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

by Translator: Johnchen

  A giant floral tree projection emerged amid the pink light, and Bao Hua and Hei'e were revealed.

  Meanwhile, the ball of black Qi transformed into the black-robed young man that was Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan.

  As soon as they appeared, they began to carefully appraise Han Li.

  Shortly thereafter, a peculiar look flashed through Bao Hua's eyes, and she smiled as she said, "You were quickly closing in on the three-day deadline, so I was concerned that something had happened to you, but it seems that my concerns were unwarranted; I can see that you've benefited immensely from the Spirit Cleansing Pond."

  "I think you're far more concerned about the spirit medicine in my possession than you are about me," Han Li replied with a calm smile.

  "Is there a difference? If you had been trapped in the Spirit Cleansing Pond, then the spirit medicine would be completely out of my grasp," Bao Hua replied in a nonchalant manner.

  "Cut the chit-chat! You've emerged from the Spirit Cleansing Pond, so it's time to hand over the spirit medicine. Otherwise, I'll have to take it from you by force!" the black-robed young man threatened with a menacing look in his eyes.

  "Rest assured, I don't intend to revoke my promise." Han Li smiled as he flipped a hand over to produce a pair of jade boxes, which he tossed toward the pair of devilish patriarchs without any hesitation.

  Both Bao Hua and Yuan Yan immediately reached out to draw their respective jade box into their grasp, and the latter immediately removed the lid from his jade box with unbridled excitement on his face.

  His expression of excitement was then instantly replaced by one of ecstasy as he caught sight of the spirit medicine in the box.

  "Haha, I've been trying to grow a Devil Refining Herb for tens of thousands of years to no avail; who would've thought that I would obtain one under these circumstances? Hold on, what have you left on this spirit medicine?"

  All of a sudden, Yuan Yan's elated laughter came to an abrupt halt as a furious look appeared on his face.

  Bao Hua had also just inspected her spirit medicine with her spiritual sense, and the smile on her face had also vanished as she asked in a bone-chilling voice, "What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Han? Do you think your little tricks will be able to escape our notice?"

  Both of the devilish patriarchs immediately began to appraise Han Li with animosity in their eyes.

  Han Li remained completely unfazed by this, and he said in an unhurried manner, "Before we discuss anything else, let me ask you this: are the spirit medicines in the boxes authentic?"

  "Hmph, the spirit medicines are indeed authentic, but don't tell me you haven't tampered with them!" Yuan Yan said in a cold voice.

  "I believe you owe us an explanation, Fellow Daoist Han. Otherwise, we won't let you leave this island," Bao Hua also chimed in with a dark expression.

  "The spirit medicines are authentic and I've handed them over to you, so I've fulfilled my initial promise," Han Li continued in a calm manner.

  "So what? Do you think you'll be able to talk your way out of this by playing these word games?" Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan stepped forward with a furious expression, and a burst of astonishing baleful Qi erupted from his body, causing the entire sky to tremor violently.

  The two devilish lords were on the verge of escalating this into a physical altercation.

  "I have no intention of playing any word games. I haven't left any complex restrictions on the two spirit medicines; I've only left two temporary wisps of spiritual sense with them. It won't be long before these wisps of spiritual sense dissipate on their own, and they won't harm the spirit medicines in any way," Han Li replied in a calm manner.

  Bao Hua inspected her spirit medicine once again to find that Han Li was telling the truth, and her expression eased slightly as she asked, "What do you intend to accomplish by doing this?"

  "I can't afford to gamble with my own life and simply believe that you'll let me leave after I hand over the spirit medicines to you. Hence, I had to resort to this plan. If I can leave this place safely, the spirit medicines will naturally remain completely unharmed. However, if you show any signs of breaking your end of the promise, the wisps of spiritual sense will immediately self-detonate; only the heavens can decide whether the spirit medicines will remain unscathed then," Han Li replied.

  "You dare to threaten me?" Yuan Yan's fury was fueled even further upon hearing this.

