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

Chapter 1297: Reincarnation

In front of the main entrance of the palace was a large horde of ghostly guards, led by a pair of extremely physically imposing ghostly generals.

One of them possessed a human body, but an enormous and sinister-looking cow's head, and he was clad in a suit of black, metal armor while wielding an iron staff, half of which was red, while the other half was blue.

His companion also possessed a human body, but a long and hideous horse's face. He was clad in a suit of bright red armor, and in his hands were a crystalline, red chain and a skin-peeling ghostly claw with some specks of dried blood on its surface.

The two of them were standing in a completely still, statuesque manner outside the palace, giving it an even more eerie and forbidding appearance.

There was no plaque hanging above the entrance of the palace, and its gates were also currently tightly shut.

Deep in the ground beneath the palace was a massive, underground space that was brightly illuminated by a large number of lit braziers, and at its center was a hexagonal, stone platform that was over ten thousand feet in size and around three feet tall.

Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, and at its center was a hexagonal pond that was filled with some type of dark red liquid.

Hovering directly above the pond was a ball of dark red light, within which was a massive, hexagonal plate that was riddled with complex patterns, and it was giving off bursts of peculiar energy fluctuations and a unique aura that signaled an integral connection between the plate and the entirety of heaven and earth.

Standing on the edge of the pond beneath the hexagonal plate was a tall, black-robed man whose face was completely concealed within a veiled, conical bamboo hat.

The man's aura was completely restrained, but he had a mountainous presence that dwarfed even that of the hexagonal plate.

At this moment, the man's head slightly lowered, and he seemed to have been lost in thought.

All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps rang out from afar, and two women approached the stone platform.

One of them was none other than Wyrm 3, and she was accompanied by the woman referred to as Rushuang by the cultivators of the Reincarnation Palace.

Rushuang was identical in appearance and disposition to Nangong Wan, and the reality was that she really was Nangong Wan.

Wyrm 3 was holding gently onto Rushuang's arm, and the latter's skin was slightly cold to the touch, presenting a stark contrast with the feverishly hot palm of Wyrm 3's hand.

At this moment, Wyrm 3's mind was a complete mess, and she couldn't help but sneak the occasional glance at Rushuang as they walked alongside one another.

After learning that Rushuang was her mother, Wyrm 3 found herself unable to regard her in the same way that she had in the past. However, Rushuang seemed to have been oblivious to her gaze as she strode calmly toward the center of the stone platform.

"Palace Master," Wyrm 3 greeted as she extended a curtsey upon arriving at the edge of the hexagonal pond, and Rushuang did the same.

"You can go in now," the Reincarnation Palace Master said as he turned to face them, and Wyrm 3 latched onto Rushuang's hand before guiding her to the edge of the pond.

Rushuang took a hesitant glance at Wyrm 3, and the latter gave her an encouraging smile while gesturing for her to enter the pond.

Rushuang lifted up the hem of her dress, then made her way down the steps on the edge of the pond toward its center.

The water in the pond wasn't too deep, and it was only chest-high at the center.

She had only just reached the center of the pond and was about to turn around to look back at Wyrm 3 when she suddenly fell back in an unconscious state.

She floated on the surface of the pond on her back, and Wyrm 3 wasn't surprised to see this, as if she had already been informed that this would happen.

"Why did you ask me to bring my mother here, Palace Master? And why does she have no recollection of me?" Wyrm 3 asked with slightly furrowed brows.

"Your mother has already passed through the cycle of reincarnation, so she naturally has no memory of you," the Reincarnation Palace Master replied.

"What does that mean?" Wyrm 3 asked.

"What I'm saying is that she was your mother in her past life. Her name was Gan Rushuang, and in this life, her name is Nangong Wan. In order for her to remember you, we have to help her recover her memories from her past life," the Reincarnation Palace Master explained.

"Gan Rushuang... Did I take after my mother's surname?" Wyrm 3 asked.

Countless questions had sprung into her mind at once.

How did my mother die in her previous life? Where is my father? Is this still my mother if she's already gone through the cycle of reincarnation?

Ultimately, she chose one of those countless questions to ask: "Why don't I remember my mother, either?"

"Your mother died on the same day as you were born, so you only ever got to see her once," the Reincarnation Palace Master replied.

"Did my mother die because of me?" Wyrm 3 asked as the color drained from her face.

"No," the Reincarnation Palace Master replied.

"But..."

"You're asking too many questions, Jiuzhen!" the Reincarnation Palace Master snapped. "Save your questions until after she recovers her memories."

Wyrm 3 fell silent upon hearing this, while the Reincarnation Palace Master made a hand seal and began chanting an incantation.

His robes began to billow around him despite the absence of wind, and dark red law power fluctuations surged out of his body as he pointed a finger at the hexagonal plate above, releasing a pillar of red light into it.

The hexagonal plate immediately began to revolve, and as time passed, it only sped up in its revolution.

The red light around it also began to revolve, and a beam of red light came shining down upon Nangong Wan.

Her brows furrowed slightly in her unconscious state, and her eyeballs began to roll around erratically beneath her eyelids, as if she had been cast into a chaotic dream.

However, it didn't take long before she fell completely still again, and she slowly sank down to the bottom of the pond.

......

In the Yellow Springs, Han Li's group had already emerged from the canyon of crimson clouds.

"Once we emerge from this area, we won't be far away from the center of the lake," Gui Wu said, and Han Li nodded in response.

The journey had been quite smooth thus far, indicating that this channel pointed out by Gui Wu was indeed a safe route.

Around an hour later, the boat suddenly emerged into an open area that was completely devoid of crimson clouds and Six Paths Gale winds.

"Why is there a calm zone here?" Gui Wu exclaimed.

"Isn't this a good thing?" Weeping Soul asked.

"Not necessarily. The fact that there's a calm zone here indicates that there's been a change in our projected route, which means that the channel up ahead could be blocked. If that's the case, then we'll be trapped here," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

Right at this moment, he suddenly cast his gaze toward the wall of crimson clouds on the other side, and the wall had suddenly begun moving into the calm zone.

Immediately thereafter, an enormous shadow appeared behind it, and a peculiar look appeared on Weeping Soul's face upon seeing this.

A gargantuan, black beast that resembled a snapping turtle had emerged on the horizon between the Yellow Springs and the crimson clouds above.

The creature had four enormous flippers that were stirring up black whirlwinds, providing it with the buoyancy that it required to keep its body aloft in mid-air.

"How is this thing unaffected by the Six Paths Gale winds?" Weeping Soul exclaimed.

Gui Wu was even more astonished than Weeping Soul was.

"This is impossible! These Floating Underworld Turtles went extinct several hundred thousand years ago!"

"There are people on its back," Han Li said, and sure enough, there was a group of seven or eight figures standing atop the creature.

The group was led by a white skeleton that was dressed in a gray robe, and standing behind the skeleton was none other than Xue Li.

There were several more people standing behind Xue Li, one of whom was Yin Luo, the leader of the ghostly army that had pursued Han Li's group earlier.

At this point, the group had noticed Han Li as well, and a hint of killing intent flashed through Xue Li's eyes as he sprang up into the air before swinging his ax down upon Han Li.