. As soon as their eyes met, it blinked its intelligent eyes, and a hint of confusion intermingled with elation suddenly appeared on its face.

  The changes in the purple fox's expression were extremely minute, but they certainly couldn't escape the notice of Han Li's spirit eye ability.

  As such, he immediately faltered slightly, and a hint of befuddlement welled up in his heart.

  "130,000,000!" An astonishing bid was made by the owner of an elderly voice on the upper level, and the entire auction hall finally fell completely silent.

  It seemed that no one was able to outdo that astronomical bid.

  "130,000,000 going once!"

  "130,000,000 going twice!"

  ""... going thrice!

  Xiao Buyi was clearly also of the opinion that no one else would be able to place a higher bid, so after completing a quick count of three, he turned to the upper level with a smile, and said, "Congratulations, Brother Lu! With this mystical beast by your side, I'm sure you'll become even more formidable."

  It seemed that he recognized the final bidder.

  "Hehe, I didn't think that you'd still recognize my voice after we've been apart for so many years, Fellow Daoist Xiao," the final bidder chuckled in response.

  Immediately thereafter, a burst of light suddenly flashed from a stone cabin near the back of the upper level, following which a ball of yellow light flew forth from within before landing on the stage in the flash.

  Han Li's eyes narrowed as he looked on from his seat, and he discovered that this was an elderly man with yellow skin wearing a set of brocade robes.

  The man had a head of curly hair, and had quite a burly and intimidating stature that was almost two feet taller than Xiao Buyi.

  A hint of wariness flashed through Xiao Buyi's eyes a the sight of the elderly man, but he still said in a respectful manner, "I suggest that it would be best for you to knock this beast unconscious before you take it. Otherwise, it could be a little troublesome to control."

  "Are you afraid that I won't be able to control a mere infantile beast? Don't worry, just tally up the spirit stones, and I'll be taking this spirit beast as is. You can get rid of the cage now, Fellow Daoist Lan." The brocade-robed man seemed to be very confident in his own abilities, and he casually tossed a bag of spirit stones at Xiao Buyi before turning to the bearded elderly man.

  "Hehe, if you say so, Brother Lu; I'll be removing the restriction now." The elderly man nodded before slowly raising a hand as he prepared to make a grabbing motion toward the cage.

  The small purple beast in the cage seemed to be aware that something bad was about to happen upon seeing this, and all of its fur stood up on end as it let loose a sharp screech.

  As soon as this piercing screech rang out, the beings of lower cultivation bases present were struck by a ringing sensation in their heads, following which the magic power within their bodies became stagnant and disobedient.

  These beings were naturally stunned by this turn of events.

  However, for a Spatial Tempering Stage being like Han Li, the effects of this screech were naturally quite negligible. As for the elderly man, his expression didn't even change in the slightest as azure light flashed from his fingertips.

  Meanwhile, the brocade-robed man had made quite a confident and bold declaration earlier, but he didn't actually dare to get too complacent. His eyes were fixed intently on the small beast as he readied himself to restrict it as soon as the elderly man withdrew the cage.

  All of the other beings in the auction house also had their eyes fixed firmly on the stage.

  At the sight of the purple fox's alarmed expression, a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to Han Li, and his eyelids abruptly twitched as a dull crack rang out.

  His hand was resting on the armrest of his chair, but he had abruptly clenched his fingers and crushed the jade armrest into dust.

  Right at this moment, a startling turn of events abruptly unfolded!

  An earthshattering boom erupted from outside the auction hall, following which the massive gates that were flashing with spiritual light sud
denly exploded into countless shattered fragments.

  The entire auction hall fell deathly silent as expressions of astonishment appeared on everyone's faces.

  This was the Four Races Auction; who would dare to do something so brazen and reckless here?

  However, the entire auction hall then immediately erupted into a frenzy as countless voices rang out at once.

  "Argh, what happened?"

  "What's going on?"

  "Guards! Guards!"

  ...

