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

Chapter 848: Long Road Ahead

"What are you doing with these beast cores, Brother Li? Surely they don't have much tool refinement value," Shi Chuankong asked with a puzzled expression.

"Why don't you take a look at it first?" Han Li replied with a smile, then tossed the beast core in his hand at Shi Chuankong.

Shi Chuankong caught the beast core, then examined it momentarily before a hint of a surprise flashed through his eyes.

"This beast core contains a tremendous physical aura! Consuming it will definitely enhance one's physical constitution," Shi Chuankong said.

"That's right. Even though spiritual qi and devilish qi are completely absent in this place, it seems to have its own unique energy system," Han Li replied with a nod.

"This environment is most likely how these beasts were able to develop such formidable physical bodies," Shi Chuankong mused.

"The residents of this domain must be aware of the properties of these beast cores, and perhaps they'll collect these beast cores to use as a type of bodily refinement resource. In any case, it certainly couldn't hurt to collect them, and they could prove to be useful in the future," Han Li said.

"Exceptional foresight as usual, Brother Li. I wonder what the residents of this domain are like now that this place has been abandoned for so long," Shi Chuankong mused.

"Compared with the Immortal Realm, the people of the Holy Realm generally possess superior aptitude in bodily refinement. Given that one's cultivation base is useless here, I'm assuming all of the residents of this domain must place their focus solely on bodily refinement," Han Li speculated.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him, and he released his spiritual sense throughout the surrounding area.

In doing so, he discovered that while he could still use his spiritual sense here, it was also suppressed by the innate pressure in this domain, so his spiritual sensory range was reduced to only several dozen kilometers.

Moments later, he pulled out the sheet of beast hide that contained the map of the domain given to him by Shi Pokong, and Shi Chuankong and Daoist Xie also gathered around to inspect the map together.

"I've just examined the surrounding area with my spiritual sense, and it seems like we're in this area on the map," Han Li said as he pointed at a loose scattering of islands on the edge of the map.

"The Gray Scale Islands... Looks like it's quite a secluded area," Daoist Xie remarked.

At the same time, Han Li's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, "Have you recalled anything now that we're in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, Brother Xie?"

"I'm sensing something, but it's all very indistinct, perhaps because we're still too far away, and I can't tell whether what I'm sensing is positive or negative," Daoist Xie replied through voice transmission.

"It looks like this place most likely has something to do with your amnesia. Are you getting a sense of which direction we should go in?" Han Li asked.

"According to what I can see on the map, I seem to be getting drawn to the central region of the domain, but I can't be sure," Daoist Xie replied.

"Right now, we still don't know where Violet Spirit is, so let's just go in that direction for now. If there are still residents in this domain, then they'll most likely also be gathered in the central region," Han Li said.

"Fellow Daoist Li, there's no spiritual qi in this place, and even though I have active Immortal Origin Stones in my body, I can only unleash some normal attacks and none of my lightning-attribute abilities. Once the immortal spiritual power in the Immortal Origin Stones run out, I'll fall into hibernation," Daoist Xie suddenly said.

"I figured that you would also be affected by the laws of this place. Whatever happens from here onward, try to stay out of battle as much as possible to avoid immortal spiritual power expenditure. Storage tools can't be used here, and I'm only carrying several mid-grade Immortal Origin Stones on me," Han Li said.

"I suppose that's all we can do for now. Thankfully, these Immortal Origin Stones will be enough to support me for some time," Daoist Xie replied with a nod.

Right at this moment, Han Li's expression suddenly changed slightly as he yelled, "Something's coming!"

Daoist Xie and Shi Chuankong immediately tensed up upon hearing this, and before long, the sound of rustling began to ring out from afar.

Three of them turned to that direction to find that a white line had appeared on the distant horizon, and it was slowly approaching them.

As it drew closer, the white line grew wider and wider, and it didn't take long before it had spread over the entire horizon.

"What the hell are those things?" Shi Chuankong murmured in an apprehensive voice.

Han Li focused his gaze on the white line to discover that it was a wave of countless fist-sized white crabs, all of which were eagerly scrambling over each other as they rushed toward the carcass of the giant lizard.

