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3.68% A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality / Chapter 38: Encountering a Midnight Spy

Chapter 38: Encountering a Midnight Spy

Editor: Henyee

Walking in the pitch black forest, Han Li heightened his senses. Ordinary humans wouldn’t be able to clearly see the path in front of them, but for Han Li, it was as clear as day.

Despite his advantage, Han Li continued to be cautious. His caution was not honed by hunting ferocious wild beasts, but rather developed into a habit by hiding from Doctor Mo.

After the Seven Mysteries Sect relocated to the Rainbow Celestial Mountains, the beasts and creatures inhabiting the mountains and forests were eradicated in order to ensure the safety of the sect members. In addition to the ferocious beasts, even normal wild animals, such as the venomous snakes, had been hunted and turned into food for the disciples.

Han Li’s vigilance was not a part of his natural personality. He had developed it after experiencing Doctor Mo’s schemes so that he could prevent any unwanted dangers.

The mountain’s bone-chilling wind got stronger and stronger, giving off a shrill sound that caused his hair to stand on end. The distant Han Li, upon sensing the wind, hastened his pace as he stepped across the boundary that marked the edge of the forest.

He lightly sighed. Walking alone in this pitch dark made his heart grow heavy. Han Li quickened his pace once more, increasing his stride in order to leave the forest as soon as possible. All of a sudden, a strong gust of wind blew towards him.

After enduring the strong gust of wind, Han Li paused as if he had discovered something bizarre. He furrowed his brows and tilted his neck, as if he was trying to listen for something.

Han Li’s expression quickly turned serious. He heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the distance. Although the footsteps were extremely light and the owners of the footsteps were far away from him, Han Li could determine that there were two individuals rushing closer towards his direction.

He lightly lept away and hid himself in the forest next to the mountain path without making a single sound.

There was a large tree about thirty meters away from the path. Han Li hid himself behind the tree, curling himself into a ball. If one were to examine the tree from the front, he or she would not be able to find any traces of Han Li.

It was only after finding a good hiding spot that Han Li gradually began to calm down.

This time, Han Li was not being overly sensitive; there was something truly strange going on. It was highly illogical for two people to prowl around a remote location in the middle of the night. Han Li was eighty percent positive that the two mysterious figures were hiding something fishy up their sleeves.

Han Li did not want the mysterious figures to kill him for discovering their secret, even if he did so by accident.

However, if there were no dangers facing Han Li, then there would be no problem for him to eavesdrop on their secrets. Han Li was no hypocrite; he merely understood that if good fortune delivered itself to his doorstep, he would be a fool not to take advantage of it.

“…Descending the mountains… arrange well….time..people….Commander….”

Waves of low-sounding voices drifted over from far away. At this moment, the mountain wind was blowing extremely strongly. As a result, most of the words had been scattered by the wind, leaving only a small portion of the conversation that made its way into Han Li’s ears.

Han Li was astounded to think that he had managed to discover a portion of their secret. In this region, the only person with the title of Commander was the “Golden Wolf” Jia Tianlong from the Feral Wolf Gang. This person had great enmity with the Seven Mysteries Sect. Now that Han Li had heard his name in this remote location, it provided much food for thought.

Jia Tianlong was a ruthless, blood-drinking demonic figure in the eyes of the Seven Mysteries Sect’s disciples. Rumors told that he was a broad-shouldered man with a fat waist, long teeth, and a livid face. He supposedly ate human flesh and drank human blood three times a day. Many of the Seven Mysteries Sect’s junior disciples were frightened out of their wits just by hearing the rumors of such a devilish figure.

However, according to Li Feiyu, the rumors were far from the truth. Contrary to the rumors, Jia Tianlong was skinny and weak with exquisite facial features. He was quite young, in his early thirties. The rumors regarding how he ruthlessly killed people, however, were true. Jia Tianlong could not be judged by his appearance. After all, based on his facial features alone, no one would expect him to be able to control the other members of the gang.

Han Li gathered his thoughts as he tried to remember all that he knew about Jia Tianlong. Sucking in a cold breath, he curled up even tighter, trying to lower the sound of his breathing.

“…this time…. steal….list of names….kill….”

