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

by Translator: Johnchen

  Of course, it wasn't that Han Li couldn't extend his spiritual sense further than that. However, if he were to do that, he would definitely trigger the restriction, thereby exposing his own cultivation base.

  Moments later, the group from the Bai Family suddenly stopped after making their way onto a certain street.

  Han Li raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any questions.

  Shortly thereafter, several carriages that were drawn by a dozen or so creatures that resembled both horses and deers arrived at the other end of the street, then quickly drew to a halt in front of Han Li and the others.

  All of the carriages had a "Bai" character emblazoned on the side, and each carriage was being driven by a man in a leather robe.

  The man on the first carriage jumped down before extending a respectful bow toward Bai Yunxin. "I pay my respects to the esteemed young mistress. I was sent here by Master to take you home."

  Bai Yunxin nodded in response before turning to Han Li with a smile. "Brother Han, are you really not planning to visit our Bai Family? If you return to the family with us, perhaps you'll be able to meet Senior Futian today!"

  "Thank you for the offer, but I plan to travel around in the city for now, so I'll pay your Bai Family a visit another day," Han Li said with a smile and he cupped his fist in a salute.

  "In that case, I won't keep you any longer. This jade pendant is something that I can be identified by. With this jade pendant, you'll be able to directly come and find me in our Bai Family without being questioned," Bai Yunxin said with a slightly wistful look as she flipped her hand over to produce an azure jade badge, which she tossed toward Han Li.

  Han Li caught the jade pendant before taking a look at it, upon which he discovered that there were some crimson threads interwoven into its surface, indicating that it hadn't been refined using ordinary jade.

  There was an image of an ascending woman engraved onto the badge, and the woman bore a strong resemblance to Bai Yunxin.

  Han Li nodded as he stowed the jade pendant away, and the group from the Bai Family departed on the beast-drawn carriages.

  As for Han Li, he immediately departed toward another street and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

  Even though there weren't any Sacred Ancestors in Illusion Night City, it was naturally still quite renowned due to the presence of over 10 devilish lords, and the number of high-grade devilish beings in the city also far exceeded that of normal cities of this scale.

  In contrast with Blood Crow City, this city had far more buildings of all different types. Not only were there ordinary shops such as material and ingredient shops, there were also many dojos that taught specific devilish arts, which presented quite an intriguing sight to Han Li.

  These were similar to the dojos that taught different cultivation arts in the Spirit Realm, and Han Li couldn't help but wonder if these had always existed or if the devilish beings had stolen the idea from the Spirit Realm.

  While passing by a tall pagoda, a hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes at the sight of the plaque hanging above the door.

  Chapter 2052: Myriad Slave Tower

  The words "Myriad Slave Tower" were emblazoned in large devilish text on the plaque, and it was the first time that Han Li had seen a place like this. Thus, after a brief hesitation, he made his way toward it with an intrigued expression.

  Upon entering the pagoda, he found himself in a grandiose hall. On either side of the hall were around a dozen devilish young women in silver palatial dresses, welcoming guests with elegant smiles.

  At the center of the hall was a row of intricate jade tables and chairs, and there was a black-robed middle-aged man who was serving three guests with a few of the devilish young women.

  Before Han Li even had a chance to inspect his surroundings, the middle-aged man caught sight of him and immediately rushed over to him after extending an apology to the other three guests.

  "Greetings, Senior; is there anything I can do for you?" the middle-aged man asked in a respectful manner.

  He was a Deity Transformation Stage devilish being, so he naturally didn't dare to give a powerful Spatial Tempering Stage being like Han Li the cold shoulder.

  "What kind of establishment is this Myriad Slave Tower? I've never seen such a place anywhere else," Han Li asked.

  "This must be your first time visiting Illusion Night City. Indeed, our Myriad Slave Tower is very rare as it specializes in selling slaves and devilish beasts," the middle-aged replied.

