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

by Translator: Johnchen

  "Are you sure?" Han Li asked as the azure light around him faded, and a slightly peculiar look flashed through his eyes.

  "I'm sure of it. I may be lacking somewhat in cultivation base, but I'm confident in my ability to sense and track devilish beasts," Yue Zong confirmed.

  Xian Xian's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this while Han Li also fell silent.

  In reality, he already knew that there was indeed a devilish beast pursuing them even without Yue Zong's confirmation.

  Even though he was unable to release his spiritual sense very far, he could see the beasts' indistinct figure through the devilish Qi using his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.

  The beast was hiding itself within the black sea of mist and behind various mountains this entire time, but its massive body was not so easy to completely conceal.

  After conducting that test, Han Li's confidence in Yue Zong's credentials grew even further.

  It appeared that he really did have some skills that were very useful in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges. It was no wonder that Xian Xian insisted on hiring him.

  "Senior Han, it looks like we'll have to set up a trap to kill this devilish beast," Xian Xian suggested in a cautious manner as she turned to Han Li.

  "Set up a trap? There's no need for that. Seeing as this beast is trying to hunt us down, I'll just have to kill it. Wait here for a moment; I'll be back soon!" Han Li replied as azure and white light flashed behind him, following which a pair of translucent wings appeared on his back.

  He gently flapped those wings, and a loud thunderclap rang out as he shot forth as an arc of azure and white lightning.

  After just a few flashes, he had covered a distance of several thousand feet, and he completely disappeared from view after another dull thunderclap.

  Xian Xian and Yue Zong were both rooted to the spot.

  Yue Zong quickly composed himself as a concerned look appeared on his face, and he mused, "Is Senior Han really going to face that devilish beast alone? There's no way that the beast is a holy-grade devilish beast, but some high-grade devilish beasts possess extremely powerful abilities that make them far more powerful than even beings of the same cultivation base."

  "Senior Han must have some tricks up his sleeve, seeing as he's so confident," Xian Xian reassured.

  Yue Zong didn't say anything in response, but his brows still furrowed slightly with concern.

  Right at this moment, a few resounding booms rang out in the distance, followed by a roar of shock and fury. However, the roar then immediately petered out into a bloodcurdling cry before everything fell silent again.

  Yue Zong and Xian Xian couldn't help but exchange a glance upon hearing this.

  Moments later, just as the two of them were beginning to grow rather uneasy, spiritual light flashed in the distant sky, following which a streak of azure light hurtled toward them.

  "It's Senior Han!" Yue Zong heaved a long sigh of relief upon seeing this, but he wore a peculiar look on his face.

  Xian Xian didn't say anything in response as she fixed her gaze on the oncoming streak of azure light.

  After just a few flashes, the streak of azure light arrived in the air directly above them, following which the azure light faded, and Han Li was revealed.

  "Fellow Daoist Yue, can you tell me what devilish beast it is? It has a rather interesting appearance," Han Li said as he waved an arm through the air, tossing a black object that reeked of blood and gore toward Yue Zong.

  Yue Zong was rather taken aback by this request, and he hurriedly pointed a finger toward the object to keep it hovering in mid-air.

  Xian Xian focused her gaze on the object to find that this was the head of a devilish beast, and it was comparable in size to a washbasin.

  At first glance, the head was quite furry with a pair of round ears attached to it, and it resembled the head of a monkey. However, upon closer inspection, a chill immediately ran down her spine, and she drew an involuntary sharp breath.

  The head didn't have a nose or mouth. Instead, it was filled with a dozen or so devilish crimson eyes that were all half-closed.

  Most of these devilish eyes were bleeding and harbored expressions of extreme shock and horror.

  Yue Zong immediately identified the devilish beast that the head belonged to, and he was struck by a sense of shock, yet also a hint of enlightenment. "That's the Myriad Eye Devil! These devilish beasts are proficient in captivation techniques from birth, and they're quite rare even deep in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges. It's no wonder that those devilish ravens were forced to do its bidding."

