A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 2001-Chapter 2248)

"Someone you've seen before? That means they're most likely one of Bao Hua's past allies from our holy realm. In that case, it'll be quite troublesome to track her down," the short daoist priest standing behind Liu Ji said in a concerned manner.

Due to his short stature and long goatee, his appearance was rather comical, but everyone took him very seriously, and Lan Pu replied in an earnest manner, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Fu; Bao Hua activated her Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain earlier, so she would've been taxed even further, and there's no way she'd be able to recover her powers in the near future. As long as she hasn't left our holy realm, it's not a matter of concern that she's hidden herself somewhere. She must currently be in hiding with the new person who's appeared, and the fact that her ally was able to arrive here so quickly indicates that they're most likely a high-grade devilish being in the nearby area; I should be able to track them down with an exhaustive search."

"Indeed, Sister Lan. Fellow Daoist Fu is my most trusted subordinate, and his powers are no lesser than those of this clone of mine. On top of that, you've brought along two of your most powerful clones as well, so there's no way Bao Hua will be able to escape from us again. This time, we have to make sure to hunt her down no matter what. Who do you plan on investigating first, Sister Lan? This is an extremely important matter, so I'd rather employ a guilty until proven innocent system rather than risk letting the culprit run free," Liu Ji said as a cold look appeared in her eyes.

"We'll naturally have to start with those who've had some ties to Bao Hua in the past; they'll be the prime suspects," Lan Pu immediately replied, having clearly already considered this subject.

"I'll have to trouble you to deploy more of your subordinates to temporarily shut down the teleportation formations in the important cities in this nearby area. Without any teleportation formations available, even if Bao Hua were to try and escape, she wouldn't be able to get very far," Liu Ji suggested.

"That's a good idea; I'll have it arranged right away. I have some connections with all of those who are in power in the nearby cities, and they should heed my call. Of course, if you were to apply pressure to them as a devilish matriarch, they would be even more inclined to follow our instructions," Lan Pu replied.

"That's not an issue; I'll enclose my own message with the messages that you'll be sending out to those cities," Liu Ji immediately agreed.

"Alright, then let's set everything into motion right away. There's a devilish lord residing near this area who's a very prominent suspect; we'll begin our investigation with him. Hopefully, we'll find Bao Hua in his cave abode," Lan Pu said as a frosty tone crept into her voice.

After that, she swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of blue light, and all five of them vanished on the spot.

......

Half a year passed by in the blink of an eye.

On an undulating mountain range situated in a secluded region of the Elder Devil Realm, there was a mountain that was surrounded by walls that were over 1,000 feet tall.

This was a stronghold that spanned an area in excess of five kilometers, and resembled a small city.

Standing atop the walls were groups of armed patrols, and judging from the lights of different colors flashing around the stronghold, it was clear that many formations and restrictions had been set up within it.

High up above the stronghold was a vast expanse of black devilish clouds, from within which astonishing energy fluctuations were being released.

Zhu Guo'er was situated on a small mountain close to 100 kilometers away, staring into a copper mirror before her in a stunned manner. "Has there been some type of mistake, Senior Han? Didn't you say that this node would only be loosely guarded?"

The image on the surface of the copper mirror depicted none other than the giant stronghold, as well as the area around it.





Chapter 2145: Forced Entry


Han Li was also appraising the copper mirror, and he said, "That is indeed rather strange. According to the Long Family patriarch, this passageway shouldn't be one that's heavily guarded. Either he was lying from the very beginning or something happened to make the devilish beings take this place more seriously. If you ask me, I believe the latter to be more likely."

"How are you so sure, Senior Han?" Zhu Guo'er asked in a curious manner.

Meanwhile, Daoist Xie was standing off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back. Even from such a long distance away, he was casting an intrigued gaze toward the stronghold as if it were situated right before his eyes.

"It's quite simple; the walls around the stronghold are very tall, but judging from the state of the bricks, they were only constructed within the past 20 years, by which time we had already entered the Elder Devil Realm, so this shouldn't be a trap laid by the Long Family patriarch," Han Li replied.

"I see, I didn't notice that. In that case, should we search for another passageway?" Zhu Guo'er asked in a concerned manner.

"There's no need for that. Even the nearest spatial passageway to this one is several months away, and many mishaps could happen during that time. Generally speaking, even these massive strongholds will only be guarded by several devilish lords at most, and that won't be enough to stop us. The only matter of concern is the formations set up near the stronghold. If we were to be delayed by them, then it wouldn't be very easy to escape," Han Li said with furrowed brows.

Back when he had first entered the Elder Devil Realm, he had nine other Body Integration Stage beings with him, which was why they had been able to eradicate the restrictions in an instant to force their way into the passageway. However, he was now the only one left, and this stronghold was far more massive than the one they had infiltrated in the past, so the formations set up here naturally had to be more powerful as well.

The concern on Zhu Guo'er's face became even more pronounced upon hearing this, but she naturally didn't have any good ideas, either.

Right at this moment, Daoist Xie suddenly said, "If you think these formations are rather troublesome, I have a secret technique that can help you instantly eradicate all of them."

"Is that true? I would be truly grateful to you, Brother Xi." Han Li was ecstatic to hear this.

"There's no need to thank me. In order to unleash this secret technique, I'll have to use up close to half of the elixir you issued to me, so think about whether you'd like me to go ahead," Daoist Xie replied in an expressionless manner.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before immediately replying, "That's not an issue! All I want is to be able to return safely to the Spirit Realm."

With that mysterious small vial at his disposal, he naturally wasn't concerned about this.

"In that case, I'm ready when you are. Also, it's extremely taxing for me to use this ability, so my cultivation base will plummet significantly for a certain period of time after I use it. If we were to encounter any powerful enemies, I'd only be able to ensure self-preservation, so I won't be able to assist you much," Daoist Xie replied.

Han Li's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this, and he carefully pondered the situation before reaffirming his own decision. "I'm capable of taking care of normal high-grade devilish beings on my own, and it's not easy to run into Grand Ascension Stage Sacred Ancestors."

Daoist Xie merely nodded in response and remained silent.

Thus, they began to carefully formulate a specific plan for how they were going to execute the infiltration.

Night finally arrived, and a series of balls of white light appeared on the walls of the stronghold to illuminate the darkness.

Han Li was seated on the ground, and after ascertaining that not much had changed in the fortress compared to daytime using his spiritual sense, he stood up and sprang into action.