A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm-Chapter 1348: Encountering an Acquaintance

"That's right. This place hasn't changed much at all over the years," Han Li mused.

It seemed that the Gray Realm invasion hadn't had much of an impact on this city.

As the two of them entered the city, Han Li began to inspect the surrounding streets with keen interest.

"What are you looking for?" Nangong Wan asked.

"Right now, I'm faced with the hurdle of having to sever my self corpse soul, and the key to that is my mental state. Hence, I'm planning to retrace my steps and visit all of the places I've been since my ascension to reminisce about the past and hone my mental state," Han Li explained.

These were all very foreign concepts to Nangong Wan, but she nodded in response, trusting that Han Li knew what he was doing.

The two of them stayed in Black Wind City for two days, during which Han Li gave her a tour of the city while pointing out the places of interest.

After leaving Black Wind City, they crossed through the Soul Stirring Winds to arrive on the Primordial Wave Continent.

Close to a year later, the two of them retraced Han Li's journey to the Blaze Dragon Dao on the Ancient Cloud Continent.

This was the first sect that Han Li had officially joined following his ascension to the True Immortal Realm, and he had stayed and cultivated here for a very long time.

To his surprise, the current Blaze Dragon Dao was a far cry from its heyday. There were very few disciples left in the sect, and the entire place was looking rather drab and dilapidated.

After briefly scouring the sect with his spiritual sense, Han Li quickly determined the reason for its decline.

The Northern Glacial Immortal Region was a small immortal region to begin with, and even though the Blaze Dragon Dao had once been a top-tier sect in the immortal region, it had suffered a heavy blow in the wake of the Baili Yan incident. Shortly thereafter, almost all of the Blaze Dragon Dao cultivators who had entered the Infernal Frost Immortal Palace had perished, and that was the beginning of the Blaze Dragon Dao's decline.

Of course, the Vast Flow Palace and the Dawn Fall Sect had also been negatively impacted.

After that, the three sects had been dealt another heavy blow by the Gray Realm's invasion of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, and that was what had reduced the Blaze Dragon Dao to its current, pitiful state.

Han Li heaved an internal sigh as he cast a concealment technique upon himself and Nangong Wan before making his way to the Crimson Dawn Peak, where he had previously stayed.

The Crimson Dawn Peak looked much the same as when he had left it, and it seemed that no one else had stayed here after him.

Han Li sat down on the summit of the Crimson Dawn Peak and reminisced over the time that he had spent cultivating in the Blaze Dragon Dao, including his resolve to pursue the laws of time, his urgent desire to find Daoist Xie, and the constant fear that he felt of being tracked down by his enemies.

He reminisced about those emotions over and over again, and as he did so, the memories from that time became clearer and clearer.

His past self was like a mirror that reflected his truest self.

As he continued to reminisce, he developed a clearer and clearer understanding of his own heart, and he gradually came to glean the true meaning of self.

He sat for half a month straight, and all the while, Nangong Wan remained by his side in silence.

On this day, as the final ray of light from the dying sun faded away, Han Li rose to his feet with a faint smile on his face.

Nangong Wan could sense that something about his disposition had changed, but she couldn't put her finger on exactly what had changed.

Looks like cultivation for Great Encompassment cultivators really does primarily involve cultivation of the heart, she thought to herself.

"Let's go," Han Li said, and the two of them promptly departed.

......

On the border of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, Primordial Origin City stood like a prowling, giant beast.

Outside the city was a vast, yellow desert that stretched as far as the eyes could see, and Han Li and Nangong Wan were sitting in the air above, observing the city and the desert below.

......

Two streaks of light were flying through the primordial land between the Northern Glacial Immortal Region and the Black Mountain Immortal Region at a leisurely pace, seemingly on a sightseeing tour.

......

Black Mountain Immortal Region, Floating Cloud Mountain Range, Leisure Valley.

Due to its close proximity to the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, the Black Mountain Immortal Region had been heavily impacted by the Gray Realm invasion.

At the moment, the Leisure Valley was completely deserted, and even Mo Wuxue and Yu Ziqi, who had chosen to remain here, were nowhere to be found.

Han Li and Nangong Wan were seated at the stone platform where everyone had frequently gathered in the past, drinking some wine together.

......

Black Soil Immortal Region, Illusory Smoke Swamp.

Han Li and Nangong Wan were drifting their way over the swamp, and all of the mist in the air instantly parted in their presence.

"This is where the entrance to the True Mantra Sect ruins is, right? I don't see any mist that conjures up illusions," Nangong Wan said.

"That type of mist only appears at certain times," Han Li explained.

