A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Initially, Han Li couldn't understand why Patriarch Miro had gone to such great lengths to split the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra into five parts, but it later became apparent to him that he was most likely trying to leave behind an alternative inheritance of the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra in addition to the full cultivation art recorded on the dhvaja.

If it weren't for this precautionary measure, the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra would've already been completely lost, and Han Li couldn't help but heave a forlorn sigh at this sobering thought.

Over the past two months, he had arranged the five cultivation arts in accordance with Sumeru Insights to compile a brand new Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra, which consisted of nine levels.

There were still many finger details that had to be smoothed over, but overall, his work was mostly complete.

Having already made some progress in some of the time-attribute cultivation arts, he was currently roughly at the third level of the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra, and once he gained the ability to manifest the complete set comprising the Mantra Treasured Axis, the Clear Time Vial, Illusory Dawn Sand, Time Severing Flowing Fire, and the Eastern Divine Tree, he would be able to jump straight to the sixth level.

By then, his cultivation base would also have reached the mid-High Zenith Stage.

Due to the fact that he had recompiled this cultivation art using Sumeru Insights, he didn't know how this new cultivation art was going to diverge from the original one.

However, he was definitely going to be encountering many more problems along the way than if he had access to the original Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra. He was giong to have to constantly switch back and forth between the five cultivation arts, and that was undoubtedly going to drastically raise the level of difficulty.

Even so, this was still an extremely alluring prospect, and he wanted nothing more than to find a quiet and peaceful location where he could cultivate in seclusion, but that was clearly not going to be possible under the current circumstances.

With that in mind, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a door of silver light, and he stepped through the doorway into the pavilion in the Green Sorrow Courtyard, where Daoist Xie just so happened to be meditating.

He slowly opened his eyes and rose to his feet, then declared, "Fellow Daoist Shi came to visit a while ago, asking you to pay him a visit once you come out of seclusion."

Han Li nodded in response, then asked, "Have you recovered any more memories pertaining to your former owner's unfulfilled wish?"

"No, it's still just the phrase of Scalptia Spatial Domain that's occasionally appearing in my mind," Daoist Xie replied with a shake of his head.

"Thank you for your hard work," Han Li said as he extended a salute, and Daoist Xie returned the salute before stepping into the door of silver light.

After closing the Flower Branch domain, Han Li emerged from the pavilion before making his way toward the Serene Lotus Courtyard.

The Serene Lotus Courtyard was situated on a small island at the center of a small lake, and the surface of the lake was filled with lotus leaves.

Han Li made his way over the covered bridge toward the small island, and even before he arrived, Shi Chuankong had already come out to meet him.

"You're finally here, Brother Li," Shi Chuankong said.

"Have you rented the entire island, Brother Shi? I'm assuming you must've set up a sensory array in the lake, considering you were able to detect my arrival as soon as I stepped onto the bridge," Han Li said with slightly furrowed brows.

"I've only set up some arrays on the island, but I've released dozens of Wave Observing Fish into the lake that detected your aura as soon as you arrived on the bridge," Shi Chuankong explained.

"Why are you suddenly being so cautious? Has something happened?" Han Li asked as he scoured the surroundings.

The entire island was concealed within a lush forest, and the greenery should've been teeming with the sound of birdsong, but the island was completely silent, clearly indicating that all of the birds had been scared away by all of the arrays that had been set up.

"I recently paid a visit to the Traveler House and received a message from my third brother," Shi Chuankong replied with tightly furrowed brows.

"What did the message say?" Han Li asked.

"It contained some good news and some bad news. The good news is that he's already sent someone to fetch us, but the bad news is that my eldest brother has most likely also been made aware of the situation," Shi Chuankong replied with a wry smile.

"If the Black Weasel King had been covering for us this entire time, then he should've been able to keep your eldest brother in the dark for about five or six months, and that much time has already elapsed. Seeing as your eldest brother has already been tipped off, then there's a very good chance that our location has been exposed, so it's just a matter of waiting to see whether the reinforcements or the enemy arrive first," Han Li said.

"Precisely, and that's why I was in such a hurry to meet you to discuss how we should proceed from here," Shi Chuankong replied with a nod.

