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

Chapter 1003: Creation Crystals

At the center of the array stood a black stone pillar with seven branches, at the top of each of which was an antiquated oil lamp with a green flame burning inside.

Not only did the green flames not provide a sense of illumination and comfort, they only made the palace appear more eerie and sinister.

All of a sudden, the green flames within the lamps swelled to several times their original size, then flew out of their respective lamps to hover in mid-air.

A series of green array patterns appeared in the surrounding space, connecting the seven flames to form a heptagram.

A soul fragment then appeared at the center of the array amid a flash of black light, forming an indistinct face that belonged to none other than Tao Ji.

"Thank heavens I set up these Seven Star Lamps in advance. Otherwise, I would truly be dead right now," Tao Ji murmured to himself, following which a look of burning resentment surfaced in his eyes.

"Han Li, you killed my son and ruined my cultivation base! I\'m going to make you pay for everything! I may not be able to kill you, but I\'ll ensure that you die by someone else\'s hand at all costs!"

Tao Ji\'s soul fragment then opened its mouth, and the nine green flames within the array quickly flew into its mouth, giving it a more substantial form.

At the same time, a faint crack rang out as a hole that was around a foot in size appeared at the base of the black stone pillar, following which a humanoid talisman flew out from within before fusing as one with the soul fragment.

The combination of the two formed a black, humanoid body that looked as if it were entirely composed of ink.

Tao Ji moved around a little, testing out his own new body, then gave a pleased nod before flying outside.

Close to an hour later, Tao Yu arrived at a golden palace.

"Elder Tao!"

There was a servant standing on each side of the palace gate, and both of them were quite surprised to see Tao Ji in his current state.

"I have an urgent matter to report to the palace master," Tao Ji declared.

"Please wait a moment while we report your arrival, Elder Tao," one of the servants replied before turning to enter the palace.

Right at this moment, an authoritative voice rang out from within the palace.

"There\'s no need for that. Come in, Elder Tao."

Tao Ji immediately entered the palace, then passed through a giant hall and a corridor that was several thousand feet long, upon which a huge garden appeared before him.

There were all types of flowers and plants of different vibrant colors planted in the garden, culminating in an indescribable aroma.

At the center of the garden was a white pergola, inside of which stood a white-robed figure, who was observing a red floral tree outside the pergola.

The white-robed figure turned around, revealing himself to be a middle-aged man, and he asked, "What could be so urgent that you\'ve used a Heavenly Shadow Talisman to manifest this body to come and see me?"

The man\'s appearance was rather unremarkable, with the exception of his eyes, which were extremely deep and all-encompassing, as if he had seen everything there was to be seen in this world.

"I did indeed use a Heavenly Shadow Talisman to manifest this body, but only because my physical body was destroyed, so I had no choice," Tao Ji replied with a grief-stricken expression.

"What? Your physical body was destroyed? Who did that to you?" the white-robed man asked in an alarmed voice.

"It was a fugitive on our Heavenly Court\'s Immortal Slaying List by the name of Han Li. He goes by the alias of Li Feiyu," Tao Ji replied through tightly gritted teeth.

"I remember him, he\'s wanted for cultivating the Spirit Refinement Technique and killing an immortal official. If I recall correctly, your son seemed to have also died by his hands, and there\'s a reward of five thousand Immortal Origin Stones on offer for his head. Is he in the Golden Origin Immortal Region right now?

“I can understand that you would go after him for vengeance for your son, but according to the information that we have on hand, he was only a True Immortal at the time of your son\'s death. Even if he\'s made some advancements in his cultivation base, there\'s no way he should\'ve been able to defeat you."

The white-robed man was rattling off details about Han Li as if he knew them like the back of his hand, giving one an impression of omniscience.

"Our information on him may have been incorrect. Right now, he\'s already reached the High Zenith Stage, and his physical prowess is extremely formidable. He was able to easily break free from the Bipolar Yin Yang Array set up by Fellow Daoist Jin Chuan, myself, and close to a hundred Golden Immortals, all of whom perished by his hands, while I\'m the lone survivor," Tao Ji said in a grim voice.

"What? He\'s at the High Zenith Stage? And you\'re saying he\'s a dual cultivator who also excels in bodily refinement? That\'s impossible!" the white-robed man exclaimed with a stunned expression.

"I\'m telling the truth! Please take a look at this, Palace Master, I recorded our battle using a Heavenly Soul Bead," Tao Ji said as he opened his mouth to release a small, translucent bead.

The white-robed man cast an incantation seal onto the translucent bead, and it immediately began to glow radiantly, displaying a recording of the battle between Han Li and Tao Ji.

After watching the recording, the white-robed man murmured to himself with an incredulous expression, "He really has reached the High Zenith Stage, and it\'s only been about three thousand years since he appeared on the Immortal Slaying List."

"The only plausible explanation is that he had to have concealed his own cultivation base back then. No wonder my son died by his hands," Tao Ji said in a resentful manner.

