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

by Translator: Johnchen

  "There are true spirit bloods in your possession?" Han Li wasn't interested in the other items that she had listed, but this one immediately caught his attention.

  "That's right. I've encountered some true spirits in the past, and I've managed to obtain some true spirit bloods from them. I can see that you're only able to forcibly unleash your Holy Nirvana Physique by drawing upon the power of several types of true spirit bloodlines, so I'm sure true spirit bloods will be extremely useful to you," Bao Hua said with a smile.

  "I do indeed need true spirit bloods, but not all types of true spirit blood will be useful to me. Please tell me what types of true spirit blood you have in your possession," Han Li said in a calm manner.

  "Sure, I possess the true spirit bloods of the Black Phoenix, the Six-winged Bone Dove..." Thus, Bao Hua began to rattle off a list of true spirits.

  Han Li listened intently to her list before shaking his head without any hesitation. "I'm afraid none of those will be useful to me. Do you have any other types of true spirit blood?"

  Bao Hua's smile stiffened slightly upon hearing this, and she shook her head in response. "I have some Heavenly Phoenix True Blood, but you already possess that, so I assume it won't be of any interest to you. As for everything else, I've already used them up. How about you take a look at the pills in my collection instead?"

  "There's no need for that. I ventured into the Elder Devil Realm solely for the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus. As long as you allow me to access those two things, I'll hand over this spirit medicine to you."

  Chapter 2104: Spiritvoid Pill

  "You want to enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond and consume the Clean Spirit Lotus?" Bao Hua said as her expression darkened slightly.

  "That's right. I've taken such a massive risk to come here in search of a sliver of an opportunity to progress to the Grand Ascension Stage. Now that I've made it this far, I'm naturally not going to give up here," Han Li replied in a determined manner.

  "Even if you enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond and obtain a Clean Spirit Lotus or two, do you think your wish will be granted? Let me tell you this: you and your companions aren't the only ones to have made it this far," Bao Hua said in a meaningful manner.

  Han Li wasn't surprised at all to hear this. "I'm naturally aware of that. If it weren't for our predecessors from the Spirit Realm who came here before us, how would we have known that the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus can be found here?"

  "Your predecessors from the Spirit Realm? You're severely underestimating just how alluring these two things are. Countless powerful beings from your Spirit Realm and other realms have ventured into our holy realm for a chance to enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond. Some of them have extremely powerful backers that even patriarchs like us wouldn't dare to turn down, while others possess incredible abilities. For those people, we can only grant them passage after securing some compensation from them. However, less than 10% of those beings have managed to reach a higher cultivation with the help of the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus," Bao Hua explained in an unhurried manner.

  Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he then immediately harrumphed coldly in response. "Less than 10%? Even so, that's enough for me to take a gamble."

  "Alright, but what if I were to tell you that those who didn't manage to succeed completely lost their chance to progress to a higher level after emerging from the Spirit Cleansing Pond?" Bao Hua continued as a hint of a smile appeared on her face.

  "What do you mean?" Han Li was truly surprised to hear this.

  "According to my knowledge, even those who have failed to progress using the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus have obtained some benefits from them, but after that, none of them have managed to reach the Grand Ascension Stage. Otherwise, do you think the defenses would be this lax in a place as important as the Bitter Spirit Island? Without this caveat, we would’ve destroyed this island at all costs. After all, the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus have no use to devilish beings like us at all, but they're immensely beneficial to powerful beings of other realms. Now then, would you still like to enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond, Fellow Daoist Han?" Bao Hua asked with a faint smile.

  A hesitant look appeared on Han Li's face, but a thought then immediately occurred to him, and he cast his gaze toward Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan, in response to which the Sacred Ancestor chuckled, "There's no need for us to lie about something like this to you, Han brat. The Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus can help some people break through their Grand Ascension Stage bottlenecks, so they naturally present some severe negative side-effects as well. Perfection does not exist in this world; you'll have to weigh up your options and make a decision for yourself."

  "Is there no way to eradicate these side-effects?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows.

  "Of course there are, but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you; none of those methods are within your grasp. In fact, they're completely out of even my reach," Bao Hua replied as a derisive look appeared in her eyes.

  "There are ways to eradicate the side-effects of the Spirit Cleansing Pond?" Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan was stunned to hear this.

  "There's no need to be so shocked, Yuan Yan; you've only been a patriarch for a short time, whereas Nie Pan and I have been at the Grand Ascension Stage for countless years. There are far more secrets that you're still unaware of," Bao Hua replied in a cold manner.

  The black-robed young man was naturally furious upon hearing this, but he could only forcibly repress his own rage.

  "In that case, why don't you disclose those methods to me? Perhaps I would be able to achieve one of them," Han Li said.

  "Sure, seeing as you're still unwilling to give up, I can disclose those methods to you. However, before that, you have to give me some of the spring water that's nurturing the spirit medicine for verification," Bao Hua replied with a smile.

