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

"Perhaps there will be some scriptures, but I doubt that there will be any powerful treasures left. If the sect has already met its demise, then surely its most powerful treasures will have been taken out of the ancestral hall to ward off the enemy," Han Li said in a casual manner as he strode over to the water abode before pushing open its doors.

"Oh, that's a real pity then," Hu Xiaocheng said in a disappointed manner.

However, her expression then quickly lit up again as she continued, "Even so, scriptures can be just as valuable as treasures. If you can find a few top-tier cultivation arts here, then that'll still be a great haul."

The doors swung open with a loud creak, having been opened for the first time in countless years, revealing a long open-air area, and there was nothing in the courtyard aside from a rusty copper vat.

Han Li approached the vat to discover that there were some antiquated runes engraved onto its surface. The vat was half-filled with water, floating on top of which was a dark green lotus flower that was giving off strong water law power fluctuations.

"Wow, there's so much water-attribute spiritual qi here!" Hu Xiaocheng exclaimed.

She was only at the Nascent Soul Stage, so she wasn't very sensitive to law powers.

"Looks like there are still good things left here," Han Li remarked with a smile, and he casually swept a sleeve through the air, upon which the copper vat vanished into his Flower Branch domain.

On either side of the open-air area were two wide corridors that led to a large hall that appeared to be a conference hall, and the only things inside were some cushions that had already decomposed countless years ago.

Beyond this hall was a small courtyard that was much larger than the open-air area from before. The entire courtyard was paved with white stone blocks, giving it the appearance of a drill ground.

Beyond the drill ground was the final and most important building in the entire ancestral hall.

Han Li looked up to discover a plaque hanging above the entrance of the building, upon which were inscribed the words "a long history and a bright future".

Upon entering the hall, Han Li was greeted by the sight of a nine-tiered offering table.

Placed upon the offering table were numerous rectangular wooden placards that were extremely ornately crafted. As opposed to memorial tablets used to commemorate the dead, these were long-life tablets meant for the living.

There were a total of over eighty of these placards, all of which presumably carried the names of the leader and the elders of the sect.

On the bottom tier of the offering table were two thick books with a layer of flowing golden light over their surfaces.

Han Li approached the pair of books to discover that they were still sealed under restrictions, but due to the passage of time, the restrictions had already become very feeble.

He casually broke the restriction, then briefly read through the books to find that neither of them were cultivation arts.

One of them was a record of all of the significant events in the sect's history prior to its demise, while the other book contained the genealogical records of the sect, encompassing the names of all of the sect's members, from its founding father to all of its disciples.

"So this sect is called the Tranquility Sect. How unfortunate that it met such a terrible fate after standing for so long," Hu Xiaocheng sighed.

Han Li was reminded of the True Mantra Sect and the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor upon hearing this. Both had also suffered abrupt demises after extensive histories.

He cast his gaze toward the top tier of the offering table, and he suddenly noticed that there was a long-life tablet with the name "Chang Qingliu" inscribed upon it that looked a little strange.

He drew the tablet into his grasp, and after examining it briefly with his Infernal Devilish Eyes, a faint smile appeared on his face as he began tapping a finger over the tablet.

Moments later, a burst of azure light emerged over the tablet, following which a hidden jade slip flew out from within.

Han Li grabbed the jade slip, then returned the long-life tablet to its original spot.

"What's this?" Hu Xiaocheng asked with her eyes with intrigue.

"This is a cultivation art of the Tranquility Sect called the Formless Journal," Han Li replied after briefly inspecting the contents of the jade slip with his spiritual sense.

"I was worried that you had gone to the effort of opening this water abode for nothing, but now that you've found this cultivation art, it looks like your efforts weren't in vain," Hu Xiaocheng said with an elated expression, and it seemed that she was genuinely happy for Han Li.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

He searched through the entire ancestral hall with Hu Xiaocheng, but didn't find anything else, and Hu Xiaocheng was a little disappointed for him.

However, Han Li was very pleased with what he had found. The Formless Journal was a cultivation art that allowed one to cultivate water law powers, and it wasn't very useful to him, but it was perfect for his Earthly Deity Avatar in the Black Wind Sea.

On top of that, the copper vat and the dark green lotus flower that he had stowed away into his Flower Branch domain earlier were also both very remarkable items.

