A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm - Chapter 679: Ethereal Bamboo Melody

“Of course, this jade slip belongs to you after that,” Han Li said with a smile before Immortal Lord Hot Flame had a chance to finish his sentence.

“You’re a far better man than I am, Fellow Daoist Li,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame said in a genuine voice as he extended a respectful salute toward Han Li.

Han Li waved a dismissive hand, then picked up the jade slip and pressed it against his glabella to inject his spiritual sense into it.

Immediately thereafter, he raised an eyebrow as he discovered a passage of small golden text hovering within a body of azure light within the jade slip.

It was a rather complex cultivation art, but it was one by the name of the Eastern Vicissitudes Scripture, rather than the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra.

It took Han Li only a moment to memorize the entire cultivation art, following which he removed the jade slip from his forehead and handed it to Immortal Lord Hot Flame, who hurriedly accepted it before also inspecting its contents.

Han Li watched as his expression gradually turned from elation to disappointment, which was then replaced with a pleased smile.

The Eastern Vicissitudes Scripture had a total of nine parts, and it was also a time-attribute cultivation art. On top of that, it seemed to be closely interconnected to the Water Divination Time Arts and the Illusory Dawn Treasured Scripture.

“Fellow Daoist Li, this may not be the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra, but it’s still a secret cultivation art of our sect, nonetheless, so please don’t distribute it to any outsiders,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame said in a serious manner after stowing the jade slip away.

“Of course. By the way, if you have no use for this ruined Twin Birth Tree, then may I have it?” Han Li asked.

“You’ve already completely destroyed the tree’s vitality with your last attack, why would you want to keep it?” Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked with a surprised expression.

“I was thinking that if, by some miracle, I could resurrect this Twin Birth Tree, then I’ll have a chance of overcoming my baleful decay,” Han Li replied with a wry smile, but internally, he was wondering if he could somehow revive the tree using the spirit liquid produced by his Heaven Controlling Vial.

“I see. In that case, be my guest, Fellow Daoist Li,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied with a smile.

“Also, do you know how Senior Mu Yan used this Twin Birth Tree to overcome his baleful decay?” Han Li asked while carefully stowing away the remnants of the tree.

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the intricacies of Senior Martial Uncle Mu Yan’s cultivation, but I presume it’s just the same old process of guiding one’s baleful qi out of their body and into an external object,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied.

“I thought so, too. In that case, it makes sense why Senior Mu Yan’s body suddenly began to transform into a baleful entity. It most likely had something to do with the large quantity of baleful qi within the Twin Birth Tree,” Han Li said with a nod.

After the tree was packed away, the two of them didn’t immediately depart. Instead, they only left the underground palace after Immortal Lord Hot Flame’s arm was mostly healed.

“If the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra isn’t in the Twin Birth Palace, then there aren’t many places left in the sect where it could be hidden. The Hidden Truth Valley shouldn’t be far away from this place, assuming it’s not on a separate landmass, so let’s go there first,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame suggested after the two of them returned to the plaza.

“What was this Hidden Truth Valley previously used for?” Han Li asked.

“The Hidden Truth Valley was where Patriarch Miro normally cultivated in seclusion. Our patriarch spent most of his time there and only came out to deliver lectures or to address important sect affairs. Hence, I think it’s one of the places where the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra could be hidden,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame explained.

“Alright, then let’s go,” Han Li replied with a nod.

After that, the two of them got onto a flying boat, then set off in the direction of the Hidden Truth Valley under Immortal Lord Hot Flame’s guidance.

Along the way, they could see the ground below was severely ravaged by all types of fearsome attacks.

Han Li couldn’t help but think back to the scene that he had witnessed during his transmigration, particularly that almighty palm strike that had descended from the heavens, the recollection of which still struck him with a sense of lingering fear.

With that in mind, he couldn’t help but look up into the heavens, but of course, he saw nothing but the clear, blue sky.

Close to an hour later, the flying boat flew over a large set of ruins, then arrived in the air above a large plain, where it slowed down significantly.

“It’s a good thing that the Hidden Truth Valley hasn’t collapsed and is still connected to the Wood Emperor area,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame said with a smile as he cast his gaze toward an azure valley in the distance.

Han Li was also observing the valley, and he noticed that the two mountains on either side of it weren’t very tall, and the terrain in the valley was quite flat, so most of the valley was basked under the light of the sun.

“This valley doesn’t appear to be remarkable in any way. I’m assuming there must be some special restrictions set up here, right?” Han Li asked with a puzzled expression.

“You’re overthinking things, Fellow Daoist Li. This is not the place in our sect with the most abundant world’s origin qi, nor have I heard of any hidden restrictions here. Our patriarch chose this place to cultivate purely because he likes the Ethereal Bamboo growing here,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied with a smile.

