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

by Translator: Johnchen

  As a result, there was no way that they'd be able to avoid being discovered during their infiltration attempt.

  Just as these thoughts were flashing through his mind, the azure spirit carriage emerged on the other side of the light barrier, and Han Li was greeted by the sight of two massive formations down below, each of which had a radius of several hundred feet.

  There were countless fist-sized crystals embedded all over the surfaces of these formations, and a series of complex and profound patterns had been carved around the formations.

  All of these crystals and patterns were emanating faint spiritual light of different colors, creating quite an exuberant sight to behold from afar.

  Between the two formations, there was nothing else aside from a newly-constructed hall that took up an area of several acres.

  There were humanoid figures all around the formations, as well as the massive hall, and there appeared to be thousands of beings present.

  Most of them were armored warriors who were on guard duty while the remaining several hundreds of them all wore different attire. However, there was one constant, which was that all of them possessed advanced cultivation bases.

  Even though these people had surrounded the two formations and the hall, there was not even a single person who was speaking.

  However, as the azure spirit carriage that Han Li was in began to descend from above, many people down below still raised their heads to look up.

  The four yellow-robed men paid no heed to the widespread attention they were receiving, and they merely continued to drive the carriage, taking it to a smooth landing on a plot of empty land that appeared to have been prepared specifically for this purpose.

  Han Li cast his gaze around him, and only then did he discover that there was another completely identical spirit carriage parked beside him, except that one was completely white in color.

  After the carriage had drawn to a stop, one of the yellow-robed men turned to Han Li as he cupped his fist in a polite salute, and said, "Fellow Daoist Han, Senior Qian Jizi and all of the other seniors are waiting for you in the hall. We still have other matters to attend to, so we'll have to part ways with you here."

  "Thank you for transporting me here, Brother Tie." Han Li also returned his salute with a smile.

  After that, his body swayed, and he slowly drifted down from the carriage, then made his way toward the hall in an unhurried manner after landing on the ground.

  The dozen or so armored warriors had witnessed Han Li disembarking from the spirit carriage, so they only appraised him with curiosity in their eyes, and refrained from stopping him to ask questions or conduct a search.

  Han Li was naturally quite glad to be spared the trouble, and entered the hall without a hitch.

  After passing through a corridor that was lined with armored warriors on both sides, he arrived in a spacious hall, within which were around 40 to 50 people, some of whom were standing while others were seated.

  At the center of the hall was a chair, upon which sat a white-robed man who appeared to be in his twenties. It was none other than the man with the Weng surname.

  Qian Jizi, Duan Tianren, Cai Liuying, and seven or eight other holy race beings were also seated in various parts of the hall.

  Behind them were groups of beings from various different races, all of whom were at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage.

  As Han Li was walking into the hall, Qian Jizi was in the process of saying something to the white-robed man with a smile on his face, while everyone else was listening in silence.

  However, everyone's attention was then immediately drawn to Han Li following his arrival.

  Han Li's heart jolted slightly at the sight of the white-robed man, but his expression remained calm as he extended a deep bow, and said, "I pay my respects to all of the seniors present."

  "I'm glad to see you're here as well, Fellow Daoist Han. The Vast Glacial Realm will be opening in a few hours, and I'll introduce you to your companions later," Qian Jizi said with a smile.

  "Yes, Senior." Han Li naturally wasn't going to state any objections here.

  The white-robed man glanced at Han Li, and he seemed to have noticed something as a hint of surprise had flashed through his eyes. He suddenly asked, "So you're the one who unintentionally activated the Vast Glacial Badge?"

  "Indeed, Senior Weng," Han Li hurriedly replied with a respectful bow.

  "You recognize me?" The white-robed man was rather taken aback.

  "I had the honor of seeing you from afar during the Four Races Auction, Senior," Han Li replied in a truthful manner.

  The white-robed man appraised Han Li carefully for a moment before saying something that was quite unexpected to everyone. "The Four Races Auction, eh? In that case, it seems we have some affinity with one another. I can see you're only a seventh-tier upper race being, but your magic power and spiritual sense are both several times more powerful than beings of the same cultivation base. I have a treasure that I unintentionally came across many years ago known as the Heavenly Astral Seal. Using it is quite taxing on one's magic power and spiritual sense, but it's very useful for beings below the holy race, so I think it'll be perfect for you."

  As soon as his voice trailed off, he swept sleeve through the air, and a shimmering silver object was immediately sent flying toward Han Li.

  Han Li initially faltered upon seeing this before a hint of elation welled up in his heart. He hurriedly expressed his gratitude before making a grabbing motion toward the oncoming object.

  A burst of azure light swept forth from his fingertips, enveloping the item before drawing it into his grasp.

  He then focused his gaze to discover that this was a small antiquated silver seal that was around five to six inches in size.

  At the very bottom of the seal was inscribed a few pea-sized purple characters that read "Heavenly Astral Seal" in a type of ancient text.

  This was an extremely rare text from ancient times, but thankfully, it was one that Han Li recognized from his extensive studies.

