A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality

Han Li looked on through narrowed eyes as one precious item was presented after another. Those who completed successful exchanges were elated, and those who failed were naturally very disappointed as they returned to their stone pavilions empty-handed.

The majority of items presented were successfully exchanged, but it was quite clear that compared to the previous editions of the convention, there were far more complete treasures being exchanged compared to materials.

This was a clear sign that everyone was preparing for the upcoming devilish tribulation, getting rid of what they didn't need in exchange for complete treasures that would enhance their powers.

After all, no matter how precious certain materials were, they were useless if they couldn't be refined into treasures prior to the devilish tribulation.

For those who were able to participate in this convention, normal treasures naturally were of no interest to them, yet the powerful treasures that could catch their eye generally could only be refined using several tens or even over 100 types of precious materials.

Setting aside the fact that there was a chance of failure during the refinement process, it would take hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years just to gather so many materials. Otherwise, precious materials would've been far more prevalent during this convention than completed treasures.

After over half a day had passed, most of the people offering items for exchanges had taken the stage. Han Li had been very tempted by many of the powerful treasures being presented, but all of these people demanded other treasures of the same caliber in exchange, so he could only pass up on those opportunities.

However, that didn't mean that this entire process had been a completely fruitless one for him. Not only did he use one of the spirit medicines he had secured from the Vast Glacial Realm to exchange for several sets of extremely powerful formation flags, he had also exchanged a flagon of Red Silk Immortal Wine for a dozen or so spirit medicine seeds that he didn't yet have from an avid wine enthusiast.

He had also taken the stage himself not long ago and offered some myriad-year spirit medicines for the demon beast materials that he was still yet to collect. As a result, he was able to easily secure those materials from a few demonic cultivators, and that came as quite a relief to him.

After securing those materials, he would be able to begin refining his second extreme mountain following the conclusion of the Myriad Treasure Convention, and should he be successful, his powers would be significantly enhanced again.

Just as Han Li laid back in his chair, thinking that the rest of the convention wouldn't have much to do with him, a person enshrouded under a layer of dense black Qi flew onto the stage, then slowly pulled a black round bowl out of his sleeve.

"This is a Sinful Cloud manifested from 10,000,000 beast souls. I can guarantee that all of the souls used belonged to ferocious beasts, and 100,000 of them belonged to low-grade demon beasts. I want to exchange this Sinful Cloud for an offensive Divine Spirit Treasure on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll." As soon as this announcement was made, everyone's expressions, including Han Li's, changed drastically, and they all turned to stare at him in an astonished manner.

The golden-masked man who was standing at the corner of the golden formation was also stunned to hear this, and his smile immediately faded as he stared intently at the man who had just spoken with a bewildered look in his eyes.

In spite of the intense scrutiny he was receiving, the mysterious figure within the black Qi remained completely unfazed and raised the round bowl with one hand, then removed the lid of the bowl with his other hand.

A burst of ghastly howling immediately rang out, and inky-black dark clouds swept forth alongside strong winds from within the round bowl in a frenzy. The dark clouds dispersed and spread to cover an area of several acres.

Blue light flashed within Han Li's eyes, and he was able to instantly discern these dark clouds as countless black projections. Among them were familiar beastly figures like wolves, tigers, and lions, but also some strange types of beasts that he had never seen before.

All of these beastly projections were constantly transforming and tearing at one another. At times, their bodies would crumble away into nothingness, and other times, they would reappear in their original forms.

These beastly projections were none other than the aforementioned beastly souls. A Sinful Cloud that was manifested by tens or even hundreds of these beastly souls weren't particularly valuable, but their value spiked dramatically once that number increased to the tens of thousands.

This was because a Sinful Cloud's power directly correlated with the number of souls it had been manifested from, the more souls that were used, the more difficult it would be to successfully manifest a Sinful Cloud.

A Sinful Cloud manifested from over 100,000 souls would be extremely alluring to those using Devil Dao cultivation arts, and one that was manifested from over 1,000,000 souls would be enough to drive even Body Integration Stage Devil Dao cultivators into a frenzy.

As for Sinful Clouds manifested from over 10,000,000 souls, there didn't seem to be that many even in the entire history of the two races.

Needless to say, the enhancements it would bring to those using the relevant cultivation arts would be almost unimaginable, regardless of whether this Sinful Cloud was used in cultivation, or as a material to refine a ghostly treasure.

However, setting aside the fact that very few people knew of the method to manifest a Sinful Cloud of this caliber, just the task of collecting 10,000,000 souls was virtually an impossible one.

After all, slaughtering 10,000,000 living beings would result in such severe baleful Qi backlash that even a Body Integration cultivator wouldn't be able to withstand it on their own.

