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

by Translator: Johnchen

  In the next instant, the crystal ball began to shimmer with golden light before also releasing a golden light barrier.

  The light barrier was initially quite blurry and indistinct, but soon displayed a burly figure holding an antiquated rhomboid mirror.

  It was none other than the burly man from the Bai Family.

  The man was in the process of casting an incantation seal toward the antiquated mirror, and Han Li appraised him briefly with a cold smile on his face before the third demonic eye on his glabella abruptly vanished.

  Just as this devilish lord of the Bai Family had said, Han Li was able to almost instantly sense his presence through his enormous spiritual sense. He displayed no outward reaction, but he had also unleashed a secret technique to observe the man, and he was relieved to find that the man was only a mid-stage devilish lord.

  With the devilish Qi from his Provenance True Devil Arts and Devilfeign Bead, no one in the Elder Devil Realm would be able to see through his disguise aside from Sacred Ancestors.

  The crystal ball reverted back to its original translucent appearance, and the projection of the burly man also vanished.

  Everything was dispelled in the blink of an eye, as if he hadn't done anything at all.

  After that, Han Li closed his eyes and began to meditate again.

  During the next few days, Han Li would visit the Bai Family every day to exchange cultivation insights and experience with the purple-haired woman. Aside from body refinement techniques and normal devilish arts, they even discussed some secret techniques and obscure cultivation arts, and both of them benefited immensely from the conversations.

  During this period of time, Han Li had scoured the city and discovered that none of his companions had arrived; he was the first one to have made it to Illusion Night City.

  This was rather concerning to him, and he couldn't help but wonder if the others had encountered some trouble along the way.

  However, he wasn't overly concerned. After all, everyone in his group was very powerful even among Body Integration Stage beings. Even if their covers were blown and they were surrounded by several devilish lords, they'd still at least be able to escape and ensure self-preservation. However, the issue surrounding the Eight-footed Devilish Lizards was quite a problem. Even though he had been promised one by the Bai Family, everyone else would have to secure devilish lizards for themselves through different avenues.

  However, all of them were old monsters who had lived for countless years, so Han Li was confident that they would be able to take care of this matter themselves.

  After assisting the Bai Family, he would wait until everyone else arrived.

  During his period of time, the other two major families of the city had also been made aware of the arrival of Han Li, and they all extended invitations toward him. Han Li turned down all of these invitations in a euphemistic manner, but he attended the ancestral worship ceremony of the Zhao Family.

  During the ceremony, he met a devilish-lord-level grand elder of the Zhao Family, and they shared a brief conversation.

  The grand elder of the Zhao Family was a short and thin elderly man, and he was clearly quite relieved to hear that Han Li was only passing through the city and wouldn't be staying for long.

  Han Li was naturally aware of why the elderly man was displaying such a reaction, and after exchanging some more pleasantries, he departed from the Zhao Family.

  After that, he didn't visit the Bai Family, either, but 10 days later, the purple-haired woman came to meet him.

  She informed him that the final ally she had recruited had finally arrived, and that she had decided to venture into the Illusion Howl Desert to chase away that devilish beast in two days.

  Han Li naturally had no objections to this, and the purple-robed woman immediately extended ecstatic words of gratitude before taking her leave.

  During the next two days, Han Li spent all his time meditating on the top floor of the pavilion to get himself into prime condition.

  He was confident that a devilish beast wouldn't be able to pose much threat to him, but he didn't want to make a fatal error due to a moment of complacency.

  Two days later, Han Li issued some instructions to Zhu Guo'er before traveling toward a certain city gate in a beast-drawn carriage.

  Several hours later, Han Li met up with the group from the Bai Family on a hill outside the city.

  Aside from the purple-haired woman and burly man, there were two more devilish lords, as well as six Spatial Tempering Stage devilish beings, one of whom was Bai Yunxin.

  The purple-haired woman greeted Han Li with a smile before introducing him to everyone else.