  "Slaves and devilish beasts?" Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

  "Indeed. Those guests over there have come here to purchase some slaves; you can take a look as well if you're interested, Senior. As for devilish beasts, we only have some ordinary breeds, so you most likely wouldn't be interested in them," the middle-aged man introduced with a smile.

  "In that case, I'll go take a look" Han Li replied with a nod.

  "Great! Please come with me, Senior." The middle-aged man immediately gestured for one of the young women to bring the three other devilish beings over, then led them all to a simple teleportation formation at the corner of the pagoda.

  The three guests were comprised of two handsome men and an elegant woman. They were only at the Nascent Soul Stage, but they were only appraising Han Li with curiosity rather than awe and veneration.

  Han Li took a brief glance at them to find that a nondescript "Ning" character had been emblazoned on each of their sleeves.

  Could they be from the Ning Family?

  After everyone stepped onto the teleportation formation, the middle-aged man cast an incantation seal toward the edge of the formation, and they were all instantly teleported away.

  In the next instant, they reappeared within a similar teleportation formation on a different level of the pagoda.

  Han Li opened his eyes and immediately inspected his surroundings, upon which he discovered that there was a long and narrow bluestone passageway up ahead, situated between two stone walls with countless runes carved onto their surfaces, clearly indicating the presence of a restriction.

  On the other side of the passageway were several large golden gates, in front of each of which stood two burly armored guards.

  Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the guards, upon which a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.

  These guards were all humanoid puppets.

  The middle-aged immediately led Han Li and the others out of the teleportation formation, then strode through the passageway and arrived at the nearest golden gate.

  The two puppets in front of the gate seemed to have sensed their arrival, and they turned toward the group as they brandished their halberds, looking as if they would attack anyone who dared to approach them.

  The middle-aged remained completely unflustered and flipped a hand over to produce a metal badge, then waved it forward while chanting a short and simple incantation.

  The cold light within the puppets' eyes instantly faded, and they also set down their halberds again.

  The three devilish beings from the Ning Family paid no heed to this, but Han Li carefully inspected the pair of puppets with blue light flashing through his eyes, then suddenly asked in an intrigued voice, "These puppets seem to even more powerful than the average Nascent Soul Stage being, but the refinement method used on them seems to be quite special. Did your pagoda refine these puppets yourselves or purchase them from elsewhere?"

  According to the information that he had gathered about the Elder Devil Realm, these two puppets clearly hadn't been refined using any of the several types of common refinement techniques in the Elder Devil Realm. The refinement method and materials used were both very crude, but the puppets' powers belied the rough craftsmanship, and that was quite interesting to Han Li.

  "Hehe, indeed, the refinement method used for these Devil Crystal Puppets was rather special. They can't be possessed and controlled by spiritual sense, but they can complete some simple tasks while being
controlled by treasures prepared in advance. They were crafted using our pagoda's secret refinement technique that isn't sold anywhere else, but if you're interested, a deal isn't entirely non-negotiable," the middle-aged man replied with a smile.

  "Devil Crystal Puppets, eh? I am indeed interested in them, but we'll discuss this later," Han Li replied in an indifferent manner.

  The middle-aged man was slightly disappointed to hear this, but he still maintained his smile as he replied, "Alright, then I'll be opening the gate now."

  Immediately thereafter, he strode over to the golden gate before pressing the metal badge against it.

  The golden gate opened on its own, and faint white light came spilling out from within.

  The middle-aged then stepped away to the side and made an inviting hand gesture.

  Even though the other three devilish beings were from the Ning Family, they didn't dare to disrespect a Spatial Tempering Stage being like Han Li, so they could wait for him to enter first.

  Han Li gave a slight nod before making his way through the gate.

  Beyond the gate were several formations of different sizes, which formed a series of cylindrical white light barriers, within which were trapped several tens of devilish men and women in different attire.

  All of them had faint devilish patterns on their faces, clearly indicating restrictions had been placed on their bodies.