Just a single one of these crabs would've actually been rather adorable in appearance, but so many of them gathered in one place presented a harrowing sight to behold, and before long, it appeared as if the giant lizard's carcass had been covered in a moving white mat.

Some of the crabs had even burrowed their way into the carcass through the hole on its head, and no more than twenty seconds later, all of the flesh had been stripped from the giant lizard's carcass, leaving behind an impeccably clean skeleton.

If it weren't for the large volumes of yellowish-brown blood that had seeped into the ground, Han Li would've easily mistaken the carcass as one that had already been here for many years and been stripped down to its bones due to erosion.

A grim look appeared on Shi Chuankong's face as he reflexively tried to leap high up into the air, but he was instantly forced back down onto the ground by the spatial pressure in this place.

Clearly, it was going to take some time for them to grow accustomed to their inability to use immortal spiritual power and devilish power.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Shi, these White Armor Crabs are only scavengers, so they pose no threat to us," Daoist Xie suddenly said.

Sure enough, the white crabs were giving the three of them a wide berth, scurrying around them en route to the giant centipede carcass.

Once again, in the span of no more than twenty seconds, the entire carcass was also devoured.

"How do you know what these things are, Fellow Daoist Xie?" Shi Chuankong asked with a puzzled expression.

Daoist Xie faltered slightly upon hearing this, then replied, "I'm not sure, I feel like I've seen them before."

Shi Chuankong was rendered speechless upon hearing this.

"Let's get out of here. Let's try and find some residents of this domain to see if we can gather any leads on Violet Spirit," Han Li said.

Shi Chuankong could see the concern on Han Li's face, and he consoled, "Don't be so worried, Brother Li. Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit was able to ascend from a lower realm just like you, and that's a reflection of her power and resourcefulness, so I'm sure she'll be fine even in this Scalptia Spatial Domain."

Shi Chuankong's words didn't offer much reassurance to Han Li, but he still nodded as he said, "Thank you Fellow Daoist Shi. If it wasn't for you, even getting into this place would've been a very difficult task for me."

"There's no need to thank me, think about how many times you've saved my life in the past! Even back in the Gray Realm, I've never seen you look so concerned, it looks like Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit really is extremely important to you. Let's just set off right away, I don't need any rest," Shi Chuankong sighed.

"We do indeed need to make haste. Right now, Weeping Soul is still laying unconscious in my domain treasure, and even though I've placed many pieces of Purple Sun Warm Jade in there and arranged for puppets to look after her, I won't be able to enter the domain as long as I'm in the Scalptia Spatial Domain, so I won't know if something goes wrong or if the supply of Purple Sun Warm Jade runs out," Han Li said with tightly furrowed brows.

"That's even more reason to remain calm and focused, Brother Li. This place is not like other places, and you won't be able to use the majority of your abilities here, so we have to proceed with caution," Shi Chuankong said.

"Let's keep going," Han Li replied with a nod, and with that, the three of them continued onward.

After crossing over a nearby ridge, a plain that was slanted slightly downward appeared. THe terrain was relatively flat, and it stretched onward for hundreds of kilometers.

However, the earth was riddled with enormous cracks, and there wasn't any vegetation in sight. Occasionally, some dust would be thrown up into the air by a passing gust of wind, only to be instantly forced back down to the ground by the ever-present spatial pressure.

Han Li's trio made their way down from the ridge, then strode over the cracked earth, leaving three long trails of footsteps behind them.

Even though they couldn't fly, they were still traveling quite quickly on foot.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered some strange scaled beasts, but none of them took the initiative to attack them, so Han Li's trio left them alone.

At around dusk, the three of them arrived on the edge of an island.

At this point, the sun had already most likely set, and its dying rays basked the entire earth in an orange glow, while the sound of beastly roars began to ring out over the plain.

Han Li turned back to take a glance at the plain that they had just crossed over, then turned his gaze back forward with his brows tightly furrowed.

Beyond the edge of the island was a layer of indistinct black mist that resembled a cloud of smoke, separating the island that they were on from the neighboring one.