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

by Translator: Johnchen

  The giant bird glanced at Jin Yue before suddenly speaking in a human tongue. "I'm glad to see you're looking just as youthful as you were several centuries ago, Fellow Daoist Jin."

  It hadn't made any effort to raise its voice, but the elders of the Tian Peng Race were still left with ringing eardrums.

  The incredulity on Jin Yue's face became even more pronounced, and a thought seemed to have occurred to her. "Could it be that you're..."

  "Hehe, looks like you've recognized me."

  The giant bird suddenly shrank down amid a flash of azure light, and a smiling azure-robed man with a pair of wings on his back took its place.

  Before Jin Yue had a chance to say anything, Elder Xu and another woman in the group exclaimed in unison, "Impossible!"

  "Greetings, elders." The azure-robed man was naturally none other than Han Li, and he turned to the two elders with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute.

  The other Tian Peng Race elders were still completely in the dark, and one of them couldn't help but ask, "Do you recognize this man, Brother Xu? Is he a member of our Tian Peng Race? If so, why have we never heard of a man of his powers in our race?"

  However, Elder Xu and the woman seemed to be too stunned to respond to these questions.

  Back when Han Li had last been in the Tian Peng Race, the other elders were completing missions elsewhere, so they naturally didn't recognize Han Li.

  As for Jin Yue and the other two elders, they had already assumed that Han Li had perished in the earth abyss, yet not only was he alive, he had unleashed such an astonishing Tian Peng Transformation and become a holy race being as well; how could they not be astonished?

  "So it really is you, Fellow Daoist Han. Looks like you must've encountered some miraculous opportunities in the earth abyss to have reached the holy race so quickly," Jin Yue finally said, and her voice was far calmer than everyone else expected.

  "I did indeed encounter some opportunities in the earth abyss, but that doesn't have much to do with my current cultivation base. Instead, I almost perished on several occasions to the four demon monarchs there," Han Li sighed.

  "Is that so? In any case, I must congratulate you on becoming a holy race being. I didn't ever get an opportunity to thank you for your efforts several hundred years ago; let's go back to the city to catch up. I presume you didn't cause such a commotion just because you wanted to chat with us, right?" Jin Yue suddenly said with a smile.

  "Indeed, I do have something to discuss with you, Fellow Daoist Jin," Han Li admitted with a smile.

  "Please come with me, then, Fellow Daoist Han," Jin Yue said as she made an inviting hand gesture.

  All of the other elders of the Tian Peng Race were still completely bewildered, but no one dared to question Jin Yue's judgment, so none of them said anything.

  Han Li merely smiled as he followed the white-robed woman down toward the holy city without any hesitation.

  The other Tian Peng Race elders exchanged a few more bewildered glances before also following along behind them.

  The commotion that Han Li had created earlier had attracted attention from countless high-grade Tian Peng beings in the city, but seeing as all of the elders had appeared outside the city, none of the Spirit Generals and Great Spirit Generals of the Tian Peng Race dared to approach them. As such, they could only look on from afar.[1]

  However, they were situated too far away, and Jin Yue had set up a sound isolation restriction in the surrounding area, so they couldn't hear anything.

  All they saw was that the giant azure bird had transformed into a young man, who seemed to be a member of their Tian Peng Race. He then conversed with the elders for a while before all of them flew back toward the city. As such, none of them had any idea what was going on.

  Thus, Han Li entered the holy city in a calm and collected manner in front of the eyes of countless Tian Peng beings. Only after a long while did all of these Tian Peng beings disperse in a perplexed manner and continued with what they were doing before this interlude.

  [1] IGT: Just a reminder, Spirit Generals = Deity Transformation, Great Spirit Generals = Spatial Tempering, and Holy Race = Body Integration

  Chapter 1851: Half a Cultivation Art

  Han Li and the others followed Jin Yue to a massive hall at the center of the holy city, and they all took a seat.

