A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 601-Chapter 800)

But when the middle-aged man saw this, he felt his blood turn cold and he harshly whispered, “Duke Nanlong! Why is this old eccentric also participating in the trade meet? Junior Martial Brother Han, do not speak carelessly. His abilities are mighty and his temperament is strange. Since I’ve met him in the past, let me deal with him.”


With those hasty words, the middle-aged man called for Han Li to stop alongside him. He wore a serious expression as he respectfully waited for the group of cultivators to approach.

Han Li’s expression stirred from seeing the middle-aged man appear so nervous. He complied with his warnings and Mu Peiling tactfully kept silent as well.

A short moment later, the golden-armored cultivator soldiers and the carriage drew closer. Upon closer look, Han Li felt his heart tremble.

The halberd wielding soldier cultivators weren’t much to behold. While their appearances were formidable and lofty, their cultivations were only at Foundation Establishment stage. Rather, what made Han Li’s heart tremble were the two spirit beasts pulling the carriage.

From the azure scale armor and the bizarre horn on its head, one of the beasts appeared to be a mythical Qilin. The other beast had fluttering wings of fire with long, golden feathers. It was actually a fire phoenix.

As Han Li grew fearful of the two spirit beasts, the carriage drew closer to them.

Before the carriage approached, Elder Lu saluted in its direction and spoke with a clear voice, “Is that Marquis Nanlong? I am the Drifting Cloud Sect’s Lu Luo. It has been three hundred years since I’ve last seen you in the company of my master, Monk Mu Li. It is truly my fortune to meet you again!”

Although Elder Lu’s words were neutral in tone, Han Li could clearly hear a trace of fear in his voice and noted that he seemed to refer to himself as a Junior.

The huge carriage was obscured from sight by a barrier of golden mist. However, when Elder Lu called out to the carriage in greeting, the drumbeats came to a sudden stop.

The group of cultivators stopped about a hundred meters away from Han Li and company as silence descended.

Han Li’s eyes narrowed upon seeing this, but his expression soon returned to normal.

A lazy tone came from within the golden light, “Oh! So you’re Mu Li’s pedantic, scholarly disciple! At the time, you seemed to only be a Core Formation cultivator. I didn’t think in a mere three hundred years, you’ve also reached Nascent Soul stage. I’ve heard your master had passed away in meditation during that time. It is truly a pity. However, the Fellow Daoist at your side seems quite unfamiliar.”





Chapter 675: Forceful Exchange


When Han Li heard himself mentioned, he simply smiled and remained silent. He was certain that his Senior Martial Brother Lu would answer on his behalf.

Sure enough, the middle-aged man rushed to introduce Han Li before Marquis Nanlong could speak any further.

“Marquis, this is my Junior Martial Brother Han. He has just recently condensed a Nascent Soul and joined our sect. At his side is Lady Mu, his concubine. Junior Martial Brother Han, this is Marquis Nanlong, an old friend of my deceased master. I hope you will acquaint yourself with him.”

As his clothes fluttered in the wind, Han Li calmly saluted the carriage, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Marquis Nanlong!”

Within the carriage, Marquis Nanlong indifferently said, “Han Li? That name is completely unfamiliar. It seems Fellow Daoist Han is truly a new Nascent Soul cultivator. Might we have an exchange of skill to gauge your abilities?”

“Ah? Junior Martial Brother Han only condensed a Nascent Soul a few years ago. How could he possibly be a match for Fellow Daoist Nanlong? I mean, Fellow Daoist Nanlong is already a mid Nascent Soul cultivator.” Lu Luo’s smiling expression froze and he inwardly cursed. Although this old eccentric’s temperament was peculiar, his words suggested he was now entirely different from before!

“Be at ease. I won’t be using my cultivation to take advantage of the weak. We will only be using our spiritual sense to contest. After all, Fellow Daoist Han’s spiritual sense is rather strong, very unlike a cultivator who had just condensed his Nascent Soul. I am anxious to display my own skill.”

As soon as that was said a golden light flashed from the huge carriage, fading away to reveal the three that were sitting inside.

One was a man wearing robes embroidered with purple pythons and a tall, jade-green hat with a long beard that reached down to his chest. The other two were women dressed in snow-white palace robes. Each beauty was being loosely held in his embrace on each side.

The women at the Marquis’ sides were certain to be his concubines. Although their cultivations were only at Foundation Establishment, their graceful beauty was a sight to behold.

Worry filled Lu Luo and he directly said, “Marquis must be be joking. Although Junior Martial Brother Han’s spiritual sense is a bit strong, contests of spiritual sense are exceedingly dangerous. How can this be taken so lightly?”

Marquis Nanlong chuckled with a cold smile and calmly said, “Fellow Daoist Lu, you seem worried but perhaps Fellow Daoist Han would be willing to give it a chance.” He glanced at Han Li as a cold glint flickering through his eyes.

“Moreover, if I remember correctly, we are already within five hundred kilometers of Soaring Heavens City. If Fellow Daoist Han truly refuses my good intentions, I will make use of the forced trade law.”

Lu Luo’s expression changed as he faintly felt a sense of foreboding, “Forced trade? What does the Marquis mean?”

Marquis Nanlong’s gaze coldly swept over Mu Peiling as he expressionlessly said, “From how intimately Lady Mu and Fellow Daoist Han are acting, Fellow Daoist Han must certainly hold her dear. It just so happens that I have two beloved concubines at my side, but I’ve grown bored of them. I’ll use them to exchange for Fellow Daoist Han’s concubine. My two beloved concubines are on par with Lady Mu with regards to both cultivation and appearance, fulfilling the forced trade conditions. If Fellow Daoist Han is unwilling to trade, you will have to stake it in a contest of spiritual sense. If you win, not only will you retain your own concubine, but you may take both of mine.”

The two concubines in his embrace had a slight change of expression, but they soon returned to normal.

When Lu Luo heard this, furious alarm was revealed on his face and he was at a loss for words while Mu Peiling turned pale.

Han Li frowned for a moment before he calmly responded, “A forced trade! Senior Martial Brother Lu, could you give me a detailed explanation?” From Han Li’s perspective, this Marquis Nanlong was still a mere mid Nascent Soul cultivator and was nothing to fear with Han Li’s current abilities.

“It isn’t anything much. Forced trades are one of the laws that are specifically for use by Nascent Soul cultivators of the host power.

“Junior Martial Brother should know that when cultivators reach Nascent Soul stage, no powers are willing to offend one another. The host of the trade meet is no exception to this.

However with such a large trade meet, there are certain to be a few clashes and disagreements. If the cultivators are at the Core Formation stage or below, the hosting power may forcefully suppress them. But if something were to occur between Nascent Soul cultivators, the hosting power is unwilling to go through the trouble of intervening. As such, there are a set of particular laws that will allow for Nascent Soul cultivators to resolve the dispute themselves. Forced trades are among the least used of these laws.