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

by Translator: Johnchen

  "Hmph, do you think I wouldn't do that if I could?" Che Qigong replied in a cold voice.

  The unfamiliar man's voice also cooled upon hearing this. "You've always been the cruelest one among us; if Xue Guang hadn't plotted against us, you would've most likely turned on the rest of us anyway."

  "Don't make it sound like you're some kind of saint! All of us were plotting against one another back then. Setting the past aside, that human brat is the only opportunity for me to escape from this place. If you dare to ruin this for me, then don't blame me for turning on you," Che Qigong said in a threatening voice.

  "Sure, I'll stay out of this as long as you give me half of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi that you obtain from that human brat. In fact, not only will I not foil your plans, I'll even help you take on Xue Guang after we get out of this place." The unfamiliar man immediately stated his own condition.

  "Looks like I have no choice but to agree. However, there's no way I'll be splitting you half of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi; a quarter is all I'm willing to give up. If you can't accept that, then so be it," Che Qigong said in a calm manner.

  "Hehe, I'll take it; a quarter will be enough for me to ensure self-preservation and escape from this place," the unfamiliar man agreed without any hesitation.

  Che Qigong's expression eased slightly upon hearing this, and he continued, "In that case, once we get out of here, we'll refine this Devil Sealing Lock and return to our former powers, then seek out Xue Guang for revenge. He's currently walking our old path, so he must be in his most vulnerable state right now."

  "I find that to be quite curious. It's not like Xue Guang hasn't experienced how dangerous this technique is in the past, yet he still dares to cultivate it again; isn't he afraid of ending up in the same situation as he did in the past?" The unfamiliar man seemed to be very confused.

  "Hmph, who knows what Xue Guang is thinking? Perhaps he's already found a way to circumvent the risk of using this technique, or perhaps he's had to cultivate it again for some other reason. In any case, he's definitely severely weakened right now, so this the perfect opportunity for us to exact our revenge," Che Qigong said as a hint of resentment flashed through his eyes.

  "It's rather implausible that he would've found a way to circumvent the risk of using that technique. There's no use speculating about it now; all will be made clear when we see Xue Guang again." A resentful tone crept into the unfamiliar man's voice as well, and it was clear that he also harbored intense hatred toward Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang.

  "I can't wait to see the look his face when he sees us again. However, if we want that scenario to eventuate, we have to help that Han brat overcome his predicament first. If he fails to escape from that clone of Xue Guang's, the Devil Sealing Lock will fall into Xue Guang's hands again. The two of us won't be in any danger here, but there's no way we'll be able to escape," Che Qigong said with a solemn expression.

  "Didn't you already disclose to him the method to counter those two treasures? Without the threat posed by those two treasures, that brat should be able to ensure self-preservation," the unfamiliar man said in a slow voice.

  "There's no way we can judge that brat's powers from his spiritual sense clone alone, but seeing as he was able to take the Devil Sealing Lock from Xue Guang's subordinates, I assume he's quite powerful among Body Integration Stage beings," Che Qigong mused with furrowed brows.

  "Hehe, I certainly hope so," the unfamiliar man replied in an indifferent manner.

  Che Qigong shook his head with a wry smile before falling silent.

  Meanwhile, outside the Devil Sealing Lock, Han Li's golden Nascent Soul was still seated with its legs crossed inside the mysterious space within the giant bird.

  All of a sudden, black Qi emerged from the surface of the wooden box, and the black Nascent Soul re-emerged in a flash. The Nascent Soul gave Han Li a smile before instantly vanishing into his golden Nascent Soul.

  The two Nascent Souls had combined as one, and the golden Nascent Soul shuddered as it hurriedly made a hand seal. A hint of discomfort flashed over its face for an instant, but its expression then immediately returned to normal.

  The golden Nascent Soul slowly opened its eyes, then murmured to itself, "I see, looks like I've made the right decision to ask Che Qigong for advice; he's given me a method to counter both of those treasures. As for whether it's going to work, I'll have to try it to find out. If it fails, I'll have to abandon this Devil Sealing Lock or employ some other risky tactics."

  After contemplating the situation for a long while, a faint smile appeared on its face, and it exploded into specks of golden light.

  Four hours later, Han Li caught sight of a completely bleak and barren plain in the distance. His eyes immediately lit up, and he raised his beak to let loose a long cry before suddenly withdrawing his wings and reverted back to his human form amid a flash of bright spiritual light.

  After taking a glance at the plain in the distance, then turning to look behind himself, he immediately swept both sleeves through the air to release 72 small azure swords, which transformed into hundreds of streaks of azure Sword Qi that began to revolve around him.

  After that, he made a hand seal, and a layer of azure light appeared over his body, following which all of the streaks of sword Qi suddenly vanished into the nearby space.

  In the next instant, hundreds of azure pillars of light erupted out of the surrounding area to form a massive sword formation. This was none other than the final sword formation of the Azure Essence Sword Art, the Azure Coil Sword Formation.

  The sword formation had been bestowed upon Han Li by Qing Yuanzi, and he had later incorporated elements of his Sword Observation Art into it to further enhance its powers. It had been very effective against the devilish lord, Fei Ya, but as for how effective it would be against his pursuer, that was yet to be seen.

