A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 127

Chapter 125 Returning to the Celestial Star, Warm Fragrance in My Arms

The three fled separately, while Han Li and two spirit beasts pursued one of them.

The Level 2 Wind Howling Eagle let out a long cry, spread its wings and soared high, its speed like a startled arrow. The pockmarked man, who had fled the fastest and furthest, had already reached the seaside, but was caught up in a few breaths. His successive claw strikes were blocked by the low-level high-grade protective spiritual light shield and by ordinary top-grade magic artifacts.

But when the protective spiritual light was torn apart, his physical body was immediately destroyed by a single claw.

“No…!”

Just a little bit more.

Just a little bit more and he could have escaped into the water.

He had a hidden mid-level water escape talisman in his hand.

On the other hand, the Level 2 Jade Mantis flapped its thin wings and leaped out, its speed not much slower than the Wind Howling Eagle. The key was that the Jade Mantis was more agile. The scholar-robed youth tried to hide in the island’s jungle to entangle with it and buy himself a chance to escape, but

little did

he know that the Jade Mantis was more adept at fighting in the forest.

A moment later, a scream echoed through the forest, followed by silence.

Finally, it was Han Li’s turn. The burly cultivator used a talisman to burrow underground.

“Huh? An Earth Escape Talisman?”

This posed a slight challenge.

After a moment’s thought, he took out a mid-level Earth-Shaking Talisman.

The Earth-Shaking Talisman and the Hardening Talisman were considered the nemesis of low-to-mid-level Earth Escape Techniques and Earth Escape Talismans.

The Earth-Shaking Talisman vibrates the earth, creating irregular compression. If a cultivator uses Earth Escape Technique within this range, they are easily crushed to death by the irregularly changing soil and rocks.

The Hardening Talisman can gather sand into stone, greatly increasing the soil density to be comparable to rocks, while low-to-mid-level Earth Escape Techniques only allow movement through the soil. If a low-level cultivator uses a low-to-mid-level Earth Escape Talisman to escape underground, encountering a Hardening Talisman will easily result in a head full of bumps. To traverse the rock strata, cultivators either need to use a mid-to-high-level earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique that allows one to escape through obstacles), or a high-level cultivator need to use a mid-level earth-遁 to charge through with their cultivation.

Two mid-level earth-shaking talismans were cast into the ground, causing the earth to tremble and compress irregularly.

Soon, a hundred feet away, a flash of earthy yellow light appeared, and a figure with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth emerged from the earth in a disheveled state .

It was the burly man among the three. As soon as he

appeared, he immediately tried to escape.

But the pair of crescent-shaped double blades seemed to have anticipated his emergence from there; the moment he appeared, the blades were already inches away.

The burly man’s spiritual senses frantically warned him, and he did indeed take countermeasures, such as taking out a top-level magic weapon and a mid-level defensive talisman from his storage bag, which could save his life in a crisis.

The magic weapon met the crescent-shaped double blades.

The mid-level low-level defensive talisman erected multiple protective light screens filled with small shields.

“Block it!”

the burly man roared inwardly.

The next moment,

a tearing sound came.

The top-tier magic weapon he unleashed was easily sliced into several pieces by a pair of crescent-shaped blades as if cutting tofu. Then, to his stunned disbelief, the blades whizzed past his sides.

Before returning to the Foundation Establishment cultivator, he stood frozen in place.

After the blades flew back into the cultivator’s hands, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

His death was swift and painless.

The light barrier erected by the intermediate-level defensive talisman was no different from a thin sheet of paper that could be easily pierced before the crescent-shaped blades.

“Whoosh.”

Han Li, catching the crescent-shaped blades, swung them with both hands.

Sharp blade energy, mixed with blood, splattered across the blades, instantly cleaning them completely.

Feeling the sharpness of the crescent-shaped blades, Yuan Yao Yanli’s heart skipped a beat.

“This place is not safe to stay long. How about we return to Kui Xing Island together?”

Han Li suggested.

The two women exchanged a glance and nodded in unison:

“Okay.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Senior.”

For now, returning to the relatively safe Kui Xing Island was the greatest act of kindness they could receive.

…

On the way.

Yanli was initially quiet, but then couldn’t help asking:

“Senior, how did you end up here? And didn’t you fly away?”

Seeing the two women’s curiosity, Han Li simply explained directly:

“You think it’s too coincidental that I appeared nearby.”

“…”

The two women felt embarrassed, having their thoughts exposed.

After all, the life-saving grace they had just received was still fresh in their minds, and to immediately suspect him was truly ungrateful.

