A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality

“What does Fellow Daoist mean?” The silver silhouette’s voice suddenly grew cold.

When the other cultivators saw this, they all revealed alarm. 

Han Li faintly smiled, and with a hand still holding the box down, he slapped his storage pouch and took out another jade box.

The silver silhouette unconsciously received the box and annoyedly said, “I will only trade for a Devil Essence Diamond. I have no interest in anything else.”

“You should take a look at what’s inside first. There’s no harm in that,” Han Li said with a deep tone.

The silver silhouette hesitantly opened the box and took a quick glance before letting out a gasp of surprise.

“Good, the Elemental Jade is yours!” the silver silhouette cheerfully said. She had only opened the box halfway before carefully putting the box away and returning to the crowd.

All the cultivators around them were left completely baffled. They hadn’t caught sight of what was contained in the third jade box Han Li had taken out, but it was enough to get the woman to agree to the exchange.

Of course, there were a few people that guessed that it was a third Devil Essence Diamond, but it was already shocking for a single person to possess two of them, let alone a third. Since it was so unlikely, most people had guessed Han Li took out a great treasure to tempt the woman.

At that moment, the gazes in the crowd were looking at Han Li with various emotions ranging from envy to hostility.

Han Li paid no attention to this and took another glance at the silver silhouette and unconsciously frowned. Her figure gave him a rather familiar impression.

‘Could it be her?’ A shocking thought suddenly crossed Han Li’s mind. Although the voice wasn’t the same, cultivators of their stage could change their voice with ease.

With that thought, Han Li used his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to look at her. Although he wouldn’t be able to completely see through the mist of light, it would allow him make out a more concrete outline.

 As a result, he wore an odd expression. This woman did appear to be the Endless Sky Saintess, but because of their circumstances, she hadn’t discovered his identity and carried off with the Devil Essence Diamond in delight.

The last of the materials he toiled to collect was actually in the hands of a hated enemy. Han Li felt at a loss of whether he should laugh or cry at this rather ridiculous affair.

While his heart was assailed by this indescribable feeling, he quickly put away the Auric Essence and Elemental Jade he had acquired and returned to his seat.

He no longer paid further attention to anything as he was able to accomplish his objective, and managed to gain a large piece of Auric Essence without much trouble as well, much to his satisfaction. This chunk would be enough for him to temper most of his remaining swords.

Another forty-some odd cultivators later went on stage to trade their items, but none of them revealed anything as rare as the Elemental Jade and Devil Essence Diamonds. As such, most attendees were bored with the display, and matters were proceeded in a hurry.

Eventually, the last trader had finished and returned to their seat. The white silhouette then clapped his hands twice and said, “Since Fellow Daoists had finished their trades, we will begin the auction for the final treasure of this meeting, an item that is truly a marvel to behold.” With that said, two cultivators appeared at the entrance of the hall.

Surprisingly, the two hadn’t placed the concealment talismans on their body and were revealing their true appearance.

The crowd became restless and puzzled as most of them had recognized the two. They were an old man with a black hand at early-Nascent Soul cultivation and a middle-aged man with a square face at mid-Nascent Soul cultivation, the elders of the Imperial Ye Clan that commonly interacted with outsiders.

Only a few cultivators seemed to understand what was happening. They had received information of the treasure that would appear in the trade meet and their spirits were greatly roused.

At that moment, the middle-aged man approached the table at the center of the hall and nodded towards the white silhouette. He turned around to face the crowd and slowly said, “There will be no need for introductions, so I’ll keep it short. This grand treasure is something that our Ye Clan had spent much effort creating. It had taken us over a hundred years, and we’ve only recently finished it. However, there have been several sects close to the Ye Clan that were looking to purchase this item, but we dare not to offend any of them. As we are helpless, we have decided to auction it as the last item of the trade meet. Let’s see if any Fellow Daoist has the opportunity to acquire this grand treasure?”

With that said, he turned to the old man and gave him a nod. The old man took out a foot-long box and gritted his teeth before reluctantly handing it over to the white silhouette.

The white silhouette chuckled and said, “Since that is done, I won’t be wasting my breath either. I’ll first show everyone the true appearance of this treasure.” He then tossed the jade box into the air and a fist-sized blinding yellow streak slowly floated out from it. As soon as it appeared, it seemed to fluctuate in size of its own accord and release faint hums.

He then clasped his hands in an incantation gesture and struck it with several spell seals. After he pointed at it, he let out a soft shout, causing it to wildly flash and revolve in place before it revealed its true form: a yellow seal that was several inches large.

The stamp appeared as smooth as jade. But from the fluctuating light on its surface, one could faintly see layers of golden-silver spell formations on top of it. Each time light flickered, it would display a different set of talisman characters, causing observers to feel greatly mystified upon further inspection.

In addition, the stamp released a spiritual Qi that was completely massive, yet steady and calm. When the spectators sensed this, they were deeply shocked.

“This treasure is called the ‘Mountain Crushing Seal,’ an imitation of the ancient Divine Spirit Treasure — the ‘Heavenwielding Seal.’ According to the Ye Clan’s tests, although it only displays a tenth of the originals power, it is more than enough to flatten any mountain. Even if a cultivator possesses great enough spiritual power to wield the entirety of its might, it will be possible to wield a third of the power of the Heavenwielding Seal. However, this will heavily damage the treasure, so it’d be best to avoid doing this.”

As the white silhouette spoke, he controlled the Mountain Crushing Seal in front of him to continuously fluctuate in size and release an astonishing aura. Although this demonstration didn’t fully display its might, it was enough to show that it was beyond ordinary. No matter their past knowledge , the seal had firmly captured their attention.

When Han Li heard that it was a replica of a Divine Spirit Treasure, he was also surprised. He had already spent a great effort to gather the materials needed to refine the Triflame Fan. Now that a Divine Spirit Treasure replica had appeared at the auction, Han Li felt particularly gloomy.

It is a pity he didn’t know much of Divine Spirit Treasures. He wasn’t sure how the Triflame Fan would compare in strength to this Mountain Crushing Seal.

As if guessing his thoughts, Monarch Soul Divergence said, “There is no need to worry, the Mountain Crushing Seal only displays a tenth of the original treasure’s might. The Triflame Fan I deducted from the Sevenflame Fan should possess two-fifths of its original power. And as this person says, if exerted, it will be able to display half of the original treasure’s might. Although both are attack-type treasures, the seal should be inferior to the fan in terms of might.”

Han Li nodded and muttered, “Yes, I’ve thought as much. I hope I’ll be able to refine the Triflame Fan soon. With that treasure in my hands, I reckon I’ll have nothing to fear from late-Nascent Soul cultivators.”

Monarch Soul Divergence snorted and coldly chuckled. “This isn’t the Heavenly South. Do you think that your replica will be unique?”

“Senior means to say...”

“According to what I’ve discovered when I toured the Great Jin, the High Zenith Sect, the Heavenly Devil Sect, and the Myriad Demon Valley all had replicas of Divine Spirit Treasures. Myriad Demon Valley, in particular, had the most famous of the replicas — the Myriad Demon Banner. It is said that the flag has already reached the same level as its original, the Heaven Demon Banner, as a result of the many cultivator souls it had devoured. As for the other great sects, I wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to refine one or two replicas of their own. How else would they be able to remain towering after all this time?”