The approaching Immortal Monarch, Mountain Still Immortal Monarch, looked at Han Yi with a piercing gaze, within which lay a deeply concealed killing intent, but more prominently, a profound wariness.
Han Yi was somewhat surprised.
He recognized this Immortal Monarch; it was none other than Mountain Still Immortal Monarch, whom he had encountered near the Barren Fold Mountains.
Moreover, Life-Burning had wanted to kill Mountain Still, and Han Yi had sought a strand of the Life-Burning Sword Intent, even promising to assist him after he himself ascended to the Immortal Monarch realm.
He never expected such a coincidence, encountering him here.
Judging by the wariness in Mountain Still's eyes, he had likely witnessed Han Yi tucking away the Black-Robed Immortal Lord.
At this thought, a murderous aura surged in Han Yi's eyes.
But before he could act, Mountain Still suddenly plummeted downward, falling toward the ground. Han Yi's gaze followed, witnessing an astonishing sight.
Mountain Still Immortal Monarch passed through the forest and earth below, continuing to fall downward.
This wasn't the Earth-Transversing Technique cultivable by Qi Refining Stage cultivators, but rather, it was as if the mountainous terrain beneath him didn't exist at all—a distinction Han Yi could clearly discern.
As Mountain Still Immortal Monarch fell through the forest, the space he descended into turned ashen, like a silent, lifeless world.
Han Yi was certain this world hadn't existed before, and that it had suddenly appeared only after Mountain Still Immortal Monarch landed—or rather, that Mountain Still Immortal Monarch had summoned it forth.
From a thousand miles away, Han Yi sensed the deathly silent world, a familiar feeling stirring within him.
But the passage of time had been too vast, leaving him momentarily disoriented.
As this thought formed, he realized the space around him was beginning to distort and shift. Though he remained suspended in mid-air, the forest below surged upward as if he were plummeting downward.
No.
He wasn't falling.
Instead, a mysterious space was overlapping with his current position—the deathly silent world that Mountain Still Immortal Monarch had unleashed a thousand miles away.
Han Yi's heart lurched.
He finally understood why this deathly silent space felt so familiar.
This was the Void Prison.
The Jade Balance Realm possessed nine layers of Void Prison, and the Great Luo Immortal Realm had its own ninefold version.
Years ago, Han Yi had burned his Life Seed within the ninefold Void Prison, suffering an invasion by the Gu Clan Mother Nest. The memory still sent shivers down his spine.
For all these years, he had avoided the Void Prison. Partly out of fear, and partly because he wanted to reach a higher level of cultivation before investigating it further.
He never imagined he would be dragged into the Void Prison again.
His gaze sharpened. He knew immediately that his descent into the Void Prison must be connected to Mountain Still Immortal Monarch, though he couldn't fathom how the Immortal Monarch had accomplished this.
As he pondered this...
Han Yi drew his sword and swung, but the space around him merely trembled, forming a shallow rift that vanished almost as soon as it appeared.
A flicker of surprise crossed Han Yi's face.
Having reached the Peak Golden Immortal realm, he should have been able to effortlessly tear through space and escape the Void Prison. Qingping's sword strike, which had already reached the Immortal Monarch level, failed to breach even this thin layer of space. This confirmed that the space was restrained by an Immortal Sovereign—or a force equivalent to one.
Mountain Still Immortal Monarch's daring to attack after retrieving the Black-Robed Immortal Lord's corpse proved his true strength.
After leaving the Barren Fold Mountains, Han Yi had investigated Mountain Still Immortal Monarch. His displayed cultivation realm was that of an ordinary Immortal Monarch, not even reaching the Senior level.
Of course, this was only the realm Mountain Still Immortal Monarch had shown. It was highly likely he was concealing his true strength, given that Immortal Monarch Life-Burning, who considered him a mortal enemy, was a Senior Immortal Monarch.
For a Senior Immortal Monarch to have spent years searching for an opportunity to kill an ordinary Immortal Monarch, only to gain nothing and even seek assistance from a rising star like Han Yi, defied reason.
