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

"The second thing I want to tell you is that I've managed to dig up some information on that ascended cultivators by the name of Violet Spirit," Shi Chuankong said as a suggestive look appeared in his eyes.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, following which an ecstatic look appeared on his face.

Even though he had asked Shi Chuankong to find Violet Spirit for him, he actually wasn't optimistic at all. After all, it hadn't been that long since he ascended to the True Immortal Realm, and at Violet Spirit's rate of cultivation progression, there was no guarantee that she would've already ascended.

He had really only told Shi Chuankong about Violet Spirit so that he would look out for her if she were to ascend to the Devil Realm in the future, so it was a very pleasant surprise that he had actually managed to find her.

"Pokong has been diligent in this matter, and he sent out people to investigate all of the cultivators who had recently ascended to our Holy Realm. In the process, he found a female cultivator who ascended to the Black Water Region over a hundred years ago, and she matched your description of this Violet Spirit. I have to say that she really is quite a beauty," Shi Chuankong said as he flipped a hand over to produce a palm-sized azure bead.

A burst of gentle azure light appeared within the bead at his behest, and the image of a woman in a black dress emerged. She had waist-length black hair, and just as Shi Chuankong had said, she was a stunning beauty. There was a cold demeanor about her, but that only further added to her appeal, and it was none other than Violet Spirit.

Han Li shuddered slightly at the sight of this familiar figure, and he was lost in thought for a long while before finally returning to his senses.

"Looks like we've got the right person. In all the time that we've been together, I've never seen you like that. How about you tell me some stories about you and her? I'm sure they must be very exciting," Shi Chuankong jibed.

Han Li remained unflustered despite Shi Chuankong's jibes, and he immediately asked, "Where is she right now?"

"Calm down, Brother Li. The thing with ascended cultivators is that all of them possess tremendous potential, so they'll be invited to join the nearby powers following their ascension. Not only is Violet Spirit a stunning beauty, I've heard that she also possesses remarkable aptitude. As a result, she caught the eye of a Great Encompassment cultivator of the Black Water Region," Shi Chuankong said as a peculiar look appeared on his face.

"There must be some type of problem with this Great Encompassment cultivator, right?" Han Li asked with slightly furrowed brows.

"The Great Encompassment cultivator in question is Daoist Master Black River, and he's very renowned in our Holy Realm. He's a relatively normal man, but..."

Shi Chuankong's voice trailed off into an awkward silence here.

"But what?" Han Li asked as a sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.

"You know how us men are... Even though he's already reached the Great Encompassment Stage, he still has basic desires, and on top of that, Celestial Maiden Violet Spirit is truly a very beautiful woman, so..."

Once again, Shi Chuankong's voice trailed off into an awkward silence.

Han Li's expression instantly darkened significantly upon hearing this, and he immediately began making his way out of the room.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li, Daoist Master Black River is on very good terms with Pokong. As soon as we found out this information, Pokong immediately sent a warning to Daoist Master Black River, but we're still yet to receive a response," Shi Chuankong informed.

Han Li remained silent as he made his way out of the manor, and there was already a beast-drawn carriage waiting for him, clearly arranged in advance by Shi Chuankong.

"I recall that there are teleportation arrays in Night Sun City, right? Is there one that leads to the Black Water Region?" Han Li asked.

"There is. Come with me," Shi Chuankong sighed, then made his way onto the carriage.

It only took the carriage about an hour to reach a giant palace in the Naraka Area, one that was over a thousand feet tall and took up an area of over ten acres.

The entire building was black in color, and hanging above its entrance was a golden plaque that read "High Profound Palace".

It was a very lively and bustling place, and there were many other carriages parked near the entrance, as well as many people entering and exiting the palace.

"There are two teleportation halls in Night Sun City, one of which is this High Profound Palace, which is reserved for nobility, while the other one is the High Moon Palace in the Maha Area, which is accessible to normal cultivators, merchants, or travelers. The High Profound Palace is the slightly larger one of the two," Shi Chuankong introduced.

On the way here, Han Li had been silent this entire time, and Shi Chuankong was intentionally trying to find some topics of conversation to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry about me, Fellow Daoist Shi, I'm fine," Han Li said as he took a deep breath, and at this point, he was looking a lot more composed than before.

Shi Chuankong nodded in response, and the two of them made their way into the High Profound Palace with the crowd.

