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

Chapter 880: Black Tribulation Stone

Han Li clenched his right hand into a fist and delivered a vicious blow to Zhu Jieshan's lower abdomen, instantly causing him to curl up into a ball, and his complexion turned deathly pale as a sheen of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"That was for the punch from back then," Han Li said in an expressionless manner, while Zhu Jieshan was too busy coughing and dry heaving to say anything.

"I don't have much time to waste. Is it true that the city lord is after my true spirit bloodline? Answer my question or I'm going to chop off all of your limbs with this sword of yours!" Han Li demanded in a cold voice as he picked up the bone sword.

"You wouldn't dare! You're just a lowly slave, if you dare to rebel, then your Black Tribulation Centipede will eat you alive!" Zhu Jieshan roared in a furious voice.

A cold sneer appeared on Han Li's face as he slashed the sword through the air, slicing off Zhu Jieshan's left hand cleanly at the wrist.

Blood immediately began to spurt out of the wound, and Zhu Jieshan stared at his own left wrist in shock and horror for a moment, then opened his mouth to scream, only for Han Li to chop off his tongue as well, rendering him only able to make some unintelligible, gargled sounds.

"My patience is limited. The next time, it'll be your right hand! Answer my question!" Han Li demanded in a cold and forceful voice.

Zhu Jieshan shuddered as he turned to stare blankly at Han Li, who raised his sword once again as he turned a menacing gaze to Zhu Jieshan's right hand.

Upon realizing that verbal threats weren't going to work, Zhu Jieshan immediately changed tact, hurriedly imploring through voice transmission, "No, don't do it! I'll tell you! It's true, the city lord really is after your true spirit bloodline. I've heard that he can use the power of true spirit bloodlines to open profound acupoints or something like that, but I don't know the exact details. I'm telling the truth!"

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Up to this point, the contents of the letter had been confirmed to be true. It was a good thing that he had been so decisive and acted in advance. Otherwise, if he had waited until the city lord made his move, then it would've most likely already been too late.

"I never meant to cause any offense to you, Fellow Daoist Li. I was only following orders from my higher-ups, so please spare my life out of the kindness of your heart," Zhu Jieshan implored.

Han Li's expression eased slightly as he said, "Rest assured, I won't kill you as long as you tell me everything that you know."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Li," Zhu Jieshan hurriedly replied.

"If the city lord wants my true spirit bloodline, then why did he wait until now instead of making a move on me right away?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know, I only followed orders to guide you into the arena. Everything else is completely out of my hands," Zhu Jieshan replied.

"When exactly is the city lord planning to make his move?" Han Li asked.

"I haven't been told that, I've only received some orders recently to keep a close eye on you . Aside from that, I haven't received any other instructions," Zhu Jieshan replied.

"You were probably also instructed to detain me right away if I displayed any suspicious activity, right? I know that there's something wrong with the tea that you gave me just now. Don't try to stall for time, I haven't actually drunk the tea at all, so it's not going to take effect," Han Li said with a cold sneer, then spat out a small mouthful of tea.

An astonished look appeared on Zhu Jieshan's face upon seeing this, following which he lowered his head in a panicked manner, not daring to look at Han Li.

"Alright, I have one final question for you, and I'll spare your life if you give me a satisfactory answer," Han Li said.

Zhu Jieshan's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, and he asked, "What do you want to know?"

"How can I extract the Black Tribulation Centipede from my body without being caught?" Han Li asked.

"Black Tribulation Centipede are insects that are personally refined by the city lord, and he's the only one who knows how to remove them. I've heard stories of others trying to get rid of them, but all of those attempts have ended very badly," Zhu Jieshan replied with a grim expression.

Han Li had already anticipated that this would most likely be the response, but his expression still darkened slightly upon hearing this.

Zhu Jieshan's face instantly turned deathly pale at the sight of Han Li's displeased expression, and he hurriedly continued, "I'm telling the truth, Fellow Daoist Li! I can swear a vow on it! There's no way that the city lord would tell someone as insignificant as me the method to remove Black Tribulation Centipedes!"

At this moment, Zhu Jieshan's soul was still bound by Han Li's spiritual sense chains, so Han Li was able to detect Zhu Jieshan's spiritual fluctuations, and through them, he could tell that Zhu Jieshan didn't seem to be lying.

