A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter 816: The Valley Depths

After glancing at everything in front of him, Han Li couldn’t help but wear a peculiar expression and mutter, “This is the Valley Depths?” At the bottom of a steep three-kilometer tall cliff, there was a small cave that he just emerged from not long ago.

Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying stood side by side as they glanced at the scene before them, both of them wearing odd expressions. There a huge mountain range before them with countless mountains of varying sizes. It reached out as far as the eye could see. Additionally, the world that surrounded them had areas glowing with rainbow light, be it sky or earth.

The areas of rainbow light varied in size with some reaching several kilometers in size, covering the sky, while the small ones were only about a meter large and shined with weaker radiance, but all of them were extremely beautiful. What caused Han Li and the others to be astonished was not the clouds of light, but the chaotic nature of the spiritual sense around them. Regardless of the attribute of spiritual Qi, they all mingled together and gave people of a feeling of immense unease as if the very world would lash out at them with a single wrong move.

Marquis Nanlong sighed after recollecting his thoughts and said, “This place is certainly where the ancient cultivators fought. The worldly spiritual Qi is thoroughly destroyed here. As a result, it will have an influence on any of our techniques.”

Han Li wryly smiled and pointed to the sky. “That is only a secondary concern. That is what is going to be most troublesome.”

About a kilometer above them in the sky, there was a group of over ten foot-long arcs of white light floating there. It greatly startled Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying when they clearly saw what it was.

Lu Weiying shouted in astonishment, “How can there be so many spatial tears? And how can they wander?”

Marquis Nanlong’s expression also grew unsightly.

After noticing Marquis Nanlong’s change in expression, Han Li chuckled and said, “This should be expected. Since this was the battlegrounds of ancient cultivators, there should be more spatial tears here than the outside. Why else would so many Nascent Soul cultivators enter only to never return? We can only rely on Master Cang Kun’s map on the path forward or else...”

“Brother Han does make sense. We definitely can’t take any risks and tread off the path. Else, there may be some invisible spatial tears there. However, there was still much to fear from the wandering spatial tears, but so long as they paid attention to them, they shouldn’t post much danger.” After saying this, the Marquis regained his calm.

Lu Weiying tensely frowned as he stared at another are filled with spatial tears. He pensively mentioned, “However, the number of these spatial tears is over ten times greater than that on the outside. Those words only apply if the invisible spatial tears don’t wander as well. If the invisible spatial tears roam and scatter like the visible ones, then Master Cang Kun’s map might not also be very safe.”

When Han Li heard this, he was stunned and he turned his head. Blue light brightly shined from his eyes as he glanced at an area over three hundred meters away, discovering a vague arc of light motionlessly floating there. He calmed down after looking at it for a while.

But then, just as he pondered about whether or not he should leak this information to the other two, Marquis Nanlong hesitantly spoke as if misunderstanding Han Li’s pondering for worry, “There is no need for you Fellow Daoists to be worried. The invisible spatial tears don’t move. Master Cang Kun has mentioned this in his records.”

Lu Weiying’s spirit stirred and he suspiciously asked, “Is Brother Nanlong certain? How did Master Cang Kun learn about it?”

Marquis Nanlong looked at the two and calmly said, “Brother Lu should realize that in the past, Master Cang Kun had suffered from grave injuries. It should come as a question as to how he was able to safely leave Devilfall Valley. By relying on a technique that he had cultivated, he was able to sense the locations of spatial tears before leaving the valley. How else could he have left the valley with such grave injuries?”

Having heard this, the old man felt a wave of relief. “There are such techniques in this world? In that case, it wasn’t due to luck that Master Cang Kun was able to escape from Devilfall Valley.”

Han Li’s expression stirred as well and he sighed with relief. Marquis Nanlong’s worries faded away upon seeing this. He feared that his two party members would be intent on retreating. He was particularly worried about Han Li who he found immensely difficult to read. Since Han Li would be the main force in the fight against the Ancient Flame Toad, he needed to convince him to move forward.

With a stern expression, the Marquis then said, “Let’s go. According to what the record said, we cannot fly too quickly and it will take about a day of travel until we arrive at the Ancient Flame Toad’s nest. Be careful on the way there.”