  "I wouldn't dare to do that; I'm only looking out for my own best interests. Once I emerge from the sea of lightning, the wisps of spiritual sense will immediately dissipate. Rest assured, I wouldn't detonate them to harm the spirit medicines to spite you as doing so would only earn me two powerful sworn enemies without reaping me any benefits," Han Li replied calmly.

  "Hmph, you think a mere wisp of your spiritual sense can destroy these spirit medicines? These are extraordinarily rare spirit medicines that even flying swords would struggle to damage," Bao Hua harrumphed coldly.

  "That may be the case, but I'm betting that neither of you would dare to take this risk. Besides, do you think the wisps of spiritual sense I've left with these spirit medicines are just normal spiritual sense?" Han Li countered with a meaningful smile. [1]

  Bao Hua and Yuan Yan's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

  To Han Li's surprise, the furious Yuan Yan suddenly reverted back to a calm expression, and said in a cold voice, "Well done, it's been close to 100,000 years since I've had my hands and feet bound like this! Piss off, but if you dare to harm this Devil Refining Herb even in the slightest, I'll show you what it feels like to wish you've never been born!"

  Han Li was quite amazed by Yuan Yan's acting skills, but his expression remained unchanged as he turned toward Bao Hua for her verdict.

  "I also agree to this. Just like you said, I wouldn't dare to risk having this spirit medicine damaged, but if this wisp of spiritual sense still hasn't dissipated after you've left the sea of lightning, then don't blame me for coming after you," Bao Hua said in an expressionless manner.

  "Alright, then I'll be taking my leave now," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a farewell salute, then immediately flew away as a streak of azure light.

  After just a few flashes, he had vanished into the distance, leaving the trio of devilish beings behind.

  "Mistress Bao Hua, should I follow him?" Hei'e asked in a careful manner.

  "There's no need for that. That man's spiritual sense is almost comparable to that of myself and Fellow Daoist Yuan Yan, so there's no way you'll be able to fool him with your concealment techniques," Bao Hua replied with a shake of her head.

  "When did you become such a coward?" the black-robed young man said as he rolled his eyes in a disdainful manner.

  "Why don't you go ahead and follow him then? You'll have my undying admiration," Bao Hua replied in a cold voice.

  "Hmph, my most trusted subordinate isn't by my side. Otherwise, there's no way I'd let him leave so easily," the black-robed young man spat through gritted teeth.

  "You're talking about that Ying Cha, right? So you're saying you'd dare to take the risk if she were here?" Bao Hua asked as a derisive look flashed through her eyes.

  "You're right, I wouldn't dare to take the risk anyway with the Devil Refining Herb at stake," the black-robed young man conceded with a wry smile.

  "The same goes for me as well. He's determined that there's no way we'd dare to gamble with these spirit medicines, which is why he's so confident in his plan," Bao Hua replied.

  The black-robed young man nodded in response before a skeptical look appeared on his face. "I have no issues with allowing him to get away, but there aren't any issues with the spiritual sense he's left on these spirit medicines, right?"

  "Have you discovered something amiss?" Bao Hua asked.

  "No. If I had, I wouldn't have let him leave," Yuan Yan replied after a brief hesitation.

  "I haven't discovered anything, either. Seeing as neither of us have detected anything, I'm sure there's n
othing special about these wisps of spiritual sense; let's just wait until he leaves the sea of lightning," Bao Hua sighed.

  However, Yuan Yan still seemed to be unwilling to give up, and he suddenly asked, "With your powers, how confident are you in your ability to remove the wisp of spiritual sense?"

  "I still haven't fully recovered my magic power, but if it's only a normal wisp of spiritual sense, then there's a roughly 60% chance that I'll be able to eradicate it before it self-detonates," Bao Hua replied.

  "It's over 80% for me, but I still wouldn't dare to take the risk," Yuan Yan sighed in a resigned manner.

  Bao Hua smiled in response, yet just as she was about to say something else, an elderly voice rang out in both of their ears in unison.

  "Hmph, seeing as neither of you dare to take the risk, then let me do the honors in your place; I'll be taking all of his other spirit medicines!"

