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

Chapter 953: Crimson Gate

Han Li only just barely had a chance to brace himself before the burst of heat formed by the Sulfurous Flame Blood Clouds began to spread through his entire body, making it feel as if all of his meridians were about to be forcibly torn apart.

His complexion instantly became deathly pale, but his skin was still bright red, and a series of egg-sized bulges were roaming over his body like living creatures, presenting a bizarre sight to behold.

His expression was twisted in agony as large droplets of sweat flowed down his forehead, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

His bloodline power was ignited by this burst of heat, and all of his profound acupoints lit up over his body in an involuntary manner.

Despite his immense mental fortitude, Han Li was beginning to fade in and out of consciousness.

He was doing everything in his power to protect his own consciousness so that he didn't completely faint, but right at this moment, his Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts were activated on their own, guiding the bursts of heat to different parts of his body.

If he were fully conscious at this moment, he would notice that the bursts of heat were being guided toward the profound acupoints recorded in the cultivation art.

A string of loud pops rang out from all parts of his body as the bursts of heat began to invade new profound acupoints that were still yet to be opened.

Everytime Han Li was about to fade out of consciousness, bursts of excruciating pain would spear through his entire body, forcibly bringing him back to lucidity.

Before long, he began to sense the changes taking place in his body, and a hint of elation welled up in his heart.

He gritted his teeth against the excruciating agony as he sat down with his legs crossed to channel his Heavenly Baleful Purgatory Arts, guiding the bursts of heat toward these new profound acupoints.

To his surprise, these profound acupoints put up next to no resistance, and in mere moments, one had already been opened.

One profound acupoint was opened after another, and before long, over twenty profound acupoints had been opened in succession.

At this moment, there were 263 profound acupoints glowing over his entire body!

Right at this moment, the burst of heat wreaking havoc in his body faded away, only to be replaced by a cool and refreshing sensation.

The contrast was such a blissful one that he was almost unable to suppress a moan of pleasure, and it took him quite some time to compose himself.

The Sulfurous Flame Blood Cloud had truly lived up to its incredible reputation.

Han Li could scarcely believe that he had managed to open so many profound acupoints in such a short time, but this was the reality.

I wonder if opening profound acupoints using Sulfurous Flame Blood Cloud will have any detrimental effects.

As he was considering this notion, the cool sensation in his body also faded away, and in the blink of an eye, everything returned to normal.

Han Li didn't dare to make any rash moves, and he waited until the bloodline power in his body completely settled down before making his way back to the others.

Even though he had left for quite some time, he had made sure to remember the direction that the main group was in, so he never lost his way.

At this point, the sea of crimson mist had become far thinner than before.

Shortly thereafter, Han Li found his way back to the main group. Perhaps E Kuai and Mistress Liu Hua had intentionally been waiting for everyone, but they had been making rather slow progress.

Aside from Shi Chuankong, Xuanyuan Xing, Fu Jian, and Duan Tong, everyone else had already returned.

E Kuai displayed no reaction to Han Li's return, while Mistress Liu Hua took a glance at him, only to quickly turn away again.

"You're finally back, Fellow Daoist Li. I can tell that you've made some significant strides!" Chen Yang said as he approached Han Li.

"I made some decent progress," Han Li replied in an ambiguous manner.

"That's good to hear, but don't get complacent. I've heard that Zhu Ziyuan and Zhu Ziqing have also obtained Sulfurous Flame Blood Clouds. In particular, Zhu Ziyuan was very formidable to begin with, and now that he's obtained a Sulfurous Flame Blood Cloud, the situation is not looking good for us," Chen Yang said through voice transmission.

Han Li cast his gaze toward Zhu Ziyuan upon hearing this, but the latter's gaze remained fixed up ahead with a look of focus in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Shi and Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan still aren't back yet. Fu Jian and Duan Tong haven't returned, either. Is it possible that they've run into one another?" Han Li asked through voice transmission.

"I don't think that's very likely. Fellow Daoist Shi and Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan were among the first people to leave, so perhaps they've gone exploring somewhere far away," Chen Yang replied in an unconcerned manner.

Han Li was still a little worried about Shi Chuankong, but he didn't say anything further.