Another part of the conversation drifted over, clearer than before. The two mysterious figures were getting closer and closer to Han Li

Han Li did not even dare to breathe loudly. He knew that if he were to be discovered now, only death would await him. The two of them were likely spies from the Feral Wolf Gang, and they would definitely not let an outsider know of their secret.

“….Plan…must…not….quickly…”

Gradually, the voices of these two mysterious figures got even lower. It seemed like they had reached the crux of their discussion, which meant that they were about to reveal the most crucial information.

After a short moment, the voices got louder again, but Han Li could not hear them clearly; he could only hear the sound of the mountain wind blowing through. The outlines of these two mysterious figures passed by Han Li and gradually disappeared into the distance.

Han Li still did not dare to make any movements for a long period of time. Only after activating the Eternal Spring Arts and determining that there was no one near him in a thirty meter radius did he slowly reveal himself.

This time around, he had avoided certain death. Luckily for him, he managed to discover the movements of these two spies early on. If Han Li had met them face to face, he would surely have been killed to protect their secret. Even worse, based on his own martial skills, he did not even have a single shred of hope that he would survive such a confrontation.

Han Li stood motionlessly at the same location. Lost in his thoughts, his fingers lightly rubbed his chin while he gazed at the direction where the two spies had disappeared.

From the fragments of the secret conversation he heard, he could gauge that in the near future, the Feral Wolf Gang would undertake some action that would prove greatly detrimental to the Seven Mysteries Sect. There was a high probability that this action would have a close connection with the “list of names” that was previously mentioned.

What surprised him the most was that Han Li had already identified the identity of one of the figures despite of not being able to see their facial features. Even though the two mysterious figures had not spoken much, Han Li could match one of their low voices to the kitchen steward on the mountain of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

The steward, who had sold rabbits to Han Li back then, gave him a low impression. He had a mustache and an ignorant face, and he loved to take advantage of others. To think that he was actually a spy from the Feral Wolf Gang once again reminded Han Li that one could never be too cautious.

But reflecting back upon it, this was something to be expected. Only with a position such as a kitchen steward could a spy been able to enter and leave the mountains and pass along any news that he or she had obtained without arousing any suspicions.


Chapter 39: Abnormal Requirements.

Editor: Henyee

Chapter 39: Abnormal Requirements

However, Han Li was quite unfamiliar with the voice of the other spy. He must have never met this person before. However, judging from the spy’s voice, his age must be relatively young, around 20 years old.  

Unfortunately, in order to insure his own safety, Han Li didn’t dare to steal a glance. He feared that these two men practiced martial skills that could detect his spying gaze, enabling them to be aware of nearby outsiders. The potential gains were not worth the potential losses.

After this slightly dangerous event, the trip after became quite safe.

Han Li finally returned home after his regular supper time.

As always, Doctor Mo mysteriously paid him a visit and gave him a glance that lacked any interest. Aside from delivering a few concocted medicines, he normally left Han Li to do as he wished.

Han Li seemed as if he had not noticed the medicines that Doctor Mo had delivered. They were all created from rare medicinal ingredients that were gathered from his previous expedition away from the mountain. Han Li believed that Doctor Mo had abandoned his expectations of him and had some other malevolent scheme prepared.

For now, Han Li completely disregarded the precious medicine Doctor Mo had delivered. But in order to avoid raising suspicion from Doctor Mo, he pinched his nose and swallowed it down.

He threw away any suspicion that the medicines were laced with poison. Currently, any harm Doctor Mo inflicted onto Han Li would only be hurting himself.

With regards to seeing the Feral Wolf Gang spies, Han Li thought of the best method to deal with them on the way back to his residence.

Although he wasn’t deeply passionate towards the Seven Mysteries Sect, he was halfway to becoming an Inner Disciple. How could he possibly be impartial toward a harmful affair toward the Seven Mysteries Sect before his eyes and ignore it completely?   

He had long thought of a best candidate to handle this matter——Li Feiyu, the famous Senior Disciple Li.

According to Han Li’s observation, perhaps the reason Li Feiyu consumed the Essence Extraction Pill was because he greatly valued being in the center of attention far greater than a common man andand possessed no small amount of ambition. He had always dreamed of entering the upper divisions of the Seven Mysteries Sect, further becoming the focus of attention.  

