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

by Translator: Johnchen

  After wandering across multiple lands for countless years, he was constantly meeting different beasts and foreign beings, so he naturally missed being back in human company.

  Most importantly, Han Li had always been concerned about whether Nangong Wan had ascended yet. He didn't know if this beloved wife of his had successfully ascended to the Spirit Realm, and whether she had also arrived at Deep Heaven City.

  Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but there were many thoughts racing through his mind. He raised a hand, and a shimmering azure flying carriage was released.

  The carriage was around 70 to 80 feet in length with many profound runes inscribed over its surface. There were also two winged giant wolf puppets that were hovering in mid-air in front of the carriage.

  "All of you look to have sustained severe injuries that'll hamper your ability to travel over long distances, so you can rest in the carriage and just give me directions," Han Li said in a calm manner, before entering the carriage himself.

  "Thank you for your kindness, Senior!"

  The four human cultivators were quite elated to hear this and hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

  Han Li had told them that he wasn't a Body Integration cultivator, but they knew that he was no ordinary Spatial Tempering cultivator either. Otherwise, how could he have managed to kill that Spatial Tempering Stage Stone Origin Turtle so easily? With that in mind, they naturally didn't dare to go against his wishes.

  On top of that, they really were in dire need of rest and recuperation, so they were more than happy to follow this order. What was going to be an extremely treacherous journey back was virtually guaranteed to be a completely safe one now with the accompaniment of such a powerful being.

  Thus, the four of them flew onto the flying carriage in quick succession, and Han Li made a hand seal, sending two azure incantation seals flying through the air, each of which flew into one of the two giant wolf puppets.

  The stationary puppets immediately seemed to have sprung to life, and they let loose bursts of low roars before flapping their wings and flying through the air.

  Meanwhile, an azure light barrier appeared around the flying carriage to shield the four human cultivators, and the carriage flew into the distance as a ball of azure light.

  Han Li sat with his legs crossed at the center of the carriage, and asked, "Which region are you from, and how long has it been since you left Deep Heaven City?"

  The scholarly man was clearly the leader of the four, and he replied in a respectful manner, "The four of us came from a sect in the Xuan Wu Region, and it's only been around half a year since we left the city."

  "Half a year, eh? That means you should be quite familiar with recent events in Deep Heaven City, right?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

  The scholarly man could sense where this conversation was going, and he replied in a cautious manner, "We stayed in Deep Heaven City for several years prior to embarking on our journey, so we do indeed know a thing or two about recent matters in the city. However, as you can see, our cultivation bases are far from exceptional, so we don't know any confidential information."

  "Hehe, there's no need for you to be so tense. I also came from Deep Heaven City, but haven't been back for many years, so I just wanted to hear about the overall situation. Seeing as Deep Heaven City still stands, I presume the foreign beings from back then didn't manage to conquer it," Han Li chuckled.

  The scholarly man was rather taken aback to hear this, but he immediately replied in a truthful manner, "Foreign beings? Was that when you left Deep Heaven City, Senior? At the time, a few of the nearby races joined forces to attack the city, but our human race and the demon race put up firm resistance, and both sides suffered severe casualties. I've heard that there were even Body Integration Stage beings who had perished during that battle. However, just as the battle reached its climax, the foreign army suddenly retreated without any warning, which was how Deep Heaven City managed to survive."

  "They retreated?" Han Li stroked his chin as a contemplative look appeared on his face.

  "Indeed. There were many different theories speculating the reason behind it. Some people say that our two races sent out our elite forces to attack the territories of these foreign races, thereby forcing them into retreat; there are also some people who say that a new Profound Heavenly Treasure appeared, so all of the foreign beings set off to search for the treasure," the crimson-armored man explained.

  Han Li heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What are the rumors about the Profound Heavenly Treasure?"

  "This was something that created quite a stir back then. Some people say that the treasure was suddenly born within a certain foreign race, while others speculate that a foreign being of the Body Integration Stage or above carried this treasure to our continent. There's even a conspiracy speculating that someone ascended from one of the lower realms and carried such a treasure into this realm," the scholarly man replied with a wry smile.

  "Hehe, someone ascended from a lower realm?" Han Li couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this.

  "You also find that quite absurd, right, Senior? Profound Heavenly Treasures are extraordinary items; how could someone from a lower realm possibly be in possession of such a treasure? We have no clue how such ridiculous rumors came into existence," one of the female cultivators said with a smile.

  Han Li nodded in an ambiguous manner as he said, "It is indeed quite absurd. Alright, tell me about all of the major events that took place in the three regions and seven territories during the past 200 years."

  "Many major events took place during the past 200 years that shook the three regions and seven territories, but it'll take a very long time for us to recount all of those events," the scholarly man said with a fawning smile.

  "That's alright, we have such a long journey ahead anyway, so that should provide more than enough time for your stories," Han Li replied with a faint smile.

  "In that case, we'll do our best to provide an accurate account of the timeline of events," the scholarly man replied in a respectful manner.

  At this point, he had already taken some pills and was holding a spirit stone, which he was using to slowly replenish his energy.