  "That's not an issue," Han Li agreed without any hesitation, then gently flicked a finger toward the spring, upon which an egg-sized ball of spring water was sent flying directly toward Sacred Ancestor Bao Hua.

  An elated look appeared on her face as she made a grabbing motion toward the ball of water, and it was drawn toward her before hovering around an inch above her palm.

  She then began to appraise the spring water with an unblinking gaze before injecting a wisp of her spiritual sense into it.

  After a while, she opened her mouth, and the ball of spring water flowed into her mouth as a streak of white light.

  A layer of white Qi appeared over her face, and she slowly closed her eyes as if she were savoring it.

  Both Han Li and Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan looked on in silence.

  A short while later, Bao Hua reopened her eyes, and the elation on her face had become even more pronounced. "After tasting the spring water, I'm almost certain that this is the spirit medicine that I'm looking for. As for the methods that can be used to eradicate the side-effects of the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus, I've enclosed them into this jade slip."

  Bao Hua raised a hand as she spoke, and a blue jade slip flew out of her sleeve as a ball of blue light.

  Han Li made a grabbing motion toward the jade slip to draw it into his own grasp, then immediately injected his spiritual sense into it.

  Within the jade slip were several pages of extremely life-like images accompanied by passages of explanatory text.

  "Immerse yourself in Exquisite Dharmic Flames for 49 days, then consume three Profound Heavenmend Pills..." Han Li's expression immediately became rather strained as he read the first line of text on the first page.

  Both of those things were vastly renowned spirit items even in the True Immortal Realm! They were extremely sought after even by countless true immortals, let alone beings of the Spirit Realm. In fact, in the eyes of some true immortals, those two things were even more precious than the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus; there was no way he would be able to
secure those two things.

  Thankfully, there were some other methods listed in the jade slip, so Han Li moved on to another page.

  "Grind an All-encompassing Integration Flower into powder before combining it with the demon core of a Seven-footed Crow and some other spirit medicines to refine an elixir, then apply the elixir to your own body for over 100 years. The recipe is as follows..." Han Li's expression darkened even further upon seeing this.

  The Seven-footed Crow was quite a renowned true spirit being. It couldn't compare with a true dragon or heavenly phoenix, but it was certainly not something that he could hunt down.

  As for the All-encompassing Integration Flower, that was something that he hadn't even heard of.

  However, as he swept his spiritual sense toward the next image, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

  The image depicted a small golden bird, at the center of which was a shimmering golden pill that had countless patterns all over its surface.

  Han Li stared intently at the image for a long while before finally reading the explanatory passage below it.

  "The Spiritvoid Pill can be consumed by Body Integration Stage beings to drastically improve their cultivation base and significantly increase their chances of breaking through the Grand Ascension Stage bottleneck. Consume a Spiritvoid Pill after entering the Spirit Cleansing Pond and consuming the Clean Spirit Lotus, and there will be a 50% probability of circumventing the attached side-effects."

  A sense of ecstasy welled up in Han Li's heart upon seeing this.

  The Spiritvoid Pill displayed in the image was none other than that golden pill that he had obtained from the Vast Glacial Realm. [1]

  With his incredible memory, he was naturally able to immediately identify the pill in the image to be a Spiritvoid Pill.

  Several Body Integration Stage beings on the Thunder Continent had almost turned on one another for this pill.

  At the time, he had secured one through sleight of hand, but he hadn't managed to figure out exactly what its uses were. However, this passage of explanatory text had answered that question for him.

  Considering the fact that the pill could increase the chances of making a successful breakthrough to the Grand Ascension Stage, it was no wonder that those foreign Body Integration Stage beings were so eager to obtain it.

  After reading through this passage, Han Li immediately withdrew his spiritual sense from the jade slip, following which a contemplative look appeared on his face.

  He quickly began to weigh up the available options in his mind, and a hint of surprise appeared in Bao Hua's eyes at the sight of Han Li's expression.

  After a long while, Han Li turned to Bao Hua in a calm manner, and said, "I would still like to enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond. After I emerge from it, I'll hand over the spirit medicine regardless of my success or failure."

  Before Bao Hua had a chance to reply, he turned toward Yuan Yan, and continued, "Senior Yuan Yan, if you're willing to grant me passage to enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond, I'll hand over the Devil Refining Herb after I emerge as well. If you're unwilling to agree to these conditions, then I'll destroy the two spirit medicines, and we can have a battle to see if you two really are capable of keeping me on this island for the rest of eternity."

  Chapter 2105: The Tribulation of the Elder Devil Realm

  Yuan Yan's expression darkened slightly upon hearing Han Li's threat, and he said in a cold voice, "Perhaps you'd be able to keep up with us using your Holy Nirvana Physique on this island, but are you just going to stay here forever? I'll just have to wait for you outside the Bitter Spirit Island and kill you as soon as you try to leave."

  Han Li seemed to have anticipated this response, and he calmly replied, "I'm naturally no match for you two outside of this Bitter Spirit Island, but with the abundant spiritual Qi here, I can easily cultivate on this island for 10,000 years; that's not a very long time for cultivators like us."

