A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1801-Chapter 2000)

After that, she turned and strode out of the room, and her spritely footsteps indicated that her mood had improved significantly.

Following Silvermoon's departure, Patriarch Ao Xiao's smile faded, and he sighed to himself, "I really hope she doesn't decide to cultivate that Art of Indifference."

Despite what he was saying, he displayed no intention to go after Silvermoon and merely closed his eyes as he began to meditate in his chair.

After a while, he opened his eyes, and suddenly said, "Show yourself!"

"I pay my respects to Master Ao Xiao!"

A female voice rang out nearby, and spatial fluctuations erupted, following which a semi-transparent figure appeared several tens of feet away from Patriarch Ao Xiao.

The figure then gradually became clearer and revealed itself to be a slender woman in a tight-fitting black robe.

She wore a copper wolf-head mask, and her hands were also sheathed in a pair of black gloves, so she wasn't revealing even a single sliver of skin.

"Welcome back, Liao Ying. Even after so many years, this get-up of yours still hasn't changed at all," Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a hint of amusement appeared in his eyes.

The woman extended a respectful curtsey as she replied, "You also look like you haven't aged a single day, Master. I had been concerned for a long time after I heard that you had been injured during your tribulation transcendence; it's quite a relief to see that you're safe and well."

"Hehe, a mere heavenly tribulation isn't enough to kill me. Alright, setting aside the pleasantries for now, I ordered to stay on the holy island in secret as a safety precaution. Now, I need you to give me a specific run-down of the situation on the holy island. I'm going to be staying here for some time, so I have to familiarize myself with the true situation on the island," Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a serious look appeared on his face.

The woman immediately did as she was told and commenced her report. "The current situation on the holy island is not very optimistic, and that's mainly due to the devilish..."

Patriarch Ao Xiao listened intently to her report and asked questions for further elaboration whenever there was something that he didn't quite understand.

The woman would give an answer if she had one, or merely shake her head in response to the questions that she didn't know the answer to.

At the conclusion of her report, the woman abruptly fell silent, while Patriarch Ao Xiao sat in his chair with a contemplative expression.

Finally, Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded with a pleased expression before continuing, "You've done very well, Liao Ying; the years you spent on the holy island certainly haven't gone to waste. Is there any update on the person that I asked you to look into last time?"

The woman's brows furrowed slightly, and she was silent for a moment before replying in a truthful manner, "I've done my best to gather information on that man, but he hasn't ever set foot on the holy island, and there are many rumors about him, but very little detailed information that I could find. On top of that, he seems to be very focused on his cultivation and rarely interacts with anyone, which is probably why he was able to make such extraordinary progress in his cultivation base in such a short time. I've already organized all of the information that I have on him; would you like me give it all to you now? Most of the information I have are unsubstantiated rumors, so do take care when reading through it."

"Regardless of whether the information is real or not, I have to take a look at it. It's only been less than 2,000 years since he ascended to the Spirit Realm, and he's already forged such a resounding reputation for himself. Most importantly, he's the main factor behind the flaws in Ling Long's mental state; let me see exactly what makes him so special!" Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a cold look appeared in his eyes.

The black-robed woman gave an affirmative response before raising a hand to release a ball of azure light.

Patriarch Ao Xiao made a grabbing motion and to draw the ball of azure light into his hand, then injected his spiritual sense into it.

After a short while, he finished examining the information, but seemed to be rather displeased by what he had seen. "Why is there so little information? And most of this stuff is downright absurd! You're telling me that he was able to match a late-Body Integration cultivator in battle at just the early-Body Integration Stage? Do you even believe this yourself?"

"I've merely gathered all of the information on him that I could find; you'll have to decide whether the information is real or not. After all, you never ordered me to track him in person to gather more information, and now, it's too late; he was hunted by devilish beings not long ago and has since disappeared," the woman replied in a serious manner.

"He disappeared? Is that true? Hmph, what a lucky little brat. His name is Han Li, right? How dare a mere ascended cultivator like him disrupt Ling Long's mental state? Because of him, she's been unable to make a breakthrough that should've come easily to her. He deserves to be killed thousands of times for what he's done!" Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a hint of killing intent flashed through his eyes.





Chapter 1977: Huo Li Sect


"If you really want him dead and he manages to return alive, I can take him out in your stead. That way, no one will be able to link his death to you," the woman suggested in a cold voice.

Patriarch Ao Xiao shook his head without any hesitation. "There's no need for that."

The masked woman seemed to know a lot about Silvermoon's situation, and she asked in a slightly surprised manner, "Why is that? Has Young Mistress Ling Long already been made aware of his existence?"

"I've kept all news of this man a secret from her this entire time, and she's constantly been by my side, so she hasn't had any interaction with the outside world. However, she suddenly received news about this man a while back from a friend of hers, and thus, she was made aware that he had ascended into the Spirit Realm and become a Body Integration cultivator; that's why she insisted on coming with me on this trip. If something happens to that Han brat, she'll inevitably suspect my involvement even if there's no evidence, and that would make it even more difficult for her to iron out her mental state. Of course, if he perishes by the hands of devilish beings, then that would be a different story altogether," Patriarch Ao Xiao explained.

"That makes things rather troublesome. However, it's not impossible for me to make it so that he does perish by the hands of devilish beings," the masked woman chuckled in response, seemingly very eager to have Han Li killed.

"Don't even think about it; no means no. Our battle against the devilish army is about to commence; all Body Integration cultivators are extremely valuable resources that can't be expended without good reason. Otherwise, I would've killed Tian Kui already. In comparison with that Han brat, I'm far more eager to see him dead," Patriarch Ao Xiao commanded in an implacable voice.

"In that case, I won't meddle in this matter. Having said that, I really am very interested in this so-called freakish cultivation prodigy," the masked woman chuckled.

"Liao Ying, how many years have you been a shadow guard of mine?" Patriarch Ao Xiao suddenly asked.

The masked woman faltered slightly upon hearing this before asking in a surprised manner, "Around 50,000 to 60,000 years now. Why do you ask, Master?"

"Back when I saved you from that spatial storm, you vowed to serve me for 100,000 years and signed a 100,000-year soul contract with me. I intend to transfer the remaining on the contract to Ling Long; what do you think?" Patriarch Ao Xiao asked in a serious voice.