  Following instructions from Jin Yue, several young female servants immediately made their way into the hall, setting down things like spirit tea and spirit fruits onto the tables.

  Up to this point, Jin Yue was still treating Han Li like a normal guest, and there didn't seem to be any abnormal response from her.

  Han Li calmly took a sip of the spirit tea offered to him before giving a slight nod.

  "What do you think of this tea, Fellow Daoist Han? This is the Fragrant Maiden Tea that can only be found in our holy city, and only several tens of kilograms are produced per year. Not only can this spirit tea only be picked at dawn, it can only be picked by beautiful virgin maidens. Otherwise, it'll be far less fragrant," Jin Yue said with a smile as she also took a sip of tea.

  "This tea is indeed quite delectable," Han Li praised.

  "If you like it, I can gift some to you," Jin Yue said with a smile before clapping her hands together, then turned to a servant standing beside her, and instructed, "Go to the tea orchard and bring five kilograms of our finest Fragrant Maiden Tea."

  "Yes, Grand Elder!" The servant was rather surprised to be called upon, but she immediately gave an affirmative response before hurrying out of the hall.

  Han Li was also rather surprised by this gesture, but his expression remained unchanged as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Jin."

  The other elders were quite taken aback by this as well, but none of them said anything.

  "Allow me to make an introduction. Everyone, this is Fellow Daoist Han, the human who once saved our Tian Peng Race during the holy disciple trials. I'm sure all of you have heard of him, but not all of you have seen him before," Jin Yue explained to the elders who were only meeting Han Li for the first time.

  "What? That's him?"

  "Didn't he die in the earth abyss?"

  The other elders were quite stunned to hear this, with the exception of Elder Xu and the other female elder who had met Han Li in the past, and they both exchanged a wry smile.

  "I encountered some opportunities in the earth abyss and managed to escape from the demon monarchs. After that, I returned to my own human race. You wouldn't fault me for that, would you, Fellow Daoist Jin?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.

  "Of course not! If it weren't for your efforts several hundred years ago, there was no way that Bai Bi and Lan'er would've passed the trial and become holy masters of our race. Your actions saved our Tian Peng Race, and in doing so, you fulfilled our agreement, so you had earned your freedom. However, I must say that I'm truly stunned to see that you managed to become a holy race being even though you were only a Spirit General several centuries ago. I presume you had something do with the disappearance of the four demon monarchs. If you don't mind, would you be able to disclose what happened between you and the demon monarchs?" Jin Yue asked, and all of the other elders immediately turned to Han Li, eagerly awaiting his response.

  However, Han Li merely smiled, and replied, "I was only made aware that the four demon monarchs had disappeared after I entered the territory of your Flying Spirit Race. Speaking of which, this has something to do with my visit. I can't disclose to you what the events that took place between me and the demon monarchs, but I can promise you that there's no way they'll be able to return to the earth abyss. As for the progression in my cultivation base, this is a result of some opportunities that I encountered in the primordial world. It seems that you've also made significant strides in your cultivation base, isn't that right, Fellow Daoist Jin?"

  Han Li's blatant refusal to answer Jin Yue's question made her rather displeased, and a cold look flashed through her eyes
as her expression fell slightly. "If you're unwilling to disclose the information, then I naturally won't force you to do so. However, there must be a reason why you suddenly appeared outside our holy city in your Kun Peng form. Have you returned to intimidate our Tian Peng Race now that you've reached the holy race?"

  Seeing as Jin Yue had cast aside her pretenses of geniality, the other elders also turned to Han Li with cold unfriendly looks in their eyes.

  As opposed to being alarmed by this situation, Han Li smiled, and asked, "What did you think of my Kun Peng Transformation, Fellow Daoist Jin?"

  A peculiar look flashed through Jin Yue's eyes upon hearing this, but she harrumphed coldly, "Hmph, it is indeed quite impressive that a foreign being like you was able to refine Kun Peng True Blood to such an extent."

  "Do you really think it's that simple, Fellow Daoist Jin?" Han Li chuckled in a mysterious manner.

