Chapter 2039: Heaven's Divination

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume 3, Chapter 10: War in the Demon Realm

Han Li scanned his surroundings.

As far as his eyes could see, there was still an endless expanse of ocean. The sky in the distance was a clear blue, with only a few inconspicuous white clouds, and nothing else remarkable.

"We are now only four or five days away from our destination," the Long family elder said gravely to everyone. "Although that node is small and located in a remote corner of the Profound Martial Realm, the demon army in this region belongs to the Bloodthirsty Fiend Clan, the most aggressive and warlike among the demons. These Bloodthirsty Fiends love conflict and fighting. The entire Profound Martial Realm is currently engulfed in war, far more chaotic than other areas. Therefore, we must be extra careful during our onward journey."

"Naturally," the feather-robed girl said with a hint of regret. "If the demon node we chose had been within the Heavenly Abyss City territory, we would have faced fewer risks."

The Long family patriarch shook his head without hesitation. "The node passages near Heavenly Abyss City won't work. I had people investigate long ago, and only the node here leads directly into the Bloodstone Mountains in the Demon Realm. Even within the Demon Realm, the Bloodstone Mountains are an unusually desolate place with few demons stationed there. There should be little danger appearing there. Otherwise, entering the Demon Realm through other node passages would either be like walking into a tiger's den, or the point of entry would be too far from our destination, requiring several times the travel distance."

The feather-robed girl's eyes darted about, and she said with a chuckle, "I was just making a comment. How could I truly distrust Brother Long's arrangements?"

The Long family elder merely chuckled and said nothing further.

At this moment, Saintess Qianqiu flew over to the Long family patriarch, conversed with him quietly for a few moments, and then signaled the other four to set off together, soaring on their escaping light.

After calling out to Han Li and the others, the Long family patriarch also took flight, accompanied by the black-robed Elder Hui of the Long family.

The remaining three, including Han Li, also followed closely, transforming into streaks of faint escaping light.

Over the next four days, Han Li and his companions successively encountered several teams of patrolling demon guards, ranging from a dozen to over a hundred individuals per team.

These demon guards were markedly different from those encountered in Heavenly Abyss City. Not only were they half a head taller than ordinary demons, but their demon armor was also engraved with many eerie blue demonic patterns, making them appear exceptionally fierce.

With the powers possessed by Han Li and the others, it would have been effortless to eliminate these demon guards. However, the group concealed their escaping light and swept silently over the heads of these demons with great swagger.

The highest cultivated among these demon guards were only at the Divine Transformation Stage. Naturally, they couldn't detect Han Li and the other venerable Integration Stage cultivators in the slightest.

In the afternoon of the fourth day, a cluster of black specks finally appeared at the far end of the ocean ahead. Flying a little closer revealed them clearly.

These black specks were, in fact, numerous coral islands of varying sizes.

The smallest of these islands were only a few li across, while the largest spanned a hundred li, densely scattered throughout the sea ahead.

"Fellow Daoist Qianqiu, there should be high-ranking demons stationed ahead. The rest is up to you," the Long family patriarch said cautiously, halting his escaping light and addressing Saintess Qianqiu and the others nearby. "Also, other fellow Daoists can consume the imitation demon beads that were distributed earlier. If our presence is truly exposed, activating the demonic energy within them can help us pass unnoticed."

"Naturally," Saintess Qianqiu replied with a charming smile upon hearing this. "For this journey, I specifically spent over a hundred years of arduous effort to refine this little item."

With a flick of her wrist, a misty white banner suddenly appeared in her hand. With a slight shake, countless white ethereal flowers burst forth from it, then popped and exploded into existence.

Streaks of white mist materialized in the void, then rolled and coalesced into a mass about an *mu* in size, descending to envelop Han Li and the others.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and glanced, but his body remained still.

In a flash, the rolling white mist completely submerged everyone.

At this moment, Saintess Qianqiu chanted an incantation and vigorously shook the banner a few more times.

A strange scene unfolded.

A flurry of five-colored runes emerged within the milky-white mist. Simultaneously, the figures within became blurred and indistinct, eventually dissolving into nothingness and vanishing without a trace.

The feather-robed girl and the others couldn't help but be overjoyed at this sight.

Han Li's expression remained calm, but with a flicker in his eyes, he released his divine sense and probed into the mist.

A moment later, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He couldn't tell what wondrous restrictions this mist contained. Even after sweeping through it with such powerful divine sense, it still felt completely empty, as if nothing at all existed within.

Han Li's thoughts rapidly churned, and a faint blue glow suddenly flickered in his pupils.

Under the power of his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he finally saw the layer of white mist, which had transformed into a protective shield.

However, at this moment, under the Spirit Eyes, the mist was reduced to a remarkably faint, thin layer.

Han Li felt a sense of relief, and the blue glow in his eyes receded and vanished.