Due to the heinous nature of the process required to manifest Sinful Clouds, refinement of such treasures had been strictly prohibited in the two races since ancient times, and it was said that heavenly phenomena would take place whenever a Sinful Cloud consisting of more than 10,000 souls was refined. The phenomena triggered by Sinful Clouds manifested from over 1,000,000 souls would be even more difficult to keep out of the public eye, and such items existed almost only in myths and legends. As such, this Sinful Cloud, which the man claimed to have been manifested from 10,000,000 beastly souls, was naturally quite an astonishing notion.

If this item had been revealed in the outside world, everyone would most likely be fighting over it already.

"10,000,000 beastly souls? Is that true, Fellow Daoist? It doesn't really look like it." A dry voice rang out, and it was tinged with a hint of astonishment and skepticism.

"That's because I only released 1% of all of the beastly souls within this Sinful Cloud. If I were to release them all at once, this tiny hall wouldn't have anywhere near enough capacity for them. However, anyone who's interested can come and see for themselves just how many beastly souls there are in here," the man on the platform said in an unhurried manner.

"You want an offensive Divine Spirit Treasure on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll for this? Aren't you asking for a bit too much? How about this? I'll give you two, no, three top-grade spirit treasures for that Sinful Cloud," someone offered in a slightly urgent manner.

"I won't accept anything other than an offensive Divine Spirit Treasure," the man within the black Qi refused without any hesitation.

"Don't be so quick to jump to decisions, Fellow Daoist; how about you take a look at what I'm offering first?" Another elderly voice suddenly sounded at this moment, following which a streak of crimson light shot forth toward the platform.

A tall and thin humanoid figure that was enshrouded within a layer of crimson light then appeared above the white light barrier before tossing forward a jade vial.

The jade vial passed through the light barrier without any impediment, and the figure within the black Qi caught it in a slightly reluctant manner. He removed the lid of the vial and took a look inside, upon which he immediately shuddered as if he had been struck by lightning.

"How about it? I'm sure you know what that pill entails, right? If it wasn't for the fact that this Sinful Cloud will be quite useful to me, I definitely wouldn't be offering this pill for exchange," the figure within the crimson said as he looked at the vial in a wistful manner.

After a long hesitation, the man within the black Qi shook his head before tossing the vial back to its owner. "No, I still won't accept this over a Divine Spirit Treasure."

The figure within the crimson light faltered momentarily in disbelief before exclaiming, "Do you not recognize what this is, Fellow Daoist? This is a Clear Cleansing Pill that can increase a Body Integration cultivator's chances of breaking through bottlenecks!"

"Clear Cleansing Pill?"

"Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to exchange that Clear Cleansing Pill for any other treasure?"

All of the Body Integration Stage beings present immediately erupted into a frenzy upon hearing the name of this pill, and several of them began to yell offers directly at the man within the crimson light.

This pill was clearly more popular than the Sinful Cloud, and that made sense. A Sinful Cloud manifested from 10,000,000 souls was most definitely a legendary item, but it was only useful to devilish and ghostly cultivators.

In contrast, Clear Cleansing Pills were extraordinary pills that were universally useful for all Body Integration cultivators, and it was especially alluring to those whose cultivation bases had stagnated for many years.

The Sinful Cloud seemed to be extremely important to the figure in the crimson light, and after taking a resentful glance at the man within the black Qi, he said, "Hmph, if you want my Clear Cleansing Pill, then help me exchange for this Sinful Cloud, and I'll gladly hand over this pill."

The entire hall fell silent upon hearing this. Generally speaking, all of the Body Integration cultivators present should have a few spirit treasures up their sleeves, but even in the entirety of the human and demon races, there were definitely no more than 10 Divine Spirit Treasure that were on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll. As for offensive treasures for this caliber, there were perhaps only two or three. Even if such a treasure did exist in the human or demon race, its owner might not be present at this Black Realm Exchange Convention.

On top of that, Divine Spirit Treasures on the Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll were no less valuable than Clear Cleansing Pills, so whether someone would be willing to accept this exchange was another matter altogether.

Han Li stared at the medicine vial containing the Clear Cleansing Pill, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.

Seeing as no one had accepted this exchange offer after such a long time, the figure in the black Qi knew that there was no chance of such a trade taking place. Thus, he shook his head in a slightly disappointed manner, then made a hand seal to withdraw the black cloud before turning to leave the platform.

"Please wait, Fellow Daoist!" The figure within the crimson light immediately rushed toward the figure in the black Qi before blocking his way.

"What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to force me into a trade?" The man within the black Qi immediately flared up with rage, and a frosty aura erupted from his body.