A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm
Chapter 758: No Making Without First Breaking

In contrast with Fox 3, Shi Chuankong's eyes remained wide open, and he was staring intently at Han Li on the other side of the Baleful Cleansing Pond.

At this point, Han Li's skin had already turned a bright red color, as had his eyes, and white steam was rising up from his body alongside black baleful qi, making him appear as if he were being cooked alive.

Black and white mist intertwined while giant arcs of azure lightning ravaged Han Li's body from all directions amid rumbling thunderclaps.

Even though the three of them had stepped into the Baleful Cleansing Pond at the same time, it was clear that Han Li had the most baleful qi in his body, so he was also most heavily affected by the lightning pond, and the lightning around him was raging with far greater ferocity than in the case of the other two.

Similarly, the scenes unfolding in his body were just as astonishing.

At this moment, every single one of his acupoints was like a border pass that was constantly being attacked by the azure lightning in the pond, and he felt as if there were gusts of fierce wind sweeping through his consciousness, striking him with a sense of disorientation and unease.

If it weren't for exceptional mental fortitude, his soul would've most likely already succumbed before his body.

Liu Qi's eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of approval flashed through his eyes at the sight of Han Li's stellar performance.

However, right at this moment, Han Li suddenly erupted into an uncontrollable coughing fit, causing his body to tremble violently, and the rate of outflow of baleful qi from his acupoints instantly sped up significantly, like floodwaters gushing out of a broken dam.

Riled up by the increased output of baleful qi, the surrounding azure lightning instantly became even more violent, converging from all directions to quickly eradicate all of the baleful qi around Han Li.

Even though the baleful qi had been eradicated, Han Li's aura was becoming murkier by the second, while blood began to rapidly flow into his gray pupils. Bright red light was converging from all directions on his eyeballs, and it was about to take over the entirety of his pupils soon.

"Master!" Weeping Soul called out in an alarmed voice upon seeing this.

"What terrible luck... To think that his baleful decay would recur at a time like this..." Liu Qi murmured to himself with furrowed brows.

A low roar rang out from deep within Han Li's throat, and his body shuddered violently as all of his joints began to crack and pop loudly.

Golden light was flashing incessantly all over his body, and layers of golden scales were constantly appearing over his skin before fading away in a repetitive cycle.

"The baleful qi in his body is gradually gaining the upper hand, controlling him to ward off the lightning in the Baleful Cleansing Pond. If he's unable to retain his sanity and succumbs to the control of the baleful qi, then he'll be beyond saving. At this rate, there's no way he'll ever recover," Liu Qi said with a grim expression.

Weeping Soul's expression darkened even further upon hearing this, and after a brief hesitation, she rubbed a hand over her own glabella, upon which the skin and flesh there parted to reveal a dark red demonic eye.

"I suggest you stay out of this. This process is a little similar to tribulation transcendence in that external intervention can have catastrophic consequences. If you step in now, you could attract the azure lightning to yourself, and not only will you be killed, your master's baleful cleansing will also fail. Even if he somehow survives, he'll be reduced to a mindless Gray Immortal," Liu Qi harrumphed coldly.

A conflicted look appeared in Weeping Soul's eyes upon hearing this, but ultimately, she closed her demonic eye as she turned to Liu Qi and implored, "Please save my master."

"Didn't I just say that external intervention will only worsen the situation? Do you want his baleful cleansing to fail?" Liu Qi asked in a cold voice.

"But..."

"I can forcibly drag him out of the lightning pond right now, but I presume that's definitely not what he wants. Risk and reward always come hand in hand in the endeavor of cultivation, and only by directly facing adversity and having the courage to risk it all will one have any chance at reaching heights unreachable to others. Even though your master and I have only just met, I can tell that his mental fortitude far exceeds that of the average person," Liu Qi continued in a calm manner.

Weeping Soul bit down onto her own lower lip, then forced herself to sit back down onto the ground, but her eyes remained firmly fixed on Han Li.

He better not disappoint me! I've been waiting so many years for a chance to be freed, if this opportunity slips past, then I'll most likely be trapped here for the rest of eternity...

