A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm
Chapter 547: Stay

Chapter 547: Stay

"There's no need to thank me. On the topic of compensation, I've already told your daughter what I want," Han Li replied in an expressionless manner.

The white-robed man's brows furrowed with befuddlement, and he turned to her with an inquisitive expression, upon which Nuo Yifan relayed Han Li's request for maps of the primordial land to him through voice transmission.

The white-robed man's brows furrowed even more tightly upon hearing this, and he turned back to Han Li as he said, "My apologies, Fellow Daoist Li, but I'm afraid that my daughter has made a promise that she can't keep. Our Calm Dawn Tribe is quite a large tribe, but it's still completely insignificant in the context of all of the Beast Race tribes, so we're not capable of gathering all of the maps of the different tribes.

“Hence, I'll have to ask you to state another condition. I know the rules of the human race, and I'll be sure to offer you satisfactory compensation."

"I'm not a primordial hunter, and I'm only asking for these maps as I wish to cross the primordial land en route to another immortal region. Hence, you can remove the locations of the tribes on the maps that you give me and only mark out the more dangerous areas and places where formidable beasts reside," Han Li said.

A contemplative look appeared on Nuo Qinglin's face upon hearing this, and he didn't immediately respond.

Nuo Yifan approached him, and the two of them communicated a while longer through voice transmission before the latter seemed to have finally arrived at a decision.

Nuo Qinglin turned back to Han Li, but still found himself unable to ascertain Han Li's cultivation base.

"In that case, I'll get you to stay in our Dark Star Canyon for a few days. The other tribes of the Beast Race will be gathering here over the next few days, and I'll be able to collect their maps once they arrive," he said.

"I'll be in your care then," Han Li replied with a nod.

While conversing with Nuo Qinglin, Han Li had been observing him the entire time as well, and he noticed that Nuo Qinglin seemed to have also concealed his own aura, and that he was most likely around the early-Golden Immortal Stage.

However, given how these foreign beings were able to use demon beasts in battle, their true combat prowess most likely had to be overestimated by half a rank. As for the other Calm Dawn beings behind Nuo Qinglin, they were all somewhere between the mid-True Immortal Stage and the early-Golden Immortal Stage, with the majority of them at the True Immortal Stage.

Nuo Qinglin gave Han Li a nod, then turned to Taj with a solemn expression as he said, "Thank you for escorting Yifan back to our Dark Star Canyon. Our Calm Dawn Tribe will remember what you've done, and after the war is over, we'll be sure to do everything in our power to assist your tribe in rebuilding a home and making a resurgence."

"Thank you, Chief Nuo!" Taj replied with a grateful expression as he crossed his arms over his chest and extended a slight bow.

"Prior to that, you and your tribesmen can treat our Dark Star Canyon as your own home," Nuo Qinglin continued.

Taj and the other Longneck beings were even more grateful upon hearing this, and some of them had even burst into tears.

After that, Nuo Qinglin led Han Li and the others over the giant fortress before flying into the canyon.

As they flew over the fortress, Han Li could see that there was a giant lizard-like winged beast prowling behind each of the watchtowers on the fortress. Their scales were reflecting a black gleam, and they occasionally opened their eyes to look up at the sky.

Han Li could clearly sense that all of their animosity was directed toward him.

Only after passing over the fortress was the true scale of the Dark Star Canyon fully revealed to Han Li.

There was a green river that was over 10,000 feet wide flowing through the center of the canyon with the sound of rumbling thunder, and on either side of the river were sheer cliff faces that were as steep as they were majestic.

On the sheer mountain faces at an even higher altitude were a series of hollowed-out caves of different shapes and sizes, all of which were interconnected by a system boardwalks that were embedded into the mountain faces to form an enormous and complex cluster of buildings.

Furthermore, these weren't just some simple and crude caves. Instead, there were intricate engravings and well-crafted pillars and railings on the outside, and their openings were sealed with round or rectangular wooden doors of different styles that also had beautiful engravings on them. On top of that, these caves were surrounded by moss, vines, and flowers to give them an even more delightful appearance.

If the Peacock Spirit Tribe settlement had been a small village in a forest, then the Dark Star Canyon where the Calm Dawn Tribe resided would be the equivalent of a thriving human city.

The Dark Star River within the canyon was a winding river that twisted and turned, and the deeper Han Li flew into the canyon, the more surprised he became. A series of giant altar-like buildings had begun to appear on the surrounding mountain faces, and they were giving off bursts of faint array fluctuations.

Han Li knew that he was a rather sensitive figure here, so he only casually glanced at the passing scenery instead of scrutinizing the layout of the entire canyon too closely, and he also refrained from using too much of his spiritual sense.

