"Seeing as you've already figured everything else, then I won't keep this from you any longer. What are you going to do? Are you going to inform Liu Ji and the others of this?" Xue Guang asked in a cold voice.
"Chaotic Yin Yang Qi is extremely important to Sacred Ancestors like us; I'm not going to let even more people know about it! My condition is very simple: I can give you the Devil Sealing Lock and half of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, but you have to give me the remaining Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, as well as all of the treasures that are being carried by that Han brat," Yuan Cha replied.
"You sure are asking for a lot! Setting aside everything else, that brat took my Purple Word Cauldron as well; I have to recover that no matter what," Xue Guang harrumphed coldly.
Yuan Cha was rather taken aback to hear this. "The Purple Word Cauldron was taken by him as well? That's rather surprising to hear. In that case, you can have the cauldron as well."
"Alright, then it's settled. We've forged an alliance; isn't it about time you showed me the tracking method you're using to pursue that brat?" Xue Guang asked.
Chapter 1960: Black Coffin
"Even if you learn the method, you wouldn't be able to replicate it," Yuan Cha said in an indifferent voice.
"Hehe, how will I know whether I can replicate it if you don't tell me?" Xue Guang chuckled.
"If you really want to know, then I'll tell you. Remember how I remained behind to deal with the clone of that human brat?" Yuan Cah asked.
"Of course. You remained there for a few months and didn't mention it at all after meeting up with me. Could it be that this tracking method has something to do with that clone of his?" Xue Guang asked.
"Indeed. That clone is actually one of his Nascent Souls. Even though it's only at the late-Spatial Tempering Stage, it's cultivated several powerful life-saving abilities. Even after chasing it for so long, I was still unable to stop it from self-detonating and escaping as countless wisps of soul fragments. In the end, I was only able to capture one of the soul fragments," Yuan Cha said with a grim expression.
"What? A Spatial Tempering Stage Nascent Soul managed to escape from you?" Xue Guang was quite stunned to hear this, and all three clones exchanged astonished glances.
"Hmph, like I said, the Nascent Soul had cultivated several powerful life-saving abilities and was also carrying a few profound talismans. I was too complacent and allowed it to get away. With that Nascent Soul's powers, as long as most of it manages to gather together again, it should be able to recover back to its original form. If I hadn't been in a hurry to meet back up with you, I would've definitely spent some more time and destroyed all of those soul fragments. However, even with this single soul fragment, I'm able to use my Great Origin Devil Technique to track his location. I've already refined that soul fragment into my own body, so I'm able to sense his approximate location from afar. Unfortunately, I don't have a second soul fragment for you to replicate this tracking method. In any case, this tracking method has a huge margin for error and only points out an approximate direction, which is why that human brat is able to continue to evade us," Yuan Cha explained.
"A soul fragment is required? I have a similar secret technique, but it looks like I won't be able to replicate the tracking method, after all. If I had known this in advance, I would've stayed with you for a few more days to help you capture that Nascent Soul." A regretful look appeared on Xue Guang's face as he spoke.
"If you had done that, then perhaps that human brat would've gotten away. Even a second Nascent Soul of his is so difficult to capture; I can only imagine how slippery he's going to be," Yuan Cha said with a shake of her head.
"Hmph, no matter how tricky he is, he must be close to completely exhausting his magic power and spiritual sense after being pursued by us for so long. Without any power at his disposal, he won't be able to use any of his tricks," Xue Guang harrumphed coldly.
"I recall you said the exact same thing two months ago, but he's still as lively as ever. In contrast, we're the ones who are struggling to keep up," Yuan Cha said as a slightly self-derogatory look appeared on her face.
A slightly awkward look appeared on Xue Guang's face upon hearing this. "That's only because neither of us expected him to be carrying so many magic power regeneration pills. We're unable to track down his exact location, so we can only keep chasing him like this. As soon as he exhausts all of his magic power, we'll be able to capture him with ease."
"Indeed. He's still traveling quite quickly now, but he's far slower than he was in the beginning. It looks like he truly is close to exhausting his magic power," Yuan Cha replied with a nod.
"This is why I'm inviting you into my All-encompassing Plate. If we control this treasure together, we'll be able to maintain our current speed while significantly decreasing our magic power expenditure," Xue Guang said in a hopeful manner.
"Don't mention that again; I won't take such an unnecessary risk. This Stone Devil Hall is formed by the two elders of the Stone Devil Race; I conserve much more magic power using it than anyone else could," Yuan Cha rejected in a cold voice.
"In that case, I won't mention this again. I have some subordinates with me; they should be able to help me control the All-encompassing Plate for brief periods of time," Xue Guang said with a wry smile.
"Then it's settled. It seems like that human brat won't be able to last much longer, but I still think that you and I will need to make some preparations in advance. If he really does manage to last longer than we do or plans to engage us in a last-ditch battle before his magic power runs out, we have to be prepared," Yuan Cha said as she nodded with a cold look in her eyes.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Yuan Cha; I've naturally prepared some other measures. There's no way that human brat will be able to turn the tables on us," Xue Guang said in a confident manner.