  Due to the fact that the restriction on the gates had been broken, there were spiritual lights flashing erratically at the entrance, making it impossible for everyone to see who the intruder was.

  Xiao Buyi was also quite stunned by this sudden development, but as a Body Integration Stage being, he was able to quickly recompose himself as he yelled, "There's no need to panic! With our four races hosting this auction, no one can wreak havoc here without consequences!"

  His voice was like a loud thunderclap that instantly instilled a sense of clarity into everyone's minds.

  He was right. Setting aside all of the guards that had been deployed to the auction house, with so many upper race and holy race beings here, no one could possibly expect to barge in and not suffer the consequences of their actions.

  "The four races, eh? You sure do dare to talk! Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill all of you here?" A thunderous male voice sounded from outside the shattered gates.

  Xiao Buyi's heart sank upon hearing this bold declaration, but his expression remained calm as he asked, "Who are you and how dare you wreak havoc in our Cloud City?"

  "Is your Cloud City some kind of lethal realm? Why wouldn't I dare to wreak havoc here?" The sound of footsteps rang out from outside the auction hall, following which a humanoid figure slowly strode in.

  Chapter 1608: Human-faced Wyrm

  Everyone was finally able to glean the appearance of the intruder, and they discovered that this was a silver-robed middle-aged man. He had a set of rather delicate facial features, but his expression was as cold as ice.

  Many of the beings in the auction hall immediately tried to sweep their spiritual sense toward him, only for their spiritual sense to be repelled by a burst of mysterious power emanating from the man's body, thereby completely thwarting their attempts to ascertain his cultivation base.

  However, a being who dared to barge into the Four Races Auction in such a reckless manner naturally had to be an immensely powerful one.

  What everyone failed to notice was that as soon as the purple beast caught sight of the man, an ecstatic expression appeared on its face. However, its body was still bound by the golden and silver chains, so it was unable to do anything.

  "Who are you and how did you get in here? What happened to all of the guards outside?" Xiao Buyi asked with a solemn expression.

  "I brought him in here, and I told the guards outside to grant us passage. Do you have a problem with that?" Another unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out, following which another person strode into the auction hall.

  This was a white-robed young man who appeared to only be around 27 to 28 years old. His appearance was extremely ordinary, and there were no memorable features about him whatsoever. However, as soon as the young man entered the auction hall, an alarmed expression appeared on Xiao Buyi's face as he hurriedly extended a respectful bow.

  "Xiao Buyi pays his respects to Senior Weng!"

  "We pay our respects to Senior Weng!"

  The other holy race beings on the stage also seemed to have recognized the young man, and their expressions also changed drastically as they hurriedly extended respectful bows.

  Not only that, but all of the holy race beings on the upper level also flew out of their cabins before paying their respects to the young man.

  Han Li looked up to find that even Qian Jizi and Duan Tianren were among these holy race beings. Both of them were at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, yet they were also appraising the young man with awe and veneration in their eyes.

  As such, it was not difficult to deduce that this young man had to be a Grand Ascension Stage being! With that in mind, Han Li's expression was also filled with astonishment as he cast his gaze toward the young man.

  At this point, all of the other foreign beings in the auction hall had naturally also guessed this young man's true identity, and many of them gulped nervously with shock and alarm etched on their faces.

  The entire hall fell completely silent once again.

  "Why have you come here, Senior Weng? Didn't you go into seclusion?" The one who had spoken wasn't Xiao Buyi. Instead, it was another being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage that Han Li didn't recognize. This was a strange being with dark green stripes all over his face, wearing a set of beasthide robes.

  "Oh? So you're here as well, Junior Hei. I came out of seclusion and arrived in Cloud City due to the recent Jiao Chi Race invasion, but I'm here today because of Fellow Daoist Tu," the young man sighed.

  "May I ask who this Senior Tu is?" the green-faced being asked with an uneasy look in his eyes.

  The young man merely smiled upon hearing this, but didn't offer a reply. Instead, he turned to the silver-robed man, and asked, "Brother Tu, have you found the one you're looking for?"