As this thought crossed his mind, the distorted space around him gradually stabilized.
Though suspended in mid-air, Han Yi sensed the surrounding space permeated with a profound power. Within this power, the Law of Death comprised seventy percent, confirming his earlier suspicion: he was indeed within the Ninefold Void Prison.
Judging by the profound depth of the Laws present, this must be a deep layer—at least the seventh, possibly the eighth, or even the very bottommost ninth layer.
Han Yi was familiar with the Ninefold Void Prison; the Profound Treasury Pavilion contained a specialized introduction to it.
In the Primordial Era, before the fragmentation of the Primordial, there was no Void Prison. Instead, it was known as the Land of Reincarnation.
Just as all things have a yin and yang, the Land of Reincarnation represented the yin aspect of the Primordial, gathering all negative energies associated with death.
The Lord of Reincarnation of that era was a Heavenly Venerable of the highest rank, revered as the Great Celestial Venerable of Reincarnation, even among his peers.
At the end of the Primordial Era, when the Primordial shattered, the Land of Reincarnation fragmented into nine pieces, and the Great Celestial Venerable of Reincarnation perished. The Fragments of Reincarnation he had condensed and wielded scattered across the Nine Realms.
The fragmented remains of the Land of Reincarnation acquired a new name: the Void Prison.
Following this, Immortals from various realms sought the Fragments of Reincarnation, becoming Lords of the Void Prison. By fusing these fragments, they could ascend to become Reincarnation Dao Ancestors.
In the Great Luo Immortal Realm, at the beginning of the Eighth Epoch, the Great Immortal War erupted. The Reincarnation Dao Ancestor and the Heavenly Demon Dao Ancestor perished, and the Fragments of Reincarnation vanished. The subsequent Lord of the Void Prison, now known as the Void Prison Immortal Sovereign, although he has seized control of the Ninefold Void Prison, cannot advance to become a Dao Ancestor without the Fragments.
Of course, within the Ninefold Void Prison, the Void Prison Immortal Sovereign wields sufficient power to contend with a Dao Ancestor.
As Han Yi's thoughts shifted, he turned his gaze toward Mountain Still Immortal Monarch, who stood ahead.
In the outside world, they had been separated by over a thousand miles, yet after their descent, the distance between them had narrowed to a mere ten. For an Immortal Monarch, such proximity was practically face-to-face.
Han Yi's expression turned cold and sharp. "You want to kill me?" he asked bluntly.
"Why?" he added, his voice icy. He rarely asked such questions, but genuine curiosity compelled him this time.
Mountain Still Immortal Monarch, standing ten miles away, remained silent.
His initial intent to kill Han Yi hadn't been particularly strong; otherwise, he wouldn't have retreated so easily from the Barren Fold Mountains after Han Yi's mere threats. However, after Han Yi left Immortal Monarch Life-Burning's Palace, Mountain Still finally hardened his resolve to eliminate him.
He and Immortal Monarch Life-Burning were mortal enemies. Just as Life-Burning sought his demise, Mountain Still harbored the same desire toward Life-Burning. Just as Life-Burning had planted spies around Mountain Still, Mountain Still had reciprocated by infiltrating agents into Life-Burning's circle.
Han Yi's visit to Life-Burning had been reported to Mountain Still within the time it takes an incense stick to burn after Han Yi left the Luo Tian Immortal Court.
As for why he wanted Han Yi dead, that stemmed from past lessons that had solidified his resolve.
Though Mountain Still Immortal Monarch didn't answer his question, his actions made his determination clear.
He retrieved a transparent crystal, roughly the size of a fingernail. Though irregularly shaped and unremarkable in appearance, he pressed it solemnly against his forehead. The crystal seeped into his skin, leaving a faint mark behind.
In the next instant, a black radiance emerged from the ground beneath him, rapidly spreading outward in all directions.
The black glow expanded with astonishing speed, instantly covering a hundred-mile radius, which included the ground where Han Yi stood.