  Thus, the scholarly man began his recount. "The most important event to have taken place during the past 200 years was the death of the Heavenly Spirit Sovereign several decades ago. He passed away after failing to transcend his final heavenly tribulation, and a new spirit sovereign is about to be chosen in the human race. Second to that was the disappearance of the young daughter of one of the seven demon monarchs, the Nan Li Wyrm Monarch. His daughter mysteriously vanished from his lair, and for that, the wyrm monarch kicked up a massive fuss that almost tipped the three regions and seven territories onto its head."

  Meanwhile, his three companions interjected to add details that he had missed from time to time.

  Han Li's expression initially remained unchanged as he listened to these stories, but a hint of surprise gradually appeared in his eyes, only to be slowly replaced by a rather grim expression.

  It seemed that a few earth-shattering events really had taken place in the human and demon races during the years that he had been away.

  Only after close to half a day did the four human cultivators finally complete their recounts, and when their voices trailed off, Han Li fell into silent contemplation.

  The four human cultivators naturally waited respectfully for Han Li to respond.

  After a while, Han Li suddenly asked, "Has a female cultivator from a lower realm by the name of Nangong Wan appeared in Deep Heaven City during these years?"

  "Nangong Wan? I've never heard of that name before. Lower realm cultivators who have ascended during these past 200 years have been exceedingly rare, so we should definitely be aware of all of them," the scholarly man gave a confident reply after pondering this question for a moment.

  Han Li's eyes flashed, and a th
ought occurred to him as he continued, "Oh, perhaps she changed her name. Have there been any female cultivators who have ascended to Deep Heaven City of late?"

  "Ascended female cultivators are even rarer, but there have been a few," the scholarly man replied in a slightly hesitant manner.

  "Alright, thank you for disclosing all of this information to me. I'll leave you to rest and recuperate now." Han Li nodded with a pleased expression before closing his eyes and falling silent.

  The four human cultivators also expressed their gratitude before closing their eyes to meditate.

  Han Li's expression appeared to be quite placid, but his mind was filled with Nangong Wan's gentle voice and smile.

  He had thought about her regularly for so many years, and after learning that there was a large chance that Nangong Wan had failed to ascend to the Spirit Realm, his heart began to throb with pain.

  The azure flying carriage flew even faster than when the four human cultivators had combined their powers, and a journey that should've taken over two months was completed in only about one and a half months.

  The flying carriage stopped high in the air above Deep Heaven City, and a complex look appeared on Han Li's face as he looked at the monolithic city walls in the distance.

  After wandering in foreign territory for so many years, he had finally returned to a home of sorts.

  "Should we teleport into the city now, Senior?" the scholarly man asked in a careful manner.

  Not far away from the carriage stood a teleportation formation that was several tens of feet in size, and there were a dozen or so azure-armored Dark Azure Guard standing around the formation.

  Light flashed from the formation, and several humanoid figures conversed with the Dark Azure Guards before entering the formation and vanishing on the spot.

  This was none other than the teleportation formation that led into Deep Heaven City.

  Due to the fact that this city directly faced the primordial world, it didn't have a normal city gate, so those who wanted to enter the primordial world had to do so through teleportation formations.

  As for the guards in Deep Heaven City who have to complete missions from time to time, they had their own set of even more obscure teleportation formations.

  Chapter 1758: Entering the City

  Han Li withdrew his gaze before stomping his foot gently down onto the flying carriage, and it immediately embarked on a slow descent.

  The flying carriage was quite enormous, so the Dark Azure Guards down below naturally noticed it, and bursts of spiritual sense were immediately sent sweeping toward them.

  Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, and azure light flashed, following which the flying carriage abruptly vanished. The five of them then descended near the teleportation formation.

  "Captain? Is that you?" A cry of surprise suddenly rang out from one of the Dark Azure Guards.

  Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before casting his gaze toward that direction. In doing so he discovered that there was a burly green-eyed man standing among the Dark Azure Guards, and he was rather familiar to Han Li.

  This was none other than Zhuo Chong, who was one of the guards that he had led back when he was last in Deep Heaven City.

  At this point, he had already progressed from the late-Nascent Soul Stage to the early-Deity Transformation Stage, and he was staring at Han Li with a stunned expression.

  "Oh? Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Zhuo. Congratulations on becoming a Dark Azure Guard," Han Li said with a smile.

  "It really is you! Hmm? Have you already progressed to the Spatial Tempering Stage, Captain?" Zhuo Chong was initially elated to see Han Li before a shocked expression reappeared on his face.

  He discovered that his spiritual sense was completely unable to glean Han Li's cultivation base, so he could only assume this to be the case.

  "I did indeed manage to progress to the Spatial Tempering Stage during my travels; I didn't think that I'd meet you here even before I entered the city, Fellow Daoist Zhuo. How are all of the other fellow Daoists in our former group doing?" Han Li asked with a smile.

  "Well, not long after you left, the foreign races attacked Deep Heaven City, and close to half of us perished during that battle. The rest then chose to leave Deep Heaven City, and Fairy Xu and myself are the only ones who decided to stay," Zhuo Chong replied.