His appearance remained unchanged, but his disposition had changed drastically, and there was an aura of sharpness about him, one that seemed to be able to sever anything.

An indescribable sense of pressure was emanating from his body, causing all of the living beings within a radius of hundreds of kilometers to hide in the swamp in a fearful manner.

"Do you think we'll still be able to enter the True Mantra Sect ruins now? I'm very curious to see what it looks like," Nangong Wan said.

"The True Mantra Sect ruins have already been devoured by a spatial rift, so I don't think it'll ever be seen again," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

"In that case, where do we go from here? The Gray Realm? How are we supposed to get there now that the True Mantra Sect ruins have vanished?" Nangong Wan asked.

"We'll skip the Gray Realm," Han Li replied.

He was only able to travel to the Gray Realm all those years ago through a spatial passageway in the True Mantra Sect ruins. The Gray Realm was a very distant realm, and now that the spatial passageway was inaccessible, it would be quite difficult to get there, even at his cultivation base.

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Not only that, but the Devil Realm was also off limits.

With the demise of Daoist Xie, the entire Devil Realm had fallen into the hands of the Devilish Monarch. If he were to go there now and be discovered by the Devilish Monarch, then he would be landing himself in a great deal of trouble.

Following this period of reminiscence and mental cultivation, his understanding of the concept of self had deepened significantly, and by his estimates, his chances of a successful corpse soul severance were already quite high.

Hence, he was considering whether it was time to make an attempt.

Right at this moment, a streak of light appeared on the horizon before flying toward them.

Han Li wasn't all that surprised to see this.

The Illusory Smoke Swamp was quite abundant in the world's origin qi, and it was home to many spirit materials, so there were often cultivators venturing into the swamp to search for treasures.

Han Li didn't want to meet with any strangers for fear that it would impact his mental state, and he was just about to depart with Nangong Wan when a look of surprise suddenly appeared on his face.

Immediately thereafter, he began flying directly toward the streak of light with Nangong Wan in tow.

The cultivator within the streak of light was rather alarmed by this, and he hurriedly stopped in his tracks, revealing himself to be a white-robed elderly man.

The streak of golden light faded away to reveal Han Li and Nangong Wan, and a stunned look appeared on the elderly man's face as he exclaimed, "Li Feiyu!"

"Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Hu Yan. I didn't think we would ever meet again," Han Li said with a smile.

The elderly man was none other than Daoist Hu Yan.

"Likewise!" Daoist Hu Yan exclaimed. "You must've made some very significant strides in your cultivation, I can't see through your cultivation base at all! What's your current cultivation base?"

"I've been very fortunate and stumbled upon some opportunities over the years that allowed me to advance in my cultivation. On the contrary, it looks like your cultivation base has regressed. Have you encountered some problems with your cultivation?" Han Li asked.

At the moment, Daoist Hu Yan was only at the mid-True Immortal Stage.

"It's not a big deal. At their core, things like wealth and cultivation base are no more significant than the dirt upon which we stand," Daoist Hu Yan chuckled, and he truly seemed unbothered.

"You're still as wise and insightful as ever, Fellow Daoist Han Li," Han Li praised with a smile.

"Wise my arse! I've just drunk too much wine and become so permanently inebriated that I don't care about anything anymore," Daoist Hu Yan chortled.

Meanwhile, Nangong Wan was observing this interaction with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

In her memories, Han Li had always been quite serious and stoic, and it was very rare to see him engage in such a relaxed and casual conversation with anyone.

Furthermore, she could tell that the two of them were on very good terms with one another.

"Who's this beautiful companion of yours?" Daoist Hu Yan asked with a meaningful look in his eyes.

"This is Wan'er, my dao partner. Wan'er, this is Fellow Daoist Hu Yan, someone who has helped me greatly in the past," Han Li introduced.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Hu Yan. My name is Nangong Wan. Thank you for looking after my husband," Nangong Wan said as she extended a curtsey.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Celestial Maiden Nangong," Daoist Hu Yan said as he cupped his fist in a salute while making faces at Han Li.

"How about we find a place to have a drink together, Fellow Daoist Hu Yan?" Han Li proposed with a smile.

"Yes, please! If you don't mind, we can share a drink in my humble abode," Daoist Hu Yan said with a beaming smile.

"That sounds great! I hope your wine brewing skills haven't regressed over the years," Han Li jibed.

Daoist Hu Yan was one of his few close friends, so he was eager to catch up with him.

Daoist Hu Yan was so ecstatic that it looked as if he were on the verge of breaking into dance, and he declared, "My cultivation base may have regressed, but I can assure you that my wine brewing skills are as sharp as ever! Come with me!"