"Pure Yang Dao Ancestor."
Han Yi was deeply shaken. He never imagined that the invitation had been personally issued by the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor himself. The Immortal Realm displayed within the invitation, and the aura of the middle-aged man, struck him as far more terrifying than any Immortal Sovereign he had ever encountered. This must be the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor.
Since the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor had personally extended the invitation, Han Yi had no reason to decline.
Moreover, his strongest Immortal Art was the Sword Control Immortal Art, and he was deeply interested in Pure Yang Mountain.
Of course, countless Immortals throughout the Great Luo Immortal Realm had received invitations. His own was likely due to his status as a Sword Immortal, bolstered by his recent ascension to the top of the Void Tower's Profound Immortal Ranking.
Han Yi carefully stored the invitation and turned to Profound Immortal Qingyan, clasping his hands in gratitude. "My sincere thanks, Fellow Daoist Qingyan."
Across from him, Profound Immortal Qingyan replied, "It was a trivial matter. No need for thanks."
"I've heard that this Pure Yang Mountain Dao Discussion Immortal Assembly is being personally hosted by the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor himself. He's inviting all the world's Sword Immortals to gather at Pure Yang Mountain to debate swords and comprehend the Dao."
"Countless Immortals from the Great Luo Immortal Sword are rushing to Pure Yang Mountain, eager to catch a glimpse of the Dao Ancestor's presence."
"Even Golden Immortals are lucky to receive one of these invitations."
"Fellow Daoist Han, as the top-ranked Immortal on the Profound Immortal Ranking, receiving this invitation is truly cause for celebration."
Profound Immortal Qingyan felt a mix of emotions.
When she first recruited Han Yi for the Primal Art Dao Field, it had been only a few centuries ago. During that time, her own cultivation had only advanced to the rank of Veteran Profound Immortal.
Yet the Han Yi before her had surpassed the True Immortal stage, reaching the peak of the Profound Immortal realm. Even more astonishingly, he had already climbed to the summit of the Profound Immortal Ranking, possessing combat prowess equivalent to a Senior Golden Immortal.
This had all happened over twenty years ago.
Now, Han Yi's depth was unfathomable; who knew how far he had progressed?
Such innate talent was truly awe-inspiring.
This time, Pure Yang Mountain had widely distributed invitation cards for the Dao Discussion Immortal Assembly. Typically, only Sword Immortals at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm or higher would receive such an invitation.
Han Yi's receipt of an invitation meant that, in the eyes of Pure Yang Mountain and the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor himself, Han Yi's status was already equivalent to that of a Peak Golden Immortal.
Upon hearing this, Han Yi clasped his hands in a respectful salute. "Thank you for your efforts, Fellow Daoist Qingyan."
He then asked, "By the way, Fellow Daoist, apart from me, has anyone else from the Primal Art Dao Field received an invitation?"
"Did Brother Jin Ming receive one?"
Although Han Yi knew many Golden Immortals at the Primal Art Dao Field, his closest and most familiar Golden Immortal comrade was Golden Immortal Golden Cry.
Qingyan nodded. "Indeed, an invitation was sent to Martial Uncle Jinming."
But she shook her head, her expression respectful. "However, Martial Uncle Jinming went into sudden seclusion three months ago. Whether he will attend or not is still uncertain."
"Seclusion?" Han Yi paused, then quickly understood. "Could it be he's attempting to break through to the Grand Unity Realm?"
Seeing Profound Immortal Qingyan nod, Han Yi gasped inwardly, his heart both shaken and filled with joy. If Golden Immortal Golden Cry could indeed break through to the Grand Unity Realm, it would mean another powerful ally for him.
"Good, that's wonderful."
Suddenly, Han Yi recalled that over a hundred years ago, when Donghuang raised his army, Zhenxiao Golden Immortal of the Primal Art Dao Field also went into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough. To this day, he had yet to emerge.
Perhaps the next time he saw Golden Resonance Daoist would be centuries, or even millennia, from now.
Before leaving, Profound Immortal Qingyan reminded him, "Fellow Daoist Han, you're still wanted by the Great Sage Demonic Ape."
