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

Chapter 1138: Brewing Unrest

After a long silence, the pressure in the palace gradually began to dissipate as the white figure relented, "I suppose it was always going to be difficult for you, given Shi Kongmo was also there. However, the Heaven Controlling Vial is an item of the utmost importance, and it must be recovered. At the moment, the Heavenly Court can't spare many people to the cause as we're preparing for the Bodhi Banquet.

“On top of that, the Golden Origin Immortal Region is the territory of the Nine Origins Temple, so it'll be inappropriate to send other people there. Hence, we must continue to count on your Immortal Prison to recover the Heaven Controlling Vial, but failure will not be acceptable a second time, do you understand?"

Qi Mozi was ecstatic to hear this. As long as he was still assigned with the task of hunting for Han Li, there would still be a chance for him to claim the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra.

With that in mind, he hurriedly replied, "Yes, I understand! I'll send out all of our immortal envoys to the Golden Origin Immortal Region right away to search for Han Li, and I'll be sure to recover the Heaven Controlling Vial this time!"

"There's no need to make such a big fuss about it. I'll send someone to deliver a Heavenly Fire Holy Lotus Flower to you so you can reforge a new body," the white figure said.

"Words cannot express my gratitude!" Qi Mozi said as he extended a deep bow.

"You can go now," the white figure said as they waved a dismissive hand, and Qi Mozi extended another respectful bow before turning to depart.

Right at this moment, a red cloud flew over from afar, then entered the palace without any forewarning before transforming into a red-haired woman.

The woman appeared to be around twenty years of age, with incredibly fair and delicate skin and facial features that looked as if they had been pulled straight out of a piece of artwork. Her proportionate, yet curvaceous body was perfectly accentuated by her tight-fitting red dress, and she was truly a stunning sight to behold.

However, in spite of her breathtaking beauty, there was a completely undisguised look of arrogance on her face, giving her the appearance of an unapproachable, thorny rose.

"Fancy meeting you here, Chief Warden Qi Mozi. I heard that you had suffered such a terrible defeat in your latest outing that even your physical body was destroyed, and I had thought that that was nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor, but it appears that I was mistaken," the red-haired woman giggled with more than a hint of mockery in her voice.

An enraged look flashed through Qi Mozi's eyes, but he immediately suppressed his own fury.

"I pay my respects to Master Bai Yun," the red-haired woman greeted as she turned to the white figure before extending a casual salute that was far more relaxed and carefree than the fearful display put on by Qi Mozi.

"No need for formalities, Chi Meng. How was your trip to the Green Forest Immortal Region?" the white figure asked, and his demeanor had warmed up significantly.

"Everything went very well, and I've purchased all of the immortal fruits that you requested," the woman by the name of Chi Meng replied.

"Good. Those fruits are going to be served up during the Bodhi Banquet, so they must be of the highest possible quality," the white figure said.

"Rest assured, Master Bai Yun, I've examined every single one of them personally to ensure their quality," Chi Meng replied.

"I trust you. You must be tired from your journey to the Green Forest Immortal Region, go and have a good rest," the white figure said.

"It was a fairly relaxed outing, so I'm not all that tired. While I was coming in, I heard you discussing a Heaven Controlling Vial with Qi Mozi. Is that the treasure that was stolen from the Nine Origins Temple all those years ago?" Chi Meng asked.

Qi Mozi and Chi Meng were not on good terms with one another, so the latter was just about to leave, but he instantly stopped in his tracks upon hearing this.

"That's right. Are you interested in this matter as well?" the white figure asked.

"Of course! On my way back, I received a message from my grandmother, telling me to ask about this," Chi Meng replied with a faint smile.

"Fellow Daoist Chi Rong has already come out of seclusion?" the white figure asked in a surprised manner, while Qi Mozi shuddered involuntarily, seemingly very fearful of the woman in question.

Chi Meng took a disdainful glance at Qi Mozi, then replied, "My grandmother only just came out of seclusion a few years ago, and she told me to pass on her greetings to you."

"I've been presiding over the official matters of the Heavenly Court in her absence, but my incompetence has led to many undesirable outcomes. Now that Fellow Daoist Chi Rong has come out of seclusion, I can finally shed this burdensome role," the white figure said with a smile.

"You're far too modest, Master Bai Yun. The Heavenly Court has thrived under your capable leadership, and I'm certain that no other Dao Ancestor would've been able to do anywhere near as good a job as you have. My grandmother often says that you may not be the most powerful Dao Ancestor, but you're certainly the most capable ruler among all of the Dao Ancestors," Chi Meng said with a bright smile.

"Fellow Daoist Chi Rong is far too kind in her appraisal of me!" Dao Ancestor Bai Yun chuckled.

"Qi Mozi, why don't you tell Chi Meng about the current situation surrounding the Heaven Controlling Vial?" Dao Ancestor Bai Yun instructed.

Qi Mozi was a little hesitant to oblige, but ultimately had no choice but to acquiesce and provide Chi Meng with a detailed rundown of the situation.

