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

by Translator: Johnchen

  "Indeed. On top of that, now that this man has joined Heavenlean City, he could prove to be a major volatile factor in our plans as well," Tie Long said with a dark expression.

  The entire hall fell silent, and the four devilish lords had become rather concerned.

  "Hmph, if worse comes to worst, then we'll just have to use that strategy again. If we can lure him into our trap, there's no way he'll be able to escape. We managed to kill those two Body Integration Stage human cultivators last time, didn't we?" the woman suddenly suggested.

  "We can't use that strategy again! The last time we did so, it was at the expense of close to 1,000 devilish cavaliers and over 10 war devils. If we use it a second time, the cost will definitely be far greater than last time. These are all elite forces that were painstakingly trained by our sacred race; we can't just sacrifice them like this," the red-armored giant countered vehemently.

  "Hmph, but if we don't use that strategy and let that human cultivator escape, he might end up killing more of our brethren than what we'd have to sacrifice to trap him. On top of that, if he's the man that Master Xue Guang is searching for, and we let him escape, which one of us is going to bear the wrath of Master Xue Guang?" Tie Long harrumphed coldly in response.

  "I was only speculating just now; how could there be such a coincidence that he's the one who killed Lord Li's trio?" the red-armored giant backtracked with a wry smile.

  "We'll have to launch an investigation to see if he's indeed the perpetrator. In any case, we have to treat this as a case of guilty until proven innocent; I would rather expend the necessary resources to kill him rather than wrongfully allow him to escape. However, I don't think we'll have to employ that strategy again to kill that man," Tie Long said.

  "What do you mean by that, Brother Tie? First you say we'll only be able to kill that man through that strategy, and now you say we may not have to; which is it?" the woman asked as she raised her eyebrows in exasperation.

  "Allow me to elaborate on my thought process, Fairy Yu. The Yin Yang Twin Devils are indeed quite powerful, but even when combined, their powers are only roughly comparable to mine. Seeing as Master Xue Guang has sent them to hunt down the perpetrator behind the deaths of Lord Li's trio, then he must've given them a way to kill that man. Otherwise, if that man is able to kill Lord Li's trio, then it won't be very difficult for him to kill the Yin Yang Twin Devils as well, and I'm sure Master Xue Guang is aware of this," Tie Long explained in a calm manner.

  "That does indeed make sense. In that case, there really is no need for us to be overly concerned; we can just reserve that strategy as a last resort when all else fails." The red-armored giant was very relieved to hear this.

  However, the woman seemed to still be rather unconvinced. She turned to the white-robed young man, and asked, "What do you think, Brother Fei?"

  "I don't care what measures you prepare to trap that man, but I have to be the one to take his life. He possesses a type of glacial power that will be extremely useful to me," Fei Ya said in a bone-chilling voice.

  The woman faltered slightly upon hearing this before chuckling, "Rest assured, I'll be sure to leave him to you. How about you, Brother Tie?"

  Tie Long hesitated momentarily before replying, "I'm naturally more than willing to let Brother Fei do the honors as well, but I'll be taking half of that man's treasures, while the half is split between Fairy Yu and Brother Yan; I presume you have no objections to that, Brother Fei."

  "All I want is that man's glacial power; you can do with his treasures as you please," Fei Ya replied in a nonchalant manner.

  "Brother Yan and I have no objections, either," the woman agreed with a smile.

  Even though the woman was speaking on the red-armored man's behalf, the latter didn't seem to find this to be inappropriate at all.

  "Alright, then it's decided. We'll send out some people to investigate the deaths of Lord Li's trio, and wait for the arrival of the Yin Yang Twin Devils in the meantime. I'm sure we'll be able to track down the perpetrator prior to the arrival of the day when the five suns transition into moons. If it really is that human cultivator, then we'll address the situation through the methods we just discussed. If it isn't him, then we'll act according to our original plan," Tie Long concluded.

  ...

  Within Heavenlean City, Han Li was seated in a secret chamber on the first floor of an intricate pavilion. There were restrictions set up all around him, and he was inspecting a white wooden box with a contemplative look on his face.