"The Heavenly Demons of the Demon Race are still watching you. If you go to Pure Yang Mountain, you must be especially careful."
Han Yi thanked her.
He was well aware of this.
But over a hundred years had passed since he killed Yuan Jingtian. It would be no exaggeration to say that he was now a completely different person.
As long as his opponent wasn't an Immortal Monarch, even if he lost a fight, he could still escape with his life.
Even against an Immortal Monarch, Han Yi could still escape death by activating the Yueguang Ancient Divine Artifact, a devastating ultimate technique.
After Profound Immortal Qingyan departed, Han Yi didn't resume his cultivation. Instead, he gazed southward, suddenly struck by a thought.
Before attending the Sword Debate Immortal Assembly on Pure Yang Mountain in three years, he should return to the Chaotic Demon Zone, visit the Jade Balance Realm, and pay a call to the Profound Pill Sect.
Now that the Immortal Realm's space had returned to normal, the transmission formations in all the Immortal Cities had been restored, making travel convenient. The Sword Debate Immortal Assembly on Pure Yang Mountain was scheduled to take place in three years.
Using these three years to visit the Jade Balance Realm wasn't a hasty decision.
With this in mind, Han Yi returned to the Immortal Pavilion, packed his belongings, and used an Escape Technique to reach Nine Rivers Plaza. The plaza had regained its usual bustling atmosphere, thronging with Immortals and cultivators.
The Immortals' transmission formations naturally differed from those used by low-level cultivators. Their bases were connected to the Immortal Veins beneath Nine Rivers Plaza, drawing Immortal Energy for teleportation.
As a result, a single teleportation for a True Immortal cost at least tens of thousands of Immortal Marks, while a Profound Immortal's cost started at hundreds of thousands—exorbitantly expensive.
But such a trivial amount of Immortal Marks was nothing to Han Yi.
Although he had spent a significant number of marks over the years and purchased a Fifth-Rank Immortal Sword, he still possessed sixty million Immortal Marks—a veritable fortune.
With the newly acquired Immortal Sword, Han Yi now possessed three Fifth-Rank Immortal Swords: the Burial Path Dragon God Sword gifted by Immortal Monarch Yuanshu, the Dragon Abyss Evil-Suppressing Sword purchased decades ago, and the recently acquired Xuan Capital Soul-Slaying Sword.
Inside the Teleportation Hall, the thick Immortal Spirit Qi flickered wildly before roaring to life. In an instant, the colossal Transmission Formation shimmered, and an immortal figure vanished.
After a prolonged silence, the Immortal Spirit Qi in the hall gradually subsided.
Han Yi felt his surroundings shift, and he found himself in the deep space of the Transmission Formation. The path it had carved stretched endlessly before him.
The space around him shifted rapidly, receding into the distance.
This teleportation journey spanned from the Year Candle Immortal Domain in the northern Immortal Realm to the newly established South Pole Immortal Domain in the southern Immortal Realm.
Even with the aid of the Transmission Formation, the journey took a full two minutes to complete.
A luminous portal materialized at the edge of the Void, and an invisible force propelled him through it.
His vision shifted, and he found himself within another Transmission Formation.
He calmly stepped out of the formation and vanished into the distance.
During the teleportation, Han Yi used his Fourth-Rank Fetal Transformation Disguise to assume Bai Yuyai's appearance, arriving unnoticed in the Immortal Palace.
The Immortal City he now found himself in was called South Pole Immortal City.
South Pole Immortal City was the central city of the South Pole Immortal Domain. Originally established by the Blazing Flame Dao Court, it was later occupied by Pure Yang Mountain after Brilliant Flame departed on his Dao Boat. The city was then renamed South Pole Immortal City.
After leaving the Transmission Formation, Han Yi went to a Merchant Pavilion established by the Age Candle Immortal Court within the city and purchased a map of the South Pole Immortal Domain using his Immortal Marks.
This map not only showed the current topography of the Immortal Domain, including Immortal Cities and Immortal Mountains, but also marked the original names these features had in the former Chaotic Demon Zone.
By comparing the names, Han Yi discovered that the current South Pole Immortal City was actually the Starfall Realm, located deep within the former Chaotic Demon Zone.