Thankfully, it didn't take long before Shi Chuankong and Xuanyuan Xing returned to the group, and both of them were looking rather depressed, clearly having failed to secure any Sulfurous Flame Blood Clouds.

Shortly thereafter, Fu Jian and Duan Tong also returned. Judging from their reactions, their luck hadn't been much better, and an angry look flashed through their eyes as they glanced at Han Li, who paid no heed to their hostilities.

At this point, everyone had already returned to the group, and thus, E Kuai picked up the pace.

After walking for close to another three hours, the surrounding crimson mist finally completely faded away, revealing an undulating mountain range up ahead.

The mountain range was enormous, stretching as far as the eyes could see, and the mountains within it were completely barren and devoid of vegetation, presenting a completely different environment from the rainforest that the group had just emerged from.

What was most strange of all was that the entire mountain range was crimson in color, and there were several crimson rivers flowing between the mountains, as well as a sweet aroma of blood in the air.

E Kuai continued onward without pause, leading the way into the mountain range, and after crossing over several mountains, everyone arrived before a giant basin.

Several large rivers came together here, and an enormous crimson palace was standing at the point where the rivers were connected. The palace wasn't much shorter than the nearby mountains, and it was dozens of kilometers in area, resembling a gargantuan crimson beast prowling in the basin.

The construction of the palace displayed exceptional craftsmanship, and the entire structure was giving off radiant crimson light, presenting a stunning sight to behold.

"What a majestic palace!" Shi Chuankong praised in an earnest manner.

At this moment, the crimson stone gates at the entrance of the palace were tightly shut, and there were countless crimson runes and designs inscribed upon it, forming what appeared to be an extremely complex array.

Han Li examined the array closely, and he quickly discovered that it was similar to a star array in some ways, but also completely different. It seemed to be the product of a star array combined with some other type of array.

There were five small black holes on the array, arranged evenly to form a unilateral pentagon.

These black holes clearly resembled keyholes, and Han Li's eyes lit up slightly as he laid a hand over the two crimson keys that he was carrying.

Looking at the crimson palace, a fervent gleam had appeared in E Kuai's eyes, and even his breathing had become slightly heavier.

"Is this the restricted area where the holy remains can be found, City Lord E?" Sun Tu asked.

"That's right," E Kuai replied before taking a deep breath to regain his composure.

Everyone else immediately erupted into chatter upon hearing this.

A contemplative look appeared on Sun Tu's face as he observed the palace, and he suddenly strode over to its gates before pressing a hand against them.

Bursts of white starlight began to emanate from the palm of his hand before rippling incessantly, seemingly searching for something.

Moments later, Sun Tu withdrew his hand as he declared, "I can indeed sense the aura of a set of remains inside."

"What do you mean by that, City Lord Sun? Were you suspecting City Lord E of lying to us?" Fu Jian asked in a furious voice.

Sun Tu merely took an expressionless glance at Fu Jian and offered no response.

E Kuai raised a hand, gesturing for Fu Jian to stand down as he said, "City Lord Sun has never been here before, so it's understandable for him to proceed with caution. If anyone else also suspects me, then you can all feel free to come forward and take a look."

"It's all thanks to your protection that our Profound City has been able to remain standing to this day, and our Excess Passage City and Profound End City have always had absolute trust in you, City Lord E. However, that doesn't appear to be the case for everyone," Fu Jian sneered as he took a glance at Sun Tu and Chen Yang, while Qin Yuan hurriedly chimed in in agreement.

Chen Yang's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he offered no response.

"Seeing as no one else wants to come forward, then let's not waste any more time," E Kuai declared as he took a step forward, and Fu Jian and others eagerly nodded in response.

Right at this moment, Sun Tu's voice rang out once again.

"Hold on a second!"

"Sun Tu! You need to learn your place! Don't forget that you're just a subsidiary city lord of Profound City!" Fu Jian yelled in a furious voice.

"Why are you getting so worked up, City Lord Fu? I just wanted to ask City Lord E a question," Sun Tu said with a faint smile.

E Kuai wasn't bothered at all, and he prompted with a faint smile, "Go ahead, City Lord Sun."

"I recall that you mentioned that five keys are required to access this restricted area. Right now, the only key that I know of is in Fellow Daoist Li's possession, so could it be that you're carrying all four of the other keys?" Sun Tu asked.