Chapter 1802: Nine Immortal Mountain

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume 10: Battle of the Demon Realm

And so, the two of them, somewhat bewildered, set off together.

However, they were also quite alert, preferring to take longer routes and carefully avoiding remote and dangerous areas. As a result, they didn't encounter any major perils along the way.

It wasn't until they reached a small town, prior to meeting Han Li, that they inadvertently offended a local, minor cultivation family. This led to trouble, and they were pursued by several cultivators of similar cultivation levels.

Had they not met Han Li, the two of them would likely have been in serious trouble.

Now, in the eyes of Young Master Hai and Qi Lingzi, this "Brother Han" they met on their journey was indeed quite mysterious.

Not only was his cultivation only a step away from the Core Formation stage, but he also possessed some truly profound magic tools and treasures.

Furthermore, his insights into cultivation were profound; even a few casual pointers left the two of them greatly enlightened, a level they could never hope to reach.

When Young Master Hai first received Han Li's pointers on body refinement techniques, he was truly astonished for quite some time.

After all, it was exceedingly rare for a cultivator to possess such extensive knowledge of body refinement techniques.

Because of this, Han Li appeared increasingly unfathomable in their minds.

Fortunately, both Young Master Hai and Qi Lingzi had outgoing and familiar personalities. So, even though they knew Han Li was no ordinary cultivator, they casually called him "Brother Han" with unusual warmth, completely unconcerned.

It's likely that if Han Li's cultivation hadn't seemed relatively low, the two of them might have shamelessly sought to become his disciples immediately.

After all, although the young Daoist Qi Lingzi constantly spoke of promoting the Misty Sea Temple, his casual remarks had long revealed his intention to find a new, enlightened master at the Myriad Treasures Convention.

He held no attachment whatsoever to his current title of "Temple Master" of the Misty Sea Temple.

Yet, despite this, Qi Lingzi repeatedly tried to persuade Han Li and Young Master Hai to join the Misty Sea Temple during their journey, seemingly joking about getting a taste of being a "Temple Master" before seeking a new master himself.

This naturally drew repeated playful scolding from Young Master Hai, and Han Li could only offer a wry smile.

Thus, Han Li flew with the two of them for about a month, eventually arriving at a mountain peak close to the Black Tortoise Realm, where they planned to rest briefly before continuing their journey.

Just now, Qi Lingzi had again boasted incessantly about the Misty Sea Temple, then repeated his familiar plea for them to join – a plea he had made countless times – prompting Young Master Hai to repeatedly refuse without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Han Li, who appeared to be lightly chuckling, had a faint blue light flickering in the depths of his eyes as he subtly observed Young Master Hai across from him.

Suddenly, a peculiar flush appeared on Young Master Hai's face, but it vanished instantly, within a single breath.

"It appeared!"

Han Li exclaimed inwardly, a wisp of his spiritual sense instantly released, sweeping swiftly through Young Master Hai's body.

"Haha, I'm not boasting. With my wind spiritual root, it'd be easy for me to become a disciple of that Soul Transformation and Void Refinement cultivator. When I've mastered my immortal arts, we'll—" Young Master Hai, getting excited, grandly described the wonderful life he'd have after mastering his cultivation techniques and becoming a Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation Grand Ancestor.

Naturally, he had no idea that the wind spiritual root, which he was so proud of, had mysteriously vanished.

At this moment, any cultivator checking his spiritual root would only say that he was an ordinary body refiner with no spiritual root.

Han Li's eyelids twitched a few times, a hint of shock in his heart.

Sure enough, just like last time, his wind spiritual root had vanished again.

If he wasn't mistaken, Young Master Hai's spiritual root would reappear after one day and one night.

The same scene had unfolded right before his eyes ten days prior.

It was truly too strange! He had never heard of a spiritual root that could disappear for a short period.

If this were the case, wouldn't it mean that during the period when the spiritual root disappeared, even if one possessed immense magical power, they would be unable to activate incantations or mobilize the spiritual energy within their body?

A strange expression appeared on Han Li's face, and he muttered to himself inwardly.

"Brother Han, what are you spacing out about? You look a bit unwell. Why don't you try some more of my Misty Sea Temple's spiritual tea? Or how about taking out a few more of your spiritual fruits, Brother Han? I had one last time, and the taste was truly unforgettable!" Qi Lingzi was quite perceptive; he noticed the strange expression on Han Li's face, and with a glint in his eye, he chuckled and said.

"Qi Lingzi is right, Brother Han. The spiritual fruits you took out last time indeed tasted excellent." Upon hearing Qi Lingzi, Young Master Hai's spirits lifted, and he stopped his grand pronouncements, instead looking eagerly at Han Li.

"I knew you two were still thinking about those spiritual fruits I brought out last time. It's not that I'm stingy, but these 'Condensing Pearl Fruits,' though delicious and unique, contain a considerable amount of pure spiritual energy. Eating too many at once could harm your meridians. How about this: I'll take out six more, so each of you can have two, then we'll leave it at that." Seeing that the two of them were instantly eyeing his spiritual fruits, Han Li's facial muscles twitched twice before he could only clear his throat and say.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a jade-white plate appeared on the stone table, holding six emerald-green fruits, each the size of an egg and round as pearls.

