After she departed, the smile on Han Li's face faded, and he heaved a forlorn sigh as he sat in silence alone in the hall.
Not long after that, Hai Yuetian reappeared in the hall and respectfully informed Han Li that Dai'er had already departed using the teleportation formation.
At this point, Han Li had already reverted back to his normal calm expression, and he instructed, "Go get your junior martial brother and come see me in my room."
After that, Han Li rose to his feet before making his way back to his room.
Hai Yuetian's eyes lit up in response, and he hurriedly accepted this instruction before rushing off to find Qi Lingzi in high spirits.
The next morning, Han Li departed from the Immortal Welcome Palace and appeared on a hill that was completely devoid of human and demon presence.
He sat down on a large rock before closing his eyes to rest, and he seemed to be waiting for someone.
After a while, a streak of light flashed through the air, and a humanoid figure appeared on the hill.
"You sure are early, Fellow Daoist Han. Looks like you're very much looking forward to the Black Realm Exchange Convention," the humanoid figure chuckled as he cupped his fist in a salute toward Han Li. This man was none other than Daoist Master Myriad Bone.
"Hehe, I am indeed looking forward to this. However, I decided to come early as a precautionary measure. This is my first time attending this convention, and I was afraid that I would miss it!" Han Li replied with a calm smile.
"Rest assured, the time given to us is definitely accurate. However, prior to setting off, I have to caution you on some matters so you don't incur any unnecessary trouble during the convention," Daoist Master Myriad Bone said as a serious look appeared on his face.
"Go right ahead, Fellow Daoist; I'll be sure to keep everything you say in mind." Han Li was slightly taken aback by the cautious demeanor that Daoist Master Myriad Bone had adopted.
Daoist Master Myriad Bone was quite pleased to see that Han Li was also taking this very seriously, and he said, "I'm sure you don't actually need to be warned about most of this, but the Black Realm Exchange Convention is different from normal occasions, so I feel inclined to caution you about some things."
Chapter 1818: Guidance Envoy and Entrance
After that, Daoist Master Myriad Bone disclosed to Han Li some of the rules and taboos of the Black Realm Exchange Convention, and Han Li listened in a careful manner.
Around 10 minutes later, Daoist Master Myriad Bone looked up at the sky, which was still a little dark, and he smiled as he said, "It's about time; let's go to the entrance together. There are always many entrances for the Black Realm every time this convention is held, so the place that we're going to will probably have only four or five people at most. However, before we go there, we have to conceal our true appearances. Having said that, there's no need to do anything drastic; there are restrictions in the Black Realm that limit spiritual sense, so just a normal disguise will suffice. It's just that it's best not to be recognized by other fellow Daoists prior to entering the Black Realm. Of course, even if you do get identified, it's still not an issue; you can just change your disguise after you enter the Black Realm, and I'm sure you'll be unrecognizable again."
As expected of a veteran who had attended this convention on multiple occasions in the past; he had a lot of experience to offer.
"Thank you for your guidance, Fellow Daoist Myriad Bone; I know what I need to do now," Han Li replied with a smile, and at the same time, a layer of grey light appeared all over his body, completely concealing him within.
This was none other than his Divine Essencefused Light. With this light around him, it would be very difficult even for other Body Integration cultivators to assess his true appearance with their spiritual sense.
Daoist Master Myriad Bone also followed suit, making a hand seal to summon to release a layer of black Qi around himself.
After that, the two of them flew away from Nine Immortal Mountain together. Meanwhile, many other Body Integration Stage beings and some other mysterious cultivators also departed from the mountain range. However, all of them were flying in different directions.
Several hours later, the sky had finally brightened into daylight, and Han Li and Daoist Master Myriad Bone descended into a bleak and barren valley outside of Nine Immortal Mountain.
There were already two people waiting there, one of whom had golden light shimmering around their body that was so dazzling that the onlooker would struggle to look directly at them.
In contrast, the other person's body was as faint and indistinct as smoke, so there was no way to identify them, either.
These two were standing quite far away from one another, one in the south and one in the north, and they only cast a quick glance at Han Li and Daoist Master Myriad Bone upon their arrival.
It was quite clear that they were companions like Han Li's duo.
Han Li merely glanced at them and didn't release his spiritual sense. This was because Daoist Master Myriad Bone had told him that it was extremely taboo for any beings to use their spiritual sense on other participants of this convention.
At best, one would escape with a warning, and at worst, one would receive physical punishment for this transgression.
Han Li was in support of this rule as well, so after finding himself unable to identify those two with his eyes alone, he immediately withdrew his gaze. He was confident that his Brightsight Spirit Eyes would be able to see through their disguises, but if they had cultivated certain special secret techniques, then they would be able to detect his scrutiny.
He didn't want to draw any trouble to himself before he had even entered the Black Realm.
Thus, Han Li and Daoist Master Myriad Bone found a place with a relatively high altitude that was quite far away from the other two to settle at.