Han Li faintly smiled and said, “Fellow Daoist Nanlong should be worried about taking care of himself. Fellow Daoist Lu and I will look after ourselves with care.” Old Man Lu nodded in agreement.

Satisfied, Marquis Nanlong said, “Then let us set off. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.” He then recognized his bearings and wrapped himself in a ball of light before slowly flying off.

Han Li and the old man glanced at each other and also took to the air. They closely followed after Marquis Nanlong without taking even a step off track.

If they flew even a few meters off course, it was possible they could wander into a spatial tear of an ancient restriction. As such, the party was undoubtedly careful.

The path taken along the way was incredibly strange. There were times it would go straight and others where it would move in an entire circle. But regardless, they would stop every two hours and make sure of their location before continuing forward. Additionally, Marquis Nanlong didn’t look at any jade slips on the way. It was clear he had already memorized the path.

Han Li maintained a neutral appearance, but on the way, he was memorizing every step of the path back. As such, if there were any unexpected development, he would have a path to flee for his life. He reckoned that Lu Weiying was most likely doing the same. After all, cultivators who mastered the basic elemental cultivation arts gained perfect memory. Remembering some directions was an effortless task.

Their flight continued for almost an entire day and they hadn’t encountered any danger. Han Li felt at ease, believing that the Marquis had acquired the genuine route that Master Cang Kun had used when travelling through Yellow Maple Valley.

As Han Li continued memorizing the path while following Marquis Nanlong, he diligently scanned his surroundings with his spiritual sense. He reckoned that he encountered at least four areas that were guarded with formidable restrictions along the path. There were also a few areas that seemed amiss. He wasn’t able to determine whether they were spell formations of abnormalities produced from spiritual Qi fluctuations.

Han Li was quite curious about these areas as he knew that they were likely to contain treasures left behind from ancient cultivators. Although Han Li felt eager excitement to explore these areas, he restrained himself.

Although Han Li possessed some understanding of certain ancient cultivator restrictions, he also knew full well ancient were incredibly formidable. Only spatial tears posed a greater danger than they did. Even with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes being able to see through, there was still a significant chance of him provoking a profound spell formation. Currently, common ancient treasures no longer tempted him. Having entered the valley, so long as he acquired the core of the Ancient Flame Toad, the remnant treasures of the ancient cultivator, the Spirit Kindle Fruit, and the Tailstar Silver, it can be considered that he had reaped massive gains.

With the benefits and drawbacks considered, Han Li abandoned any intention of doing anything dangerous. Then, his gaze was drawn over to Lu Weiying. The old man wore a sullen expression and he occasionally glanced into the distance.

Han Li inwardly sighed. It seemed that if the old man couldn’t acquire the items he wanted from the ancient cultivator remains, he would most likely have to search the valley depths. It wasn’t a matter of greed, but rather desperation. Han Li knew that if his lifespan also reached his end, he would also take the risk. After all, if he succeeded, his life would be prolonged and his cultivation art would advance.

As Han Li considered this, he couldn’t help but a trace of sorrow.

At that moment, Marquis Nanlong ceased flying and looked to the area in front of him, his expression wavering. Han Li frowned at the sight of this and faintly felt a sense of dread. He glanced around him and he immediately stared at Marquis Nanlong’s back in silence.

Below them was a small mountain that was over three hundred meters tall. It was entirely unremarkable. Ahead of them was an extremely tall mountain range.

It was clearly said that it would take a day’s travel to reach the nest of the Ancient Flame Toad, but they hadn’t flown long enough so it was clear this wasn’t their objective.

Lu Weiying was puzzled by this sudden stop. Appearing surprised, he puzzlingly asked, “Brother Nanlong, what happened? Why aren’t we moving forward?”

When Marquis Nanlong heard this, he slowly turned around to look at his other two party members. He bitterly smiled and said, “It seems we’ve encountered a problem. We might need to brave a bit of danger.”

The old man’s expression blanked and he bewilderedly said, “Brother Nanlong, what do you mean?”

Han Li stroked his nose but he remained silent. However, he also wore a curious expression.

“Fellow Daoists, do you see the two mountains in the distance?” Marquis Nanlong pointed to two mountains that highly remembered one another.

“Of course, does this problem have something to do with them?” Lu Weiying astonishedly asked.

“Precisely.” Marquis Nanlong spoke with complete certainty.