"Judging from the scale of this Cloud Mountain Inn, there should be people stationed here to quell potential trouble, right? As guests staying in this inn, we should be entitled to their protection," Han Li said.

"That's true, but the only concern is that the enemy could be too formidable for even the Cloud Mountain Inn to deal with. However, leaving this place would put us in even more danger, so I think it's better to stay here and wait for the enemy," Shi Chuankong sighed.

"I agree, but we should also take some additional safety precautions," Han Li said.

"What do you suggest, Brother Li?" Shi Chuankong asked.

The two of them talked until dusk before Han Li finally returned to the Green Sorrow Courtyard.

Over the next few days, Shi Chuankong traveled back and forth between the inn and the shops in the city, while Han Li spent most of his time on the small island where the Serene Lotus Courtyard was situated with the exception of his nightly cultivation.

……

Half a month passed by in a flash.

One night, Han Li was meditating in the pavilion in the Green Sorrow Courtyard when he suddenly flew up into the air, hovering above the bamboo forest as he cast his gaze toward the small island.

At the same time, two streaks of light, one azure and one purple, shot forth from afar. As they approached the island, they suddenly parted ways, with the streak of azure light descending toward the island, while the streak of purple light flew directly at Han Li.

The streak of purple light arrived before Han Li in the blink of an eye, then faded to reveal a breathtakingly beautiful woman in a purple dress that perfectly hugged her delicate curves.

As the woman's gaze fell upon Han Li, a hint of disgust flashed through her eyes, but she hid it extremely well, and Han Li wouldn't have been able to catch that flash of emotion if it weren't for his exceptional abilities of observation.

"May I ask your name, Fellow Daoist?" the woman asked with a warm smile as she extended a curtsey toward Han Li.

"I was expecting a battle, so I don't really know how to react now," Han Li mused with a faint smile.

"My master's only target is the one on the island, and he has no conflict with you. As long as you're willing to stand by and watch while Sister Qing Ling takes care of business over there, my master will be sure to reward you handsomely," the woman replied.

"Well, it sounds like I'm truly blessed to be in this situation then," Han Li said as his smile widened a little.

"Once everything is said and done here, why don't you return with us to Night Sun City? My master..."

All of a sudden, the woman's voice trailed off here as a resounding boom rang out nearby.

At the same time, a silver array that was over ten thousand feet tall rose up from the island at the center of the lake, and it encompassed the entire island and the lake while giving off formidable spatial fluctuations.

Immediately thereafter, a string of loud explosions rang out, and the lake rumbled and churned violently as large plumes of white mist were hurled up into the air. The ground beneath Han Li's feet also began to tremble along with the entire bamboo forest.

At the same time, the entire island sank to the bottom of the lake along with the silver array.

The woman immediately turned her gaze back to Han Li with a furious look on her face, yet before she had a chance to do anything, Han Li was already rushing directly at her with his Mantra Treasured Axis revolving behind him.

The golden ripples released by the axis slowed down everything that they came into contact with, and the woman instantly felt the flow of time around her slow down significantly, while her own spiritual sense also became very dull and sluggish.

Han Li immediately pounced on the opportunity as several translucent chains shot out of his glabella, then pierced straight into the woman's head.

In the next instant, the chains wove themselves into a cage in her consciousness, and trapped inside was a tiny purple figure that was struggling with all its might to break free, but in complete futility.

With the Spiritual Sense Cage in place, the woman had become immobilized, and Han Li withdrew his Mantra Treasured Axis upon seeing this, then conjured up a door of silver light.

Shi Chuankong stepped out of the Flower Branch domain, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face at the sight of the woman as he remarked, "I didn't think that my brother would send his most prized concubines after me. If it wasn't for your help, I would've definitely fallen to my demise here."

"It sounds like you're quite wary of these two," Han Li remarked.

"If they hadn't decided to split up, there's no way we would've been able to divide and conquer them so easily. In any case, let's take care of her first," Shi Chuankong replied with tightly furrowed brows.

"Her soul has been trapped by me, so she's unable to resist. You can do anything that you please," Han Li replied with a nod.

Shi Chuankong was just about to make a move upon hearing this when things took an unexpected turn...