A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality

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A poor and ordinary boy from a village joins a minor sect in Jiang Hu and becomes an Unofficial Disciple by chance. How will Han Li, a commoner by birth, establish a foothold for himself in his sect? With his mediocre aptitude, how will he successfully traverse the path of cultivation and become an immortal?

This is a story of an ordinary mortal who, against all odds, clashes with devilish demons and the ancient celestials in order to find his own path to immortality.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Bir Faninin Ölümsüzlüğe Yolculuğu
Fan Ren Xiu Xian Chuan
I Will Become an Immortal
Phàm Nhân Tu Tiên
RMJI
คัมภีร์วิถีเซียน
凡人修仙传
학사신공
Related Series
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality – Immortal World Arc (Sequel)
Recommendations
I Shall Seal the Heavens (11)
Demon’s Diary (10)
Renegade Immortal (8)
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Ze Tian Ji (6)
Cheeky Sword God (5)
Recommendation Lists
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  5. Novels that I have read

Latest Release

Date Group Release
05/11/16 Wuxiaworld c100
05/10/16 Wuxiaworld c99
05/08/16 Wuxiaworld c98
05/07/16 Wuxiaworld c97
05/07/16 Wuxiaworld c96
05/05/16 Wuxiaworld c95
05/05/16 Wuxiaworld c94
05/04/16 Wuxiaworld c93
05/03/16 Wuxiaworld c92
05/03/16 Wuxiaworld c91
05/02/16 Wuxiaworld c90
04/29/16 Wuxiaworld c89
04/28/16 Wuxiaworld c88
04/27/16 Wuxiaworld c87
04/26/16 Wuxiaworld c86
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152 Reviews sorted by


strixflash
strixflash rated it
April 13, 2017
Status: c1300
(Spoiler-free Review) I have read the story till Ch1300 and have now decided to keep it on indefinite hold. Can't bring myself to read a story which offers no enjoyment. Why? Because both the plot and characters are bland. Author has given protagonist zero unique features. Protagonist is totally bland just like plain water. You won't find him memorable at all. Meng Hao is memorable for his money grabbing skills. Bai Xiaochun for his shameless narcissistic personality. But Han Li has nothing for us to remember him about. He... more>> feels like a robot with a mission: just focusing on immortality without enjoying life. What's the use of power if you don't even enjoy your life? The plot is nothing better: Cultivating for decades/centuries in cave, zero interest in female/friends, zero interest in enjoying life, zero interest in everything except inmortality, few adventures in which protagonist most of times is forced to do others' bid. That's the plot for you. Just what is enjoyable in the story then? Sadly nothing. <<less
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Seregosa
Seregosa rated it
July 16, 2018
Status: c191
Well, I finally gave up. I'd say this novel is a 3/5 overall (with rare 4/5 moments), but as some parts are a 1/5 and I actually got frustrated and bored to the point of dropping it (which usually doesn't happen even with average 3/5 novels), it's just getting 2/5 from me.

So, what do we have here? Yeah, I came into this story after looking through all of the reviews and all of the tags. What did I come here for? As you can expect, I actually didn't think many... more>> of the "bad points" mentioned in the reviews were truly bad points for me. I wanted a loner protagonist, I felt it would be interesting with a fairly "average person" who had to work for his sh*t and didn't just get everything for free, I wanted zero romance (or at least close to it), I wanted a rational, cold-hearted MC that didn't get attached to anyone and didn't get too affected with other people, especially not girls, I wanted battles that were somewhat decent and not the regular crap... Did I get what I wished for? Well, in some ways. Let me explain some things in greater detail about this novel.

