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

Chapter 1071: Exchange

In addition to the tablet, there were a total of nine items on the offering table, all of which were spirit materials that were giving off astonishing aura fluctuations.

"That black lotus flower is the Tranquil Water Immortal Lotus, one of the ten immortal lotus flowers of the True Immortal Realm! Consuming it can significantly enhance one's cultivation base and grant one a Tranquil Water Immortal Physique, allowing them to master the laws of water far easier than the average cultivator!"

"That's Heavenly Vajra Diamond, a premium metal-attribute spirit material that can be used to refine immortal treasures with unmatched offensive prowess!"

"Is that a vial of True Profound Essence? It's so pure, and there's so much of it, enough for two people to progress to the Great Encompassment Stage!"

Everyone quickly erupted into a frenzy at the sight of the spirit materials on the table, and a flash of excitement also appeared in Han Li's eyes at the alluring sight, but his brows then furrowed slightly as he glanced at the walls and ground around the stone table.

Jin Liu was staring intently at the Tranquil Water Immortal Lotus and the Heavenly Vajra Diamond beside it with a fervent look in his eyes, yet right as he was about to approach the table, Han Li suddenly appeared in his path.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Jin Liu came under the false impression that Han Li was going to fight over the Tranquil Water Immortal Lotus with him, and a dark look instantly appeared on his face as he prepared to make a rush for the lotus flower.

"Take a look at what's around the stone table before you do anything rash," Han Li said in an indifferent manner, and Jin Liu reflexively did as he was told, upon which his expression instantly changed slightly.

There were seven dark red designs engraved onto the walls around the stone table, each of which was around a foot in size and appeared to have already been here for countless years.

The seven designs seemed to be depicting seven deities, but all of them were quite sinister in appearance, indicating that they were unorthodox, malicious deities.

Furthermore, the seven designs were arranged over the walls and the ground in a certain pattern, but due to their red coloration, they blended into the dark red material of the walls, thereby making them barely visible.

After hearing what Han Li had to say, everyone else also quickly noticed the seven designs on the walls.

"It looks like some type of restriction," Wen Zhong remarked as he examined the seven designs, while everyone else exchanged blank glances with one another, and it seemed that no one recognized these designs.

"There's only one way to find out!" Jin Liu said as he swept a sleeve through the air.

"Don't be rash, Jin Liu!" Su Anqian hurriedly called out, but it was already too late, and a streak of blue light flew out of Jin Liu's sleeve before sweeping toward the stone table.

As soon as the streak of blue light approached the stone table, the seven designs around it instantly began to glow with radiant, crimson light, conjuring a crimson light barrier.

At the same time, a large head belonging to one of the seven malicious deities appeared over the light barrier, and it opened its mouth to devour the streak of blue light.

After devouring the streak of blue light, the head let loose a menacing roar at Han Li and the others, looking as if it wanted to struggle free from the confines of the crimson light barrier to devour them.

A burst of violent intent erupted out of the head, and it was transmitted directly into the minds of everyone present.

Everyone instantly felt themselves seeing red as horrific scenes of mountainous piles of bodies and vast rivers of blood surfaced in their minds, while boundless killing intent converged toward their souls.

Thankfully, everyone present possessed lofty cultivation bases and sufficiently powerful spiritual sense to quickly dispel the killing intent.

The head of the malicious deity roared a few more times, but it was ultimately unable to struggle free from the crimson light barrier, and it quickly faded away, shortly following which the light barrier itself also disappeared.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this.

He didn't recognize this crimson array, but it appeared to him that this was a very similar array to the Weeping Blood Array in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, except it was more offensively oriented.

Having said that, he still had no idea how to unravel it.

"It looks like accessing the treasures inside is going to be quite difficult with this array in the way," Lei Yuce mused.

"There's nothing to be worried about! With so many of us here, I'm sure we can just break this array by force!" Jin Liu harrumphed coldly as he swept a greedy gaze over the precious treasures laid out on the stone table.

The method proposed by Jin Liu was a bit barbaric, but everyone nodded in agreement.

This was the simplest way to proceed, and they couldn't afford to waste too much time here.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Even though he didn't know what this crimson array was, he had a feeling that trying to break it with brute force was not a good idea.

All of a sudden, Lan Yan interjected, "If you want to secure the treasures inside, then I suggest you don't do that."

Everyone turned to Lan Yan with surprised expressions upon hearing this, while Lei Yuce asked in an ecstatic manner, "Do you recognize this array, Fellow Daoist Lan?"