  "Myriad Eye Devil? So that's why it kept blinking its eyes at me; it must've been trying to unleash a captivation technique on me. Tsk tsk, it's quite unlucky to have tried something like that on me," Han Li chuckled in a nonchalant manner.

  "Having said that, it's really quite amazing that you were able to slay this high-grade Myriad Eye Devil in such a short time, Senior. Not only is this beast proficient in captivation techniques, it also possesses a few other troublesome abilities that make it quite a difficult opponent even for beings of a higher cultivation base than it." Yue Zong still wore a peculiar look on his face as he spoke.

  "Is that so? I don't know about that. All I did was kill it before it could unleash any of its abilities. On top of that, its magic power is only comparable to that of an upper race being at the seventh or eighth tier, so it's really not all that powerful," Han Li replied with an indifferent smile.

  Yue Zong was rather speechless upon hearing this.

  "I've heard some things about these Myriad Eye Devils. Apparently, the most precious materials that can be sourced from its body are these captivating eyeballs. They are fantastic materials to be used to refine calming treasures. It's a pity that these aren't the eyeballs of a holy-grade Myriad Eye Devil. Otherwise, we'd be able to refine a treasure that's close to a spirit treasure in caliber," Xian Xian suddenly said with a smile.

  "Surely you jest, Fair Xian. If I'd encountered a holy-grade Myriad Eye Devil, I would've been forced to flee for my life. Hehe, in any case, it appears that I was right to keep the head of this beast. The rest of its body has fallen deep into the black mist down below, so it'll be quite difficult to try and recover," Han Li replied with a faint smile.

  "Seeing as this Myriad Eye Devil has been taken care of, the rest of our journey should be a lot smoother. It's really quite fortunate that you were able to kill this beast, Senior. Myriad Eye Devils are very skilled in controlling and joining forces with other devilish beasts to attack its prey, and it's known for holding grudges, so we would've been in a lot of trouble had it have managed to escape. Even so, we shouldn't delay here any longer; let's get out of here right away. After all, we can't ensure that the battle earlier didn't attract other high-grade devilish beasts to this place," Yue Zong suggested in a cautious manner.

  "You're right, Brother Yue. Let's continue onward, Senior Han," Xian Xian agreed with a nod of her head.

  Han Li also nodded in approval before sweeping a sleeve downward, upon which a swath of azure light swept past, and the head of the devilish beast abruptly disappeared.

  Thus, the three of them continued to forge ahead.

  Unbeknownst to the trio, less than half a day after they had departed from this place, a sharp screech suddenly rang out from another direction, following which a cloud of blacks mist surged forth from the air above, instantly encompassing an area with a radius of several kilometers.

  A sharp screech erupted from within the black cloud, following which the cloud tumbled and surged violently before a dozen or so crimson pillars of light shot forth from within to strike the sea of mist down below.

  The black mist parted to allow the pillars of light passage, and the pillars of light stirred up the area violently, clearing the black mist within an area of several acres to reveal a devilish beast's headless body.

  The lower half of the body resembled a giant green python, while its upper body was like that of a lizard. T
he beast also had a pair of arms, one large and one small, with sharp green nails on its fingertips.

  As soon as the body was revealed, a piercing cry of grief rang out, as if countless ghosts were weeping in unison.

  "Who killed my son? I'm going to dice up their body and torment their soul for the rest of eternity!" The voice was very sharp and unpleasant, but one could tell that it belonged to an elderly being.

  "Jiu Ye, Wu Qi, find the being that took the head of my son, and we'll devour them bit by bit!" the elderly being roared with thunderous fury.

  "Yes!"

  "As you wish!"

  A male and a female voice sounded from within the dark clouds, following which the clouds parted to grant passage to two balls of light, one silver and one red. Two beings could be indistinctly seen within the balls of light, and they descended beside the headless body in a flash.

