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

by Translator: Johnchen

  They were only a group of Spatial Tempering and Deity Transformation Stage beings, so it would most definitely be fatal for them to incur the wrath of such a formidable powerhouse.

  The devilish woman who had proposed fleeing the city with the Foreign Devilish Metal had completely abandoned the idea upon hearing this.

  "Now that you know this, don't try anything in an attempt to maximize the benefits that you can derive from this; the best possible outcome for all of us is to be able to escape from the Blue Waterfall Lake alive, and this is why I'm in such a hurry to sell this batch of Foreign Devilish Metal. Even though I'm selling it at a very cheap price, it would still earn us an astronomical sum of devil stones, which could be a potential life-saving trump card for us. Of course, if we can all survive this ordeal, I'll split the devil stones with everyone," Wu You said with a cautionary tone in his voice.

  Everyone's expressions eased slightly upon hearing this, and they all gave an affirmative response.

  As for the exchange that was scheduled to take place the next day, no one was overly concerned about it.

  After all, this was a very unscrupulous deal, and the exchange wasn't going to take place in some secluded location, so neither side would dare to try anything. Otherwise, if they were to attract the attention of other major powers, then both sides would be in massive trouble.

  Even so, Wu You had still prepared some precautionary measures, which he instructed his subordinates to set up.

  Everyone naturally had no objections to this, and they all departed from the hall to complete the duties that had been assigned to them.

  ......

  At this point, Han Li was already situated in a beast-drawn carriage that was traveling toward the eastern city gate.

  Several hours later, the beast-drawn carriage traveled out of the city gate, then galloped along a stone path for an extended period of time before stopping next to a lush forest

  As soon as the carriage drew to a halt, Han Li emerged from within it, then cast his gaze toward the forest.

  At the edge of the forest was a small winding path that led deeper into the undergrowth.

  Han Li then turned his attention to a massive tree beside the small path, and he discovered that there was a mundane-looking yellow wooden sign nailed to the trunk of the tree, and the words "Vast Origin House" were inscribed onto the sign in black ink.

  A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he began to walk down the path into the forest.

  After walking for a few hundred feet, he turned a few corners and disappeared from view.

  Right at this moment, a tall and broad grey-robed elderly man appeared up ahead. The man had fiery red skin and eyes that were remarkably long and thin.

  He was currently completely engrossed by an antiquated book with a silver cover that he was holding in his hand while leaning against a tree.

  Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the elderly man to find that he was only a Deity Transformation cultivator, and his brows furrowed slightly as he continued onward.

  As he passed by the elderly man, he released a Spatial Tempering Stage aura for a moment before walking past the elderly man without even turning his head.

  During this time, the elderly man continued to read the book in his hand, as if he had truly become completely enthralled by it.

  However, as Han Li turned a corner and disappeared from view, the grey-robed elderly man quickly raised his head, and there was cold sweat pouring down his face.

  "What powerful spiritual pressure! That man is no ordinary Spatial Tempering Stage being; I'll have to notify everyone else to grant him passage into the Vast Origin House," the elderly man murmured to himself before quickly scribbling something onto the cover of the antiquated book with a finger.

  Several black runes emerged, then vanished into the silver cover of the book in a flash.

  After that, the elderly man's body blurred, and he instantly vanished from beneath the tree amid a flash of green light.

  ......

  Shortly thereafter, Han Li followed the path and arrived at a five-story pavilion situated at the center of the forest.

  The entire pavilion was constructed from a type of white wood, and the fact that this wooden material was slightly yellow from age was an indication that this pavilion had been around for a very long time.

  There was a green-robed young woman currently standing in front of the pavilion. She appeared to be around 15 to 16 years of age, and seemed to be a servant.

  As soon as Han Li emerged, she immediately made her way over to him in an unhurried manner, then extended a respectful curtsey. "Xi'er pays her respects to her senior. Please come with me; our young mistress is waiting for you upstairs."

  "Young mistress? I didn't think that the owner of the Vast Origin House would be a woman. Alright, lead the way," Han Li replied with a nod before following the young woman toward the pavilion gates.

  As soon as he entered the pavilion, he was struck by an inexplicable chill that almost made him shudder, but he was able to shake off the feeling after circulating his magic power through his body.

  He then released his spiritual sense through the surrounding area and immediately detected some faint restriction fluctuations.

  It was clear that a powerful restriction had been set up here, and the fact that it had even struck him with a sense of peril was sufficient testament to how dangerous it was.

  On the first floor of the pavilion, there were only some simple tables and chairs and several pieces of ancient artwork hanging on the walls.

  Han Li cast his gaze toward the artwork that was closest to him, then glanced at the other pieces of artwork before nodding to himself with a faint smile.

  The four artworks each depicted a rusty copper mirror, a blue longsword that was flashing with a cold light, a shimmering golden spear, and an inky-black badge, all of which were extremely life-like and realistic.

  A hint of surprise flashed through Xi'er's eyes upon seeing this. "Have you already noticed something, Senior? It's quite remarkable that you were able to discover the secrets hidden within these four pieces of artwork in such a short time; your discerning eye is enough to rank in the top 100 among all customers to set foot in our Vast Origin House."

