A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm
Chapter 634: Strange Happenings

Chapter 634: Strange Happenings

Right at this moment, the black devilish qi within the secret chamber began to swirl, forming two small vortexes, which then transformed into a pair of black spirals that surged directly toward Han Li's eyes.

The blue light glowing in Han Li's eyes instantly began to glow brighter, but it also became more murky and indistinct with this injection of devilish qi.

His eyes were like a pair of bottomless holes that were greedily devouring the devilish qi, and it didn't take long before they had become as dark as a pair of abysses.

At the same time, he made a strange hand seal with both hands and maintained it as he sat in a completely still fashion.

A series of purplish-golden halos emerged beneath his body before spreading outward.

......

Several years flew by in a flash.

Han Li remained seated with his legs crossed in his silent secret chamber, making the exact same hand seal as before.

The purplish-golden scales over his body had already faded, as had the devilish qi around him, and all that remained were the purplish-golden halos that were still constantly expanding outward.

Right at this moment, his eyes suddenly sprang open, and two pillars of golden light erupted out of his pupils, illuminating the entire secret chamber.

All of the tiny dust particles inside the secret chamber instantly became clearly visible, as was the case for all of the restrictions that he had previously set up.

Han Li raised his head to peer through the hole on the ceiling of his secret chamber, and he was able to see everything, from the white clouds in the sky to every single feather on the birds flying up above, and even the minute air currents created by the flapping of their wings.

It was as if nothing could remain hidden in the face of his eyes.

With that, he had achieved elementary mastery of the Infernal Devilish Eyes. As for whether these spirit eyes had any other abilities, that was still yet to be seen.

In any case, his eyesight had improved significantly compared with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.

Moments later, all of the light in Han Li's eyes faded, and they reverted back to their original color.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and he adopted a disguise using his Dragon 5 mask, transforming into an ordinary-looking young man with a pale complexion.

After that, he stood up before taking a moment to stretch out his body, then emerged from his secret chamber.

He had gone into seclusion for a rather long time, and during this time, both Daoist Master Jingyang and Immortal Lord Hot Flame had come to visit him, only to be informed by a puppet that Han Li was in seclusion, and they had departed without disturbing him.

Hence, after coming out of seclusion, Han Li planned to pay the two of them a visit each.

It was winter in the Leisure Valley, and the entire valley was covered in a blanket of snow that was around a half a foot thick.

After making his way out of his cave abode, Han Li chose to walk through the valley on foot instead of taking flight, and he made his way deeper into the valley while appreciating the surrounding scenery.

All of a sudden, he noticed some buildings deep in the forest that hadn't been there before, and they had clearly been constructed during his seclusion.

A perplexed look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and right at this moment, a figure emerged from behind a large rock on the mountain path.

It had already stopped snowing, but the figure was still holding a dark red oil paper umbrella as he made his way toward the exit of the valley.

As the two drew closer to each other, Han Li was able to see that the approaching figure was an extremely handsome young man with a very pale complexion that was made to appear even paler in contrast with the large red cloak that he was wearing.

As the two passed each other by, the man gave Han Li a smile and a nod, but didn't say anything, and Han Li also responded in kind.

After the two had passed each other, they continued to walk in opposite directions, getting further and further away from one another.

Is he a new resident of the valley?

Han Li was rather perplexed, but he didn't think much of it as he continued to make his way deeper into the valley.

After walking for several kilometers along the mountain path, he arrived on the cliff where Immortal Lord Hot Flame's cave abode was situated, and he just so happened to spot a figure flying up from the cliff, setting off into the valley.

"Where are you going, Fellow Daoist Hot Flame?" Han Li hurriedly called out.

Immortal Lord Hot Flame faltered slightly upon hearing this, then immediately descended back down onto the ground as he greeted with a smile, "Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Li."

"I just came out of seclusion today, and I heard you came to visit me during my seclusion, so I'm here to return the favor," Han Li explained with a smile.

"I heard you were in seclusion during my visit, so I didn't disturb you," Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied with a nod.

"Was there something you needed to speak to me about?" Han Li asked.

"It's nothing overly important. I just wanted to tell you to try and avoid using the elder badge of the Fire Leaf Sect to enter Jade Gathering City in the immediate future," Immortal Lord Hot Flame said.

"Why is that?" Han Li asked.

"Jade Gathering City has not been very peaceful these past two hundred years. The Black Mountain Immortal Palace is conducting more stringent examinations on people entering the city, and I was worried that you could land yourself in trouble if you weren't careful," Immortal Lord Hot Flame explained.