"I'm somewhat well-versed in the art of arrays, and I just so happened to see some records pertaining to this array in an ancient scripture. This array is called the Seven Blood Deity Array, and it contains the power of seven malicious deities.

“If you try to break the array with brute force, the power of those seven malicious deities will self-detonate within the array. I don't know how powerful the resulting explosion will be, but it'll definitely be enough to destroy all of the treasures inside," Lan Yan replied.

Everyone's expressions changed drastically upon seeing this, and a hint of lingering fear surfaced in Jin Liu's eyes as he realized that his rash decision had almost led to the destruction of all of the treasures on the stone table.

The Tranquil Water Immortal Lotus had perfect affinity with the cultivation art that he was using, and he was confident that it would allow him to break through his current bottleneck.

On top of that, he had been also searching for Heavenly Vajra Diamonds for countless years, and he had been hoping that a Heavenly Vajra Diamond or two would've been present on the first level, within that space that was filled with abundant metal-attribute spiritual qi.

The reason why he had tried to target Han Li on the second level was precisely because he suspected that Han Li could be in possession of this material, so he was ecstatic to see it here.

"If you recognize this array, then I'm sure you also know the way to bypass it as well, right, Fellow Daoist Lan?" Lei Yuce asked.

"You want me to unravel this array for no compensation?" Lan Yan asked as she raised an eyebrow.

Lei Yuce faltered slightly upon hearing this, then immediately proposed, "How about this? As compensation for breaking the array, you can choose one of the treasures on the stone table ahead of everyone else."

Everyone's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this, but no one raised any objections.

"I can break this Seven Blood Deity Array, but I don't want any of the treasures inside. Instead, I want something else," Lan Yan said as she turned her gaze to Han Li.

"What would you like in return, Fellow Daoist Lan?" Lei Yuce asked.

"My senior martial brother is currently being held captive by Fellow Daoist Shi, and I want him returned to me," Lan Yan declared.

A surprised look appeared on Lei Yuce's face as he also turned his gaze to Han Li upon hearing this, and everyone else immediately turned their attention to Han Li as well.

Han Li immediately realized that Lan Yan was taking advantage of this opportunity to try and use everyone's collective power to force him into releasing Lan Yuanzi.

He remained silent as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, and he couldn't help but wonder how Lan Yan knew that he had held Lan Yuanzi captive instead of killing him.

"Is that true, Fellow Daoist Shi?" Lei Yuce asked as he turned to Han Li.

"It is. Fellow Daoist Lan and her senior martial brother attacked me on a previous level in the pagoda, and I was able to defeat them before capturing her senior martial brother," Han Li replied.

Lei Yuce had guessed that some conflict had to have arisen between the three of them, but he hadn't anticipated it to be this severe, and his heart immediately sank slightly.

"I don't know what personal differences there are between the three of you, but right now, we're all in the same boat, so we need to work together. Would you be able to release Fellow Daoist Lan's senior martial brother, Fellow Daoist Shi?" Lei Yuce asked in an earnest manner.

"The two of them have a vendetta against me and are determined to hunt me down. What if they come after me again after I release her senior martial brother?" Han Li asked in a cold manner.

Lei Yuce felt this to be a reasonable concern, and he turned to Lan Yan with slightly furrowed brows.

"As long as you release my senior martial brother, I can swear a vow that we won't come after you again for as long as we're in this secret area. Besides, you're far more powerful than the two of us, so it would be foolish of us to try and oppose you," Lan Yan immediately declared.

"I have no trust in flimsy things like vows. Even an inner demon vow can be bypassed. I'm not going to place my safety in the hands of others, so don't bring up this matter again," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

Even though he had managed to defeat Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yan, he had a feeling that there was still going to be more trouble to come from the Nine Origins Temple, and that was why he had captured Lan Yuanzi instead of killing him.

With the trump card of Lan Yuanzi up his sleeve, Lan Yan wouldn't dare to do anything to him,so there was no way he would hand Lan Yuanzi over to her so easily.

Jin Liu was desperate to break the array, and he had always harbored some distaste for Han Li, so he naturally sided with Lan Yan as he declared, "Fellow Daoist Shi, Fellow Daoist Lan has already put her sincerity on full display, so as a man, you shouldn't be too petty. On top of that, your refusal to hand over her senior martial brother is actively hindering everyone from accessing those treasures, so I strongly advise you to reconsider for the greater good."

A cold look flashed through Han Li's eyes upon hearing this.

He had saved Jin Liu prior to this, yet not only was he not grateful at all, he was now biting the hand that had previously fed him.