A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 801-Chapter 1000)

He then pulled at his reigns and had his cart come to a complete stop, yielding to the group.

The army of cavalrymen appeared to number about four hundred, but when they passed him by, they seemed to shake his cart in a storm of wind produced by their astonishing momentum.

Han Li’s eyes flickered and noticed that these cavalrymen all carried baleful Qi on their body, from fighting presumably. These weren’t ordinary city guards, but rather frontier vanguards that would often take part in bloody melees.

He heard that the Great Jin were bordered by other unsavory civilizations in the southeast and northwest and that mortal natives would often wage war with them. Only true bloodied soldiers would appear in these chaotic areas.

Just as Han Li thought this, the jade carriages passed him by. Someone within one of the carriages happened to catch sight of him from the window’s narrow opening and they let out a slight yelp.

Han Li seemed surprised by this reaction and he couldn’t help but raise his head, catching sight of a pair of eyes that seemed familiar. Just as he wondered who that person was, they had already traveled into the distance.

After observing the squad of soldiers that passed him, Han Li grew pensive and eventually shook his head, abandoning his thoughts of searching the carriage with his spiritual sense. The carriage had a few simple isolation restrictions placed on it, and he would be detected by whoever was inside if he attempted to pry. Additionally, they were cultivators only at the Qi Condensation cultivation. He didn’t want to be bothered because of a few low-grade cultivators.

After seeing the cavalrymen travel far into the distance, Han Li resumed his journey on the main road.

He traveled for five kilometers before he arrived at an intersection in the road. A large verdant forest grew at the side of the road and there were a few simple tea shops that were set up next to it. There were many carriages that had stopped here, whose owners entered these simple shops for tea and food.

After all, this place was the sole stop before one would arrive inside the Jin Capital. Most travellers would stop by for a moment of rest.

Han Li’s gaze swept around and saw that the silver-armored cavalrymen had dismounted from their horses and were resting at the side of the forest. The several jade carriages had stopped as well, but one of them was opened and empty. As for the silver-robed middle-aged man in charge, he was also absent.

Han Li frowned and unconsciously swept his spiritual sense past the many tea shops nearby. Soon after, he urged his horse to continue on the road.

But at that moment, one of the soldiers saw his cart and walked towards him in stride, blocking the cart to Han Li’s surprise.

The cavalryman saluted him and asked with a neutral tone, “Young Sir, are you surnamed Han?”

“That’s right. My surname is Han. Do you have any business with me?”

“Since it truly is Young Sir Han, my clan’s young mistress would like to have a chat with you over some tea.”

Recalling the pair of bright eyes he saw earlier from the jade carriage and pondering for a moment, Han Li nodded, “Your clan’s young mistress? Oh... Alright, I’ll go.”

“Young Sir, my clan’s young miss is in the tea shop over there. Please follow me.” The soldier spoke in a deep voice and beckoned to the side of the forest. Then, two other soldiers came over and took care of Han Li’s cart.

A short moment later, Han Li entered the shop and came across two women and one man. The man was the embroidered-robed middle-aged man he saw from before. He had long facial hair and a calm, powerful demeanor. As for the other two young women, they were cultivators at the seventh and fifth layer of Qi Condensation.

The man remained motionless at Han Li’s entrance, but when the two women saw Han Li enter, they exchanged a glance. The woman with the lesser cultivation bit her lip and then spoke with some joy, “Brother Han, it has been many years since I’ve seen you! I didn’t think I’d be able to meet you again. I will never forget the kindness you showed me with your cultivation guidance.”

Surprised, Han Li smiled and said, “So it was Young Miss Cao. This is truly a coincidence. I hope you didn’t take offense at my sudden departure.”

This woman was the county officer’s daughter, Cao Mengrong, who he had met when he entered the Great Jin several years prior.

“I’m sure Senior Han had urgent business at the time, so I could hardly blame you. Ah, that’s right, I should introduce you. This is Senior Martial Sister Wang. She had taken care of me when I was still in my sect. We are nearly as close as blood sisters. And this is Senior Martial Sister Wang’s uncle, a general renowned as the illustrious pillar of the southern empire. He has received orders to pay audience to the emperor.”





Chapter 936: Sword Cry


Han Li gave a respectful nod to Cao Mengrong’s Senior Martial Sister, but when he heard of the man’s unordinary status, his expression stirred and he said, “The South Pillar General! So you were one of the eight illustrious generals of the Great Jin. I’ve been too rude.”

Although he understood very little of the Great Jin’s court, he was well aware of its famous officials.

The eight great generals controlled a majority of the military strength in the empire. Each of them commanded armies numbering in the millions, protecting the cities at the frontier with hardened elites.

However, the reason why Han Li knew about these generals wasn’t because of any concern for the mortal world, but that three of the great generals were relatives of the royal family. As for the rest, they were given assistance from the various superpowers of the cultivation world to acquire their positions. Even the Great Jin Imperial Family couldn’t easily go against them them. And since the South Pillar General wasn’t related to the royal family, it was certain he had a relationship to one of these factions.

The general smiled and cupped his hand towards Han Li. “I have heard from Mengrong that Sir Han is a cultivator. As I am but a mere mortal, how could I dare to act superior in front of you?”

Of course, Han Li knew he was only being polite.

With his identity, he wouldn’t find it difficult to attract the service of Core Formation cultivators but not Nascent Soul cultivators. Han Li previously revealed to Cao Mengrong that he was only at Qi Condensation stage, but this person was quite unordinary to treat a minor cultivator like Han Li with such courtesy. And it was also quite brave of him to make his way to the capital without a high-grade cultivator protecting him.

With that in mind, Han Li modestly replied, “I don’t dare to be presumptuous. General Wang is being far too polite. Even vagrant cultivators like me have long heard of your military prowess.”

Young Miss Wang pursed her lips in a smile and said, “Fellow Daoist Han, I’ve heard you’ve given Junior Martial Sister Cao cultivation guidance for a time. As a result, she managed to raise two layers in a few short years. When my master found this out, she repeatedly praised Junior Martial Sister Cao’s luck and suggested that Brother Han had likely concealed his true cultivation as ordinary cultivators absolutely wouldn’t be able to produce such inconceivable results. Now that Fellow Daoist Han’s body is lacking spiritual Qi, it clearly shows that you’ve mastered a Qi restraining technique. It appears that my master had guessed correctly.”

Absorbed in the joy of seeing Han Li again, Cao Mengrong then woke up and examined him to find that his body completely lacked any spiritual Qi fluctuations. With an astonished expression, she yelped, “So it was like that? Brother Han, your cultivation must be...”