  The silver and red lights then receded to reveal a pair of half-human, half-beast monstrous beings.

  One of them had a pair of massive black horns on his head and a very burly build. His upper body was completely identical to that of a normal human, and he was wearing a suit of black metal armor, but he had a pair of beastly legs that were covered in hard black fur.

  His companion was a petite woman with a gorgeous facial structure, but a pair of green eyes and pointy ears. At the same time, she had a thin yellow feline tail protruding from her rear.

  The two of them descended onto the ground below and made a few laps around the headless body.

  Moments later, the man let loose a low roar and opened his mouth to expel a streak of black light, which disappeared into the body in a flash. Immediately thereafter, black light flashed from the man's giant black horns, and the headless body suddenly shuddered before it was entirely enshrouded within the black light. A ball of grey light then slowly hovered out of the body before transforming into an extremely dull shadow that hung above the body in a completely idle manner.

  At this moment, the woman sniffed around her nose, and her eyes narrowed as she suddenly rose up into the sky before flying through the air nearby, seemingly in an erratic manner.

  "I've found it. There was only one being who killed the young master, but it seems that there were two other outsiders nearby as well. Even if they weren't related to the young master's death, they're most likely companions of the killer," the woman reported in a respectful manner as she suddenly drew to a halt.

  Chapter 1622: Devilish Shadow Rampage

  "Very good. Can you find the killer?" the owner of the elderly voice asked in a cold manner.

  "Of course. The three of them have all used secret techniques to conceal their spiritual power, but with the ever-present devilish Qi in this nearby area, there's no way for outsiders to completely conceal their auras, so I'll still be able to track their location. The killer has gone in that direction, but his residual aura is already very faint, so they most likely left quite a while ago. On top of that, the devilish Qi currents at high altitudes are very fast, so I'm not confident in my ability to chase them down, given how fast they're traveling," the woman replied in a truthful manner.

  "Hmph! Useless!" The elderly man immediately flared up with rage upon hearing this.

  The woman could only stand on the spot in a resigned manner.

  At this moment, her companion also rose up from the ground below, and he appeared beside the woman after just a few flashes before extending a respectful bow as he delivered his findings. "Master, I've drawn the young master's residual soul out of his body and used a secret technique to simulate the killer's appearance."

  "Let me see it," the elderly being instructed in a cold voice.

  The horned man gave an affirmative response before sweeping a sleeve through the air, upon which a ball of intertwining grey Qi and black light flew forth, then settled above his head.

  He then made a hand seal before casting a series of incantation seals toward the ball of light, and the ball exploded to reveal a humanoid projection.

  This was a shimmering projection of an azure-robed man with a set of ordinary facial features. There was an inky-black eyeball on his glabella that was swirling with an unsettling black light, and the man was naturally none other than Han Li.

  The projection only held its form for the span of a few breaths before it imploded and vanished.

  After identifying the third eye on Han Li's glabella, the elderly being gritted his teeth, and said, "A Law Destruction Eye, eh? Looks like he really is the killer, then. Only the spatial abilities of the Law Destruction Eye can prevent my son from teleporting away. Let's go!"

  The horned man hesitated momentarily before asking, "Please forgive me for my rudeness, but may I ask if you're planning to go after the killer, Master?"

  "Were my orders unclear?" the elderly being asked in a cold voice.

  The horned man hesitated momentarily again before replying, "Not at all, I just wanted to remind you of the purpose of our trip. The matriarch is going to use this mass devilish Qi influx to completely awaken, and if you get there too late, Tie Mo and the others could turn the matriarch on you by fabricating some slanderous lies. In that case, you can land in some trouble, Master."

  "Hmph, that Tie Mo has always been a thorn in my side," the elderly being harrumphed coldly, seemingly in a disdainful manner, but it was quite clear that he was concerned about this as well.

