A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Chapter 938: Abnormal Occurrence

Within a certain palace in the Great Ruins.

The palace was several thousand feet in area, and the ground was paved with green tiles, while the walls were also the same color, giving the entire place a rather cold and eerie appearance.

At the center of the palace was a square elevated altar, upon which stood three figures.

At the center of the trio was E Kuai, and he was accompanied by Mistress Liu Hua and the black-robed man.

The area near the altar was severely ravaged, with many deep craters in the ground, as well as countless puppet fragments everywhere, clearly indicating that an intense battle had just taken place.

E Kuai paid no heed to his surroundings as he observed the top of the altar, which was circular in shape and very flat and smooth.

Its surface was also riddled with countless star runes to form a complex star array, at the center of which was a crimson object, most of which was embedded into the altar, so it was impossible to tell exactly what it was.

Dazzling white light was radiating from the star array, forming a pillar of white light that protected the crimson object from all directions.

E Kuai turned his gaze to Mistress Liu Hua, and the latter immediately sprang into action, placing a series of array tools onto the altar while also pulling out a Star Wave Pen to begin making inscriptions.

Only after close to two hours of work did he finally step back, and at that point, a new array had taken shape around the existing star array on the altar.

From there, Mistress Liu Hua chanted an incantation before flicking a finger through the air, releasing a burst of white light out of his fingertip.

The array that he had just created instantly began operating, releasing rays of white light that fused into the pillar of white light on the altar.

The rays of white light weren't particularly bright, but as soon as they entered the pillar of white light, the latter immediately began to rapidly fade away, revealing the crimson object inside.

"Impressive as always, Fellow Daoist Liu Hua. I don't think anyone else in the Scalptia Spatial Domain could've broken this Heavenly Starlight Array so easily," E Kuai praised with a pleased smile.

"You're far too kind, City Lord E. Please make haste, the array that I just set down isn't going to last long," Mistress Liu Hua replied.

E Kuai nodded in response, then stepped onto the altar and began making his way toward the crimson object.

The array on the altar hadn't been deactivated, and as soon as E Kuai set foot onto the array patterns, they immediately lit up and sent countless arrows of light hurtling directly toward him.

However, these arrows of light immediately faded away as soon as they reached within a certain distance of him, so he was able to continue onward unobstructed.

It didn't take long for E Kuai to reach the crimson object, and he grabbed onto it before forcefully tugging it upward.

The object began to radiate crimson light as it slowly rose upward, and the entire altar began trembling violently along with the surrounding palace.

E Kuai paid no heed to this as he continued to pull on the crimson object, and a series of profound acupoints had lit up over his arm, indicating that this was not an easy task for him.

The crimson object was gradually being pulled out of an altar, and it appeared to be around half a foot in length, but it wasn't clear exactly what it was as if it was concealed within the radiant crimson light around it.

After the object was completely pulled out of the altar, a faint crack rang out, and the white light radiating from the altar completely faded, while all of the array patterns also turned gray.

The crimson light emanating from the crimson object also faded, revealing it to be an antiquated key that seemed to have been crafted from some type of jade material.

The key was riddled with countless tiny runes, and E Kuai was inspecting it with a pleased expression as he murmured to himself, "That's the second one."

"Congratulations, City Lord E," the black-robed man said, while Mistress Liu Hua remained silent.

……

Meanwhile, in a certain underground cave somewhere within the Great Ruins.

The roof of the cave was riddled with crimson patterns that formed an enormous array, which was giving off faint crimson light that illuminated the darkness slightly, and a series of figures could be seen standing on the ground beneath the array.

There were countless figures present, stretching as far as the eyes could see, and right at this moment, the crimson array above them flashed erratically a few times before turning completely dark, plunging the entire underground cave into absolute darkness.

However, right at this moment, the eyes of one of the figures standing on the ground suddenly began to glow white as they raised their heads.

This seemed like some type of catalyst, and the eyes of all of the figures in the underground cave lit up one after another. In the blink of an eye, countless specks of white light had appeared in the cave, resembling a starry night sky.

……

Han Li and Shi Chuankong were naturally oblivious to what was happening underground.

At this moment, they were still exploring the plaza beneath the altar.

The plaza was enormous, and the two of them searched for almost an entire day before finally discovering a secluded palace.

