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

"He proclaimed that he came here after sensing the energy fluctuations released by the array, but I don't think that's true. Even if his detection secret techniques really are so powerful that he can detect what was happening in here through multiple layers of restrictions, there's no way that the restrictions around the Wood God Basin would've failed to detect him upon his infiltration, yet those restrictions didn't register his intrusion at all.

“I suspect that he snuck into this place with Young Mistress, and he's been lurking in the shadows this entire time with unclear intentions," Ye Qiu speculated in a cold voice.

"That may be true, but that's all just speculation on your end. Even if Fellow Daoist Han did sneak into this place, he clearly doesn't harbor any animosity toward our tribe. Otherwise, he could've easily killed the three of us just now, and our tribe would be powerless to oppose him," Ye Luo said.

"If that's what you think, then I won't say anything further on this matter," Ye Qiu replied after a brief silence.

"Regardless of what his intentions are, the fact that he was able to eradicate the frost poison in my body so easily indicates that he's definitely far more powerful than us, so we cannot afford to make an enemy out of him, do you understand?" Ye Luo said in a serious manner.

"I do, but if I find out that he harbors any ill intentions toward our tribe, I'm not going to let him do as he pleases, even if it means having to give up my own life!" Ye Qiu replied with a cold expression.

Ye Luo gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and didn't say anything further.

"You've only just had the frost poison in your body eradicated, so you should take some time to rest, Chief. I'll be taking my leave now," Ye Qiu declared before departing, and following her departure, Ye Luo sat back down onto the jade bed with her legs crossed.

The night passed by in an uneventful fashion.

The next morning, Ye Luo and Ye Susu visited Han Li's courtyard together, but Ye Qiu wasn't with them,while Weeping Soul was cultivating in the Flower Branch domain, so she wasn't present, either.

"Our Azure Fox City is quite secluded, and it can't compare with the other more developed cities of the Golden Origin Mountain Range. On top of that, there aren't any opulent residential areas in the city, so we can only offer this shabby courtyard for you to stay in," Ye Luo said in an apologetic manner.

After a day of rest, she was looking much better.

"This is perfect, I prefer this type of peaceful environment anyway," Han Li said with a smile as he invited the two of them into the room.

"I'm glad to hear that, Fellow Daoist Han. If you need anything from me, feel free to let me know," Ye Luo replied with a nod.

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"Thank you, Chief. Now that you mention it, I would like to acquire some of the spirit plants grown by your tribe. Here's the list of things that I want," Han Li said as he pulled out a jade slip before offering it to Ye Luo.

On the way to the Golden Origin Mountain Range, he had been collecting ingredients required to refine a High Zenith Stage pill called the Cerulean Pill.

At the moment, he possessed a tremendous amount of wealth in the form of Immortal Origin Stones, as well as precious materials from the Gray Realm, the Devil Realm, and the Scalptia Spatial Domain.

He had already gathered most of the ingredients required to refine Cerulean Pills through purchases of exchanges using his Reincarnation Palace mask, and in a stroke of luck, all of the remaining ingredients could be found in Azure Fox City.

Ye Luo was already aware of the promise that Ye Susu had made to Han Li, but her expression still changed slightly upon witnessing the list enclosed in the jade slip.

"I understand that the spirit plants that I require are all of quite a high caliber and age, but rest assured, I'm not planning to acquire these spirit plants from your tribe free of compensation," Han Li said as he set a storage tool down onto the table.

Ye Luo briefly injected her spiritual sense into the storage tool to inspect its contents, and a hint of elation immediately appeared on her face, following which an embarrassed look surfaced in her eyes as she sighed, "I should be offering these spirit plants to you free of charge for you've done for my daughter and me, but recently, our tribe has been struggling financially, so I'm going to shamelessly accept this."

"Don't say that, it's only right that I compensate you for the fruits of your tribe's labors," Han Li replied with a wave of his hand.

"Susu, go and gather everything on Fellow Daoist Han's list," Ye Luo instructed as she handed the jade slip to Ye Susu, who gave an affirmative response before departing.

"Fellow Daoist Han, please pardon my intrusion, but may I ask for what purpose you've come to our Azure Fox City?" Ye Luo asked.

"Rest assured, Chief, I bear no ill will toward Azure Fox City. It's just that I like the safe and peaceful environment here, and I would like to cultivate in seclusion here for some time. Is that alright?" Han Li asked.

"That's it?" Ye Luo asked with a surprised expression.

"That's all. To be frank, your Azure Fox Tribe doesn't have anything else that can catch my interest, so you don't have to worry," Han Li replied with a casual wave.

Ye Luo had been carefully observing Han Li's expression this entire time, and she could tell that he wasn't lying. Hence, she was very relieved as she smiled and said, "I see, it appears that my concerns were unnecessary. If you only wish to cultivate in our city, then you're very much welcome to do so, and you can stay for as long as you like."

