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

Chapter 859: Alternative Arrangements

"What's the meaning of this?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Don't be alarmed, Brother Li. The white powder on the platform is a type of ground beast bone that is used as a pill refinement ingredient, and it's able to stimulate one's profound acupoints, so it's being used here to ensure that the subject is revealing their true number of profound acupoints," Chen Yang reassured.

Shi Chuankong was initially rather apprehensive, but it seemed that the powder was entirely harmless. After hearing Chen Yang's words of reassurance, he was still feeling a little displeased, but he allowed the powder to cling to his body, and before long, fifty-two profound acupoints had been revealed.

A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this.

Daoist Xie had been staring at this white powder intently this entire time, and it seemed that he had some recollection of what this powder was, but wasn't quite able to remember exactly what it did.

Shi Chuankong had originally intended to hide some of his profound acupoints, but he had been forced to reveal everything, and he stepped down from the stone platform in a rather displeased manner.

"Don't be angry, Brother Shi. While the main function of the powder on the platform is to force one to reveal all of their profound acupoints, it also has a beneficial effect on one's cultivation base, and this is the only chance you'll get to use it," Chen Yang hurriedly consoled.

Shi Chuankong took a moment to examine his own internal condition upon hearing this, and only then did his expression ease slightly.

"Shi Kong, fifty-two profound acupoints," the round-faced scribe declared, while the square-faced scribe made records in his book.

"It's your turn now, Fellow Daoist Li," the round-faced scribe said as he turned to Han Li.

Han Li nodded in response before stepping onto the stone platform, then took a deep breath as he channeled his Great Universe Origin Arts.

Once all of his thirty-seven profound acupoints had been revealed, the white powder on the stone platform rose up once again before clinging to his body, but no further profound acupoints appeared.

A hint of surprise flashed through Chen Yang's face upon seeing this, clearly taken aback by the fact that Han Li had far fewer profound acupoints than Shi Chuankong.

"Li Feiyu, thirty-seven profound acupoints," the round-faced scribe declared.

The square-faced scribe recorded this result, then gave Chen Yang a nod, while Han Li stepped down from the stone platform.

"Both fellow daoist have fulfilled the prerequisites to become acquired citizens and can join Fellow Daoist Chen Yang's hunting party. Congratulations," the round-faced scribe said as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"Our city is very pleased to have you, fellow daoists."

Right as Chen Yang's voice trailed off, a resounding boom suddenly rang out overhead, and the entire stone chamber shuddered violently.

Han Li's trio were rather alarmed by this, but Chen Yang and the two scribes displayed no reaction.

"No need to be alarmed," Chen Yang reassured with a smile. "The top floor of the right peak above us is our city's arena, and there must be a battle taking place right now."

"There's an arena here?" Shi Chuankong asked as a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.

He had always been very interested in arena battles. In fact, he and Han Li had first met back in an arena in Primordial Origin City.

He was just about to ask some questions about the arena when he was struck by a sense of lightheadedness, and he began to involuntarily tip forward.

Right as he was about to fall onto Chen Yang, the latter smiled and took a step back, allowing him to crash to the ground.

Han Li immediately realized that something wasn't right, but before he had a chance to say anything, he also began to feel lightheaded.

He hurriedly bit down onto the tip of his own tongue while attempting to channel his Spirit Refinement Technique, only to discover that his consciousness had become extremely dull and lifeless, and all of the strength seemed to have been sapped from his body.

Before he had a chance to do anything else, he also fell unconscious, and the last thing that he saw before his vision faded to black was the sight of a hideous and imposing figure making his way into the room.

Chen Yang's trio immediately extended a respectful salute toward the figure, who was none other than Du Qingyang.

"You did well, Chen Yang," Du Qingyang remarked as he took a glance at Han Li and Shi Chuankong.

"It was all thanks to the White Profound Beast bone powder that you gave me, City Lord Du," Chen Yang replied with a smile.

