After leaving the Origin Technique Arena, Han Yi didn't linger long at the Immortal Court. Instead, he secretly returned to the Azure Shu Mountain Range before heading straight for the Jade Lake Immortal Domain. There, he plunged into the Divine Power World at the bottom of Jade Lake.
For him, the two safest places in the Immortal Realm were the Sui Zhu Immortal Court and this Divine Power World.
Within the Divine Power World, Han Yi sat cross-legged above the ocean of divine power. He summoned the Green Ripple Sword, suspending it high in the air as a warning beacon against any sudden disturbances. Then, he resumed cultivating the Soul Scripture.
Cultivating this Soul Scripture required almost negligible amounts of Immortal Power, as the first nine layers were all below the True Immortal realm. Yet, in reality, it didn't seem like a typical Semi-Immortal Grade technique.
Normally, with Han Yi's cultivation and realm, mastering a typical Semi-Immortal Grade technique would have taken only a few hours. But the Soul Scripture from the Soul Hall, when not cultivated using their prescribed method, but instead modified through the Panel into the Myriad Nether Tome and brute-forced, took Han Yi a staggering fifteen years to complete the first six layers.
This was what puzzled him.
Drawing on past experiences and information about the Soul Tower, he began to form a theory.
The Soul Scripture provided by the Soul Hall was likely a censored version of the Nether Slave: Half-Immortal Chapter. By abandoning the Soul Hall's prescribed method and using the Panel's deduction function to cultivate, Han Yi might have inadvertently completed the technique, forging a different path.
This path held immense potential for Han Yi, possibly even leading to the breakthrough Immortal Monarch Yuanshu had anticipated—locating the Avatar of the Myriad Nether Immortal Venerable.
Han Yi steeled his resolve and began advancing the Myriad Nether Tome.
It took him a full forty years to break through to the seventh layer.
After reaching the seventh layer, Han Yi was forced to stop.
He estimated that breaking through from the seventh to the eighth layer would take nearly two centuries, and from the eighth to the ninth, it could span over a millennium.
As for breaking through from the ninth to the tenth layer—the moment he suspected would bring about great upheaval—it could take as long as ten thousand years.
Spending such an unfathomable amount of time to verify his conjecture was impractical for Han Yi.
With ten thousand years, he was confident he could ascend to the Immortal Monarch Realm.
By adjusting his approach—first achieving breakthroughs in his cultivation, which would naturally enhance his Immortal Soul, then using the Panel to cultivate the Myriad Nether Tome—he could significantly accelerate his progress.
Perhaps, by combining these methods, Han Yi could both advance his cultivation realm and reach the tenth layer of the Myriad Nether Tome more swiftly, finally revealing the true nature of this mysterious technique that had stumped all Immortals in the Great Luo, including the Dao Ancestors themselves.
Thus, after cultivating for fifty-five years, Han Yi temporarily suspended his practice of the Soul Tower Outer Canon.
After leaving the Divine Power World, Han Yi returned to the Immortal Court. However, he didn't report his findings from the past fifty-five years to Immortal Monarch Yuanshu, as, in essence, he had gained nothing tangible.
The Myriad Nether Tome involved the Proficiency Panel, which he couldn't reveal. Moreover, his deduction that the tenth layer of the Myriad Nether Tome triggered a qualitative change was merely a conjecture, not a certainty.
Next, he went to the Immortal Pavilion. After setting up a sword formation for protection, he summoned the Proficiency Panel. The pale red panel cascaded down like a waterfall. Han Yi ignored less important skill information, focusing only on skills that directly related to his strength or inherent mysteries.
