A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1401-Chapter 1600)

Most of the people in the plaza turned toward the giant figure, and all of them drew a sharp breath in unison.

From the head down, this giant figure possessed a body that was half flesh and half metal.

The metal half was of a glistening black color and was emanating a peculiar grey light, while the other half of his body was of a tanned deep bronze color, and it seemed to be just as indestructible as his metallic half.

The head attached to this body had a sinister set of facial features. Not only were his nose and eyes twice as large as that of a normal human, his head was conical in shape with a few sporadic tufts of green hair growing on top.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the strange being, upon which his expression changed drastically. He was completely unable to fathom his cultivation base, thereby indicating that this was a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, just like Qian Jizi.

However, just because Han Li didn't recognize this strange being didn't mean that the other foreign beings gathered here didn't recognize him.

Almost as soon as he landed on the ground, a dozen or so beings rushed out of the nearby crowd before extending a respectful bow toward him.

"We pay our respects to Elder Duan!"

A string of greetings immediately rang out.

These humanoid figures were far taller and larger than normal humans, and they were all Stone Cocoon beings like Tie Jian. As such, this strange being had to be an elder of the Stone Cocoon Race!

"Oh, I see you've all come here to attend the auction as well. I wish you all good luck. I was swindled into risking my life for a fake treasure, so I don't even feel like staying for the auction anymore." The strange being waved a casual dismissive hand toward all of the other Stone Cocoon beings before making his way toward the exit.

All of the beings in his path naturally stepped aside in a respectful manner to grant him passage.

Coincidentally, this Elder Duan also happened to pass by Han Li, and Han Li shuffled back a little as well, planning to see off this astonishingly powerful being.

However, in the next instant, an alarming turn of events abruptly unfolded.

In the instant that Elder Duan passed by Han Li, his footsteps suddenly faltered, and his nose twitched before he turned an intense incredulous gaze toward Han Li.

All of the nearby beings were naturally quite taken aback by this sudden development, and many of them turned to Han Li as well, trying to determine what it was about him that had caught the interest of such a powerful being.

"Do you have any business with me, Senior?" Han Li was struck by a sense of foreboding, but he still extended a respectful salute as he squeezed a smile onto his face.

"What's your name and which race are you from?"

Han Li didn't know what this being's intentions were, so he naturally didn't dare to speak the truth. As such, he fabricated a response on the spot.

"Good! I am Duan Tianren of the Stone Cocoon Race. If you encounter any troubles in Cloud City, you can refer to me as your backer!" Elder Duan nodded with a meaningful expression, and it was impossible to tell whether he believed Han Li's fib. All of a sudden, his body blurred before reverting back to normal, but Han Li's expression changed drastically.

He could clearly sense that in the instant that Duan Tianren's body had blurred, he had thrust a palm lightly onto Han Li's shoulder. With his spirit eye ability, he was able to see the trajectory of Duan Tianren's palm, but he was simply too fast for Han Li to evade.

A burst of strange spiritual Qi flowed from Duan Tianren's palm into his arm, and it only dissipated after circulating throughout his entire arm.

"What's the meaning of this, Senior?" An enraged look appeared on Han Li's face.

There were only a dozen or so beings present that had actually caught sight of what Duan Tianren had done to Han Li, so to everyone else, it appeared that Han Li had suddenly gotten angry even though Duan Tianren was clearly extending a gesture of kindness toward him.

In the face of Han Li's enraged interrogation, Duan Tianren merely swept his gaze over Han Li's face as he chuckled, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist; I could see that you'd also cultivated quite a special body refinement technique, so I wanted to see what that was all about."

After Duan Tianren's gaze had swept past his face, Han Li was stunned to find that his face began to throb with pain.

He had used that black veil in conjunction with a disguise technique to conceal his original appearance, but there was simply too much of a cultivation base disparity between the two of them, so Han Li wasn't confident in the slightest that he'd fooled Duan Tianren.

However, Han Li naturally wasn't going to believe the excuse that Duan Tianren had offered to placate him, and his mind raced as he attempted to glean the intentions behind that palm.

However, he was unable to think of any potential reasons why this being would target him. After all, this was most definitely the first time that he'd met him.

At this moment, Duan Tianren suddenly transmitted his voice to Han Li. "Save your brain cells, little fella; I'll be waiting for you at the Rich Aroma Pavilion across the street. Don't even think about getting away; I didn't intend to harm you with that palm, but with my residual spiritual Qi circulating within your body, I'll be able to detect your location within the next few hours."

After that, he gave no further explanations before departing with a hearty laugh. Moments later, he left the plaza and strode into the exit, leaving behind a befuddled Han Li, as well as a bunch of bemused beings who were all looking at him with peculiar expressions.

Han Li was struggling to calm himself down in the wake of what had just happened, and the widespread scrutiny he was receiving certainly wasn't helping matters. Thus, he also turned and made his way toward the exit.





Chapter 1600: Nine Fragrance Spirit Wine


Han Li had originally planned to disguise himself before selling off some of his spirit medicines and spirit herbs in exchange for spirit stones.

However, after what had just happened, he had become the center of everyone's attention, so he naturally wouldn't be able to act according to his initial plan.

As such, following a brief moment of contemplation, he departed from the side hall, seemingly in a calm manner. He then arrived at a plot of empty land reserved for beast-drawn carriages to park at, then cast a solemn gaze across the street.

When he had first arrived, he hadn't noticed this so-called Rich Aroma Pavilion, but now that he was actively searching for it, he discovered that there really was such a place.

The pavilion wasn't very large, but it was situated almost directly across from the auction house. The building was three levels tall, and there was a sign hanging above the door with flowing and elegant text inscribed upon it.

After a brief moment of observation, Han Li discovered that in contrast with all of the other nearby buildings, which were all quite lively and bustling, there was no one entering or exiting the pavilion at all.

This was the place that Duan Tianren had asked him to go to.

Han Li was feeling rather hesitant about how to proceed. The auction wasn't going to commence for some time, and before ascertaining Duan Tianren's true intentions, he wouldn't be able to focus on the auction anyway.

As such, he suddenly rustled a sleeve, and his hand reached out from within as he appraised it in an expressionless manner.

The hand was inky-black in color, and it was none other than the hand in which the Divine Essencefused Mountain had been infused.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly.

Duan Tianren had done his best to disguise this, but through the use of his spirit eye ability, Han Li was still able to see that his gaze had almost been focused entirely on this sleeve of his.

However, he didn't know whether it was just his hand that had caught Duan Tianren's interest or his entire arm instead.