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

by Translator: Johnchen

  A day later, Xue Guang and Yuan Cha also arrived at the swamp, and all four of them were appraising the remains of the Bright Purple Lion with dark expressions. They had clearly already guessed Han Li's intentions.

  They couldn't think of a good way to counter this course of action, but they had come too far to turn back now, so they could only continue.

  Thankfully, both of them were carrying large supplies of devilish crystals, so they weren't concerned about running out of magic power for now.

  Thus, Han Li continued to flee while slaying ancient beasts to refine pills, and he led his pursuers deeper and deeper into the primordial world.

  During the periods of time that Han Li failed to encounter ancient beasts that he could slay for pill refinement ingredients, he would consume some of the spirit plants he obtained from the Vast Glacial Realm.

  These spirit medicines each had different effects, but they all contained extremely pure spiritual Qi. Direct consumption was quite a waste, but they still served to replenish some of his magic power.

  However, doing this resulted in a myriad of different medicinal effects accumulating within his body, which was quite harmful. Under normal circumstances, he could just spend some time to use his magic power to expel or refine these medicinal effects, but in this situation, he didn't have any time or magic power to spare. As such, he could only temporarily repress these medicinal effects and address them later.

  With Han Li's current level of powers, there naturally wouldn't be any issues in the short term, but if he had to continue to consume spirit medicines directly without properly addressing their medicinal effects, then he would land himself in hot water sooner or later.

  Han Li was well aware of this, but he had no choice but to continue in this fashion.

  Thus, another half a year passed by.

  On this day, Han Li was meditating on his flying carriage with his eyes closed, while a woman in a white dress was controlling the flying treasure in his stead.

  The woman was none other than his sentient puppet, Doll.

  Doll's magic power was far inferior to Han Li's, so the flying carriage was traveling at a far slower speed, but it was still better than having to stop whenever Han Li needed some time to rest and recuperate.

  This afforded Han Li some breathing room from time to time. Otherwise, even with his supply of pills and spirit stones, he wouldn't have been able to last this long.

  Even so, his complexion had clearly paled significantly compared to half a year ago, and his aura had also become extremely feeble.

  All of a sudden, his expression changed slightly, and he abruptly opened his eyes.

  Almost at the exact same moment, a loud thunderclap rang out several kilometers away, and a giant silver lightning formation emerged out of thin air.

  A burly figured then stumbled out of the center of the formation amid a resounding boom.

  Chapter 1962: Re-emergence of Floral Tree

  The burly humanoid figure had silver lightning revolving all around his body, and after steadying himself, he raised his head, revealing himself to be a middle-aged man with a head of red hair and a heavy beard.

  The man had a square face and a huge hook nose that resembled a falcon's beak. There was a pair of crimson wings on his back that were crackling with arcs of lightning, and he resembled the incarnation of the Lightning God.

  However, at this moment, his face was quite pale, and there were many charred sections on the silver robe that he was wearing. One of his sleeves had been completely torn off to reveal a bare arm.

  This man was an early-Body Integration cultivator, and he seemed to be in an even sorrier state than Han Li. As soon as he appeared, he immediately turned to look behind himself with a panicked expression.

  As soon as Han Li caught sight of the man, his heart jolted with shock, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "It's you!"

  The man immediately turned to Han Li upon hearing his voice, and a shocked look also appeared on his face at the sight of Han Li.

  Right at this moment, a thought seemed to have occurred to Han Li, and a hint of excitement appeared on his face.

  In the next instant, he rose to his feet on his flying carriage, then appeared behind Doll in a wraith-like manner.

  Han Li laid a hand onto Doll's shoulder, and she was instantly drawn up his sleeve as a ball of white light.

  Immediately thereafter, spiritual light flashed from beneath Han Li's feet, and the speed of his flying carriage instantly doubled as he hurtled over to just over 1,000 feet away from the burly man.

  The burly man swept his spiritual sense toward Han Li before asking with furrowed brows, "Han Li? Why are you here? And why are you in such a bad condition?"

