As a member of the Sui Zhu Immortal Court, Han Yi was obligated to accept the mission to travel to the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
However, his cultivation realm had previously been unstable, preventing him from leaving.
Now that his cultivation was stable and his strength had advanced, it was naturally time for him to fulfill this obligation.
To be honest, as a member of the Sui Zhu Immortal Court, Han Yi hadn't contributed much to the court. In fact, the court had primarily provided him with cultivation resources, especially through the Void Tower, which continuously rewarded him with Immortal Marks.
His recent rise from fifteenth to third place on the Golden Immortal Ranking alone earned him thirty million Immortal Marks—a cultivation resource sufficient for a Peak Profound Immortal to advance to the peak of the Golden Immortal realm.
Once he ascended to Senior Golden Immortal, he was confident he could reach the top of the ranking. As a Peak Golden Immortal, he might even reach the 2950th or higher tower layers, capable of directly confronting Immortal Monarchs, or even slaying them.
By then, Immortal Marks would hold less significance for him.
After accepting the mission, Han Yi didn't join the group but chose to travel south alone, as he hadn't forgotten the threat from the Black Realm Star Lord.
He flew through several Immortal Domains. With his current speed, it took only three days to reach the outskirts of the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
Before him lay a vast expanse of void, distinct from the Endless Void surrounding the Great Luo Immortal Realm. This peculiar realm within the void floated countless lands of varying sizes, some hundreds of thousands of kilometers wide, while others could barely accommodate a few people.
This unique expanse was known as the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
Created during the final battle of the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable, the devastation radiating from the Heavenly Pool Mountain Range for hundreds of millions of kilometers had transformed this region into the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
Over time, the pool had been divided into three zones: the Outer, Middle, and Deep regions.
The Outer region, naturally the least dangerous, attracted numerous low-level cultivators seeking treasures. Demigods and cultivators below this level typically confined their activities to this area.
The Middle region was considered safe only for True Immortals and Profound Immortals.
As for the Deep region, only Golden Immortals and higher dared to venture there.
After ascending to the Golden Immortal realm, Han Yi's Immortal Sense had greatly improved. With a single sweep, he could now clearly perceive thousands of kilometers of terrain.
Now, as he approached the outskirts of the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool, he noticed that the area looked completely different from his last visit when he had come to seek the Qingping Sword Division.
Even the outskirts of the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool were now permeated with a pervasive aura of malevolence, teeming with grotesque anomalies and demonic energy. Even here, Han Yi felt an overwhelming sense of danger.
If the outskirts were this perilous, how much more terrifying must the central regions be? And what about the depths, rumored to be the domain of the four Chaos Evil Gods? It was no wonder even the Dao Ancestor had been unable to subdue this place.
The Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool had been utterly transformed, now serving as a lair for Evil Gods.
Standing at the edge of the Void, Han Yi considered asking Taiyuan about the situation deep within the pool. But just as he opened his mouth, he paused.
This was the Origin Land of the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable, and Taiyuan was his paired blade. If he had anything to say, he would speak of his own accord. There was no need for Han Yi to ask.
With that, Han Yi gripped the Green Ripple Sword and stepped into the pool.
The Immortal Court's mission was to purify the malevolent pollution within the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool, requiring him to remain in the central or outer regions for ten years. Of course, if danger arose, he was permitted to escape.
Based on years of accumulated experience, the evil immortals and anomalies within the Heavenly Pool never pursued targets beyond its boundaries. As long as one could escape to the surrounding land, they could evade their pursuit.
Without the Heaven-Devouring Mark, Han Yi feared no entity but the Chaos Evil Gods.
Han Yi learned that over the years, the Evil Immortals of Evil Mountain, including rogue cultivators, had largely converged upon Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool, seeking protection within the sphere of influence of the Chaos Evil God.
More importantly, the Chaos Evil God's aura could enhance the cultivation of Evil Immortals. These malevolent beings harbored grand ambitions: to establish a vast power structure dominated by the Chaos Evil God, rivaling the Blazing Flame Dao Court once erected by the ancient Sacrificial Daoists.
The Immortal Court had dispatched Immortals to purify the malevolent pollution plaguing the realm. Over 80% of this corruption stemmed from the actions of Evil Immortals, while the remaining 20% originated from areas tainted by the Chaos Evil God's past interventions.
Upon entering Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool, Han Yi quickly encountered signs of corruption. Ahead floated a small landmass, only a few thousand miles across, with a towering structure at its center—a hundred-meter-high tower.
As Han Yi gazed upon the tower, his eyes blazed with killing intent. This tower was no ordinary construction, neither forged through Artifact Refinement nor built from metal or jade stone. It was a tower of flesh and blood.
Indeed, the tower was composed of distorted, mangled flesh. Through his senses, Han Yi detected an Evil Immortal within, cultivating vile Immortal Techniques.
Outside the tower lay countless desiccated corpses, stripped of flesh and blood, some still clad in the robes of low-level cultivators from the Age Candle Immortal Mansion.
