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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Judging from the contents of his words, he should've been extremely angry, but his face remained completely expressionless, which created a very peculiar contrast.

  In the next instant, he rubbed his hands together, and golden light flashed before he raised his palms up into the air.

  A ball of golden light emerged, and in the beginning, it was only around the size of a human fist, but it then swelled dramatically in size, while a buzzing sound erupted throughout the entire secret chamber.

  Within the span of just a few breaths, a few dull thumps rang out within this mysterious palace, following which several golden pillars of light erupted in all directions from it.

  A string of loud rumbling booms then erupted as more golden light surged out of the palace in a frenzy, and the entire building completely crumbled and collapsed.

  The entire area was inundated by this golden light, and when the light faded, the golden-robed young man was revealed again, standing on the original site of the palace in an expressionless manner.

  He withdrew his raised arms, and moments later, a streak of golden light flew out of the ocean. After that, the streak of golden light chose a certain direction to travel toward, and it was heading directly for the Tian Yuan Continent!

  ...

  On the territory of the Tian Yuan Continent's Wood Tribe, there was a barefoot woman in a white dress hovering gracefully over an enormous lush tree that was over 100,000 feet tall. Standing before her was an azure-robed elderly man, and they were engaged in a tense standoff.

  Over 1,000 feet below the woman, there was a hideous burly man in a suit of black armor, surrounded by a middle-aged man and woman.

  The burly man had his arms crossed, and he was glowering at the middle-aged duo with a ferocious look in his eyes.

  In contrast, the middle-aged pair were both quite refined in appearance, and the woman was appraising the burly man with a wary look in her eyes.

  "I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you infiltrated the holy land of our Wood Tribe and picked over 10 of our Black Spirit Flowers; do you really think our tribe doesn't have any Grand Ascension Stage beings to oppose you?" The azure-robed man said in a cold voice as he glowered at the woman before him.

  "I wouldn't infiltrate a place without doing sufficient research beforehand. You're a grand elder of the Wood Tribe, right? Don't be so stingy, Fellow Daoist Wu; there's no need to get so worked up over a few Black Spirit Flowers," the woman said in an unflustered manner, seemingly completely unfazed by the powerful foe standing before her.

  "Hmph, you make it sound like no big deal, but Black Spirit Flowers possess extraordinary effects, and our entire tribe can only produce just over 100 such flowers per 10,000 years; you've taken close to half of them at once, and you think you'll simply be allowed to go free?" The elderly man's expression darkened as he spoke.

  This grand elder of the Wood Tribe had been cultivating within a certain secret area nearby, and if it weren't for the fact that he had to come out of seclusion to attend to some matters, he wouldn't even have noticed that someone had infiltrated their tribe's holy land before taking so many Black Spirit Flowers.

  As soon as he discovered this, he immediately confronted the perpetrators, but the woman standing before him possessed unfathomable powers, even to a Grand Ascension Stage being like him, which was why he hadn't attacked her right away.

  "I've already done your tribe a favor by not taking all of your Black Spirit Flowers. You're quite powerful, but you're still no match for me, so what are you going to do?" the woman scoffed, and the azure-robed elderly man was greatly enraged by her words.

  At the height of his fury, the elderly man burst into incredulous laughter. "Ha, seeing as you have no respect or regard for our Wood Tribe, I'll have to test out your abilities to see if you can truly back up your words. If you really are more powerful than me, then I'll command the entire Wood Tribe to stand down and allow you to leave."

  "If you're no match for me, then other beings of your Wood Tribe would simply be asking for death if they were to challenge me. However, do you really want to fight here?" the woman asked with a smile as she glanced at the giant tree down below.

  The woman was already a peerless beauty, and her smile only further accentuated her allure. Even the elderly man couldn't help but be momentarily entranced by her stunning elegance, but he immediately returned to his senses, upon which his expression darkened even further. "The two of us would raze my tribe's holy land to the ground if we were to battle here. Come with me, Fellow Daoist."