A look of realization immediately appeared on Daoist Xie's face upon hearing the term "White Profound Beast", and he knew that this bone powder was what had knocked Han Li and Shi Chuankong unconscious, but the realization had come far too late.

"Should I take them to your secret chamber, City Lord Du?" Chen Yang asked.

"There's no hurry, I have some other plans for him," Du Qingyang replied, and the two of them weren't making any effort to keep their conversation secret from Daoist Xie, who remained standing off to the side instead of making any rash moves.

All of a sudden, Chen Yang seemed to have recalled Daoist Xie's existence, and he asked, "What should we do with this puppet?"

"Lock up those two for now. As for this puppet, it has some sentience, but it's of no use to me, so you can do with it as you see fit," Du Qingyang replied, then turned to depart.

"Become my servant or be disassembled into a pile of scrap metal right now. It's your choice," Chen Yang declared in a cold voice.

Daoist Xie took a glance at Han Li, then cupped his fist in a submissive salute toward Chen Yang.

"You're not very useful in battle, but it seems like you're pretty smart. This place is boring as hell, so having a puppet around will certainly liven things up a little," Chen Yang chuckled.

He then crouched down and fished a pair of black stone vials out of his sleeve, then placed one each onto Han Li and Shi Chuankong's arm before removing the stoppers.

Two black centipedes that were each around three inches in length scurried out of the vials, and after crawling along Han Li and Shi Chuankong's arms momentarily, they dug through their skin with ease before burrowing inside.

Daoist Xie could see a bulge moving along the sleeves of both of their arms before stopping at their hearts, where the bulges took on the form of rings.

"Congratulations, Captain Chen Yang. With such a significant contribution, your claim over the spot of deputy city lord is all but assured," the round-faced scribe congratulated with a warm smile, and Chen Yang was very pleased to hear this.

Meanwhile, Daoist Xie's gaze fell upon Han Li and Shi Chuankong as a grim look appeared in his eyes.

......

After an indeterminate period of time, Han Li woke up in a dark stone chamber that was only around forty to fifty feet in size, and the room was completely empty aside from a stone bed at the center.

At this moment, he was laying on the ground with sets of bone shackles attached to his arms and legs.

Han Li tugged on the shackles with all his might, but they refused to budge.

"Save your energy. All of these shackles were specially made so that even someone who's opened more than a hundred profound acupoints wouldn't be able to snap them."

Right at this moment, Chen Yang made his way into the room, and he was followed by a gray-robed young man who was trailing along behind him in a respectful manner.

Han Li wasn't surprised to see Chen Yang here, and he said, "Chen Yang, I haven't done anything to harm your interests, and I've already agreed to join Profound City, so why have you still done this to me?"

"It's very impressive that you're able to remain so calm in this situation, but what you just said is laughably naive. Do I need a reason to do this to you? The entire Scalptia Spatial Domain is a prison, and we're all fugitives. Were you expecting to see fairness and justice here?" Chen Yang scoffed in a disdainful manner.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he remained composed as he asked, "What do you plan to do with me?"

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li, we may be fugitives, but we're not senseless killers. Truth be told, life is very boring in this place, and the only form of entertainment available to us is watching and betting on arena battles.

“The arena is a money-making machine for the city lord, and a human like you is an extremely rare sight in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, so if you were to feature in the arena battles, I'm sure you'll generate a lot of interest," Chen Yang replied with a chilling grin.

"That's why you've captured me?" Han Li asked as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"We don't keep useless people around in Profound City. If you want to live, then fight and prove your worth. Perhaps you'll even be able to earn back your freedom," Chen Yang replied.

Before Han Li had a chance to reply, Chen Yang turned to the gray-robed young man behind him and said, "I'll leave him to you."

"Rest assured, Master Chen, I'll make sure to discipline him well," the gray-robed young man hurriedly assured.

Chen Yang nodded in response, then turned to leave.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, where are Fellow Daoist Shi and Fellow Daoist Xie right now?" Han Li hurriedly asked, but Chen Yang offered no response and quickly vanished out of sight.