Unfortunately, he was unable to draw upon any immortal spiritual power. Otherwise, he could simply use a soul search technique and spare himself a lot of trouble.

"As an arena administrator, there's no way that you don't know anything about Black Tribulation Centipedes. I recall you telling me that Black Tribulation Centipedes will turn on someone if they try to run away. Why is that?" Han Li asked.

Zhu Jieshan shuddered slightly upon hearing this, and a hesitant look appeared on his face.

A cold look flashed through Han Li's eyes as he swept the bone sword through the air, and a deep gash instantly appeared on Zhu Jie's right wrist, almost slicing his hand off cleanly.

He immediately let loose a strangled cry of agony, and his entire body began trembling uncontrollably.

"I already told you that I don't have much patience. If you try to test me again, then I'll chop off all of your limbs, and I have many ways to ensure that you won't be able to regrow them," Han Li threatened as he raised the bone sword again.

"I'll talk!" Zhu Jieshan hurriedly yelled.

"Hurr up!" Han Li coerced as he pressed the edge of the bone sword against Zhu Jieshan's skin.

"There's a Black Tribulation Stone in the city lord's manor that releases a special type of soul power fluctuations across the entirety of Green Goat City. All Black Tribulation Centipedes will fall into a deep sleep under the effects of these soul power fluctuations, but if someone strays too far away from the Black Tribulation Stone, then the Black Tribulation Centipede in their body will immediately awaken," Zhu Jieshan replied.

"Does that mean that if I obtain this stone and carry it with me, then the Black Tribulation Centipede in my body will never awaken?" Han Li asked as his eyes lit up slightly.

"That seems feasible theoretically, but I don't know if it'll work in practice. After all, there's no guarantee that the city lord won't have any other tricks up his sleeve," Zhu Jieshan replied.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he fell into deep thought, but he then raised his head again as he asked in a cold voice, "What else do you know about Black Tribulation Centipedes? Tell me everything!"

"That's all I know, I swear!" Zhu Jieshan insisted as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Alright, I'm going to capture another administrator and interrogate them. If he corroborates your answers, then I'll spare you. If not, then I'll slice you up and feed you to the scaled beasts in the arena!" Han Li said in a cold voice.

In the face of Han Li's threats, not only did Zhu Jieshan not appear terrified, he seemed to be quite relieved instead.

Han Li raised an eyebrow upon seeing this. Judging from his reaction, it seemed that Zhu Jieshan wasn't lying.

He slammed the flat side of the bone sword into the back of Zhu Jieshan's hand, instantly causing him to fall to the ground in an unconscious state.

After that, he cast a seal onto Zhu Jieshan's soul, and only then was he satisfied.

This seal would ensure that Zhu Jieshan would remain unconscious for three days and three nights, so he wouldn't be able to interfere with Han Li's escape plans.

He hadn't spared Zhu Jieshan out of kindness or anything like that. Instead, he was worried that perhaps there were certain restrictions placed on him, so killing him could alert some other parties to what he had done.

After stuffing Zhu Jieshan under his bed and cleaning the blood from the room, Han Li emerged from the room in a calm manner.

After leaving the area, Han Li returned to the exchange hall and looked down at the arena below.

On the other side of the arena, almost facing directly across from the exchange hall, was a wide passageway that led outward. That was the entrance of the arena, through which he could enter Green Goat City, which was where the city lord's manor was situated.

In order to obtain the Black Tribulation Stone, he would have to enter Green Goat City.

According to the rules, gladiators were not permitted to leave the arena, and there were also many guards at the entrance to prevent gladiators from getting away, so it wasn't going to be easy to escape.

With these thoughts running through his mind, Han Li began to make his way back to his room.

Now that he had become aware of the fact that he had to obtain the Black Tribulation Stone, he had to change his escape plan a little.

After returning to the ninth area, Han Li opened the door to his room, then immediately stopped cold in his tracks.

Daoist Xie was standing inside, waiting for him, and an elated look appeared on his face as he opened his mouth to speak, but his expression then abruptly changed as he shot back in retreat.

At the same time, a figure appeared up above in a wraith-like manner, then slammed a palm into his chest with tremendous force.