Han Li had previously suspected that Li Feiyu probably thought he was in the last stage of his life, and thus he became even more frantic and hungry for fame.

If Han Li allowed Li Feiyu to perform a large contribution to the Seven Mysteries Sect, Li Feiyu would certainly be excited to no end. This way, Han Li would be able repay Li Feiyu for stealing the sword manuals.

Thinking of the Blinking Sword Art, Han Li felt a wave of emotion.

Han Li did not tell any lies regarding the Blinking Sword Art to his good friend. This sword art truly did not suit Li Feiyu. However, Han Li did not reveal many of the details.

An essential rule of survival was that one should always keep a few secrets, regardless of who they were being kept from.

Although Li Feiyu and Han Li seemed to have a close relationship, it was hardly exceptional.

However, the contents written in these secret manuals were quite different from common martial teachings.

It seemed to Han Li that, rather than to say it was a sword art, it would be more appropriate to call it sword ingenuity. It was a complete integration of weather, timing, favorable positioning, and secretive assassination techniques against all kinds of factors and people; such a skill was rarely seen. It was pure killing skill; as soon as the sword was drawn, death approached.

These books described different environments, times of day, and the utilization of diligently practiced secretive sword skills. There were all kinds of sure-kill techniques that would cut down an enemy in a single strike.

The manuals taught those that learned these sword skills to make use of every tree and strand of grass in the terrain, as well as light rays of all intensities and angles, in order to hinder the opponent’s vision. During the split second the opponent was weakened, the user would take advantage  of it and kill them in an instant.

This was a mysterious technique that required much attention and skill to execute. Without the slightest talent, it would be impossible to understand this sword art.

Therefore, those who learned this mysterious technique must excel in the five senses.  Their vision and hearing must far exceed that of an ordinary person by many levels if there were to be the promise of even the slightest results.

Even if they had the requirements to achieve that stage, there would inevitably be a few disciples who would covet the Blinking Sword Art’s formidable power and choose to cultivate it immediately after reaching the minimum requirement.

However, mastering the sword art required an excessive amount of effort. In addition, it had even harsher requirements. Those who cultivated this mysterious technique could not possess pure inner strength. Otherwise, their body would suffer from complications when trying to execute the technique. This made cultivating the sword art quite difficult.

Even if someone with True Qi was lucky enough to succeed, if the True Qi in their body became too vigorous during actual combat, the sword maneuvers would unwittingly produce deformations. These deformities left large gaps for the opponent to take advantage of, thereby causing life-threatening calamities.

These requirements basically severed away the majority of those attempting to cultivate the technique. In Jiang Hu there was a common saying: “To practice the fist and neglect skill will end with one’s effort in futility.”

To not practice inner strength was an enormous taboo. Anyone who would abandon their cultivation of True Qi and spread their name with ineffable sword swordplay would truly be the laughingstock of Jiang Hu.

Therefore, only the remaining few still had the intention to continue cultivating the technique.

However, even if those individuals had plenty of talent and had no problem with abandoning True Qi, the final difficult barrier would thoroughly dispel their intentions of continuing down this path.

The final obstacle was the excessively complex nature of the Blinking Sword Art and the painstaking memorization of the meticulous conditions in which each of the sword maneuvers within the sword manuals could be applied.

Seeing such a large pile of thick secret manuals would intimidate any average person at first glance.

Each sword manual represented a sword maneuver, and each sword maneuver could be broken into hundreds of sword forms. Every sword form must be carefully selected for different environments and different times of day. To fully master the Blinking Sword Arts, one had to make complete use of different techniques for every situation.

The tremendous quantity of sword skills, let alone cultivation, could make one’s head ache. Not to mention that this further required the complete memorization and comprehension of every sword maneuver and sword form.

The previously mentioned abnormal requirements have obstructed an innumerable number of motivated disciples, making them endlessly curse in their heart at the Elder who had established this sword art. With the passage of time, the Seven Mysteries Sect gradually lost interest in this sword technique. Believing it impossible for someone to train in this martial technique, many disciples thought that the Elder had baselessly and casually fabricated these martial teachings as he was facing death’s door. Otherwise, why would there be these excessive requirements? This was deliberately designed to be difficult for disciples that were unaware of how things stood. As a result, these secret manuals were put away on a shelf, no longer catching anyone’s interest.


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