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

by Translator: Johnchen

  "This Azure Shadow Pill is considered to be the sacred pill of the Azure Sea Race. Just a single pill will produce an effect equivalent to around a month of arduous cultivation for you, and this pill is only slightly above average among all of the pills that I've brought out here," Voidspirit declared in a proud manner. It was quite clear that he was very confident in the pills he had to offer.

  "These pills are indeed all extremely precious, but I'm afraid I can't offer my elixir in exchange for them," Han Li said with a wry smile.

  The elderly man faltered slightly before immediately flying into a thunderous rage. "Why is that? Do you think I'm providing you with fake pills?"

  Qing Yuanzi and Golden Flame Baron also exchanged a slightly bewildered glance.

  "Of course not, Senior, it's just that I already have many pills that can enhance my cultivation base, so these pills aren't very useful to me," Han Li hurriedly explained.

  "You already have some pills? What kind of pills are you using? Are you saying they're better than mine?" the elderly man asked in a skeptical manner.

  Han Li could only heave a resigned internal sigh before continuing, "If you don't believe me, then I can only show you my pills, Senior."

  He flipped a hand over as he spoke, and a small white jade vial appeared in his hand amid a flash of spiritual light. He tossed the vial toward the elderly man, who was still quite skeptical, but was beginning to believe Han Li judging from the calmness he was displaying.

  He caught the vial before removing the lid, and a pleasant fragrance immediately wafted toward him. His expression changed slightly, and instead of immediately tipping a pill out of the vial, he brought the opening of the vial to his nose and inhaled deeply, following which a slightly bewildered look appeared on his face.

  "Brother Voidspirit, you're an accomplished pill refinement master; what do you think of Fellow Daoist Han's pills?" Golden Flame Baron asked. He had no inhibitions as this had nothing to do with him anyway.

  "There are no issues with the pills, but they have a rather peculiar fragrance." the elderly man tipped a thumb-sized pill out of the vial as he spoke.

  The pill was of a fiery red color with golden patterns all over its surface, as well as spiritual light swirling all around it, making it resemble a living creature.

  "This is a Corrosive Immortal Pill! There's no mistaking it; you managed to find Corrosive Poisonweed? That's an immortal plant that's long extinct in the Spirit Realm!" As expected of an old monster like Voidspirit; he was able to identify this pill after just a rough glance.

  "What? This pill was refined using Corrosive Poisonweed?" Golden Flame Baron immediately rose to his feet with a stunned expression upon hearing this, and a hint of astonishment also flashed through Qing Yuanzi's eyes.

  The elderly man didn't say anything further. After carefully inspecting the pill in his hand, he carefully placed it back into the vial, then tossed the vial back to Han Li.

  "Corrosive Immortal Pills are indeed far more potent than the pills I have here, so you weren't lying. However, the fact that you were able to find Corrosive Poisonweed and refine these pills shows me that you're a man of great fortune. After all, Corrosive Poisonweed can be very useful even to Grand Ascension Stage beings," the elderly man said in a meaningful voice.

  Han Li's heart stirred slightly, and he extended a respectful salute as he said, "I only knew that this plant could be used to refine Body Integration Stage pills; I didn't know that they could be useful to Grand Ascension Stage beings as well. Would you be able to enlighten me further on this subject, Senior?"

  Voidspirit replied with a smile, "Sure, this isn't really a secret. If a Grand Ascension Stage being can extract the poison out of Corrosive Poisonweed, then directly consume this poison, they could use the stimulus to create a chance for themselves to break through a bottleneck. However, this is naturally extremely dangerous, and someone who pursues this method could easily be killed by the poison. On top of that, regardless of whether they succeed or not, their body would be severely ravaged, so it's a desperate self-mutilating bid at further advancement.

  "Despite how perilous the method is, the chances of success are extremely slim, so there's a massive imbalance between risk and reward. As such, only someone who has no hope of breaking through a bottleneck through conventional means and won't be able to transcend their next major heavenly tribulation would attempt something like this. Furthermore, extracting the poison out of Corrosive Poisonweed is an extremely difficult process as well, and even back when the plant wasn't extinct in the Spirit Realm, very few people have managed to accomplish this."