The floor inside the palace was paved with opulent white jade bricks, while a series of white crystals had been embedded into the palace's ceiling and walls, releasing gentle white light that illuminated the entire place.

The ceiling was supported by stone pillars, and there were over a hundred white stone platforms laid out across the palace, each of which was carrying a teleportation array, accompanied by a stone plaque that marked out the teleportation array's destination.

This teleportation hall was quite similar to ones that Han Li had seen in the past, except all of the teleportation arrays in here were very complex.

Shi Chuankong seemed to be very familiar with this place, and he led Han Li straight to a teleportation array deep in the palace, one that led to Black River City.

At this moment, the teleportation array was completely empty, and Han Li immediately began to make his way into it.

However, he was stopped in his tracks by a purple-robed man, who said, "Is this your first time using a teleportation array in the High Profound Hall, Fellow Daoist? You have to purchase a teleportation talisman first."

Shi Chuankong flipped a hand over upon seeing this, summoning a golden badge that was emblazoned with the words "Heavenly Merchant Marquis".

The purple-robed man's expression instantly changed slightly upon seeing this, and he hurriedly stepped out of Han Li's way as he apologized, "Ah, please forgive me, Your Highness, I didn't know it was you."

Han Li paid no heed to the purple-robed man as he stepped onto the teleportation array, followed closely by Shi Chuankong.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, you have a lot on your plate right now, so there's no need for you to accompany me on this trip. I'll come and find you once I'm back," Han Li said.

"Don't worry about it, Fellow Daoist Li. I won't be making any inroads into the Heavenly Rainbow Region anytime soon, and I've become quite weary of all of the politics in Night Sun City, so it'd do me a world of good to go out do some sightseeing," Shi Chuankong replied with a smile.

"You have my thanks, Fellow Daoist Shi," Han Li said with a grateful expression.

Daoist Master Black River was a Great Encompassment cultivator, so he had no confidence in his own ability to take Violet Spirit and escape safely. However, with Shi Chuankong in accompaniment, things were most likely going to be a lot easier.

"Your Highness, that marquis badge of yours grants you three free teleportation opportunities per century. You're teleporting two people on this occasion, so you'll be using up two of the three opportunities here," the purple-robed man informed in a respectful manner as he pulled out a purple copper mirror.

"I'm aware of that, hurry up and activate the array," Shi Chuankong urged in an impatient manner, and the purple-robed man immediately nodded in response before doing as he was told.

Before long, the teleportation array was up and running, and Han Li and Shi Chuankong vanished from within it amid a flash of white light.

After their vision was restored, the two of them discovered that they had arrived in another teleportation hall.

This one was only less than two hundred feet in size, and it only contained three teleportation arrays.

There were very few other people in the hall, and Han Li and Shi Chuankong quickly made their way outside to discover a small city constructed by a black river.

The water in the river was so turbulent that it was rumbling with sufficient ferocity to be clearly audible even in the city.

The city didn't appear to be very vibrant at all, and it was severely lacking even compared with Preeminent City.

"The Black Water Region derives its name from the many rivers and lakes in the region. However, it's a very secluded place, and it doesn't have any valuable resources or demon beasts to be hunted, so it's one of the barren regions in our Holy Realm," Shi Chuankong introduced.

Han Li nodded in response. The spiritual qi and devilish qi here were indeed far less abundant than they were in Night Sun City.

The one good thing about this place was that the city had no flight restrictions, so the two of them were quickly able to fly into the city.

Shi Chuankong summoned his flying carriage, and it sped off in a certain direction.

"Daoist Master Black River resides in one of the lakes of the Black Water Region, and it'll take close to three months to get there. I have to warn you now that Daoist Master Black River is... a bit of a petty man, so this trip may not go very smoothly," Shi Chuankong said with slightly furrowed brows, and Han Li's brows also furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Due to his recent physical transmigration, only a small portion of his Time Dao Runes were currently active, so his time-attribute abilities weren't going to be as potent as usual.

However, in any case, there was no way that he could back down.

With that in mind, he took a deep breath, then sat down with his legs crossed.

Meanwhile, a purple talisman flew out of Shi Chuankong's sleeve, then imploded into countless purple runes that fused into his flying carriage.

The front of the flying carriage instantly took on the form of a bird's head, while two large purple wings that were each over a hundred feet in length emerged from its midsection, transforming the entire carriage into a giant purple bird.

In the wake of this transformation, the flying carriage sped up drastically, hurtling through the air as a long streak of purple light.