    1. The MC is a loner. That's true. He's pretty much only cultivating by himself, his personality is also fairly insipid at times.
    2. The MC isn't OP, that's true. However, he's not even average. He's quite frankly underpowered, this will probably change later on, but I guess he'll be the underdog tr*sh again after going to the next realm. It would be okay if he wasn't so damn underpowered that it feels pretty much hopeless at times. I mean, his cheat clearly is heaven-defying luck to let him survive everything and somehow cultivate to become a true immortal or something later on at the end! How the f*ck did he manage that with the one of the tr*shiest spirit roots in a cultivation place with almost no resources when people with the most heaven defying sh*t ever can't even do the same? Yeah, by overpowered luck (plot armor), which the author conveniently pretends he doesn't have by making him underpowered. It gets a bit annoying when he gets pushed around by everyone around him though, even if he will probably get revenge later on. He's always under people's mercy.
    3. The battles are... Well. The first two were good, it has that going for it! I guess. Those two were honestly great, a lot of skill involved and he made use of pure skill to win/almost win. This, however, quickly changed as we came into the cultivation world properly. As we all know, the MC is greatly underpowered and how will he kill people then? Yeah, with treasures. Lots of shiny treasures. The battles become very, very boring and dull as every battle afterwards is just about who has the shiniest treasure and who has the most magic power to power said treasures. It just becomes a battle of attrition with fancy weapons and explosions.
    4. He's... Well, he can be smart at times. He frequently shifts between ret*rded and a smartarse. Not much more to say there, maybe just that it often has to do with girls, but not only.
    5. The author finds it funny to skip over stuff without any warning whatsoever. He likes building up our expectations for something and then pretend it never happened. Skipping over tournaments, skipping over parts where he's supposed to do a certain big task, skipping over so damn much...
    6. The descriptions regarding cultivation levels and techniques, including pills and anything else are pitiful to say the least. We at most know what some things are supposed to do, but not at all how it truly works. We know from very early on about a sh*tload of realms, including realms that is supposed to be above this plane. However, the author explains NOTHING about how they work, NOTHING. We don't even know anything at all about the realm he's in, he's just cultivating and advancing, it took until the MC pretty much reached that layer before we even knew how many layers the qi condensation stage had in total! Even then the author didn't explain anything. He also practices a lot of medicine, but we don't know anything about how it works, how he crafts his pills etc. We seriously don't know anything at all about how anything works... Also, we can't keep track of what the MC knows either, because he'll just learn stuff in time skips and the author never mentions it until it's necessary. Poor writing to say the least.
    7. Too much redundant info dumping going on, but not the good kinds. Not the kind you'd be interested in. No, we get info dumps about useless trivia that will never, ever matter, about other people, about their stuff, about their plans, what they think about, we get fillers with their perspective which absolutely doesn't matter at all. So, in other words, the author info dumps as much as he can for worthless crap that is easy to make up and just write for word count, because you don't even have to think to write garbage about people who will disappear in one chapter or scenaries that doesn't matter.
    8. Okay, let's make this the last point as I don't want to complain too much, it's also the part I hated the most. The WOMEN! I used caps to make sure you noticed how important this part is... Or something. Anyway, getting to the point, he's supposed to be cold-hearted, rational, calculating, cunning etc and not interested in other people, a loner, he's supposed to be logical, right? Yeah, none of that here when it comes to girls. Instead, we get the generic chinese drivel (we all know it should be illegal for chinese people to write romance of any kind as they're too stiff and caught in their cultural ideals which are horrible, like changing personalities completely etc). So, after the first book where no girls showed up, the author had clearly bottled up a lot of s*xual frustration and started to release it in great amounts. Jade beauty after heavenly beauty after normal beauty after supreme goddesses. The descriptions are quite honestly quite creepy and disgusting, he has to describe how they smell, look and feel, every part about anything like that, I'm surprised he's not writing about how they taste. This happens chapter after chapter, again and again for seemingly every or every other chapter. The girls are all obnoxious b*tches and the MC is a huge hypocrite that becomes soft the moment he sees a beautiful woman, never wanting to harm them and the author even sometimes finds excuses for not killing a beautiful woman in a way that makes it sounds as if the MC is the ideal chivalrous chinese gentleman to women. It doesn't help that he drools at them, gets stunned by their beauty, smells them and keeps on being h**ny every time he meets girls like these, having essentially no self-control whatsoever (although the author would disagree and say he has a iron will because he doesn't just jump them and r*pe every woman on the spot, instead just being generally h**ny). Where did the calculating, logical and cold MC go? Nowhere to be seen. I can see where this is going and I'm not liking it.
Have you read er gen's works? Yeah, heavily ripped off from this author. This means they're fairly similar, the romance is quite similar, the MC is fairly similar, the events are very similar in many ways... I don't even like er gen's works that much. They're just average. Especially some parts like the romance which is so god damn awful it's ridiculous. Even then it's probably a bit better than this novel.

So, I mentioned a lot of things here, sure, there are more stuff to say, but I feel like I covered the most important things to note before picking this up. It's not THAT bad, but it's not really that good either. It feels like a lot of it was meant for hormone-driven teenagers who doesn't care as long as it's females and feel comfortable with a MC with all the issues I mentioned. It might be a good novel for people who haven't read over a hundred other chinese novels of similar genre. As for other people, I really don't recommend this novel unless you can ignore all the flaws or even like them, unless you don't have anything to read anymore and just wants something to waste your time with despite it being kinda average or at times subpar. Now then, I'm off to read a book with an OP MC who doesn't give a f*ck about women, I feel like I need it after this trainwreck. So much disappointment... <<less
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justien01
justien01 rated it
March 24, 2016
Status: c120
I have a lot of expectation for this novel since this is rank number 1 in Qidian with over 13 million votes greatly surpassing its peers. Well so far so good the MC is cunning but for some reason he give me the feeling that the MC is very normal maybe because I read too much novels with OP MC. First 100 chapters is super long prologue which is very good cause it give the story a really strong foundation and you wont see this nowadays cause most novel 10~20... more>> chapter and thats it. <<less
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App
App rated it
December 8, 2015
Status: --
Other than the currently relatively slow translation speed, this is the best out of the 20+ xianxia works I’m currently reading for one very important reason: Arc 1’s Villain. Never in a Chinese novel have I read a more insidious, plotting, sith-like antagonist than in Mortal’s Journey, and when the sh*t hits the fan and the first fight of the MC happens: It’s EPIC. All of the character’s plots one way or another are revealed to counter each other to see whether the new cultivator can beat a justifiably unbeatable... more>> foe, and while the bigger twists can be seen a mile away, the devilish details are what make the fight great. The more important aspect of the villain is his longevity and presence in the story. He is almost always on the wings or on stage, always establishing more of his character and interacting with the MC, more so than any Xianxia currently found partially in English, as usually villains are throwaway cliches which are used up in a few chapters. (Exception maybe to ISSTH’s Mr. Turtle: that was a very satisfying burglary)

Yes, it’s a Xianxia (therefore plot armor), yes, the skeleton of the plot could only be more cliche if the MC was reincarnated, but the details of the characters so far and their motivations are the best written I’ve seen so far from the genre and it definitely deserves your time. <<less
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LoneDK
LoneDK rated it
July 6, 2016
Status: c901
I liked the story. It started off slow but have good potential. The story is not as generic as some other xianxia. The MC feels very average though there are a few badass moments but overall he feels like an average cultivator which I guess is the intention of the author. Nevertheless it doesn't take away much from the story. Some people have likened this to ISSTH. It is not ISSTH. The feel of the MC is completely different as Meng Hao is all about that perfection while Han Li... more>> is the guy that takes what he can get to advance. My biggest gripe with this story currently is the at the point of this review c368 something happens that makes me feel like not continuing with the story.
Spoiler

He suddenly lost his cultivation and have to start again. I don't mind when this happens but only when done well. Here it's just out of the blue in the most rage inducing way possible. He meets and save the twin of the girl he banged earlier and to repay him she drained his cultivation to restore her own. She's more powerful than him btw and after draining him she actually punch him for sleeping with her sister and act all high and mighty. It feels so cheap as I know this is just setup for the next arc. There's really no build up to him losing his cultivation and is just something that randomly happens.