  Only then was Han Li made aware that the burly man was named Bai Xijiao, and that he was the elder brother of the purple-haired woman.

  As for the other two devilish lords, one of them was a rotund fatso who introduced himself as Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon. His entire body was covered in rolls of flabs, and his eyes were squashed down to a pair of narrow slits, making him resemble a fat pig far more so than a dragon.

  The other devilish lord was named Han Qizi, and he was a middle-aged man wearing a green ghostly mask. There was white glacial Qi emanating from his entire body, and one was struck by a bone-chilling sensation even by just getting close to him.

  Bai Xijiao was very polite toward Han Li, but the fatso merely exchanged some aloof pleasantries with Han Li, while Han Qizi didn't say anything at all, as if he really had been carved out of a chunk of glacial ice.

  Han Li merely replied when spoken to, and didn't say anything further than that.

  Thus, not long after that, the group flew toward the Illusion Howl Desert.

  Chapter 2060: Field Trip

  After flying for roughly 500,000 kilometers, a black line appeared in the distance.

  Upon getting closer, it became clear that this was a boundless desert; it was naturally none other than the Illusion Howl Desert.

  Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly as blue light flashed through his pupils, and he discovered that this was a grey desert that stretched as far as the eyes could see. Aside from some short shrubs, the desert was completely devoid of life, and it seemed to be no different from an ordinary desert aside from its peculiar color.

  The sky over the desert was quite dim and covered in dark yellow clouds. Even though the sky within and outside the desert were only separated by a fine line, it was as if they were two different worlds.

  After reaching close to 10 kilometers away from the desert, the burly man led everyone on a descent.

  "From here onward, our movement techniques could fail, so we'll have to advance on Eight-footed Devilish Lizards. Our Bai Family only has around 30 Eight-footed Devilish Lizards in total, and all of them are extremely precious. We've brought 11 of them with us for this trip, and that's already our limit; please make sure to look after them during this trip, and if we encounter any danger, withdraw them into your spirit beast bracelets right away to keep them safe," the burly man said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

  "Haha, rest assured, Brother Bai; we're all aware of how important these Eight-footed Devilish Lizards are to your Bai Family. However, why did you decide to bring along these juniors for this trip? If they had remained behind, you wouldn't have had to bring out so many Eight-footed Devilish Lizards," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon asked in a curious manner.

  "The six of them have a combination technique that makes their combined powers comparable to those of an early-stage devilish lord, so we decided to bring them along," the purple-haired woman explained with a smile.

  "I see, my apologies for jumping to conclusions," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon replied with a nod.

  A peculiar look flashed through Han Qizi's eyes upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything in response.

  As for Han Li, he merely smiled and remained silent, but he was wondering if he would be able to secure these devilish lizards during this trip.

  However, the thought only occurred to him for
an instant before it was abandoned. He was very confident in his own powers, but it was still too risky to face four devilish lords at once whom he knew nothing about.

  On top of that, plotting against the Bai Family could alert the other major families of Illusion Night City to what he was doing, and that could attract powerful enemies, perhaps even Sacred Ancestors.

  Thus, it simply wouldn't be worth the risk.

  At this moment, the purple-haired woman flicked her wrist, and an azure bracelet flew forth before expelling a burst of five-colored light, releasing 11 giant devilish beasts that were around 50 feet in length and roughly 20 feet tall.

  At first glance, they resembled massive lizards, but their bodies were entirely covered in black scales, and each of them had eight identical thick legs. On top of that, there were shimmering silver saddles on the backs of these devilish beasts, so they were clearly already tamed.

  So these are Eight-footed Devilish Lizards? Each of them is only releasing a Core Formation Stage aura, and there doesn't seem to be anything special about them, Han Li thought to himself as he glanced at these devilish lizards.

  Everyone was given a devilish lizard and a beast controlling badge by the burly man, and Han Li immediately flew onto his devilish lizard before looking down at it.

