A Record of A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Chapter 587: The Bone Box

“You want to seize power!” Han Li’s expression remained unchanged as he asked calmly.

“That’s right. We cultivators cannot be like those mortals, summoned and dismissed at the whim of so-called elders. We should be the elders of the village. I, a foundation establishment stage cultivator, have been controlled by mortals for so long that I can no longer endure it. Previously, there were too few of us cultivators, so we dared not act rashly. But now that two more have joined, big things can naturally be accomplished,” another red-faced elder said with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

“Not interested. The three of you can leave. Let’s pretend I never said any of this,” Han Li swept his gaze over the three men and said with an expressionless face, words that caused their faces to change drastically.

“What, fellow cultivator, are you really content to remain subordinate? Once we seize the elder positions in the village, we will jointly govern it without hierarchy. Then, no matter how harsh the environment here is, we can live freely,” the Long-Bearded Elder forced a smile and continued to persuade.

“I think you all have misunderstood one thing. The two of us have never said we intend to stay in this village. We will leave in a few days. So your grand plans are just empty talk. Miss Mei and I will not get involved,” Han Li touched his chin and said calmly.

“Leave here? The two of you are dissatisfied with this village and want to go to another? You may not know, but our village is already one of the largest among all human villages. Other villages are much worse off,” the Long-Bearded Elder said, taken aback, unable to help but blurt out.

Hearing this, Han Li smiled faintly and shook his head silently.

“Could it be that you two want to climb Stormwind Mountain?” The hunchbacked elder saw Han Li’s expression and a flash of insight lit up his mind as he looked astonished.

“What? Is it strange that we don’t want to stay here and want to leave?” Han Li’s smile vanished as he answered ambiguously.

“It’s not about strangeness. The real question is, do you really know what Stormwind Mountain is and how dangerous it is?” The red-faced elder twirled his white beard, asking strangely.

“Although I don’t know much, I have heard some general details from the village’s great elder,” Han Li glanced at him and replied without showing emotion.

“Hmph! What that guy knows about the dangers of Stormwind Mountain is all hearsay. The true danger of Stormwind Mountain has been personally experienced by me and fellow cultivator Yun. It’s not a place we, having lost our magical power, could pass through. For one, there are several of the strongest shadow beasts from the land of darkness and shadows lurking beneath the mountain. If you inadvertently disturb them, you’ll have no place to be buried. Even if you somehow survive the shadow beasts, the yin wind and phantom fog on Stormwind Mountain kill invisibly. There’s absolutely no chance of reaching the summit. And the legend that when the rift opens, one can ride the wind from the mountain’s peak to escape is just a myth—no one has ever actually tried. It might be impossible,” the hunchbacked elder said with a face alternating between fear and apprehension.

“Have you two ever climbed Stormwind Mountain? Can you tell us about it?” Han Li’s expression shifted slightly, and he asked with interest.

“It’s nothing special. Even if you hadn’t asked, we would have told you to dispel any illusions you have. When fellow cultivator Jin and I first arrived here, we didn’t want to end our lives here. After preparing for half a year, we gathered with three fellow cultivators from other villages and set out for Stormwind Mountain. But before we even got close, a fellow cultivator was discovered by nearby shadow beasts and died at the foot of the mountain. When we finally reached Stormwind Mountain, the remaining two companions didn’t even make it through a quarter of the climb before succumbing to the yin wind, freezing to death on the mountain. Jin and I still had some flame stones on us, barely enough to keep going. But the higher we climbed, the stronger the yin wind became, making it impossible to stand. In the end, we were repeatedly blown off the rocks by violent winds, never even seeing the phantom fog halfway up the mountain. Though we survived by luck, we dared not proceed and had to return. When we got back to the village, we fell ill from the bone-chilling yin wind and were bedridden for months before recovering. Since then, we gave up all thoughts of leaving via Stormwind Mountain,” the red-faced elder said slowly, eyes filled with horror.