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edit: Alright, after finishing up all other novels to their latest chapter I decided to give this another shot. The story is good but still slow as ever, I skimmed through some arc that was really boring but otherwise it was fine. Manage to push to chapter 901 and then the author pulled the same crap that made me want to shelf this in the first place. This would have been a terrific novel had the author not use gimmick like this.

Spoiler

Once again, out of the blue cultivation lost. Not permanent this time but more of a I must seal my cultivation since someone put a cursed on me. It was so random - He traveled to a new place when he reached mid stage Nascent Soul and some random ass cultivator picked a fight with him spiraling into a group gang up on him and someone put a curse on him. It's literally setup for the next arc which feels cheap as hell.

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Sae
Sae rated it
October 23, 2016
Status: c212
Review as of c212: 4.5/5.

My first point: If you want action packed fast paced and/or a genius with (a) heaven defying treasure (s) and luck then don't bother with this one because it's as far as can be from what you want.

Minor
... more>>
Spoiler

The story is about a kid who can't be anymore mediocre whether in looks or talents, got dragged into the cultivation world and step by step climbing up in power while bitterly trying to preserve his own life by making use of a treasure that does not increase his cultivation talent at all. The first hundred chapters as a form of prologue is slow, but the "slow" is just right. You can't expect too much from an all-round average kid, even being able to improve at his current stage is already a feast for someone like him.

What makes this novel worth reading:

1. There is this saying about the more hollow the drum, the louder it sounds. People with low intelligence and low talent are the best blabbers. I always think that the cultivation world where only power speaks volume, nonsensical verbal arguments from every opponent is too much too unrealistic. This novel precisely avoids that. In a world where danger lurks everywhere, where there is always someone stronger or has better treasures than you, it's easy to lose one's life. Even no matter how much backing one has, if they die then that's it. If everyone is a hollow drum, then Jianghu is nothing but a joke.

That's why it's delightful to see that the majority of characters (enemies included) are NOT brainless idiots with foul mouths that spout 5+ line paragraphs. When there is a need to fight they fight. Everyone (even demonic beasts) priorities their life and has certain degree of guard against any opponent even if they are stronger in power. Heck yeah that's more like it.

2. As mentioned MC is average in everything, even his personality (he is no villain nor hero). His treasure is prolly the only thing that makes him worth writing a story about. However, the spotlight shifts to him thanks to his incisiveness (one example would be his low resistance to beauty but refusing to suffer for it). He absolutely knows how to THINK. From the clever use of the treasure to making the right choices in tough situations, by constantly activating his brains he is able to stay alive and still withholding the bottom line of his principles.

This incisiveness doesn't come out of nowhere, but painstakingly learned from the first 100 chaps that meticulously built up his foundation knowledge of the cruel cultivation world. It's fun to see him grow and facing challenges with his own wit rather than resorting to glaringly blatant plot armor or deus ex.

3. No useless fillers so far *throws confetti*

Why you might find it boring: pill pill pill tool tool tool. That's the most of it for powering up so far. However it's only sensible. His treasure aids in pills, with his talent he won't get anywhere far without pills, and wouldn't survive long without good tools. Think of this as contribution to his intellect though, knowing how to use tools is a talent for survival. Not seeing much of fighting techniques is a little sad for me, but no OP shiny fancy name actions that kill in less than a millisecond is also good. I do hope to see good techniques later on though. Anyhow, I would like to conclude this by referring back to my first point.

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archigoel
archigoel rated it
January 7, 2016
Status: --
This book is very good in the initial stages, but as you approach 250+ chapters, you quickly start getting BORED. MC is absolutely concerned with himself. Story remains true to the title... telling how MC is progressing, but after some point, I just dont care about him. Frankly, story becomes absolutely damp squib.
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obsoletefactor
obsoletefactor rated it
April 18, 2017
Status: c168
So after reading more than 150 chapters I feel I'm able to give a review. Rating: 1 star for translator and ½-1 star for vol 1.
... more>>
Spoiler

To be honest I found vol. 1/book 1 to be very interesting, the MC was smart, scheming and I liked how he uses an assassin styled sword tecnique/movement skill combined with exotic weaponry to fight his teacher.

His friend was a decent side character, his teacher was a cool/badass antagonist with a lot of mystery revolving around him. I loved the Mo family arc, all the women were so fleshed out with interesting personalities. And then the writing and plot just went completely downhill from there. All the interesting characters from vol. 1 are forgotten, he hasn't used or even trained his assassin styled sword tecnique even a little since the mo arc. And there hasn't been even 1 interesting and 3 dimensional side character/antagonist in almost 60 chapters.


Even the MC is a flat and plainly boring character with no strong sides to him or even likeable attributes to speak of. There isn't even any interesting worldbuilding/good plot mechanics and it has transformed from a interesting and potentially different xianxia, into a completely generic: "hahaha my talisman is high grade, and yours is only low grade so feel my awesome power!!" and "My magic tecnique is mid tier so I'm more powerful than you!" story.
TL:DR: I recommend reading vol 1. And then just dropping it after he goes to that immortal meeting. Because there's many stories that are a lot better written, has interesting antagonists/side characters and much much better world building. And interesting likeable mc's which this story doesn't.
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IRainstorm
IRainstorm rated it
May 23, 2017
Status: Completed
Finished this story around a month ago on MTL, and I judged propitious the moment to give it a small review now.

So I have gained knowledge about this story the first time the ranking of qidian finished works was published somewhere as it ranked first or close to that, so like any other person I had to check the hype.