Han Yi looked down, his gaze sharpening, and his expression abruptly changed, shifting even more drastically than when he had faced a Peak Immortal Monarch.
He had recognized the nature of the black radiance below.
This was no ordinary darkness, but the aura of an Immortal Artifact—the Soul-Suppressing Brush.
The Soul-Suppressing Brush was one of the Immortal Artifacts of the Void Prison Immortal Sovereign. Though only an Eighth-Tier artifact, within the Void Prison, it could unleash the power of a Ninth-Tier Immortal Artifact.
Legend had it that this Eighth-Rank Immortal Artifact had once been wielded by the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor, making it an artifact of ancient lineage.
As expected.
His expression shifted dramatically.
At the center of the spreading black radiance below, two characters in the script of the Immortal Realm suddenly formed—his name, Han Yi.
In the next instant, Han Yi felt his Immortal Soul being suppressed, his thoughts frozen in place.
Ten kilometers away, Mountain Still Immortal Monarch's face paled as his life force rapidly drained. Half of his hair turned white, and his lifespan was instantly reduced by over ten thousand years.
After overcoming the Great Cycle Tribulation, an Immortal's lifespan resets to the First Yuan, which is 129,600 years. With less than 20,000 years remaining before his own Great Cycle Tribulation, losing 10,000 years meant he now needed to break through to a new cultivation realm to survive until that time.
However, this wasn't insurmountable for him. Though an ordinary Immortal Monarch, he was close to a breakthrough. He believed that after recovering from his injuries, it would take him no more than 2,000 years to advance to the rank of Senior Immortal Monarch.
More importantly, if he could obtain the opportunity from Han Yi, he stood a strong chance of soaring to new heights, potentially even ascending to the rank of Peak Immortal Monarch, or perhaps even glimpsing the Immortal Sovereign position.
His decision to kill Han Yi stemmed from three motives: eliminating Immortal Monarch Life-Burning's ally, jealousy of Han Yi's innate talent, and most crucially, his desire to seize the opportunity within Han Yi.
He had investigated Han Yi thoroughly. From Nascent Soul to the peak of the Golden Immortal Realm, achieving the combat prowess of an Immortal Monarch, it had taken him merely 2,000 years.
In that same span of time, even a Demigod might struggle to ascend to True Immortal status, yet Han Yi had traversed multiple major cultivation realms—a feat so astonishing it defied belief.
This proved that the Immortal Opportunity within Han Yi was outrageously heaven-defying, allowing such rapid breakthroughs and extraordinary combat strength.
If he could seize this opportunity, he would be the one to defy heaven and rise to greatness.
Therefore, when he learned that Han Yi was attending the Ten Thousand Merchants Immortal Assembly, he hurried to Double Bright Immortal City. Using subtle methods, he marked Han Yi's movements. When Han Yi vanished from the city, he immediately set out for the outskirts.
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he approached and saw Han Yi retrieving the corpse emitting an Immortal Monarch's aura. His apprehension surged to its peak.
Nevertheless, he acted decisively.
He was confident that with the Soul-Suppressing Brush's power, he could definitely slay Han Yi.
Years ago, during his time as a Golden Immortal, he had stumbled upon a small fragment of Reincarnation while wandering the Immortal Realm. This fragment granted him the opportunity to wield the Soul-Suppressing Brush, an Eighth-Rank Immortal Artifact.
Relying on this artifact, he had already slain two Immortal Monarchs during his Golden Immortal days, one of them even a Senior Immortal Monarch.
Today marked his third and final chance to use the Soul-Suppressing Brush.
He had initially planned to kill Han Yi using a Seventh-Rank Immortal Artifact. But upon seeing Han Yi retrieve the Immortal Monarch's corpse, he decisively abandoned relying solely on his own strength and chose to use the final opportunity of the Soul-Suppressing Brush to ensure absolute success.
The irregular transparent crystal he had previously retrieved was the Fragment of Reincarnation. Each activation of the Fragment cost him 10,000 years of lifespan.
Yet each time, the rewards far outweighed the cost.
This time, the outcome was as expected.
