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

by Translator: Johnchen

  These buildings only took up an area of several acres, but there were special energy fluctuations radiating through the area, indicating that restrictions had been set up around them.

  After taking a glance at the small lake, Han Li turned his attention toward that cluster of buildings.

  These were a series of semi-spherical buildings that were no more than 30 to 40 feet tall.

  The burly man jumped down from his devilish lizard and stowed it away into his spirit beast bracelet, then cast his gaze toward the buildings in the distance with furrowed brows before suddenly letting loose a long cry akin to a dragon's roar.

  The sound erupted straight up into the heavens, rumbling through the sky like a dull thunderclap, but even after a long time had passed, no one emerged from the buildings.

  The burly man's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he made a peculiar hand signal toward everyone behind him.

  The six Spatial Tempering Stage members of the group immediately jumped down from their devilish lizards as well before approaching the buildings in a careful manner.

  While approaching the buildings, Bai Yunxin pulled out an inky-black metal badge before waving it forward.

  A layer of black Qi immediately rose up from the ground to conceal the six of them, following which no more sound was heard.

  Everyone else looked on with wary expressions, while Han Li merely calmly appraised the situation.

  No one noticed that there was blue light flashing through his eyes, allowing him to see everything that was happening within the black mist up ahead.

  Having refined his Brightsight Spirit Eyes for over 1,000 years, they had become incredibly powerful, and it was a simple task to see through a restriction.

  After around 15 minutes, the black Qi suddenly dispersed, and Bai Yunxin and the others reappeared. Bai Yunxin extended a curtsey toward the burly man from afar, and said, "Senior, the restrictions of the fortress are completely unharmed, but all of the disciples here have disappeared!"

  The burly man's expression darkened upon hearing this. "There's only this oasis in this nearby area; where could they have gone?"

  "I'm not sure; I was unable to find any signs of battle anywhere within the stronghold, either," Bai Yunxin replied in a slightly fearful manner.

  The burly man's expression darkened even further, and he was just about to say something else when Han Li suddenly interjected with a smile, "How about we go in first, Fellow Daoist Bai? This is not the right place to be discussing anything."

  The burly man faltered slightly upon hearing this before a thought suddenly occurred to him, and his expression eased slightly as he said, "That's true; please forgive my oversight. Let's go in, fellow daoists."

  "I'll be going on ahead then," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon chuckled as he vanished from atop his devilish lizard steed, then suddenly reappeared behind Bai Yunxin and the others before making his way toward the largest of the buildings.

  The burly man was quite amused by this, and everyone else also jumped down from their steeds before walking toward the cluster of buildings.

  Moments later, all of the Body Integration Stage beings in the group were gathered in a hall that was over 100 feet in area, while Bai Yunxin and the others were ordered to stand guard outside.

  "I've already swept my spiritual sense through this place, and it's just as Xin'er said; there are no signs of battle, and the restrictions are completely undamaged, so the disciples clearly left this place of their own accord," the purple-haired woman said with furrowed brows as she sat down onto a futon.

  "We instructed those disciples to survey that devilish beast in shifts; could it be that they were all eaten by that thing? That doesn't make sense, either; even if that devilish beast had gone on a rampage, someone should've been left behind to guard this place," the burly man said with a perplexed expression.

  "Just forget about it; it's just a group of low-grade disciples anyway. Hurry up and give me that thing so I can have a good meal first," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon urged in an impatient manner.

  "Hehe, rest assured Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon; we made a promise to you, and we're certainly not going to revoke it. Sister, bring out that thing for Brother Luan Dragon," the burly man said with a smile.

  The purple-haired woman smiled as she flicked her wrist, upon which a burst of white light emerged out of her storage bracelet before releasing a translucent jade box onto the table before her.

  Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon was ecstatic to see this, and he immediately made a grabbing motion toward the table, upon which the jade box was drawn into his grasp.

  The lid was quickly removed, and Han Li and Han Qizi naturally turned to see what it was, upon which both of them displayed slightly surprised reactions.

  Within the jade box was a grain of rice, but it was around half a foot in length and as thick as an infant's arm. One of its two ends was very sharp, and it was entirely crimson in color. On top of that, it was giving off a mouthwatering aroma.

  "That's a Bloodtooth Rice!" Han Li murmured to himself in a stunned voice.

  "You must be quite knowledgeable to recognize something like this, Brother Han. Indeed, this is a rare thousand-year-old Bloodtooth Rice. Consuming this rice will enhance both one's blood essence and physical body, and for Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon, who's cultivating a blood-related devilish art, it can stimulate the latent potential of his blood essence as well. This is one of the things we promised Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon as a reward for his efforts, and it's an delectable delicacy with a rich flavor that will linger in one's mouth for as long as several months following consumption."

  "I've only ever heard of this thing but never seen it before. Not only are the conditions required to grow this Bloodtooth Rice extremely rigorous, it can only come into fruition after being watered by the blood essence of a type of special beast. Even Bloodtooth Rice of the lowest quality will require over 100 years to grow; it's truly impressive that you were able to obtain a thousand-year-old one, Brother Bai," Han Li said with a slightly complex expression.