Due to the fact that the entire ancestral hall was situated on the lakebed, the environment was very cool despite the absence of wind.

Han Li and Hu Xiaocheng sat down together on the doorstep at the entrance of the ancestral hall, and both of them were looking up at the light barrier above in silence.

"That administrator instructed you to keep an eye on me and report everything I do to him, right?" Han Li suddenly asked.

"How did you know?" Hu Xiaocheng exclaimed, then immediately scratched her own head in a sheepish manner.

"You're not the only one, all of the guests who stay here get assigned a servant. Of course, it's not forced upon them, but generally, no one would refuse those beautiful big sisters. I don't know what Elder Lu was thinking this time, sending me to accompany you."

"He sent you to come with me because he didn't think very highly of me and didn't think that I could open this water abode," Han Li revealed.

"So that's why..." Hu Xiaocheng said as a look of realization appeared on her face.

"Other people can look down on you, but never look down on yourself. I can see that you possess decent cultivation aptitude, so a lack of resources must be why you're still stuck at the late-Nascent Soul Stage, right?" Han Li asked.

Hu Xiaocheng nodded in response in an uncertain matter, wondering why Han Li was bringing up this subject.

Han Li flipped a hand over to produce a small, red vial before handing it to her.

"I don't have any pills fit for consumption for low-tier cultivators. The pills in this vial will have to wait until you reach at least the Body Integration Stage."

Hu Xiaocheng was rooted to the spot upon hearing this, and she didn't dare to accept the vial.

Han Li thrust the vial into her grasp, and at the same time, he tapped a finger against her glabella.

Hu Xiaocheng immediately felt her own consciousness shudder slightly, and by the time she returned to her senses, she discovered that Han Li had already withdrawn his hand.

At the same time, she realized that a passage of text had appeared in her mind, and it was the full Formless Journal cultivation art.

Hu Xiaocheng immediately sprang to her feet, and she was so stunned that she didn't know what to say.

"The entire Three River Lake is about to be upturned soon," Han Li said in a serious manner as he also stood up from the doorstep.

"Have you rented this water abode to do something important, Senior?" Hu Xiaocheng.

"Not really, I'm just here to wait for someone," Han Li replied in an indifferent manner.

"A friend?" Hu Xiaocheng asked.

"A sworn enemy."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Hu Xiaocheng asked with tightly furrowed brows.

"I've already removed the mark that the Comb Flow Sect planted in your body. Leave this place right away and get as far away as you can. Focus on your cultivation, and don't ever return to this place," Han Li said.

"Why are you doing all of this for me, Senior?" Hu Xiaocheng asked with a puzzled expression.

Han Li took a glance at her, then sighed, "I suppose it's to make up for the guilt that I harbor toward someone that you remind me of..."

Looking at the melancholy in Han Li's eyes, a hint of sorrow welled up in Hu Xiaocheng's heart as well.

"In that case, I'll come back to repay you once I've made some strides in my cultivation, Senior," Hu Xiaocheng said as she extended a deep bow toward Han Li.

"Go now," Han Li said with a smile.

Hu Xiaocheng extended another respectful bow before departing, and following her departure, Weeping Soul appeared beside Han Li amid a burst of spatial fluctuations.

"Are you not worried that she's going to report you to Comb Grate Mountain?" she asked.

"Since when have I been such a terrible judge of character?" Han Li chuckled.

Weeping Soul also smiled as she fell silent.

"Even if she really does disappoint me, it doesn't matter. I'm staying here precisely so that the Immortal Palace can find me," Han Li said as a cold look flashed through his eyes.

"We'll make them pay for all of their past crimes," Weeping Soul said with a nod.

"Alright, we have guests to welcome soon, so let's arrange an appropriate welcome. We wouldn't want to be rude now, would we?" Han Li mused as he clapped his hands together, then made his way into the ancestral hall.

......

Half a month later.

A white flying boat that was around a hundred feet in length arrived in the sky above Comb Grate Mountain.

Standing on the flying boat were none other than Dongfang Bai and the three Immortal Palace elders.

Standing on the mountain below them was a handsome, azure-robed young man and a round-faced elderly man. The former was the current leader of the Comb Flow Sect, while the latter was the administrator that had attended to Han Li.

At this moment, both of them had fawning smiles on their faces as they looked up at Dongfang Bai's group.

"Have you told anyone that Han Li is staying here? Dongfang Bai asked.