Chapter 2010: Aftermath

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality – Volume 10: Battle of the Demonic Realm

“Master, rest assured. Venerable Qinglong’s Nascent Soul was swallowed by me in a single gulp; he no longer exists in this world. However, before he died, he stopped suppressing the poison and unleashed a desperate divine ability, which caused me some damage to my vital energy. I had to meditate outside for two days before quietly sneaking back into the city with a group of scouts from Tian Yuan City. No one will ever discover me,” the Leopard-Striped Beast said with a grin, a slight smile on its face.

“Hmm, you did well this time. With this, I have no worries and can fully focus on breaking through the late-stage bottleneck,” Han Li replied, a smile also appearing at the corner of his mouth.

“Hehe, with Master’s cultivation talent, and with so many preparations, this breakthrough will certainly be successful. I’ll congratulate Master in advance on his great progress in cultivation,” the Leopard-Striped Beast blinked its eyes and let out a string of light chuckles.

“I hope so. Since you have already taken human form, there’s no need for you to stay in the spirit beast bracelet normally. You can cultivate in the secret chamber next to mine. If you need anything, feel free to ask the artifact spirits. I will instruct them to fulfill all your needs,” Han Li said with a solemn nod.

“Thank you, Master. I haven’t wanted to stay in the spirit beast bracelet for a long time! I’ll go cultivate in the next room now. When Master begins his seclusion, I’ll return to guard you!” The Leopard-Striped Beast was overjoyed and immediately spoke its farewells.

Han Li naturally had no objection and, after a few instructions, allowed it to leave.

Once the Leopard-Striped Beast’s figure disappeared, Han Li took a deep breath, grasped at the air with one hand, and a communication talisman materialized. He flicked his wrist to send it off, then closed his eyes and resumed meditation.

A short while later, a woman’s voice suddenly sounded from outside the secret chamber:

“Brother Han, you’ve summoned me now. Is it possible you’re about to begin your breakthrough to the late-stage bottleneck in the next few days?”

The voice was exceptionally pleasant but carried a hint of coolness. It was indeed Bing Dan.

“Fellow Daoist Feng has not guessed wrong. I do indeed have this intention,” Han Li replied calmly, opening his eyes.

Several days later, in a secret chamber in Tian Ding City, seven or eight members of Tian Yuan City’s Elder Council were gathered, discussing something.

Master Jin Yue, Fairy Yin Guang, and others were all present.

“So, Venerable Qinglong has really fallen! What a pity. At a time like this, it’s truly a great loss to our two races,” the silver-haired, white-robed old man at the head of the table said with a sigh.

“If Venerable Qinglong hadn’t left a piece of his life-bound soul tablet in the secret hall after joining the Elder Council, I wouldn’t believe it either. According to the cultivator guarding the hall, his soul tablet shattered on its own within half a day of him leaving the city,” Master Jin Yue replied with a bitter smile.

“Hmph, that Venerable Qinglong really sought his own death. Knowing that devil cultivators are everywhere nearby, he still dared to forcibly teleport away. I think he has no one to blame but himself; he walked straight into his own demise,” Fairy Yin Guang said with a cold snort.

“Hehe, Qinglong might not necessarily have died at the hands of the devils. Perhaps someone else was involved! Didn’t the guard at the teleportation hall say that another person left with Venerable Qinglong using the teleportation array? Maybe Venerable Qinglong died by his hand,” another brawny man in a black leather robe suddenly interjected with a laugh.

“Are you perhaps suspecting Fellow Daoist Han?” Fairy Yin Guang’s expression subtly darkened upon hearing this.

“Fairy Yin, please don’t speak carelessly. I never said such a thing. I only said that Qinglong might not have fallen into the hands of the devils,” the brawny man’s expression slightly changed, and he vehemently denied it.

Evidently, he was greatly wary of Han Li and unwilling to easily offend him.

Fairy Yin Guang smiled faintly but ultimately said nothing more.

“Forget it. Since Venerable Qinglong forcibly left Tian Yuan City, it means he no longer considers himself a member of our Elder Council. In that case, there’s no need for us to investigate further. The most important thing now is the devil army besieging the city!” the silver-haired old man said slowly, frowning.

“But Venerable Qinglong is, after all, an Integration Stage cultivator of the human race, and a mid-stage one at that. For him to die so inexplicably, it will be difficult for us to explain to the cultivators in the city. Moreover, will this affect Fairy Lin Luan’s attitude towards our city?” the cultivator surnamed Gu from Dou Yuan Pavilion said thoughtfully.

“What is there to explain? If we don’t say anything, how will others know about Venerable Qinglong’s death? Even if we were to thoroughly investigate this matter, it would have to wait until the devil calamity is over. In a situation like this, where our two races face a great catastrophe of annihilation, everything else must take a backseat. As for Fellow Daoist Lin, she is exceptionally intelligent; I believe she understands what is right and wrong here…” the silver-haired old man said with a cold, severe tone.

The other silent individuals exchanged glances upon hearing this and eventually nodded firmly.

“Very good. Since everyone has no other opinions, let’s move on to the matter of Fellow Daoist Han An. Master Jin Yue, I heard that you sent someone to invite Fellow Daoist Han for a meeting two days ago, but he had already begun his seclusion. Is this true?” the silver-haired old man asked Master Jin Yue with a serious expression.