  "What are you trying to say, Fellow Daoist Han? I don't enjoy playing guessing games," Jin Yue asked in a cold voice as her eyes narrowed slightly.

  In contrast, Elder Xu and the other elders were rather perplexed by this exchange.

  A hint of a smile appeared on Han Li's face, and as opposed to offering a reply, he flipped a hand over to summon a white jade slip, then tossed it over to Jin Yue with a flick of his wrist.

  "What's the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Han?" Jin Yue asked as she reflexively caught the jade slip.

  "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Jin; I think it would be in your best interest to inspect the contents of the jade slip before we continue in our discussion," Han Li replied calmly.

  Jin Yue was still rather skeptical, but after hesitating a while longer, she still adhered the jade slip to her forehead before injecting a wisp of spiritual sense into it.

  Moments later, she exclaimed, "This is..."

  Her reaction naturally created a stir among the Tian Peng Race elders, but she was too ecstatic to pay them any heed and was completely absorbed by the contents of the jade slip.

  A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he took another sip of tea in a relaxed manner.

  Thus, a peculiar atmosphere settled over the entire hall as time slowly passed by, and only after a long while did Jin Yue finally remove the jade slip from her forehead as she heaved a long sigh.

  She then turned to Han Li with an extremely complex expression, and asked, "Where did you get this cultivation art from? Don't tell me that you created it; this cultivation art is extremely profound, but it's clearly designed for us Tian Peng beings."

  "As expected, you managed to identify the crux of the matter right away. However, the identity of the person who invented this cultivation art isn't important; what's important is the value that this cultivation art will bring to your race," Han Li replied with a smile, seemingly having already predicted Jin Yue's question.

  "This is clearly only half of the cultivation art; I presume you're not just showing it to me for the sake of it. Tell me why you've come to visit our Tian Peng Race," Jin Yue interrogated in a threatening manner as an extremely terrifying burst of spiritual pressure erupted from her body.

  "Haha, I'd be more than happy to answer your question, but this is quite an important matter, so I wish to speak to you in private," Han Li chuckled before adopting a serious expression as he turned to the other Tian Peng Race elders present.

  "Alright, we'll do as you say. Elders, please vacate the hall. You can come in after Fellow Daoist Han and I conclude our discussion," Jin Yue instructed without any hesitation, and it was quite clear that she held the cultivation art in the jade slip in extremely high regard.

  "Alright, we'll be taking our leave, then."

  The Tian Peng Race elders were quite reluctant to leave, but they didn't dare to oppose Jin Yue, so they could only vacate the hall.

  Moments later, Han Li and Jin Yue were the only ones left in the hall.

  "Let's continue our discussion, Fellow Daoist Han," Jin Yue prompted as her expression eased slightly.

  However, as opposed to immediately offering a response, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to summon a dozen or so small five-colored flags.

  The flags then transformed into streaks of light of different colors and vanished into the surrounding space.

  In the next instant, a five-colored light barrier appeared around Han Li and Jin Yue.

  Jin Yue was slightly alarmed by this, but she quickly identified this light barrier to be nothing more than a simple sound isolation restriction. Even so, she was still rather displeased. "Are you concerned that someone would eavesdrop on us even though I'm here with you?"

  "Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Jin, but this is a very important matter, so I have to take all of the necessary precautions," Han Li replied in a serious manner.

  "Alright, but before we continue, there's something I have to verify; do you have the other half of the cultivation art as well?" Jin Yue asked as she raised the jade slip in her hand.

  "Hehe, rest assured, Fellow Daoist Jin; I wouldn't be proposing an exchange if I didn't have the other half," Han Li replied without any hesitation.

  Jin Yue's expression eased significantly as she heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. Now then, what kind of exchange would you like to propose?"

  On this occasion, Han Li didn't stall any longer and cut straight to the chase. "I want to enter the earth abyss, so I'll need you to arrange that. This special refinement method of the Kun Peng True Blood is what I'm offering in return."