... more>>
Spoiler

The story start well, you get your usual Xianxia setting in a mortal world at the bottom of the food chain, he somehow gain a bottle that magically gather energy from moonlight and transform it into a liquid that accelerate the growth of any plant, as we all know plants leads to alchemy & pills, so you can already see how OP and cheat this item is.

MC has a good temperament, hes not c*cky and is really cautious as anyone should be in this kind of world even thought sometime the author has to make him do s*upid decision to move the plot in a certain direction hes not himself s*upid, he can be obsessive about few things but that where the personality stops, he doesn't have anything that set him apart from the rest.

The fights... here is the big picture, as long as anyone in the same realm as you in this novel has OP items/weapons he will easily dispatch you, the MC doesn't rely on some special power or technique, all he does is get them OP items and spam the sh*t out of them to overpower anyone in the same layer of power as him.

The side characters ? there are few females that appear and get some weak spot light along the journey like his wife for example but they get removed from the plot for hundreds of chapters and basically have no characterization and as a reader you will hold no bond with them.

After the first thousand chapter you will start to feel the loopy plot, it start to feel boring and slow like a quagmire engulfing your mind, but it's not annoying enough to make you drop it so you continue reading and sink more into it, there are some exciting events along the road that will make you breath some fresh air and steel your mind into sinking more as well as some expectation of yours that you need to meet.

Is it alright to skip dozens of chapters in this novel ? yes you can easily follow the story even if you do that.

I will give this novel a 2.25/5

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UnknownReader27
UnknownReader27 rated it
August 8, 2019
Status: --
At first, I really like this novel. Why?? The MC was not like any other MC in other novels. The MC here was smart, clever, cautious, but the cultivation world ruined this novel. Why? Its because its not about powerful dao here, its about how powerful your treasure is, even if your dao that was comprehended was higher than the other, if your opponent have powerful treasure, he could easily kill you. In fact, even the MC was like that, he collects various powerful treasure but he did not even... more>> know a powerful technique, all of his fights was resolved because of his treasure. He just depended on his treasure but when it comes to techniques and dao, he's sh*t compared to others. Its good in first when the immortals was not yet to be introduced, because the MC was hardworking in comprehending techniques, but when he was in immortal world, he just relied on treasures. It seems the author focused solely on treasures not improving the MC. And I dont like the fact that the author here did not apply the term "gender-equality". Why? Fck, every opponent of the MC was all fvkinng men, and in fact, when it came to women, the MC became so softhearted, and even if the women schemed about him, its okay because its woman. Fck!

In fact, you could see that the author was so s*upid when it comes about women, or in fact you could see that the author was somewhat a pe*vert if you read this novel. Why? The descriptions of any beautiful woman here was so creepy for me. In fact, he ruined the already good MC because of his pe*vertness. Why? The MC here was somewhat cold-hearted, rational, intelligent, somewhat wise, calm even if he's experiencing life and death situation. But when the MC was with a beautiful woman, ha, he was always captivated and the author always made the MC contradict himself when it comes in decision-making when it was about woman. Ha! And the author always manage to find a reason so that it seems like the decision that the MC make was right. For example, when a beautiful woman wanted the MC to help her, the author would make the MC help her for a reason that the MC somewhat benefited from her, but it seems that the author forgot that the other side benefitted more from the MC and they knew each other at that time for mutual benefits. Just read the novel and you would see the author's s*upidness about woman here. Almost all of the beautiful women could make the MC here dazed, I promised you. There was even one time that he saved a beautiful woman and the s*upid AND PERVERT AUTHOR reason for this so that the MC could earn some reward from her. But what happened? The MC did not take the reward freely but it became an exchange of gifts. Ha!! Fvcking s*upidness and pe*vertedness of the author. In fact if the MC did not have the Great Displacement Technique, Im pretty sure that he would already succumbed to the bewitchment of an ordinary beauty. Ha!! And this s*upid AND PERVERT AUTHOR seems really like 'coincidences'. To the point that the whole novel was just a continuous coincidences. Thats right its a continuous coincidences to the point that it was sickening.

And dont believe the DAO COMPREHENSION TAG here. Its not about dao comprehension, its just about continuous lucky encounter to acquire treasures. Thats right, you could not really enjoy the fight here because its just battle of the treasures ha! The characters would just stand there and control their treasures, and if their treasures was weaker than the other, they would released another treasures. Ha!! In fact, the MC here have many techniques that he acquired but he did not use it often. Why? Its because the s*upid author was so reliant of those FVCKING TREASURES. YOU COULD SAY THAT THE s*upid AND PERVERT AUTHOR MAKE A GOOD MC BUT HE s*upidLY PLACED IT IN A tr*sh NOVEL. IN FACT IF THE MC WAS NOT A PERVERT AND s*upid ABOUT WOMEN LIKE THE AUTHOR, THE MC HAVE MORE ROOM OF IMPROVEMENT. THE s*upid AND PERVERT AUTHOR JUST RUINED THIS GOOD MC SIGH!!

And for me, its better if the MC kill the artifact spirit silvermoon in chapter 600+. Why? First, the artifact spirit tool already knew all of his secrets. Second, the author already said that the Silver Wolf and the Spirit Fox was expert in souls, deceptions, etc. So it was better to say that maybe silvermoon had a trick to escape his restrictions because her species and now her cultivating body the Spirit Fox was expert in soul, so it may have a technique to remove her restriction in her soul, and maybe she has a scheme for him. And for our super cautious MC to not know that, was impossible, so we could only say that the s*upid AND PERVERT AUTHOR made the MC careless and s*upid so that he could add another beautiful female character in the story. Third, even if the MC make her his own spirit artifac for his swords, that decision was narrow minded, why? Because the author said that a cultivator could only try to put a artifact spirit in a magic treasure once. And the silvermoon said that she would become free when the MC became a Deity Transformation (idk the exact term) and that means that when that happens, he could not put a new artifact spirit for his swords. So it means that he would suffer later. But of course, the author was s*upid AND PERVERT and the spirit artifact was a beautiful woman, so he would contradict himself again so that the MC would not kill the BEAUTIFUL ARTIFACT SPIRIT, and would create a new rule that the MC could put another spirit artifact for his treasure. Sigh.. The author ruined the MC because of his PERVERTEDNESS.

