A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality (Web Novel)

F

“That might not be certain. I heard that the disciples of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment have spent the past few years searching for Gold Thread Silkworms. But information regarding their search suddenly stopped, possibly from having found them. With the assistance of these exotic insects, it is quite possible for the master of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment to acquire the Heavenvoid Cauldron.” Grandmaster Zenith Yin frowned and unconsciously looked at Wan Tianming and the others with great worry.

The three Righteous Dao Nascent Soul cultivators were currently sitting down cross-legged on a single pillar as if they had no intention of speaking.

“Humph! Not only is it possible that Wan Tianming possesses Gold Thread Silkworms, I’ve heard that you, Zenith Yin, have acquired two mutant fire pythons from Li Fire Island. Your ambitions for this trip are also quite large!” Man Huzi shot Grandmaster Zenith Yin a glance and spoke without restraint. He appeared somewhat disdainful of Grandmaster Zenith Yin’s stealthy actions.

When Grandmaster Zenith Yin heard this, his expression abruptly changed several times before he recovered his calm. However, he was profusely cursing in his heart. There was no question that his own confidants had divulged this information since it had been heard by Man Huzi.

It seems that in addition to acquiring the life prolonging fruit, Man Huzi wished to keep watch on Grandmaster Zenith Yin’s actions along the way.

Despite feeling annoyed, Grandmaster Zenith Yin spoke with a blank face, “It seems my ineptitude has attracted your ridicule. I have truly acquired two mutant fire pythons, but their skills are shallow. As their odds of success are low, I require Brother Man’s and Brother Qing’s assistance.”

The old Confucian scholar’s heart stirred and he hesitantly asked, “Assist you? Do we get any benefits?”

When Grandmaster Zenith Yin heard this, he revealed a slight smile, choosing to continue with voice transmission rather than speaking, “According to the information left behind by the Heavenvoid Hall’s master, there are several top grade desolate antiquities left behind from ancient times. Their power should undoubtedly be unmatched. Apart from the Heavenvoid Cauldron and a Heavenmend Pill, how about we evenly split the other items?”

The old Confucian scholar’s face flashed with greed, but after some consideration, he took a look at Man Huzi before replying with a voice transmission, “I have no problem with this, but it will depend on Brother Man. After all, without Brother Man to pin down Wan Tianming, I wouldn’t be able to brave the risk.”

Grandmaster Zenith Yin wasn’t surprised to hear this. He knew that this old Confucian by the name of Layman Qing Yi[1. His specific title is Householder.] was truly an old schemer. If he didn’t draw in Man Huzi, this matter would have no chance of success.

Thus, Grandmaster Zenith Yin turned his head to Man Huzi passed on his conditions to Man Huzi with a voice transmission, “Brother Man, what do you think of my proposal? Are you interested in cooperating? After all, Brother Man should clearly understand that I have no need for the Heavenmend Pill. It serves no other purpose I can think of apart from making up for the deficiency of five elements spiritual roots. Perhaps if Brother Man takes it, his cultivation will greatly progress and he’ll be able to breakthrough the limits of his lifespan!”

Grandmaster Zenith Yin seemed not to mind the unsightly expression he had just shown and spoke excitedly.

“Humph! From your plan to acquire the Heavenvoid Cauldron with two fire serpents, I see that your mind is muddled! An unknown number of Nascent Cultivators have already scoured these halls, but they all returned with disappointment. Do you believe that your plan is so likely to be successful that is it worth braving these great dangers? The danger of the inner halls is far greater than the outer halls. Even if we go in as Nascent Soul cultivators, there is no guarantee we will come out unscathed. Every successive opening of the Heavenvoid Hall doesn’t end with only one or two Nascent Soul cultivators disappearing.” Man Huzi snorted and spoke with derision.

“Brother Man need not worry about this. Just let me ask, if Wan Tianming truly strived for the Heavenvoid Cauldron wouldn’t Brother Man want to go and watch it?” Grandmaster Zenith Yin calmly asked.

Man Huzi’s cold smile gradually disappeared after he heard Zenith Yin’s question.

He narrowed his eyes and a cold glint flashed through his eyes before he slowly said, “If Wan Tianming truly wishes to brave the inner halls then I will travel with you without question. Even if our Devil Dao is incapable of obtaining the Heavenvoid Cauldron, we cannot allow it to fall into the hands of the Righteous Dao.”