"I'm glad to hear that. In order to conserve magic power, I won't be contacting you unless the necessity arises." After that, Yuan Cha swept a sleeve through the air, and her image vanished from the crystalline wall amid a flash of white light.
Thus, peace and quiet abruptly returned to the space within the All-encompassing Plate.
The smile on the face of the center Xue Guang clone instantly disappeared, and he pondered the situation for a moment before asking, "What do you two think of what Yuan Cha just said?"
He was naturally raising the question to the other two clones.
Even though the three clones stemmed from the same being, their personalities vastly differed as a result of the special soul-splitting secret technique, and they were more like three completely different people.
"There's not much to it; Yuan Cha definitely didn't tell the truth. Most devilish cultivation arts include abilities that allow one to track someone's main Nascent Soul through the use of a soul fragment. However, this method is only viable when the person being tracked possesses far inferior magic power to the one doing the tracking. Otherwise, if the target senses that something is amiss, they can use certain special methods to seal off their main Nascent Soul, and the tracking method would be rendered useless," one of the clones said with furrowed brows.
"On top of that, she agreed to return the Devil Sealing Lock and Purple Word Cauldron to you so easily; I suspect that she has some type of ulterior motive. Those two treasures aren't true Profound Heavenly Treasures, but they're still incomplete Profound Heavenly Treasures; why is she willing to give them up so easily? If she had tried to argue with us over ownership rights of one or both of the treasures, perhaps I'd have been convinced that she was being genuine," the other clone also chuckled coldly in response.
"Alright, I think we can conclude that she's definitely hiding something and harboring some kind of ulterior motive, but our top priority for now is to capture that human brat. Also, from today onward, let's begin taking turns absorbing the true devilish crystals that we brought with us. Hehe, I bet Yuan Cha would've never anticipated that we would bring so many true devilish crystals into this realm. With those cr
ystals as a source of devilish Qi replenishment, we can keep this up even for another year. When Yuan Cha is unable to keep up, we'll be able to adopt the dominant position and dictate how that Han brat's treasures are split among us," the center Xue Guang clone said with a dark expression.
The other two clones were also quite elated to hear this.
Meanwhile, Yuan Cha was also seated on her stone chair in deep thought within her massive stone hall.
After a while, a faint sigh suddenly rang out within the stone hall. The voice was very delightful to the ears, but it was also completely unfamiliar; it was the sigh of another woman.
Yuan Cha faltered slightly upon hearing this before an ecstatic look appeared in her eyes. "Liu Ji! You're finally awake!"
"I am. It's all thanks to your willingness to lend me your physical body that I was able to descend into the Spirit Realm without being noticed by anyone else," the unfamiliar female voice chuckled.
"You fell into a deep slumber just as I was breaking into this realm, and you didn't wake up for several years; I was quite concerned," Yuan Cha said.
"This clone of yours possesses quite a powerful physical body, but it's still unable to contain two powerful souls at once; I could only temporarily seal away my consciousness to ensure that no harm came to your physical body. By the way, where is this place, and why have you expended so much of your magic power? Have you encountered some type of trouble?" the unfamiliar woman asked.
"I'll tell you about everything later. For now, please return this soul fragment of yours to your physical body first, Sister. This is the least powerful of your six clones, but it's still far more powerful than this clone of mine."
Yuan Cha flicked her wrist as she spoke, and a ball of black light shot out of her sleeve before landing on the ground. The ball of black light then transformed into an inky-black jade coffin that was around 10 feet in size, and there were wisps of black devilish Qi emanating from the coffin, as well as layers of mysterious patterns engraved over its surface.
There were also a dozen or so golden and silver restriction talismans plastered to the surface of the coffin to seal it tightly shut.
"Sure. Seeing as I've already awakened, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to continue to stay in your body," the unfamiliar female voice replied.
Immediately thereafter, a layer of black light appeared over Yuan Cha's face, following which a ball of green spiritual light emerged from her glabella. After just a single flash, the ball of light transformed into a miniature green humanoid figure that was only several inches tall.
The miniature green figure's body was concealed within a layer of green light, making it impossible to glean its facial features.
Right at this moment, Yuan Cha began to chant something before pointing a finger at the black coffin.
All of the golden and silver talismans on the coffin were ignited at her behest, and were quickly incinerated into nothingness.
Immediately thereafter, the lid of the coffin rose up into the air, and dense devilish Qi erupted forth, quickly filling the entire hall.
The miniature green figure instantly vanished into the coffin as a ball of green light upon seeing this.
Chapter 1961: Ordeal in the Primordial World
A resounding boom rang out, and all of the devilish Qi that had poured out of the coffin instantly swept back into it. Thus, all of the black Qi permeating throughout the entire hall vanished in the blink of an eye.
As a result, the patterns on the surface of the coffin began to radiate dazzling white light, creating an unsettling contrast with the inky-black body of the coffin.
However, the white light only flashed for the span of a few breaths before it immediately dimmed.
Right at this moment, bursts of buzzing rang out from within the coffin, and hundreds of ancient silver runes shot forth before forming six massive shimmering silver projections up above.
These were all projections of humanoid devilish beings of different physical descriptions.
