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

Chapter 1096: Each with Their Own Plans

"I just so happened to have overheard your conversation just now. You want to save your brothers, but you're worried that doing so will free the Dark Heavens Devilish Deity. What if I were to tell you that I have a way to save your brothers while also keeping the Dark Heavens Devilish Deity in check?" Qi Mozi asked.

"Is that true?" the white bone devil asked with a stunned expression, and the copper lion's expression also changed slightly upon hearing this.

"Of course. If the Dark Heavens Devilish Deity is freed, then I will also be doomed, so I certainly wouldn't dare to make a joke about something like this," Qi Mozi replied with a smile.

The copper lion remained silent as it turned to the white bone devil for a decision.

"How are you planning to keep the Dark Heavens Devilish Deity in check? Please elaborate," the white bone devil demanded.

A faint smile appeared on Qi Mozi's face as he communicated something through voice transmission, and the two devilish beings' expressions instantly changed slightly upon hearing what he had to say.

"I see. That definitely does sound like it could work," the white bone devil mused, and the copper lion also gave a contemplative nod.

"Rest assured, my life is on the line here as well, so I wouldn't devise an unsound plan," Qi Mozi assured with a smile.

"Alright, in that case, I agree to your proposal for a collaboration. However, I'm sure you must want something from us as well, right?" the white bone devil asked.

"You're just as direct and straightforward as ever, Fellow Daoist White Bone! Here's what I want from you: once I've helped you free all of your brothers, I want all of you to help me secure the Eon Divine Lamp and kill Han Li," Qi Mozi said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"You want us to help you kill Han Li? That's not a problem at all! However, after we kill him, you have to give us all of his treasures," the copper lion immediately said.

"You can have all of the treasures and materials in his possession, but I want a cultivation art from him," Qi Mozi replied.

"That's fine," the copper lion said. "All I want are his immortal treasures, you can have everything else."

"What do you say, Fellow Daoist White Bone?" Qi Mozi asked.

"I can agree to this arrangement on behalf of my brothers, but Han Li is a very troublesome opponent to deal with, so my brothers and I will only be able to offer you some support from the side, while you'll have to be the one to directly confront and kill him," the white bone devil replied.

"That's fine with me," Qi Mozi replied without any hesitation, which came as a slight surprise to the white bone devil.

With the overall agreement made, the three of them briefly discussed some finer details before immediately setting off.

Shortly after their departure, three more figures appeared nearby amid a flash of azure light, and they were none other than Qu Lin, Lekima, and the azure-robed man.

"The situation is becoming more and more complicated," the azure-robed man mused.

"That Qi Mozi may be the chief warden of the Immortal Prison, but it sounds like he's here to claim the Eon Divine Lamp rather than to fortify the seals in the pagoda, so perhaps he could indirectly help our cause," Qu Lin mused.

"This is not necessarily a good thing for us. While his involvement increases the likelihood of the seals being broken, he's a Great Encompassment cultivator who's mastered the laws of time, so even the three of us won't be a match for him, let alone Fox 3 and the others. Our bonded soul tablets have been connected to the Eon Divine Lamp by Tai Sui, so if we try to approach the tablets, they'll immediately be attacked by the Flames of Eons.

“Hence, we can only rely on Fox 3 and the others to recover the tablets. If they fail and the tablets fall into Qi Mozi's hands, then we'll be reduced to slaves forced to do his bidding for the rest of eternity," the azure-robed man said with a grim expression.

Qu Lin and Lekima hadn't thought as far ahead as him, and only after hearing his analysis did they come to realize the severity of the problem.

"What do you think we should do then, Brother Liu? Should we try to intercept Qi Mozi now to buy Han Li and the others some time?" Qu Lin asked in an urgent manner.

"If he hadn't joined forces with the White Bone King and the Copper Lion King, perhaps we would've had decent chances of stalling him here, but it's too late now," the azure-robed man sighed, and the expressions of Qu Lin and Lekima immediately darkened slightly upon hearing this.

