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

by Translator: Johnchen

  "That's great! With all of them dead, there's no way the Elder Devil Race will hear about our trip to Heavenlean City! It was all thanks to you that we were able to kill those three devilish lords, Brother Han. If Ling Long hadn't told me about you all those years ago, I would truly be unable to believe that you've only been cultivating for just over 2,000 years," Fairy Silver Light said with both elation and awe in her voice.

  "I was merely lucky; the cultivation arts I use just so happen to suppress most devilish and ghostly cultivation arts. Compared to other fellow Daoists of the same cultivation base, my powers will be nowhere near as prominent. Speaking of which, don't forget what you promised me," Han Li said in a meaningful voice.

  "Rest assured, Brother Han; I made a promise and I plan to deliver. Ling Long and I are both from the same race, so it won't be too difficult for me to pass on a message to her in your stead. It's just that Ling Long is currently with Senior Ao Xiao, and I can't get into contact with her for now," Fairy Silver Light replied.

  "I'll have to thank you in advance, then, Fellow Daoist Silver Light. If you need my assistance with anything else in the future, feel free to call on me," Han Li said with a smile.

  Fairy Silver Light's eyes lit up with elation upon hearing this, and she replied, "You're very welcome, Brother Han; this is just a simple task for me."

  Han Li was far more powerful than she had anticipated and wasn't inferior even to a late-Body Integration cultivator in the slightest. With a favor from such a powerful being up her sleeve, she would definitely be able to benefit immensely from it at a later date.

  After a brief discussion, both of them erased all traces of the nearby battlefield, then continued on toward Heavenlean City.

  Han Li was flying through the air at a leisurely pace within a streak of azure light, and he was gently stroking a white wooden box within one of his sleeves with a contemplative look in his eyes.

  This wooden box was something that he had obtained from the bald devilish being, whom he had slain using his blade segment again.

  Initially, he wasn't all that interested in the item, and only after discovering that neither his spiritual sense nor his spirit eye ability could allow him to glean its contents did he become very curious toward it.

  However, an extremely powerful formation had been set up on this box, making it very difficult for him to open it even with his vast array of abilities. As such, Han Li stowed the item away and hurried back to where Fairy Silver Light was.

  As he was stroking the wooden box, he could feel faint traces of heat being released from its surface, but less than 10 minutes later, it suddenly became very cool to the touch, and that made Han Li even more intrigued by its contents.

  However, they were currently still traveling, so he would just have to wait until they reached Heavenlean City before studying the wooden box further.

  With that in mind, Han Li released a crimson bead from each of his five fingers, which then vanished into the wooden box in a flash as five crimson runes.

  This was a restriction he had learned from a certain foreign race, and he had cast it onto the wooden box as a safety precaution.

  Immediately thereafter, the wooden box was stowed away into his storage bracelet amid a flash of azure light, and he focused his entire attention on flight.

  At his and Fairy Silver Light's current speeds, they were quickly able to cover a distance of hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

  ...

  Meanwhile, within a newly constructed devilish city that was countless kilometers away, there was a hall situated within one of the massive pyramids. All of a sudden, a thunderous roar of fury erupted from within the hall.

  "What happened? How did three devilish lords fail to transport a single item? Do those three pieces of trash want to be thrown into the Devilform Pond?"

  The one who had spoken was a crimson-robed young man sitting in the main seat at the center of the hall. It was none other than the clone of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang, and his face was currently etched with fury.

  This clone was only at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, but in his burning fury, a giant devilish projection that was over 100 feet tall abruptly appeared behind him.

  The projection was completely crimson in color with a dozen or so horns on its head. At the same time, there were several thick tentacles extending from its body and whipping wildly through the air, making it appear as if it were a giant octopus.

  The terrifying aura released by the devilish projection was causing the entire hall to creak and tremor violently, as if it were going to collapse at any moment.

  In the face of this terrifying aura, the black-armored guards in the hall hurriedly half-knelt onto the ground and lowered their heads with horrified expressions, not daring to look up at Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang.

  There were only two high-grade devilish beings standing near Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang, and they immediately exchanged a bewildered glance upon seeing this.

  One of the two was a man in a baggy silver robe, and he asked, "What's made you so angry, Master Xue Guang?"

  The fury on Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's face quickly faded, but his voice was still very heavy as he replied, "I asked three of my subordinates to transport something very important, but the wisp of spiritual sense I left on that item has been cut off by a secret technique. Something must've happened to those three. Otherwise, there's no way the item would've been lost!"

  The other high-grade devilish being was a pink-robed middle-aged beauty, and she said in a bewildered manner, "Is that so? That seems very implausible. With three devilish lords traveling together, they should be able to protect themselves even against a human cultivator at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage. As for that Grand Ascension Stage human cultivator, he was wounded by several Sacred Ancestors when he ventured into our sacred realm around 1,000 years ago, so surely he won't appear at a time like this."

  "It is indeed quite incredible to think that the three of them could've perished all at once, but it's not impossible for someone to have simply taken the treasure from them. I just tried to contact them using a secret technique, but there was no response. Someone go check if any devilish lord level soul flames have been snuffed out in the Soul Hall," Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang instructed with a dark expression.