All four of the people present had concealed their true appearances, and no one was interested in making conversation, so the atmosphere was slightly awkward.
There was no other sound to be heard aside from the faint rustling of the wind.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he calculated how much time was left, and after around an hour, a ball of green light appeared in the distant sky before hurtling toward them at a rapid speed.
After just a few flashes, the green light plummeted from above like a meteorite, looking as if it were about to crash heavily down onto the ground, yet it abruptly decelerated when it was still several tens of feet above the ground, then continued to drift downward before making a completely silent landing.
Han Li glanced at the humanoid figure within the green light to find that they were situated right at the center of the other four people present.
After quickly looking around at everyone else, the figure within the green light seemed to put on a smile before taking a seat with their legs crossed, displaying no intention to move anywhere else. Han Li initially faltered slightly upon seeing this before a faint smile appeared on his face, as if he found this person to be rather interesting.
In contrast, Daoist Master Myriad Bone appraised the humanoid figure within the green light with slightly furrowed brows, seemingly having thought of something.
According to what Daoist Master Myriad Bone had said, they were the five people who were going to be entering the Black Realm from this particular location.
Over an hour later, Han Li suddenly sensed a burst of peculiar fluctuations radiating from within his sleeve, and he immediately reached into his sleeve to pull out that triangular black badge.
There was a layer of white light flashing incessantly over its surface and fluctuating in brightness, seemingly resonating with something.
Han Li was elated to see this, and he raised his head to look at the other four people present. They had also produced the same badges, all of which were flashing with white light as well.
Right at this moment, a dull rumbling sound suddenly rang out in the air above the valley, following which a burst of
powerful spatial fluctuations erupted forth.
All five of the people present were slightly startled by this, and they looked up in unison to find that a blanket of dark clouds had appeared in the bright blue sky above the valley.
Within the dark clouds, arcs of silver lightning were flashing silently before instantly intertwining to form a ball.
A resounding thunderclap rang out, and a massive silver gate abruptly appeared! The gate was over 100 feet tall and had profound antiquated patterns on its surface, as well as silver runes surging around it, presenting a very spectacular sight to behold!
All of a sudden, a buzzing sound rang out from within the massive silver gate, and the surrounding runes tremored before faltering on the spot in unison.
After that, the gate was slowly opened up ever so slightly, and a streak of black light shot out from the other side. A humanoid figure flashed, and a mysterious cultivator in a long black cloak emerged before hovering in front of the gate.
This person had black Qi swirling around their entire body, and they remained completely silent as they appraised everyone down below with a bone-chilling gaze.
This person's aura was extremely strange, seemingly extremely powerful at times, but almost non-existent in other times. It was as if they possessed an extremely unstable cultivation base.
What kind of cultivation art was this? Han Li couldn't recall any cultivation art that fit this description, and a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
The figure enshrouded in golden light seemed to have also attended this Black Realm Exchange Convention in the past, and he asked in a resounding voice, "Are you the guidance envoy of the Black Realm?"
The black-robed figure ignored the golden figure, and a burst of green light flashed through their eyes as they said in a menacing manner, "Did you all bring your guidance badges? If so I'll take you into the Black Realm. Those who try to enter the Black Realm without guidance badges will be killed on the spot!"
The black-robed figure's voice was very sharp and piercing, and it was impossible to tell whether this was a male or female voice.
The golden figure harrumphed coldly, clearly displeased with the black-robed figure's display of arrogance, but he didn't say anything in the end.
As for Han Li and the others, they naturally weren't going to interject, either.
Seeing as none of the five people down below had any objections, the black-robed figure immediately flipped a hand over to produce a treasure that resembled a shimmering silver drumstick.
He raised the treasure and struck the giant gate with it, upon which a crisp crack rang out, and the silver gate was completely flung open amid a dull rumbling sound.
Han Li cast his gaze into the gate to find that there was nothing more than a vast expanse of inky blackness beyond the entrance. The place was completely devoid of light, as if it were a world of boundless darkness; it really did live up to its name of "Black Realm".
Just as these thoughts were running through Han Li's mind, the guidance badge in his hand suddenly became scorching hot, and in the next instant, it exploded into balls of black light that enshrouded his entire body.
At the same time, the air tightened around him, and a burst of invisible force hoisted him upward, carrying him directly toward the giant silver gate.
Han Li was slightly alarmed by this, but he looked around to find that the other four people had also been carried up into the air by black light as well, and his heart was put at ease.
In the blink of an eye, all five of them had disappeared into the black world beyond the giant gate one after another, and after verifying that nothing was amiss, the black-robed figure struck the space on either side of the gate with the silver treasure before also entering the black world.
The same rumbling sound rang out once again, and the giant silver gate slowly closed, then dispersed into countless arcs of lightning amid a loud thunderclap.
