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

Chapter 1153: Entering the Primordial Land

"I would also love to return here to receive more instruction from you, but I still haven't completely mastered this form of space-time transmigration, and I have to pay quite a heavy price per transmigration, so I may not be able to return to this place," Han Li replied with a wry smile.

"Is that so?" Patriarch Miro mused as he raised an eyebrow. "In that case, take this with you. This contains the insights that I've made from cultivating the laws of time."

He flipped a hand over to produce a jade book as he spoke, then handed it to Han Li, who gleefully accepted the offering.

"Thank you, Master."

"It would naturally be ideal if you could successfully take those things back with you, but if you're unable to, then make sure to pay a visit to a place called the Yama Manor when you return to your time period," Patriarch Miro instructed.

"The Yama Manor? Where's that, and why do I need to go there?" Han Li asked.

"You'll know when the time comes," Patriarch Miro replied with a faint smile.

Han Li was rather perplexed by Patriarch Miro's enigmatic words and actions, but he didn't give it too much thought.

"Master, I have another request for you: would it be possible for you to give me a diagram for the Celestial Time Array outside?" Han Li requested.

"Of course. The array diagram isn't all that complex, so you should be able to memorize it now," Patriarch Miro replied as he handed a jade slip to Han Li.

Han Li took the jade slip, then injected his spiritual sense into it and began quickly memorizing its contents.

Just as Patriarch Miro had said, the array diagram wasn't very complex, and he was able to memorize it quite quickly.

Right at this moment, the final Time Dao Rune on the golden ring above his head finally faded, and the ring abruptly swelled to several times its original size, forming a black vortex above Han Li.

A burst of tremendous suction force surged out of the vortex, sucking him into it.

Patriarch Miro rose to his feet as he warned, "Han Li, the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra is an extraordinary cultivation art capable of allowing one to alter heaven and earth. Even the Time Dao Ancestor has always wanted to obtain it, and many other Dao Ancestors have been searching for it as well, so make sure to proceed with the utmost caution..."

Before Patriarch Miro had a chance to finish, Han Li was swallowed up by the black vortex and promptly lost consciousness.

......

After an indeterminate period of time, a burst of radiant, white light appeared before Han Li, and he descended back onto some firm ground, while the Heaven Controlling Vial fell into his lap.

After taking a moment to steady himself, Han Li looked around to discover that his vision was still rather blurry, and that all of the surrounding scenery was rather shadowy and indistinct.

He immediately sat down and closed his eyes for a while, and only after his spiritual sense had completely settled did he reopen his eyes.

In doing so, he discovered that he was seated atop a protruding cliff, and all he could see around him was the clear, blue sky, as well as clouds of different shapes and sizes.

He hurriedly cast his gaze toward his right hand, which was still holding the array diagram for the Celestial Time Array, but the jade slip had been enveloped in a burst of strange power, and it was rapidly fading into non-existence.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he hurriedly pulled out the three time-attribute materials given to him by Patriarch Miro and the copy of the Immortal Golden Cloud, but those things also faded away without a trace in a span of mere seconds.

Han Li wasn't overly surprised to see this. After all, Patriarch Miro had already warned him of this possibility.

In any case, he had already reaped immense benefits from this trip back to the True Mantra Sect, so he wasn't all that disappointed.

However, now that these things were gone, he would have to travel to the Yama Manor that Patriarch Miro had mentioned. He had never even heard of this place before, so there was most likely going to be a long search ahead, and that was something that he would just have to think about another time.

Right at this moment, the vial spirit's voice suddenly rang out.

"It's very impressive that you were able to regain your bearings so quickly after such a prolonged stint of physical transmigration without the Heaven Controlling Vial acting as a space-time anchor for your return."

"Thank you for saving me, Senior Vial Spirit," Han Li hurriedly said as he pulled out the Heaven Controlling Vial.

"There's no need to thank me. I'm going to have to hibernate for a while to rest, so you'll have to fend for yourself for now. Make sure you don't end up dead," the vial spirit grumbled.

"Do you know where we are right now, Senior Vial Spirit?" Han Li asked.

"I'm sure you can already tell from the world's origin qi here that we're in the primordial land. As for exactly where we are, I have no idea. The primordial land is so vast that it may well be larger than all of the three thousand known immortal regions combined, and there are countless true spirits and other powerful creatures dwelling inside, so that's why I was telling you to take care not to end up dead..."

