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

The man had a square face with a set of rather rough features, and his aura indicated that he was a mid-Great Encompassment cultivator.

He was greeting Han Li like an old friend, but Han Li had never met him before.

However, he then quickly caught onto what the man was doing, and he put on a warm smile of his own as he greeted, "Indeed, Fellow Daoist Zhou, it's been far too long."

The two of them began to engage in some small talk, while the elderly man standing beside them heaved an internal sigh of relief, thanking the heavens that he hadn't displayed any disrespect to Han Li for the lowly cultivation base that he had initially displayed.

Zhou Xianyang and Han Li made their way into the inner hall of the branch together, and the former instructed, "Elder Zhu, go and prepare a feast. Bring out that jar of Azure Haze Jade Elixir that I've been saving for a special occasion."

The elderly man immediately departed to carry out his bidding, following which Zhou Xianyang invited Han Li into the room before sweeping a sleeve through the air to conjure up a door of silver light.

Both of them remained silent as they stepped through the door of light into a secret chamber, where Zhou Xianyang explained, "My apologies, Senior Han. Elder Zhu is a mole planted by my side by the Golden Origin Immortal Palace, so I had to put on an act for him."

"It sounds like things aren't easy for you, Sect Master Zhou," Han Li said with an amused smile.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. Elder Zhu has some street smarts, but he's not the most difficult to deal with, so I haven't been in any peril. The higher-ups are going to make a big move on this occasion, and I've already prepared everything on my end," Zhou Xianyang replied.

"Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3 hasn't told me much at all. All she said was for me to come here and follow your head," Han Li said.

"You're far too modest, Fellow Daoist Han," Zhou Xianyang chuckled. "That's not what she told me. She explicitly told me to follow your lead and provide you with any assistance that you require."

"I'm not being modest, I truly don't know much about this mission, so I'll have to trouble you to give me some details," Han Li said.

"The Bodhi Banquet is held by the Heavenly Court roughly once every five million years, but in the past, only those who receive invitations have the right to attend the banquet. This is the first time that spots have been given with no restrictions placed on who gets to attend," Zhou Xianyang said.

"Why is that?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know, but it's definitely not a bad thing for our Reincarnation Palace. The greater Golden Origin Immortal Region has received a hundred spots in total, most of which were taken by the Nine Origins Temple and the Hundred Creations Mountain, while some were also taken by the Golden Origin Immortal Palace and the Sun Moon Alliance, leaving only twelve spots, out of which we must claim one," Zhou Xianyang replied.

"Which sects are participating in the selection event? Are there any that I should look out for?" Han Li asked.

"The Sun Moon Alliance presides over almost all of the small and medium-sized sects of the greater Golden Origin Immortal Region, and their spots have already been distributed. These twelve spots will be contested by the medium-sized sects that haven't joined the Sun Moon Alliance, so that eliminates most of the competition, but there will still be ninety-six sects in participation," Zhou Xianyang replied.

"It'll take at least three rounds of battles to select twelve out of ninety-six entrants, and given the prestige of the Bodhi Banquet, I presume all of the participating sects will be sending their most powerful cultivators, right?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"That's right. The good thing is that the patriarchs and leaders of the sects most likely won't take part in such events as it's unbefitting figures of their status. Having said that, there's a chance that some sect leaders could be willing to lay down their pride and participate in the event in person," Zhou Xianyang replied. ℝáŊоꞖĚṦ

"The fact that you're saying that means that you think some people will actually stoop to that, right?" Han Li asked.

"That's right. The leader of the sworn enemy of our Prominent Mountain Sect, the Lone Sun Peak, is a man by the name of Sikong Jian. He's a very sly and shady individual, and he's willing to stoop to anything to get what he wants. One time, he killed an extremely promising young talent from our sect, and ever since then, he's been hiding on the Lone Sun Peak like a cowardly turtle.

“We've hunted down hundreds of disciples of his sect to try and goad him into coming out, but he remains as cowardly as ever," Zhou Xianyang said in a resentful manner.

"What's his cultivation base?" Han Li asked.

"In the past, Sikong Jian was at the early-Great Encompassment Stage, but he's been in seclusion for a very long time, and I don't know if he's been able to sever a corpse soul during that time. However, even at the early-Great Encompassment Stage, he displayed more power than those of the same cultivation rank, so he's not to be taken lightly. Of course, the ideal situation would be for you to not encounter him at all," Zhou Xianyang replied.