  The burly man clearly recognized him.

  "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that, Brother Lei? You look to be in an even worse situation than I am; are you being hunted by someone as well?" Han Li asked with a wry smile.

  "Hmph, I have indeed encountered some trouble, but my situation is still better than yours. I can see that you've reached the mid-Body Integration Stage since we last met; how did you exhaust your magic power to such a degree? You're not being hunted by Grand Ascension Stage beings, are you?" the burly man replied.

  "I am indeed being hunted by Grand Ascension Stage beings. You seem to be really panicked despite your ability to create lightning formations; could it be that you're also being hunted by Grand Ascension Stage beings?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

  "Hehe, looks like we're both in the same boat. Who are you being pursued by? Why are there suddenly so many Grand Ascension Stage beings around?" the burly man asked.

  A peculiar look appeared on Han Li's face. "Why ask a question you already know the answer to, Brother Lei? Our human race and the nearby few races are currently in the midst of a devilish tribulation, so I'm obviously being hunted by beings from the Elder Devil Race. Are you unaware of all this?"

  The burly man immediately drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. "Devilish tribulation? Could it be that you're being pursued by a Sacred Ancestor? I just came out of seclusion several months ago; how am I supposed to know about this?"

  "I see, it's no wonder that you haven't heard about the devilish tribulation, then. I'm being pursued by several Sacred Ancestor clones, all of which possess late-Body Integration Stage powers, so I naturally had no choice but to flee. Are you being pursued by a Sacred Ancestor clone as well, Brother Lei?" Han Li asked.

  "I don't know if they're Sacred Ancestors, but they are indeed able to control extremely pure true devil Qi. One of them uses a cultivation art that can suppress my Five Lightning Physique, and as for the other one, I still haven't been able to ascertain her level of power; perhaps she's also a Sacred Ancestor clone," the burly man replied in an ambiguous manner.

  Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. It was quite clear that Lei Yunzi was hiding something, but he couldn't be bothered to pry any further now. Instead, he quickly changed the subject. "We're quite fortunate to have bumped into one another. Do you still recall the lightning formation that you introduced to me when we last met? If we join forces..."

  Lei Yunzi's eyes immediately lit up with elation upon hearing this. "Ah, you're talking about the dual lightning formation, right? How could I have forgotten something like that? Haha, there's a good chance we'll be able to escape from our pursuers now."

  "In that case, let's not waste any more time. We... Hmm? Where's this fragrance coming from?" Han Li faltered mid-sentence as he suddenly caught a whiff of a special scent in the air.

  Lei Yunzi's face paled even further as he hurriedly yelled, "Crap, those two have tracked me down again! Come to me, Fellow Daoist Han; I'll get you out of here first!"

  Han Li was also quite startled to hear this, and his flying carriage immediately shot forth toward Lei Yuanzi as a streak of azure light.

  After just two flashes, Han Li appeared beside Lei Yunzi, then stowed the flying carriage away with a wave of hi
s hand.

  Meanwhile, Lei Yunzi made a hand seal with an urgent look on his face, and countless arcs of silver lightning erupted out of his body and crimson wings to instantly form a brand new lightning formation.

  A resounding thunderclap rang out, and lightning flashed like countless silver snakes to inundate both Han Li and Lei Yunzi. However, right at this moment, spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted in the air above the lightning formation, and a pink floral tree emerged out of thin air.

  The tree was around 1,000 feet tall, and it was releasing an indescribably fragrant scent.

  The tree rustled up above, and countless pink flowers descended from it, then transformed into a burst of pink light that swept downward.

  Strangely enough, the pink light appeared to be moving very slowly, but it instantly covered a distance of several thousand feet and reached the lightning formation down below.

  "There's not enough time! Dodge!"

  The pink light was extremely alluring and beautiful, but Lei Yunzi was appraising it as if it were a ghastly apparition. He immediately abandoned his lightning formation and flapped his wings vigorously, vanishing into thin air as an arc of lightning.