  "You sure are optimistic! Are you not afraid that I'll gather my subordinates after I leave this island to set up a super formation outside and completely wipe this island out of existence?" the black-robed young man threatened.

  "That would indeed place me in an extremely perilous situation, but are you going to just give up on the Devil Refining Herb? I can assure you that if you were to do that, I will destroy all of the spirit medicines in my collection before you manage to destroy this island," Han Li replied in a completely unfazed manner.

  The fury in Yuan Yan's eyes became even more pronounced upon hearing this, and he was just about to issue another threat when Bao Hua suddenly interjected, "Stop wasting time with these useless threats, Yuan Yan! I'm not going to give up on that spirit medicine, and nor will you be willing to give up on that Devil Refining Herb. Seeing as he's decided to take a gamble, what's the harm in granting him passage? Are we really concerned that another Grand Ascension Stage being will appear in the Spirit Realm? With so many Grand Ascension Stage beings in the Spirit Realm, it won't make any difference."

  Bao Hua's words seemed to have enlightened Yuan Yan, and he gritted his teeth before nodding in response. "That's true. We're currently at a critical juncture in the grand plan of our holy realm, but a new Grand Ascension Stage being won't make much of a difference. Besides, he's still quite far away from reaching the pinnacle of the late-Body Integration Stage, so even if we allow him to enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond, there's no way he'll be able to make a breakthrough right away. Fine, I agree to your conditions."

  Han Li's expression eased slightly upon hearing this, and he smiled as he said, "You've definitely made a wise decision, seniors. These two spirit medicines have no use to me, so I'll be sure to hand them over once I emerge from the Spirit Cleansing Pond. However, before that, I would like both of you to swear a vow on your inner demons that you'll allow me to leave the Elder Devil Realm after the exchange, and that you won't plot against me through any alternative avenues."

  "Know your place, you human brat! You're just a Body Integration cultivator; how dare you ask me to swear a vow on my inner demons?" Yuan Yan immediately flared up with rage again upon hearing this.

  In contrast, Bao Hua was a lot calmer as she replied, "I wouldn't mind swearing a vow, but you have to hand over half of the spirit medicines now, then give us the rest before you leave."

  "I'm afraid I can't agree to that; How do I know if half of the spirit medicines won't already be enough for your intended purposes? If I were to blindly do as you request of me, I could be walking to my own death!" Han Li refused without any hesitation.

  "If you're unwilling to assume some risk, Yuan Yan and I won't be willing to swear any vows, either. Otherwise, we'll be bound by our vows, and you'll hold all of the advantages. Having said that, we can assure you that we won't attack you after the exchange," Bao Hua replied with a smile.

  Yuan Yan's fury also abated upon hearing this, and he chimed in in agreement, "I can also promise you that I won't attack you if you hand over the Devil Refining Herb to me."

  After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li replied, "I can't force you to swear any vows, so we'll all have to compromise. I'll enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond first, then hand over the spirit medicines after I emerge. If the two of you are unwilling to let me leave after that, then I'll have to try and leave by force." After that, golden light flashed from his body, and his second golden head and two additional devilish arms vanished at the same time.

  Even though he had undone his Second Nirvana Transformation, he was still quite wary of the two devilish patriarchs, and he flew back over 100 feet before looking down at the giant formation beneath the pond.

  Bao Hua also cast her gaze down toward the formation, and said, "The Spirit Cleansing Pond is located in a mysterious space below the island, and that formation is the only entrance to access that space. Just stand at the center of the formation, and you'll be teleported there. The space where the Spirit Cleansing Pond is situated is the place with the greatest abundance of spiritual Qi in our
entire holy realm, and for Spirit Realm beings like you, cultivating for a day in there will virtually be the equivalent of cultivating for a year in the outside world. However, I must warn you that the space is extremely resistant to all living beings who enter it, and the greater one's cultivation base, the more severe this resistance becomes. At your current cultivation base, you'll only be able to stay in there for three days at most; if you go beyond that, then you may never be able to return."

  "That space is even more resistant to us devilish beings, so we won't even be able to enter it at all. Otherwise, I wouldn't be opposed to accompanying you," Yuan Yan said with a sinister smile.

  Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "Does that mean neither of you have ever entered that space?"

  "We've guarded this place for countless years, but no being from our holy race has ever been able to enter that space," Bao Hua replied in a truthful manner.

  "I see." Han Li nodded in response, then cupped his fist in a salute toward the two devilish patriarchs before descending toward the giant formation down below.

  With his cautious nature, he naturally wasn't going to fully believe what Bao Hua had told him.

  After descending to an altitude of just over 100 feet, he suddenly stopped and hovered in mid-air to examine the profound runes inscribed on the formation down below.

  Bao Hua and Yuan Yan exchanged a glance as they looked on from above, but none of them disrupted Han Li.

  Around 10 minutes later, Han Li continued in his descent.

  As soon as he landed at the center of the formation, a buzzing sound rang out from all sides.