  The silver saddle had some simple devilish runes inscribed on its surface, and it was very comfortable to sit on. Han Li waved his beast controlling badge toward the devilish lizard, and a streak of silver light shot forth before vanishing into the lizard's body in a flash.

  The devilish lizard let loose a low roar before immediately galloping forward, and even though it wasn't very fast, its eight legs ensured a very smooth ride.

  The burly man and everyone else had already gone on ahead, and the line of 11 devilish lizards progressed toward the desert.

  The distance of less than 10 kilometers was covered in a short while, and as soon as the devilish lizards entered the desert, sand came billowing toward everyone from all directions. All of a sudden, silver light flashed from the saddles on the backs of the devilish lizards, creating a white barrier of light that kept all of the wind and sand at bay.

  However, Han Li didn't pay any heed to that; what had attracted his attention was that once they entered the desert, the Eight-footed Devilish Lizards suddenly sped up by severalfold, and they had become even faster than galloping stallions.

  At the same time, a peculiar type of energy fluctuations was emanating from their bodies, allowing them to slowly absorb the scorching energy within the desert.

  In contrast, Han Li was struck by a burst of indescribable power as soon as he entered the desert, restricting his magic power by as much as 90%. On top of that, both devilish Qi and spiritual Qi were extremely sparse due to a certain type of chaotic power of heaven and earth that was rejecting both types of energy.

  The Illusion Howl Desert was certainly living up to its status as one of the restricted areas of the Elder Devil Realm.

  Han Li was quite surprised by this series of changes, but everyone else displayed no reaction, clearly already accustomed to all of this.

  Around half a month later, Han Li's group found themselves surrounded by a nest of green foot-long scorpions atop a massive sand dune.

  The scorpions were emitting sharp hissing sounds, and streaks of dark green poisonous light were shooting out of their pincers toward Han and the others from all sides.

  However, Han Li and the other Body Integration Stage beings merely sat back and watched as Bai Yunxin and the Spatial Tempering Stage beings fought the scorpions with their devilish treasures.

  Even though the majority of their magic power had been sealed away, these devilish scorpions were still nowhere near powerful enough to pose a threat to Bai Yunxin and the others. Bursts of devilish Qi surged and exploded, and countless devilish scorpions were reduced to dust before they could approach Han Li's group.

  Several days later, the Eight-footed Devilish Lizard that was leading from the front suddenly stopped and let loose a low roar.

  The burly man who was riding atop the lizard raised a hand with furrowed brows to unleash an attack toward an empty patch of sand several hundred feet away.

  An earth-shattering boom rang out as the sand exploded upward, creating a giant crater with a diameter of close to 100 feet.

  In the next instant, a giant yellow python that was around 500 to 600 feet in length erupted out of the sand before pouncing toward the burly man.

  Bai Yunxin and the others were quite alarmed to see this, while the burly man's brows furrowed slightly as he murmured to himself, "I didn't think we'd encounter a Golden Sand Python; those juniors won't be able to handle it. Looks like I'll have to expend some magic power to take care of it myself."

  As soon as his voice trailed off, he flipped a hand over to produce a black bracelet, then tossed it toward the oncoming giant python.

  The bracelet swelled to several tens of feet in size amid a flash of light, then vanished into thin air.

  Immediately thereafter, the burly man pointed a finger at the giant python, and black light flashed around the python's neck, following which the giant bracelet reappeared before compressing with ruthless might.

  The giant python immediately let loose an anguished cry before tumbling out of the sky, then writhed violently on the sand in unbearable agony.

  The burly man chuckled coldly upon seeing this before making a hand seal, and the giant bracelet suddenly shrank down to around the size of a human hand.

  A geyser of black blood erupted several tens of feet up into the air, and the giant python was decapitated, falling dead onto the sand.

  However, the burly man didn't stop there. He immediately opened his mouth to expel a ball of crimson devilish flames, which struck the python's corpse and quickly incinerated it into dust.

