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

by Translator: Johnchen

  "Of course," Han Li immediately replied.

  "The prominent powers in Illusion Night City consist of the four major families and the Myriad Slave Tower, but only the four major families possess Eight-footed Devilish Lizards. However, these Eight-footed Devilish Lizards are extremely important to these four families and have a direct impact on the prosperity of these families, so it would be impossible to purchase them through conventional means. I was quite lucky as I managed to befriend the Bai Family, and they just so happened to require my assistance to resolve some trouble they'd encountered. As such, I was able to offer my services in exchange for a pair of Eight-footed Devilish Lizards. However, it's most likely impossible to obtain more devilish lizards from the Bai Family. Perhaps the three of you can visit the other major families and see if they'd be willing to exchange their devilish lizards for some precious treasures. According to my knowledge, the Ning Family and Fang Family seem..."

  Han Li began to divulge everything he had found out about the city, and everyone was ecstatic to hear that he had already obtained two Eight-footed Devilish Lizards, but their elation was dampened slightly after hearing about how difficult it would be to obtain more of these devilish lizards.

  After Han Li finished his recount, the Long Family patriarch said in a contemplative manner, "Brother Han, can you elaborate on exactly why the prosperity of these major families hinges on these Eight-footed Devilish Lizards? Also, roughly how many of these devilish lizards does each family possess?"

  "From what I've heard, each major family only has several tens of these devilish lizards, and they're held in such high regard precisely due to their ability to traverse freely through the Illusion Howl Desert. Only with these devilish lizards can these major families travel deep into the Illusion Howl Desert to search for all types of valuable materials. With such an enormous amount of profit on the line, it's understandable why these major families are so reluctant to part with their devilish lizards," Han Li explained.

  Everyone's expressions darkened slightly upon hearing this.

  After a long while, the woman from the Ye Family asked, "What did you help the Bai Family with to convince them to give you two devilish lizards?"

  "I was invited by the Bai Family to take care of a devilish beast that had taken over one of their mines in the desert. However, I was very fortunate to have encountered such an opportunity, and it's most likely not replicable," Han Li replied with a smile.

  "Looks like you really did have splendid luck," the woman from the Ye Family said in a slightly envious manner.

  Han Li merely smiled and offered no response.

  The Long Family patriarch was silent for a moment before finally making a decision. "How about this? I've also cultivated a devilish art in the past, so I should be able to pass myself off as a devilish being with the disguise effect of the Devilfeign Bead. I'll enter the city with Fellow Daoist Han while you two stay out of the city for now and constantly keep in touch with us. Prior to everyone else's arrival, Fellow Daoist Han and I will see if we can obtain more devilish lizards. If we're unable to do so, then we'll have no choice but to infiltrate one of the major families and either steal some devilish lizards or take some by force. Of course, we'll only resort to that if there are no other options."

  "That's a good arrangement. There are many more devilish lords in Illusion Night City than in Blood Crow City, so the Devilfeign Beads alone may not be enough to disguise Fellow Daoist Hui and myself. We'll have to count on you two then," the woman from the Ye Family agreed with a nod.

  Elder Hui had no objections to this, either.

  After that, they devised a specific plan that took all potential mishaps into account, following which the four of them departed from the mountain.

  As opposed to traveling together, Han Li and the Long Family patriarch entered Illusion Night City one after the other, and close to half a day later, a late-Spatial Tempering Stage middle-aged man appeared in the city's Holy Spirit Courtyard; it was none other than the Long Family patriarch, who had disguised his own cultivation base.

  On top of that, he had rented a pavilion that was quite far away from the one that Han Li was staying in, so no one could draw any connection between the two of them.

  The days passed by one after another, and Han Li continued to study the Devil Crystal Puppet refinement technique in seclusion, only occasionally communicating with the Long Family patriarch and the others through some transmission treasures.

  During this time, the Long Family patriarch had adopted different identities and attempted to exchange some rare treasure for the Eight-footed Devilish Lizards of the major families, all to no avail.

  However, he wasn't disheartened because of this. In his eyes, there was nothing that wasn't up for exchange; it was simply the case that the price wasn't right.

  Thus, not only did he not give up, he had befriended a high-grade disciple of the Zhao Family, and the two of them met one another quite regularly.

  Han Li wasn't surprised by this news, but he didn't step in, either; he merely waited to see if the Long Family patriarch's methods would bear fruit.

  However, before an outcome was reached here, the Holy Spirits finally arrived at Illusion Night City.

  The Long Family patriarch was naturally ecstatic to hear this, and he and Han Li left the city to greet their newly arrived companions.

  Even though they had come slightly later than the Long Family patriarch and the others, all of them were alive and well.

  During their meeting, Han Li couldn't help but take a few extra glances at the Holy Spirit by the name of Zhi Shui.

  Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the aura being released by this Zhi Shui seemed to be more dangerous than it had been in the past, striking Han Li with a rather unsettling sensation.

  Han Li attempted to assess this Holy Spirit with his spiritual sense, but to no avail, and that made him even more concerned.