Name: Han Yi
Lifespan: 1369/129600
Immortal Technique: Great Unrestrained Cosmic Light Profound Scripture (Golden Immortal Manual: 7/100)
Life Seed: 0 units
Cultivation Realm: Golden Immortal
Skills:
Sword Flight (Sixth-Tier Immortal Art: 67/100)
Cosmic Light Thought Realm (Fifth-Rank Immortal Art: 12/100)
Fetal Transformation Disguise (Fifth-Rank Immortal Art: 8/100)
Four Origins Dao Technique (Black Tortoise)
Ten Thousand Realms Fate Unification Divine Canon (Supreme Truth Realm: 96/100)
Great Freedom Cosmic Light Sword Canon (Overturning Sea, Dawn-Breaking, Heavenburning, Twilight, Eternal Night, Light-Slaying, Thunder Sword Realm, Total Annihilation)
Sword Realm (Fifth-Rank Immortal Art: 65/100)
Myriad Nether Tome (Nether Slave - Half-Immortal Manual: 70/100)
Ancient Vault Seal (Refinement Progress: 1/100)
It had been nearly sixty years since he endured the Golden Immortal Tribulation and stormed the Void Tower. Over a century and forty years had passed since his ambush in the Black Realm. And approximately five hundred years had elapsed since the Dao Ancestor's return and the Sword Debate on Pure Yang Mountain.
During these five centuries, Han Yi had advanced from a Profound Immortal to a Golden Immortal, his skills undergoing tremendous growth. His Sword Flight technique reached Sixth-Tier, while his Mind Realm Immortal Technique, after advancing to Fifth-Rank, underwent a metamorphosis into the Cosmic Light Thought Realm.
Both the Sword Realm and Fetal Transformation Disguise also reached Fifth-Rank.
Moreover, he had comprehended the eighth form of the Sword Canon, Total Annihilation. Even when relying solely on the Sword Canon, he could now contend with a Peak Golden Immortal.
Beyond his original skills, Han Yi had also cultivated the Alchemy Technique, Beast Taming Art, and Talisman Crafting Art to First-Tier Immortal-grade within the Ancient Vault Dao Ladder.
Additionally, two profoundly mysterious skills appeared on his Proficiency Panel:
First, the Ancient Vault Seal, a fragmented Primordial Chaos Treasure left behind by the fallen Ancient Vault Dao Ancestor. Only after reaching the first level of the Ancient Vault Realm Heaven did Han Yi see the refinement progress display as 1/100.
Second, the Myriad Nether Tome, though it displayed only the Nether Slave Half-Immortal Chapter. Even this incomplete chapter had taken Han Yi over fifty years to reach the seventh layer, with a distant path remaining to the transformative tenth layer.
These were the fruits of his five centuries of cultivation.
As Han Yi organized his thoughts, his brow suddenly furrowed, his gaze settling on the Ancient Vault Seal and the Myriad Nether Tome.
The Ancient Vault Seal was a fragmented Chaos Supreme Treasure, obtained by the Ancient Vault Dao Ancestor from the primordial chaos. The Myriad Nether Tome, on the other hand, was the mysterious immortal scripture cultivated by the Myriad Nether Immortal Venerable. These two artifacts seemed unrelated at first glance.
Yet, the arduous refinement of the Ancient Vault Seal bore a striking similarity to the immense difficulty of cultivating the Half-Immortal Chapter of the Myriad Nether Tome. This coincidence struck Han Yi as peculiar.
He quickly shook his head, dismissing the connection as too tenuous, likely just a coincidence. Diverting his attention, he focused on cultivating the Sword Control Technique, his primary combat Immortal Art. In fact, his strength was directly tied to the mastery of this art.
The Sword Control Immortal Art had already reached the advanced stage of Sixth-Tier Immortal Arts. Advancing it further into the high-tier realm would undoubtedly lead to a significant leap in his combat prowess. Beyond that,
once he made substantial progress with the Sword Control Immortal Art, Han Yi planned to elevate his Ancient God Supreme Truth Realm to its peak, then venture to the Ancient God's Holy Land in the Ferocious Realm to confront the Void Extremity Ancient God Tribulation.
By the time he improved his Sword Control Immortal Art and reached the Ancient God Void Extremity Realm, Han Yi's strength would surge dramatically. He would likely have reached the advanced Golden Immortal Realm by then, no longer needing to fear assassination by the Black Realm Star Lord. At that point, he would focus on two key objectives.
