Chapter 2036: Two Clans Gather

A Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume Ten: Battle of the Demon Realm

After a short while, the jade slip's spiritual glow receded, and it reverted to its ordinary appearance.

Han Li flicked his wrist and tossed the jade slip and a crystalline, transparent jade pendant to the Feathered-Robe young woman.

The young woman grasped both items. After scanning them briefly with her spiritual sense, she gratefully thanked Han Li with a joyful expression.

"By my estimation, it seems both you, Immortal, and I have arrived a few days earlier than planned," Han Li said with a smile. "Perhaps we could use this time to find a place and exchange cultivation insights? Although I was fortunate enough to advance to the late-Integration stage, I spent a relatively short time in the mid-Integration stage, and there are many areas where I would still like to consult Fellow Daoist Ye."

"Brother Han, your words are too modest," the Feathered-Robe young woman replied, showing interest upon hearing Han Li's suggestion. "However, it would be a great pleasure for me to exchange insights with a fellow Daoist. Moreover, I'd like to discuss some details of our trip to the Demon Realm more thoroughly with you. I've opened a stone cave at the far end of the valley. How about we go there to exchange our experiences?" Han Li had no objections and readily agreed.

Thus, their escape light shone together, instantly transforming into two dazzling streaks of light that shot towards the other end of the valley.

High in the sky, more than ten li away from the valley, a milky white cloud floated lightly in the void.

Deep within the cloud, two figures, one tall and one short, were concealed. The slender figure was enveloped in a layer of pink mist, holding a blood-red, shimmering magic tool in one hand while muttering incantations.

The surface of the magic tool pulsed with an unstable blood-red light, and thumb-sized runes occasionally floated out from it, appearing exceptionally bizarre.

Suddenly, the magic tool became dazzlingly bright, its spiritual light rapidly swirling before it let out a low hum and shattered.

The person holding the tool's expression hardened. With a flick of a sleeve before them, the fragments of the shattered magic tool vanished into thin air in a flash.

"How peculiar," the slender figure sighed, muttering, "My divination technique has failed on this person; I received no information whatsoever."

"Master," the other tall figure, clad in black battle armor, asked in surprise, "Could it be that he possesses the spiritual medicine you seek, which is why it's shielding him from your divination abilities? Or perhaps you weren't using your full power just now?"

"Though the spiritual medicine I'm searching for is a heaven-defying item, it doesn't possess the ability to conceal its own existence," the slender figure pondered before shaking her head. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have come all this way to find it. If he truly possessed the spiritual medicine, even without divination, I should have some faint intuition at such a close distance. As for my earlier casting, while I could only use superficial abilities due to my previous divination, it's still unacceptable to have received no information at all."

"Then how could this fellow have done it?" the black-armored man asked, somewhat dazed. "With your divination abilities, Master, only a Mahayana-stage cultivator should be able to completely block them."

"Indeed, it is strange," the slender figure said slowly, deep in thought. "However, there are other possibilities for someone to obscure my divination to such an extent. Someone with similar divination abilities or one of the legendary Immortal Spirit Physiques could also achieve this."

"Similar divination abilities? That seems unlikely," the man gasped, then shook his head like a rattle-drum. "Master, your divination is so powerful that only a handful of individuals in the entire Spirit Realm can compare. As for those legendary Immortal Spirit Physiques, each possesses a heaven-defying power capable of overturning an entire realm. How could a mere human possibly have a chance to possess such a thing? If this fellow truly had one of these physiques, he would probably have been secretly hidden and protected by humanity as a supreme treasure long ago. How could he be allowed to wander around freely?"

"Hmm, I also find it highly improbable," the slender figure said calmly. "In a realm like the Spirit Realm, the chance of an Immortal Spirit Physique appearing is often less than one in a hundred. If that's the case, then this person must possess a fragment of a Xuantian treasure or some imitation Xuantian Sacred Treasure. As long as these Xuantian remnants contain a power of law that possesses the Heavenly Laws capable of resisting divination, I cannot sense or divine them. However, these types of Xuantian remnants are extremely rare; I've only heard of them and have never seen one. But this is most likely the situation; otherwise, it cannot be explained."

Although she possessed extraordinary wisdom and immense supernatural powers, she could never have imagined that Han Li's body contained a self-sealed, complete Xuantian Treasure. Even those with divination abilities stronger than hers would find their attempts to divine Han Li's fate fruitless. Thus, she could only speculate about fragments or imitations crafted from such fragments.

"Master retrieved a fragment of the Xuantian Ruyi Blade last time, and he still has other Xuantian remnants in his possession!" The black-armored man gasped, his gaze turning intensely fervent as he looked towards the distant valley. "This young man appears to be incredibly wealthy, perhaps even comparable to some of our clan's Sacred Ancestors."

"Don't forget the purpose of my journey," the slender figure said calmly, casting a glance at the black-armored man. "Do not engage this person until we have confirmed the spiritual medicine's whereabouts."