AND LASTLY, THE TECHNIQUE THAT THE MC USE IN TRANSFERING THE ARTIFACT SPIRIT WAS CAME FROM THE ARTIFACT SPIRIT HERSELF. IF YOU ARE A CAUTIOUS AND SMART, AND SOMEONE KNEW ALL OF YOUR SECRET, AND YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS TO KEEP AN EYE ON HER, OR CONFINED OR TRAP HER, WOULD YOU LISTEN TO THE SUGGESTION THAT SHE GAVE ON WHERE OR HOW YOU WILL CONFINE HER? OF COURSE NOT. ONLY s*upid WOULD DO THAT. AND OUR 'SMART AND CAUTIOUS' MC AND AUTHOR DID THAT, SO HERE IN THIS SCENE, WE COULD ALREADY SEE HOW s*upid THE AUTHOR AND MC WHEN IT COMES TO WOMEN. HA! FCK YOU AUTHOR!!!

And this FCKING s*upid AUTHOR MADE THE MC JOIN A SECT. FCK YOU MAN, YOU MADE HIM JOIN A SECT WHEN HE COULD ALREADY PROTECT HIMSELF EVEN IF A NASCENT SOUL FIGHT HIM. HE DID NOT EVEN NEED THAT SECTS PROTECTION HA!! FCK YOU AUTHOR, I GUESS YOU MADE HIM JOIN IT SO THAT YOU COULD MADE HIM ACQUIRE A CONCUBINE. YOU JUST MADE A REASON THAT HE NEED A GUIDANCE FOR NASCENT SOUL. FCK YOUR REASON. ITS ALREADY BETTER WHEN HE WAS VAGRANT CULTIVATOR, ATLEAST OTHER WOULD KNOW THAT HE ACHIEVE HIS CURRENT STRENGTH BY HIS OWN EFFORT, BUT NOW THAT THE MC JOIN A SECT, OTHERS WOULD THINK THAT THE MC ACQUIRED HIS STRENGTH BECAUSE OF THE HELP OF THAT SECT EVEN THOUGH HE DID NOT EVEN RECEIVED A SINGLE PENNY FROM THEM. FVCK YOU REALLY AUTHOR, IM SURE THAT YOU JUST DID THAT FOR THE MC TO ACQUIRE A CONCUBINE. YOU RUINED IT AGAIN BECAUSE OF YOUR PERVERTNESS. FCK YOU. AND FVCK YOU, YOU MADE THE MC AN ELEDER EVEN THOUGH YOU COULD JUST MAKE HIM A GUEST ELDER. AT LEAST THERE WAS A SOMEWHAT DIVIDING LINE, BUT YOU JUST MADE IT STRAIGHT TO THE POINT THAT IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. IN FACT, IM SURE THAT THE MC WOULD STILL HAVE ACQUIRED A GUIDANCE IF HE WAS JUST A GUEST ELDER. YOU ALWAYS RUINED THE MC BECAUSE OF YOUR FVCKING s*upidNESS AND PERVERTEDNESS. FVCKING BACKER, FVCK YOU, ITS NOT A BACKER BUT A SHACKLE, YOU MADE SILVERMOON SAID THAT THE MC COULD ALREADY PROTECT HIMSELF, BUT YOU MADE HIM JOIN A SECT SO THAT HE WOULD HAVE A 'BACKER'? FVCK YOU, WHY WOULD HE NEED A BACKER? IF HE NEEDED IT, THEN THAT MEANS THAT HIS OPPONENT'S STRENGTH WAS A MUCH HIGHER THAN HIM, AND HIS SECT POWERFUL CULTIVATOR WAS JUST A NASCENT SOUL LIKE THE MC, AND YOU CALLED IT A "BACKER"? IT WAS NOT A BACKER BECAUSE THAT SECT COULD NOT REALLY PROTECT HIM. IN FACT, EVEN THE MC COULD TROUBLE OR HARASS THE SECT THAT HE JOINED, AND YOU s*upid AUTHOR CALLED IT A BACKET? REALLY? RATHER, IT WAS A SHACKEL, BECAUSE HE NEEDED TO CONSIDER THE SECT WHEN HE NEEDED TO INTERACT WITH OTHER POWERFUL CULTIVATOR. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN HE MADE SOME TROUBLES, HE NEEDED TO THOROUGHLY MAKE SURE THAT THERE WERE NO SURVIVOR OR IT WAS THOROUGHLY CLEAN BECAUSE THE SECT HE JOINED MAY BE INFLICTED IN THIS TROUBLE. IS THAT A PERSON THAT HAS A BACKER SHOULD DO? NO!! HE COULD NOT REALLY WANTONLY CAUSE SOME TROUBLE LIKE HE DID BEFORE BECAUSE OF HE NEEDED TO CONSIDER THE GREAT "BACKER" HE JOINED. FVCK YOU AUTHOR, YOU MADE THE MC JOINED A SECT BUT YOU DID NOT EVEN CONSIDERED IT THOROUGHLY. INSTEAD OF A SECT THAT COULD HELP HIM GROW FASTER, YOU MADE HIM JOIN A SECT THAT HELD HIM BACK MORE. IN FACT HE DID NOT REALLY NEED TO JOIN A SECT, HE COULD PROTECT HIMSELF EVEN IF HIS OPPONENT WAS NASCENT SOUL MID STAGE AND HCOULD ALSO ESCAPE EVEN IF HIS OPPONENT WAS LATE STAGE NASCENT SOUL. AND NOW THAT YOU MADE HIM JOIN A SECT, HE NEEDED TO DO SOME TROUBLESOME THINGS TO AVOID GETTING AN ENEMY FOR HIS SECT. AND YOU CALLED THE SECT THAT THE MC JOINED AS A 'BACKER' s*upid AUTHOR? BACKER? EH THE STRONGEST PERSON IN THAT SECT WAS ONLY JUST A MID NASCENT SOUL AND THE OTHER WAS JUST EARLY NS LIKE THE MC. IN FACT THE MID NS WAS FVCKING INJURED. AND YOU CALLED IT A BACKER?? FVCK YOU AUTHOR, I REALLY FVKING WANT TO SLAP YOU SO THAT YOU WILL AWAKEN IN YOUR s*upidNESS AND PERVERTEDNESS. FVCK YOU REALLY MUCH. YOU JUST CONTRADICT YOURSELF AGAIN BECAUSE OF YOUR PERVERTEDNESS BECAUSE IT COULD BE SEEN THAT YOU JUST MADE HIM JOIN THE SECT TO MADE MU 'SOMETHING' HIS CONCUBINE. I PROMISE, IF YOU READ THIS NOVEL FROM THE START CAREFULLY, YOU WOULD REALLY NOTICE THAT THIS FVCKING s*upid AUTHOR CONTRADICT HIMSELF FOR A BEAUTIFUL CHARACTERS TO THE POINT THAT IT RUIN THE MC AND THE NOVEL. THATS WHY I COULD NOT REALLY HELD MYSELF BACK TO BASH THIS FVCKING AUTHOR.