The vial spirit's voice became quieter and quieter as it spoke, until it faded altogether, and the pair of beady, little eyes on the vial also disappeared.

Han Li could only tuck the vial back down the front of his robe as he rose to his feet.

He strode over to the edge of the cliff, then looked down to discover that the landscape was smothered under a blanket of yellow sand that stretched as far as the eyes could see, with only some hills, patches of reddish-brown deserts, and spruces of sparse vegetation punctuating the monotonous expanse of yellow sand.

For now, I'll just have to find a safe place to go into seclusion for a while, Han Li thought to himself, then rose up into the air and flew away as a streak of azure light.

......

After flying through the boundless, yellow desert for over a month, Han Li finally arrived at a lush oasis.

Along the way, he was attacked by many sand beasts, but none of them posed any meaningful threat to him. He descended onto a hill on the edge of the oasis with the intention of taking a rest before he continued on his journey, yet he had only just sat down when he suddenly cast his gaze in a certain direction with slightly furrowed brows.

He could sense bursts of fiercely clashing energy fluctuations there, and after a brief hesitation, he concealed his own aura before setting off in that direction.

As he drew closer to the scene, he began to hear what sounded like choruses of animalistic roars, and after flying over a tall ridge, he was greeted by the chaotic sight of two primordial tribes locked in a fierce battle.

One of the tribes was comprised of creatures with black, humanoid bodies coupled with rhinoceros heads. There were tens of thousands of them, all of whom stood at over thirty feet tall, and each of them was wielding a giant, stone ax.

The eyes of all of these humanoid rhinoceros creatures were glowing bright red, as if they were in a berserked state, and they didn't seem to be able to feel any pain, nor did they appear to have any regard for their own safety.

The other tribe outnumbered the humanoid rhinoceros beings, but they were far smaller in stature. They were quite similar in appearance to normal big cats, such as tigers and leopards, but their bodies were riddled with cloud-shaped spots.

None of them were carrying any weapons, and they relied solely on their extremely sharp bone claws to inflict damage upon their enemies.

The humanoid rhinoceros beings were extremely strong and sturdy, while their feline opponents moved as swiftly as the wind, so they were quite evenly matched, and that made for a horrific battle where both sides had already suffered extensive casualties.

Han Li was standing atop the ridge, observing the battlefield from afar, and he noticed that there was a vacant area at the center of the battlefield that the combatants from both tribes seemed to have been actively avoiding.

At the center of this area was a giant, humanoid rhinoceros being that was close to a hundred feet tall, and he was locked in battle against a muscular, feline creature. Unlike their brethren, the two of them both possessed some powerful abilities in addition to their physical attacks, and it was clear that these were the leaders of the two tribes.

As he was observing the battle, the leader of the feline creatures suddenly seemed to have caught a whiff of Han Li, and he immediately turned to the ridge as he roared, "I smell the stench of a human!"

The giant rhinoceros being immediately stopped what he was doing and turned his attention to the ridge as well upon hearing this.

Han Li knew that he had been caught, and he could only heave a resigned sigh.

"I'm only just passing through."

However, the primordial beings weren't interested in hearing his excuses, and under the orders of their leaders, both parties disengaged themselves from the battle before retreating to open up some distance between themselves. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"There's a human over there! Kill him!" the two tribal leaders ordered in unison, and the two tribes that had been fiercely clashing just a moment ago immediately joined forces against a common enemy, charging toward the ridge in a collective fury.

Han Li immediately turned to depart upon seeing this, not wanting to get involved in this mess, but it then occurred to him that he still didn't know where he currently was, so it would be a good idea to find out from these primordial beings.

With that in mind, he sprang up into the air, then plummeted like a meteorite toward the pair of tribal leaders.

The giant rhinoceros being instantly lashed out upward with his huge ax, releasing countless crimson ax projections that swept toward Han Li in a frenzy.

Meanwhile, the feline creature sprang up into the air to meet Han Li, and with each stride that it took, a yellow cloud would appear beneath its paw, providing a staircase leading up to the heavens.

Even though they seemed to be sworn enemies, they worked together very well, and if Han Li were to be forced back by the storm of ax projections, then that would give the feline creature an opportunity to pounce on him.