  "Yes, Sacred Ancestor!" One of the black-armored guards immediately extended a respectful bow before backing out of the hall.

  Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang leaned back in his seat and fell silent as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

  The two high-grade devilish beings were naturally aware that he was in a foul mood, and didn't dare to speak, either. Thus, the entire hall became deathly silent.

  Around 10 minutes later, the black-armored figure rushed into the hall again, then half-knelt onto the ground and reported in a slightly panicked manner, "Sacred Ancestor, the soul flames of three devilish lords have been snuffed out in quick succession!"

  "Three?" Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's eyes immediately widened, and one of the armrests of his chair was instantly crushed into dust in his white-knuckled grip amid a dull thump.

  "Yes, Sacred Ancestor. The supervisor of the Soul Hall has confirmed that these three soul flames belonged to Lord Lan's trio," the guard replied in a careful manner.

  Upon receiving this news, Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang was looking like a volcano that was on the brink of eruption.

  The two high-grade devilish beings in the hall also exchanged an astonished glance upon hearing this. However, both of them could tell that Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang was more enraged by the fact that the aforementioned item had been lost, rather than the deaths of the three devilish lords.

  This made them both rather curious about just what this item was.

  Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang sat in a brooding silence for a long while before finally making a decision. "You two, lead a group of Bloodlight Crystal Guards and set off right away to find the place where those three were killed. Even if a Grand Ascension culti
vator had been responsible, there must still have been signs of battle left behind. Carefully examine every single inch of soil there, and be sure to verify the identity and whereabouts of the human cultivators responsible. Drop all your other duties for now and prioritize this one above all else; contact me as soon as you find any useful information!"

  "Yes, Master Xue Guang!" The pair of high-grade devilish beings immediately accepted their orders with a respectful bow.

  An hour later, a crimson cloud flew out of a certain level of the pyramid, and sinister devilish beings in suits of translucent crimson armor could be seen within the cloud. There were over 100 such beings in total, and they quickly vanished into the distance.

  ...

  Over a month later, two streaks of light shot forth in an extremely discreet manner toward a giant human city constructed beside a lake. After just a few flashes, the two streaks of light landed on a nameless mountain nearby.

  They were none other than Han Li and Fairy Silver Light, who had finally made it to the general vicinity of Heavenlean City.

  Both of them were currently appraising Heavenlean City with grim expressions.

  In the air in front of one of Heavenlean City's city walls, there were tens of thousands of giant black arks hovering in mid-air, and between these arks were countless ferocious devilish cavaliers.

  The devilish beast steeds of these cavaliers had black clouds beneath their feet and were fitted with suits of beastly armor, clearly setting them apart from those normal devilish beasts.

  Chapter 1904: All-encompassing Devilish Cavaliers

  "Those are the All-encompassing Devilish Cavaliers! The rumors were correct; the Elder Devil Race only sent armies of low-grade devilish beasts to attack our Deep Heaven City, but they've sent out their truly elite forces to wipe out the other human settlements in the area. These All-encompassing Devilish Cavaliers are mostly only at the Core Formation Stage or Nascent Soul Stage, but after fusing as one with their devilish steeds through the use of a devilish secret technique, their powers will be multiplied, and human cultivators of the same cultivation base definitely wouldn't be a match for them.

  "Even a Deity Transformation or Spatial Tempering Stage being would be forced to flee if they were to be attacked by a large group of these cavaliers. Also, I heard that they're very adept in combination techniques, and a devilish formation set up by over 10,000 of these cavaliers will pose quite a threat even to cultivators of our caliber. There appears to be over 100,000 All-encompassing Devilish Cavaliers here, so it's no wonder that Heavenlean City is desperately asking for reinforcements," Fairy Silver Light said in a grim manner.

  "The All-encompassing Devilish Cavaliers aren't the most troublesome things to deal with; it's those guys!" Han Li's lips twitched slightly as he pointed toward a cluster of giant black arks.

  There were some armored devilish beings near the arks with beastly lower bodies and human upper bodies. At the same time, they each had three different heads and six arms. The middle heads were all completely identical to those of normal humans, and they were all handsome male heads or gorgeous female heads. However, the other two heads were extremely terrifying to behold and resembled those of malicious ghosts.

  They were all holding different weapons in their six hands, and even though they numbered far fewer than the devilish cavaliers, the collective baleful aura they were releasing was extremely astonishing. Furthermore, there were a series of glowing grey projections behind them, and upon closer inspection, Han Li discovered them to be projections of giant ferocious beasts.

  The largest of these projections were over 1,000 feet in size, and even the smallest ones were over 100 feet in stature.

  These devilish beings all wore cold expressions, and seemed to be completely devoid of emotions.

  "Those are the Jialun War Devils! There are only a few thousand of them, but Heavenlean City truly is in trouble here," Fairy Silver Light said as she drew a sharp breath.

