A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality

In the instant Han Li shot through the entrance of the hall, he felt an earth-shaking rumble from behind him. Alarmed, Han Li hastily turned his gaze around.

He saw that the Jadepier Pavilion suddenly ruptured to reveal a blazing golden sun that was three meters wide. It flew out from rubble, carrying a faint silhouette. It appeared Marquis Nanlong had executed some sort of secret technique.

Han Li was shaken by the sight. The Jadepier Pavilion wasn’t an ordinary building. Han Li doubted his own ability to break through its walls, but Marquis Nanlong was able to turn it into rubble in a single blow. It seemed the full might of a Nascent Soul cultivator wasn’t a simple matter in the least.

With his attention back to the matter at hand, Han Li flew into the center of the hall and glanced at the restored walls around him. He raised his hand without any further thought and flickered his finger. A meter long streak of sword light flew out from his hand and struck the opposing wall.

A rough hole was cut in the wall. Then in a flash of white light, the hole disappeared without a trace.

Han Li frowned. Just as he thought of another method to break it, his expression suddenly changed and he turned around in an instantaneous blur.

Marquis Nanlong was standing there about ten meters behind him. His body was glaring with dazzling golden light but his complexion was deathly pale.

Han Li’s eyes gazed past him towards the pavilion. He simply saw that a huge dome of golden light was covering the pavilion. Occasional flashes of black and white light could be seen within along with the faint sounds of explosions.

A trace of shock appeared on Han Li’s face.

Through the use of some sort of heaven-defying technique, he managed to trap the others inside for the time being, giving him the time to escape.

“The outer restrictions need to be opened with the formation flag. Fellow Daoist Han, since I only have a single formation flag, it will take some more time. I will have to trouble you to delay them. Although the might of my ancient treasure may be great, I don’t know how much longer they will be trapped. They could break out at any moment.”

Marquis Nanlong forced a smile and flipped his hand. He held a small fluttering yellow flag in his hand and began to mutter incantations without delay. It appeared he didn’t have the slightest fear of Han Li attacking him.

Han Li’s gaze flickered and he quickly slapped his storage pouch. An emerald-green formation plate appeared in his hand, the magic tool that he had used to break through the Wondrous Soul Restriction.

He quickly drew several azure talisman characters into the air and blew them onto the formation plate, causing it to brightly shine with azure light.

Han Li formed an incantation gesture with his hands and softly shouted, “Rise!” Apart from the side that Marquis Nanlong was facing, the walls turned back to blue crystal, sealing off the hall once more.

Marquis Nanlong ceased his incantation at the sight and joyfully said, “You are able to control the Wondrous Soul Formation?”

Revealing not a trace of pride, Han Li sullenly said, “I’m not even capable of mustering even a tenth of its original power. It won’t be able to hold them for long either. Brother Nanlong had best open the way before they break through.”

When Marquis Nanlong heard this, he discovered that the crystal walls were far darker than they were originally, and his expression of joy suddenly vanished. He then tossed the small flag, having it disappear into the wall in a trace of light before continuing with his incantation.

At that same moment, he heard deafening rumbles from behind him and saw that the crystal walls had begun to sparkle. The thunderous explosions were clear to hear. It seems they’ve managed to break through the Marquis’ ancient treasure and have begun their attack on the crystal walls.

Han Li glanced at the stone wall and saw it was faintly glowing with white light before turning his gaze back to the blue crystal walls. After some slight hesitation, he tossed a spirit beast pouch into the air, summoning a swarm of black-tainted Gold Devouring Beetles. With the formation of an incantation gesture, the beetles swarm frantically surrounded Han Li and transformed into tri-colored armor.

An odd expression momentarily appeared on the Marquis’ face when he saw Han Li executing the Insect Armor Technique. But since their need for escape was urgent, he left the matter alone.

A short moment later, the crystal walls violently trembled as if on the verge of collapse. Likewise, the stone wall also began to shake and part amongst the white light, revealing the stairway ahead of them.

As soon as Marquis Nanlong saw this, his body pulsed in golden light and he shot out. Behind him, Han Li’s Thunderstorm Wings flapped with golden lightning and suddenly disappeared from sight.

A moment later, Han Li appeared in front of and Marquis Nanlong appeared in midair. But soon, he saw a clear explosion from down below.