He mused that while this level of concealment posed no threat to him, it should be sufficient to cover their group as they infiltrated the node passage, as ordinary high-ranking demons—apart from revered demon lords proficient in specific secret techniques—would likely be unable to detect them.

Not only Han Li, but also the cultivator surnamed Lin, the feather-robed girl, and the others, clearly perceived the profound mystery of this mist and couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

The Long family patriarch, moreover, wore an expression of great satisfaction.

Saintess Qianqiu suddenly tossed the banner in her hand forward. It immediately transformed into a streak of white light, circling and dancing nearby. The entire white mist formation then silently and slowly floated forward.

Han Li and the others took out a dark, spherical bead, swallowed it, and after suppressing their auras, they also flew forward, following the concealing white mist.

In the blink of an eye, the group had unknowingly flown into this vast expanse of coral islands.

A hundred li away, in the eerily high sky, a ripple appeared, and a pink orb of light flashed into existence.

After the light vanished in a flash, two figures emerged and remained motionless in the high sky.

One of them was a graceful woman dressed in white palace robes, idly toying with a purple copper coin in her hand, her gaze as cold as water.

Standing beside her was a burly demon man in black armor, not daring to even breathe heavily, his face filled with deference.

"Hei E, prepare yourself. I am going to perform a heavenly divination here," the woman commanded the black-armored man, as the purple copper coin in her hand suddenly vanished.

"Master, the backlash from your last heavenly divination hasn't completely subsided yet. Performing this profound divination art again so soon might not be advisable," the black-armored man said, startled, with a hint of hesitation.

"Performing heavenly divination twice in a row naturally puts a considerable strain on my body. However, if I miss this opportunity, I might miss the only chance for my magical power to fully recover. Compared to that, paying a small price is nothing," the palace-robed woman replied indifferently.

"They are merely a few human cultivators. If Master trusts me, just bestow upon me the Suppressing Origin Mace," the black-armored man said, a fierce glint flashing across his face, demonstrating his loyalty. "Hei E is willing to slay these Integration Stage cultivators for Master, find the spiritual medicine, and offer it to you."

"Although the Suppressing Origin Mace possesses immense power, your current cultivation is insufficient to unleash much of its might," the palace-robed woman said faintly, glancing at the burly man. "Furthermore, the Fated Copper Coin has given a warning, indicating that these people must possess means to counter the Suppressing Origin Mace. Even if you took it, it would likely be ineffective. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made this decision. Enough talk, begin your preparations. Those people ahead are not slow; any more delay, and catching up to them will require significantly more effort."

"Yes, Master. I will begin setting up immediately!" Seeing that the woman's mind was made up, Hei E naturally dared not say more. He replied repeatedly and shot downwards in a flash.

With a flicker, Hei E appeared a hundred *zhang* above the scene, then raised both hands.

Eight artifacts simultaneously flew out. After a single rotation, they hovered with a buzzing sound in the nearby void.

They were eight entirely dark wooden figures!

Each was only half a *chi* tall, but their heads were extraordinarily large, almost the size of their bodies. The expressions on each face were different, depicting joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, and many other emotions, yet they were surprisingly lifelike, as if they were living beings.

After releasing the eight strange wooden figures, the black-armored man didn't stop. His body spun like a top in place, and suddenly hundreds of stone slabs shot out from him. They rapidly revolved around his body before swiftly converging at a single point, instantly forming a jade-green stone platform seven or eight *zhang* tall.

The surface of the stone platform was engraved with countless verdant, dripping patterns, and a faintly indescribable primeval aura emanated from it.

With another flick of his wrist, the black-armored man produced a shimmering blue crystal ball and hurled it forcefully towards the sea surface below.

The crystal light flashed and vanished; the crystal ball plunged into the sea and disappeared without a trace.

But the black-armored man raised a finger and pointed downwards.

A thunderous rumble arose!

The sea surface below surged violently. With a roll, it stirred up monstrous waves hundreds of *zhang* high.

After surging towards the sky, the rolling seawater instantly formed a verdant-blue water curtain, completely enveloping the stone platform and the eight large-headed wooden figures nearby.

"Master, the altar has been set up. You may now cast your spell!" The burly man exhaled a long breath, then cupped his fist towards the high sky and said respectfully.

Seeing this, the palace-robed woman in the high sky nodded, then slowly descended and unhurriedly entered the water curtain.

With a single-hand incantation, she uttered several true words from her cherry lips. The water curtain instantly shimmered with layers of unusual blue light.

The nearby void twisted, and the entire water curtain suddenly became crystal clear, then vanished in a flash, becoming concealed.

At the same time, around the stone platform within the light curtain, the eight previously stationary and floating wooden figures moved, simultaneously appearing at the four corners of the platform.

At each corner, two wooden figures stood closely together.