  "I presume these Jialun War Devils have played a big role in the deaths of Heavenlean City's two grand elders," Han Li said with a grim expression.

  "Apparently, Jialun War Devils rank in the top five even among the elite forces of the Elder Devil Race. If those two fallen fellow Daoists had been trapped by these devils before being attacked by other devilish lords, then it would've indeed been very difficult for them to escape. I really want to see just how powerful these war devils are in action," Fairy Silver Light mused.

  "Hehe, it seems that your wish is about to come true," Han Li suddenly chuckled.

  Almost at the exact same moment, a burst of buzzing suddenly rang out from the giant black arks, following which almost every single one of them released countless black pillars of light that hurtled directly toward the giant city wall up ahead in a frenzy.

  A string of resounding booms rang out, and formations of all different colors emerged on the surface of the slightly damaged city wall. These formations conjured up layers of shimmering light barriers that managed to withstand the powerful pillars of black light, which exploded into violent black ripples that made the entire sky dim significantly.

  Right at this moment, the sound of rumbling war drums rang out from the arks, following which over 100 mountainous giant beasts emerged from the battle arks.

  Each of these devilish beasts were over 1,000 feet in size, and they appeared to be massive black rhinoceroses that were crashing directly toward the city wall, looking as if they were planning to use their bodies as battering rams.

  At the same time, all types of low-grade devilish beasts surged out of the other giant arks in a frenzy, then surged toward the city wall like a devilish wave.

  Dense devilish Qi surged through the entire heavens and countless beasts roared in unison.

  Countless human warriors appeared atop the city wall and unleashed attacks such as fireballs, ice spikes, and wind blades toward the oncoming devilish army using some crossbow-like weapons.

  The devilish beasts at the forefront of the devilish wave were quickly felled by these attacks, having either been reduced to masses of mangled blood and flesh, or incinerated into charcoal, or frozen into ice blocks.

  Tens of thousands of low-grade devilish beasts were slain in an instant, and the momentum of the entire attack seemed to have been halted momentarily.

  However, those giant rhinoceros-like beasts paid no heed at all to the oncoming attacks. They each conjured up a layer of extremely dense yellow light around their bodies, and the attacks being aimed at them were unable to pierce through these light barriers.

  Thus, all of these giant beasts arrived in front of the city wall in the blink of an eye, then aimed their inky-black horns toward the city wall. Black halos of light instantly appeared on the horns of these devilish beasts, following which they abruptly shook their heads, and the halos instantly vanished as a result. In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted on the surface of the giant city wall, and these black halos erupted out of thin air before viciously striking the protective formations on the surface of the city wall.

  In the face of these black halos, the light barriers formed by the formations were torn apart with ease, following which giant rifts were torn into the wall.

  The human warriors who were unfortunate enough to be struck by these black halos were all instantly reduced to dust, and the warriors near them were naturally very alarmed to see this.

  Some of them attempted to get down from the city wall in a panicked manner, but right at this moment, bursts of light suddenly appeared above their heads. Head-sized yellow crystal balls then emerged from these bursts of light, then released threads of yellow light that swept through the air.

  The retreating human warriors were instantly decapitated by these threads of light, and their headless bodies slumped to the ground.

  "Deserters, those who refuse to follow orders, and those who aren't giving their all will be killed on the spot!" A bone-chilling voice echoed over the city wall, following which several armor-clad
Nascent Soul cultivators emerged from the bursts of light up above. Each of them had five yellow crystal balls revolving around them, and they all wore steely expressions.

  Following their emergence, the human warriors could only continue to oppose the devilish army with all their might, and as a result of their desperate efforts, even the giant rhinoceros beasts were forced to a standstill.

  At the same time, a profound incantation rang out from within the city, and a series of huge blue formations emerged behind the city wall. Immediately thereafter, bolts of blue lightning sprang out of these formations amid a string of rumbling thunderclaps. The bolts of lightning formed a series of massive lightning nets, each of which was several thousand feet in size, and they descended toward the other side of the city wall.

  Countless low-grade devilish beasts, as well as many giant rhinoceros beasts, were caught under the explosions of these nets of lightning, resulting in the emergence of a series of giant blue lightning clouds.

  The low-grade devilish beasts were instantly destroyed, and even the dense light barriers around the giant rhinoceros beasts were torn apart. The bolts of lightning struck their enormous bodies in a frenzy, causing them to roar with agony as large sections of their bodies were charred black.

  However, these giant beasts truly possessed astonishing vitality; not only were these lightning strikes unable to kill them, they seemed to have only enraged the beasts further.

  They swung their heads vigorously through the air, releasing several more black halos that surged toward the city wall, and an earth-shattering boom rang out as a section of the giant city wall finally collapsed. Through this gap in the city wall, one could even see the backup army of human warriors in the city.

  These human warriors were all deathly pale, but they were forced to maintain their formation by the intimidation of the law-enforcing Nascent Soul cultivators up above.

  Meanwhile, the general of the devilish army was becoming very impatient.

  A sharp piercing cry erupted straight into the heavens from one of the giant black arks, and the cry was filled with unadulterated killing intent.