Ten miles away, Han Yi's Divine Soul was suppressed, his thoughts frozen as he plummeted from the sky and crashed to the ground. The distance was no concern for him; the real issue was his complete inability to resist.
Having expended 10,000 years of his lifespan, the white-haired, aged Mountain Still Immortal Monarch approached slowly. The Soul-Suppressing Brush's effect would last for two hours, ample time to uncover Han Yi's secrets.
But as he closed within seven miles, a terrifying surge of energy erupted from Han Yi's silent body—a purity of power Mountain Still Immortal Monarch had never witnessed before.
Suddenly realizing what it was, he gasped aloud.
"Origin! This is the aura of the Origin!"
"The Primordial Qi that only Dao Ancestors can truly master!"
"So that's how it is! Han Yi possesses Primordial Qi! No wonder his cultivation progressed so rapidly—it was all because of the Origin!"
Mountain Still Immortal Monarch's face lit up with ecstatic delight.
He didn't consider this a dying counterattack from Han Yi, as the Soul-Suppressing Brush had immobilized his Divine Soul, leaving him incapable of channeling the Origin. The Origin's appearance now must have been triggered by sensing the severance of Han Yi's soul, causing it to manifest automatically.
After all, he had never heard of the Origin possessing spirituality or the ability to protect its host autonomously.
However, Mountain Still Immortal Monarch also noticed the Immortal Sword in Han Yi's hand. Judging by its aura, it was a Seventh-Rank Immortal Artifact.
Reviving a Seventh-Rank Immortal Sword would require some effort, but such a minor obstacle posed no real challenge to him.
Moreover, this Immortal Sword would soon become one of his spoils of war.
Out of caution, he prepared to unleash an Immortal Art to first immobilize the Seventh-Rank Immortal Sword.
Just as Mountain Still approached within four li of the target,
he saw Han Yi, whose Divine Soul had been suppressed, suddenly open his eyes, his gaze filled with indescribable fury.
He froze momentarily, utterly taken aback by this unexpected turn of events.
After all, Han Yi was being suppressed by the Eighth-Rank Immortal Artifact driven by a Fragment of Reincarnation—the Soul-Suppressing Brush, once wielded by the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor himself.
Under the restraint of such a terrifying artifact, even a Peak Immortal Monarch would struggle to break free, let alone a Golden Immortal.
"How is this possible?!"
The moment the thought flickered through his mind, Han Yi, his eyes now open, viciously swung his sword.
Whoosh!
The Green Ripple Sword Light streaked forth, slicing through the deathly stillness of space. It cleaved Mountain Still Immortal Monarch in two, its terrifying Immortal Energy annihilating his Immortal Soul. The force of the strike carved a massive, hundred-mile-long canyon across the land, abruptly rending the earth asunder.
This sword strike was fueled by Han Yi's bitter resentment.
The Origin aura that Mountain Still Immortal Monarch saw was because Han Yi's Life Seed on his panel was burning.
His remaining 10,000 units of Life Seed were completely burned up in just a few breaths.
This scene...
How familiar!
Two thousand years ago, when he escaped the Gu Clan Mother Nest, his Life Seed had also burned spontaneously.
The difference was that back then, he only had over a thousand units of Life Seed, while this time it was a full 10,000 units.
The similarity was that once it burned, it would be completely depleted.
This was 10,000 units of Life Seed, enough to push his Sixth-Tier Sword Flight limit to Seventh-Tier. At that point, he would possess the combat strength of a Senior Immortal Monarch, his power advancing to the next level.
But he never expected it would be burned up here.
Han Yi sighed and flew over to store Mountain Still Immortal Monarch's corpse in his Cosmic Immortal Ring.
Then.
He looked down.
Below, the black runes and his name, delineated by the Soul-Suppressing Brush, were slowly fading.
But the next moment.
A voice echoed from the deeper layers of the Void Prison space, carrying a concentrated deathly Dao Principle that shook heaven and earth, striking him with violent tremors.
"Steal the Soul-Suppressing Brush's authority!"