  The ones with the highest cultivation bases among them were only at the Core Formation Stage, while the weakest ones were only at the Qi Condensation Stage.

  The middle-aged man was about to start talking again, but Han Li interjected, "You can go now; I'll take a look here for myself."

  The middle-aged man naturally didn't dare to speak any further upon hearing this. "In that case, I'll go and serve the other guests; please pardon me, Senior."

  Thus, the middle-aged men made their way over to the people from the Ning Family. "Fellow daoists, if you'd like to buy some servants, then these ones should be ideal. They're Earth Yin beings from deep within the Illusion Howl Desert, and not only are they all adept in earth-attribute devilish arts, once they reach maturity, all of them become handsome men and beautiful women. Most importantly, these ones possess decent aptitude and could be nurtured to the Nascent Soul Stage with minimal effort. In fact, it's possible that they could even progress to the Deity Transformation Stage."

  Han Li reflexively turned toward the Earth Yin beings upon hearing the term "Illusion Howl Desert", and there, he discovered eight disheveled young men and women who appeared to be around 13 to 14 years of age. They were all at the Foundation Establishment Stage, yet seemed to be quite feeble.

  "Earth Yin beings? That's quite rare to see in this pagoda, but do they really possess aptitude that's as good as you proclaim?" a young man from the Ning Family with red scales on his face asked in a skeptical manner.

  "Hehe, if you don't believe me, you're free to examine their bone age. Isn't it already sufficient testament to their aptitude that they were able to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage at such a young age?" the middle-aged replied in a confident manner.

  "How do we know if your pagoda hasn't fed them some pills to tap into their latent potential?" the woman from the Ning Family asked with a smile.

  A wry smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face as he replied, "Those types of pills are all quite expensive; we wouldn't use them on some slaves. Besides, there are always telltale signs that can be detected to indicate consumption of such pills; our pagoda wouldn't dare to risk offending your Ning Family over something like this. If you're interested in them, you can take them right away after issuing the required devil stones."

  The three people from the Ning Family seemed to have been convinced, and they began to negotiate a price as opposed to continuing to linger on the topic of the Earth Yin beings' aptitude.

  Around 15 minutes later, they finally arrived at an agreement, and the woman from the Ning Family issued a large sum of devil stones, then departed with the group of Earth Yin beings.

  Following their departure, the middle-aged man made his way back to Han Li in a respectful manner. "Have any of these slaves caught your eye, Senior? If not, I can take you elsewhere; perhaps there will be some other slaves that are more to your liking."

  "There's no need for that; I'm used to traveling alone anyway. Take me to see the Devil Crystal Puppets that your pagoda is selling," Han Li replied.

  Chapter 2053: Female Slave

  "In that case, I'll take you to the other level to examine the puppets," the middle-aged man immediately replied in an obedient manner.

  After that, he made his way out of the room, then waved his metal badge to close the gate before walking over to the teleportation formation through which they had come from.

  Han Li followed along in an expressionless manner, yet just as they were about to step onto the formation, a burst of buzzing rang out, following which several humanoid figures emerged amid a flash of white light.

  The middle-aged man’s expression faltered slightly upon seeing this, and he peered into the formation, upon which his expression immediately darkened slightly.

  The people that had just appeared in the formation were comprised of four black-armored devilish guards, a brocade-robed elderly man, and a blue-robed young woman.

  The elderly man was at the Deity Transformation Stage, while the young woman was at the Core Formation Stage and was quite a beauty.

  However, she had a layer of black devilish patterns all over her body to restrict her cultivation base, clearly indicating that she was a newly arrived slave.

  Han Li reflexively swept his spiritual sense toward the young woman, upon which his pupils abruptly contracted with incredulity.

  The elderly man's expression also darkened at the sight of the middle-aged man, following which he greeted with a fake smile, "Greetings, Shopkeeper Fang; have you brought this guest here to pick out some slaves? If none of them were to his liking, I have some new slaves that may be of interest to him."