  Chapter 1678: Vast Glacial Apparatus

  Even though Han Li was quite surprised that a Grand Ascension Stage being was giving him a present on their first official meeting, he naturally wasn't going to refuse it. At the same time, he was considering what reason the white-robed man could have for doing this.

  Everyone was also quite surprised to see this, and many of them began to exchange glances with one another.

  Just as everyone thought the white-robed man was going to say something else to Han Li, much to everyone's surprise he simply leaned back and fell silent.

  Qian Jizi faltered slightly upon seeing this before quickly returning to his senses as he turned to Han Li with a smile.

  "You're vastly fortunate to be receiving a treasure from Senior Weng, Fellow Daoist Han. With that treasure to protect you, you'll undoubtedly be a lot safer in the Vast Glacial Realm. We don't have much time left, so let me introduce you to your companions first."

  "Thank you, Senior Qian," Han Li replied in a respectful manner.

  "First, let me introduce Fairy Yue to you. Just like you, she's also activated a Vast Glacial Badge, and she'll be taking another team into the Vast Glacial Realm. There's a very slim chance that your two teams will be teleported into the same area in the Vast Glacial Realm, but if you happen to bump into one another, make sure to look out for each other," Qian Jizi began as he gestured toward a woman with a remarkably pale face, wearing a blue palatial dress.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Fairy Yue." Han Li took a quite glance at this woman, yet found himself unable to identify what race she hailed from. In any case, he still smiled and cupped his fist in a polite salute.

  The woman merely nodded in an indifferent manner without saying anything in response.

  "This is Shi Kun of the Stone Cocoon Race. He possesses some of the most powerful defensive abilities among all of you. Those two are the twins from the Azure Race, Feng Xiao and Yun Teng; they're very
adept at fighting enemies together..." Qian Jizi introduced all of the beings in the hall who were at the Spatial Tempering Stage to Han Li one by one, only giving brief introductions without going into any great depth. As such, all of the introductions were completed quite quickly.

  In the face of a seventh-tier upper race being like Han Li, most of them either displayed no reaction or appraised him with cold expressions. Only a few people regarded him with smiles on their faces.

  This was no surprise to Han Li. After all, these were all ninth-tier upper race beings, and if they were to make one more breakthrough, they'd be able to reach the holy race. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been chosen to enter the Vast Glacial Realm. As such, it only made sense that they wouldn't pay much heed to an outsider who was only a seventh-tier upper race being.

  He had been praised by the white-robed man in person earlier, but that only indicated that he was using some special cultivation arts. At the very least, that was what many of them were thinking.

  Qian Jizi's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.

  Everyone else was oblivious to this, but he knew that Han Li had once slain several beings of the same cultivation base as himself with ease. Perhaps he couldn't completely dominate all of these beings present, but he was definitely powerful enough to at least be among the top three.

  However, Han Li didn't seem to mind the treatment that he was receiving, and he nodded to acknowledge these beings one by one as they were being introduced.

  Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren's disciples were both among these beings, and that Shi Kun from the Stone Cocoon Race was none other than Duan Tianren's disciple. According to Qian Jizi, the hooded woman who was Cai Liuying's disciple was called Liu Shui'er.

  "In the past, each Vast Glacial Badge could only take 13 beings into the Vast Glacial Realm, but after making some improvements to the teleportation formations with the assistance of some formation masters from the Crystal Race, each badge can now facilitate the teleportation of 15 people. Hence, all 30 of you will be entering the Vast Glacial Realm. That's all the introductions I have to make; let me split you into your teams now. The names I call out from here will go with Fairy Yue, while the rest will go with Fellow Daoist Han. Hei Sha, Feng Xiao..." Thus, Qian Jizi began to rattle off a list of names.

  Not long after that, everyone had been split up into two groups, one of which stood behind Han Li, while the other stood behind the woman in the blue dress.

  Han Li's expression remained calm and unchanged, but internally, he was wondering what kind of strings Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren had pulled behind the scenes to get Qian Jizi to assign Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun to his team.

  Both of them wore calm expressions, as if they'd never seen Han Li before this.

  As such, it appeared that he had no choice but to take a trip to those ruins in the Vast Glacial Realm.

  After the two teams had been assigned, an unfamiliar holy race being rose to his feet before disclosing to Han Li and the others matters that they had to be careful of in the Vast Glacial Realm.

  Even though Han Li and the others had already heard this information more than once from other sources, they still listened with rapt focus, just in case there was something that they'd missed in the past.

  After finishing his address, the holy race being stepped aside again, and Qian Jizi waved a sleeve through the air, sending a burst of white light sweeping out from within. 50 to 60 treasures of different sizes then appeared in mid-air in a flash.

  These treasures came in all shapes and forms, including things like rings, bowls, flags, canes...

  However, the most common types of treasures, such as flying swords and flying sabers, were nowhere to be seen.

  Everyone looked on at the diverse array of treasures up ahead with bewilderment in their eyes.

  Some of them turned to Qian Jizi and opened their mouths as if they were about to ask some questions, but right at this moment, Qian Jizi smiled, and said, "What are you all waiting for? These treasures were all chosen for you from the secret vault of our city to help ensure a smooth trip. All of them can be used without being refined, but each of you can only choose one."