  This Bloodtooth Rice was a specialty local product in the Elder Devil Realm that was exceedingly rare, and it was something that Han Li was also searching for as it was one of the few types of things that he knew of that could still enhance his body.

  Chapter 2062: Blood Essence Pendant

  Han Li had only unintentionally stumbled upon information surrounding Bloodtooth Rice while going through countless ancient tomes written about the Elder Devil Realm prior to entering this realm.

  According to the book that he had read, Bloodtooth Rice could only be found at a place called the Blue Waterfall Lake, which was extremely far away from Illusion Night City. Due to its scarcity, none of the local devilish beings would sell this rice and kept it solely to themselves, so it was quite remarkable that the Bai Family had managed to secure one of such a high caliber.

  Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon glanced at Han Li and Han Qizi, and said, "Are you two interested in this Bloodtooth Rice as well? It's a pity for you that I've already claimed it. If you two want one as well, then you'll have to ask Brother Bai."

  After that, he immediately took a bite out of the Bloodtooth Rice, devouring a third of it in just a single mouthful, then began to slowly chew it in a blissful manner.

  A rich fragrant aroma instantly filled the entire hall.

  "Do you have more of this Bloodtooth Rice, Brother Bai?" Han Li asked.

  Han Qizi also immediately turned his attention toward the burly man and purple-haired woman.

  "Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon; our Bai Family only has this one Bloodtooth Rice in our possession," the burly man said with a wry smile.

  "I'm afraid I find that very difficult to believe, Brother Bai. Everyone knows that the more Bloodtooth Rice is consumed, the more pronounced the enhancement effect it would have on the consumer's body. If you're able to obtain this rice, then how would you have only obtained one?" Han Li asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.
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  Han Qizi was clearly also unconvinced.

  "Truth be told, our Bai Family did manage to purchase several pieces of this Bloodtooth Rice, but they've all been consumed by my sister and myself. We only kept this one as a seed or as a pill refinement ingredient. Otherwise, we wouldn't even have this one left," the burly man hurriedly explained.

  Han Li was silent for a moment before continuing, "Seeing as your Bai Family was able to obtain this Bloodtooth Rice once, I'm sure you'll be able to do it again. If you can purchase some for me, then price won't be an issue."

  "If you can purchase a Bloodtooth Rice of this caliber for me, I'll be willing to assist your Bai Family one more time if you encounter any trouble in the future." Han Qizi finally spoke for the very first time, and his voice was very raspy and dry, as if he really hadn't spoken in a very long time.

  The purple-haired woman seemed to be rather tempted by these propositions, but the burly man replied without any hesitation, "We only managed to purchase these pieces of Bloodtooth Rice by chance when we encountered some fellow daoists from the Blue Waterfall Lake; our Bai Family doesn't have a consistent avenue through which we can obtain these things, so there's no need to discuss this matter any further."

  Han Li and Han Qizi exchanged a glance upon hearing this, but they didn't press the issue any further in the face of the burly man's stoic response.

  Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon was still munching on his Bloodtooth Rice, but a hint of disappointment also flashed through his eyes.

  After that, everyone began to rest and meditate in the hall. Around two hours after Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon finished consuming that piece of Bloodtooth Rice, his aura suddenly swelled drastically, and his face became bright red. Only after a long while did he manage to digest the power of the Bloodtooth Rice, and Han Li became even more interested in Bloodtooth Rice upon seeing this.

  It seemed that this Bloodtooth Rice was far more efficacious than the records on the book suggested.

  During this period of time, the burly man and purple-haired woman were discussing the disappearance of the Bai Family's disciples through voice transmission, but they were unable to arrive at any reasonable conclusions due to the complete lack of leads.

  As such, they could only set the matter aside and began to meditate as well.

  After all, they had only left some low-grade disciples here, and overall, they were inconsequential to the Bai Family.

  The group stayed in the stronghold for a day and a night, then continued onward on their Eight-footed Devilish Lizard steeds after recovering to their prime conditions.

  Less than half a day later, the burly man looked up at the dim sky, then suddenly turned to Han Li and the others, and said, "Fellow daoists, that devilish beast is truly quite formidable, so we'll have to exercise caution from here onward. Please conceal your auras and stow away your devilish lizards."

  Everyone knew that this was a crucial juncture, so there were naturally no objections raised. All of them jumped down from their devilish lizard steeds before stowing them away in their spirit beast bracelets, then continued onward, flying at a low altitude.

  Even though no movement techniques could be used in the desert, flying at a low altitude was possible. However, doing so expended several times more magic power than it normally would.

  Thankfully, the mine wasn't far away, and after flying for around two hours, a massive sand dune suddenly appeared on the horizon.

  The sand dune was tens of thousands of feet tall and resembled a massive mountain. At the same time, ghostly howls and unsettling cries could be heard coming from within the sand dune.

  At this moment, the burly man raised an arm and indicated for everyone to proceed with caution, then suddenly descended toward an area that was several kilometers away from the sand dune.