“Yes, it is indeed true. Originally, I wanted to make one last effort to see if I could persuade Fellow Daoist Han to abandon the idea of letting Fellow Daoist Qinglong leave the city. However, Fellow Daoist Han’s disciples said he had entered seclusion and was no longer receiving guests!” Master Jin Yue said slowly.

“So, he anticipated that Master would come as a lobbyist and deliberately avoided you then,” the white-haired old man stroked his beard, saying thoughtfully.

“Perhaps. A few days before I invited Fellow Daoist Han, he had just met with those young cultivators who had previously bribed Qinglong. I heard that when these young cultivators emerged, every one of them looked pale, as if Fellow Daoist Han had heavily extorted a large sum of spirit stones and materials from them. I don’t know if they can truly gather such a massive amount of resources,” Master Jin Yue said with a somewhat strange expression.

“Hehe, those fellows didn’t know their place, getting involved in such matters. It’s only right for them to suffer a bit! I think if Fellow Daoist Han hadn’t been somewhat wary of their family sects behind them, how could he have let them off so easily?” the silver-haired old man said with a cold laugh.

“That’s also true. However, Fellow Daoist Han’s actions brought great relief to this humble monk. Otherwise, if he truly hadn’t been willing to give up easily, it might have stirred up no small amount of trouble,” Master Jin Yue said with a helpless expression.

“Fortunately, it didn’t come to that! If it had reached that point, even I would have had a massive headache,” the silver-haired old man chuckled.

“Master, I heard that Qinglong was defeated by Fellow Daoist Han in just three strikes. Isn’t this a bit exaggerated?” the black-robed cultivator couldn’t help but ask.

“That is indeed true! Fellow Daoist Han’s divine abilities are truly the greatest this humble monk has ever witnessed in his life. I’m afraid even ordinary late-stage Integration cultivators might not be his match. It wasn’t just this humble monk who personally witnessed his battle with Qinglong; Fairy Yin Guang and Fellow Daoist Gu were also present. If you don’t believe it, you can go and ask them,” Master Jin Yue replied with a serious expression.

Upon hearing this answer, the black-robed cultivator couldn’t help but glance at Fairy Yin Guang and the cultivator surnamed Gu.

Fairy Yin Guang remained impassive, while the cultivator surnamed Gu nodded with an exceptionally solemn expression.

The black-robed cultivator felt a pang of shock in his heart.

In fact, it wasn’t just him; several other cultivators who had not interacted much with Han Li also showed expressions of surprise.

“Divine abilities greater than a late-stage cultivator? Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? Although Venerable Qinglong has a considerable reputation, he couldn’t even withstand three strikes from a cultivator of the same stage. He was probably just a hollow name. Being able to defeat him doesn’t necessarily mean one’s divine abilities are heaven-defying,” the black-robed cultivator forced a smile, still trying to find a flimsy excuse.

“If you think that, Fellow Daoist, then you are mistaken. Venerable Qinglong was a half-demon, capable of even transforming into a half-dragon form. Coupled with his profound Confucian cultivation, his strength was absolutely extraordinary. However, he simply chose the wrong opponent to provoke. Fellow Daoist Han practices both magic and body cultivation, and the giant beast transformation he conjures far surpasses Qinglong’s half-dragon form. That is why, after three strikes, he broke Qinglong’s profound techniques and severely wounded him. This humble monk thought about it after returning; if it were me facing such an opponent, it seems I would have no choice but to flee in disarray,” Master Jin Yue whispered a Buddhist chant and spoke with extreme solemnity.

“So, the rumors of Fellow Daoist Han being pursued by a Devil Ancestor’s avatar are true. With such strength, escaping with his life from a Devil Ancestor’s avatar wouldn’t be a rare feat then,” the silver-haired old man said in a deep voice.

“Whether Fellow Daoist Han truly escaped with his life from a Devil Ancestor’s avatar, I do not know. But I have personally witnessed several Devil Venerables consecutively lose their lives at his hands,” Fairy Yin Guang also said cautiously.

Devil Ancestor!

Upon hearing this term, which was almost taboo among the human and demon races, most of the two-race cultivators present showed a great change in their expressions.

“It seems Fellow Daoist Han Li truly possesses extraordinary divine abilities. With his help guarding the city, our chances against the devil race can increase by half. Master Jin Yue, try once more to see if Fellow Daoist Han is willing to join the Elder Council. As long as he is willing to join, all conditions are negotiable,” the silver-haired old man said with unusual decisiveness after a brief pondering.

“Understood. If the opportunity arises, this humble monk will try. However, in my opinion, the hope is truly slim,” Master Jin Yue nodded in agreement but replied pessimistically.

“I know that as well, otherwise he would have joined our city directly when he was first invited. But there’s no harm in trying. All right, we’ll end the discussion on these matters here. Next, let’s talk about some recent movements of the devil army that our scouts have just obtained. If their intelligence is correct, the devil army might launch a full assault on our Tian Yuan City in as little as a few months, or at most a year,” the silver-haired old man said, a divine light flashing in his eyes, his demeanor completely changing.

The others felt a chill in their hearts and listened attentively!