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

Chapter 1285: Traveling with a Ghost

"This tree is formed by Sun Wing Wood, and it looks like nothing more than a burnt tree, but in reality, it harbors a divine flame, and it burned itself into this state. If you have a powerful yin-attribute treasure in your possession, then you'll be able to use it to temporarily counteract the tree's powers and allow me to free myself," Gui Wu said.

"What about the Soul Locking Box?" Han Li asked.

"This box was designed to trap my soul, but during my time here, I've been able to modify it into a protective container instead. At this point, my soul has already become inexorably connected to it, and if it's opened, then this soul fragment of mine will be exposed to the elements, and it won't be long at all before it's completely eradicated," Gui Wu said with a wry smile.

"I see. In that case, I have a simple solution in mind. Weeping Soul, I'll get you to withdraw the Soul Scattering Sand first," Han Li instructed with a smile.

Weeping Soul made a beckoning motion upon hearing this, and the golden sand clinging to the roots of the withered tree instantly returned to her side before vanishing into her body.

"I've always been saying that I was going to find a way to replenish your power, and a suitable opportunity has finally arisen," Han Li said with a smile, and a puzzled look appeared on Gui Wu's face upon hearing this.

Immediately thereafter, a fiery, silver figure sprang out of Han Li's shoulder, then rubbed its hands together in a gleeful manner before jumping onto the black tree.

A fearful look instantly appeared on Gui Wu's face upon sensing the Essence Fire Raven's aura.

"There's no need to be afraid. This is a Flame of Essence, and this tree will serve as a perfect source of sustenance for it," Han Li reassured with a smile.

Han Li gave the Essence Fire Raven some precautionary instructions, then allowed it to transform into a burst of scorching, silver flames to devour the black tree.

It took the Essence Fire Raven over an hour to devour the tree, allowing Han Li's trio some time to rest and recuperate.

Once the tree had been completely devoured, the Essence Fire Raven reverted back into its human form, then jumped into Han Li's shoulder in an unsteady manner as if it were in a state of inebriation before vanishing into his body.

In the absence of the black tree, all that remained on the island was the Soul Locking Box and Gui Wu's charred remains.

Han Li took a glance at Weeping Soul, and the latter immediately swept a sleeve through the air to release her Soul Scattering Sand again, using to envelop the Soul Locking Box and Gui Wu's remains.

"I have to take some necessary safety precautions. I hope you don't mind, Fellow Daoist Gui Wu," Han Li said with a smile.

"Not at all. I feel very fortunate to have such a cautious ally," Gui Wu replied from within the Soul Locking Box.

"We'll have to trouble you to serve as our guide, Fellow Daoist Gui Wu," Han Li said as he stowed the body and the Soul Locking Box away.

"Not a problem at all," Gui Wu replied.

......

Seven days later.

The dark clouds in the sky were hanging at a very low altitude, and there was a nauseating odor of decay permeating through the air.

Han Li's trio was traveling over an undulating, black mountain range, and their surroundings were littered with scattered remains. Whenever a gust of wind blew past, specks of eerie, green flames would rise up into the air.

Before long, they arrived at a sheer cliff, on the other side of which was a bottomless abyss that was filled with dense mist and a rank stench.

"Are we really going to do as he says, Uncle? Weeping Soul already told us that she wasn't able to detect any soul power fluctuations, so why are we making such a long trek over this mountain path? Can't we just fly directly over the abyss instead?" Jin Tong complained through voice transmission.

"The underworld is a completely unfamiliar place to us, so just because Weeping Soul wasn't able to detect anything doesn't mean that it would definitely be safe to fly over the abyss. Besides, there's no reason for Gui Wu to deceive us over something like this," Han Li replied.

"I agree. Gui Wu has served as a very competent guide for us these past few days, and thanks to him, we've been able to avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble," Weeping Soul chimed in in agreement.

She took a glance at the path ahead as she spoke, only to discover that the winding path beneath their feet was completely enshrouded in a dense mist, limiting visibility to only just over a thousand feet.

"Fellow Daoist Gui Wu, if this ghostly python residing on this cliff that you were referring to truly possesses Great Encompassment Stage power, then it could easily claim a territory of its own, so why does it insist on staying here?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know the answer to that question. That ghostly python has a very interesting past. Apparently, back when it was still alive, it already possessed the qualities required to evolve into a dragon, but it was killed by a bolt of tribulation lightning while shielding its child from a heavenly tribulation.

“After its death, it continued to cultivate in the underworld, and it was able to reach a cultivation base beyond its lifetime peak. It's been residing on this cliff for as long as anyone can remember, and it'll hunt down anything or anyone that dares to fly over the cliff.

