A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1001-Chapter 1200)

The elderly man wore a warm smile on his face, as if he and Han Li were old friends.

Han Li raised an eyebrow as he replied in an indifferent manner, "You're far too kind, fellow Daoist. I heard the situation on Silver Shark Island has been a little hectic of late; are you the one calling the shots on the island, Brother Zhao?"

"Hehe, there was a horde of demon beasts that attacked the island, but there wasn't even a single metamorphosis stage demon beast among them, so they were taken care of with relative ease. I'm not the one overseeing things here on the island; that would be Ning Changcai. However, he's currently away at the moment, investigating the reason behind the demon beasts' unprovoked attack against the island. I was actually sent here with the sole purpose of welcoming you, Fellow Daoist Han," Elder Zhao said with a smile.

"You were sent here to welcome me?" A hint of surprise finally appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this.

"Indeed. The palace masters have asked me to pass on a message to you: they insist on meeting you again when you return to the inner seas. Truth be told, I've been waiting on this island for you for several months already, Fellow Daoist Han," the elderly man explained with a smile.

"Oh? What business do they have with me?" Han Li's brows furrowed slightly. He had a feeling that there was some serious trouble brewing.

"Hehe, this is not the place to discuss such matters. Please come with me to a quieter location, Brother Han," the elderly man suggested with a mysterious smile.

"Sure, then let's head over to that small mountain over there." Han Li looked around with a contemplative expression before suddenly pointing to a small mountain around 10 kilometers away.

Elder Zhao turned his gaze toward the small mountain, and immediately agreed, "As you wish, Brother Han."

Han Li nodded in response, and after the elderly man delivered some instructions to the Star Palace disciples, the two of them flew toward the mountain together.

The mountain wasn't very far away, so the two of them naturally arrived in a very short time.

Han Li landed on the mountain and said in a calm voice, "What message would you like to pass on from the palace masters, Fellow Daoist Zhao? You can tell me now."

"Haha, there's no need to be so cautious, Brother Han; I have fantastic news to deliver to you." The elderly man stroke his beard with a smile.

"Fantastic news? What are you referring to?" Han Li was taken aback upon hearing this.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you're not yet at 500 years of age, right?" the elderly man asked with a smile.

"So what if that's the case?" Han Li was struck by a peculiar feeling, but he didn't deny this.





Chapter 1157: Dual Cultivation Proposal


"Haha, that's all I needed to hear. What do you think of Elder Ling from our Star Palace?" the elderly man asked with a smile.

"Are you referring to Fellow Daoist Ling Yuling?" Han Li asked with a peculiar look on his face.

"Indeed; she is also the daughter of our two palace masters!" The elderly man nodded in response.

"Fellow Daoist Ling naturally has exceptional cultivation aptitude to be able to reach the Nascent Soul Stage at such a young age. I'm not quite sure I understand what you're asking, fellow Daoist." A hint of confusion flashed through Han Li's eyes.

"Elder Ling's aptitude is indeed quite exceptional, but it's far inferior compared to yours, Brother Han. However, there's no doubting the fact that both of you are supremely-talented prodigies. If you two join forces, perhaps there will be a chance for you to succeed in your pursuit of the Great Dao and Immortality. Brother Han, would you be willing to become Elder Ling's Dao Companion?"

"Dao Companion?" Han Li was given a massive fright upon hearing this, and his jaw dropped straight to the ground.

"Indeed. Both Brother Han and Elder Ling are so young with such exceptional aptitude; you two are a match made in heaven! Would you allow me to act as a matchmaker for the two of you?" The elderly man wore a wide smile on his face.

The astonishment on Han Li's face immediately receded as his brows furrowed.

The elderly man was slightly surprised to see this.

Could it be that Han Li was unwilling to accept such a brilliant arrangement?

One had to realize that in the cultivation world, female Nascent Soul cultivators were almost nonexistent, and it was even more difficult to find a female Nascent Soul cultivator of a similar age as Han Li. As such, even though everyone knew about the benefits of dual cultivation, most male Nascent Soul cultivators could only take Core Formation or even Foundation Establishment female cultivators as their servants or concubines. There were very few of those couples who actually became Dao Companions. A female Nascent Soul cultivator would occasionally appear, but she would immediately be pursued by many male cultivators with similar cultivation bases.

Ling Yuling was a Nascent Soul cultivator-an extremely beautiful one, at that-and she was also the daughter of the vastly renowned Star Palace masters. Wasn't this almost the best possible thing that could happen to Han Li? So why was it that he appeared to so reluctant to accept this arrangement?

That was simply astonishing to the elderly man.

However, this man was a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, so the elderly man naturally didn't dare to express the displeasure in his heart. His expression remained unchanged as he continued in an enthusiastic manner, "The two palace masters have said that as long as you're willing to become Elder Ling's Dao Companion and live in our Heavenly Star City, you'll be the next master of the Star Palace for sure. In that case, you'll become the ruler of the Scattered Star Seas Brother Han, and on top of that..."

The elderly man began to rattle off a long list of benefits that the dual cultivation arrangement could bring to Han Li, and his voice was tinged with more than a hint of envy.

Han Li continued to remain silent, but the elderly man didn't have any intention of stopping anytime soon, so he could only heave an internal sigh in the end, and cut him off.

"I'm very grateful to the palace masters for thinking so highly of me, but I must refuse this proposal."

"What? Please consider this carefully, Brother Han! This is an important matter and it would be unwise to make a rash decision." The elderly man could sense from Han Li's aloof reaction that he was quite averse to the proposal. However, his heart still sank after hearing Han Li's refusal, yet he was still unwilling to give up. It would place him in a very awkward situation if he failed to complete this mission that the Heavenly Star Sages had assigned to him.

"It's not that I think Fellow Daoist Yuling isn't good enough for me or that I harbor any unfavorable bias toward the Star Palace; it's just that I already have a Dao Companion, and she's also a Nascent Soul cultivator," Han Li explained.

"I see. There's no helping it then. Looks like you and Elder Ling simply weren't meant to be. I still think it's quite a pity, though." The elderly man heaved a resigned sigh upon hearing this.

However, he was also quite relieved that he would have an excuse to pass on to the Heavenly Star Sages.

At the same time, he was feeling rather perplexed. It seemed that in the past 100 years, there were no new female Nascent Soul cultivators that had appeared in the Scattered Star Seas aside from Ling Yuling.

Could it be that this man's Dao Companion was also a powerful yet obscure cultivator like him?

The Heavenly Star Sages hadn't mentioned to him that Han Li may have been a foreign cultivator. As such, he automatically assumed that Han Li was one of those cultivators who spent the majority of time cultivating in seclusion, thereby making him an obscure figure in the cultivation world.