  "Only the top 100?" Han Li asked in an indifferent manner.

  "Please don't underestimate this top 100, Senior; most of them were also Spatial Tempering Stage seniors like yourself, and the rest possess slightly inferior cultivation bases, but they're all vastly renowned characters for different reasons," Xi'er hurriedly explained.

  "Hehe, if someone were to believe that these are only normal pieces of artwork, they'll most likely perish sooner or later when they enter this restriction. The formation that's been set up in a more obscure place is the true trump card here, right? How many of the past customers have managed to identify that?" Han Li chuckled coldly in response.

  Xi'er's eyes widened with surprise upon hearing this, and she replied, "Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Senior! There are less than 10 customers who have managed to see through the formation, and most of them were devilish lords. Seeing as you're able to do this, there will be no need for you to undergo the trial on the second floor; you'll be able to go and see our young mistress on the third floor right away."

  Han Li naturally nodded in response. "Alright, I'm looking forward to meeting the owner of this Vast Origin House."

  Thus, he was led to the second floor of the pavilion by Xi'er.

  The setup on this level was slightly different; aside from the set of simple tables and chairs, there were pots of different colors strewn all around the room, within which were planted many unknown spirit plants and spirit flowers.

  In front of these pots stood a devilish woman with a head of grey hair, but a set of remarkably youthful features.

  The woman was currently carrying an azure jade vial, from within which a stream of clear spring water was pouring out onto a crimson plant.

&nbs
p; "Aunt Zhu, this is a senior that Young Mistress would like to see today. He's already identified the restriction on the second level, so I'll be taking him to see the young mistress now," Xi'er said in a respectful manner.

  "Oh? It's quite remarkable that he was able to identify the restriction on the second level. Hmm? You've concealed your true cultivation base, haven't you?" The woman initially wore a calm expression, but after casting her gaze toward Han Li, her expression instantly changed slightly.

  In the instant that Han Li caught sight of the woman, he had identified her to be a devilish lord at the pinnacle of the late-Body Integration Stage, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he replied, "I didn't think that I would encounter a fellow daoist of your cultivation base here. Rest assured, I've only concealed my own cultivation base for convenience."

  The devilish woman quickly reverted back to a calm expression, and said, "I have no doubt about that; it is indeed quite inconvenient for beings of our cultivation base to go around without a disguise. In that case, I'll take you to see our young mistress in person. You can go now, Xi'er."

  Chapter 2125: Mysterious Young Woman

  A hint of surprise flashed through Xi'er's eyes upon discovering that Han Li had been concealing his own cultivation base, but she quickly lowered her head in a respectful manner as she gave an affirmative response before departing from the second floor of the pavilion.

  "Please come with me, Fellow Daoist. Seeing as you're a devilish lord, you'll be meeting our young mistress in person as opposed to a substitute," the woman said before sweeping a sleeve toward the staircase leading to the third floor.

  Yellow light flashed, and a burst of energy fluctuations surged forth, indicating that some type of restriction seemed to have just been removed.

  In the instant that the restriction was removed, a grey rune flew out of the woman's sleeve before vanishing into space in a flash.

  Han Li merely nodded in response before following the woman up the staircase.

  The third floor of the pavilion was a massive lavish hall.

  At the center of the hall was a pristine white jade offering table, upon which were placed items such as eight trigrams and divination tags. Beside the table was a petite and intricate cauldron, from within which a wisp of white smoke was billowing out, filling the entire room with the aroma of sandalwood.

  Behind the table was an extremely beautiful yellow-robed young woman seated on a large chair, playing with a palm-sized jade fan in an expressionless manner.

  There were eight young servants positioned on either side of the hall, four of which were male while the other four were female. The men were all tall and handsome, while the women were all beautiful and petite, and they stood with respectful looks on their faces.

  All eight of them possessed Deity Transformation Stage cultivation bases.

  However, the woman didn't stop here, and led Han Li toward the staircase to the fourth floor instead.

  The yellow-robed young woman rose to her feet and extended a curtsey toward Han Li and the woman from afar along with the servants in the room, and the woman merely waved a dismissive hand toward them.

  Han Li's footsteps faltered slightly, and a peculiar look appeared on his face as he swept his gaze over the devilish beings in the room.

  In terms of appearance and disposition alone, he would've been convinced that the yellow-robed young woman was the young mistress of the Vast Origin House; who would've thought that she was a mere substitute?

  With that in mind, and considering the research he had conducted into the Vast Origin House in advance, he couldn't help but become even more curious about what type of person this young mistress was.

  Shortly thereafter, Han Li arrived on the fourth floor of the pavilion with the woman.

  As soon as they arrived on this level, Han Li swept his gaze through the surrounding area, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

  It wasn't that the decor on this level was particularly strange; it was just that everything was set up to be identical to a small rural shack.

  There was a small thatched hut situated not far up ahead, within which was a set of simple tables and chairs, and an old wooden bed, upon which was placed a coarse cloth quilt.