"What's been happening in the city?" Han Li asked, thinking that the unrest must've resulted from a continuation of the events that had ensued following the auction.

"It's a bit of a long story. Everyone just so happens to be meeting up today, so why don't you come with me, and we'll discuss this with everyone else?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame proposed with a smile.

Han Li could only suppress his curiosity for now and depart with Immortal Lord Hot Flame.

Thus, the two of them rose up into the air together and quickly arrived on a spacious cliff deep in the valley.

The cliff was situated on a mountain face on the right side of the valley, and it protruded out of the mountain face by several hundred feet. There was an octagonal pavilion constructed on the cliff, and it was also covered in a thick layer of snow.

Inside the pavilion was a stone table with three figures already gathered around it, namely Yu Ziqi, Mo Wuxue, and Duan Yuzai.

After everyone had exchanged some greetings, Duan Yuzai turned to Han Li as he asked, "When did you come out of seclusion, Fellow Daoist Li?"

"I just came out of seclusion today, and it seems that I did so at just the right time," Han Li replied with a smile.

"I heard from Fellow Daoist Jingyang that..."

Before Yu Ziqi had a chance to finish, Mo Wuxue tugged on his sleeve to cut him off, and he immediately realized that he had brought up a rather sensitive subject, upon which a guilty look appeared on his face.

"It's fine, it's not like this is a taboo subject. The pills I refined did indeed fail to achieve the intended effect, I'll just have to search for another solution in the future," Han Li said with a carefree smile.

"My apologies, Fellow Daoist Li. It appears I overreacted," Mo Wuxue said with a faint smile.

"Not at all, Celestial Maiden Mo. I should thank you for looking out for me. Speaking of Fellow Daoist Jingyang, where is he right now?" Han Li asked.

"Fellow Daoist Jingyang said that he had some things to take care of, and he hasn't been back to the valley for over a hundred years," Yu Ziqi replied.

Han Li speculated that he most likely had some important duties to take care of in the Hundred Creations Mountain, so he didn't dwell on this subject.

"How unfortunate for him. I just so happened to bring some of my Red Mulberry Wine today. Would everyone care to have a taste?"

Everyone's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.

Everyone returned to their seats, while Han Li brought out a jar of wine and filled some cups. As he did so, he noticed that Yu Ziqi wasn't playing his guqin as he normally did, nor had Duan Yuzai set up his go board, and his brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.

"By the way, what were you saying earlier, Fellow Daoist Hot Flame? What's been happening recently?" Han Li asked.

Immortal Lord Hot Flame had already raised his cups to his lips, but he set it down again as he replied, "I'm sure you've already noticed that many new residents have settled in our Leisure Valley of late."

"I did indeed encounter a young man in a large red cloak on the way here. He must be one of those new residents, right?" Han Li asked.

"That man's name is Feng Qingyuan, and he's only one of about fifty to sixty new residents who have moved into the valleys of Relaxation Mountain over the past two hundred years," Duan Yuzai replied.

"There were that many?" Han Li exclaimed.

While people were free to come and go as they pleased in Relaxation Mountain, the mountain range never had a large number of residents. After all, it was very rare for someone to be able to settle in one place and give up on aspirations of future cultivation progression, even if the endeavor were clearly futile.

Hence, this was a very abnormal turn of events.

"If that's the only change, then it wouldn't be all that noteworthy, as long as everyone abides by the rules and doesn't interfere with others. However, there have been many strange happenings in the mountain range, and many people have been disappearing from the valleys," Mo Wuxue explained.

"Just last month, the cave abode of a pair of Dao partners was destroyed overnight in the nearby Flower Moon Valley, and both of them disappeared," Yu Ziqi added.

Han Li had met the pair in question, and he knew that they were a pair of early-True Immortal cultivators.

"Has there been any shared trait among the people who've disappeared?"

"Not at all. From Golden Immortals to Deity Transformation cultivators, from beautiful female cultivators to elderly men... There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the disappearances," Yu Ziqi replied.

"Has no one investigated this matter?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"How? All of the people residing in the mountain range are here to live lives unburdened by responsibilities, and there are no factions or unified organizations here, so who's going to investigate this matter? There have only been some private investigations, and they haven't yielded any useful leads.

“On top of that, like Fellow Daoist Ziqi said, it seems like there's no rhyme or reason to the victims, so it's almost impossible to pinpoint anything," Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied with a wry smile.

"Exactly. Who knows if those people simply left the valley? Having said that, in the past, people would generally inform their good friends in the mountain range prior to the departure, and there's never been such an unannounced mass exodus like this before," Yu Ziqi chimed in.