"Thank you, Chief. However, I want to ask you to keep my presence in your city a secret as that would be beneficial for both of us," Han Li said in a meaningful manner.

Ye Luo faltered slightly upon hearing this, then nodded in agreement.

Having made their intentions clear with each other, both of them were feeling more relaxed, and they began to chat about various aspects of the Golden Origin Mountain Range.

"Chief Ye, I read in some scriptures that there aren't many native demonic tribes in the Golden Origin Mountain Range, and that most of them moved in from outside of the mountain range. Your Azure Fox Tribe is adept in wood-attribute abilities and illusory techniques, which seems rather out of place here. Could it be that your tribe also moved into the mountain range from elsewhere?" Han Li asked.

"That's right, our tribe did indeed move into the mountain range from outside a very long time ago," Ye Luo replied with a nod.

"May I ask where your tribe came from?" Han Li asked.

"I'm not sure. There are no exact records of this in the scriptures in our tribe. I recall seeing a journal left behind by an ancestor of our tribe, stating that we came from the southern region of the Golden Origin Continent. However, there are no other records backing up that claim, so I'm unsure of its validity. Why do you ask this, Fellow Daoist Han?" Ye Luo asked with a puzzled expression.

"Many years ago, I encountered another tribe of fox beings with the Liu surname, and I felt like your two tribes were rather similar, so I was curious," Han Li explained with a smile.

Ye Luo's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this.

"A fox tribe with the Liu surname? According to our tribe's scriptures, not long after we settled here, a female ancestor by the name of Liu Mei arrived in our tribe, and she was the one who bestowed upon us our spirit plant nurturing techniques. Come to think of it, both Susu and I are descendants of this female ancestor.

“However, Ancestor Liu Mei never mentioned anything about her life, so she was an extremely mysterious figure in our tribe's history. Could it be that she had some ties with this fox tribe that you speak of?"

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question. I've had no in-depth interactions with this other fox tribe, so I don't know if they're also adept in nurturing spirit plants," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

A hint of disappointment appeared on Ye Luo's face upon hearing this, but she was still unwilling to give up, and she asked, "Would you be able to tell me about that fox tribe in more detail, Fellow Daoist Han?"

Han Li saw no reason to refuse, so he gave her a brief recount of his encounter with that other fox tribe during his journey through the primordial land, but of course, he intentionally omitted some of the more sensitive details.

After hearing Han Li's story, Ye Luo fell silent with a contemplative look on her face.

Right at this moment, Ye Susu flew in from outside, then handed a storage tool to Han Li as she said, "All of the spirit plants on your list are in there, Senior Han."

Han Li inspected the contents of the storage tool briefly with his spiritual sense, following which he gave a pleased nod.

"Thank you for telling me all of this, Fellow Daoist Han. We've already taken up far too much of your time, so we'll be taking our leave now," Ye Luo said as she stood up before promptly departing with Ye Susu.

Han Li escorted them out of the room before closing the door.

Han Li stood in silence for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What do you think of Chief Ye Luo? Was she being truthful with me just now?"

As soon as his voice trailed off, a door of light appeared beside him, and Weeping Soul stepped out of it.

"Chief Ye Luo has a very pure soul, and she's not one to tell lies often. I've been carefully observing her soul fluctuations this entire time, and there were no abnormalities, so she was telling the truth," Weeping Soul replied.

"Good," Han Li replied with a pleased nod.

Following her awakening, Weeping Soul's law abilities had taken significant strides, allowing her to peer into the hearts of others and determine whether someone was telling the truth by assessing their soul fluctuations, and that saved him a lot of trouble.

"Master, was that other fox tribe you were referring to the Heavenly Fox Tribe where Sister Liu Le'er currently is?" Weeping Soul asked.

"That's right. I wanted to see if there was some connection between the two, Han Li confirmed with a nod."

"Does that mean that the Azure Fox Tribe is a branch of the Heavenly Fox Tribe?" Weeping Soul asked.

"Fox 3 possesses the bloodline of the Heavenly Fox Tribe, and I can sense that the Azure Fox bloodline of Ye Susu and Ye Luo are rather similar to Fox 3's bloodline. That, in conjunction with this revelation about Liu Mei, tells me that the two tribes are most likely connected," Han Li mused.

"You were helped by the Heavenly Fox Tribe in the past, so I'm assuming that part of the reason you've decided to stay here is so that you can protect the Azure Fox Tribe, right, Master?" Weeping Soul asked.

"That was part of my consideration, but I can only protect them for the time being, so I'll leave some things behind to help them protect themselves when I leave. For now, I have to go into seclusion to begin cultivating right away. I've had a lingering sense of foreboding this entire time recently, as if there's some danger approaching, so I have to be prepared," Han Li replied.