A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1801-Chapter 2000)

Even though everyone had already suspected this to be the case, their expressions still changed slightly at the sight of this massive Kun Peng.

Before any of them had a chance to say anything, the giant bird flapped its wings, and the long cry emanating from within its beak abruptly cut off. In the next instant, azure runes revolved around its body, and it expanded drastically in size.

After just a few flashes, it had swelled to several thousand feet in size and resembled a small mountain. Its golden eyes were extremely bright, and with just a gentle flap of its wings, fierce winds and flashing lightning were immediately swept up in the surrounding area. The enormous aura emanating from the gargantuan bird's body forced even the early-Body Integration Stage elders of the Tian Peng Race to stumble back a few steps in astonishment. Jin Yue remained completely still on the spot, but her expression had also changed slightly, and an ecstatic look had appeared in her eyes.

"Who are you? You must be a member of our Tian Peng Race to have cultivated the Kun Peng Transformation to such a extent, so why aren't you revealing your true form to us?" Jin Yue finally spoke, and her voice was slightly hoarse from her incredulity.

The giant bird glanced at Jin Yue before suddenly speaking in a human tongue. "I'm glad to see you're looking just as youthful as you were several centuries ago, Fellow Daoist Jin."

It hadn't made any effort to raise its voice, but the elders of the Tian Peng Race were still left with ringing eardrums.

The incredulity on Jin Yue's face became even more pronounced, and a thought seemed to have occurred to her. "Could it be that you're..."

"Hehe, looks like you've recognized me."

The giant bird suddenly shrank down amid a flash of azure light, and a smiling azure-robed man with a pair of wings on his back took its place.

Before Jin Yue had a chance to say anything, Elder Xu and another woman in the group exclaimed in unison, "Impossible!"

"Greetings, elders." The azure-robed man was naturally none other than Han Li, and he turned to the two elders with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute.

The other Tian Peng Race elders were still completely in the dark, and one of them couldn't help but ask, "Do you recognize this man, Brother Xu? Is he a member of our Tian Peng Race? If so, why have we never heard of a man of his powers in our race?"

However, Elder Xu and the woman seemed to be too stunned to respond to these questions.

Back when Han Li had last been in the Tian Peng Race, the other elders were completing missions elsewhere, so they naturally didn't recognize Han Li.

As for Jin Yue and the other two elders, they had already assumed that Han Li had perished in the earth abyss, yet not only was he alive, he had unleashed such an astonishing Tian Peng Transformation and become a holy race being as well; how could they not be astonished?

"So it really is you, Fellow Daoist Han. Looks like you must've encountered some miraculous opportunities in the earth abyss to have reached the holy race so quickly," Jin Yue finally said, and her voice was far calmer than everyone else expected.

"I did indeed encounter some opportunities in the earth abyss, but that doesn't have much to do with my current cultivation base. Instead, I almost perished on several occasions to the four demon monarchs there," Han Li sighed.

"Is that so? In any case, I must congratulate you on becoming a holy race being. I didn't ever get an opportunity to thank you for your efforts several hundred years ago; let's go back to the city to catch up. I presume you didn't cause such a commotion just because you wanted to chat with us, right?" Jin Yue suddenly said with a smile.

"Indeed, I do have something to discuss with you, Fellow Daoist Jin," Han Li admitted with a smile.

"Please come with me, then, Fellow Daoist Han," Jin Yue said as she made an inviting hand gesture.

All of the other elders of the Tian Peng Race were still completely bewildered, but no one dared to question Jin Yue's judgment, so none of them said anything.

Han Li merely smiled as he followed the white-robed woman down toward the holy city without any hesitation.

The other Tian Peng Race elders exchanged a few more bewildered glances before also following along behind them.

The commotion that Han Li had created earlier had attracted attention from countless high-grade Tian Peng beings in the city, but seeing as all of the elders had appeared outside the city, none of the Spirit Generals and Great Spirit Generals of the Tian Peng Race dared to approach them. As such, they could only look on from afar.[1]

However, they were situated too far away, and Jin Yue had set up a sound isolation restriction in the surrounding area, so they couldn't hear anything.

All they saw was that the giant azure bird had transformed into a young man, who seemed to be a member of their Tian Peng Race. He then conversed with the elders for a while before all of them flew back toward the city. As such, none of them had any idea what was going on.

Thus, Han Li entered the holy city in a calm and collected manner in front of the eyes of countless Tian Peng beings. Only after a long while did all of these Tian Peng beings disperse in a perplexed manner and continued with what they were doing before this interlude.

[1] IGT: Just a reminder, Spirit Generals = Deity Transformation, Great Spirit Generals = Spatial Tempering, and Holy Race = Body Integration





Chapter 1851: Half a Cultivation Art


Han Li and the others followed Jin Yue to a massive hall at the center of the holy city, and they all took a seat.

Following instructions from Jin Yue, several young female servants immediately made their way into the hall, setting down things like spirit tea and spirit fruits onto the tables.

Up to this point, Jin Yue was still treating Han Li like a normal guest, and there didn't seem to be any abnormal response from her.

Han Li calmly took a sip of the spirit tea offered to him before giving a slight nod.

"What do you think of this tea, Fellow Daoist Han? This is the Fragrant Maiden Tea that can only be found in our holy city, and only several tens of kilograms are produced per year. Not only can this spirit tea only be picked at dawn, it can only be picked by beautiful virgin maidens. Otherwise, it'll be far less fragrant," Jin Yue said with a smile as she also took a sip of tea.

"This tea is indeed quite delectable," Han Li praised.

"If you like it, I can gift some to you," Jin Yue said with a smile before clapping her hands together, then turned to a servant standing beside her, and instructed, "Go to the tea orchard and bring five kilograms of our finest Fragrant Maiden Tea."

"Yes, Grand Elder!" The servant was rather surprised to be called upon, but she immediately gave an affirmative response before hurrying out of the hall.

Han Li was also rather surprised by this gesture, but his expression remained unchanged as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Jin."

The other elders were quite taken aback by this as well, but none of them said anything.

"Allow me to make an introduction. Everyone, this is Fellow Daoist Han, the human who once saved our Tian Peng Race during the holy disciple trials. I'm sure all of you have heard of him, but not all of you have seen him before," Jin Yue explained to the elders who were only meeting Han Li for the first time.

"What? That's him?"

"Didn't he die in the earth abyss?"

The other elders were quite stunned to hear this, with the exception of Elder Xu and the other female elder who had met Han Li in the past, and they both exchanged a wry smile.