But they were frightened.

They were afraid.

They had to be more cautious. They didn’t

want to escape one danger only to fall into another.

“Senior, we sisters didn’t mean that, we just… just…”

Seeing the two women anxiously unsure how to respond, Han Li didn’t make things difficult for them. Instead, he calmly said,

“I’ve been through this myself, and I understand the hardships of aspiring cultivators. Being careful on the path of cultivation is indeed more conducive to survival, especially for those of you two with outstanding looks. You could easily become prey for others…”

“At first, I only saw the two of you leaving Kui Xing City, followed by three people, two of whom were acquaintances of yours who had traveled with you that day. So I didn’t pay much attention.”

“But later, I always felt something was off.”

“The more I thought about it, the more off it seemed. After all, since you knew each other and were familiar with each other, why would they follow you so suspiciously?”

The logic was simple.

“At that time, I boldly guessed that the three of them might be cultivators undergoing tribulation, and the two of you were prey being targeted.”

Han Li stopped there.

He didn’t say anything more.

The eyes of Yuan Yao and Yan Li quietly brightened.

“So, Senior, you caught up with me?”

“No, we’re not related, why would I get involved in such trouble? What if they have someone backing them?”

Han Li shook his head decisively.

This answer caught the two women off guard.

“Then, then why did you still come in the end, Senior?”

Yanli asked unwillingly.

“I just finished my mission and was heading back to Tianxing City. It was just a coincidence. Saving you was nothing more than a small favor.”

Han Li shrugged.

“

Just a coincidence?” It was just a coincidence?

Yes.

This senior was indeed traveling northeast.

Could it really be as he said, just a chance encounter?

Yanli wasn’t sure.

Yuan Yao, however, covered her mouth and chuckled.

Her blue eyes smiled, resembling beautiful crescent moons.

This senior really was, really… strangely reserved and adorable.

First, what a coincidence! Second, a flying boat would suffice for normal travel; why would one need a thin-winged flying artifact that’s faster and noisier? Third, it was just a favor; why waste money using a mid-level talisman against a cultivator in distress? It

was completely counterproductive.

Therefore, this senior clearly came for the sisters.

He saw they might be in danger and rushed to their rescue.

This person, clearly a kind and compassionate individual, insisted on feigning aloofness for self-protection. This cold exterior masking a warm heart was surprisingly comforting.

Of course,

Yuan Yao saw through it but didn’t say anything.

She didn’t reveal this at this moment.

She simply felt that this seemingly ordinary Foundation Establishment stage senior suddenly seemed somewhat approachable and endearing.

When the three of them were almost back on Kui Xing Island,

Yuan Yao finally spoke up for the first time:

“How should I address you, senior?”

“My surname is Han.”

“Senior Han, are you heading to Tianxing City in the Star Palace?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, senior, could you perhaps take us sisters to see the world? We would be eternally grateful, and if we achieve success in our cultivation in the future, we will certainly repay you handsomely,”

Yuan Yao pleaded.

She was certain this was a rare opportunity.

After all, with their Qi Refining stage cultivation, they absolutely could not possibly travel across millions of miles of sea.

That would be suicide.

But with a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator leading the way, they could receive more care along the way. At least in the Inner Star Sea, their safety would be well guaranteed.

“Are you two also going to Tianxing City?”

Han Li stopped the flying boat, no longer approaching Kuixing Island.

“Yes, Senior Han,”

Yuan Yao replied firmly.

Yan Li hesitated upon hearing this.

Meeting her friend’s reassuring gaze, she calmed down.

“Gentlemen, Tianxing City isn’t so easy to enter. Mortals can come and go without any obstacles, but there are many rules for cultivators. To stay in the city for a long time requires a considerable amount of wealth…” Han Li reminded them.

Seeing his familiarity with Tianxing City, the main city under the Star Palace’s jurisdiction, the two women not only didn’t back down but felt even more reassured.

The reason was simple.

Surely he couldn’t have come all the way from Tianxing City, thousands of miles away, just for them?

Excluding this most absurd possibility, everything this senior did was reasonable and commendable.

Therefore, now, it wasn’t a question of whether they trusted this Senior Han, but whether he was willing to take them, his two burdens, along.

Sure enough.

The person opposite him frowned slightly, hesitating:

“Let me think about it…”

…

Eight or nine months later.

In the city of Tianxing.

A flying boat rapidly approached from the southwest.

On the flying boat, there were three figures: one man and two women.

“This is the Star Palace Sacred Mountain? Wow, it’s so magnificent!”