  Of course, seeing as Han Li was preparing to make a stand, he naturally couldn't just use a single ability. After he had set up the sword formation, he immediately released two figures out of his own body, one of which was golden while the other was green.

  They were none other than the Provenance Golden Body and the green-skinned spirit body.

  After that, he flipped a hand over to produce a purple blade segment, which he immediately tossed toward the golden body.

  The eyes on the center head of the golden body sprang open, and it drew the blade segment into its grasp.

  Chapter 1934: Triggering the Spiritual Sense

  The golden body gently waved the blade segment through the air, and it instantly vanished amid a flash of piercing purple light.

  Only in the hands of the golden body was this blade segment able to unleash the power of laws of heaven and earth.

  Immediately thereafter, Han Li laid a hand onto his own storage bracelet and released several treasures at once, all of which flew directly toward the spirit body.

  The treasures were comprised of jade pendants or flags, and there was even a ring among them. Following a brief hesitation, a solemn look appeared on Han Li's face, and he tossed a scroll toward the spirit body as well.

  The spirit body remained completely expressionless and merely opened its mouth to swallow all of the items that had been tossed toward it. After that, it and the golden body made hand seals in unison, and they both vanished into thin air.

  After doing all that, Han Li rotated on the spot, and hundreds of formation flags and formation plates erupted out of his body before flying through the air and setting up five or six similar temporary formations near the sword formation.

  He then swept both sleeves up into the air to release several hundred talismans, all of which disappeared into the space overhead in a flash.

  After that, 13 balls of purple light emerged from one of his sleeves before transforming into the 13 Purple-striped Gold Devouring Beetles.

  Finally, he produced a fist-sized white crystal ball, which he expelled a mouthful of blood essence toward. The ball of blood essence transformed into a c
loud of blood mist that instantly vanished into the crystal ball, which then immediately took on a crimson color.

  Han Li tossed the crystal ball forward before flicking his fingers toward it while chanting something, and incantation seals of different colors flooded into the crystal ball in a frenzy, causing it to radiate a peculiar spiritual light.

  All of a sudden, the crimson light within the crystal ball transformed into an unidentifiable crimson rune, and Han Li exhaled and swept a sleeve toward it, stowing it away amid a flash of azure light.

  After standing in silence for a moment, Han Li suddenly stroked a section of his arm, where a mysterious pattern was imprinted, and a wry smile appeared on his face after drawing no reaction from that pattern.

  Having set up all of these preparatory measures, Han Li then transformed into a giant golden ape that was over 1,000 feet tall amid a flash of golden light, then stood with his arms crossed at the center of the sword formation and cast his gaze into the distance with a cold expression.

  Moments later, a rumbling voice rang out from the distance. "So you've finally decided to stop running."

  Immediately thereafter, crimson light flashed, and a small crimson canoe shot forth toward Han Li as a crimson thread.

  After the span of just a few breaths, the crimson thread appeared in the air near Han Li before reverting back to its canoe form.

  The three identical young men on the canoe cast their eyes toward Han Li in unison.

  The young man at the forefront wore a cold mocking smile, while the two behind him were appraising Han Li in an expressionless manner, but their eyes were as sharp as daggers.

  "You're a quick little rat, I'll give you that. Are you planning to make a final stand here? Do you really think a sword formation and a few temporary formations will be able to save you?" the young man at the forefront chuckled.

  "I won't know until I try; surely you won't expect me to just hand myself over to you," Han Li chortled as he made a grabbing motion with both hands, and spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the canoe, following which two giant hands, one black and one white, suddenly emerged.

  The black hand was radiating boundless grey light, while the white hand had five-colored glacial flames burning all around it, and both of them came crashing down with devastating might.

  "Hmph, how insolent!" the young man at the forefront said in an arrogant manner before making a hand seal, and a burst of black Qi erupted behind him. Two grey feelers then sprang out of the black Qi before thrusting directly toward the pair of massive hands.

  The feelers struck the giant hands like a pair of iron spears, and in the instant that the two clashed, the pair of massive hands exploded like balloons before disintegrating into specks of spiritual light.

  However, the Divine Essencefused Light and five-colored glacial flames imbued within the two hands continued to sweep down from above. As a result, one of the feelers was frozen into a translucent pillar of ice, while the other was shattered amid a few violent flashes of grey light.

  "Hmm? Divine Essencefused Light, eh? That's very rare," the young man at the forefront remarked in a slightly taken aback manner.

  A cold smile appeared on Han Li's face as he said, "Do you really think a mere clone like you is enough to force me to flee for my life? I was only trying to distance myself from your subordinates."

  "Oh? You seem very confident. Does your confidence stem from those two that are hiding in the shadows?" the young man at the forefront chuckled coldly.

  Almost at the exact same moment, the two clones behind him suddenly sprang into action.

  One of them opened his mouth to expel a ball of black light, which instantly transformed into a small cauldron, and a black pillar of light suddenly erupted out of the cauldron's opening.

  Meanwhile, the other clone made a grabbing motion, and an indistinct rainbow pagoda projection emerged before flying through the air.