  IGT: Okay, so after doing some edits to this chapter I felt it reasonable to leave a note here about the names "Kun Peng" and "Tian Peng". You probably know that the Kun Peng is the mythological beast that can take the form of a bird or a fish. The first part of it's name "Kun" refers to it's fish form, and "Peng" refers to it's bird form. I spoke about this with johnchenn a while back, and he explained that the term Tian Peng translates directly into "Heavenly Peng", because their race focuses only on it's bird form.

  I thought about it for a bit, wondering if every instance of "Kun" should be changed to "Tian", since Han Li only ever utilizes the bird form just like the Tian Peng race, but decided in the end that Tian Peng should just be used for the name of the race, and every other reference to their True Spirit should be Kun Peng. This chapter originally kept on calling the transformation and the true spirit blood by the name Tian Peng, reminding me of this again. I'm sure there are older chapters that switch terms around, potentially leading to some confusion, so I hope this clears it up a bit.

  Chapter 1852: Return to the Earth Abyss

  "You want to enter the earth abyss?" Jin Yue was quite taken aback to hear this.

  "Will that be difficult to arrange? Hasn't the Flying Spirit Race already conquered the earth abyss? It should be a simple task for you to take me there," Han Li said in a calm manner.

  Jin Yue stroked the jade slip with her finger momentarily before replying with a wry smile, "If you had come 100 years earlier, then it would indeed have been a simple matter to take you into the earth abyss, but now, things are not so simple."

  "Oh? Why is that?" Han Li asked.

  After a brief hesitation, Jin Yue explained, "Around 100 years ago, someone stumbled upon an extremely obscure mine of precious ore on the deepest level of the earth abyss. Not only is this mine extremely important to our Flying Spirit Race, it contains an astonishing amount of ore. In order to prevent the mine from being exploited in secret, the entire earth abyss is in a state of semi-lockdown. In particular, the deepest level where the mine was found is inaccessible even to the elders of all of the races unless special permission is given."

  Han Li's expression eased slightly upon hearing this, and he smiled as he replied, "The deepest level? When did I say that I wanted to go there? I only need to go to the third level of the earth abyss."

  "In that case, this certainly isn't completely non-negotiable, but if you want me to agree to this exchange, you have to disclose to me the true reason why you want to enter the earth
abyss. After all, the earth abyss is now an extremely important part of the Flying Spirit Race's territory, and it could contain many hidden secrets yet to be discovered; you can't just expect me to blindly take an outsider into such an important place. The cultivation art you're offering is indeed extremely important to our Tian Peng Race, but I still can't do something so irrational," Jin Yue said in a serious manner.

  A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, but moments later, he heaved a faint sigh, and replied, "I know what you're worried about, but rest assured, I only want to enter the third level of the earth abyss as I have an agreement with a senior, which necessitates a trip to the third level. Once there, he'll be able to guide me into a separate space. This has nothing to do with the Flying Spirit Race, so there's no conflict of interest whatsoever. That is the extent of what I'm willing to reveal."

  A thought occurred to Jin Yue upon hearing this, and her expression changed drastically. "A separate space? You're already at the mid-holy race; could it be that the senior you're referring to is..." [Ok, so it seems that after reaching the holy race, everything is split up into early, mid, and late again, rather than nine tiers like the upper race.]

  "That's right, but please do keep this information to yourself. This senior has some ties with our human race, and it was thanks to him that I was able to escape from the demon monarchs during my last venture into the earth abyss. I was asked by this senior to return to meet him again, so if I'm unable to do so, perhaps he won't take very kindly to your race," Han Li said in a meaningful voice.

  "Are you threatening me?" Jin Yue's expression immediately darkened.

  "Definitely not. However, this senior has been residing in the earth abyss for countless years, and my trip to visit him is quite important to him as well. I'm sure you wouldn't want to make such a powerful enemy for your Flying Spirit Race for no reason, right?" Han Li said with a hint of a smile.