  Qing Yuanzi displayed no reaction to this, but there was an indecisive look of contemplation in Golden Flame Baron's eyes.

  "Alright, seeing as you're not in need of pills, I'll offer you some treasures. You can pick any three treasures you like from this selection."

  Voidspirit swept a sleeve through the air as he spoke, and spiritual light flashed erratically, following which his sleeve abruptly expanded to several times its original size.

  A faint buzzing sound then rang out, and hundreds of treasures surged out of his sleeve in a frenzy. Some of them were releasing dazzling light, some of them were emitting sharp ringing sounds, and some were flickering in and out of existence as if they had been constructed from illusionary smoke...

  The one common trait among this diverse smorgasbord of treasures was that all of them were giving off extremely powerful auras. All of them seemed to be top-grade spirit treasures, and there were even a few that were giving off spiritual pressure no less powerful than that of Han Li's silver ruler.

  Han Li was naturally greatly astonished to see this, and he was at a loss for words.

  Golden Flame Baron and Qing Yuanzi exchanged a smile upon seeing this, and the former suddenly chuckled, "Brother Voidspirit, Fellow Daoist Han is clearly a very wealthy individual, so perhaps he may even have a few treasures on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll. If you want his elixir, then these treasures most likely won't be enough to tempt him. How about you bring out some good stuff so Brother Qing and I can broaden our horizons as well?"

  Chapter 1870: Another Fragment

  "You want to see some good stuff? You sure dare to talk, Golden Flame! I do indeed have a few treasures that are on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll, and they're even more valuable than Divine Spirit Treasures, but do you think I'll be willing to exchange those for Divine Infernal River Elixir?" the elderly man chuckled coldly, turning down Golden Flame Baron's request without any hesitation.

  "Hehe, I see. I had heard that you had obtained quite a powerful treasure that seems to be related to Profound Heavenly Treasures prior to your seclusion, and I really wanted to see it," Golden Flame Baron said in a slightly disappointed manner.

  "A Profound Heavenly Treasure?" Qing Yuanzi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

  Voidspirit inspected Golden Flame Baron and Qing Yuanzi through narrowed eyes for a moment before suddenly smiling as he agreed, "Hmph, you sure seem to know a lot about what I've been up to recently. The treasure that I obtained was only a fragment of a Profound Heavenly Treasure, not a true Profound Heavenly Treasure. Seeing as you've already mentioned it, it would be stingy of me not to show you."

  "In that case, Brother Qing and I are truly in for a treat! This is the first time I've ever seen a Profound Heavenly Treasure!" Golden Flame Baron said in an ecstatic manner.

  "I managed to witness the power of a Profound Heavenly Treasure many years ago, but my cultivation base was far lower at the time, and I was situated quite far away, so I never saw what the Profound Heavenly Treasure truly looked like. Speaking of which, as one of the major races of the Tian Yuan Continent, the Mayfly Race should be in possession of a Profound Heavenly Treasure, right?" A hint of excitement also flashed through Qing Yuanzi's eyes as he spoke.

  As for Han Li, his heart stirred slightly upon hearing the mention of Profound Heavenly Treasure, and he withdrew his gaze from the multitude
of treasures in the air before turning his attention to the elderly man as well.

  "Our race does indeed have a Profound Heavenly Treasure, but it was given to Master Insect of our Mayfly Race countless years ago, and even I've only ever seen illustrations of the treasure before. There are only a dozen or so true Profound Heavenly Treasures in the Spirit Realm, and they are the most powerful treasures this realm is capable of producing," the elderly man said as he rubbed his hands together, and a dull thump rang out as a ball of red light appeared between his hands.

  Within the red light was an object that resembled an incense burner. Its surface was riddled with pits and bumps, and there were a few golden runes inscribed upon it. At the same time, there were diagrams of unknown beasts on top of the burner. Some of these beasts had falcon heads and horse bodies, some had pig heads and dragon bodies, but all of them were damaged and missing limbs.