"Is there really no way out then?" Lekima asked.

"There are some solutions that we can turn to, but they'll be rather risky," the azure-robed man said as he flipped a hand over to produce a doll that was around a foot tall.

It was a doll of a woman in a long dress, and not only was there a gleam in its eyes, its body was also twisting vigorously from side to side, as if it were a living creature trying to struggle free from the azure-robed man's grasp.

Interestingly enough, the left half of the doll's body was a pure white color, while the right half was pitch-black.

The white half of its face bore a set of gentle and delicate facial features, while the black half of its face was twisted with intense, vindictive resentment, presenting a harrowing sight to behold.

Lekima displayed no reaction to the doll, and it was clearly not the first time it had seen it, while Qu Lin was rather surprised at the sight of the doll.

"This is a puppet that I refined using some special materials. It's the only thing that will allow us to recover our bonded soul tablets," the azure-robed man said with a hint of mixed emotions in his eyes.

"What do you need me to do?" Qu Lin asked.

The azure-robed man swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a gray light barrier around the duo.

Moments later, the light barrier faded away, and the three of them departed.

......

Due to the severe restrictions on spiritual sense on this level, Han Li and the others didn't dare to travel too quickly.

Before long, the group had advanced onward for over two hours, and all of a sudden, they stopped in their tracks as they cast their eyes forward with excited looks on their faces.

Up ahead was a flat area, upon which stood a white jade plaza that was several dozen acres in size. The plaza was paved with rectangular slabs of exquisite jade, which were giving off wisps of white mist, forming a majestic cloud above the plaza that presented a breathtaking sight to behold.

Planted around the plaza was a series of tall trees of an unknown species, and the trees were entirely a translucent, white color, from their leaves to their trunks.

After examining the plaza to verify that there were no traps or restrictions, the group descended onto it, and ahead of them were three small staircases that led in different directions.

Beside each staircase stood a white jade plaque, upon which were inscribed the names of "Origin Fire Palace", "Heavenly Earth Hall", and "Divine Wood Tomb".

Upon seeing these three names, it immediately occurred to everyone that the three places had to have been the homes of the remaining three altars.

Everyone's eyes lit up slightly as they began to eagerly peer down the three staircases, but all of a sudden, Lei Yuce, Wen Zhong, and Su Anqian appeared in everyone's path.

"Two array cores have already been broken. If the remaining three are also broken, then the Dark Heavens Devilish Deity will be freed, and our lives will all be forfeit, so please proceed with the utmost caution!" Lei Yuce said in a solemn manner.

However, before he even had a chance to finish, Fox 3 and Wyrm 3 had already risen up into the air to fly toward the Heavenly Earth Hall, paying no heed to Lei Yuce's warning.

"Please stop now, fellow daoists. Otherwise, I'll have to stop you by force!" Lei Yuce declared as he swept a sleeve through the air, releasing several dozen golden swords to intercept the two of them.

Han Li's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing this.

There were around sixty to seventy of these swords, all of which were giving off extremely formidable metal law power fluctuations. The majority of these flying swords were eighth tier immortal treasures, and a few of them had even reached the seventh tier.

However, Fox 3 and Wyrm 3 displayed no intention of stopping, completely unfazed by the flying swords in their path.

A furious look appeared on Lei Yuce's face upon seeing this, and he immediately made a hand seal, upon which the flying swords converged to form the Almighty Sword Array that he had previously unleashed once before.

However, before the sword array had a chance to completely take shape, a burst of radiant, dark red light erupted out of Wyrm 3's body before washing over the entire array.

The golden light emanating from the flying swords quickly faded away, and in the blink of an eye, the sword array was brought to the verge of collapse.

At the same time, the Heavenly Fox Bloodform Saber appeared in Fox 3's grasp, and he swung it through the air to unleash a crimson saber projection that completely outshone the entirety of heaven and earth around it.