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

by Translator: Johnchen

A cold smile appeared on Han Li's face as he said, "I'll be making a trip to the holy island sooner or later. By the way, there's something else I need you to do."

  "What is it, Master? I'll be sure to give it my best effort," Qi Lingzi immediately replied.

  "Here's a list of items for you to track down. These items are extremely rare even in the entire Spirit Realm, so even if you can't obtain them, find out their specific whereabouts, and I'll get them myself," Han Li said.

  "Yes, Master," Qi Lingzi agreed without any hesitation.

  Daoist Xie's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything.

  "Alright, the two of you can go now; I have some things to discuss with Fellow Daoist Silvermoon," Han Li instructed.

  Qi Lingzi and Hai Yuetian naturally had no objections, and they immediately departed from the room.

  Zhu Guo'er also left the hall in a display of thoughtfulness even though Han Li hadn't asked her to leave.

  Thus, Han Li, Daoist Xie, and Silvermoon were the only ones left in the hall.

  "Silvermoon, did you hear Senior Ao Xiao mention that he was going anywhere prior to your departure?" Han Li asked with a solemn expression.

  "I did not. I am Grandfather's only direct lineal descendant, so if his life is under threat for some reason, then he'd definitely tell me. On top of that, there was also nothing strange about Grandfather's behavior prior to my departure," Silvermoon replied, and her expression had also become slightly grim.

  "In that case, it looks like your grandfather and Senior Mo's disappearance must be related to the devilish beings. Deep Heaven City most likely doesn't know any more specific details, either; perhaps only the holy island will know something about this. It looks like I really will have to make a trip to the holy island," Han Li said in a contemplative manner.

  “There's no need to be overly concerned about my grandfather, Brother Han; my grandfather and I share the same bloodline, so I'll definitely sense it if something happens to him. If he's fine, then I'd presume Senior Mo Jianli also isn't in any danger,” Silvermoon said.

  “Your grandfather and Senior Mo are both Grand Ascension Stage beings, so it certainly wouldn't be easy for them to fall into peril under normal circumstances; I'm just concerned that they may have fallen into a devilish trap and are stuck somewhere, unable to escape. After all, trapping a pair of Grand Ascension Stage beings is easier than killing them,” Han Li said with a concerned expression.

  Silvermoon's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she was still quite optimistic. "Grandfather and Senior Mo are both very wise and cautious, so I'm sure that wouldn't have happened."

  "Perhaps I'm overthinking things. I'll ask the elders of Deep Heaven City about this tomorrow; perhaps they'll have some additional information for me," Han Li said as his expression eased slightly, to which Silvermoon nodded in response.

  After that, Han Li turned to Daoist Xie, and said, "Brother Xie, I've already asked my disciples to track down the items you asked for, but before I gather them, I hope you'll continue to assist me."

  "I'll remain by your side until you satisfy my conditions or until it becomes apparent that you won't be able to," Daoist Xie replied in an expressionless manner, and Han Li was very pleased to hear this.

  Han Li and Silvermoon then discussed some other possible reasons behind the disappearance of the two Grand Ascension Stage beings, but all to no avail in the end, so they could only set this matter aside for now and retire to their respective secret chambers.

  The next morning, Elder Gu, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, and almost all of the other Deep Heaven City elders arrived outside the stone pagoda that Han Li was residing in.

  Upon being notified of their arrival by Qi Lingzi, a faint smile appeared on Han Li's face.

  It seemed that these elders had all had sleepless nights. Otherwise, they wouldn't have arrived so early.

  Qi Lingzi invited all of the elders into the hall at Han Li's behest, and a meeting between the elders and Han Li commenced.

  A rather obscure conversation took place between early morning to noon, and only then did the elders depart with differing expressions.

  Shortly thereafter, news of Han Li's progression to the Grand Ascension Stage was finally officially announced within Deep Heaven City.

  The human and demon beings in the city were initially in disbelief upon hearing this, but this was immediately followed by ecstasy, and many of them were unable to contain their excitement as they poured out onto the streets to celebrate.

  With a new Grand Ascension Stage being among their ranks, the two races would be able to establish themselves within the Spirit Realm for tens of thousands of years into the future.

  On top of that, Han Li had already earned a resounding reputation for himself back when he was at the Body Integration Stage, and he had lived in Deep Heaven City for quite some time, and this made the inhabitants of Deep Heaven City even more elated for his success, as if his success were their success as well.

  This piece of news spread like wildfire toward the rest of the human and demon territories, and of course, it was also revealed that the Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremony would be held at Deep Heaven City in a year.

  Everyone who received this information was extremely astonished, and they quickly scrambled to verify its authenticity.

  Upon ensuring that this was all indeed true, messengers were immediately sent by all powers to Deep Heaven City, expressing confirmation that they would be attending the ceremony.

  As for some powers situated too far away from Deep Heaven City, they had already begun preparing congratulatory presents and selecting suitable representatives to send to the ceremony.

  Thus, within the short span of only a couple months, almost everyone in the human and demon races had been made aware of this new Grand Ascension cultivator, as well as the celebratory ceremony that was about to be held soon.