The nearby dark clouds also instantly vanished after the arcs of lightning vanished, and the dark sky returned to its former brightness.
Han Li was situated within the black light, inspecting his surroundings with a curious look on his face.
Even after entering through the silver gate, the five of them were still enshrouded in black light and hovered in the air in a straight line.
After entering this mysterious space, Han Li had completely gleaned the nature of this dark world. There was a sea of mist formed by bursts of black Qi all around him, and some of the black Qi appeared to be quite normal, yet others were extremely violent and tore through everything in the surrounding area in a frenzy, forming powerful black tornados in the process.
However, what drew Han Li's attention the most were the demon beasts up ahead. There was quite a large number of these demon beasts, and their auras differed significantly from those of normal demon beasts.
They were concealed within the mist in the distance, appraising Han Li and the others with menacing expressions, but didn't dare to approach them for some reason.
Even from so far away, Han Li could still sense the violent auras emanating from their bodies, indicating that they were clearly nothing to be scoffed at.
Chapter 1819: Black-veiled Servant
Black light flashed, and the black-robed figure appeared in front of the five of them. The figure then slowly flew ahead without saying anything, and just as Han Li was starting to feel perplexed by this, the black light around him suddenly flashed, and his body was involuntarily drawn forward by a burst of invisible power. The other four people with him were also experiencing the same thing, and all five of them were being towed along by the black-robed figure.
The black light around their bodies seemed to be special as the black Qi they encountered along the way all parted to allow them passage, and they quickly flew for several kilometers.
All of a sudden, blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and he cast his gaze toward a vast expanse of black Qi up ahead.
He could sense that there was an enormous being lurking within the black Qi, and its aura was of the same nature as that of those unknown demon beasts from before, but it was countless times more powerful, to the extent that even he felt greatly threatened by it.
However, this black Qi was quite profound, and even with his spirit eye ability, he was only able to just barely make out the outlines of a mountainous beast that seemed to be a giant python.
The other four people with Han Li had clearly also sensed that formidable beast, and they were all feeling quite wary as the beast was slowly approaching them.
Right at this moment, the guidance envoy suddenly descended, taking everyone down along with them so they diverged away from that unknown giant beast.
Han Li's heart naturally eased slightly as a result, and he cast one final glance at the giant beast before paying it no further heed.
However, Han Li's expression changed slightly again after just a short while. At this point, they had been led downward by the guidance envoy for tens of thousands of feet, and they still didn't appear to be anywhere near the bottom.
It was as if they were descending into a bottomless black abyss.
If it weren't for the fact that the other four people around him hadn't displayed any reactions to this, he would seriously be reconsidering whether it was a good idea to continue following this black-robed figure.
Thankfully, after they had descended for over 100,000 feet, the black Qi around them finally dissipated, and they emerged from the sea of black mist into a strange blue world.
There was faint blue light everywhere, illuminating all of the buildings and the strange black trees that resembled massive stone pillars down below.
This blue light was emanating from a dozen or so shimmering blue massive balls of light hanging in the air. Each ball had a diameter of over 1,000 feet, and they were radiating faint blue light that seemed to be able to glow for the rest of eternity.
A few dull thumps rang out, and the black light around the bodies of Han
Li and the others shuddered before vanishing. The connection they had with the guidance envoy was also severed as a result.
"I still have to go and guide others; go to the Black Realm Hall down below, and someone will take care of you there," the black-robed figure said in a cold voice before turning away and rising up into the air again, leaving them to their own devices.
Han Li was left feeling rather speechless, but Daoist Master Myriad Bone seemed to be completely unfazed. He merely chuckled before descending toward the hall, and the golden figure also followed suit as a streak of golden light.
Han Li and the other two figures exchanged a quick glance before naturally following along behind them.
There were many buildings down below, but all of them were very different from the ones in the outside world. All of them had been constructed from rough-looking black stones, and they were very tall and massive, reflecting an ancient primordial construction style that was more crude and rough around the edges.
The Black Realm Hall that the envoy had just referred to was very easy to identify. This was a huge black hall that was over 10,000 feet tall and had an area of several square kilometers, so it was very hard to miss.
When Han Li and the others landed on a plaza in front of the hall, they were greeted by two rows of women wearing black veil garments who were waiting for them in advance.
These women's faces had all been concealed by black veils, but they all had extremely alluring figures, and their auras suggested that they were all at or above the Core Formation Stage, so they were superb subjects for dual cultivation.
As soon as Han Li and the others descended before them, the five women at the front of the group made their way toward them in an elegant manner.
One of the tall and slender women with skin as fair as snow extended a graceful curtsey before speaking in an extremely alluring voice. "We pay our respects to our seniors. From now on, please allow us to serve you; if you have any questions or needs, we'll do our best to answer and satisfy them. There is still some time before the commencement of the convention; would you like to go and take a rest in the designated silent cultivation chambers?"
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1049