"Haha, it's fine, two are still good to eat. I wonder if it's a coincidence, but since I ate three of Brother Han's fruits last time, my cultivation, which had been somewhat stagnant, actually advanced again in the past few days. If that's the case, Brother Han, tell me where these Condensing Pearl Fruits are sold, and I'll go buy more. Then I won't need to take any pills or meditate to cultivate; I can just eat two spiritual fruits every three to five days, and my cultivation will soar!" Qi Lingzi, looking at the spiritual fruits on the plate, said in great delight.

But before he could finish speaking, a black blur flashed, and two spiritual fruits instantly disappeared from the plate.

Qi Lingzi was startled. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Young Master Hai had moved both hands simultaneously, grabbing a spiritual fruit in each hand and eagerly biting into them.

"What a waste of heavenly treasures!" Qi Lingzi shook his head repeatedly at this sight.

Young Master Hai, however, rolled his eyes, completely ignoring the young Daoist's pained expression, his mouth watering as he exclaimed his satisfaction.

Han Li, speechless, couldn't help but smile faintly in his heart.

He wondered if they would still eat with such gusto if they knew each of these spiritual fruits was worth over a thousand spirit stones.

However, this Qi Lingzi was also far from ordinary.

Han Li's gaze shifted, and he squinted slightly as he looked at the young Daoist.

This young Daoist's spiritual root was indeed an ordinary triple-attribute spiritual root. But after careful observation over the past few days, Han Li had discovered a hidden bead, the size of a fava bean and enveloped in a layer of spiritual light, in his dantian.

This was also because Han Li's spiritual sense cultivation far surpassed the other's; otherwise, even cultivators seven or eight stages higher than Qi Lingzi would be unable to detect this object within him.

Curious, Han Li quietly touched the bead with his spiritual sense and imperceptibly penetrated it, only to discover a vast sealing power.

"An inheritance magic tool."

The moment Han Li discovered this object, he immediately understood what it was.

Some cultivators, to prevent their legacy from being unexpectedly cut off, would seal some of their lifelong knowledge into an inheritance magic tool using special secret techniques, then implant it into their descendants or disciples.

Such objects usually have specific activation conditions; if these conditions are not met, the object will remain hidden within the recipient's body.

Generally, once a certain cultivation realm is reached, one can automatically obtain various secret techniques and cultivation methods from the inheritance magic tool.

Of course, if the recipient's lifespan is nearing its end, the object can also be extracted using special secret techniques and transferred to another disciple. However, if an outsider tries to forcefully remove the magic tool, it usually results in the self-destruction of both the magic tool and the recipient.

The method for forging such inheritance magic tools has always been rarely known and is exceptionally difficult to craft, making it a very rare legacy secret technique.

Its appearance on Qi Lingzi was quite unexpected for Han Li.

It seemed the founding patriarch of this so-called "Misty Sea Temple" was indeed quite remarkable, not just an ordinary ascended cultivator.

However, with several great divine abilities under Han Li's belt, he naturally wasn't interested in others' cultivation methods. After a slight surprise, he refocused his attention on Young Master Hai, the handsome young man.

A spiritual root that could disappear—what kind of bizarre spiritual root was this?

This truly piqued his rare curiosity.

After Qi Lingzi brought out a tea set, brewed several cups of fragrant spiritual tea for Han Li and the others to sample, and they finished the remaining spiritual fruits, the three of them did not linger there for long.

Han Li released his flying chariot again, and carrying the two, they transformed into a streak of white light and flew towards the Black Tortoise Realm.

***

The Black Tortoise Realm was quite different from the Heavenly Origin Realm!

Although the number of cultivators in the realm was inferior to the Heavenly Origin Realm and the Heavenly Spirit Realm, the sheer number of mortal body refiners was incomparable to the other two realms.

The local customs were also exceptionally fierce; even the elderly, children, and women dared to wield weapons and directly fight beasts in the wild.

However, large mortal cities in the Black Tortoise Realm were scarce; most settlements existed as small towns or mountain strongholds scattered across the vast territory.

Moreover, because it was the realm directly bordering the Land of Seven Demons among the three realms, both the scale of beast tides and the frequency of low-level demonic beasts appearing were far beyond what the other two realms experienced.

Furthermore, high-level shapeshifting demonic beasts would occasionally sneak into the Black Tortoise Realm to commit nefarious deeds.

Therefore, the Black Tortoise Realm was also the most chaotic region among the three realms, and the closer one got to the demonic territories bordering it, the more disorderly it became.

***

Nine Immortals Mountain, a massive spiritual mountain located directly on the border between the Land of Demonic Foxes and the Black Tortoise Realm, was an exception.

This mountain was divided into nine peaks. Not only did it possess rare, top-grade spiritual veins, but it also grew specialized spiritual herbs that were greatly beneficial to both humans and demons.

Furthermore, Nine Immortals Mountain's terrain was perilous, and its location was strategic. Thus, it was simultaneously controlled by elites from various human and demonic factions.

Even the most audacious individuals from either the human or demonic races would never dare to cause trouble near this mountain.

In recent years, Nine Immortals Mountain had become even more heavily guarded. Both the human and demonic races had dispatched large numbers of personnel to sweep through and expel disreputable small and medium-sized forces in the vicinity.

In just five or six years, the mountain had transformed, showing signs of becoming a peaceful haven within the Black Tortoise Realm.

It was at this time that the Myriad Treasures Convention, held once every millennium by both human and demonic races, was about to commence on this very mountain.