A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1001-Chapter 1200)

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he tipped over the storage pouch in his hand.

A flash of white light erupted, and about a dozen or so jade and wooden boxes of different sizes appeared on the ground.

Han Li raised a hand and pointed a finger at the fire cauldron.

The crimson lid of the cauldron flew soundlessly into the air, following which a ball of crimson flames emerged from within the cauldron amid a loud boom. In the blink of an eye, the flames had manifested into a dozen or so crimson Fire Ravens, all of which began to fly around the cauldron.

"Those flames have manifested a spirit! This treasure's power isn't all that remarkable, but it is indeed an extremely pure fire-attribute treasure, so it'll be quite suitable to refine the Fire Spirit Threads in your stead. Even so, these Fire Ravens were born from the cauldron and not created by your magic power, so it's going to rather difficult to accurately manipulate them. You're going to pay a lot of attention to this process; any lapse in concentration could result in all of your efforts going to waste," the small child warned.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, I have nothing if not patience," Han Li chuckled nonchalantly.

The small child naturally wasn't going to try and dissuade Han Li any further after hearing that.

Thus, Han Li made a hand seal and cast an incantation seal onto the fire cauldron.

The cauldron revolved in the air before swelling drastically to several times its original size in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Han Li sweep his sleeve through the air, and a semi-transparent object shot forth from within, quickly disappearing into the cauldron.

A loud boom erupted within the cauldron and balls of crimson flames appeared on its surface while flames also rose into the air from within. The semi-transparent substance was barely discernible within the flames, and was soon pushed by a few Fire Ravens to the top of the fire.

A focused expression appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he flicked his 10 fingers in quick succession, blasting forth a dozen or so incantation seals of different colors onto the bodies of those Fire Ravens.

The ravens stirred as they blasted flames out of their beaks toward the semi-transparent object in a frenzy.

In contrast, that substance seemed to be able to absorb the flame of the Fire Ravens and as it was being scorched, its surface gradually reddened, and its shape began to change.

Han Li feigned a grabbing motion toward one of the jade boxes on the ground, and the lid flew off on its own, revealing a small blue paste-like substance within.

He pointed a finger at the box, and the substance immediately flew into the cauldron, transforming into blue liquid upon making contact with the flames before being completely absorbed by the semi-transparent substance.

Han Li was elated to see this as he withdrew his hand seals. Immediately thereafter, strands of azure threads shot forth from his fingertips and into the crimson flames.

The fire immediately rose by several feet and at the same time, a rumbling cry rang out from within the cauldron, in response to which Han Li's expression remained extremely serious and focused.

Two months later, a streak of azure light flew directly toward the main peak of the Drifting Cloud Sect. The azure light disappeared in a flash as it landed in front of the large hall at the foot of the mountain, upon which Han Li's figure was revealed.

The dozen or so Drifting Cloud Sect disciples guarding the hall were immediately overawed to be in Han Li's presence, and all of them rushed forward to extend respectful bows.

However, Han Li merely waved his hand and raised a leg, upon which he completely disappeared from the spot, reappearing in the next instant within the hall.

The disciples were naturally startled upon seeing this, and they all turned their attention toward the interior of the hall.

The could see that Han Li had clearly only taken a few steps, yet he had already disappeared from the corridor following a few flashes.

The disciples were stunned to see this, and their awe and veneration for this grand elder grew even further.

When Han Li appeared within the hall, Lü Luo was already there, and he was pacing back and forth with an urgent look on his face.

"You've finally come out of seclusion, Junior Martial Brother Han. Looks like you've received the voice transmission talisman I sent out as well." At the sight of Han Li, a joyful expression replaced the urgent one on Lü Luo's face.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face and his body swayed as he appeared in front of a wooden chair, sinking down into it calmly as he said, "The voice transmission talisman tells me that Martial Niece Song and the others have disappeared in the Devilfall Valley. This is quite suspicious and it involves Peiling and that in-name disciple of mine as well, so I naturally had to come and ask you for some details."

"This incident is indeed quite suspicious. It's been half a year since Martial Niece Song and the others have traveled to the Devilfall Valley, and they definitely should've returned to the sect by now. However, according to the disciples I sent out to search for them, there are only cultivators who have seen the three of them enter the valley, but none who saw them emerge from there. There were also some cultivators who encountered them in the outer valley, but they disappeared from the Devilfall Valley soon after that. I suspect that the three of them may have..." Lü Luo's voice suddenly cut off here.

"Could it be that the three of them have ventured into the inner valley and encountered some sort of dangerous situation or were trapped somewhere?" Han Li finished the sentence for him. As he did so, his expression remained very calm and it was impossible to glean his thoughts.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. The inner valley of the Devilfall Valley is still very dangerous, but you're a great cultivator now, and you've explored the inner valley once before, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to search for them in there, right?" Lü Luo asked in a rather hesitant manner.

"The spatial rifts in the Devilfall Valley's inner valley don’t pose much of a threat to me and as long as I don't venture into any of the extremely dangerous locations, I should be fine. I've recently concluded my tool-refinement anyway, so I'll make a trip there," Han Li replied without any hesitation.

"That would be best. I'll leave it to you, then, Junior Martial Brother. However, keep in mind that you're the grand elder of the sect now the prosperity of our sect rests on your shoulders, so your safety is the number one priority," Lü Luo cautioned with a serious expression.

"Rest assured, Senior Martial Brother Lü. There should be no one in the Heavenly South Region who's capable of harming me, and I'll also do my best to stay out of harm's way," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile, but his thoughts had strayed to the Sovereign Devil Corpse that he had lost many years ago in the Devilfall Valley.

Could it be that this devil corpse had something to do with the trio's disappearance? That thought abruptly occurred to Han Li for no reason whatsoever.

Even though he was feeling rather perplexed, Han Li's expression remained quite calm and he only left in an unhurried manner after chatting with Lü Luo for a while longer.

Two days later, Han Li visited Nangong Wan in the restricted area before leaving the Drifting Cloud Sect on his own and heading for the Devilfall Valley.