Yanli, wearing a veil, had eyes that shone with wonder.

Compared to the sacred mountain, the towering main peak of Kui Xing Island was simply incomparable.

Before them, the two women, visiting for the first time, were increasingly awestruck as they peered down at the colossal city from mid-air. The closer they got, the more they were moved, their hearts pounding with awe as they looked up at the towering mountain that seemed to pierce the clouds and stretch endlessly into the distance.

It was no exaggeration to say that most mortals in Tianxing City considered themselves no less capable than Qi Refining cultivators outside.

They felt superior,

even harboring a sense of regional superiority.   This was understandable,

given   that Tianxing City was the center of the Inner Star Sea,   its first human megacity.   ”Let’s go, enter the city, I’ll show you my residence,”   Han Li transmitted his voice.   Landing before a city gate in the southwest of Tianxing City, he dismounted his flying boat and then took out the ring proving his identity from his storage bag and put it on. With this ring, a magical artifact that no outsider could bind to him a second time through blood, he could prove he could reside permanently in Tianxing City.   After putting on the ring, he could come and go freely and immediately entered the city.   Behind him,   Yuan Yao and Yan Li stood there, frozen in place.   Seeing that he had no intention of paying for their tickets with spirit stones, they could only reluctantly turn away.   ”Senior, may I ask how many spirit stones it takes to reside permanently in Tianxing City?”   Yan Li asked after bowing to the Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the city gate.   ”Eight hundred spirit stones for a ring of permanent residency.”   Eight hundred?   The two women secretly gasped.   That was too extravagant.   With eight hundred spirit stones, they could even attempt Foundation Establishment.   Helpless, they had to pay out of their own pockets, each spending three spirit stones to buy a temporary proof ring.   ”For the next seven days, you can stay in Tianxing City, but after seven days, you must either renew your fee or leave,” the   Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the city gate said calmly.   For two mere Qi Refining cultivators from elsewhere to settle in the Holy City was a truly ambitious goal. Therefore, they should first try to earn some spirit stones.   After entering the city, Han Li first led the two women around the market, acting as their guide and giving them a brief introduction to the local architecture, customs, and precautions.   Finally, they inevitably visited the Holy Mountain cave dwellings.   ”Senior, to live on the Holy Mountain, you need a lot of spirit stones to rent a cave dwelling, right?”   Yuan Yao asked softly.   ”Yes,”   Han Li nodded.   ”How many spirit stones does it cost to rent the lowest level cave dwelling each year?”   Yuan Yao asked again.   ”The cave dwellings on the Star Palace Holy Mountain aren’t rented year by year, but for a hundred years at a time. Because the Holy Mountain’s spiritual veins are known as the top three in the Star Sea, they are extremely helpful for cultivators’ arduous training. Therefore, even the lowest level cave dwelling costs over a thousand spirit stones every hundred years. At the thirtieth level, the effects of the spiritual veins can even save Foundation Establishment cultivators and even Core Formation cultivators a quarter of their arduous training. The price is already over two thousand spirit stones.”   Han Li smiled.   ”Hiss…this, this…”   The two women were once again stunned by the extravagance of the place.   ”This sacred mountain, spanning thousands of miles, must have at least tens of thousands of high-quality cave dwellings, right? The spiritual vein cave dwellings rented out each year must bring in hundreds of thousands of spirit stones!”   ”Tens of thousands of cave dwellings?”   Han Li smiled.   Although not every part of the Sacred Mountain of Tianxing City is rich in spiritual energy, and not every location is suitable for creating cave dwellings,   the thousands of miles of exposed land, combined with a height of two to three hundred thousand feet, and the foundation of one of the top three super-large spiritual veins, are more than enough to create two hundred thousand high-quality cave dwellings. The number of   cave dwellings on the fiftieth floor and above is estimated to exceed fifty thousand.   Not to mention the number of cave dwellings on the lower fifty floors.   Therefore, Yanli’s estimate of hundreds of thousands of spirit stones in annual income from cave dwelling rentals is inaccurate; five or six times that would be more accurate.   Moreover, cave dwellings on the Sacred Mountain are always in high demand; there aren’t many vacant ones between the thirtieth and fiftieth floors.   When he last came to check, there were only a few hundred empty.   ”Senior, which floor is your cave dwelling on?”   Yanli asked curiously after roughly understanding the rental rules of the Holy Mountain.   Han Li didn’t answer, but instead piloted the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat, carrying the two women closer to the Holy Mountain.   Ten miles, a hundred miles, a thousand miles, three thousand miles… they finally arrived.   Then they continued upwards.   A hundred feet, a thousand feet, ten thousand feet, a hundred thousand feet…   nearly two hours passed in the blink of an eye!   Due to the Heavenly Star City’s grand formation, especially in the area near the Holy Mountain, the air in the high sky didn’t become too cold; the Holy Mountain remained warm and spring-like all year round.   ”This, this is already the forty-something floor…”   Yuan Yao’s voice trembled slightly.   Finally, Han Li stopped the flying boat on the forty-eighth floor, arriving at a mountain peak far from the Star Palace Teleportation Hall.   Here, a formidable array was in operation, and not far away, a waterfall cascaded three thousand feet, with lakes and valleys nearby. The cave dwelling was built atop a small, independent mountain peak, several hundred feet high.   Looking down the cliff, half of Tianxing City and the boundless sea beyond it came into view.   The view was incredibly expansive.   Ignoring the main vein of the Holy Mountain behind them, focusing solely on the front, one could truly see all the mountains below.   Taking out his token and main array flag, Han Li opened the cave’s protective barrier, revealing a secluded path:   ”Let’s go in and sit for a while.”   The two women exchanged glances, their hearts filled with unparalleled shock.   Just who was this senior?   Such an exquisite cave.   Such a vast fortune.   Such a calm demeanor.   Coming from a small town, they were truly amazed.   Just as the three were about to enter the cave   , the spiritual energy in the world began to stir.   All three looked towards the fiftieth level of the Holy Mountain.   They saw a dark cloud, hundreds of miles in size, gathering, its surface swirling like silver snakes.