  Even the nearby races, including the Spirit Race and Yaksha Race, confirmed that they would also be sending envoys to attend the ceremony.

  The only reaction that was rather peculiar came from the holy island; they seemed to be a little indifferent to the event and didn't make an effort to promote it.

  Aside from the various powers and nearby foreign races, many of the vastly renowned vagrant cultivators of the human and demon races had also come out of seclusion in preparation to head to Deep Heaven City.

  It was a common convention that all new Grand Ascension Stage beings would hold a lecture during their celebratory ceremonies, disclosing their thoughts and experiences while progressing to the Grand Ascension Stage.

  This was naturally an extremely rare opportunity for those preparing for the Grand Ascension Stage breakthrough, or had been stumped by the bottleneck for countless years.

  Perhaps listening to Han Li's experience would provide them with the final catalyst required to make the breakthrough. After all, similar things had happened during some past Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremonies.

  Chapter 2204: Commencement of the Ceremony

  To a mortal, a year was a period of time that could be referred to as neither short or long, but to some cultivators who were constantly in seclusion, a year was akin to the blink of an eye.

  Ever since news of Han Li's Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremony was announced, cultivators in the nearby area had immediately begun to flock to Deep Heaven City.

  As time passed, more and more cultivators arrived in the city, including powerful demonic beings who had come from afar.

  Some of these cultivators entered the Deep Heaven City, while others created temporary lodging for themselves in the mountain ranges near the city.

  In the final month leading up to the ceremony, even more cultivators rushed to the city, with over 100,000 new arrivals almost every day, and the city became extremely lively and bustling as a result.

  Some of the cultivators took advantage of this opportunity to seek out others and establish relationsh
ips, or set up all types of small markets to exchange for the resources they required.

  As for Deep Heaven City itself, it would hold an official auction almost once every week.

  During these auctions, all types of rare items were frequently being presented, and even the elders of the city benefited immensely from these auctions, securing many spirit medicines and other exotic items that they would've otherwise been unable to.

  Several days prior to the commencement of the ceremony, the cultivators residing in the nearby mountain ranges also began to enter the city en masse.

  Deep Heaven City was extremely massive, but with such a huge influx of new arrivals, it was becoming quite crowded.

  Overpopulation had suddenly become an issue, and there were even some cultivators who couldn't find any places to stay.

  The panel of elders of Deep Heaven City immediately addressed this issue by opening up some stone pagodas inhabited by the city guards, as well as some underground secret chambers, as extra lodging. On top of that, they also built several temporary pavilions for the new arrivals to stay in a few secluded corners of the city, and only then were they able to just barely resolve the issue of insufficient lodging.

  Of course, due to the enormous and spontaneous increase in population, all types of trouble and unrest began to arise in the city, but the panel of elders was very proactive and quickly resolved all of these problems one after another.

  Everyone knew that there was no way that they would all be permitted to attend the ceremony. In fact, it was most likely the case that only less than 1% of everyone present would be able to attend.

  As such, most of them had arrived in the city to find opportunities for themselves as such a massive gathering of high-grade cultivators most likely wouldn't arise again for thousands of years.

  As long as one remained vigilant, perhaps they could find a powerful master, or join a renowned sect, or exchange for an item that they'd been searching for for many years...

  In any case, this was a situation that presented countless opportunities.

  On this day, while it was still very early in the morning, a pristine white platform that was over 100 feet tall had appeared on a boundless plaza at the center of Deep Heaven City.

  There was an unknown object that was around 30 feet tall on the platform, concealed under a piece of golden fabric, and there was a half-naked musclebound man standing expressionlessly next to it.

  The area near the platform was surrounded by tens of thousands of guards wearing armor of different colors, and even the elders of Deep Heaven City were among these guards.

  Everyone was looking up at the sky, where the sun had just begun to rise, with solemn looks on their faces.

  Shortly thereafter, the first ray of sunlight finally appeared in the distance.

  "It's time! Strike the bell!" Elder Gu instructed as he turned toward the musclebound man on the platform.

  "Yes!"

  The musclebound man gave an affirmative response before stepping forward and tearing the piece of golden fabric away, revealing a luxurious and mysterious giant silver bell with countless five-colored spirit runes etched all over its surface.

  The man then made a grabbing motion with his other hand, and a long golden hammer that was around 10 feet in length emerged in his grasp amid a flash of golden light.

  He grabbed onto the shaft of the hammer with both hands, then abruptly struck the giant bell with the golden hammer.

  A series of silver halos immediately erupted from the head of the golden hammer, spreading in all directions.

  Within the silver light, the five-colored spirit runes on the giant bell seemed to have sprung to life, flying off the bell and dancing around the entire jade platform.

  Initially, the chime of the bell wasn't very loud, but the further the soundwaves traveled, the louder they became, so the further away one stood, the more deafening the sound was.

  Thus, the chime of the bell instantly became clearly audible in every single corner of the city.

  Initially, people didn't pay this sound any heed. However, as one chime rang out after another, everyone's expressions began to change, and there were even some who directly exclaimed, "The Heaven Shaking Bell is being struck! The ceremony has commenced!"