  Aside from that, the meeting between the Long Family patriarch and the Holy Spirit progressed very smoothly, and it was decided that Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns and Zang Xing were also going to enter the city, while the rest of the group would continue to remain outside the city.

  With two additional allies, the Long Family patriarch continued with his plan, and set his sights firmly on the Zhao Family. On one hand, he was slowly raising the price that he was offering, while on the other hand, he was searching for the place where the Zhao Family was keeping their devilish lizards.

  It was clear that he had prepared two plans, the latter of which would be to take the devilish lizards from the Zhao Family by force.

  Chapter 2073: Countermeasures

  On a certain day two months later, Han Li and everyone else gathered together in a temporary cave abode outside the city.

  The man from the Lin Family had only just barely managed to arrive before the agreed date, and everyone was appraising him with peculiar expressions. He had once bore the appearance of a middle-aged man, but his hair had since turned white, and his skin had shriveled and wrinkled significantly, making him resemble an elderly man.

  What was even more shocking was that one of his eyes had gone missing, as if it had been gouged straight out of its socket.

  On top of that, his aura had been reduced to less than a third of its former power, and it seemed to be extremely feeble as well.

  "What happened to you, Fellow Daoist Lin?" the Long Family patriarch asked in a grim voice.

  "I encountered a horde of Soul Sucking Beasts in the plains and had most of my true essence devoured by them. Thankfully, I was able to escape after detonating several of my most powerful treasures," the man replied with a wry smile, and his voice had also become extremely hoarse and unpleasant to the ears.

  "Soul Sucking Beasts? Those beasts aren't all that powerful; how did they reduce you to such a sorry state?" Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns asked with a surprised expression.

  "Normal Soul Sucking Beasts certainly wouldn't have posed a threat to me
, but I encountered a Body Integration Stage mutated Soul Sucking Beast," the man from the Lin Family sighed in response.

  "A mutated Soul Sucking Beast?" Everyone's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this.

  "That's right. Initially, it was hidden among all of the other Soul Sucking Beasts and disguised itself as one of them, and I fell prey to its surprise attack," the man from the Lin Family confirmed with a strained expression.

  The Long Family patriarch was silent for a moment before asking, "That's truly unfortunate. What are your plans from here onward, Fellow Daoist Lin?"

  The man from the Lin Family hesitated momentarily before giving a resigned reply. "I'm in far too bad a condition to enter the Illusion Howl Desert; I have to return to the Spirit Realm and go into seclusion right away for several centuries to facilitate a full recovery. Hence, I'm planning to rest here for some time before I retrace our original route and return to the Spirit Realm."

  The Long Family patriarch was unsurprised to hear this, and he said, "Indeed, in your current condition, you'd be taking a significant risk by continuing onward. How about this? We'll stay here for another month so you can recover in peace before we continue on our way."

  Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns was silent for a moment before nodding in response. "We have no objections."

  Elder Hui and the woman from the Ye Family couldn't help but exchange a concerned and forlorn glance upon seeing this.

  Among the rest of the human cultivators, one of them was carrying injuries, while the other's cultivation base was far inferior to that of Han Li and the Long Family patriarch, so perhaps one of them would be the next one to be forced to drop out.

  Meanwhile, a thought suddenly occurred to Han Li, and he said to the man from the Lin Family, "I have a pill that could be beneficial to you, Fellow Daoist Lin."

  He swept a sleeve toward the man from the Lin Family as spoke, sending a small white jade vial flying toward him.

  The man from the Lin Family faltered slightly upon hearing this before reflexively catching the vial with a rather perplexed expression.

  Even though he had been traveling with Han Li and the others this entire time, the two of them hadn't interacted much, and they certainly couldn't be considered to be friends. As such, it was naturally quite befuddling to him that Han Li was giving him a pill at a time like this.

  The man from the Lin Family hesitated momentarily before removing the lid of the vial, and a strong medicinal aroma immediately spread throughout the entire room, thereby immediately drawing everyone's attention.

  The man from the Lin Family hurriedly took a whiff, upon which a hint of elation appeared in his eyes, and he immediately tipped over the vial, to reveal a green pill with spiritual patterns all over its surface.

  "This is an Essence Tempering Pill!" the man from the Lin Family exclaimed as the elation in his eyes became even more pronounced.

  Not only was this pill extremely precious, it was perfect for his current condition in that it could help him recover a significant amount of his lost true essence. As such, he wouldn't have to worry about a major decrease in power even after he recovered from his injuries.

  Everyone else's expressions also changed slightly upon seeing this.

  Even for Body Integration Stage beings like them, an Essence Refining Pill was quite a sought-after item.

  The man from the Lin Family was extremely excited, but he quickly calmed down before transmitting his voice to Han Li. "Fellow Daoist Han, this pill will indeed benefit me immensely, but there must be a reason why you're willing to give it to me; please give me an explanation."

  Han Li smiled and also transmitted his voice in response. "Brother Lin, I have a favor to ask of you; would you be willing to help me?"

  The man from the Lin Family thought about this for a moment before gritting his teeth as he replied, "How can I refuse you after you've given me this Essence Refining pIll? As long as it's something within my capabilities, I won't refuse."