  "Fairy Xu is still in the city?" Han Li asked as a peculiar look flashed through his eyes.

  This woman was a descendant of Fairy Ice Soul, which was someone he had to meet in order to complete the task that Senior Weng of the Heavenly Cloud Races had assigned to him, so he was naturally interested in hearing about her.

  "Fairy Xu has also reached the Deity Transformation Stage, and she's now a mid-Deity Transformation cultivator. By the way, Fairy Xu regularly mentions you, and she's always saying that she wouldn't be where she is today without your guidance," Zhou Chong said with a suggestive smile, seemingly under the impression that there was something going on between the two of them.

  "Hehe, I didn't do much; you can barely even refer to that as guidance. Fairy Xu has attained her current accomplishments due to her own outstanding aptitude," Han Li replied with an indifferent shake of his head.

  Meanwhile, as Han Li spoke with Zhou Chong, the four human cultivators were quite relieved to see that Han Li was acquainted with one of the Dark Azure Guards.

  It seemed that he had been telling the truth about coming from Deep Heaven City himself. As such, they no longer had to worry that he was a foreign being attempting to infiltrate the city in disguise.

  Such occurrences were not exactly rare, after all.

  The scholarly man also recognized Zhuo Chong, and he said, "I'm glad to see that Brother Zhuo is acquainted with Senior Han. We were only able to make it back here as Senior Han stepped in to save our lives from a perilous situation."

  "Oh? Did the four of you encounter some danger?" Zhuo Chong was rather taken aback to hear this.

  "That's an understatement; the four of us almost perished to a Spatial Tempering Stage Stone Origin Turtle," the scholarly man replied with a wry smile.

  "Hehe, our captain was able to kill Spatial Tempering Stage foreign beings even as a Deity Transformation cultivator, so he'd certainly have no issues killing a mere Stone Origin Turtle now," Zhuo Chong chuckled.

  The four human cultivators nodded emphatically to express their agreement to this sentiment.

  "I'd love to chat with you some other time, Fellow Daoist Zhuo, but I have some matters to attend to and I would like to enter the city first," Han Li said with a hint of a smile on his face.

  "Ah yes, how negligent of me; you must've traveled here from afar, so you must be quite exhausted." Zhuo Chong hurriedly stepped away to grant Han Li passage to the teleportation formation behind him.

  Han Li nodded at Zhuo Chong before striding into the formation before vanishing amid a flash of spiritual light along with the four human cultivators who had accompanied him.

  Zhuo Chong looked on at the empty formation with a slightly forlorn look on his face.

  "Do you really know that Senior Han, Brother Zhuo?"

  "Was he really your captain? Could he really kill Spatial Tempering Stage beings at just the Deity Transformation Stage?"

  "Why were we unable to glean his cultivation base? Could it be that he's cultivated some kind of special ability?"

  All of the other Dark Azure Guards couldn't help but express their curiosity.

  "Of course it's true. Captain Han was a very renowned figure among the Dark Azure Guards back in the day, and with his abilities, even the average Heavenly Guard may not be a match for him. I also benefited greatly from his guidance back in the day. Otherwise, I may not even have been able to progress to the Deity Transformation stage. It seems that he's progressed to the Spatial Tempering Stage, so his powers are naturally even more unfathomable; it's no wonder that we can't glean his cultivation base," Zhuo Chong replied, and at the same time, he couldn't help
but speculate internally about where Han Li had been during these past years.

  Of course, never would he imagine that Han Li had gone on an epic trip that had spanned multiple different continents.

  Meanwhile, spiritual light flashed within an ordinary-looking hall, and Han Li slowly emerged from the teleportation formation before casting his gaze around him.

  The four human cultivators also emerged behind him.

  "We're already at Deep Heaven City now, so it's time we parted ways, fellow Daoists," Han Li said to the four of them.

  "Thank you for saving our lives, Senior. We'll be residing in the Spring Slumber Pavilion for now; if you have any need for our services, please don't hesitate to call on us," the scholarly man said with a respectful and earnest bow.

  Without Han Li's intervention, all four of them would've almost definitely perished, so his words were genuine.

  "Spring Slumber Pavilion? Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Perhaps I really will have to trouble you later." Han Li nodded as he gave the scholarly man a final meaningful glance, then departed from the hall.

  The four human cultivators faltered slightly before extending respectful bows in unison.

  After departing from the hall, Han Li emerged in another massive hall that had a radius of over 1,000 feet. There were other people who were also entering and exiting the other halls connected to this one, but there weren't very many of them.

  Not far away from the exit of the giant hall stood two rows of Dark Azure Guards who were holding Foreign Spirit Discs, with which they were carefully assessing each and every cultivator entering and exiting the hall.

  There was also a golden-armored Heavenly Guard who stood behind the Dark Azure Guards with his arms crossed, appraising everything within the hall with a cold expression.

  Han Li immediately identified this Heavenly Guard as a mid-Spatial Tempering cultivator, and after a brief pause, he strode directly toward the guard.