  Han Li's trio naturally focused their eyes on the item with different expressions on their faces.

  "This is a Profound Heavenly Treasure fragment?" Golden Flame Baron asked with a hint of skepticism in his eyes.

  Qing Yuanzi's brows also furrowed slightly, but as opposed to being enraged by their suspicion, Voidspirit chuckled, "Hehe, I had thought that beings of your powers would've learned not to judge a book by its cover."

  He gently flicked a finger toward the incense burner as he spoke, and a crisp clang rang out, following which the burner tremored slightly, and the golden runes on its surface immediately lit up. The beastly diagrams on the top of the burner also began to glow with red light, and this red light manifested into the missing sections of the diagrams.

  He then flicked his finger toward the incense burner a second time, and the golden runes on its surface disintegrated into countless specks of golden light that enveloped the entire burner.

  Under the illumination of the red light, the beastly diagrams also sprang to life, and it looked as if they were going to spring out of the burner at any moment.

  At the same time, an enormous burst of the world's origin Qi proliferated forth from the burner, transforming into an enormous invisible force that enveloped the entire hall.

  Han Li had risen to his feet earlier, and the terrifying pressure made his body sway as his expression changed ever so slightly.

  Qing Yuanzi and Golden Flame Baron were still seated firmly in their chairs, but they also couldn't help but be amazed by the phenomena stemming from the incense burner.

  "This Profound Heavenly Treasure fragment was something I unintentionally stumbled upon in an ancient battlefield deep within the primordial world. What I just displayed was only around 10% of the full power of this treasure. If I were to unleash the entirety of its power, it would definitely be no less powerful than the top 10 treasures on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll," the elderly man said in a smug manner as he withdrew his hand seal before drawing the incense burner back into his grasp.

  "Even just a fragment is capable of unleashing such power; I wonder just how fearsome a true Profound Heavenly Treasure would be. I really do envy your fortune, Brother Voidspirit. With this treasure, you should have a greater chance of transcending your future tribulation," Qing Yuanzi praised.

  "Hehe, I certainly hope so. However, the ascension tribulation is certainly not that easy to transcend. All beings from our Spirit Realm that have attempted to transcend this tribulation were extremely cautious and only dared to take on this monumental task after taking every single precaution they could, yet there are still only very few who make it in the end. If it weren't for the fact that I'm not confident in my ability to transcend my next major heavenly tribulation, I wouldn't be taking a risk to attempt ascension, either. If I had a true Profound Heavenly Treasure in my possession, perhaps I would have a decent chance, but unfortunately, Master Holy Insect has already refined our race's Profound Heavenly Treasure to become a part of his body, so there's no way for me to borrow it," Voidspirit sighed in a wistful manner.

  All of a sudden, Qing Yuanzi said something that made Han Li's heart skip a beat, "I've heard that a new Profound Heavenly Treasure seems to have appeared in our Spirit Realm several hundred years ago."

  "Is that true? Why have I never heard of this?" Golden Flame Baron exclaimed in an incredulous manner.

  "I received this news too, from Elder Hua of my race. He told me that a Profound Heavenly Treasure had appeared on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll over 100 years ago, and it created a massive stir. Even the Jiao Chi Race had traveled all the way to our continent in search of the treasure, and I had heard that they even performed a blood sacrifice to find the treasure, but to no avail. After that, no further news emerged of this treasure. No one knows if it developed intelligence of its own and hid itself, or was obtained by a mighty figure who used some kind of concealment technique to hide it. In any case, no one has any leads of where it may be. The elders in our race who were adept in divination expended an astonishing price to try and find the treasure, but they ultimately failed as well, so they could only give up," Voidspirit said in a solemn voice.

  "I see, but how could a Profound Heavenly Treasure be concealed even from divination? Could it be that it's fallen into the hands of a true spirit being?" Golden Flame Baron said as he shook his head in shock and disbelief.