  This was the first time that Han Li had seen this pink tree, but his heart jolted at the sight of the evasive measures that Lei Yunzi had taken, and he also shot forth out of the lightning formation as a thread of azure and white light.

  The thread of light covered a distance of over 2,000 feet in a single flash while the giant lightning formation was instantly snuffed out by the pink light.

  This pink light seemed to possess the ability to repress the power of lightning.

  The azure and white light faded, and Han Li reappeared before drawing a sharp breath as he cast his gaze back to where the lightning formation had been just a moment ago.

  He turned to Lei Yunzi with a stunned look in his eyes. "Brother Lei, are these..."

  "That's right, these two are my pursuers. They're tracking me down faster and faster now," Lei Yunzi replied as he forced a smile onto his own face.

  Han Li's heart sank upon hearing this, but he could only steel himself and focus his attention on the floral tree projection.

  However, aside from the projection, nothing else appeared in the nearby space. Of course, neither Lei Yunzi nor Han Li were going to be fooled by such measly tricks; they merely remained on the spot and refrained from doing anything rash.

  "Hehe, why aren't you running away this time? Could it be that you've given up and are willing to hand that thing over?"

  As soon as this voice trailed off, a hideous black-robed man appeared beside the floral tree before instantly turning toward Han Li and Lei Yunzi.

  "Oh? And who might you be?" the hideous man interrogated as he appraised Han Li with a vicious look in his eyes.

  "You're telling me this man is making you run for your life?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

  "Of course not. Aside from him, there's also..."

  "There's also me!"

  An indifferent female voice suddenly rang out from above the floral tree projection.

  Immediately thereafter, pink light flashed erratically from the surface of the projection, and it crumbled away into specks of spiritual light, revealing a barefoot woman in a white dress in its place.

  The woman had a set of peerlessly beautiful facial features, and she was standing atop a giant pink flower.

  Han Li was instantly struck by a sense of asphyxiation at the sight of the woman, and his expression darkened significantly.

  He was immediately able to ascertain that this woman was either a Grand Ascension Stage being or a clone of such a being. Otherwise, there was no way that he would be struck by such a strong sense of foreboding.

  The woman glanced at Han Li and Lei Yunzi, and a mysterious smile appeared on her face.

  Chapter 1963: Exposed

  "Have you changed your mind, Fellow Daoist? You've led me on this chase for over a month just over a mere spirit flower. That Celestial Cloud Flower is useless to you; how about you hand it over to me, and I'll spare your life?" the woman proposed, much to Lei Yunzi's rage and chagrin.

  "Hmph, the Celestial Cloud Flower is an extremely precious spirit item. I may have no use for it now, but there will definitely come a day when it'll be useful to me. If you want me to hand it over to you, then you're going to be disappointed!" Lei Yunzi harrumphed coldly in response.

  As opposed to being enraged by this, the woman remained calm, and remarked, "It seems that you're very confident in your lightning formations."

  "Hehe, why wouldn't I be confident? If you have the ability to catch me, then how have I managed to escape from you for over a month?" Lei Yunzi chuckled coldly, seemingly having cast aside all of his wariness toward the woman.

  The hideous black-robed man's immediately flared up with rage. "Insolence! How dare you speak to Mistress Bao Hua like that?"

  "Shut up, you noisy lapdog! If you didn't have that woman to protect you, I could kill you with ease!" Lei Yunzi said in a cold derisive voice.

  The hideous man was enraged even further upon hearing this, and he let loose a ferocious snarl as he prepared to pounce toward Lei Yunzi, only for the woman to stop him. "Stand down, Hei'e! You are indeed no match for this fellow daoist."

  The man did as he was told, but an indignant look appeared on his face. "But, Mistress Bao Hua, he..."

  "Are you opposing my orders?" the woman asked as she raised an eyebrow.

  "I wouldn't dare! Forgive me for my mindless transgression," Hei'e hurriedly replied in a panicked manner.