  In front of the hut were several piles of hay and a spinning wheel, all of which were situated on a spacious patch of ground.

  Behind the spinning wheel was a frail-looking woman in a set of coarse cloth robes. She was seated on a short wooden stump, and her attention was entirely focused on the spinning wheel before her.

  One length of coarse thread after another was slowly being rolled out of the wheel, then pooled down into a neat pile beside her.

  Han Li swept her spiritual sense toward the young woman, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

  The young woman seemed to have only just reached the Deity Transformation stage, but when he tried to conduct a more thorough examination, his spiritual sense was pushed away by a burst of invisible power that emanated from her body, indicating that she possessed a treasure that could automatically repel spiritual sense.

  The woman had already made her way over to the young woman, but she merely stood off to the side in silence and didn't disrupt her.

  Han Li had also stopped in his tracks, and was appraising the young woman with an indifferent gaze.

  He had already gleaned her appearance, and discovered that it was extremely mundane.

  The only thing remarkable about her was that her forehead seemed to be wider than that of the average person, and the concentration on her face was somehow very comforting to behold.

  The young woman was very clearly very proficient at what she was doing, and within the span of 15 minutes, all of the coarse yarn on the spinning wheel had been spun.

  As the length of thread dropped down from the spinning wheel, the young woman exhaled and looked down at the large thread on the ground with a pleased smile. Only then did she turn toward the woman with a slightly apologetic expression. "Sorry to keep you waiting again, Aunt Zhu."

  The young woman's voice wasn't all that pleasant, but it had an indescribable alluring cadence to it.

  The young woman's cultivation base was far inferior to the woman's, but the latter was putting on a very respectful display, as if she were a servant. "It's alright, Young Mistress; I didn't have to wait for too long. If anything, I must apologize to you for bringing a guest here without your permission."

  Han Li was quite surprised to see this, and he immediately began to appraise the young woman again, wondering if she were another Sacred Ancestor clone.

  "I'm sure the guest that you've brought to me is quite an esteemed one, Aunt Zhu. My name is Lan Ying; may I know your name, Fellow Daoist?" the young woman said as she turned to Han Li with a calm smile.

  "My surname is Han. It's rather surprising to me that you're the owner of the Vast Origin House."

  "Do you think I'm unfit to take on this role, Brother Han?" the young woman asked with a faint smile.

  "In terms of the cultivation base and appearance, that substitute downstairs seems more fitting to be the young mistress of the Vast Origin House. Having said that, a substitute is just that, so there's no way she'll be of any help to me," Han Li replied in a straightforward manner.

  "Truth be told, that servant of mine on the third floor isn't just there for show; she's able to take care of the needs of some normal customers, but she'd be out of her depth when it comes to a guest of your cultivation base," the young woman replied.

  "I see. I assume most of the guests that visit the Vast Origin House are attended to by that servant of yours," Han Li said with a faint smile.

  "I'm doing this out of necessity. After all, she's enough to take care of normal guests, and there aren't many guests that can satisfy the criteria required to see me; you're only the third guest I've seen this year, Brother Han. Please take a seat, and we'll discuss the reason you came here for today. As long as you're willing to offer a sufficient price, we'll be
sure to satisfy your needs," the young woman said as she invited Han Li to take a seat.

  Han Li looked around before making a grabbing motion, drawing a chair toward him before taking a seat on it across from the young woman.

  "I'm sure you've already conducted some research into our Vast Origin House, but as a formality, I must inform you of the rules here; I hope you don't mind, Brother Han," the young woman said.

  "I've only recently arrived at Blue Waterfall Lake, so I don't actually know a lot about your Vast Origin House; it would be great if you could tell me about this place," Han Li replied in a nonchalant manner.

  "Our Vast origin House doesn't actually directly cater to the needs of our guests. Instead, we're only responsible for providing information. We've been operating for a very long time, and I wouldn't dare to proclaim that we know everything that's happening in our holy realm, but I daresay we know most of the important secrets in the realm. On top of that, all of the past owners of our Vast Origin House have been very adept in divination, so even if we don't have information on a certain subject matter, we can conduct divination to find out some relevant information.

  "However, using the divination technique will shorten one's lifespan, so the price of that will naturally be very steep. Generally speaking, our Vast Origin House wouldn't actively encourage a guest to pick the route of divination. On top of that, regardless of what answers you obtain from our Vast Origin House, you're not to disclose it to anyone else. Otherwise, you'll be blacklisted and will no longer be welcome here. The rest of the rules are rather inconsequential, and I'm sure you wouldn't intentionally break them.

  "Now then, do you have any questions, Fellow Daoist?" the young woman asked in a calm manner.

  Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but his expression quickly returned to normal as he replied, "What you've told me does match what I've found out already about this place. I have one question: how many of the guests that have visited your Vast Origin House have left with satisfactory answers?"

  A proud look appeared on Lan Ying's face as she replied, "I don't know too much about the past, but ever since I've taken over the reins here, we haven't even a single disappointed customer."