“Hehe, that’s good. So long as Brother Man lends a hand when the time comes, my previous proposal will obviously hold. Naturally, if Lady Wen is willing to lend her assistance, she is more than welcome.” Grandmaster Zenith Yin glanced at the beautiful woman with a slight smile.

“My purpose in coming here is to pick some spiritual herbs. The inner halls are too dangerous, so I will not be going.”The beautiful woman surnamed Wen didn’t bother to hear out his conditions and coldly declined.

A trace of disappointment flashed from Zenith Yin’s eyes.

Although the beautiful woman was only at early Nascent Soul stage, her lord husband the Archsaint of the Six Paths was a towering, peerless figure amongst those that tread the Devil Dao. As he was unwilling to act shamefully in front of Man Huzi, he couldn’t persistently ask her and could only wallow in his impotence.

However, he naturally didn’t dare to force the woman along. All he could do was smile and drop the matter. After all, their group of three wasn’t at a disadvantage against the Righteous Dao, and he was unwilling to offend the woman.

After the Devil Dao finished their discussions, Wan Tianming and the other two Righteous Dao cultivators continued openly meditating in silence. It was unknown whether they had finished their plans or if they had prepared countermeasures.

Han Li saw all of this while he was sitting in a corner.

Although he was quite far away and the majority of their speech was in sound transmissions, he could faintly guess from their occasionally malicious glances towards the Righteous Dao. They were likely discussing how to deal with the Sect Master of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment and the others, much to Han Li’s delight.

So long as the Nascent Soul cultivators were focused on each other, he could take advantage of the ensuing chaos to further ensure his safety. Best of all, Grandmaster Zenith Yin wouldn’t be capable of attending to him!

As Han Li was thinking of what could possibly further increase the chaos, two white clothed old men appeared at the entrance of the hall. Their hair was silver, and their jackets were fluttering about, the exact image one would imagine of an Immortal.

As soon as the many cultivators saw the two and recognized them, their gazes revealed respect.

Their appearance had brought relief to a large portion of the cultivators in the room! As for the old eccentrics of the Devilish and Righteous Daos, they all revealed complicated expressions, containing envy, loathing, and even helplessness.

The old man with the friendlier appearance of the two smiled under the cultivators’ many gazes and kindly said, “The reason why our two sages didn’t preside over this treasure hunt at the Heavenvoid Hall is because they are still in seclusion. Us two enforcement elders will be supervising this grand occasion on behalf of the Star Palace in their place.”

“The rules of this treasure hunt shall be the same as all the others. Those who casually bully the weak or kill others to seize their treasures will be stopped by us, and will be hunted down by our Star Palace. However, our supervision will be limited to the outer halls. We will neither enter the inner halls or be involved with any matters that take place there. Thus, if anyone feels uncertain, do not enter the inner halls . In addition, we will not assist any fellow Daoists with the dangers in the Heavenvoid Halls and will not bat an eye if you perish to them. With this, everyone should understand our intentions.”

With that said, the white-clothed old man quickly swept their gazes past everyone in the hall like lightning. When the others felt their gaze upon them, they each turned their head away, but when Wan Tianming and Man Huzi felt their gaze sweep past them, they directly returned their gaze.

The white-clothed old man were initially startled before frowning. They couldn’t help but mutter, “Why have these two eccentrics arrived? It seems that a bit of trouble is stirring.”

The cold-faced old man at his side also had a change of expression, but after a sneer, his expression returned to normal.

Soon after, these two enforcement elders of the Star Palace sat down cross-legged at the sides of the entrance, not paying any attention to the uproar that had been caused by their words.

All of the other Core Formation cultivators had greatly varying expressions ranging from worry to joy.

When Han Li saw this, he couldn’t help but find this odd. What did the Star Palace hope to gain by acting so benevolently? Could this be a display of the Star Palace’s authority?

At that moment, he heard the voice of the Bone Sage, “Youngster, be careful. The Star Palace aren’t flawlessly virtuous. To the best of my knowledge, when either the Devil Dao or the Righteous Dao obtains too much influence, the Star Palace would suppress the respective offender, denying either of the two sides from gaining too much power. In addition, every time the Heavenvoid Halls opens, quite a number of Righteous and Devil Dao cultivators die from mysterious causes, possibly from the machinations of the Star Palace. Although you don’t belong to the Righteous or Devil Dao, you had best watch yourself. I don’t wish for my plans to fail merely because I couldn’t find another suitable partner.”

Although the Bone Sage’s voice was indifferent, his words stirred great alarm in Han Li.

Well, everyone technically is the MC of their own story.