Chapter 1894: Disciples

A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality, Volume 10: The Demonic War

“Of course, junior understands senior’s meaning. Please bid farewell to Miss Yuanyao and the other young lady on junior’s behalf. I will not return to your esteemed abode; I will depart from this realm directly.” Upon hearing this, Han Li’s expression subtly changed. After a long silence, he sighed softly and bowed to Qing Yuanzi as he spoke.

“Heh heh, Fellow Daoist Han, please don’t blame this old man for being unsympathetic. The truth is, it would not benefit Yao’er to have too much contact with you at this critical juncture. If she were to spend a little more time with you, she might find it extremely difficult to overcome the inner demon tribulation during her advancement. This old man must take precautions.” Seeing Han Li readily agree, Qing Yuanzi's expression softened, and he offered a brief explanation.

“Senior, you’ve misunderstood. This junior has no other intentions towards Miss Yuanyao; I simply consider her a close confidante,” Han Li said with a wry smile, unsure how to explain the matter clearly.

“You may see Yao’er as a close confidante, Fellow Daoist, but my adopted daughter might not share that sentiment,” Qing Yuanzi said, narrowing his eyes with a half-smile.

“Junior doesn’t know how to explain, and I imagine Senior doesn’t wish to hear my explanations either. Regardless, this Han’s success in obtaining the Netherworld Spirit Milk this time is entirely due to Senior’s great support. This kindness I will certainly engrave in my heart. Junior will not linger here any longer. I hope that when we meet again, Senior will have successfully passed your tribulation.” Han Li clearly didn’t wish to dwell on the matter. After bowing, he immediately bid his farewell.

“Mm, then this Jiang also wishes Fellow Daoist the opportunity to advance to the Grand Ascension stage!” Qing Yuanzi, with a somewhat solemn expression, also cupped his hands towards Han Li.

Seeing this, Han Li nodded. A spiritual light flashed around his body, and he transformed into a streak of green light, soaring away towards the location of the spatial rift he had last departed from.

Previously, his cultivation was insufficient, requiring Qing Yuanzi's assistance to leave the rift. But now, having already advanced to the Mid-Integration stage, he could naturally tear open the rift and depart with his own power.

Qing Yuanzi remained motionless in the high heavens, his robes fluttering. Only after the green light completely vanished at the horizon did he let out a nearly inaudible sigh:

“This fellow has advanced so quickly, and this time he’s obtained so much Netherworld Milk. I reckon advancing to the late Integration stage will be no problem for him. However, to advance to the Grand Ascension stage, it would be quite unlikely without some fortuitous opportunities. But then again, he is a prodigy. He possesses no small number of treasures and secrets, so advancing to Grand Ascension is not an impossible feat for him. This time, I’ve done my utmost to help him. If he truly becomes a Grand Ascension cultivator someday, perhaps there will be a time when I can rely on him again.”

After murmuring these words to himself, Qing Yuanzi withdrew his gaze and soared away on a streak of light towards his abode.

Half a day later, high above an nameless mountain peak in the Netherworld Land, a violent spatial fluctuation suddenly erupted. Then, the grey mist parted, and a huge, dark rift appeared out of nowhere.

Following a sky-shattering thunderclap, a five-colored pillar of light shot out from the mountain peak’s summit, disappearing into the rift in a flash.

Subsequently, the spatial fluctuations began to weaken, and the enormous rift slowly closed, returning to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.

Time flew by, and over three hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. For the vast Spirit Realm, this period might be but a fleeting moment in its long history. However, for ordinary mortals, it’s a lifespan they could only dream of. As for those powerful cultivators capable of flying through the heavens and burrowing through the earth, such a long stretch of time was also a significant period. Sect families could even use this time to initially cultivate several generations of clansmen and disciples.

However, for the entire human race, these three hundred years had brought about earth-shattering changes.

Hundreds of years later, in the Human Race's Three Realms, armored soldiers could be seen everywhere in groups, along with numerous gigantic, fortress-like cities.

Centered around these massive cities, various formations and restrictions spread out like spiderwebs, encircling the cities layer upon layer, enough to make any aspiring attackers despair.

Cultivators of Core Formation and Nascent Soul stages, who were rarely seen in ordinary cities centuries ago, now frequently appeared before mortals. Some fortunate individuals even occasionally caught sight of Deity Transformation stage cultivators.

As for the number of mortal Body Refiners, thanks to the frantic expansion by major powers over the years, it had increased more than tenfold, and all of them were equipped with superior weapons and armor far beyond what was available before. Even other ordinary people who couldn’t cultivate body refining techniques would be specially organized, with large numbers of young adults practicing mortal martial arts to strengthen their bodies and gain some self-preservation ability.

And all of this was almost entirely voluntary on the part of the mortal populace, because by this time, even three-year-old children were clearly aware of the impending demonic tribulation.

