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

Chapter 881: Is It Time

The arm attached to the hand was giving off rays of white light, and it was hurtling through the air with such immense power that it was threatening to tear the very space apart.

Upon being struck in the chest, the speed of Han Li's retreat was increased by severalfold, and he crashed heavily into the stone door behind him.

A loud thump rang out as the stone door was smashed to bits, sending shattered rocks flying in all directions, while Han Li crashed into the ground to form a huge crater.

Given how powerful his physical body had become, he didn't sustain any severe injuries from the blow, and he was just about to spring back to his feet, but right at this moment, two black chains shot forth through the air, then wrapped themselves tightly around his arms and legs.

The chains were extremely resilient, and Han Li was instantly completely immobilized.

Before he had a chance to struggle any further, a figure appeared before him in a flash, then closed a hand around his throat.

The hand belonged to none other than Chen Yang, and he chuckled in a cold voice, "Don't bother struggling, you're not getting away."

At this point, two black-robed figures had appeared beside the crater, with each one holding one end of the black chains.

Han Li's brows furrowed tightly upon seeing this, but he didn't struggle.

The gladiators of the ninth area were very alarmed by this turn of events, but once then identified that it was Chen Yang, none of them dared to say anything.

"How did you know what I was planning?" Han Li asked.

"Given your personality, there's no way that you would've resigned yourself to your own fate. It's hilarious that Hu Bi and the others were completely complacent to this, so I'm the one who gets the credit for catching you red-handed," Chen Yang chuckled.

Han Li offered no response to this.

One of the black-robed figures placed a set of shackles onto Han Li's body, while Chen Yang declared to the crowd that was gathering nearby, "This man has broken the rules of the arena, so we're taking him to the city lord's manor for his punishment. There's no need for alarm, this has nothing to do with any of you."

Judging from everyone's reactions, no was feeling particularly reassured.

"Take him away!" Chen Yang ordered before departing.

Daoist Xie trailed along behind Chen Yang in silence, not even sparing so much as a single glance at Han Li, much to Han Li's dismay.

Before long, the group had left the ninth area, and in the wake of their departure, the entirety of the ninth area erupted into a frenzy, with everyone discussing the potential reasons for Han Li's capture.

Standing silently among the crowd was Chen Lin, and he lingered in the lobby momentarily before returning to his room.

......

It didn't take long for Chen Yang and the others to leave the arena and enter Green Goat City.

The city lord's manor was situated at the highest point of Green Goat City, so Chen Yang's group attracted a great deal of attention as Han Li was paraded through the city.

Han Li walked along with his head lowered while rapidly considering his options.

Chen Yang seemed to have gleaned Han Li's thoughts, and he warned, "I know you're capable of unleashing spiritual attacks, but now that we're already in Green Goat City, you're not getting away, so don't even try it. Otherwise, you'll only be heaping more punishment upon yourself."

Han Li's pupils contracted slightly upon hearing this, and his heart sank a little further.

The group quickly arrived at the city lord's manor, which was quite an enormous place, but wasn't very opulent in appearance.

Chen Yang walked straight in with Han Li without declaring his own arrival, and he was walking along at the forefront of the group with a contemplative look on his face.

Daoist Xie was trailing along behind him, while Han Li and the two black-robed guards brought up the rear as they arrived outside the city lord's cave abode.

"City Lord Du, it's me, Chen Yang," Chen Yang declared as he strode over to the tightly shut stone door.

There was no response from inside the cave abode.

Chen Yang's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he was just about to announce his own arrival again when the stone door slowly opened amid a heavy grinding sound.

"Come in."

A voice rang out from inside, and it seemed to be tinged with a hint of irrepressible fury.

Han Li beckoned to the two black-robed figures, who brought Han Li over to him before departing.

A slightly sympathetic look flashed through his eyes as he took a glance at Han Li, then pressed a hand down onto his shoulder before pushing him into the cave abode.

Upon entering the cave abode, it was revealed that there were three other people in the main hall aside from Du Qingyang.

These three were three of the four captains that had been summoned by Du Qingyang for that earlier meeting, and out of the four captains, only Hu Bi was missing.

"Why did you bring him here now?" Du Qingyang asked with a displeased look in his eyes.

"I had just returned from a hunting trip when I caught this man attempting to escape from the arena, so I detained him and brought him to you, City Lord Du," Chen Yang replied as he cupped his fist in a salute.