Long ago, when the southern Immortal Realm shattered, forming the Chaotic Demon Zone, only three Lower Realms survived: Starfall, Big Dipper, and Gouchen.
Hundreds of years prior, the Great Power Sacrificial Daoists of the Blazing Flame Dao Court reassembled the Chaotic Demon Zone by piecing together these three Realms with other Fragmented Immortal Realms within the zone, creating a single Immortal Domain.
In terms of size, the South Pole Immortal Domain is the smallest Immortal Domain within the Great Luo Immortal Realm. Han Yi was quite familiar with the Big Dipper Domain and the Gouchen Realm. After his transmigration, he had settled in the Jade Balance Realm of the Big Dipper Domain. Later, after being forced into the Chaotic Demon Realm, he had spent several decades in the Gouchen Realm.
However, he was unfamiliar with the Starfall Realm, having never visited this domain before.
The Big Dipper Domain he sought was located to the east of the South Pole Immortal City, bordering the Endless Void.
Han Yi left the South Pole Immortal City and traveled south.
With his current cultivation level, even using only a Fourth-Rank Mind Realm Immortal Technique, he could match a Golden Immortal. In less than an hour, he crossed the vast expanse of Fragmented Immortal Realms and arrived at the Big Dipper Domain.
These intermediate Fragmented Immortal Realms had already been purged by Immortals and cultivators of the Immortal Realm. Any undead Immortals had long since been reduced to ashes, their remains now serving as nourishment for others on the Immortal Path.
Immortal Cities rose across this realm.
However, due to the Chaotic Demon Zone's unique nature, while it possessed numerous Spirit Veins, Immortal Veins were scarce. Consequently, most Immortals in these cities reached only the True Immortal realm, and even then, they were mostly ordinary True Immortals.
The South Pole Immortal Domain, transformed from the Chaotic Demon Zone, is not only the smallest Immortal Domain but also the most barren and impoverished.
After arriving at the Big Dipper Domain, Han Yi slowed his pace.
The Big Dipper Domain consists of seven Small Worlds. When combined, they converge and merge into the South Pole Immortal Domain.
Following the map he had purchased, Han Yi flew slowly forward. After a moment, he paused as he passed a mountain range.
"Swallowing Heaven Mountain Range."
The mountain range before him, though not particularly tall, was the very same place where the Swallowing Heaven Demon God had brought him to the Yaoguang Demon Realm years ago.
Times had changed. His current cultivation realm far surpassed his previous level. Now, the Swallowing Heaven Mountain Range no longer appeared majestic and towering, but rather as a mere mountain range that could be effortlessly annihilated.
Moreover, the Heaven-Devouring Serpent Clan was no longer present within the Swallowing Heaven Mountain Range. They had likely either been exterminated or migrated to the Eastern Sovereign Territory.
After Donghuang raised his army, the Great Luo Immortal Courts naturally treated the Demon Race within their territories with hostility. Many demon clans were even directly targeted for extermination.
Han Yi retracted his gaze and continued forward. Familiar territories flashed beneath him as he flew. He even spotted the far north of the Tianquan Realm, where Yuan Shun had once shrouded the land in corpse mist.
A moment later, Han Yi stood above the Profound Pill Mountain Range, his gaze complex.
Below him, the terrain of the Profound Pill Mountain Range had changed dramatically from his memories.
According to the map, the mountain range was no longer called the Profound Pill Mountain Range, but had been renamed the Resonant Void Mountain Range. It was now occupied by a Nascent Soul Sect called the Resonant Void Sect.
Naturally, the Resonant Void Sect couldn't detect Han Yi.
After a moment's thought, Han Yi descended. To him, the Transformation God Stage Formation Arts were like phantom shadows. He stepped through them effortlessly, without any resistance or disturbance.
Moreover, Han Yi remained undetected even after landing in the Resonant Void Mountain Range. Not even the Great Elder of the Resonant Void Sect, a cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, could sense his presence.
Little Spirit Void Mountain, Azure Dragon Peak, Profound Pill Hall...
Han Yi visited each place in turn. Finally, he returned to Little Spirit Void Mountain, paused briefly, and then slowly rose into the air and flew away.