  As soon as his voice trailed off, the elderly man abruptly swept a sleeve upward, and a pillar of azure light erupted forth.

  The pillar of azure light then transformed into a gargantuan sword that was over 1,000 feet in length before slashing through the air.

  A resounding boom rang out as the giant sword struck the empty air amid a flash of white light. A burst of powerful spatial fluctuations erupted forth, and a spatial rift that was over 100 feet in length appeared. This grand elder of the Wood Tribe had smashed open a spatial rift with just a single attack!

  He stepped into the spatial rift without any hesitation, completely disregarding the hazards within the rift. A faint smile that was tinged with a hint of derision and disdain appeared on the woman's face, and she turned to the burly man down below before issuing an instruction. "You stay here for now; I'll be back soon."

  "Yes, Sacred Ancestor!" The burly man was very ferocious in appearance, but he was acting extremely respectfully toward the woman.

  The woman gently tapped a foot into the air, and a pink flower emerged beneath her feet before slowly carrying her into the spatial rift as well.

  Moments later, a string of rumbling booms and astonishing explosions erupted within the spatial rift, accompanied by flashes of dazzling light. It was as if doomsday had befallen the space within the rift.

  The two middle-aged Wood Tribe cultivators both exchanged a shocked glance upon seeing this.

  As for the burly man, he turned back to the middle-aged duo as the vicious look reappeared on his face, seemingly completely unconcerned about the woman in white.

  The commotion taking place within the rift didn't last too long. Around 10 minutes later, all of the light faded, and nothing more than complete silence could be heard within the spatial rift.

  The middle-aged duo turned toward the rift with nervous looks on their faces, while the burly man merely appraised them with a cold sneer on his face.

  Moments later, azure light flashed from within the spatial rift, and a humanoid figure emerged from within; it was none other than the azure-robed elderly man.

  He appeared to be completely physically unscathed, but his face was clearly paler than before. As soon as he emerged from the spatial rift, he turned back toward it with a hint of fear in his eyes.

  Only then did the woman in white also exit the spatial rift, and her expression was just as calm and collected as when she had first strode into the rift.

  The concern on the faces of the middle-aged duo from the Wood Tribe was only exacerbated upon seeing this.

  As soon as the woman in white emerged, she asked, "Can I leave now, Fellow Daoist?"

  The Wood Tribe grand elder wore an extremely strained expression as instructed through gritted teeth. "Mu Jun, Mu Jiao, issue this order of mine: no one from the Wood Tribe is permitted to attack these two, and they are to be allowed to leave our territory as they please."

  The middle-aged man immediately tried to dispute the order. "But Grand Elder, those Black Spirit Flowers are..."

  "Shut up! Are you doubting my words?" the elderly man yelled as a cold look appeared on his face.

  "I wouldn't dare, Senior! I'll pass on your orders right away!" the middle-aged man hurriedly replied with a respectful bow.

  "Hmph, go on, then," the elderly man harrumphed coldly.

  On this occasion, the middle-aged man didn't dare to hesitate. He flipped a hand over to produce a stack of
shimmering azure talismans, and he swept a hand toward the talismans a few times before releasing them as streaks of azure light with a flick of his wrist.

  The talismans immediately vanished into thin air nearby, and the woman in the white dress merely smiled upon seeing this as she tucked a few strands of stray hair behind her ear. She then waved a hand toward the black-armored burly man down below, then flew away without uttering a single word.

  The burly man cackled triumphantly before immediately setting off in pursuit of the woman as a gust of fierce black wind.

  The Wood Tribe grand elder was extremely enraged that the Body Integration Stage burly man was acting so rudely in his presence, but he didn't dare to do anything aside from look on with a frosty expression as the duo flew away.

  "Mu Jiao, your Azure Spirit Wisdom Eyes are extremely profound; could you identify anything about those two?" the elderly man suddenly asked.

  "I'm afraid I'll have to let you down, Grand Elder. I activated my wisdom eyes to their very maximal extent just then, but was still unable to see much. That Grand Ascension Stage woman is enshrouded within countless flower projections, making it impossible for me to see her true form; could it be that she's also a Wood Spirit or has some kind of connection to our Wood Tribe?" the middle-aged Wood Tribe woman replied in a hesitant manner.