  "That voice belongs to Nie Pan!" Bao Hua and Yuan exclaimed in unison upon hearing this.

  1. While this probably wasn't the technique used here, the chapter still reminded me of it.

  Chapter 2112: Encountering the Faux Immortal Elixir Again

  In the next instant, the elderly voice abruptly cut off.

  "I should've known that he would come here to take a look," Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan said with a dark expression.

  "Isn't Nie Pan currently hibernating to recover from his injuries? In that case, that must've been one of his three clones; I wonder how long he's been here for," Bao Hua mused.

  "He most likely only recently arrived. Otherwise, there's no way he would've been able to remain hidden from us. I'm just concerned that that human brat will think that we sent someone after him, and he'll detonate the spiritual sense on the spirit medicines in retaliation," Yuan Yan said as his brows furrowed slightly.

  "As long as we don't pursue him in person, I'm sure he wouldn't do something so foolish, but it'll be hard to say if he finds himself in life-threatening peril. After all, it wouldn't be surprising if he were to do something insane when he's on the brink of death," Bao Hua replied.

  "There's no way a clone of Nie Pan's would be able to pose a real threat to his life. Even if he can't defeat the clone in battle, he'll definitely be able to get away," Yuan Yan said as his expression eased slightly.

  "I wouldn't be so sure of that. Don't forget that among the three devilish patriarchs, Nie Pan is the one who bears the heaviest grudge against the Spirit Realm. Many years ago, his Dao Companion was killed by a Grand Ascension Stage being in the Spirit Realm during a past sacred sacrifice," Bao Hua said with a shake of her head.

  "I'm naturally aware of that, but his true body is currently in hibernation; unless all three of his clones were to combine their powers, he won't be able to do anything to that human brat," Yuan Yan replied in a nonchalant manner.

  "It looks like you still don't know about that thing; Nie Pan sure is good at keeping secrets," Bao Hua said as a peculiar look flashed through her eyes.

  "What are you referring to?" Yuan Yan asked as his expression darkened slightly.

  "Many years ago, Nie Pan and I had once joined forces to kill a Grand Ascension Stage being from another realm, and we obtained many treasures from him. Among those treasures were two drops of diluted Heavenly Fortune Elixir, but they're far more efficacious than the drop that the Spirit Monarch possessed, and they're only around three times more diluted than Heavenly Fortune Elixir. We split the two drops among us, and I've already used up my drop, but up until I left our holy realm, Nie Pan still had his drop, so he's most likely retained it up to this point," Bao Hua explained.

  "So this is Faux Immortal Elixir that's only three times more diluted than Heavenly Fortune Elixir?" Yuan Yan was stunned to hear this.

  "That's right. With a drop of Faux Immortal Elixir of that level of purity, I'm sure you know what Nie Pan's going to do to kill that Han brat," Bao Hua said in an indifferent manner.

  "You're saying Nie Pan is going to awaken that thing? That's certainly not impossible. Even though he hasn't witnessed that human brat in battle, the fact that he was able to enter the Spirit Cleansing Pond despite our presence is a sufficient indication of his powers," Yuan Yan said as his expression darkened slightly.

  "You and I are both aware that aside from the reason we gave in to that Han brat, the main reason we haven't destroyed the Bitter Spirit Island is because we're wary of that thing. There are only several types of legendary treasures that can be used to awaken that Faux Immortal Puppet, and Heavenly Fortune Elixir just so happens to be one of the most effective ones; a drop of Faux Immortal Elixir that's a third as efficacious will be enough to buy two attacks from it," Bao Hua said.

  "Two attacks? That thing's not restricted by the world's origin Qi in this area! If that human brat doesn't use his Profound Heavenly Treasure to protect himself, just a single attack will be more than enough to kill him!" the black-robed young man exclaimed.

  "You seem very concerned about him," Bao Hua remarked with a smile.

  "Hmph, you make it sound like you're not concerned. What if he detonates our spirit medicines before he dies?" Yuan Yan snapped.