“I see,” Han Li mused with a slightly surprised expression.

Right as they were speaking to each other, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the valley.

Even before they landed on the ground, they heard a collection of pleasant sounds ringing out within the valley, culminating in a beautiful melody.

“What’s this?” Han Li asked with an intrigued expression.

Immortal Lord Hot Flame basked in the sound with his eyes closed for a moment, then explained, “That’s the Ethereal Bamboo Melody, which comes from the sound of the Ethereal Bamboo striking against each other in the wind. Listening to the melody for long periods of time can clear one’s mind and calm one’s heart.”

“No wonder Patriarch Miro chose this place to go into seclusion, this is truly an exceptional place to be,” Han Li praised.

“We’re only at the entrance of the valley right now. Inside the valley is a type of spirit bird by the name of the Windchime Magpie. Their birdsong is very pleasant on the ears, and it forms a truly exquisite combination with the Ethereal Bamboo Melody,” Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied with a proud expression.

Not long after they entered the valley, Han Li spotted clusters of thin bamboo trees littered across the mountains on either side. The bamboo trees were thin and ramrod straight, and sure enough, they were gently crashing into each other in the wind to produce a beautiful melody.

The deeper they advanced into the valley, the denser the bamboo trees on either side became, until they took up virtually the entire valley. All that was available for Han Li’s duo to walk on was a small stone path that was around six feet wide, leading deeper into the bamboo forest.

Sure enough, Han Li began to feel more and more at ease as he listened to the Ethereal Bamboo Melody, and the same applied to Immortal Lord Hot Flame as well.

After walking for over an hour, a cloud of murky mist emerged within the bamboo forest, causing the sound of the Ethereal Bamboo Melody to become slightly muffled.

Han Li peered into the mist, which was only growing denser and denser, and a hint of unease welled up in his heart.

He activated his Infernal Devilish Eyes as he swept his gaze over his surroundings, but his visibility was limited to no more than a thousand feet, beyond which he was unable to see anything.

What was even more alarming to him was that all of the Ethereal Bamboo deep within the mist had turned a strange gray color, and they weren’t producing much sound as they tapped against each other.

“Something’s very strange about this mist, Fellow Daoist Hot Flame. It’s extremely restrictive on spiritual sense, and it also seems to be interspersed with some baleful qi. Could it be that we’ve unintentionally triggered some restriction in the valley?” Han Li asked with furrowed brows.

“Our patriarch once issued an order prohibiting the setup of restrictions in the Hidden Truth Valley, and disciples of our sect were free to enter the valley as they pleased, so I’ve been here many times. Occasionally, some mist would arise here, but it’s always very thin, and I’ve never seen mist this dense and strange. Perhaps this mist only arose at some point after the sect’s demise?” Immortal Lord Hot Flame speculated.

“In any case, it’s definitely not a good thing that our spiritual sense has been so severely restricted, so we need to be on our guard,” Han Li said with tightly furrowed brows.

Right at this moment, a loud explosion suddenly rang out, and hundreds of specks of green light suddenly emerged deep within the surrounding mist, then shot forth toward Han Li’s duo from all directions.

“Look out!” Han Li yelled as he flipped a hand over to summon an Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword with arcs of golden crackling all over its blade.

With a slash of his sword, the golden lightning converged to form a while that swept through the surrounding area.

At the same time, Immortal Lord Hot Flame summoned his golden mirror in one hand and a large crimson fan in the other before sweeping the fan toward the dozens of specks of green flames directly up ahead.

The whip formed by the Divine Devilbane Lightning swept through the air in front of Han Li in a golden arc, instantly striking the balls of ghostly flames amid a string of resounding booms.

Over a hundred balls of ghostly flames instantly exploded like overripe watermelons, but they didn’t dissipate. Instead, they split up into countless fist-sized balls of fire that continued to hurtle toward Han Li’s duo, although slightly slower than before.

At the same time, a series of fiery patterns lit up on the crimson fan, and crimson fireballs of a comparable size to the green fireballs shot forth before clashing against the green flames and exploding violently.

The green and crimson flames seemed to be able to cancel each other out, and one fireball after another was snuffed out as they clashed against one another.

“It looks like my flames can counteract these things, Fellow Daoist Li!” Immortal Lord Hot Flame yelled.

Han Li immediately sprang into action upon hearing this, summoning his Flame of Essence, which appeared on his shoulder in the form of a fiery silver figure.

The tiny figure stretched lazily as it inspected its surroundings, then turned to the surrounding green flames with an eager expression, looking as if it were raring for battle.