  Bao Hua's gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before she warned in an indifferent voice, "Don't let it happen again."

  Hei'e hurriedly gave an affirmative response.

  Han Li was appraising everything from the side, and a hint of bewilderment flashed through his eyes at the sight of the black-robed man.

  This was clearly the first time he had ever seen this man, but for some reason, his aura was rather familiar. Han Li felt as if he had sensed this aura from afar in the past, and that naturally made him rather perplexed.

  However, this clearly wasn't the right time to be pondering something like this; his top priority now was to escape from this place with Lei Yunzi.

  With his understanding of Lei Yunzi's abilities, he wasn't overly concerned.

  As long as Lei Yunzi had made preparations in advance, he could teleport both of them away in an instant; even if the woman were a Grand Ascension Stage being, she wouldn't be able to stop them. Otherwise, Lei Yunzi wouldn't be facing such an unfathomably powerful enemy with so much confidence.

  Just as these thoughts were racing through Han Li's mind, the woman spoke again.

  "You invented that lightning formation technique yourself, right, Fellow Daoist Lei? The technique is very profound, and only someone with a Five Lightning Physique like you will be able to maximize its power. I'm assuming the technique is also the source of your confidence."

  "So what if it is?" Lei Yunzi asked, wondering what the woman was trying to say.

  "Your lightning teleportation formations incorporate the powers of space and lightning to allow you to teleport tens of thousands of kilometers at a time, but it's not that easy to combine those two types of powers; you only managed to invent the technique by chance while referencing a certain secret technique, right?" Bao Hua continued.

  Lei Yunzi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he remained silent and continued to appraise the woman with a cold expression.

  The woman chuckled before continuing, "Coincidentally, the abilities I've cultivated also incorporate the powers of lightning and space, so I'm very well-versed in these two types of powers as well."

  Lei Yunzi finally couldn't help but ask, "What are you trying to say?"

  "I'm sure you've already noticed that it's taking me less and less time to track you down. Perhaps after a few more times, I'll have your lightning formation completely figured out, and it'll be
completely ineffective against me. I've already planted a tracking mark in your body, so unless you can teleport to millions of kilometers away at once, it'll only be a matter of time before I hunt you down. I'm telling you all this now as I don't want to waste time, so I'm giving you one last chance. Otherwise, I have a treasure that just so happens to be missing a few Body Integration Stage souls; I wouldn't mind taking yours to power the treasure," the woman said in a calm voice.

  Lei Yunzi's face paled even further upon hearing this, and a hesitant look appeared on his face.

  Bao Hua had no intention of hurrying him into a decision, choosing instead to turn her attention toward Han Li.

  The woman's eyes were as clear as water, but Han Li was suddenly struck by a bone-chilling sensation, as if he had been laid entirely bare before her. This was clearly a sign that the woman's spiritual sense was far more powerful than his.

  Han Li immediately activated his Great Development Technique and Spirit Refinement Technique at once, circulating his spiritual sense all throughout his own body, and only then was he able to just barely ward off this unsettling feeling.

  However, just that brief moment of scrutiny was enough for Han Li's back to be drenched in cold sweat.

  His spiritual sense was already close to that of the average Grand Ascension cultivator, which meant that this woman was most likely an extremely powerful being, even among Grand Ascension Stage beings.

  However, what happened next made Han Li even more astonished.

  A peculiar look suddenly appeared on the woman's face as she said, "So you were the one who killed my subordinates in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges and took my Profound Heavenly Fortune Blade fragment. You've been using my treasure for quite a few years now; isn't it about time you returned it to me?"

  Han Li's heart jolted with shock, and a thought immediately occurred to him, but he forced a smile onto his own face, and replied, "What are you talking about, Senior? I believe this is the first time we've ever met."

  "Looks like you're unwilling to return it to me. So be it, I'll take it back from you myself, then," the woman said in an emotionless manner before waving a hand toward Han Li.