  Many people immediately rushed out onto the streets, calling upon some acquaintances before flocking toward the place where the bell chimes had originated from.

  However, most of the cultivators who had arrived in the city didn't possess advanced cultivation bases, and they remained in their places of residence with disappointed expressions.

  Only after a total of 81 bell chimes had rung out did the sound draw to an abrupt halt, and at this point, some of the cultivators living near the plaza had already arrived.

  A faint smile appeared on Elder Gu's face upon seeing this, and his lips tremored as he seemingly transmitted his voice to someone.

  A series of white light formations immediately lit up around the plaza, and even more armored guards emerged to surround the entire plaza, temporarily keeping out the cultivators who were arriving on the scene.

  The presence of so many armored guards effectively prevented anyone from trying to barge their way forward, and at the same time, the armored guards near the platform changed their formation to open up around a dozen patches of empty land.

  Around a dozen temporary teleportation formations appeared at the center of these patches of land, and some of the cultivators arriving on the scene were enlightened upon seeing this, while others were still as confused as ever.

  "Senior Han should be ready soon, right? Could it be that he's been unable to complete that thing in time? If so, the ceremony will have to be delayed," Fairy Silver Light said in a slightly uneasy manner as more and more people began to gather around the plaza.

  "The power of a Grand Ascension cultivator is unfathomable to the likes of us; Senior Han instructed us to wait for him here a year ago, and I'm sure he won't be late," Elder Gu replied with a smile.

  "Such a trivial matter naturally won't be able to stump a Grand Ascension Stage being like Senior Han, but prior to his departure, Senior Han took close to a third of our city's supplies. Even though he only took very ordinary tool refinement materials, it's still a staggering amount," Elder Yan said with a wry smile.

  "Hehe, that may be the case, but just like you said, they're only ordinary materials, so we'll be able to gather more over time. If we can leave Senior Han with a good impression of our city, then those materials would be an entirely insignificant price to pay," Elder Gu chuckled in response.

  "Indeed, Brother Gu. It looks like you're still the one with the most foresight among all of us," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said with a smile.

  Within a certain stone pagoda, Han Li was currently seated with his eyes closed, but his body was entirely enshrouded within a layer of purplish-golden flames.

  Following the conclusion of the 81 bell chimes, Han Li's expression changed slightly, and he finally opened his eyes as a smile appeared on his face.

  "I made it just in time; that item has just been completely refined, and can be used during the ceremony."

  As soon as his voice trailed off, Han Li made a hand seal, and the purplish-golden flames around his body faded.

  At the same time, he opened his mouth to expel a ball of silver flames, within which was an indistinct miniature three-colored mountain that didn't appear to be a substantial object.

  Han Li quickly appraised the miniature mountain, and a pleased look appeared on his face as he pointed a finger at the object.

  Dazzling light immediately erupted from the miniature mountain, and it abruptly vanished into thin air.

  In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted tens of thousands of feet above the plaza at the center of Deep Heaven City, following which a tiny three-colored mountain that was only several inches in size emerged.

  Countless arcs of golden lightning then erupted over the mountain's surface, and it began to rapidl
y expand, swelling to over 1,000 feet in size in just a few flashes, while emitting a terrifying aura.

  Immediately thereafter, spatial fluctuations erupted near the mountain, and Han Li suddenly appeared.

  He looked down at the masses of people gathered around the plaza, and a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

  He then cast his gaze toward the three-colored mountain up ahead before opening his mouth to expel a burst of azure light, which vanished into the mountain in a flash.

  The giant three-colored mountain began to rotate on the spot, and the three-colored runes on its surface surged forth in a frenzy while releasing a formidable aura.

  All of a sudden, a resounding boom akin to a rumbling thunderclap rang out, and all of the world's origin Qi in the entire sky surged violently before converging toward the plaza as streams of five-colored light.

  Brilliant silver light radiated from the surface of the three-colored mountain, absorbing all of the world's origin Qi, upon which it swelled drastically in size once again.

  Chapter 2205: Revered by Countless Cultivators

  Within the flashing lights, a gargantuan mountain that was close to 100,000 feet tall appeared high up in the air.

  Just the base of the gigantic mountain was close to 50 kilometers in size, and the shadow that it case encompassed the entire central area of Deep Heaven City.

  Such a massive commotion naturally drew the attention of everyone around the plaza, and they all looked up with stunned expressions, only to be greeted by the sight of the enormous underside of the mountain.

  It wasn't the case that no one had seen such a massive mountain before, but no one had ever seen a mountain of this stature hovering in mid-air.

  What made this situation even more astonishing was that there had been nothing in the air just a moment ago.

  Even further in the distance, there were more people rushing over to attend the ceremony, and they were able to glean the entirety of the three-colored mountain, which filled them with a sense of awe and veneration as well.

  At the same time, the approaching cultivators discovered that the top half of the mountain was littered with countless pavilions, while the summit of the mountain was enshrouded within a layer of thin white mist, seemingly obscuring something from view.