A massive surge of spiritual energy rushed towards the dark cloud.

“What’s that?”

Upon seeing the cloud, the two women felt a sudden, inexplicable unease.

“That’s a sign of Nascent Soul formation! On the Holy Mountain, a high-level cultivator is forming their Nascent Soul! The Star Palace will soon have another Nascent Soul stage expert,”

Han Li explained, licking his lips.

…

After a brief reception for the two women, Han Li saw them off:

“Gentlemen, we’ve arrived at Tianxing City. You should carefully consider your future plans. Especially regarding the matters mentioned on the journey, I think you should think them over again.”

He didn’t intend to take them in for the time being.

Even though Yuan Yao and Yan Li had proactively approached him during the months of their journey, from being cultivation partners to becoming his concubines, even with their status declining time and again, he hadn’t been in a hurry to take advantage. Instead, he told them to return to the inn and think things through before deciding.

If the two women changed their minds because they thought they could find better opportunities after arriving in Tianxing City, he wouldn’t stop them.

That simply meant they weren’t meant to be.

After that, his concern was none of their business.

He only needed help, not necessarily the two women.

But if they still chose him, willingly becoming his sword attendants, his decorative concubines and henchmen, he wouldn’t mistreat them.

Over three million spirit stones, placed in the Chaotic Star Sea, would have several times the purchasing power.

He didn’t believe he couldn’t raise two women with that wealth.

Yuan Yao and Yan Li exchanged a glance, then respectfully bowed and said,

“Senior Han, thank you for your protection along the way…”

“Hmm, go ahead.”

With that, Han Li prepared to seal the array passage.

He could afford to wait seven days.

“Wait, Senior Han…”

“What, is there something else?”

“Senior, we sisters have already thought it through.” The two women said, bowing and kneeling down in unison: “Please accept Yuan Yao (Yan Li) as your concubine…”

Any hesitation, any time spent thinking about it, would be irresponsible to themselves.

They weren’t stupid; they could easily see that in the unfamiliar city of Tianxing, with no one to rely on, they had nowhere else to go. This Foundation Establishment stage senior before them, who had never discriminated against them, was undoubtedly their greatest benefactor, an opportunity they couldn’t afford to miss.

The life-saving grace…

the care he had shown them along the way…

the unwavering boundaries

he had maintained… his lack of aversion to their admiration for power…

his erudition, talent, wealth, and mystique…

and finally, his heartfelt respect for them!

All of these factors had already made their decision.

Unless Senior Han insisted on sending them away, they would only leave out of respect and seek another way out.

“Get up,”

Han Li beckoned.

Once the two women stood up, he asked one last time,

“Are you two truly sure?”

“Senior Han, please have mercy on us in the future,”

the two women knelt again.

“Very well, from now on, you two belong to me. I’ll give you two more choices…”

Closing the cave’s array, Han Li led the beauties back to the main hall and sat down.

One sat on his right lap, the other on his left.

The warmth and fragrance enveloped him, yet his expression remained unchanged:

“Firstly…”

(End of Chapter)