  Everyone faltered slightly upon hearing this before expressions of elation appeared on their faces.

  Many of them immediately made hand seals or simply made grabbing motions to draw their desired treasure toward them.

  The few treasures with the most powerful auras were taken almost right away. Thus, spiritual lights of different colors flashed as treasures flew left and right through the air. It was a free-for-all contest to see who could secure the best treasure.

  In the blink of an eye, close to half of the treasures had been taken, but there were still a few people who were yet to make their choices, and were still considering their options.

  Treasures with prominent auras were most definitely quite powerful, but that didn't mean that the treasures with weaker auras were necessarily inferior. At times, picking a treasure that had great synergy with one's cultivation arts was a far superior option to simply trying to choose the most powerful treasure.

  Han Li was also one of the beings who hadn't chosen a treasure yet.

  However, he didn't wait for too long, either. Blue light quickly flashed through his eyes, and he abruptly made a grabbing motion.

  Azure light flashed from one of the treasures hovering in mid-air, following which a large azure hand appeared, grabbing onto the treasure before drawing it back toward Han Li.

  Spiritual light then flashed from his hand as a jade fan that was shimmering with blue light appeared in his grasp. The image of a scenic mountain peak had been inscribed on the surface of the fan, and a burst of glacial power was emanating from it.

  This was an ice-attribute treasure.

  Han Li nodded with a pleased smile, but he then suddenly seemed to have sensed something, and he raised his head in a calm manner, just in time to see the woman in the blue palatial dress also casting her gaze toward him, focusing her attention on the blue jade fan in his hand.

  However, after noticing that Han Li had was also appraising her from afar, she withdrew her gaze again.

  She was also one of the people who hadn't chosen a treasure yet, and a contemplative look appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this.

  In the end, the woman chose a white ruler treasure that also seemed to be imbued with glacial power.

  After the final person had chosen their desired treasure, Qian Jizi swept a sleeve through the air, and white light flashed as all of the remaining treasures disappeared into his sleeve as streaks of spiritual light.

  After consulting with the white-robed man, Qian Jizi announced, "There's not much time left, so go and prepare yourselves for the upcoming journey."

  Thus, everyone began to depart from the hall. After arriving on the plaza outside the hall, Han Li took a casual glance up into the sky to find that it seemed to be around noon, given how dazzling the sun was.

  He then cast his gaze toward the two massive formations nearby to find that there were already over 100 armored warriors standing around them, each of which were holding formation plates and formation flags.

  The spirit stones that were embedded into the formations were also shimmering with faint spiritual light, and it seemed that everything had been prepared.

  However, Han Li's eyes suddenly narrowed as he turned his attention to the air above the formations.

  There was a head-sized ball of light hovering in mid-air there, and its surface was flashing incessantly with five-colored light.

  There seemed to be something inside that ball of light as well, and it didn't take Han Li long to sense that it was none other than the Vast Glacial Badge that he'd unintentionally activated.

  However, the badge seemed to have been temporarily restricted by the five-colored ball of light, thereby completely immobilizing it.

  At this moment, Qian Jizi and the others also emerged from the hall, and they all stopped outside before also looking up at the b
right sun in the sky.

  "We can't afford any errors in timing; bring out the Vast Glacial Apparatus," Qian Jizi ordered

  "Yes!"

  Several armored warriors immediately flew into the hall as streaks of silver light.

  Moments later, they re-emerged from the hall, carrying a gargantuan object in an extremely strenuous manner.

  The object was over 100 feet tall, and appeared to be a massive azure bell. However, there were a dozen so dragon head statues on its surface, all of which had their eyes closed, thereby giving the bell quite a mystical appearance.

  Following a resounding thud, the Vast Glacial Apparatus was set down heavily at the center of the plaza, causing the entire ground to tremor slightly in the process.

  Qian Jizi immediately made a hand seal before raising his hand, and a white incantation seal flew forth before vanishing into the Vast Glacial Apparatus in a flash.

  Scintillating light immediately began to radiate from the surface of the massive azure bell, and at the same time, countless azure runes appeared out of thin air. The dozen or so extremely life-like dragon statues then began to move as if they'd sprung to life, but then quickly fell still again.

  Only the mysterious runes on the surface of the giant bell continued to flash incessantly.

  Everyone, including Han Li, had turned their attention to this object, but they were naturally unable to identify what it was being used for.

  At this moment, Qian Jizi and the other holy grade beings suddenly began to converse with one another, and they paid no further heed to the Vast Glacial Apparatus. Not long after that, the white-robed man emerged from within the hall.

  Chapter 1679: Entering the Realm

  All of the other cultivators who were going to enter the Vast Glacial Realm were either inspecting the giant formations or appraising the Vast Glacial Apparatus with solemn expressions on their faces.

  The Vast Glacial Realm was a land of opportunities, especially to those who were at cultivation bottlenecks, but it was also fraught with peril, and many beings had perished in there.