  The giant python's soul attempted to escape during the process, but it was also swept up and incinerated into nothingness by the devilish flames.

  "That Golden Sand Python looked to be at the late-Spatial Tempering Stage; it's very impressive that you were able to kill it so quickly, Brother Bai," Han Li said with a smile as he made his way over to the burly man.

  "You're far too kind, Brother Han. A devilish beast of this caliber will be rather troublesome for Yunxin and the others to deal, but it naturally poses no threat to the likes of us. If I were to encounter the three devilish scourges of the Illusion Howl Desert, I would have to run for my life," the burly man replied with a wry smile.

  "The three devilish scourges?" Han Li was rather intrigued to hear this.

  "Have you not heard of them, Fellow Daoist?" The burly man was rather taken aback.

  "I've heard of them, but don't know the exact details about them. They must be quite powerful for you to be so wary of them," Han Li replied as he stroked his own chin in a calm manner.

  Chapter 2061: Bloodtooth Rice

  "It seems like to me you're simply not taking them seriously. I have to caution you that the three devilish scourges are extremely powerful, so don't underestimate them if you're going to cross this desert. As I'm sure you're aware, the three devilish scourges are the Soul Fall Winds, Earth Annihilation Sand, and Illusion Howl Devilish Wolves. These three things all present different levels of danger, and among them, the Illusion Howl Devilish Wolves are only at the Spatial Tempering Stage, but they hunt in packs, and even the smallest packs will have seven or eight mature wolves.

  "They would be quite troublesome to deal with for most beings, but they would most likely pose the least threat to you. Illusion Howl Devilish Wolves are able to move very quickly in the desert, but not as quickly as Eight-footed Devilish Lizards. As long as you can notice them in advance, you'll be able to shake them off with ease. Of course, if you didn't have a devilish lizard steed, it would be a different story. As for the Earth Annihilation Sand, the peril that it presents is second only to the Soul Fall Winds in the Illusion Howl Desert..."

  Thus, the burly man began to offer an
explanation, and even though Han Li was already aware of some of this information, he still listened intently.

  Over half a month later, Han Li was meditating on his devilish lizard steed, but he suddenly opened his eyes and cast his gaze toward a smudge of green in the desert, which lay close to 10 kilometers away.

  In the next instant, the purple-haired woman's voice sounded from up ahead.

  "Fellow daoists, the Silver River Oasis lies up ahead. Our Bai Family has set up a small stronghold there, so we can go and rest there for a while before we face that devilish beast. The mine is only around half a day away from the oasis."

  "That's great! I've gotten really sick of riding on this thing. Once we get there, I'm going to take a good rest and have a huge meal. Brother Bai, I think it's time you gave me what you promised me," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said with an expectant expression as he patted his own large belly.

  "Haha, rest assured, Brother Luan Dragon; I know that you have to consume that thing to unleash the full power of your special devilish art, so I'll be handing it over to you as soon as we get to the oasis," the burly man chuckled in response.

  "Good. After I consume that thing, my magic power will increase by at least 30%, and that'll give us a better chance of chasing away that devilish beast. That thing truly is extremely delicious; I've only had it once many years ago, but I still can't forget it to this day," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said with a pleased nod.

  "Of course, even our Bai Family had to expend extensive efforts to secure just a small amount of that thing," the purple-haired woman said with a smile.

  Han Li was rather bewildered by this conversation, but he didn't think much of it.

  Shortly thereafter, the group arrived at the Silver River Oasis.

  As soon as they entered the oasis, the sandstorm abruptly stopped, as if it had been kept at bay by some kind of invisible power.

  The oasis was only several kilometers in size, and there were shrubs of different sizes growing all around its edge. At the center of the oasis was a dark green lake that was around 250 meters in diameter, and beside the lake was a series of grey buildings that were constructed from sand, but seemed to be very sturdy.