Du Qingyang's expression darkened even further upon hearing this, and a hint of fear had appeared in the eyes of the three captains.

"Security seems to have been a little lax in the arena of late. I suggest that we dedicate more manpower to tightening security so something like this doesn't happen again. After all, there's no guarantee that we'll be so fortunate next time," Chen Yang continued.

There was a square-faced young man standing next to Du Qingyang, and he took a resentful glance at Chen Yang. He was the one responsible for overseeing security in the arena, so he was going to be held culpable for this close call.

"You did very well," Du Qingyang praised, but his expression remained as stony as ever.

It seemed that he had no intention of assigning blame, and the square-faced young man was very relieved.

"I was only doing my job, City Lord Du. If you have no further instructions for me, then I'll be taking my leave now," Chen Yang said as he extended a respectful bow.

Du Qingyang took a hesitant glance at Chen Yang, then sighed, "Don't go just yet. I just so happen to have something that I need to discuss with you."

"Please go ahead, City Lord Du," Chen Yang immediately replied.

Du Qingyang beckoned for him to come closer, so Chen Yang left Han Li under Daoist Xie's supervision before approaching Du Qingyang.

"This morning, Hu Bi was found dead in his room," Du Qingyang said in a low voice.

An astonished look appeared on Chen Yang's face upon hearing this, and he asked, "How did he die?"

"No one knows. He didn't have external injuries, nor were there any signs of battle in his room. The only thing worthy of note is that there's some residual blood in both of his ear holes," Du Qingyang replied.

"Could it be that he was poisoned then? Surely not! Given his physical constitution, what type of poison could possibly have killed him?" Chen Yang speculated with tightly furrowed brows.

"There aren't any leads to pursue at the moment. The problem is that now that he's dead, the task that I assigned to him has been cast into limbo, so I want you to manage the Sinha Blood Array in his stead. What do you say?" Du Qingyang asked.

Chen Yang was ecstatic to hear this, and he hurriedly cupped his fist in a salute as he replied, "Thank you, City Lord Du! You can count on me!"

"Prior to initiating the ritual, I have to go into seclusion for a while, so I'll leave it to you to complete the array's setup. I'll look into Hu Bi's death, but don't let that distract you from the task at hand. Make sure to prioritize the ritual and the Sinha Blood Array above all else," Du Qingyang said, and Chen Yang and the three captains immediately gave a collective affirmative response.

After that, Chen Yang departed with Daoist Xie and Han Li, but instead of returning to the arena, Han Li was taken to an underground prison.

......

Over a month flew by in a flash.

Right at this moment, the door of Han Li's cell was suddenly opened, and two figures strode in from outside.

The visitors were none other than Chen Yang and Daoist Xie, and the former said, "Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Li. Have you been well?"

Han Li was sitting in a corner of the cell, and he looked up as he asked, "Is it time?"

Chen Yang faltered slightly upon hearing this, then smiled as he replied, "I suppose it is."

Han Li rose to his feet in silence, then dusted himself off before making his way out of his cell.

The armored guards outside immediately converged to surround him, but Chen Yang waved them off, and Han Li began making his way down a corridor.

Chen Yang walked along beside him, while Daoist Xie and the others trailed along behind them.

"Do you have any final wishes, Fellow Daoist Li? Perhaps I can help you fulfill them," Chen Yang jibed with a faint smile.

"My wish is for you to spare me and escort me out of Green Goat City. Will that be doable?" Han Li asked in an indifferent manner.

"That's obviously not a wish that I can grant, but if you teach me your cultivation arts, then I'll ensure that you at least get a proper burial instead of being fed to the scaled beasts," Chen Yang replied with a smile.

Han Li offered no response.

The group followed the corridor downward, and it didn't take long before they arrived in a large underground space.

It was a dome-shaped space that seemed to be a naturally forming underground cave, and even before walking inside, Han Li was struck by a hot and sickly sweet aroma that caused him to involuntarily scrunch up his nose.

After walking inside, Han Li spotted a strange stone platform that had been constructed in the shape of a pentagram.

The stone platform was several hundred feet in size and around three feet tall. At its center were two slots that were both around a foot deep, while connected to each of the five tips of the pentagram was a round platform that was around six feet tall with a fist-sized beast core fitted into a slot on each platform.

All five beast cores were B tier beast cores of an exceptional quality, and at this moment, Du Qingyang and the three captains were all standing beside the stone platform, seemingly awaiting their arrival.