  "Of course!" The silver-robed man looked around before his gaze finally settled on the stone stage.

  A hint of elation flashed through his eyes at the sight of the purple beast, but his face quickly fell at the sight of the black cage and thin chains that the small beast had been bound by.

  His body swayed, and he disappeared amid a flash of silver light.

  In the next instant, silver light flashed on the stage, and the silver-robed being reappeared in a soundless manner.

  The brocade-robed man was given quite a fright by the sudden appearance of the silver-robed man right next to him, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Senior, you..."

  "Piss off!" The silver-robed man had no intention of speaking with him, and he cut him off in an abrupt manner before casually sweeping a sleeve toward him.

  An immense burst of power was immediately sent hurtling toward the brocade-robed man, and he was naturally quite alarmed and enraged by this sudden unprovoked attack.

  He reflexively drew a sharp breath, and a layer of yellow light surfaced all over his body as he prepared to withstand the attack.

  Following an earth-shattering boom, the yellow light around his body tremored violently, and he was forced back seven or eight steps in quick succession, almost falling off the stage in the end.

  Xiao Buyi's expression changed drastically upon seeing this.

  He was well aware of just how powerful this brocade-robed man was. He specialized in an earth-attribute cultivation art of an extremely high caliber, and defense had always been his forte. However, he wasn't even able to withstand a casual strike from the silver-robed man, and that was absolutely astonishing.

  It appeared that this silver-robed man was most definitely a Grand Ascension Stage being as well.

  The other four beings on the stage had also clearly come to the same conclusion as Xiao Buyi, and all of them hurriedly took a few steps backward at the sight of the approaching silver-robed man.

  However, an unexpected turn of events then unfolded.

  The silver-robed man completely ignored them as he strode directly toward the cage, then tore it apart with his bare hands with ease as if it were nothing more than a papier-mâché structure.

  Thus, the ruined cage and the small beast plummeted downward at the same time, and the two halves of the cage disappeared into clouds of black Qi before they had even fallen onto the ground below.

  Meanwhile, the small beast let loose an elated peal of laughter as it was caught by the silver-robed man, who then swept his other hand over the golden and silver chains around its body.

  Following a string of dull thumps, the chains were all shattered, and as soon as the small purple beast was freed, it dove into the s
ilver-robed man's arms and rubbed its head against him an extremely affectionate manner.

  "Hmph, that's what you get for not staying in the cave abode and running off on your own! Tell me who captured you and brought you here." The man stroked the small beast's head in a doting manner before a frosty expression suddenly appeared on his face.

  The four mid-Body Integration Stage beings nearby were quite alarmed to hear this, and they all exchanged fearful glances with one another.

  This small beast had been captured by the four of them and transported to the auction hall. Otherwise, as guest members of the Heavenly Cloud Races, they most likely wouldn't have been invited onto the stage.

  At this moment, the small purple beast turned to the bearded elderly man with a resentful expression, then let loose a string of low snarls as if it really were communicating something to the silver-robed man.

  "What? He tortured you? How dare you! The four of you can all pay with your lives!" An enraged expression appeared on the silver-robed man's face, and an astonishing baleful aura erupted from his body.

  His shoulder swayed, and his arm shot forth toward the elderly man like lightning. There was a distance of over 100 feet between them, but his arm somehow elongated drastically, and his five fingers shimmered with silver light as they reached the elderly man in a flash.

  The attack was so fast that it reached its target almost instantaneously. At the same time, an asphyxiating burst of spiritual pressure crashed down upon the elderly man.

  He was already prepared for an attack, but never did he think that the attack would come with such immense power and ferocity.

  In the face of this lightning-fast attack, he only had a chance to opened his mouth to expel an azure bead that hurtled directly toward the oncoming hand. At the same time, he activated an incantation seal that he'd already prepared in advance, and his body suddenly blurred as three light barriers of different colors instantly materialized before him.

  However, the events that unfolded next plunged the elderly man into a state of extreme horror.