Over a hundred years ago, envoys from Sacred Island appeared in each of the major cities, directly announcing a precise prediction that the demonic tribulation would arrive within two hundred years. They solemnly stated that this demonic tribulation would be exceptionally fierce and its devastation far surpass any previous ones, warning that a single misstep could genuinely lead to the extermination of the entire human race.

As a result, the entire human race, both immortals and mortals, were greatly alarmed and began frantically preparing all countermeasures at several times their previous speed. All sorts of materials and spiritual medicines in the major markets were quickly swept clean. Only the major sects and aristocratic families, with their private medicinal gardens, still had some spiritual medicines currently being cultivated.

These spiritual medicines were also different from the rare ones previously cultivated; most had been replaced with commonly used spirit grasses and flowers that had shorter maturation periods.

As for certain things that major powers had previously tried to conceal, they now burst forth into the world as if from a geyser.

Furthermore, some factions began to frequently exchange secret techniques and cultivation methods that each needed, hoping to significantly elevate their strength in a short amount of time.

Of course, the largest among these human factions were naturally Skyreach City and the three Imperial Cities.

The former gathered the elites of both the human and demon races, with ten Integration stage cultivators stationed there, essentially making it as stable as Mount Tai. The latter brought together the high-level cultivators of the Three Realms, guarded personally by the Three Emperors, and was considered equally impregnable in the minds of ordinary people.

Slightly less powerful forces naturally included the Human Race’s Ten Great Sects and the Three True Spirit Families. They also attracted numerous mortals and rogue cultivators, who quickly gathered, causing their populations to skyrocket by more than tenfold in just a few centuries, nearly reaching their acceptable limits.

Not only did the Human Race face this demonic tribulation with a do-or-die resolve, but the Demon Race and several other nearby foreign races also fully mobilized their entire populations. Over these three hundred years, various races frequently dispatched envoys to exchange crucial information related to the demonic tribulation. All of them appeared to be facing this demonic tribulation with extreme vigilance.

Amidst this atmosphere of total mobilization, in a mountain range not far from Skyreach City, approximately three to four hundred cultivators gathered atop a mountain peak, intently listening to a white-robed woman who sat cross-legged on a large boulder, expounding upon an exceptionally profound cultivation method.

The woman appeared young, seemingly only seventeen or eighteen years old. However, her body was enveloped by layers of milky-white lotus shadows, and a dark blue lotus-shaped mark was embedded between her brows, making her appear even more ethereal and refined, like a heavenly immortal untouched by worldly affairs.

Among the cultivators listening, while there were men and women, old and young, most were dressed in Taoist robes. The other half wore blue robes and carried swords on their backs, seemingly belonging to the same sect.

However, the cultivation of these individuals was clearly not very high; only a handful had Core Formation cultivation, while most were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

“Alright, that concludes today’s session. The next lecture will be in three months, and your Martial Uncle will personally expound upon the Dao of the Five Elements. You may now leave.” After a full hour, the beautiful woman finally finished explaining the incantation and calmly dismissed her audience.

“We respectfully obey our Martial Aunt’s decree!” Upon hearing this, hundreds of cultivators, with solemn expressions, bowed deeply to the woman in unison. Only then did they respectfully depart, either activating their magical tools or directly riding on their magic treasures.

The white-robed woman watched their departing streaks of light, then suddenly furrowed her delicate brows and spoke lightly towards a large tree nearby:

“Senior Martial Brother Hai, these disciples were clearly taken in by you and Senior Martial Brother Qi Lingzi, yet you insist on having your junior martial sister teach them in your stead. Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“This young master never intended to take in any disciples in the first place! I was simply tricked by Senior Martial Brother into accepting this huge pile of trouble. Besides, Junior Martial Sister’s divine lectures are a hundred times better than mine or Senior Martial Brother’s. Otherwise, these disciples wouldn’t have made such astonishing progress in just a few centuries. Several Core Formation cultivators have even appeared.” Beneath the tree, a white light flashed, and a handsome man in blue robes appeared, speaking with a playful smile on his face.

“The progress these disciples have made is hardly Junior Sister’s sole credit; most of it is thanks to the residual spirit pills Master bestowed upon us previously. Those pills are no longer useful to us, so it’s a good deal for your two disciples. However, Senior Martial Brother Qi Lingzi took in disciples to expand the Fog Sea Temple he inherited, but why did you have to join in on the fun as well?” The white-robed woman still spoke with an annoyed tone.

“You can’t blame me for this at all. It was Qi Lingzi who deliberately provoked me into doing this in the first place,” the blue-robed man said, looking distressed and complaining profusely.

“Heh heh, Second Junior Brother, you’re speaking against your true feelings there. I wonder who it was back then whose mouth couldn’t stop grinning when so many disciples called him ‘Master’?” A soft chuckle came from behind another nearby tree, and then, with a flash of spiritual light, a Taoist priest in yellow robes strangely materialized.

These three were none other than Han Li’s three registered disciples: Bai Guo’er, Qi Lingzi, and Hai Dashao.

After three hundred years apart, although their appearances hadn’t changed at all from before, their demeanor and aura were completely different.