With an expression of alarm, Han Li flapped his Thunderstorm Wings once more and he instantly arrived at the exit of the stairs. Afterwards, he employed his lightning movement to its fullest extent and began to flicker into the distance.

Just as Han Li flew a kilometer away, an ear-piercing cry came from the stairs, followed by a ball of blinding golden light streaking across the sky.

The Marquis flew once around and announced in an icy, resentful tone, “Take this to heart; you had best avoid falling into my hands or I will exterminate both your body and soul!”

Once this oath was finished, his golden light gleamed and began to appear indistinct. Just as a silver light shot out from the mountain entrance, the golden radiance suddenly turned exceptionally slim and flickered several times before tearing through the sky at an immense speed. In nearly a single breath, it had disappeared from sight.

At that moment, Han Li was already on the edge of the sky, appearing as an intermittently flickering dot.

Closely following the silver light, a streak of black light faded away to reveal a silhouette. Wang Tiangu solemnly asked, “What movement techniques are they using to travel so quickly?”

The silver light faded away to reveal the white-clothed old man. He gloomily said, “Marquis Nanlong is using a secret technique that was personally created by Master Cang Kun, Mileshed Line. By consuming vast amounts of vitality and blood essence, one is able to instantly travel into a distance in light as thin as a thread. It makes their aura entirely hidden so that they cannot be tracked. While he truly hasn’t traveled too far away, it will be impossible to detect him with spiritual sense. As for that Youngster Han, he seems to be controlling lightning through use of those strange wings. It should be the instant lightning movement of legend!”

At that moment, the old woman and the tan cultivator both shot out from the passage and heard of the old man’s words.

With a pale and uneasy expression, the old woman asked, “Given how fantastic their movement techniques are, they’ll be able to make a clean escape! What should we do?”

The tan cultivator now appeared in complete disarray, “That Youngster Han is of little consequence, but if Marquis Nanlong escapes, it will be great cause for trouble. Fellow Daoists Wang and Yun, we only agreed to collude against Marquis Nanlong because of you two!”

The old man coldly chuckled and sinisterly said, “Be at ease! From the beating he received, what do you think his truly cultivation is now? From forcefully drawing magic power in his injured state to using the Mileshed Line, he will certainly be gravely injured without any further action.

Even if he spent the next hundred years restoring his vitality, he won’t be able to preserve his mid Nascent Soul stage cultivation. Moreover, when did I ever say I didn’t have a way of tracking him down.”

With roused spirits, the tan man suddenly asked, “Brother Yun means...”

The old man readily said, “Since I planned to kill him, it is only natural that I prepared for this ahead of time. So long as he isn’t able to move a hundred-fifty kilometers in a single stretch, I will be able to find him. But given the current state of his body, he won’t be able to sustain the Mileshed Line for long. When that time comes, we’ll track him down and dispose of him.”

The old woman’s expression relaxed and she sighed, “That’s good. This is greatly reassuring. Were it not for the black jade lotus that Fellow Daoist Wang gave to me and the promise of sharing the secrets of Devilfall Valley with us, I definitely wouldn’t have braved such dangers. Becoming enemies with a mid Nascent Soul cultivator isn’t a wise decision.”

The tan cultivator also appeared relieved and he said, “We’ve spent quite a bit of effort for the secrets of Devilfall Valley! However we didn’t expect that Fellow Daoist Yun was actually an elder for the Ghost Spirit Sect. How surprising! Could it be that the Six Devil Dao Sects have so many hidden elders?” Once he finished speaking, a complicated expression appeared on his face.

The white-clothed old man shook his head and insipidly said, “Although I came from the Ghost Spirit Sect in my youth, I wasn’t very involved with sect affairs. Thus, only a few know of my true identity as a Ghost Spirit Sect elder. I didn’t truly have the intention to deceive any others. To tell the truth, Marquis Nanlong was a descendant of Master Cang Kun and had been my friend for many years. I didn’t wish to kill him. But it is a pity that I discovered he stealthily formed friendships with the elders of the Righteous Dao Heavenpeak Sect and grew interested in joining their sect. I urged him to change his mind, but his mind was unchanged. Furthermore, he planned to draw support of the Heavenpeak Sect to enter Devilfall Valley. As such, I couldn’t just standby and allow the Righteous Dao to grow in power. I had no option but to deal with him.”