“In contrast, those who travel along the mountain path won't be attacked by it as long as they don't go out of their way to provoke it," Gui Wu replied, and his voice was ringing out from within a cloth pouch that was trapped to Han Li's waist.

"The sky above this cliff is constantly enshrouded in dark clouds. Anyone that tries to fly over the cliff will inevitably stir up those clouds in a scene reminiscent of the churning of lightning clouds during a heavenly tribulation, and perhaps that's what provokes it into attacking," Han Li speculated.

As soon as his voice trailed off, a streak of light suddenly appeared within the clouds above, as if someone were flying through them.

The clouds were instantly stirred up as a result, and even though there were no thunderclaps, it did indeed look a little like a precursor of a lightning tribulation

"This is not good!" Gui Wu exclaimed in an urgent voice. "Get back from the edge of the cliff and stay close to the mountain face!"

Han Li's trio hurriedly did as they were told, and right at this moment, a burst of thunderous rumbling rang out from within the abyss as the entire mountain began to tremble violently.

Immediately thereafter, the dense mist within the abyss was riled up into a frenzy as a gargantuan figure came rising up from its depths.

All Han Li could see was a black "wall" rising up from the abyss before plunging into the dark clouds above, and the surface of the wall was riddled with countless rhomboid scales that were each over a hundred feet in size, raising large flurries of sparks as they scraped against the cliff face.

Only after it had completely sprung up into the clouds was Han Li able to make it out to be an enormous black python that was close to a hundred thousand feet in length. The python had a single horn on its head, and its eyes were like a pair of light towers, releasing two bright beams of green light.

"It's even more powerful than when I last saw it," Gui Wu remarked. "It's already reached the late-Great Encompassment Stage."

"What? How could a ghostly creature like this possibly reach such an incredible cultivation base?" Jin Tong exclaimed in an incredulous manner.

"There are almighty true spirits even in the primordial land, so why can't there be some unfathomable creatures in our underworld? This thing has most likely existed for even longer than I have. Let's hurry up and get out of here before it decides to attack us," Gui Wu urged.

Han Li's trio immediately picked up the pace upon hearing this.

After reaching the other side of the mountain, Han Li couldn't help but take a backward glance, and he discovered a mountainous, black head in the dark clouds above, observing them with its giant, green eyes.

However, for some reason, the ghostly python chose not to attack them and allowed them to pass through untouched.

"Be honest with me, Fellow Daoist Gui Wu, how is this ghostly python related to you? Why did it choose not to attack us?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know," Gui Wu replied. "It's always been residing in my Yama Region, but I've always left it alone, and we've never had any interaction."

"If we encounter any other creatures of this caliber from here onward, then let's make sure to go around them," Han Li said.

"I only pointed you down this path to avoid the nearby city, so this was the lesser of two evils," Gui Wu explained.

......

Over another month flew by in a flash.

On the western border of the Yama Region was a vast, ghostly swamp that stretched as far as the eyes could see in all directions, and permeating over the entire swamp was a suffocating miasma of death and decay.

On the eastern shore of the swamp was a peninsula that was rather out of place. It was less than a hundred thousand feet in area, but it extended tens of thousands of feet into the swamp.

At this moment, Han Li was standing at the end of the peninsula, looking up at the sky above.

Around ten thousand feet above the swamp was a blanket of vibrant, five-colored clouds that presented a marvelous sight to behold.

Jin Tong was standing behind him, and a suggestive look appeared on her face as she jibed, "What are you looking at, Uncle? Are you thinking of that ghostly bride?"

"Jin Tong!" Han Li scolded as he put on a stern expression.

Jin Tong was completely unfazed as she clasped her hands behind her back, putting on a mature display as she continued, "You really need to take a good look at yourself, Uncle. She may have been a ghost, but she was a real beauty, while you're really not that handsome, so you should count yourself lucky that she fell for you at first sight.

“However, not only did you not reciprocate her feelings, you even cut her down with your sword! That was far too cruel, wouldn't you agree, Weeping Soul?"

Weeping Soul offered no response, but an amused smile had appeared on her face.

The ghostly bride that Jin Tong had mentioned had been an extremely troublesome ghostly entity to deal with. Her illusory abilities were extraordinarily potent, and even with Han Li's Infernal Devilish Eyes and Weeping Soul's sensory abilities, they were still trapped for three entire days.

In the end, it was only thanks to Gui Wu that Han Li was able to track down the bridal sedan chair that the female ghostly had used to set up her illusory array. From there, he was able to force her to reveal herself before cutting her down, and Jin Tong was the only one who was able to look back on that ordeal with any degree of fondness.

Over the past month, Han Li had already had several similar encounters, and he couldn't help but marvel at how many strange things there were in the underworld.