A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality

The Appearance of the Valley

This Heavenpeak Sect Elder Lu’s cave abode was also very simple and crude.

After Han Li walked through a passageway that was more than 200 feet long, he arrived at the main hall of the cave abode. It was a stone house that was about 70 to 80 feet in width. Inside the house stood a kind-looking grey-haired old man and a middle-aged man with a tall crown. They seemed to be welcoming Han Li.

“Fellow Daoist Han, you’ve finally arrived,” the grey-haired old man greeted him with a smile.

Marquis Nanlong bitterly smiled and said, “Brother Han has made us wait for a long time. We’ve already sent our men to search for you for over a month. Unfortunately, you’ve disappeared without a trace. We almost thought that Brother Han had changed his mind!”

“Your residences are so secretive, so it won’t be easy for me to find you. Not long ago, I was in seclusion for a period of time, so it’s normal for you two to not be able to find me,” Han Li sighed and explained helplessly.

Then, he didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down with the two of them.

As soon as Han Li sat down, Marquis Nanlong wore a strange expression and said, “Brother Han’s reputation is like the sun in the sky. Not only did he shine in the battle at the border, but he even killed a mid-Nascent Soul elder of the State of Jin’s demonic sect. Brother Han’s abilities have been hidden from me for so long.”

“Brother Nanlong, it’s not like you haven’t seen my abilities before. If I really had such great abilities, I wouldn’t have fled the Moulan Plains that day. My current reputation is only due to luck. If it weren’t for my good fortune, I wouldn’t have been able to appear in front of the two of you today.” Han Li naturally wouldn’t tell the truth, so he shook his head and vaguely said this.

When Elder Lu and Marquis Nanlong heard Han Li’s words, they couldn’t help but look at each other. Both of them were somewhat doubtful.

With their spiritual sense, they could naturally clearly see that Han Li’s cultivation was still at the early-Nascent Soul stage. The two of them also knew that Han Li was not an ordinary early-Nascent Soul cultivator, but it was still unbelievable that Han Li could kill a mid-Nascent Soul or even a peak mid-Nascent Soul fiendish cultivator.

However, the rumors about Han Li had spread far and wide, and his reputation was also frighteningly great. The two of them could not help but be puzzled, which was why they showed such an expression.

Marquis Nanlong dryly laughed and said, “Fellow Daoist Han is too modest. In truth, the greater your abilities are, the more helpful you will be to our Devilfall Valley exploration. We can’t wait for your cultivation to be comparable to the three great cultivators.”

When Han Li heard this, he chuckled and did not continue the topic.

On the other side, Elder Lu solemnly said, “Since Brother Han is willing to look for us, it seems you’ve thought through our previous suggestion. Are you willing to enter the valley and kill the ancient Fire Toad with us?”

Marquis Nanlong also stared at Han Li with a solemn expression.

Han Li calmly replied, “I don’t wish to let go of such a good opportunity. However, before I make a decision, I must ask how we will split the treasures of the ancient cultivator’s remains. If I am satisfied, I will take the risk.”

Although he was definitely going to Devilfall Valley, he didn’t want to reveal anything, so that he could haggle with the other party.

Marquis Nanlong and the old man had clearly considered this question countless times. As soon as Han Li asked this question, the old man replied without any hesitation, “If we can successfully acquire the treasures, how about we split them evenly?”

Han Li did not immediately agree or reveal a dissatisfied expression. Instead, he pondered for a moment before slowly saying,

“It’s fair for the three of us to split the treasures equally. After all, without your guidance, I wouldn’t be able to enter the valley, let alone find the Fire Toad. However, I have another condition that I hope you’ll agree to.”

With a calm expression, Elder Lu said, “If Fellow Daoist Han has conditions, please speak!”

Marquis Nanlong’s expression changed, but he remained silent as he stared at Han Li.

“The inner core of the ancient Fire Toad must be left to me. I have a small use for it.” When Han Li mentioned the inner core of the Fire Toad, he spoke casually, as if he only wanted to take more advantage.

Elder Lu relaxed and readily agreed, “That won’t be a problem! We’ll have to rely on Fellow Daoist to exterminate the Fire Toad. It is only natural for the core to belong to Fellow Daoist.”

Marquis Nanlong’s expression also relaxed, and he said, “That’s right. Even if you don’t say anything, so long as you take action, the core should belong to you.”

When Han Li saw this, he smiled. “Since you two have agreed so readily, I am not an insatiable person. Let me make a trip with you two.”

“With Fellow Daoist Han entering the valley with us, we’ll definitely be able to obtain the treasures on this trip.”

“Indeed, we’ll have to rely on Brother Han.”

Seeing Han Li agree, Marquis Nanlong and the old man couldn’t hide their excitement and spoke one after another.