The first was to obtain a sword heart to advance the Green Ripple Sword to a Seventh-Rank Immortal Sword.
The second was to find an Origin or a Wisdom Core left behind by the Wisdom Realm to fill his Life Seed.
The sword heart was available at the Sui Zhu Immortal Court, but acquiring it required performing a significant meritorious service. After all, a single sword heart was equivalent to a Seventh-Rank Immortal Artifact.
Although Seventh-Rank was only one tier higher than Sixth-Rank, this level of Immortal Artifact belonged to the Immortal Monarch realm. A hundred Sixth-Rank Immortal Swords couldn't compare to a single Seventh-Rank Immortal Sword.
After reaching the Peak Golden Immortal realm, he would then spend a long time cultivating the Myriad Nether Tome.
This was Han Yi's adjusted plan.
After all, with his ordinary Golden Immortal cultivation realm, he estimated it would take over ten thousand years to cultivate the Myriad Nether Tome to the tenth layer and trigger a transformation.
However, as a Peak Golden Immortal, this time could be reduced tenfold, or even more.
This was the optimal strategy he had devised.
After finalizing his plan, Han Yi first visited the Immortal Ease Pavilion at the Immortal Market Palace. This Merchant Pavilion appeared periodically, and he occasionally participated in events under its banner to expand its influence.
Then, he returned to the Immortal Pavilion to continue his cultivation.
Thanks to his previous accumulation in the Profound Immortal Realm and his reputation after being listed on the Golden Immortal Ranking, the Immortal Court didn't assign Han Yi many mandatory missions. Instead, they gifted him countless Immortal Marks through the Void Tower, ensuring he never lacked resources for cultivation. This was a special privilege reserved for Heaven's Chosen.
Once Han Yi reached the peak of the Golden Immortal Realm, even Immortal Monarchs would protect his path, aiding his ascension to the Immortal Monarch Realm and adding another Immortal Monarch to the Immortal Court's ranks.
After all, no matter how many Golden Immortals there were, they couldn't be considered the core strength of the Immortal Court. Only those who reached the Immortal Monarch Realm could truly make a significant impact.
However...
Just three years later, Han Yi was summoned by news. He left the Immortal Pavilion and rushed straight to the Primordial Arts Immortal Domain, then traveled to the adjacent Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain.
In the past, when Donghuang had launched a full-scale invasion, his forces had once captured the Spirit Origin Immortal Domain, closer to the Demon Territory, and razed the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain, advancing to the borders of the Primordial Arts Immortal Domain. Han Yi had even considered relocating his sect, even establishing a branch sect in the Jade Lake Immortal Domain in advance.
But later, when Grand Unity ascended to the Heavenly Venerable, the Demon Race retreated instead of advancing, relinquishing the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain and the Spirit Origin Immortal Domain, returning to the Age Candle Territory.
This time, Han Yi's journey to the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain wasn't due to the Demon Race, but because of Evil Mountain.
As one of the three great dark organizations of the Great Luo, Evil Mountain is composed entirely of heretical cultivators and Evil Immortals. This organization operates with perverse and unpredictable methods, spreading all manner of corruption and causing immense harm wherever it appears, making it a universally reviled target.
This time, Evil Mountain appeared in the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain, polluting a vast expanse of land. Within this region, dozens of Immortal Cities, both large and small, fell under its influence, becoming demonic cities. All Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals within these cities were completely cut off.
Moreover, the malevolent pollution continued to spread relentlessly, its advance extending in multiple directions, including towards the Primordial Arts Immortal Domain.
Because the Primordial Arts Immortal Domain bordered this affected area, a Golden Immortal from Primordial Arts received the news and went to investigate. However, he was unexpectedly wounded by a corrupted Evil Immortal and fled back, reporting the incident to the Primal Art Dao Field. Only then did Immortal Monarch Yuanshu issue orders for the Immortals of the Primal Art Dao Field to intervene and purge the corruption.
This directive was sent to all Immortals of the Primordial Arts Immortal Path, encompassing not only those within the Immortal Domains' Dao Fields but also those cultivating within the Immortal Court who had joined Primordial Arts.
