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

The three of them immediately rose into the air and flew over to the palace gates.

Han Li had only just descended onto the ground when the palace gates abruptly opened up from the inside, and two groups of beings emerged.

One group was clad in red armor while wielding fiery halberds, and all of their bodies were covered in scorching flames. The other group consisted of unarmed black shadows that were enshrouded in clouds of grey mist.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward them to find that these two groups of beings seemed to possess signs of life, so they didn't appear to be puppets. The two groups of strange beings strode forward at once before extending respectful bows toward the two crimson-robed figures. "Open the Yinflame Palace; I'm going to give Fellow Daoist Han a warm welcome!" one of the crimson-robed figures commanded.

The two groups of beings immediately sprang into action upon hearing this. Most of them rushed back into the palace while the remaining group split up into two neat lines as they stood respectfully on either side of the gates. None of them uttered a single word during this process, and it was as if they were all incapable of speech. Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of bewilderment welled up in his heart upon seeing this.





Chapter 1470: Spirit Servants


Just as Han Li was appraising these strange beings, one of the crimson-robed figures suddenly asked, "Are you interested in my spirit servants, Fellow Daoist Han?"

"Spirit servants? Forgive me for my ignorance, Senior; this is my first time hearing about such things," Han Li replied truthfully.

"Hehe, it's no surprise that you haven't heard of it. These spirit servants are a type of semi-puppets that I've refined," the crimson-robed figure chuckled with a hint of smugness in his voice.

"Semi-puppets? I really would like to know more about them now," Han Li said with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"You seem to be quite interested in these spirit servants; you must also be familiar with the puppetry arts, right? I'd be happy to provide some guidance, but let's go to the Yinflame Palace first" the other crimson-robed figure interjected.

Han Li naturally wasn't going to state any objections, and he merely nodded in agreement.

Thus, the group entered the palace, and the gates slowly closed behind them.

The Chaotic Turtle Beast that was outside the palace also disappeared into the lava again.

After a while, Han Li and the two crimson-robed figures appeared within a large hall that was over 1,000 feet in area.

Everything in the hall had been constructed from some kind of strange black and red jade, and upon making contact with the material, Han Li was struck by a scorching sensation, which then turned into a flow of icy coolness.

This was quite an interesting material.

Han Li was quite intrigued as he felt the interchanging hot and cold sensation making its way into his body from the jade chair that he was sitting on.

At this moment, he was situated on one side of the hall, while the two crimson-robed figures naturally sat together at the center.

The jade tables before the three of them were all piled full of exotic fruits and delectable wines, and there were humanoid figures enshrouded in pink mist standing off to the side, attending to their needs when required.

Every time someone finished the wine in their cup, one of the humanoid figures would rush forward for a refill in a respectful manner.

These humanoid figures in the pink mist were different from the earlier ones that were enshrouded in grey mist. Not only were all of them quite slender, the mist around them emitted a pleasant fragrance that evoked within one a sense of relaxation.

At such close quarters, Han Li was naturally able to examine these spirit servants from time to time, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.

"Have you gleaned the secrets of the spirit servants, Fellow Daoist Han?" One of the crimson-robed figures downed his cup of spirit wine before turning to Han Li with a hint of a smile in his voice.

"I'm afraid I can only identify that these beings seem to be spirits, but also like objects, yet also like neither at the same time. As for the exact intricacies involved, that's definitely beyond me," Han Li replied with a smile.

"You're not wrong! Spirit servants are indeed beings that are a mix between spirits and objects. They possess souls and their actions appear to be identical to that of a normal person, but most of what they're doing is merely instinctive, and they're being controlled by me using a puppet secret technique. As for how they came to be, I discovered two types of spirit bodies on the Bloodflame Mountain that are unable to attain intelligence, and I infused them into puppets," the other crimson-robed figures explained, finally revealing the origins of these spirit servants to Han Li.

"Infusing spirit bodies into puppets!" Han Li's expression stirred upon hearing this, and he instantly recalled back to how he had once infused his second Nascent Soul into his humanoid puppet.

"Indeed. These spirit bodies are yet to manifest complete souls, so they're extremely docile, yet they possess a certain level of spiritual nature, thereby allowing them to complete some simple instructions. On top of that, they're able to fuse together with puppets, so they're perfect for refining spirit servants. It's exactly because of this that I decided to settle permanently on the Bloodflame Mountain," the crimson-robed figure explained.

"This is also a result of your proficiency in the puppetry arts, Senior. Otherwise, even if others were able to find such spirit bodies, they wouldn't be able to incorporate them into puppets." Di Xue had made the process sound quite simple, but infusing spirit bodies into puppets was extremely difficult. As someone who was proficient in the puppetry arts himself, Han Li was naturally well aware of this.

As such, those words of praise were truly genuine.

The two crimson-robed figures glanced at one another, and one of them offered, "If you'd like, I can teach you the secret technique required to infuse spirits into objects."

"I haven't done anything for you yet, Senior, how could I ask for a reward that I don't deserve?" Han Li was rather surprised, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

"Haha, it's just a little trick that I managed to invent during my free time; there's no need for you to be so polite, Fellow Daoist Han. I'm going to require a lot of assistance from you in the coming month and a half, and I hope you'll help me to the best of your abilities," one of the crimson-robed figures said with a smile, his tone became even more polite.

As such, Han Li could only accept this offering with gratitude.

"Senior Di Xue, seeing as I'm already here, would you be able to tell me how I can assist you in refining your puppets?" Han Li asked.

"There's no hurry. You've only just arrived at my Bloodflame Palace, so you should drink to your heart's content, then have a good rest. We can discuss those matters tomorrow."The crimson-robed figure waved a hand to brush his question aside.

Han Li could only comply with a wry smile and down another cup of spirit wine.

All of a sudden, one of the crimson-robed figures clapped his hands a few times, and a series of shuffling footsteps sounded from outside. All of a sudden, a peculiar fragrance wafted through the air as 12 beautiful young women in five-colored dresses made their way into the room.

Han Li cast his gaze toward the faint pink mist emanating from the bodies of those women, and he quickly realized what they were.

These women were also spirit servants, just like the other beings enshrouded in pink mist in the room.

However, the pink mist on their bodies had become extremely faint, thereby revealing their true appearance.