  "If that thing really does get awakened, do you think that Han brat will have time to think about detonating his spiritual sense? He'll be far too busy thinking about how to save his own life. As long as we don't appear near him, our spirit medicines won't even enter his mind, and if he manages to survive using his Profound Heavenly Treasure, he'll have no reason to destroy our spirit medicines, so all we have to do is wait here," Bao Hua said in a confident manner.

  The black-robed young man thought about this for a moment before nodding in response. "That does make sense."

  ......

  Han Li was flying rapidly through the sea of lightning with his 72 small azure swords flying around him, arcs of golden lightning coursing over his body, and his two extreme mountains shielding him like a pair of giant umbrellas from above.

  Even though he didn't have his companions by his side, he was exiting the sea of lightning almost twice as fast as he had entered it, and this was naturally a result of everyone concealing their true powers while entering the sea of lightning.

  Furthermore, after undergoing that complete transformation in the Spirit Cleansing Pond, his physical body alone was powerful enough to withstand this sea of lightning for some time.

  After a while, a hint of elation appeared on Han Li's face.

  The edge of the sea of lightning wasn't far away, and he took a deep breath as he accelerated to fly out of the sea of lightning, but right at this moment, the rumbling thunderclaps around him suddenly ceased, and the countless bolts of lightning crashing down from above abruptly parted in a miraculous scene.

  All of a sudden, no more bolts of lightning were raining down from above, but a terrifying aura was emanating from the dark clouds up above alongside a vast expanse of scintillating silver lightning.

  Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately stopped before looking up at the silver light with a wary expression.

  Blue light was flashing within his eyes, and after the span of just a few breaths, the silver lightning up above faded, and a mountainous creature appeared.

  The creature was of a shimmering golden color and had arcs of lightning coursing all over its body; it was none other than that golden crab!

  There was currently a golden-robed middle-aged man standing atop one of the golden crab's giant pincers.

  The middle-aged also had golden skin and a pair of deep set green eyes that gave off a sinister appearance.

  Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the middle-aged man, only to discover that he was unable to detect his exact cultivation base, and that made him even warier about the situation.

  It was either the case that the middle-aged man possessed a cultivation base that was far superior to his or he was using a special secret technique or treasure to hide his cultivation base. Either way, this was definitely bad news for Han Li.r />
  However, he could sense that Bao Hua and Yuan Yan were still situated on the Bitter Spirit Island, so he wasn't overly fearful and merely appraised the middle-aged man in silence.

  "You're a Spirit Realm being?" the golden-robed man asked in a cold voice.

  "I am. May I ask who you are?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.

  "All Spirit Realm beings deserve to die, and you're no exception!" the golden-robed man said as a vicious light flashed through his eyes.

  "What do you mean by that?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

  However, the golden-robed man had no intention of explaining anything to Han Li. Instead, he suddenly flipped a hand over to produce a small golden vial before tipping it upside down.

  In the next instant, a drop of green liquid flowed out of it before vanishing into the golden crab's giant pincer.

  "Heavenly Fortune Elixir!" Han Li exclaimed as his pupils abruptly contracted.

  "So you know of this elixir as well," the golden-robed man said in a slightly taken aback manner.

  Right at this moment, the arcs of lightning coursing over the giant golden crab's body suddenly faded, and at the same time, countless shimmering golden runes instantly appeared over its body. It also opened its gigantic eyes, revealing them to be a shimmering golden color as well.

  "You offered me something quite good this time, Nie Pan; I can lend you my assistance for the offering that you've made," the giant golden crab said in a rumbling voice, and it seemed to be extremely intelligent.

  Han Li was stunned to see this, yet before he could properly assess the situation, the golden-robed man stabbed a finger at him, and said, "Kill this Spirit Realm brat!"

  "Alright, but for the elixir that you offered me, I'll only attack twice regardless of whether I successfully kill him or not; would you still like to go through with this?" the golden crab asked as it settled its gaze on Han Li, who was immediately struck by a bone-chilling sensation.

  "Haha, go right ahead! With your powers, two attacks are enough to kill even the average Grand Ascension Stage being!" the middle-aged chortled in response.