In truth, Han Yi couldn't refuse, but he discovered an urgent problem that forced him to temporarily set aside his cultivation and rush to the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain.
The problem wasn't complex: the region polluted by the Demonic Mountain Demonic Immortal was not far from the Primordial Arts Immortal Domain, and the direction of its spread directly targeted the Azure Shu Mountain Range.
If left unchecked, within thirty years, the polluted lands would extend their tentacles to the Azure Shu Mountain Range.
This was why Han Yi had left the Immortal Court and rushed to the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain.
Of course, he wasn't alone. This time, numerous Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals were mobilized. Ever since Immortal Monarch Yuanshu killed four Black Realm Star Lords, his cultivation had rapidly advanced, closing the gap with Immortal Monarch Yuansui, who ranked first. Consequently, the number of Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals under his command had grown significantly. After the fall of Yi Long Immortal Monarch, some of his Immortals had even pledged allegiance to Yuanshu.
This operation alone involved over seventy Golden Immortals, thousands of Profound Immortals, and tens of thousands of True Immortals.
Every instance of pollution caused by Evil Mountain attracted the Immortals' collective assault. This was partly due to the Immortal Court offering Immortal Marks rewards, but also because eliminating Evil Immortals, in a mysterious way, earned the favor of the Dao and enhanced one's luck, which in turn benefited cultivation.
Therefore, the Immortals eagerly participated in these purges.
Han Yi, however, chose to act alone, rather than join the other Golden Immortals.
Ever since his return from the Endless Void Immortal Fortress Cluster, he had spent most of his time operating independently. He simply couldn't trust the unfamiliar Immortals within the Immortal Court.
The Black Realm's tentacles permeate the entire Great Luo, and Age Candles are far from uncommon. It's entirely possible that one of his companions is a Black Realm Assassin. If his movements were exposed and attracted the pursuit of a Star Lord, it would be a serious complication.
With his current Golden Immortal cultivation, facing an Immortal Monarch was still beyond his capabilities. At best, he could rely on the Yueguang Ancient Divine Artifact, as he had in the Endless Void, to inflict some damage.
Therefore, whenever he ventured out now, he remained more vigilant than ever, doing his utmost to conceal his presence. Even the Primordial Art Immortal was unaware of his recent journey to the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain.
Standing in the void above a vast river in the Heavenly Knowledge Immortal Domain, Han Yiping gazed down at the water and the opposite bank.
The scene before him was deeply unsettling.
The water in the river was stagnant, not flowing downward but churning in place. It had also darkened to a murky gray-black, more akin to a bizarre, heavily polluted liquid than water.
The swirling, viscous gray-black liquid resembled an enormous, congealed mass blocking the river. Further upstream, the same polluted liquid continued, but downstream, beyond the contaminated zone, the riverbed was dry—a complete break in the flow.
The dark gray liquid churned and splattered, rolling down the riverbed toward the lower reaches. Gradually, the downstream land was contaminated as well, its groundwater drawn out and absorbed into the dark mass, causing it to grow larger.
Thus, the pollution spread step by step downstream.
Across the river, the forest was equally tainted. All the trees had turned dark gray, their leaves no exception.
Upon closer inspection, the trees, leaves, grass, and mountains were completely motionless, as if even the wind had vanished, creating an eerie stillness.
Beyond the forest, a modest-sized Immortal City stood. Once vibrant with Spirit Light and Immortal Qi, it now lay silent and lifeless. Not only had the Immortal Formations surrounding the city vanished, but even the city gates lacked Cultivator guards—only a heavy, oppressive aura remained.
"This is pollution," Han Yi murmured. He sensed no trace of vitality from the land before him or the Immortal City.
"No wonder the Immortal Court always responds so harshly to Evil Mountain pollution."
"Even the will of the Great Luo Immortal Realm bestows enhanced luck upon Immortals who suppress Evil Immortals."
"If this pollution spreads unchecked, the entire Immortal Realm will become a dead zone."