"There's no guarantee that I'll have an easy draw, so I'll have to trouble you to provide me with some detailed profiles of the most powerful cultivators that I could go up against, just so I can be prepared for anything," Han Li said.

"There's Luo Yuanshan of the Azure Remorse Forest, Zhao Bolao of Boundless Mountain, Celestial Maiden Ziluo of Serene Celestial Lake..."

Zhou Xianyang rattled off a list of around a dozen names before concluding, "There's a very good chance that all of them will be representing their sects in the selection event, and I'll compile detailed profiles on all of them for you."

"That would be best," Han Li replied with a smile.

"For this event, you'll be participating under the guise of my junior martial brother, Chang Qi. He's constantly traveling, so barely anyone in our sect has seen him before. The only problem is that this junior martial brother of mine is a Profound Cultivator, so he hasn't really even used the cultivation arts of our sect.

“He was able to reach the late-High Zenith Stage purely thanks to his bodily refinement cultivation, so if you take part in the event in his stead, then I'm afraid you won't be able to use any of your abilities," Zhou Xianyang said in a concerned manner.

"That suits me just fine," Han Li replied with a smile, and he finally understood why Wyrm 3 had told him to come here.

Zhou Xianyang raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, and he asked, "Could it be that you're also a Profound Immortal, Fellow Daoist Han?"

In response, Han Li channeled his Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts, and over nine hundred profound acupoints lit up over his body, illuminating the entire secret chamber.

"That's incredible! Even Junior Martial Brother Chang Qi doesn't hold a candle to your physical prowess!" Zhou Xianyang exclaimed in an astonished manner.

Unbeknownst to him, Han Li had held back significantly in order to not startle him.

"In that case, this should be a perfect arrangement," Zhou Xianyang continued with a pleased expression. "You can come out now, Junior Martial Brother Chang Qi."

A thin and frail-looking young man stepped into the secret chamber from a hidden entrance, and his physical appearance didn't fit the bill for a Profound Immortal at all.

The young man strode over to Han Li and Zhou Xianyang before cupping his fist in a greeting.

"Very impressive, Fellow Daoist Chang. I can see that you've progressed so far in your physical cultivation that your power has become contained within your bones," Han Li remarked as he returned the greeting.

Chang Qi's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, and he replied, "The fact that you were able to see through me right away indicates that there's still more work for me to do."

"You're far too modest, Fellow Daoist Chang," Han Li said with a smile.

"There's still over a month left until the selection event. During this month, you have to do your best to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of my junior martial brother's cultivation arts. Even if you can't perfectly replicate all of the fine details, your disguise has to at least be convincing enough to fool everyone. You know how to use the Reincarnation Palace mask, right?" Zhou Xianyang asked.

"Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3 has already taught me," Han Li replied with a nod.

"In that case, let's begin right away," Zhou Xianyang said, and Han Li turned his gaze to Chang Qi before giving him a nod.

Immediately thereafter, the black mask on his face was revealed at his behest, and a layer of dense and viscous black mist surged out of it, then flowed down his body to completely envelop him.

After spilling down onto the ground, the black mist began to make its way toward Chang Qi as if it were a living creature.

Chang Qi's hands were clasped behind his back, and he was looking a little tense and apprehensive, but he remained completely still.

More and more black mist accumulated at his feet before spreading upward to envelop his entire body as well.

Han Li and Chang Qi were connected by a bridge of black mist, which was absorbing the latter's aura before transferring into the body of the former.

A hint of anticipation appeared in Zhou Xianyang's eyes as he observed the process.

A few minutes later, the black mist around Chang Qi faded away, receding until it was only enveloping Han Li, whose body rapidly shrank down until he was the same stature as Chang Qi.

Immediately thereafter, all of the black mist flowed back into his black mask, which took on an appearance that was identical to Chang Qi's.

Zhou Xianyang's eyes lit up as he began inspecting the two Chang Qis, upon which he discovered that even to him, both of them were completely indistinguishable in appearance and aura.

Due to the fact that much of the true Chang Qi's immortal spiritual power had been absorbed by Han Li's black mask, his aura was wavering in a rather unsteady fashion, so he appeared more like the counterfeit than Han Li did.

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