  "It's rather unlikely that the treasure fell into the hands of a true spirit being. Most true spirit beings are born in realms lower than the True Immortal Realm, but once they come of age, the majority of them would ascend to higher realms or create their own abode by opening up an alternate space. Hence, there's virtually no chance that they'd come into contact with a Profound Heavenly Treasure. If you ask me, I think this Profound Heavenly Treasure has something to do with a Profound Spirit Artifact that was born in an alternate realm. If that really were the case, then divination may work on it once or twice, but once this Profound Heavenly Treasure develops intelligence and awareness, it won't be strange for it to develop the ability to conceal itself from divination," Voidspirit mused in a solemn manner, and his hypothesis wasn't far from the truth.

  "That does make more sense. Perhaps that really is what happened. Otherwise, all of the major races would still be searching for it. After all, no one is going to search aimlessly for something throughout the entirety of the vast Spirit Realm. I really am in awe of your vast base of knowledge and experience, Brother Voidspirit," Golden Flame Baron said in an admiring voice.

  Qing Yuanzi also nodded with an expression of approval.

  "Haha, I didn't think of all this myself; the elders of our race arrived at this verdict. Alright, you've had some time to think now; have you picked the treasures you want, Fellow Daoist Han?" Voidspirt chuckled before suddenly turning toward Han Li, almost as if he had forgotten about him.

  Han Li's heart immediately jolted upon hearing this, and a peculiar look appeared on his face as he mustered up his courage, and said, "These treasures are indeed quite extraordinary, Senior, but I would still rather keep my Divine Infernal River Elixir."

  Much to Han Li's surprise, the elderly man didn't immediately become enraged upon hearing this. Instead, his expression darkened slightly, and he said in a rather menacing voice, "None of them caught your eye? Could it be that you have a Divine Spirit Treasure on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll? In that case, I won't force the issue, but if you don't, I'll take this as a sign of disrespect, and I may have to punish you for it."

  Han Li knew that there wasn't any point in saying anything further. Thus, he merely flipped his hand over, and silver light flashed as a shimmering silver ruler appeared in his grasp.

  He gently waved the ruler through the air, and an astonishing aura erupted forth. At the same, spiritual light flashed as countless silver ruler projections appeared, creating quite a mystifying sight to behold.

  "Hmm? That really is a Divine Spirit Treasures on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll. It looks to be one of the lowest-ranked treasures, but it fits the criterion, nonetheless." A hint of surprise initially appeared on G
olden Flame Baron's face, followed by a gloating smile. He was clearly taking pleasure in Voidspirit's misfortune.

  In contrast, Qing Yuanzi could only offer a wry smile.

  Now that he had failed on two separate occasions to work out a deal, Voidspirit was growing rather impatient and frustrated. He glowered at Han Li for a while before a cold smile appeared on his face. "It seems that your wealth belies your cultivation base. Seeing as you're not in need of any pills or treasures, I'll show you something that you definitely won't be able to refuse!"

  Chapter 1871: Gold Devouring Beetles and Gold Devouring Beetles

  "Something I definitely won't refuse?" Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this.

  Qing Yuanzi and Golden Flame Baron exchanged a glance, and both of them seemed to have guessed something.

  Instead of directly telling Han Li what he was going to offer next, Voidspirit said something that was rather cryptic and ambiguous. "At this point, you should already know that I'm a grand elder of the Mayfly Race. Our Mayfly Race may not be able to match up against the super races like the Jiao Chi Race and Sea Monarch Race, but in some areas, we are peerless even in the context of the entire Spirit Realm."

  He then reached out and made a grabbing motion, upon which all of the treasures suspended in the air flew back into his sleeve as specks of spiritual light.

  Han Li's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he exclaimed, "Are you referring to insect control techniques, Senior?"

  "Haha, that's right! Our race's insect control techniques are definitely unmatched in the Spirit Realm. Even if some of the other super races can compare with us in this field, they're definitely still somewhat lacking. What I'm offering you now are two of the 81 types of spirit insects that I've painstakingly nurtured. With these spirit insects up your sleeve, you'll be able to stand at the very pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage," Voidspirit said in a proud manner, then pointed two of his fingers forward, and two thumb-sized spirit insects, one purple and one green, emerged onto the table.