  "There's no need for that. Senior Han is more interested in the Devil Crystal Puppets, so you can keep your slaves to yourself, Shopkeeper Huang," the middle-aged replied in a cold voice, and they were clearly not on good terms.

  The elderly man's expression changed slightly upon hearing this before he turned to Han Li with a respectful salute. "Forgive me for my rudeness, Senior Han. If you're interested in the puppets, I have some exceptional ones that I can show you."

  "What are you trying to do, Shopkeeper Huang? I'm serving Senior Han, and I have more than enough Devil Crystal Puppets in my collection for Senior Han to choose from, so you should focus on what you're doing. Take this new slave of yours, and... Hmm? This slave has no trace of devilish Qi in her body! She's not from our holy realm!" the middle-aged man exclaimed as he turned his attention to the young woman.

  "Hehe, have you only just figured that out? This woman is no ordinary slave, and I expended a lot of effort to acquire her. Setting that aside for now, I've seen the Devil Crystal Puppets in your possession. They may be enough to fool some Nascent Soul Stage beings, but they would surely be an insult to Senior Han's eyes," Shopkeeper Huang chuckled.

  "How dare you..."

  The middle-aged man immediately flared up with rage, only for Han Li to suddenly raise a hand and interject, "We'll talk about the Devil Crystal Puppets later. How much are you selling her for? I'm taking her!"

  Han Li pointed at the yellow-robed young woman as he spoke.

  "My apologies, Senior, but she's already been taken by someone else, so I won't be able to sell her to you," the elderly man hurriedly said with an apologetic smile.

  "Oh? Can slaves be reserved in the Myriad Slave Tower?" Han Li asked as he turned to the middle-aged man beside him.

  "Absolutely not! Our pagoda has always operated on a first come first serve basis. Shopkeeper Huang, why can't you sell this slave to Senior Han? Are you worried that he won't be able to afford her?" the middle-aged man asked
with a smile.

  "This is a slave that was requested by Senior Zhao Wenhao! If I hand her over to someone else, who's going to answer to Senior Zhao?" the elderly man snapped.

  "What? This slave was requested by Senior Zhao?" The middle-aged man drew a sharp breath upon hearing this before turning to the young woman with a hesitant expression.

  "Who is this Zhao Wenhao?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.

  The middle-aged man faltered slightly before replying with a forced smile, "Senior Zhao is the master of the Zhao Family. It would not be wise to offend him over a mere Core Formation Stage slave."

  "The master of the Zhao Family? He must be a Spatial Tempering cultivator as well then. In any case, I'm taking her. If he has any objections, then he can come and find me himself," Han Li replied with a cold smile.

  Both the middle-aged man and elderly man's expressions changed upon seeing this.

  The middle-aged man still wanted to say something further, but Han Li abruptly strode forward and appeared between the four armored guards in a flash, then reached out to grab onto the young woman's arm before reappearing in his original spot in a flash.

  Everything had taken place in the span of just a single breath!

  The elderly man faltered slightly before immediately flaring up with rage. "What is the meaning of this, Senior? Are you planning to take a slave from our pagoda by force? You may be a Spatial Tempering Stage being, but our pagoda is not to be messed with, either!"

  The four devilish guards hurriedly raised their weapons in a wary manner, and the middle-aged man reflexively took a couple of steps backward before opening his mouth to say something, but decided against it in the end.

  As for the yellow-robed young woman, she was looking up at Han Li with a perplexed expression.

  Han Li completely ignored the elderly man's threat and instantly injected a wisp of magic power into the young woman's body through her arm, upon which his expression changed drastically.

  "There's no mistaking it; it really is that cultivation art! If you can't make a decision on this, then shut up! I'll find someone else who can make the decision for myself," Han Li harrumphed coldly as an extremely fearsome aura erupted from his body, picking up the two Deity Transformation Stage devilish beings and hurling them back over 100 feet.