  "There's no need to be so wary, Brother Lin; I'm only asking for a small favor from you. I recently rescued a little human girl in the city, and she has some connection to me, so I'm hoping you can take her back to the Spirit Realm with you and look after her for a while until I return. The rest of the journey is far too dangerous, so there's no way I can take her along with me; that should be well within your capabilities, right, Fellow Daoist?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.

  The man from the Lin Family was rather surprised by the simplicity of the request, and he agreed without any hesitation, "That's not an issue at all. I can assure you that the little girl will return to the Spirit Realm safely as long as I can do the same."

  "Good," Han Li replied with a nod before falling silent.

  Having established the reason behind Han Li's actions, the man from the Lin Family immediately swallowed the pill.

  In his current condition, the earlier he could take this Essence Refining Pill, the greater the chance that his powers would be preserved, so he naturally didn't want to delay even for a moment.

  The Long Family patriarch could tell that the two of them were discussing something through voice transmission, but none of them enquired about the content of their conversation.

  It was quite clear that Han Li has asked the man from the Lin Family to do something for him in exchange for such a precious pill, but that was a matter that was solely between them, so it naturally wasn't in their place to pry into such matters.

  Now that the issue with the man from the Lin Family had been resolved, everyone naturally began discussing the Eight-footed Devilish Lizards.

  The Long Family patriarch calmly recounted his recent interactions with the Zhao Family, and everyone's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing his recount.

  "So the Zhao Family is asking for a Myriad Year Purple Blood Zoysia and an Ice Crystal Heart for a single Eight-footed Devilish Lizards? That's downright absurd! It sounds to me like they have no sincerity at all," Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns said with a frosty expression.

  "I think the Zhao Family is interested in more than just an exchange," Han Li interjected in an indifferent voice.

  "Oh? What do you mean by that, Brother Han?" the woman from the Ye Family asked.

  However, Han Li merely smiled and offered no response.

  The Long Family patriarch continued with a cold smile, "Hmph, I'm guessing that not only is the Zhao Family not planning to give me an Eight-footed Devilish Lizard, they're plotting against me for my wealth. After all, the items that I previously offered are enough to tempt the two devilish lords of their family."

  "You seem to be quite confident, Brother Long," Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns chuckled.

  "Indeed. Seeing as the Zhao Family is unwilling to part with any of their Eight-footed Devilish Lizards, the other three families most likely won't agree to an exchange, either. In that case, I'll take the bait and lure the two devilish lords of the Zhao Family away while all of you infiltrate the Zhao Family and steal their Eight-footed Devilish Lizards. After that, we'll enter the Illusion Howl Desert right away," the Long Family patriarch replied as a cold look appeared in his eyes.

  "That's a great idea! No one from the Zhao Family will be able to stop us if their devilish lords are away. However, have you already found where they're keeping their Eight-footed Devilish Lizards?" the woman from the Ye Family asked.

  "Hehe, I haven't just been twiddling my thumbs in the city these past few days; I've already ascertained that the Zhao Family keeps its Eight-footed Devilish Lizards in two places. One of them is a restricted area that's surrounded by many restrictions, which will be quite difficult to access even with the lack of devilish lords present. As for the other place, that's a temporary resting place for the devilish lizards. I've discovered that several of the Zhao Family's devilish lizards will be returning in around half a month, and typically, they'll stay in that temporary resting place for several days, which will present us with a perfect opportunity. Brother Han already has two devilish
lizards, so we should have enough once we capture those ones. However, make sure to refrain from killing and revealing your true cultivation bases if possible.

  "Otherwise, if we attract the attention of some powerful devilish beings nearby, then we'll be in some trouble. After all, we have to traverse through the entire Illusion Howl Desert, whereas other devilish beings could simply get to the other side using teleportation formations and wait for us there," the Long Family patriarch cautioned.

  Chapter 2074: Interception

  "Rest assured, Brother Long. As long as we won't have to face any devilish lords from the Zhao Family, we won't have to reveal our Body Integration Stage cultivation bases. We'll just take their devilish lizards and immediately get away," Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns replied with a confident smile.

  Han Li and the woman from the Ye Family naturally had no objections, either.

  After that, everyone began to discuss the finer details of the operation and to ascertain each individual step.

  Several hours later, Han Li and the others departed from the cave abode and returned to Illusion Night City.

  During the next two and a half a month, Han Li continued to cultivate in seclusion in his pavilion, awaiting the arrival of the agreed date.

  During this time, he had communicated with the Long Family patriarch on several occasions, and it seemed that everything was progressing very smoothly.

  Not only had the Long Family patriarch tempted the Zhao Family into plotting against him, he had lured the two devilish lords of the family into a decision to target him in person.

  However, the Long Family patriarch had remained in Illusion Night City this entire time, so he hadn't afforded the Zhao Family any opportunity to attack him.

  On this day, Han Li was meditating in his pavilion when a low ringing sound suddenly erupted from his waist, following which a ball of white light emerged, then transformed into a line of text.