Nuo Qinglin had been secretly observing Han Li this entire time, and a pleased look appeared on his face upon seeing this.

As the group approached the center of the valley, everyone descended onto a cliff with relatively flat terrain. Nuo Qinglin turned to Han Li as he said, "This is quite a peaceful place. You can stay here for the next few days, Fellow Daoist Li."

Han Li inspected his surroundings to replace that the cliff was surrounded by Calm Dawn Tribe settlements, and they weren't overly close, but it was very convenient for them to conduct surveillance on this place or surround it on very short notice.

"Thank you, Chief Nuo," he said with a smile, and Nuo Qinglin and the others promptly departed, flying deeper into the canyon.

Nuo Yifan hesitated momentarily, then decided to stay behind as she approached Han Li with an apologetic expression as she said, "Please don't misunderstand, Fellow Daoist Li. Unfortunately, my tribesmen are still quite apprehensive of humans."

"I've always wanted to ask you this: why is it that you aren't wary of humans like your tribesmen?" Han Li asked.

"Truth be told, my deceased mother was a human, so I'm half-human myself," Nuo Yifan explained after a brief hesitation.

Han Li nodded in response and didn't say anything further.

After the two of them parted ways, Han Li inspected his surroundings briefly with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, then descended onto the cliff and began to make his way toward the hollowed-out cave abode there.

He opened the heavy stone doors of the cave abode, and his brows furrowed slightly at the state of the cave abode.

Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, clearly indicating that it hadn't been inhabited for a very long time. He swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a gentle breeze that swept out all of the dust in the cave abode.

Immediately thereafter, a series of lamps on the walls lit up on their own, illuminating the entire stone chamber while also giving off a faint musky aroma.

Han Li looked around to replace that the cave wasn't very large, and it was split into two rooms that were only slightly larger than the average room.

In the outer room was a stone table and a stone chair, while only a stone bed could be found in the inner room, presenting a set of extremely minimalistic furnishings.

After closing the stone doors, Han Li pulled out a series of array flags and array plates before setting them up around the cave.

Around an hour later, the array was complete, and Han Li sat down onto the stone bed with his legs crossed before tapping the golden ring on his finger.

The golden ring immediately took on Jin Tong's human form before landing beside Han Li, and he said, "Jin Tong, I'll be going into seclusion for a while to see if I can elevate my cultivation base a little. During this time, you and Xiao Bai will be tasked with protecting me."

"Why are you suddenly going into seclusion at a time like this, Uncle?" Jin Tong asked.

"During our time in the primordial land, we've encountered many powerful primordial beasts. Even though we'll be staying in the Calm Dawn Tribe for the near future, so we'll be a little safer than before, but we still have to prepare for the journey ahead. The Heavenly Court isn't going to stop coming after me, and the primordial land is far more perilous than I anticipated.

“Only by elevating my own powers as much as possible can we continue to survive here," Han Li replied.

"Alright, you can count on me, Uncle! No one will be able to disturb your cultivation as long as I'm here!" Jin Tong vowed with a determined expression.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he flipped a hand over to produce a storage pouch before handing it to Jin Tong.

"Here's some food for you, make sure to eat it sparingly."

Jin Tong was ecstatic as she accepted the storage pouch from Han Li, then skipped her way to the outer room before sitting down onto the stone table with her legs crossed to inspect the contents of the storage pouch.

"Don't forget about me!"

Xiao Bai immediately jumped down from Han Li's waist before rushing over to Jin Tong's side and cuddling up to her like an affectionate little dog, only to be slapped away by Jin Tong with a disdainful expression.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he withdrew his gaze before sweeping a sleeve through the air to activate the array and temporarily cut off the inner room from the outside world.

He then flipped a hand over to produce a pair of jade slips and an ancient yellow scripture, and these were none other than the three time-attribute cultivation arts of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, the Water Divination Time Arts, the Mantra Axis Scripture, and the Illusory Dawn Treasured Scripture.

He had already read through the entirety of the three cultivation arts, and he felt like there was some type of connection between the three, but he had never gotten the chance to conduct a closer examination.

Hence, he was planning to compare the three cultivation arts carefully here to see if he could glean some insights that could assist him in his cultivation.

Among the three cultivation arts, the Mantra Axis Scripture was naturally the most familiar one to Han Li. At this point, he had already obtained six levels of the cultivation art, and his progression in the cultivation art had been quite smooth thanks to the Heaven Controlling Vial.

He hadn't begun using either of the other two cultivation arts yet, but given the foundation that he had already had, he was confident that he would be able to make fast progress in those two cultivation arts as well.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he picked up the Water Divination Time Arts first and began to carefully read through it.