Han Yi snorted coldly, swinging his sword. The Sword Light erupted with boundless destructive intent, sweeping across the tower. The writhing flesh recoiled instantly, ultimately being devoured by the Evil Immortal cultivating dark methods.
As the Evil Immortal soared upward, a look of horror crossed his face, but he had no time to counterattack. The Sword Qi of Total Annihilation crushed him, eradicating all traces of his malevolent essence in the blast of destruction.
This Evil Immortal was merely at the peak of the Profound Immortal stage, no match for Han Yi's single sword strike. Even a Peak Golden Immortal would struggle to withstand it.
After slaying the Profound Immortal-class Evil Immortal, Han Yi shifted positions, searching for other malevolent entities.
One year later, Han Yi encountered an Immortal Monarch-level Evil Immortal in the central region. This entity, known as Guangpu, had appeared in the records of the Sui Zhu Immortal Court. Originally a Golden Immortal-level Buddhist cultivator, he had fallen into the path of the Evil Immortal and, through some unknown malevolent means, advanced to the Immortal Monarch level.
Guangpu the Evil Immortal appeared as a three-meter-tall, amiable-looking, rotund monk. Yet, the necklace of finger bones around his neck—a gruesome collection taken from the Golden Immortals he had slain—numbered in the thousands, densely covering his chest.
Upon recognizing Guangpu the Evil Immortal, Han Yi immediately retreated without further attempt at resistance.
He knew that unleashing the Yueguang Divine Spear might momentarily shake the Immortal Monarch, but it would be impossible to kill him. In the end, he'd still have to flee. Why not conserve his strength, escape now, and return once he had ascended to the 2950th floor of the Void Tower, gaining the power to truly challenge an Immortal Monarch?
As Han Yi fled, Guangpu the Evil Immortal relentlessly pursued him. However, since Han Yi had reached the Void Extremity Realm, his speed, bolstered by the Eternal Superposition of the Cosmic Light Thought Realm Immortal Art, was only slightly inferior to the Immortal Monarch's. After deflecting Guangpu's attack with the Green Ripple Sword, Han Yi used the momentum to explosively retreat, escaping the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
As expected.
Guangpu the Evil Immortal, who had chased him to the very edge of the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool, glared with ferocious intent. Yet, true to the Immortal Court's records, he refrained from crossing this boundary. Instead, he turned and delved deeper into the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
Han Yi watched Guangpu the Evil Immortal depart, his eyes flickering as he pondered why these Evil Immortals refused to leave the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
No.
It wasn't refusal; they couldn't leave.
Han Yi understood the nature of Evil Immortals. Having pursued their quarry to this point, they would never abandon the hunt. Their innate malevolence would drive them to leave the Heavenly Pool's bounds and slay their enemy.
Yet here they remained, defying their instincts. This could only mean a greater power was constraining them, forcing them to stay.
That power could be none other than the Chaos Evil God's.
In other words, the Chaos Evil God had granted power to the Evil Immortals, yet also restrained them in some way. The surface manifestation was clear, but the deeper reasons remained a mystery to Han Yi.
He flew along the edge for thousands of kilometers before re-entering the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
This time, he moved with greater caution, encountering no Immortal Monarch-level Evil Immortals. Unconsciously, he was drawing closer to the pool's depths.
At a certain moment,
Han Yi, soaring through the Void, suddenly halted, his eyes lighting up. Before him, the Proficiency Panel—unchanged for centuries—suddenly sprang to life. A cascade of radiant light flowed down, revealing lines of pale red text that filled him with excitement:
Life Seed detected. Cannot be absorbed!
Life Seed detected. Cannot be absorbed!
"A Life Seed! It's actually a Life Seed!" Han Yi exclaimed, his excitement palpable as he looked around, finding only endless void.
"Cannot absorb? Based on past experience, this must be due to excessive distance."
!
Han Yi attempted to fly further forward, but the notification on his panel persisted. When he flew backward, beyond the initial position where the panel's notification first appeared, the message vanished.
From this, he confirmed the range of his sensory ability.
He flew tens of miles into the sensory range, but then immediately halted. He suddenly realized that continuing forward would lead deeper into the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool, where at least four Chaos Evil Gods lurked, along with the possible hidden presence of the Lord of the Evil Mountain. This was far beyond his capabilities to infiltrate.
Even with the Yueguang Ancient Divine Artifact, if discovered in the depths, escape would be nearly impossible, leading inevitably to his death.
Internally conflicted, he ultimately couldn't resist the temptation. The ideal scenario would be to replicate the scene from his past encounter with the Primordial Boundary Wall.
To absorb the Life Seed, he needed no physical contact; only proximity within a certain range was required.
But after approaching within a few hundred miles, Han Yi was forced to retreat helplessly. Ahead, dozens of Immortal Monarch-level Evil Immortals formed an impenetrable defensive line. Even if he managed to get past them, he would never escape.