  "Hmph, she's definitely not from our Wood Tribe; it's most likely the case that the cultivation art she's using is somehow connected to ours. She's unfathomably powerful, and I can't help but worry now that she's appeared near our Wood Tribe territory so close to the commencement of the devilish tribulation," the elderly man sighed.

  Chapter 1879: Reliance

  "I trust your judgment, Grand Elder. As for that man, I saw an indistinct wyrm projection on his body, and I could also see that he possesses extremely pure devilish Qi. Could he be somehow related to the Elder Devil Race?" the woman speculated.

  "Most likely not. There are countless Devil Dao cultivation arts littered throughout the Spirit Realm, and the fact that his true form is a wyrm indicates that he's definitely not from the Elder Devil Race. The wyrms and the elder devils are sworn enemies, and if two such beings were to encounter one another, a battle to the death would immediately ensue," the elderly man concluded after a brief pause for thought.

  Despite his vast wealth of knowledge and experience, it didn't occur to this Wood Tribe grand elder that the black-armored man could be an evil dragon that had been extinct for countless years in the Spirit Realm. As a result, he naturally made a massive lapse in judgment.

  Meanwhile, high up in the air thousands of kilometers away, the burly man was speaking to the woman in white in a respectful manner.

  "Sacred Ancestor, if these Black Spirit Flowers are useful to you, then why didn't you take all of them? That Wood Tribe grand elder is only an early-Grand Ascension Stage being, so there's no way he could've posed a threat to you. After all, even among all of the Sacred Ancestors of our holy realm, your powers rank among the top five."

  "I'm confident in my ability to defeat that Wood Tribe grand elder, but I'm not actually confident in my ability to kill him. On top of that, Black Spirit Flowers only have a limited effect in helping me recover from my injuries, so they'll cease to be effective for me once I consume more than 10. As such, there's a mismatch between risk and reward, so why would I do something so unwise?" the woman explained.

  "I see. However, we've scoured most of the Tian Yuan Continent already; if we can't find anything soon, then isn't it time we left this continent? If I recall correctly, the holy realm should be about to descend upon this realm, and it would be very bad for us if we were to encounter other Sacred Ancestors," the man said in a hesitant manner.

  "Hmm, prior to escaping from the holy realm, I did indeed discuss some details about this with the other Sacred Ancestors, and this is indeed one of the regions where our two realms overlap the most. However, there's no need to be concerned. Even though the holy realm is about to descend, those Sacred Ancestors won't be able to arrive in the Spirit Realm right away. At the very most, we'll only have to deal with their clones. On top of that, I couldn't be certain prior to this, but I used a divination secret technique after reaching this place, and the technique tells me that there's a very good chance that the thing I'm looking for is here. As such, I certainly can't just leave under these circumstances," the woman chuckled.

  "I see. In that case, I'll do everything in my power to find that thing and help you recover your powers, even if it means giving up my life!" the burly man said with a confident slap of his own chest.

  "Looks like Ming Luo disciplined you very well. If you can help me recover my powers, then I'll naturally reward you handsomely as well," the woman said with a faint mysterious smile.

  "Thank you, Sacred Ancestor! I am yours to do with as you see fit!" The burly man was ecstatic to hear this, and he immediately scrambled to express his loyalty again.

  The woman merely glanced at the burly man with a hint of a smile and didn't say anything further.

  Thus, the two of them continued onward, and they were heading directly toward the territory of the human race.

  ...

  Han Li was on the peak of a certain mountain, appraising the gigantic devilish mark in the sky with a dark expression.

  Several tens of feet behind him, his three disciples were standing in a respectful manner with their hands by their sides.

  Han Li heaved a faint sigh before instructing, "Let's go back now. It looks like the devilish tribulation is definitely going to commence within half a year."

  "Yes, Master!"

  The three disciples naturally had no objections.

  Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of azure light that swept up all four of them, then flew directly toward the cave abode.

  An hour later, Han Li was seated in the hall of his cave abode with a silver-robed beauty sitting beside him; this was none other than the Ice Phoenix who had been cultivating under his protection this entire time.

  At this point, not only had she recovered all of her former magic power, she had already reached the late-Deity Transformation Stage, and a major contributing factor behind her fast progress was the pills that Han Li had been constantly providing her with.

  Bai Guo'er, Hai Yuetian, and Qi Lingzi were also standing in the secret chamber.

  "Brother Han, the devilish mark has appeared far too close to our cave abode for comfort; this clearly isn't a suitable place to cultivate at anymore. What are your plans from here? Should we move our cave abode elsewhere right away?" the Ice Phoenix asked with a hint of concern in her eyes.

  These past few centuries had been the most enjoyable period of time in her cultivation journey. Not only did she not have to worry about her own safety, she had a virtually limitless supply of exceptional pills, yet all of this could come to an end now with the impending devilish tribulation looming over their heads.

  "We will indeed have to move the cave abode; let's move to Deep Heaven City. After all, once the devilish tribulation commences, almost all sparsely populated areas will be extremely dangerous. Even if we don't go to Deep Heaven City, we'll still have to go to one of the sovereign cities," Han Li replied.

  "We're moving to Deep Heaven City? Does that mean you plan to join their panel of elders, Brother Han?" the Ice Phoenix asked in a surprised manner.

  "No, only the four of you will be residing in Deep Heaven City in the long term. I'll help defend Deep Heaven City against the first few waves of attacks from the Elder Devil Realm, then go to cultivate in a secret place that the elder devils won't be able to find," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

  "Why is that? Could it be..." A thought immediately occurred to the Ice Phoenix.

  Han Li nodded in confirmation. "That's right, I'll be able to attempt a breakthrough to the late-Body Integration Stage in about 10 more years, so I need to go into seclusion for some time."

  "I see. That is indeed a wise decision, Brother Ha
n. As for your breakthrough to the late-Body Integration Stage, I promised to assist you during the process, so when the time comes, I'll do as you say, Brother Han," the Ice Phoenix said as a faint blush appeared on her face.

  Han Li nodded before turning to his three disciples. "Clean up the cave abode and tell all of your disciples that we're leaving this place in three days. Guo'er, seeing as you're unwilling to go to Deep Heaven City, you can go to Xuan Wu City after taking care of all of the disciples. Xuan Wu City will be guarded by Xuan Wu Tyrant Sovereign and that old tortoise, so it'll be a very safe place."

  "Yes, Master!"

  "Thank you, Master!"

  The three disciples naturally didn't have objections, and they all extended respectful bows toward Han Li.

  Thus, three days later, several giant arks that were over 300 feet in length emerged from a mountain. Standing at the very front of one of the arks was an azure-robed young man with an extremely calm and collected look on his face, looking as if nothing in this world could impact his emotions.

  On the other arks stood several hundreds of people of both genders and all age ranges, some of whom wore nervous looks on their faces, but most of them were very excited.

  Moments later, bright spiritual light flashed from the surfaces of the giant arks, and they quickly vanished into the distance as massive balls of light.

  ...

  Almost at the exact same time, there were tens of thousands of mortals and cultivators who were also boarding a series of giant flying arks on a small mountain range countless kilometers away.

  The entire scene was extremely bustling and chaotic, and on one of the arks stood a woman in a palatial dress, surrounded by a dozen or so Deity Transformation and Spatial Tempering cultivators.

  The woman was an exquisite beauty who appeared to be in her twenties, and her brows were slightly furrowed as she appraised the chaotic scenes unfolding before her.

  "Senior Blood Spirit, I think it would be a safer option to travel to Xuan Wu City. After all, aside from Xuan Wu Tyrant Sovereign, there's also a giant beast in Xuan Wu City that's close to a true spirit in power," a Spatial Tempering Stage elderly man said in a hesitant manner.