These silver projections only appeared for an instant before they also disintegrated into specks of silver light.
In the next instant, a faint moan rang out from within the coffin, and an arm that was encased in black armor emerged. Immediately thereafter, a slender black-armored warrior slowly rose to her feet from within the coffin.
Not only was this armored warrior wearing a suit of antiquated black armor, she was also wearing a menacing visor that concealed everything aside from her clear blue eyes.
"Sister Liu Ji, how much of your power can you channel through this clone?" Yuan Cha asked with a concerned look in her eyes as soon as the armored warrior emerged.
"It'll still be somewhat restricted in this realm, but I'll be able to channel around 20% of my power through it, which will be enough to handle all enemies below the Grand Ascension Stage," the armored warrior replied.
"I see, 20% of your power will indeed be enough to dominate the human race. You awakened at just the right time, Sister; I've encountered a problem that I'll require your assistance with," Yuan Cha said as the concern in her eyes gave way to elation.
"Oh? What's the issue? Hold on, you don't seem to be alone here; who's in that All-encompassing Plate? Could it be that Du Long descended into the Spirit Realm as well?" the armored warrior asked in a slightly surprised manner as she caught sight of the giant jade plate beside the stone hall.
"No, it's Xue Guang's clones who are currently using the treasure. We're currently pursuing a human cultivator who possesses the Devil Sealing Lock, Purple Word Cauldron, and Chaotic Yin Yang Qi!" Yuan Cha revealed.
A hint of surprise appeared in the armored warrior's eyes upon hearing this, but her voice remained quite calm as she said, "Devil Sealing Lock and Chaotic Yin Yang Qi? That's rather interesting. Give me a detailed recount of what happened."
Yuan Cha nodded before explaining the situation. "So this is what happened; I originally descended into this realm at your behest to prevent a plot hatched by the humans that'll be of detriment to our holy race. However, during that process..."
It took Yuan Cha around 10 minutes to finally tell the full story, following which a wry smile appeared on her face as she sighed, "Thus, we can only keep chasing that human brat like this. That Xue Guang clearly isn't to be trusted; it's most likely the case that he'll turn on me once we chase down that human cultivator."
"It sounds like Xue Guang has some other measures prepared. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to plot against you like this, considering how this clone of yours is far more powerful than those three clones of his. However, there's no need to be concerned. Now that I've awakened, I'm naturally not going to just stand by idly and watch. Chaotic Yin Yang Qi is extremely useful for us Sacred Ancestors; it would be a pity if it were to fall into the hands of Xue Guang. This clone of mine is carrying many devilish crystals, and they should be enough for you to replenish your magic power," the armored warrior said.
"That would be great! With your assistance, I'll have nothing to worry about," Yuan Cha replied in an elated manner.
...
A month later, a giant mountain range that was enshrouded in a vast expanse of murky grey mist appeared ahead of Han Li.
Not only was this mist extremely dense, it seemed to stretch indefinitely up into the heavens with no end in sight.
Han Li was currently seated in a triangular azure flying carriage with his eyes closed, meditating while holding a top-grade spirit stone in each hand.
As the flying carriage was approaching the mountain range, Han Li seemed to have sensed something, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"I'm finally here; this should be the legendary End of the Southern Sky. As expected of a super formation that has protected the human race for so many years; if it weren't for the fact that the restriction’s been severely weakened by the merging of the two realms, it would most likely be very difficult to pass through this place," Han Li murmured to himself before closing his eyes again.
All the w
hile, his flying carriage continued onward, plunging into the mist without any hesitation.
Half a day later, the stone hall and giant jade plate also arrived at this place.
Yuan Cha and Xue Guang held a brief discussion before also entering the mist.
Han Li had already been forced to such an extent that he was venturing into the perilous primordial world, so there was naturally no reason to give up on this chase.
...
Three months later, Han Li appeared in the air above a swamp. He swept a sleeve through the air to release countless streaks of azure sword Qi, slicing a giant purple lion that had been trapped in a golden lightning net into countless pieces.
He made a grabbing motion, and a ball of purple light flew out from the lion's dismembered corpse. The ball of light flew into his hand in a flash, revealing itself to be a translucent egg-sized demon core.
Han Li's face was rather pale, but a faint smile appeared on his face as he murmured to himself, "With the demon core of this late-Spatial Tempering Stage Bright Purple Lion, I should be able to refine a batch of Spirit Conservation Pills, which will replenish my magic power for some time to come."
He was carrying a large supply of magic power regeneration pills, but he had been constantly consuming them during the past year, so his supply was naturally beginning to wear thin. The supply of spirit stones that he had also wouldn't be sufficient to recover his magic power, so he took a risk and sought out several high-grade ancient beasts, quickly slaying them using powerful techniques to obtain their demon cores.
Using the demon cores and some other ingredients, he would be able to refine a batch of magic power regeneration pills in a short time.
With the limited time that he had, he wouldn't be able to maximize the efficacy of these pills, but he couldn't afford to worry about these minor details at a time like this.
This came as quite a relief to Han Li. As long as he could continue to hunt down ancient beasts and secure pill refinement ingredients, he should be able to outlast his pursuers.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1132