At a great height, he thought for a moment, then lightly pointed his finger downward. Immortal Light coalesced, pierced through the Formation Arts, and materialized within the Resonant Void Sect's Scripture Repository as an old, worn book:
Profound Pill Records.
This book contained all his insights and experiences in Pill Refinement.
Given his current cultivation realm, understanding, and experience, even a True Immortal would treasure this book as a priceless artifact, let alone a low-level sect.
"Returning to this familiar land, I leave behind this inheritance. If fate decrees it, those who obtain it shall become my disciples."
Han Yi cast one last glance at Profound Pill Mountain before soaring forward.
He crossed numerous familiar lands: Ancient Shu, Great Qian, Great Qin, the East Sea, Sword Cliff...
To him, the once vast and boundless East Sea now appeared as a mere pond.
The transformed landscapes stirred complex emotions within Han Yi. Though only a few centuries had passed, the changes felt like a sea change.
He then began his return journey.
This time, he didn't use the Transmission Formation.
Instead, he started from the eastern edge of the South Pole Immortal Domain, circling its perimeter before heading to the Azure Profound Immortal Domain and Pure Yang Mountain at its heart.
This time, he could slow his pace, strolling leisurely and measuring the land with his own steps.
With three years remaining until the Pure Yang Mountain Sword Debate Immortal Assembly, he planned to use the time for a brief journey.
Three months later, Han Yi passed through the Gouchen Realm and stepped onto Nine Swords Mountain, an Immortal Mountain located in the former territory of the Purple Cold Realm.
This mountain had been his refuge after he returned to the Chaotic Demon Zone severely injured. Originally an Inter-Domain Transmission Formation, it had been destroyed by the Big Dipper after the Wisdom Clan disaster. Han Yi later claimed it as a secluded place for cultivation.
Although Nine Swords Mountain retained its name, it had long been occupied by a Transformation God Stage Sect. After the Chaotic Demon Zone merged with the Immortal Realm, the original Spirit Veins and Semi-Immortal Veins, nourished by the Immortal Realm's Spirit Qi, had steadily grown stronger. For instance, Nine Swords Mountain, which had lost its Immortal Vein during the Chaotic Demon Zone era, had now regenerated a Ninth-Tier Spirit Vein.
This was why a Transformation God Stage cultivator chose this place to establish their sect.
Half a year later, after traversing the entire Chaotic Demon Zone, Han Yi crossed from the South Pole Immortal Domain into the Azure Profound Immortal Domain.
In truth, if he had extended his Immortal Sense to its maximum, he could have covered nearly half of the Chaotic Demon Zone, encompassing the entire South Pole Immortal Domain. However, he chose not to. Doing so would not only make him an easy target but also defeat the purpose of his journey.
Over the next two years, Han Yi traveled through the Azure Profound Immortal Domain, visiting various Immortal Cities. Along the way, he encountered several incidents, but he resolved them all with ease.
Half a year before the Pure Yang Mountain Sword Debate Immortal Assembly, Han Yi arrived at Pure Yang Mountain in advance.
Pure Yang Mountain was simply a mountain.
Its towering height ranked among the top five in the Great Luo Immortal Realm.
Before being renamed Pure Yang Mountain, it was called Qingheng Mountain, a secluded retreat for rogue Immortal Monarchs.
Recently, the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor had emerged, transforming Qingheng Mountain into Pure Yang Mountain. The Qingheng Immortal Monarch himself had pledged allegiance to the Dao Ancestor, becoming a member of Pure Yang Mountain.
As for why the Pure Yang Dao Ancestor had transitioned from seclusion to establishing Pure Yang Mountain, rumors abounded. Some said the Great One's Ascension had put pressure on him, while others claimed an impending Great Calamity necessitated his intervention.
The truth remained elusive.
Standing at the foot of Pure Yang Mountain, Han Yi sensed a Sword Intent emanating from its peak, infinitely more potent than the Invitation Card. This aura, radiating supreme purity, yang energy, sanctity, and grandeur, made him envision a colossal Pure Yang Sword, piercing the heavens and earth.
"So formidable."
"This is a Dao Ancestor-level Sword Immortal."