"I don\'t think that\'s the case. Prior to putting someone on the Immortal Slaying List, the Heavenly Court always makes sure to conduct a thorough investigation into that person, and particular care is taken in determining their cultivation base, so there\'s no way there would\'ve been a mistake there," the white-robed man replied with a shake of his head.

"In that case, could he really have progressed from the True Immortal Stage to the High Zenith Stage in no more than three thousand years while simultaneously making such extraordinary progress in bodily cultivation as well? That\'s impossible! There\'s no way his cultivation base could\'ve improved so rapidly unless he has access to some type of unfathomable treasure that can drastically accelerate his cultivation progress..."

All of a sudden, his voice trailed off here as a contemplative look appeared on his face.

"Have you thought of something, Elder Tao?" the white-robed man asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I have indeed, Palace Master," Tao Ji replied.

"What is it?" the white-robed man asked.

"A long time ago, my son sent some messages to me regarding Han Li, and I recall that some mention was made of some type of treasure that contained time law powers. I didn\'t look into it as I was grieving over the loss of my son, but could it be that this has something to do with the rapid progress he\'s made in his cultivation?" Tao Ji mused.

"What did the message say?" the white-robed man hurriedly asked.

"It\'s been a very long time, so I can\'t quite recall, but I\'ve preserved all of the messages, and I\'ll get someone to bring them to us right away," Tao Ji replied, then pulled out a communication array plate before issuing a verbal instruction into it.

Shortly thereafter, a golden-robed young man flew in from outside, then knelt down before the two men.

"No need for formalities. Did you bring the things that I asked for?" Tao Ji asked.

"Here are all of the messages from Cousin Tao Yu," the golden-robed young man replied with a nod as he pulled out a stack of jade slips before setting them down onto the stone table inside the pergola.

The white-robed man paid no heed to the golden-robed young man as he picked up one of the jade slips, while Tao Ji dismissed the young man before picking up another one of the jade slips.

With their powers, they were able to quickly read through most of the jade slips, and right at this moment, an excited look appeared on the white-robed man\'s face, having just read through the contents of the jade slip in his hand.

"Have you found it, Palace Master?" Tao Ji asked.

The white-robed man took a glance at Tao Ji, then handed the jade slip over to him.

Tao Ji accepted the jade slip, then injected his spiritual sense into it, and inside was a message from Tao Yu, vaguely mentioning that he was investigating someone in possession of crystals that contained time law powers.

"Yes, this is the one! Do you think these time law crystals have something to do with his rapid cultivation base progression, Palace Master?" Tao Ji hurriedly asked.

"That doesn\'t matter anymore. Contact the temple right away and inform them that we\'ve discovered a lead on Creation Crystals!" the white-robed man said in an excited manner as he began to make his way deeper into the garden in an urgent manner.

"You\'re saying these crystals are Creation Crystals?" Tao Ji exclaimed as he hurriedly followed along.

"I can\'t be fully certain, but I\'m fairly confident that that\'s the case. According to the information that we have on hand, Creation Crystals can accelerate one\'s cultivation, and they can even accelerate the maturation of spirit plants. It can\'t just be a coincidence that this man has displayed such extraordinary cultivation progression and is also in possession of time law crystals. There\'s a very good chance that those crystals are none other than Creation Crystals!" the white-robed man replied.

"In that case, that does sound like a strong possibility! Forgive me for not considering such a possibility, Palace Master," Tao Ji said.

All of a sudden, the white-robed man stopped in his tracks before turning to Tao Ji with a suspicious expression.

"What\'s wrong, Palace Master?" Tao Ji asked with a perplexed expression.

"Elder Tao, did you really not make that connection, or did you intentionally hide this information because you wanted to claim the Creation Crystals for yourself, and you only revealed this information to me because Han Li was too powerful for you to defeat?" the white-robed man interrogated as he glowered intently at Tao Ji.

At the same time, an enormous aura erupted out of his body, exerting tremendous pressure upon Tao Ji.

"I wouldn\'t dare to intentionally withhold information on something so vital to the fortunes of our Nine Origins Temple, Palace Master! I genuinely never made the connection!" Tao Ji implored in a frantic voice as he fell to his knees.

The white-robed man paid no heed to Tao Ji\'s frantic cries as the pressure emanating from his body became more and more intense.

Meanwhile, Tao Ji was trembling in fear as he kowtowed over and over again.

"Regardless of whether you\'re telling the truth or not, I suppose you should be commended for finding this lead on Creation Crystals. You can go now. The immortal Palace will choose a suitable body for you to possess," the white-robed man said as his aura slowly subsided.

"Thank you, Palace Master," Tao Ji said in a grateful manner while panting heavily in the wake of immense pressure exerted upon him.

The white-robed man gave a cold harrumph before abruptly vanishing from the spot, while Tao Ji rose to his feet before departing as a sinister grin flashed over his face.