"This Han Li sounds like a very interesting character. He only ascended from to the True Immortal Realm less than thirty thousand years ago, yet he's already reached the late-High Zenith Stage. This is an unprecedented rate of progress!" Chi Meng said with an intrigued expression.

"There's no need to be surprised, Chi Meng. The Heaven Controlling Vial is an unfathomably powerful treasure, so it really isn't out of the ordinary at all for him to have made such rapid progress with the vial in his possession," Dao Ancestor Bai Yun said.

"I see. Master Bai Yun, Qi Mozi's body has already been destroyed, and he won't be able to forge a new one in a short time. On top of that, if even he's been defeated by Han Li, then I'm assuming no one else in the Immortal Prison will be able to fare any better. Hence, why not assign the task of capturing Han Li to me? I'll be sure to bring back both Han Li and the Heaven Controlling Vial," Chi Meng promised.

"There's no need for that, Fellow Daoist Chi Meng," Qi Mozi hurriedly interjected. "I failed to capture Han Li this time because I was too complacent, but I won't make the same mistake again."

"How are you going to complete the mission when you don't even have a physical body right now? Who knows how long it's going to take for you to reforge a body? Are you going to wait until after that before you go after Han Li again? Given how alert and cunning he is, who knows where he'll be by then?" Chi Meng scoffed.

Before Qi Mozi had a chance to argue any further, Dao Ancestor raised a hand to stop him.

"Chi Meng is right, Qi Mozi. You should stay in the Heavenly Court to rest and recuperate while you reforge a new body for yourself."

Qi Mozi was clearly very reluctant to accept this outcome, but he had no choice but to do so.

"Chi Meng, I'll be assigning the task of capturing Han Li to you then. Qi Mozi has already failed once, so you must make sure that you succeed in his stead," Dao Ancestor Bai Yun said in a solemn manner.

"You can count on me, Master Bai Yun!" Chi Meng promised with a wide smile, then flew out of the palace as a red cloud, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Qi Mozi quickly departed as well, and before long, Dao Ancestor Bai Yun was the only one left in the palace.

"You certainly are getting nosier by the day, Fellow Daoist Chi Rong," he chuckled coldly to himself as he remained seated in his chair.

......

Meanwhile, in a pink, semi-transparent, crystalline palace elsewhere in the Heavenly Court.

Immortal Lord Miao Fa was seated in front of a dark red jade tablet with a dark expression, and an image of a yellow toad could be seen on the tablet.

However, the tablet had already shattered into pieces, and there were two maidservants standing nearby, both of whom had fearful looks on their faces.

"How are Lan Yuanzi and Lan Yan's bonded tablets?" Immortal Lord Miao Fa asked.

"Lan Yuanzi's bonded tablet has cracked open, but not fully shattered. Lan Yan's bonded tablet is completely unscathed, but we haven't been able to contact her, so she's most likely been captured by someone," one of the maidservants hurriedly answered.

Immortal Lord Miao Fa's eyes narrowed slightly in silence upon hearing this.

"The abbott has also been made aware of this, and he's very displeased by the failure to recover the Heaven Controlling Vial," the other maidservant reported in a timid voice.

"Alright, you two can go now," Immortal Lord Miao Fa dismissed as her brows furrowed slightly, and the two maidservants immediately departed.

Looks like I really underestimated you, Han Li. No matter, I'll just have to come after you myself.

......

The northwestern border of the lesser Golden Origin Immortal Region was an area with flat terrain and fertile soil, so there was far higher population density here than in the Golden Origin Mountain Range, and there were also many sects situated here as well.

Beyond the northwestern border was a boundless sea that was very abundant with spiritual qi, but also extremely violent, often generating extremely destructive windstorms, and that was why this region of the sea had been named the Windstorm Sea.

There was a vast abundance of all types of resources in the Windstorm Sea, which attracted countless treasure hunters, no less so than the Golden Origin Mountain Range.

There was a massive city right next to the Windstorm Sea called Golden Void City, and it was the largest and most illustrious city in the entirety of the lesser Golden Origin Immortal Region. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The city was thriving thanks to the countless treasure hunters who were attracted there by the Windstorm Sea, as well its interregion teleportation, which was connected to the greater Golden Origin Immortal Region.

Outside the city was a huge plaza that was several dozen kilometers in size, and it was teeming with masses of people, presenting an extremely lively and bustling sight to behold.

There were streaks of light constantly flying to and away from the plaza, and right at this moment, a streak of dark green light flew over from afar, then drew to a halt above the plaza to reveal a dark green flying boat, whose passengers were none other than Han Li and Lan Yan.

"What a majestic view! As expected of the largest city in the lesser Golden Origin Immortal Region," Han Li praised as he cast his gaze toward the almost boundless Golden Void City.

"It's not bad. Once we reach Nine Origins City in the greater Golden Origin Immortal Region, you'll get to see what a true large city looks like," Lan Yan said with a faint smile.

"Is that right? I'm looking forward to it," Han Li replied in an indifferent manner, then stowed the Ink Dragon Flying Boat away before flying toward Golden Void City.