The palace was less than a thousand feet tall, and it was entirely constructed from giant black stone blocks. There weren't any decorative engravings on its surface, but there was an image of a starry night sky engraved onto its tightly shut stone gates.

"Brother Li, I'm willing to bet that there must be puppets inside far more powerful than the ones we've faced thus far. What do you think?" Shi Chuankong asked with a smile.

"I'm not going to bet against you. I don't get anything for winning, and losing is a sign of bad luck, so it's a lose-lose situation for me," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

The two of them had encountered many ruined buildings on the way here, most of which had been completely devoid of spoils. They had also encountered some puppets along the way, but none of them were very powerful and had been easily dismantled.

For some reason, Han Li couldn't help but feel as if there were something different about Shi Chuankong. The change wasn't in his appearance, cultivation base, or aura. Instead, the change was in some type of unquantifiable quality.

Han Li was well aware of the reason for this change. Even though neither of them had mentioned Shi Pokong's betrayal on the way here, it was clear that the betrayal had had a profound effect on Shi Chuankong.

"Let's go," Han Li said, then strode forward and pressed a palm against the heavy stone gate before pushing on it.

A resounding grating noise rang out as the gate swung back, creating an opening that was wide enough for the two of them to fit through. It was pitch-black inside, and the entire place smelled like decay.

Han Li took a brief glance at his surroundings, then made his way inside with the white scimitar in his hand, followed closely by Shi Chuankong.

As soon as they entered the palace, a flame instantly lit up on the nearby wall. The flame then quickly spread over the entire perimeter of the palace along the slots on the walls, illuminating the entire area.

A slightly, sickly sweet odor began to waft through the air, seemingly from some type of burning fat.

Thanks to the light of the fire, Han Li was able to see a moderate-sized rectangular pond on the ground not far up ahead. The pond was already completely dry, and there was a white stone arch bridge.

The surrounding stone walls were riddled with floral engravings that had soft, yet extremely clear and vivid linework. Interspersed throughout these floral designs were some engravings of different beasts, presenting a stunning sight to behold.

At the end of the palace stood seven or eight black stone statues, and the two directly facing across from Han Li and Shi Chuankong were both in a standing posture.

The one on the left depicted a tall and imposing devilish man with a head of short hair that was spiked up at the heavens. He had a set of ape-like facial features with fangs that were protruding out of his mouth, and he was clad in a suit of black devilish armor, while a long staff was held in his grasp.

The staff was only around the same thickness as an infant's arm, but it was riddled with storm cloud designs, and it appeared to be a different material from the rest of the statue.

The statue on the right depicted a slender human woman who was extremely beautiful, with a pair of bright and exuberant eyes. There were silken streamers draped over her body, and they were dancing in the wind, giving her the appearance of a celestial maiden who was soaring through the heavens.

Her hands were cupped together in front of her chest, and cradled over her palms was a crimson key that appeared to have been made from some type of jade-like material.

Beside each of them were three halberd-wielding guards that were half-knelt onto the ground, and they were identical in appearance. Their upper bodies were bared to reveal bulging muscles that seemed to be brimming with explosive power.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong exchanged a glance with each other, then strode over the edge of the pond. After inspecting the pond momentarily, they made their way onto the stone arch bridge leading to the other side.

Upon making it to the center point of the bridges, the ground beneath them suddenly began to tremble, and they hurriedly stopped in their tracks before looking around, but didn't discover anything amiss.

Right at this moment, the faint sound of trickling water suddenly began to ring out from under the bridge.

Han Li looked down to discover that there seemed to be a hole at the bottom of the pond, and water was pouring out from within.

"What's going on?" Shi Chuankong asked.

"I'm not sure, but let's get to the other side first," Han Li replied with slightly furrowed brows.

As soon as his voice trailed off, the sound of flowing water suddenly grew louder, and the rate of water outflow drastically increased, with most of the pond quickly filled up.

At the same time, plumes of white mist began to rise up from the surface of the water, and Han Li looked up to discover that an image of a glowing starry sky had appeared on the ceiling of the palace above.

His brows furrowed slightly as he and Shi Chuankong took a step forward in unison, and all of a sudden, they found themselves in a resplendent palace, as if they had been teleported into a completely different setting.

The sound of musical instruments rang out as a group of beautiful women in colorful dresses swayed their hips from side to side while playing different musical instruments, performing a well-rehearsed dance.