Chapter 392: Imminent Emergence of the Immortal Manor
Han Li focused his gaze on the streak of red light to discover that it contained a golden jade vial that was giving off a faint medicinal aroma.
"This is a vial of Six Profound Pills that are very effective for both recovery and restorative purposes. It must\'ve been quite a taxing journey for you through these Soul Stirring Winds, so these pills will be perfect for you," Daoist Hu Yan said.
"I appreciate the kind gesture, Senior Hu Yan, but I can\'t accept these pills. You\'ve already saved me from that Yin Wraith, so I certainly can\'t ask for compensation just for answering a few simple questions," Han Li said with a shake of his head as he returned the jade vial to Daoist Hu Yan, who stowed it away again without raising any objections.
After a brief pause, Han Li gave Daoist Hu Yan a recount of what he had seen in the Black Wind Sea, as well as revealing that cultivators of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace had appeared on Black Wind Island.
However, he made no mention of the fact that he had joined the Reincarnation Palace. After all, even though he speculated that Daoist Hu Yan was also a member of the Reincarnation Palace, this wasn\'t something that Daoist Hu Yan had ever openly admitted to.
Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni listened to what he had to say with contemplative looks on their faces, and they didn\'t appear overly surprised, as if they had already anticipated that all of this would happen.
"It seems like the two of you already expected all of this to happen in the Black Wind Sea," Han Li remarked with a smile.
Daoist Hu Yan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, while Yun Ni took a glance at him, and both of them remained silent.
"If you don\'t want to answer the question, then just pretend as if I never asked," Han Li said with a faint smile.
"It would be rude of us to keep secrets, given how candid you\'ve been with us, Fellow Daoist Li," Daoist Hu Yan said after a brief moment of contemplation.
"Hu Yan!" Yun Ni\'s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
"It\'s fine. Fellow Daoist Li is no stranger to us, and perhaps we may need his help for what we\'re going to do," Daoist Hu Yan said in a meaningful voice.
Yun Ni didn\'t say anything further upon hearing this.
"What do you mean by that, Senior Hu Yan? If there are some complicated circumstances involved, then I\'m happy to be kept in the dark," Han Li said with slightly furrowed brows.
He was trying to stay out of trouble as much as possible at the moment.
"Don\'t be so quick to jump to conclusions, Fellow Daoist Li. What I\'m about to tell you could be a brilliant opportunity," Daoist Hu Yan said with a hint of mystery in his voice.
"Alright, then please go ahead, Senior," Han Li prompted.
"You just mentioned the increased frequency of natural disasters taking place all over the Black Wind Sea just now, and there\'s actually a reason for that. To put it in simple terms, an immortal manor is about to emerge, and that\'s causing a disturbance in the spirit veins in the region. The cultivators of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace have also come precisely for this immortal manor, and that is our objective as well," Daoist Hu Yan revealed.
Han Li was quite taken aback to hear this, but at the same time, this answered some of the questions that had been on his mind of late.
This explained all of the strange actions that had been taken by Black Wind Island and Azure Feather Island, as well as the sudden appearance of Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators in the Black Wind Sea.
The Origin Void Pill that he had refined for Wyrm 3 most likely had something to do with this immortal manor as well.
With all these thoughts racing through his mind, Han Li took a deep breath to collect himself, then continued to listen to Daoist Hu Yan had to say.
"This immortal manor is called the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, and it\'s a cave abode that was left behind by an almighty senior referred to as the Infernal Frost Immortal Lord countless years ago. It\'s impossible to ascertain just how many years it\'s been, but it was said that this immortal lord had gone to great lengths to seal this immortal manor in a spatial rift before vanishing without a trace.
“After that, once every few tens of thousands of years, the immortal manor would appear somewhere in the Northern Glacial Immortal Realm. Inside the immortal manor are countless precious treasures, pills, cultivation arts, and even immortal treasures. It could be said that it\'s the number one treasure trove of the Northern Glacial Immortal Realm," Daoist Hu Yan continued, and at the same time, he was observing Han Li\'s expresion.
However, Han Li\'s reaction was rather unexpected to him. Aside from the initial surprise that Han Li had displayed, he had remained quite calm thereafter.
Han Li was silent for a moment, then asked, "Could it be that the opportunity you were referring to earlier is the opportunity for me to accompany the two of you into the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor?"
"Precisely! Are you not interested, Fellow Daoist Li?" Daoist Hu Yan asked.
Instead of answering Daoist Hu Yan\'s question, Han Li said, "It sounds like the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor has already existed for countless years, so it must\'ve emerged quite a few times in the past. Even if there were many precious treasures inside, surely they would\'ve already all been taken at this point."
"You don\'t have to be concerned about that, Fellow Daoist Li. The immortal manor is rife with restrictions, and it\'s not easy to obtain the treasures inside. There have been many who have bitten off more than they could chew and lost their lives in the immortal manor, and the possessions that they left behind have added to the treasures waiting to be claimed.