“You’re too kind, Fellow Daoists. I’m well aware of my own cultivation base, and I should be the one assisting you in the trip to the valley. Furthermore, the three of us will only be able to escape unscathed if we work together,” Han Li said with a smile. He was naturally not fooled by their flattery.

Marquis Nanlong gritted his teeth at the mention of the Ghost Spirit Sect and said, “Of course. We’ve sought Fellow Daoist Han’s cooperation because we trust you. If those sinister villains from the Ghost Spirit Sect were to obtain the Heaven-Earth Ring, I would kill them and seize their treasures.”

When Han Li heard this, he couldn’t help but glance at Marquis Nanlong.

Marquis Nanlong appeared to be in good health, but it was unknown how much of his lost vitality had been restored.

“Speaking of the Ghost Spirit Sect, what do you two Fellow Daoists think about the Ghost Spirit Sect providing the method to enter the valley?” Han Li changed the topic and brought up the Ghost Spirit Sect.

Marquis Nanlong sneered and wore a strange expression, “Hehe, what else could we say? We’ve only slightly disrupted the Ghost Spirit Sect’s plan to monopolize the treasures. Now that other cultivators have entered the valley, not only have they concealed our whereabouts, but we’ve also avoided the danger of being besieged by the Ghost Spirit Sect.”

“From Brother Nanlong’s words, could it be that the two of you deliberately spread the news that the Ghost Spirit Sect knows the method to enter the valley?” Han Li was a little stunned.

Marquis Nanlong gloomily said, “This matter was indeed arranged by us. I already knew that the Ghost Spirit Sect was also studying the method to enter the valley. Since they suddenly turned hostile and plotted against me, I naturally won’t be polite.” He had no intention of hiding this matter from Han Li.

Han Li did not express his opinion on this and only nodded thoughtfully.

Elder Lu frowned and slowly said, “However, we didn’t expect that the Ghost Spirit Sect would actually come up with the Devilfall Medallion. Not only will they be doing the other sects a favor, but they’ll also ensure that their sect is the most powerful in the valley. I’m afraid they’re also planning to have the outsiders scout for them. In that case, although they won’t be able to monopolize the treasures in the valley, the exploration will be much less dangerous.”

“There’s no such thing as perfection in this world. Your actions are more beneficial than detrimental. Most likely, the person in charge of the Ghost Spirit Sect hates you to the core,” Han Li said with a smile as he stroked his chin.

“Fellow Daoist Han is right. It’s already good enough for the Ghost Spirit Sect to suffer in silence. After we leave the Devilfall Valley, I’ll naturally settle the score with them,” said Marquis Nanlong in high spirits.

Following that, the three of them moved the topic away from the Ghost Spirit Sect and began to talk about the specific matters and arrangements for exploring the valley.

Time slowly passed.

Seven days later, the miasma in the mountain range finally dissipated. Many cultivators who were originally hiding outside appeared one after another and flew towards Devilfall Valley.

As for the other cultivators with low cultivation or unwillingness to take risks, they took advantage of this opportunity to gather spirit medicines and search for spirit beasts.

Devilfall Valley was located in the northwest of the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range, and its area was over 50,000 square kilometers. However, it was unknown what kind of battle the ancient devil cultivators were engaged in, but there were layers of ancient restrictions placed around the valley and in the sky. All of these restrictions were extremely powerful, and they were intertwined with one another. Once any of them was activated, they would activate each other, making it impossible to break through the restrictions.

The only place with no restrictions was the entrance to Devilfall Valley, a narrow passageway that was three hundred meters wide and several tens of kilometers long.

This passageway was originally easy to pass through, but the battles between ancient cultivators had affected this area. As a result, this passageway was filled with spatial tears.

Some of these rifts were blindingly white and clearly abnormal, while others were faint and dim. There were also some that were completely invisible and impossible to guard against.

The sizes of these rifts varied. The larger ones were over 100 feet wide, capable of swallowing several tens of people without a problem. The smaller ones were only about a foot long, and they hung in the air like sharp blades, causing one to be on tenterhooks.

What was even worse was that as time passed in Devilfall Valley, these spatial tears would move and change on their own, making it impossible to predict where they would be.

Such terrifying spatial tears had caused countless cultivators to perish before they could even enter the valley. There was no lack of Nascent Soul eccentrics among them.

As a result, Devilfall Valley’s reputation as the most dangerous place was largely due to these spatial tears.

However, this time was different. It was said that the Ghost Spirit Sect had a way to safely send people into the valley. This immediately caused a commotion in the entire cultivation world of the Heavenly South Region. Many cultivators, who had long coveted the treasures of the Devilfall Valley, divided the several hundred Devilfall Medallions cleanly.

Some of the cultivators who didn’t have a Devilfall Medallion were unwilling to give up. With the thought of trying their luck, they flocked to this place to see if they could sneak into the valley.