I HOPE SOMEONE SEND THIS REVIEW TO THE AUTHOR, I JUST COULD NOT REALLY ALLOW HIM DESTROYING A ALREADY GOOD MC JUST BECAUSE OF HIS PERVERTEDNESS. OF COURSE, SOME WOULD SAY THAT HE DID THAT FOR A THE FUTURE EVENTS IN THIS NOVEL, BUT WTF, WHY WOULD YOU HAVE TO RUIN, CONTRADICT, OR MAKE THE MC s*upid SO THAT YOU COULD FORCEFULLY SET YOUR FUTURE PLOTS.

And Im really disappointed on how the MC fell madly inlove. Tsk, he made love with a woman he barely met because of a somewhat poison thing, and whoalaaaaaa our MC became madly inlove and longing. Yeah she made a good impression on him because she did not kill him, but just because of that and he already fell in love. Ha!! What a sense of romance FOR OUR GREAT AUTHOR. WE COULD ALREADY SEE HOW PERVERT OUR GREAT AUTHOR IS. <<less
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Linked
Linked rated it
November 6, 2015
Status: --
Okay, as the translator I might be biased, however I want offer more than just the "cookie cutter" opinion as the two above have stated. Now the story is only 50~ chapters or so in translated at this moment so those in the future this may not apply to you. Okay here we go. So the story starts off slow, real slow as a base background for the character is developed. The main character Han Li is a poor child that essentially joins a martial arts sect for a chance... more>> to help his poor family back home, (I don't think this is spoiler it's introduced quite early.) Anyways this sort of sets up a sort of "typical" child background but that's where it ends. The MC starts to think a little bit more than others and his motives for power at the moment aren't to crush his enemies but to save his life. Again it's slow so at the moment there aren't too many fight scenes, but I feel that this story is powerful in the sense that it is able to develop characters in a much deeper sense which may appeal to me but not others, so read and I hope you enjoy. And to those that jumped to conclusions from the synopsis which makes it sound bland, it isn't truly like that I will be editing it shortly. Please just take a chance and enjoy! <<less
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ptsome110
ptsome110 rated it
June 5, 2016
Status: c119
If you liked ISSTH, you will like this.
:) Like ISSTH there is no plot formula (constant blood bath, arrogant comments, recycled plots, etc)
:) Cultivation world is more like ISSTH > Coiled Dragon type of cultivation
:) It doesn't get to the action right away, but spends quite a bit of time telling the story & building up suspense
: (It doesn't get to the action right away which may have thrown off a lot of readers & caused them to give up on the story before... more>> it gets really good
:) Author pays attention to detail & delivers story very well (its very different from normal chinese authors in this genre, the style of writing is more akin to Er Gen or tang jia san shao <<less
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terraheart
terraheart rated it
March 4, 2020
Status: Completed
I want to let people know that there is a SEQUEL to this novel.

I mention this because a few reviews are disappointed with the ending but as there's a sequel and it's ongoing finished with 1400 chapters, I won't judge the "ending" a few reviews have a problem with.

The reason for this "post" is that the sequel (A record of a mortal's journey to immortality: An immortal world) is not on this website - Now being translated by Qidian (10/04/2020) .

... more>> Update 03/05/20

Quick Review: So I've finished this novel, its decent but can feel slow at times. MC is clever but he can be so cautious that his timid nature for 90% of novel is a little off putting. Made worse because despite not taking risks he gets all the loot - read lucky. Also lack of romance with long separations is a little frustrating.

However, the plot is well thought out and the power scaling/ world building is excellent. What makes it stand out novel is the world and cultivation pacing where you really feel the progression and none of this nonsense of jumping large cultivation boundaries. The MC becomes strong but he works really hard to get there. So although the MC isn't quite my cup of tea, if you need a break from OP hot blooded MC's and want something more slow paced then this novel is definitely worth a read.

Translations are very good and at current rate should be completed in just over a year. Second book will take 2 years to complete if translator decides to translate it at his current. Best possible experience if binge read is to wait a few years for both books to be translated as stopping at book 1 will feel unsatisfying.