“On top of that, it\'s said that someone discovered an independent area within the immortal manor during its last opening, and no one knows they found in that area," Daoist Hu Yan replied.
Instead of displaying any excitement upon hearing this, Han Li fell silent once again.
Daoist Hu Yan didn\'t try to rush Han Li into a decision, merely waiting in silence as he pondered the offer.
"Thank you for the invitation, Senior, but as the saying goes, risk and reward always come hand in hand, and I\'m not prepared to take such a risk right now, so I\'ll have to turn down the offer this time," Han Li decided after some deliberation.
His top priority right now was to find a way to reach the Golden Immortal Stage, and accompanying Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni into this Infernal Frost Immortal Manor was only going to lead him astray.
Most importantly, the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace had also sent many cultivators into the Black Wind Sea on this occasion, with no lack of Golden Immortals among them, and if they were to uncover his identity, then the immortal manor would most likely become his final resting place.
Daoist Hu Yan seemed to have gleaned Han Li\'s thoughts, and he asked, "Are you worried about encountering Immortal Palace cultivators inside the immortal manor?"
Han Li nodded in response. "I am but a mere True Immortal cultivator, and I\'ll be completely powerless to defend myself if I encounter any Immortal Palace cultivators."
Furthermore, both Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni were also wanted fugitives of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace, so accompanying them into the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor would only further increase his chances of exposure.
"There\'s no need to be concerned about that. I know that you\'ve also joined the Transient Guild, and the disguises that can be adopted using Transient Guild masks are so profound that even Golden Immortal won\'t be able to see through them easily. If we disguise ourselves as a trio of itinerant cultivators, I\'m sure the cultivators of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace wouldn\'t be able to identify us.
“On top of that, there are always many powers that send cultivators into the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor whenever it emerges, and that includes the Vast Flow Palace and the Dawn Fall Sect. The Northern Glacial Immortal Palace may be formidable, but they\'ll have their hands full dealing with their competitors, so they won\'t be able to target itinerant cultivators like the ones we\'ll be posing as," Daoist Hu Yan said.
"Are you saying that the Vast Flow Palace and the Dawn Fall Sect have also sent people to the Black Wind Sea?" Han Li asked as a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"The top three sects of our Northern Glacial Immortal Region have never been absent from such an occasion. Even though the Blaze Dragon Dao is no longer the force it once was, the other two sects are relatively unaffected, and I\'m sure they\'ve already sent people to the Black Wind Sea upon receiving wind of the immortal manor\'s imminent emergence.
“Additionally, due to what happened to the Blaze Dragon Dao, the other two sects are harboring more enmity toward the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace than ever before, and there\'s a decent chance that they\'ll join forces to target the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace in the immortal manor," Daoist Hu Yan replied.
"So essentially, the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace will be too busy dealing with them to focus on us, is that correct?" Han Li asked.
"That\'s right," Daoist Hu Yan replied with a nod.
Han Li fell into deep thought upon hearing this.
Daoist Hu Yan did have a point. After all, not only was the Immortal Palace at odds with the Vast Flow Palace and the Dawn Fall Sect, it also had the Reincarnation Palace to worry about.
It was very likely that Wyrm 3 was also planning to venture into the immortal manor, and with so many enemies at every turn, it was very likely that the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace would be completely preoccupied.
Daoist Hu Yan could tell that Han Li was beginning to warm to the idea, so he continued, "On top of that, there are many treasures in the immortal manor, and at your current cultivation base, perhaps you\'ll be able to find an opportunity in there that can help you break through to the Golden Immortal Stage."
Han Li\'s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this, and he asked, "Are there really treasures in the immortal manor that can help one make progress to the Golden Immortal Stage?"
"I\'ve only heard rumors that they exist, but I\'m inclined to believe those rumors. After all, there has been a past instance of someone in the immortal manor finding a cauldron full of premium pills that can enhance the cultivation base of Golden Immortals," Daoist Hu Yan replied.
"It sounds like you don\'t know too much about the immortal manor yourself, Senior. Perhaps there are some precious treasures in there, but I really don\'t want to risk my life for what could possibly be nothing more than a pipe dream," Han Li said after some contemplation.
"That\'s a reasonable viewpoint. Cultivators like us do everything in our power to mitigate risk as much as possible. Having said that, you\'re currently cultivating the Mantra Axis Scripture, right?" Daoist Hu Yan asked.
Han Li didn\'t know why this question was being raised, but he still nodded in response. "That\'s correct."
"I presume you\'re not familiar with the origins of this cultivation art, right?" Daoist Hu Yan asked with a mysterious smile.
"Please enlighten me, Senior Hu Yan," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a salute.
"The Mantra Axis Scripture may be the premier cultivation art of the Blaze Dragon Dao, but it doesn\'t come from the Blaze Dragon Dao. Instead, it was taken by Dao Lord Baili from a sect called the True Mantra Sect many years ago," Daoist Hu Yan revealed.