  This wooden box was none other than the one he had obtained after killing that bald devilish lord. However, the item had been sealed with some kind of profound restriction that he had been unable to crack, and he finally had some time to study it now that he had arrived in Heavenlean City.

  There were alternating bursts of frosty and scorching energy seeping out of the box, and it was able to keep out all spiritual sense, which made it all the more intriguing.

  After carefully inspecting the wooden box for a long while, two bursts of piercing blue light suddenly appeared in Han Li's eyes, and he peered directly into the depths of the box.

  As he did so, his expression began to change slightly, and he continued to stare at the wooden box in a completely still manner, as if he had transformed into a statue.

  Time slowly passed by, and three days and three nights flew by in the blink of an eye. At this point, Han Li's face had paled slightly, and the blue light in his eyes had also dimmed somewhat.

  Around 10 minutes later, Han Li made a hand seal with a peculiar look on his face, and the blue light in his eyes completely faded.

  "Interesting. So this box is a Xumi treasure, and it's been sealed by 13 types of ancient restrictions. If I didn't possess my Brightsight Spirit Eyes ability, it would've been very difficult for me to study it. However, all of these restrictions are extremely powerful, and it would take at least several centuries for me to break each one. There's no way that bald devilish lord could've cast such profound restrictions; I wonder just what could be in this box," Han Li murmured to himself.

  He then laid the wooden box down onto the ground before him and began to stare at it in a contemplative manner. After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up, and a thought seemed to have occurred to him.

  "I'm unable to break the restrictions cast on this box for now, but if I use that foreign secret technique, I should be able to inspect its contents. However, if there's a vicious creature or being contained within the box, then things could become a little troublesome." Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he weighed up his options. However, he quickly arrived at a decision.

  "So be it. Even in the worst-case scenario, I'll only be losing some of my spiritual sense, and half a month of meditation will allow me to make a full recovery, so it's definitely worth the risk."

  With that in mind, he immediately swept a sleeve through the air, and a dozen or so translucent five-colored beads flew out of his sleeve amid a flash of light. These beads then transformed into balls of spiritual light that hovered in mid-air, and within them were a series of five-colored eyes that were flashing with peculiar light.

  Han Li then flipped his hand over to produce another five-colored bead, which he held in front of his chest before immediately uttering a foreign incantation.

  Meanwhile, he laid his other hand onto the top of his own head, and a nude golden Nascent Soul emerged.

  It made a strange hand seal with its pair of tiny hands and also began to chant an incantation.

  All of a sudden, bright light erupted from the five-colored eyes within the balls of spiritual light, and they released thin beams of five-colored light that vanished into the Nascent Soul in a flash.

  At the same time, the golden Nascent Soul let loose a low cry before abruptly pointing a finger toward the bead being held in front of Han Li's chest.

  A golden projection erupted from the Nascent Soul's body, then immediately vanished into the bead. A blurry Nascent Soul projection then took shape
within the bead, and the golden Nascent Soul waved a hand toward the bead upon seeing this.

  Five-colored light swirled over the surface of the bead, and it quickly flew into the wooden box on the ground down below as a streak of light.

  Within a murky grey space, a streak of five-colored light suddenly appeared before transforming into an indistinct humanoid figure. Even though its facial features were rather blurry, judging from its attire, this appeared to be Han Li.

  As soon as he appeared, he inspected his surroundings with blue light flashing within his eyes.

  "Hmm? This seems to be an illusionary restriction rather than a Xumi space. Could it be that the wisp of spiritual sense was trapped in a certain level of restriction?" Han Li murmured to himself in a perplexed manner.

  Chapter 1911: The World Within the Box

  This projection was a temporary spiritual sense clone that Han Li had conjured up, and he had sent it into the wooden box using a certain foreign secret technique. However, this space clearly wasn't the space inside the wooden box, and that was rather surprising to Han Li.