Han Yi retreated to the edge of the Void, standing on solid ground, and began to ponder.
After a moment, his eyes lit up slightly.
His strength was insufficient, but he could sneak in.
He glanced at the Proficiency Panel.
Fetal Transformation Disguise (Fifth-Rank Immortal Art 13/100)
The Shape Transformation Immortal Art had evolved into Fetal Transformation Disguise at the Third-Tier. Now at the Fifth-Rank, even a Peak Golden Immortal would struggle to discern his true form through this disguise. If it advanced to the Sixth-Tier, would even Immortal Monarchs be unable to distinguish truth from falsehood?
This possibility was highly likely.
Han Yi made up his mind and decided to cultivate this Immortal Art.
He was determined to obtain the Life Seed.
The Life Seed deep within Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool had two possible origins: either left behind by the Heavenly Pool Immortal Sect or the Abyssal Heavenly Venerable after the pool's destruction, or brought into the Great Luo Immortal Realm by the Chaos Evil God.
Han Yi leaned toward the second possibility.
If it were the first possibility—that the Life Seed was left behind by the Heavenly Pool Immortal Sect or Profound Heaven Venerable after the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool's destruction—then after tens of thousands of years, the Dao Ancestors who ventured into the depths of the pool would have undoubtedly noticed and taken it long ago.
As for the type of Life Seed, Han Yi wasn't certain.
So far, he only knew of two types: one was the Origin of the world, which the Proficiency Panel had alerted him to during the Eternal Life Immortal Assembly, but he hadn't obtained it. The other type included the Wisdom Cores of the Wisdom Clan.
Of course, if one considered it broadly, the Wisdom Clan's Wisdom Cores could also be considered a type of Origin.
In other words, a Life Seed is an Origin. However, in other contexts, it might be referred to differently. It could be the Origin of a Primordial Great World, the Origin of the Great Eternal Wisdom World, or even the Origin brought back to the Great Luo Immortal Realm by a Chaos Evil God from some world within the Chaos.
Reining in his wandering thoughts, Han Yi didn't linger. He took a detour back to the Primordial Arts Immortal Domain, returned to the Azure Shu Mountain Range, and began focusing on mastering this Immortal Technique within the Profound Pill Sect.
Now that he cultivated through the Proficiency Panel, he no longer needed to manifest external changes. For instance, with the Fetal Transformation Disguise, he no longer needed to constantly alter his aura and form. He could simply simulate these changes with Immortal Power, achieving effects identical to those of his True Form transformations.
Thirty years later, Han Yi emerged from seclusion.
Using his Immortal Sense, he scanned the Azure Shu Mountain Range and found that the Sect was flourishing. More and more Transformation Gods and Demigods were emerging, but unfortunately, Yuan Hong remained the only Immortal. The others were still Demigods.
This was due to the Profound Pill Sect's limited foundation. It needed time to accumulate before True Immortals could emerge in a burst.
Han Yi couldn't rush this process.
Over the years, he had channeled vast resources into the Sect through the Immortal Ease Pavilion. Now, it was up to the cultivators within the Sect to refine their skills.
Before leaving Azure Shu Mountain, he checked the Proficiency Panel. While most of his skills hadn't advanced significantly in the past thirty years, Fetal Transformation Disguise had reached the Sixth-Tier, which was why he had emerged from seclusion.
Fetal Transformation Disguise (Sixth-Tier Immortal Art 1/100)
At the same time, Han Yi realized that as his cultivation realm and skills advanced, each level of improvement for his Immortal Arts and skills required increasingly vast amounts of time. Now, even a single seclusion could easily last thirty to fifty years, which he found unbearably long.
"Kexu, ordinary clones can't replace me in cultivation. If they could, I'd have created a dozen or more to grind proficiency daily, and my experience would skyrocket."
Han Yi felt a twinge of regret.
He had experimented with creating ordinary Immortal Dao Avatars, even using Qi Refining techniques to imbue part of his will into Immortal Puppets. He had attempted to have these Avatars or Thought Immortal Puppets simulate cultivation using Immortal Power to advance his Proficiency Panel.
But the results were deeply disappointing: the clones' simulated cultivation failed to increase the progress on his Proficiency Panel.
Gathering his thoughts, Han Yi left the Azure Shu Mountain Range and went to the Primal Art Dao Field to research events from the past thirty years. He discovered that the Immortal Realm had entered another period of relative stability during that time.
However, this stability had one flaw: the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool had transformed into the lair of the Chaos Evil God, becoming a "monster grinding" ground for countless Great Luo Immortals and cultivators.
After leaving the Primal Art Dao Field, Han Yi headed directly for the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool.
On the land surrounding the Emperor's Fall Heavenly Pool, Han Yi discovered several newly constructed Immortal Cities that had sprung up. These were ordinary Immortal Cities, bustling with low-level cultivators coming and going, some even at the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment stages.