Its the most recommended novel for xianxia by Chinese readers but I will mention for the 'happy' ending you will need to read the second book. <<less
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fir537
fir537 rated it
June 9, 2016
Status: Completed
I read this alongside Martial God Space, a welcome read during the wait for new MGS chapters.

A great read, the title is pretty much the whole story. You follow the story of how Han Li cultivates into being an immortal.

... more>>
Spoiler

The whole story is all about one dude cultivating and doing his best to stay alive in the cutthroat world of cultivators. He tries his best to cultivate, ignoring most other things in life other than cultivating, trying his best to not have enemies, and pretty much try to stay alive. Every realm he cultivates into he gains extra lifetime, but still not an immortal, so he has to cultivate more. And when he becomes immortal, the story ends. Rather cliffhanger type of ending, but I suppose it was expected since the title already describes the story.

[collapse]

Hopefully the author have plans to make a sequel. I really liked Han Li. Only Han Li. The story gets boring at times but Han Li is the reason I kept reading. <<less
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heishiken
heishiken rated it
March 1, 2016
Status: --
One of the Novels I'm looking forward to the most as of how it will Develop. Definitly worth a read though if you like Xianxia Genre in general.
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bloggbigg
bloggbigg rated it
July 9, 2018
Status: c400
Only partially done, but 366 chapters in I think I have a pretty good feel for this...

The Good:

  • Not another 'white knight hero' adventure
  • MC not OP
The Bad:

  • MC is a selfish, hypocritical, rationalizing, cowardly, pathological liar of a sociopath with a persecution complex. (I wish I were making this up). Oh, and no compassion, appreciation or loyalty.
  • Most characters are some aspect of shitty to justify the MCs (still ridiculous) action/nature. Those that are not are lied to, cheated, insulted, bullied, ignored, mercilessly killed (or allowed to die), are forgotten. Often a combination of more than one.
  • The MC is depicted as 'smart', but is actually just 'author justified via outcome' (ie- eventually 'right'- even if decision flawed because things turn out 'like they should'). Additionally, others do dumb things often to make him 'look smart' in comparison. He also displays contempt for almost everyone despite not being that great, or by having recently elevated to being over them (and of course forgetting how he felt being mistreated before).
  • Plot armor is thick with this one, as much 'luck' drives the story. Another manifestation of 'easy progress' is when the MC suddenly has things he 'prepared earlier' (but didn't actually happen till 'retcon'ed in) into his possession. (*Retcon=RETroactive CONtinuity: when you are updated that 'it was actually/always this way' in the past)
  • Overall this story is pop-up events, 'bad situation of the week' style. Overall there is no growing, driven plot- instead you'll see 'Overcoming Location A' as the first main arc (to around 350), and (presumably) 'Overcoming Location B/Return to Location A' (possibly) as the second.
  • This thing is huge (2400+ chapters), and I can't say it's all 'worth it' (if the bit I've read is any indicator).
  • Most aspects of plot are both forced, and (overall) inconsequential. Many plot elements are suddenly dropped, then sometimes reintroduced hundreds of chapters later via 'extraordinary luck' (ie- happen to bump into a character from before after changing towns).
  • The class-based discrimination is plentiful in this one, and the MC adopts to it like a fish to water-- mostly ignoring people (and their consequential fate from his action or inaction) due to his high level of contempt... but, remember- 'not a white knight' story.
  • The author's sense of romance is disappointing. This is coming from someone who doesn't 'ship' and mostly could are less- but does expect the author to at least do more than 'brush up against' realistic human emotions/desires'. Well, MC is a sociopath, so... (*ship= 'relationSHP: where readers argue the pros & cons of potential mates for MC, and who they think should pair as 'best girl')
The Different:

  • Other than plot armor (mostly undeserved lucky breaks), MC is slightly above average at best.
  • If you're wondering about the 'undeserved lucky breaks':
    Spoiler
    • MC's relative randomly sponsors his magic test due to luckily working there/having connections. Lucky!
    • MC has magic- nothing notable, but lucks into an elite master, getting taught to raise herbs, make pills and cultivate an esoteric, 'intelligence-increasing' art. Lucky!
    • Literally stumbles over something while at masters private, closed off area... turns out it's a magic item no one lost or will ever look for. Lucky!
    • MC makes item a charm (pouch in bag around neck) & forgets item's questionable nature. (seemingly not lucky here, just s*upid- but gets away with it despite being a disciple of a guy planning to possess his body, so Lucky!)
    • An unrelated thing happens, making MC remember item.
    • MC starts inhuman animal trials with magic item liquid (Luckily both knowing about 'experimentation' & not just drinking it like a potion, nor spilling the super-potent stuff on himself, ever). Triple Lucky!
    • MC slightly later luckily breaks something mysterious liquid is in spilling it on some herbs, allowing him to discover the remarkable nature of the magic item no one seemingly knows exists or wrote about anywhere. Lucky!
    • Guy who taught him herbs never notices the better quality of the garden somehow- despite watching him, needing his body & suspecting him of knowing he's been seen through (& possibly knowing the art he gave him should be making him smarter). Super Lucky!
    • 'Much extra' & 'ridiculously more potent' herbs let him cultivate faster! Win!
    • Way more- but you'll have to read yourself...
      [collapse]
  • MC is a pretty weaselly character, which is fairly obvious to anyone (though surprisingly many readers empathize & make excuses for his behavior).
  • MCs effect on the world overall is actually minimal or negative (to date- ch 400).
  • Plot seemingly designed to go nowhere, making MC a 'normal' in relation to aspects of 'the fate of the world'
I started this due to the great rep this had & the teaser from the 3d computer generated movie soon to come out.

"Why not?" I think, then give it a try...

I'm guessing the 'anti-hero' nature sells it? I dunno...