Right at this moment, a burst of dull rumbling rang out, and loose rocks began to clatter down from the surrounding rock faces.

The Baleful Cleansing Pond was relatively isolated from the outside world, but even so, bursts of rumbling could be heard ringing out incessantly from outside.

Why is it becoming louder and louder outside? Could it be that more reinforcements are arriving from the Infernal Tribe, or has that old neighbor of mine been freed? If that human brat doesn't complete his baleful cleansing a little faster, things could take a turn for the worse very soon...

With that in mind, Liu Qi opened his mouth to release a burst of black light that instantly struck the green bead.

The bead shuddered violently as the light surging out of it instantly swelled by severalfold, attracting even more of the azure lightning from the pond, thereby further alleviating the pressure on Han Li's trio.

Among the three of them, Fox 3 had the least baleful qi in his body, and his pain was instantly significantly eased. His aura also gradually became more stable, and at this rate, it was only a matter of time before all of the baleful qi in his body was expelled.

Shi Chuankong was also faring far better than before, but he didn't dare to let down his guard even in the slightest. Even though his baleful decay hadn't recurred, he was still in an extremely perilous situation.

Despite Liu Qi's best efforts, Han Li's condition was still far from optimistic.

All of a sudden, he let loose a wild roar, and streaks of light of different colors flew out of his body before forming a series of life-like true spirit projections, including the Giant Mountain Ape, the Kun Peng, the Rainbow Phoenix...

How interesting! It's incredible that he's managed to survive to this point with so many true spirit bloodlines in his body, but having such a diverse bloodline may not necessarily be a good thing...

At this moment, Han Li felt as if his consciousness had turned into a warzone, and there were enormous waves constantly battering the white mountain formed by the Imperial Peak Spirit Restriction Talisman.

The mountain was trembling violently as it released halos of gentle white light to try and sooth Han Li's chaotic mind, but these white halos were instantly destroyed by the aggressive waves upon contact.

At the same time, dark clouds were beginning to gather above his consciousness, and that was a clear indication of excessive baleful qi infiltration.

Meanwhile, more and more true spirit projections continued to appear around his body, and his muscles began to involuntarily bulge. His arms transformed into those of the Giant Mountain Ape, a Xuanwu Turtle shell was beginning to appear over his chest, and Rainbow Phoenix tail feathers were emerging behind him.

Liu Qi's expression finally changed slightly upon seeing this.

Given his vast wealth of experience as a Dao Ancestor, his current appraisal of Han Li was that he was already a spent force, and that both his body and soul were on the verge of destruction.

He was concerned that at this rate, not only did Han Li run the risk of losing his sanity, even his body could detonate on the spot.

As the owner of the Heavenly Fox Bloodform Saber, Han Li had to survive for Liu Qi to be freed.

Right as he was considering forcibly dragging Han Li out of the lightning pond, a burst of peculiar energy fluctuations suddenly rose up from within his body.

Inside his consciousness, a golden nascent soul was currently seated with its legs crossed and its eyes closed while making a strange hand seal.

The nascent soul didn't open its mouth to speak, but clear chanting could be heard reverberating throughout Han Li's mind. The sound of the chanting was rather faint, but also very clear, audible even over the rumbling of the ferocious waves.

The nascent soul was chanting the mantra for the fifth level of the Spirit Refinement Technique, and initially, the chanting was extremely slow and rather feeble, but as the chanting sped up, the nascent soul's voice seemed to gain strength.

Somehow, in this dire situation, Han Li had managed to break through the bottleneck of the fifth level of the Spirit Refinement Technique, and bursts of tremendous spiritual sense were surging through his mind, quelling the unrest within his consciousness.

The baleful qi in his mind was forced back by his newfound power, and the crimson coloration of his eyes began to fade, while his lucidity also returned.

Some time later, he gently exhaled, then withdrew all of the true spirit projections around him, and he felt utterly exhausted, but thankfully, he had managed to quell his baleful decay once again.

An astonished look appeared on Liu Qi's face upon seeing this.