  Everyone else followed along behind him, and Han Li also trailed along with blue light flashing through his eyes as he appraised a patch of ground over 100 feet away from them with a contemplative expression.

  All of a sudden, the burly man reached into his own sleeve, then made a grabbing motion toward the spot that Han Li was scrutinizing.

  A dull thump rang out, and a huge pile of sand that was as large as a room rose up from the ground before being dropped elsewhere.

  The burly man repeated this process a few times to dig out a hole that was over 100 feet deep, at the bottom of which was an azure copper gate.

  "What's this?" Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon asked with a surprised expression.

  "The main entrance to the mine is situated at the top of the sand dune, but that's already been taken over by that devilish beast. As a safety precaution, we have to enter through another entrance. My sister and I are the only ones aware of the existence of this entrance, and not only did we set it up in an extremely discreet place, we placed no restrictions around it, so the devilish beast shouldn’t have discovered it yet. If we enter through here, perhaps we'd be able to catch it off guard," the purple-haired woman explained with a smile.

  "I see." Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon nodded in response as the puzzlement in his eyes faded.

  Meanwhile, the burly man pointed a finger at the copper gate from afar to release an enormous burst of invisible power.

  The gate tremored slightly before it was slowly pushed open, revealing an inky-black passageway.

  The burly swept his spiritual sense toward the passageway, upon which a hint of elation appeared on his face, and he immediately drifted toward it. "Let's go, that devilish beast is still yet to discover this entrance!"

  Everyone else naturally followed him into the passageway, and as Han Li did so as well, blue light flashed through his eyes, making the dark passageway as clear as day for him.

  To his left and right were faint azure stone walls that completely kept out the sand of the desert, and what was even more remarkable was that these stone walls were completely smooth and seamless and released no energy fluctuations at all, clearly indicating that there really were no restrictions set up in here.

  After walking along this passageway for around an hour, light suddenly appeared up ahead, and a crimson mountain face stood in their way.

  On this occasion, the burly man flipped a hand over to produce an antiquated rhomboid mirror before pointing it at a few times in succession. Black Qi swirled over the surface of the mirror, following which a burst of five-colored light emerged.

  The burly man peered intently into the five-colored light for a short while, upon which his expression eased slightly, and he stowed the mirror away before sweeping a sleeve toward the mountain face up ahead.

  A burst of black light immediately swept forth before vanishing into the mountain face in a flash, and in the next instant, the mountain face tremored before moving to the side on its own in an entirely soundless manner.

  As soon as the mountain face was moved off to the side, everyone was struck by a scorching heatwave as a fiery red underground world appeared up ahead.

  Crimson rocks were littered all over the reddish-black ground, and there were countless reddish-purple stone stalagmites that protruded out of the ground.

  The burly man briefly inspected his surroundings before turning to everyone behind him with a serious expression. "Let's go, the devilish beast must be lurking where the true fire Qi is most abundant in this mine. Generally speaking, devilish beasts will cultivate and absorb energy while hibernating, but that may not be the case for a devilish beast comparable to a devilish lord in power. On top of that, we still don't know what kind of devilish beast it is at this point, so it's impossible for us to speculate about its habits. Please be careful, everyone; our objective is only to wound the devilish beast and chase it away, but if we manage to kill it, then we'll split the materials from the devilish beast's body evenly."

  "Hehe, when did you become such a worrywart, Brother Bai? You've said this many times already. It would naturally be fantastic for us to kill a devilish-lord-level devilish beast, but if we're unable to do so, then we won't fo
rce things, either," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said with a smile.

  Right at this moment, the purple-haired woman suddenly opened her mouth to expel a white jade pendant that had a crimson pattern on its surface. She then turned to everyone else with a smile, and said, "Even though I was no match for that devilish beast the last time we fought, I was able to catch it off guard and secure a drop of its blood essence. I've refined the blood essence into this jade pendant, so it'll be a simple matter for us to track it down."

  Chapter 2063: Remains and Lava Lake

  After that, she injected her magic power into the jade pendant, and the crimson pattern suddenly began to move as if it had sprung to life.

  "That's fantastic! With this jade pendant telling us the devilish beast's location, we won't have to worry about any surprise attacks, so the initiative will completely be on our side," the burly man said in an elated manner.

  Thus, he switched positions with his sister, allowing her to lead the way in his stead.

  The group continued onward and soon made their way into a mine tunnel. Judging from the small pits that lined the entire tunnel, the Firecloud Stones nearby had clearly all been already mined.

  Even so, the scorching temperature in here was noticeably higher than when they had first arrived underground.

  If it weren't for the fact that this mine was situated in the Illusion Howl Desert, everyone would've already unleashed earth movement techniques to seek out that devilish beast, but as things currently were, they could only progress deeper and deeper into the mine through the tunnels.

  There were countless tunnels in this mine, with crossroads set up at regular intervals, creating a cobweb-like system. These tunnels ranged from just over 100 feet to around half a kilometer in length, and most of them had already been completely mined with only some of the more obscure tunnels still harboring Firecloud Stones that were yet to be excavated.