  However, despite his surprise, he wasn't overly concerned. After all, the worst that could happen would be the loss of this wisp of spiritual sense, which wouldn't have too much of a negative impact on him.

  Thus, after inspecting his surroundings for a while, Han Li drifted toward a certain direction. Along the way, his surroundings were entirely comprised of thin grey mist, and after flying for several hours, the scenery hadn't changed at all.

  His brows furrowed slightly as he stopped momentarily, then suddenly changed direction and flew directly upward. After passing through one layer of mist after another, he discovered that the sky in this space also seemed to be completely boundless. Even after flying for half a day, he still found himself inside a vast expanse of ever-present grey mist.

  His expression darkened slightly upon seeing this, but all of a sudden, he turned toward a certain direction, and yelled, "Who's there?"

  His voice wasn't very loud, but it echoed incessantly throughout the nearby space. However, no one emerged from the nearby space to meet him.

  Han Li raised an eyebrow upon seeing this before giving a cold harrumph, then suddenly sat down with his legs crossed to meditate in mid-air.

  His eyes were tightly shut, and he remained completely still for over half a day, looking as if he planned to never get up again.

  On the second day, a ball of green light suddenly emerged nearby before transforming into a green-robed elderly man.

  The man had a pair of remarkably long eyebrows, and his face was very thin and gaunt. There was a yellow wooden pin in his hair, and the image of a sinister devilish monster with three heads and six arms was embroidered onto his robes.

  After he appeared, he displayed no intention of approaching Han Li, and merely appraised him in silence with a cold look in his eyes.

  However, Han Li continued to sit with his eyes closed, as if he hadn't even sensed the elderly man's arrival.

  Thus, the two of them maintained a rather peculiar silence, and it seemed that neither of them wanted to be the one to speak first.

  Time quickly passed by, and three days and three nights later, there was still no change to the situation whatsoever.

  However, upon closer inspection, one would discover that a hint of surprise had appeared in the elderly man's eyes as he appraised Han Li.

  After another eight hours, the elderly man was clearly starting to become a little restless. His body swayed, and he abruptly vanished on the spot.

  In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted several tens of feet in front of Han Li, following which the elderly man re-emerged.

  However, Han Li merely continued to ignore him, and a hint of fury appeared on the elderly man's face.

  "Hmph, you sure are quite courageous to disregard me like this." The elderly man finally broke the silence, and his voice was as sharp as unpleasant as the sound of metal grating on metal, striking the listener with a sense of unease and anxiety.

  "From the sounds of it, you must be quite an important figure. May I know your name?" Han Li asked in a calm voice as he slowly opened his eyes.

  "A mere human cultivator like you won't know of me. Having said that, I'm very curious; how did the spiritual clone of a human cultivator get into this place? Does this mean this item has fallen into your hands?" The elderly man was able to immediately identify that this wasn't Han Li's true body.

  "Hehe, you must be a mighty figure of the Elder Devil Race. This box did indeed fall into my hands, and I sent this spiritual sense clone of mine into it to investigate its contents. If I'm not mistaken, this is one of the restrictions in the box rather than the actual space within it, right?" Han Li asked in a calm voice.

  Due to the fact that he was only a spiritual sense clone, he was unable to ascertain the power level of this elderly man. However, he had already guessed that this was a devilish being, so despite the fact that his expression remained unchanged, he was naturally rather wary of this elderly man.

  "Indeed, this is the treasure's 10th illusionary restriction. As long as one can master the key elements of this restriction, they'll be able to change everything within this space at will. I must say, the sacred race really has become incapable; how could they have let this treasure fall into the hands of a human? You mentioned that this treasure is in the form of a box; that's good to hear. At the very least, it's far less unsightly than its previous form," the elderly man murmured with furrowed brows as he swept a sleeve through the air.

  The entire surrounding area blurred, then shattered and fell away like a mirror. All of a sudden, Han Li was greeted by the refreshing fragrance of nature, and the sound of a flowing stream.

  His heart stirred in response, and he hurriedly inspected his surroundings again, upon which he discovered that the world around him had been completely transformed.