  The two treasures were both attacking what appeared to be patches of empty air.

  A pair of resounding booms rang out, and two figures emerged out of thin air amid busts of spatial fluctuations.

  One of them was a shimmering golden figure with three heads and six arms, while the other was the green-skinned Han Li, and they were preparing to stealthily approach the small crimson canoe.

  Han Li's expression immediately darkened upon seeing this.

  A peculiar look appeared on Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's face as he caught sight of the golden body.

  "That's a true devil projection! How interesting; to think that a human was able to hone a true devil cultivation art to such an extent. I wonder what those old geezers will think if they were to hear of this," he chuckled with both a hint of mockery and self-deprecation in his voice.

  Han Li wasn't overly surprised to hear this. After all, even though he had altered the Provenance True Devil Arts significantly, the Provenance True Devil Projection had a very distinct form, so anyone who was well-versed in devilish arts would be able to identify its origins right away.

  Of course, there were very few human Devil Dao cultivators who would've mastered a devilish cultivation art to this extent, so under normal circumstances, Han reflexively refrained from using this golden body.

  However, now that he was facing this clone of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang, he naturally wasn't going to hold back anything. He cast his gaze toward the Purple Word Cauldron, seemingly in a nonchalant manner, and he was already beginning to chant something internally.

  At the same time, the crystal ball that contained the crimson rune emerged silently within one of his huge furry hands.

  As he began to use the secret technique, the rune within the crystal ball began to flash, as if it had sprung to life.

  Meanwhile, Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang was appraising the golden body and spirit body, and he also seemed to be contemplating something. However, in the next instant, he suddenly seemed to have sensed something, and his expression changed drastically as he yelled, "How dare you try to play these tricks right under my nose? Die!"

  As soon as his voice trailed off, a projection with a giant horn on its head and a dozen or so massive feelers suddenly emerged behind him.

  The feelers were slightly blurry and indistinct, but as soon as they appeared, they swept violently through the air, covering a distance of several thousand feet in a flash before lashing out at Han Li from afar.

  "Hmph, it's too late for you to do anything now!" Han Li harrumphed coldly before crushing the crystal ball in his hand into a ball of piercing light.

  The crimson rune flashed once, then vanished into the palm of his hand.

  At the same time, a dozen or so azure lotus flowers suddenly appeared around Han Li. Each flower was around a foot in size, and their petals were peerlessly sharp.

  The tentacles clashed directly with the lotus flowers, and the latter rotated on the spot, releasing countless streaks of sword Qi that instantly shredded the feelers into countless tiny segments.

  Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang chuckled coldly upon seeing this, yet just as he was about to unleash another ability, a cry of surprise suddenly rang out from behind him, followed by a piercing screeching sound.

  He hurriedly turned around, just in time to see the Purple Word Cauldron fly out of the grasp of one of the clones behind him.

  The clone that had been controlling the cauldron was completely stunned by this turn of events, but he reacted very quickly, making a grabbing motion to conjure up a giant claw projection that encompassed around an entire acre of space down below.

  It seemed that there was no way that the Purple Word Cauldron would be able to escape. Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang was quite relieved to see this, yet before he had a chance to think about why this had happened, the giant golden ape down below suddenly thumped its own chest violently and let loose a thunderous roar.

  Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's body swayed involuntarily upon hearing this roar, and his face suddenly paled slightly.

  The clone that was g
rabbing toward the Purple Word Cauldron also shuddered, and the massive hand he had conjured up instantly crumbled away into nothingness.

  The Purple Word Cauldron instantly flew away as a streak of purple light, and it was truly about to escape.

  "Stop that thing!" Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang yelled with fury and urgency in his voice.

  The final clone on the canoe raised an eyebrow upon hearing this before tossing the small pagoda in his hand through the air.

  Chapter 1935: Sea of Blood

  Rainbow light flashed, and the small pagoda instantly released a burst of mysterious power that swept toward the small cauldron.

  However, almost at the exact same moment, Han Li's spirit body suddenly opened its mouth to expel a ball of white light, within which was a ring, and it quickly pointed a finger toward the ring.

  The ring abruptly exploded at its behest, and a burst of feeble spatial power immediately surged through the air.

  The power released by the small pagoda was affected by this burst of spatial power, and it was diverted away from the Purple Word Cauldron.

  Thus, the small cauldron was able to continue to fly away. The clone of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang that was originally controlling the cauldron stomped a foot down in an urgent manner and instantly propelled itself through the air, setting off in pursuit as a streak of crimson light.

  "How dare you tamper with my treasure like this? I'm going to extract your soul and torture you for the rest of eternity!" Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang roared in a furious manner.

  He then quickly made a hand seal, and the devilish projection behind him let loose an earth-shattering roar before opening its mouth to expel a torrent of blood. [1]

  The blood was extremely pungent, and there seemed to be no end to it as it formed a sea of blood in the nearby space, then crashed directly toward Han Li as a massive wave at the behest of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang.

  Han Li's heart stirred upon seeing this, and he immediately made a hand seal to activate the temporary formations he had set up nearby.