Despite the many issues, many people like it. I though I could tolerate it's 'flaws'- but after the second sudden time skip/location change-- 'screw this'... It's honestly not very good (at least not as good as some might lead you to believe), but it is still interesting and I can see others finding it more enjoyable than I do- so you may have to try it yourself & see.

Ultimately, you're watching the MCs development, and (to a lesser degree) learning about the world the MC is in (though unfortunately framed by the MC's needs and huge antisocial bias). People and interactions/relationships kinda happen, but mostly it's a story of 'Han's cultivation & the things that get in the way of it'.

Seriously- that's 80% of it right there, and the rest ties into that somehow, has to do with Han needing to be safe (or... No- That's probably it.). There are a few slightly imaginative ideas in there about a few things that are normally done a different way- but nothing really notable so far.

Anyway- Maybe it's what you'll like- but at least you know better what you're getting into. Well, the 1st 1/6th anyway. Around 1/3 is translated so far.

Good Luck if you give it a go!

As a side note, the site where it's being translated has a rather toxic community with regards to _any_ criticism of the novel, and even the editor came out and nastily asked me about my two year old comments and all the flack they drew from thin-skinned people who can't tolerate the slightest question/critique-- so if you go there- 'good luck to you- you are now warned', and that's all I'll say on the matter.

Novel: Meh, Translating site: Ugh.
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Astari
Astari rated it
March 27, 2017
Status: c318
This is definitely my favorite novel, and the reason it's simple: this novel is unique. Not some unique idea, world or cultivation, but a unique feeling it pass to you, the best way to describe is reading the title: A journey to immortality. I read many xianxia novels, good ones, but none could get myself so into the story like this one. You feel the struggle, the dangers, and most important, the achievements. This novel is probably the closest to 'real' wich a xianxia can get! Why? Many factors, one... more>> of those, the pace. Cultivation takes time, or it probably should as many authors say, but don't show it, but not here. In RMJI each level on cultivation means a lot, and so little. A lot because it shows how powerful one gets, how desired it's just one more level. A little because it's often show that thoses levels don't mean everything, and if one is careless he may lose his life, like it should be on a so called 'dangerous cultivation world'.

Other important thing to this, is for sure the MC, he is likeable, wich seems to be rare on CN, and maybe most important, relatable. This is due to the fact that he uses his brain, he is calm, he feels human, and we accompany him since his childhood and naivety. How Han Li (MC) grows is fantastic, and you understand his action e understand him, sometimes you know what he would do in certain circumstances, something rare in any literature.

I really recommend this to anyone to read. Some say that is dull, I can't see that way, it may be slow sometimes but I can only see as necessary.
Read this if you want do experiencie a adventure. Read this if you want to see what a real journey is. <<less
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Pleasantly-plump
Pleasantly-plump rated it
October 15, 2016
Status: c214
So far as others have stated the MC is very ordinary, which I feel fits the title well. If I were to put the MC in another xianxia story, he would be the character that you would overlook. He does not have some special aid to move him through cultivation (at this stage). This is the story of the common person and not a chosen, a good read.
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Novelupdatesaccount1
Novelupdatesaccount1 rated it
December 13, 2019
Status: c1060
One good arc followed by ~2300 boring chapters.

The first arc was amazing. The world was fleshed out, characters had personality, fights were complicated but interesting. The next few arcs were considerably worse, but there was always the hope of things going back to what they were in the first arc. Around chapter 4-500 the story loses its' last wisp of originality and starts to become mindless uninterrupted battles without any real breaks except to power up over 2-3 chapters.

Not worth reading anymore.
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TheeWaxMan
TheeWaxMan rated it
July 11, 2021
Status: c2000
I haven't read this in over a year but this story is so bad is actually maddening. Like you will sit there mad af and what I mean by that is, you know that feeling you get when something is about to pay off either becoming stronger, getting a girl, getting a piece of information, getting a weapon, getting anything, some of this happens but I can reassure you, you will be let down every single time, but they will word it in a way where you want to continue... more>> and see if maybe it leads up to a bigger pay off like oh maybe he gets something with that thing he worked hard for?? No everything is literally underwhelming at its definition, and if you've been reading these stories for 7 years like me you know what I'm talking about, I got some chapter like 1950-2100 I can't remember it's been a while tbh but I don't forget how much I hate this book. I'm not an internet troll and thank you translator but holy sh*t how do people rate this a good book? You remember in Against the Gods (ATG) when Yun Che was a weakling you felt bad for right away but then he met Jazmin (Spirit of sorts) she said there is another way for him to get his spiritual veins (you as the reader just sit there and think OMG what did she say? How?). He finds the veins and he goes through a life or death body tempering all within the first like 20 chapters, So you sit there with anxiety hoping something good will happen or at the very least something interesting, then it does and you sit there glad you read what you did, but in this story, you will be left with anxiety and no payoff, ever. This story is a story I picked up and put down multiple times because the start is less than average at best. So many times I got bored of the beginning, but after reading every single story that's a cultivation story with more than 2000 chapters I can confidently say this is the worse. You will get to chapter 2000 and you will feel like a normal person from this world could drop him at any time even still. This story is literally a C- with everything but relationships and protagonist are F. The reason I think this is the worst story I've ever read because not only do people keep upvoting this shitty novel it has no payoffs, you will feel that the protagonist would be better off dead tbh, this dude literally says how much of a weakling he is alllllll the time. Never do you go that was good fight, you will 100% of the time say, man, he got lucky to survive, it would be different if they gave you any payoff but you don't get any I've been so dumbfounded on why the author just wants to feel stepped on the whole f*cking book. I literally hate this book so much I was yelling at a few pages reading it like why the f*ck would you do that protagonist? I've been on this site for years and I had to make my account just to write this cuz hole sh*t this is bad. <<less
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