  The elderly being grappled with an internal conflict for a long while before finally deciding in a begrudging manner, "Alright then, Jiu Ye, you're proficient in tracking and concealment, so I'm going send you after those beings. Find them no matter what you do, then stay firmly on their tails while I go and welcome the matriarch as she comes out of seclusion. After that, I'll meet up with you and we'll avenge my son. If you still haven't found those beings by the time I reunite with you, you should know the consequences that await you, right?"

  The woman's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she then immediately lowered her head as she answered, "Yes, Master."

  "Let's go, Wu Qi." The elderly being then turned to the horned man before a massive azure-scaled hand extended out of the clouds. The hand made a grabbing motion, and the headless body down below was drawn into its grasp before it was withdrawn back into the clouds like lightning.

  "Yes, Master," the horned man replied in a respectful before flying up as a ball of red light and disappearing into dark clouds in a flash.

  After that, a burst of rumbling rang out from within the dark clouds, following which it rapidly flew away.

  Thus, the pointy-eared woman was the only one remaining.

  When the dark cloud finally disappeared into the distance, the woman's furry tail curled up, and she raised her head with furrowed brows, clearly very troubled by the difficult order that had been assigned to her.

  In the end, she heaved a faint sigh and cast her gaze around her. After ascertaining the correct direction, her body swayed, and she shot forth as a streak of silver light.

  After flying for over 1,000 feet, the streak of silver light suddenly shuddered before slowly becoming more blurry and indistinct. Following one final flash, the streak of light completely disappeared into thin air.

  Elsewhere, a Deity Transformation Stage being was slowly flying alongside a Spatial Tempering Stage being at a low altitude.

  Each of them was carrying a palm-sized formation plate, and they were stopping quite regularly to appraise the reactions displayed by those formation plates.

  The Deity Transformation Stage being was a young man who appeared to be in his thirties, and he couldn't help but ask, "Martial Uncle Wang, it's been quite a few days already, yet we haven't even caught a glimpse of the immortal zoysia; could it be that we've gone the wrong way?"

  His companion was a thin middle-aged man whose attention was entirely fixed on the formation plate in his hand, and he didn't even look up as he replied, "My divination technique doesn't have 100% accuracy, but it's correct at least once 20% of the times. I've cond
ucted divination on several consecutive occasions, and this direction has been pointed out on all of those occasions, so we're definitely going the right away."

  "20% isn't exactly a high probability," the young man sighed in a rather dejected manner.

  At this moment, the two of them were flying over a pair of tall mountains, and both of them were in a completely identical state to the mountains they'd passed through before. All of the mountains here were inky-black and remarkably smooth with no signs of plant life growing on them whatsoever, as if they were all just piles of smooth rocks.

  As such, neither of them paid any heed to those mountains, and they were just about to pass through between them when a startling turn of events abruptly unfolded.

  One of the mountain faces that they were passing by suddenly exploded, and a black blade of light that was several hundred feet in length suddenly erupted forth.

  "Argh!"

  The thin middle-aged man was caught completely off guard, and he hurriedly opened his mouth to expel a white shield. The shield swayed before him, then expanded to several tens of feet in size before positioning itself in front of him.

  However, in the next instant, the black blade merely continued onward, slicing through the shield and destroying the middle-aged man's body without any impediment.

  What was quite curious was that despite how powerful the black blade of light was, it didn't harm the young man at all.

  The blade virtually skimmed past the young man's body in a flash before disappearing into the sea of mist down below.

  All of a sudden, a loud rumbling boom erupted from within the mist, and a massive bottomless gulf that was over 100 feet wide was sliced into the ground.

  The young man may have been a Deity Transformation cultivator, but he clearly didn't have much practical battle experience, and only then did he react to the situation as an expression of horror and panic appeared on his face. He hurriedly made a hand seal in a clumsy manner before transforming into a streak of white light and flying back the way he'd come.