"Don't worry, Master, I would never dare to act recklessly," the man replied, shivering and lowering his head in haste.

"This human has already advanced to the late-Integration stage; even if you were to act, you wouldn't be his match," the slender figure said, a flicker of surprise in her eyes as she also looked towards the distant valley. "However, when I last saw him, he was only at the mid-Integration stage, and now he's late-Integration. It seems he not only has Xuantian remnants protecting him but also possesses other secrets."

Upon hearing this, the black-armored man naturally understood that his master had genuinely taken an interest in that human. Even if he didn't possess the spiritual medicine, she likely wouldn't let him go easily. He secretly gave a wry smile, but outwardly, he respectfully continued to ask, "Lord Mistress, how should we proceed now? Should we just continue to monitor them like this?"

"These two, as top-tier combatants of their respective races, are not staying at their strongholds but are gathered here, which surely means they are plotting something significant," the slender figure said without hesitation. "It also appears that more people will be arriving. Let's continue to wait until everyone is here. After all, previous divinations have confirmed that the whereabouts of the spiritual medicine are related to that human woman with the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline. It's best not to alert them prematurely."

"Your words are naturally sound, Master. Once everyone has arrived, there will certainly be a greater opportunity to ascertain the spiritual medicine's location," the black-armored man repeatedly nodded in agreement. "If we sense something on others, then that previous human youth can be directly ruled out."

"Hmm, it would be best if things proceed so smoothly," the slender figure said calmly. "However, judging by their appearance, it will still be some time before the others arrive. You should meditate for a while inside my secret treasure." With a lift and release of her hand, a mass of rolling pink mist immediately surged forth, revealing a faintly discernible pink flower tree several zhang tall within.

The black-armored man bowed in assent. With a flicker of his body, he vanished into the flower tree.

The slender figure herself then directly lunged at the flower tree. With a flash of light, she merged with it, becoming slightly indistinct before gradually fading away like a phantom.

Five days later, seven-colored auspicious light suddenly flickered in the sky ten thousand li away from the valley. Then, a massive azure boat, approximately one hundred zhang long, emerged and sped directly towards the valley.

This boat had three levels and was entirely emerald green. Its surface was inscribed with layers of various spell formations and dense, multi-colored runes, clearly indicating it was a rare and formidable flying treasure.

On a platform on the top level of the immense boat, four figures stood shoulder to shoulder, conversing in low voices.

These were a blurry figure shimmering with white light, a beautiful woman in a long yellow dress, a lean man dressed in coarse linen, and an elderly scholar appearing to be around sixty years old.

"Alright, everything will proceed as we've discussed," the blurry figure shimmering with white light said coldly. "Before we find the spiritual item, we must cooperate fully with the human cultivators. This trip to the Demon Realm is exceptionally perilous; relying solely on our Spirit Race would surely lead to failure."

"Yes," the other three replied in unison, the woman in the yellow robe letting out a long breath as she added, "If our Spirit Race can produce another Mahayana-stage cultivator from this trip, we will no longer have to suffer oppression from the other races in the future."

"Hmm, Immortal Qianqiu, you have more experience interacting with humans, so we'll leave the dealings with them to you," the lean man said leisurely. "The three of us will certainly cooperate fully when the time comes."

"Then I thank the three Fellow Daoists," the woman in the yellow robe said with a light chuckle. "I imagine the Old Monster of the Long family and the others wouldn't dare harbor any other intentions before they find those two spiritual items. So, initially, we don't need to worry too much."

"Hmm, that's for the best," the last elderly scholar said grimly. "But even if they dare to play tricks, they'll only bring misfortune upon themselves."

"Heh heh, with our hidden strength, we naturally have no fear of the human side," the figure in white light said, his eyes flickering. "However, let's not stir up trouble; the important matter must take precedence. Ahead is our agreed gathering point! Immortal Qianqiu, summon that item as well! Make sure to control it well and absolutely do not let the humans see any flaws."

"Don't worry, that item is naturally lacking in sentience," the woman in the yellow robe replied, a hint of regret in her voice. "Combined with the secret treasure bestowed by the Ancestor, it's enough to completely control it. It's just a pity that this item cannot be stored in a storage bracelet; otherwise, it wouldn't have to take up one of our allocated spots for entering the Demon Realm."

"Having that item under control is enough to account for more than half of our strength; occupying one spot is nothing," the figure in white light said dismissively. This figure was clearly the leader among them. The others immediately agreed and began walking into the massive boat.

At the same time, several thousand li away in another direction from the valley, three dazzling streaks of light flashed into existence and rapidly shot towards the valley.

At the head of one golden streak of light was a middle-aged man with a faint golden complexion, none other than the Old Ancestor of the Long family.

The other two streaks of light contained a black-robed person with a scarred face and a stoic, disheveled-haired man.