  There were blue skies and white clouds overhead, and beautiful scenery all around him. He and the elderly man were currently standing in a clear stream. The water in the stream only reached halfway up their shins, and there were a few small azure fish swimming past them in a leisurely manner, seemingly completely unfazed by their presence.

  Han Li's expression changed slightly as he made a grabbing motion downward, and a lively azure fish was immediately drawn into his grasp. As the fish struggled between his fingers, he could clearly feel its slippery scales in his hand.

  Blue light flashed through his eyes, and he tossed the fish back into the stream, then brought his hand up to his nose, upon which he was immediately greeted by a strong fishy odor.

  "What a profound restriction! Everything is completely realistic in here. Would you be able to tell me how I ended up here, Senior? When I injected this wisp of spiritual sense into this box, I had intended for it to directly reach the space within the box. However, I've appeared in this restriction instead, and I assume this has something to do with you," Han Li said in a slow voice.

  "Hmph, why do I have to answer your questions? If you want answers, go look for them yourself," the elderly man said with a disdainful roll of his eyes.

  As opposed to being enraged by the elderly man's haughty demeanor, Han Li merely smiled, and said, "Hehe, I'm sure you've appeared before me because you wish to speak to me as well. I can see that your body is also formed from spiritual sense; I assume you're being kept in here against your will."

  "Who are you? Were you sent here by that bastard, Xue Guang?" the elderly man suddenly bellowed in a thunderous voice, and a burst of astonishing pressure crashed down onto Han Li's body.

  Immediately thereafter, the elderly man's body swept forward, and he closed a hand around Han Li's neck as his eyes turned into a vicious crimson color.

  A ferocious aura akin to that of a vicious primordial beast erupted from his body, and a giant crimson devilish projection emerged behind him, threatening to tear Han Li into countless pieces.

  Han Li was quite alarmed by this sudden dev
elopment, but his expression remained calm as he replied, "I don't know of anyone by the name of Xue Guang."

  "Bullsh*t! If you don't know Xue Guang, then how did you obtain this Devil Sealing Lock? Do you really think I'll believe your nonsensical lies? This Devil Sealing Lock has been passed down between countless Sacred Ancestors, and all of them have carried it with them at all times; if you don't know Xue Guang, how could this treasure have possibly fallen into the hands of a mere human cultivator like you? Don't tell me that you obtained this item after killing Xue Guang!"A hint of insanity surfaced within the elderly man's eyes as he spoke, and dazzling green light began to glow from the fingers that were locked around Han Li's neck, as if he were about to put an end to Han Li's life.

  This spiritual sense clone of Han Li's naturally didn't possess any powerful abilities, so he didn't even bother to put up any resistance. Instead, he merely smiled, and said, "I see, so this treasure is known as a Devil Sealing Lock. I don't know who this Xue Guang is, and I certainly wouldn't do the bidding of a devilish being. Besides, if I really wanted to harm you in any way, I wouldn’t have sent just a mere wisp of spiritual sense into this treasure. Even if you destroy this spiritual sense clone of mine, it wouldn't have much of an impact on me, but I may just drop this box into a bottomless abyss that no one will be able to find. Perhaps the box will never see the light of day again, and you'll be trapped in here for the rest of eternity."

  Much to Han Li's surprise, as opposed to being enraged even further by this threat, the fury in the eyes of the elderly man completely faded, and he immediately released Han Li's neck. "You dare to threaten me? Haha, it seems that you really don't know who I am, which means there's no way you were sent here by Xue Guang. Please do forgive me for my rudeness, Fellow Daoist."

  Han Li's expression also eased slightly upon seeing this, and he adjusted the slightly creased collar of his robes as he asked, "Oh? So you believe what I said now? In that case, would you be able to tell me who you are?"

  "Of course I can. Just as you guessed, I've been trapped in here for countless years, and I also have many questions for you about the outside world. How about this? I'll answer one of your questions for every question of mine that you answer," the elderly man proposed as he stroked his beard.