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

"In that case, it looks like your grandfather and Senior Mo's disappearance must be related to the devilish beings. Deep Heaven City most likely doesn't know any more specific details, either; perhaps only the holy island will know something about this. It looks like I really will have to make a trip to the holy island," Han Li said in a contemplative manner.

“There's no need to be overly concerned about my grandfather, Brother Han; my grandfather and I share the same bloodline, so I'll definitely sense it if something happens to him. If he's fine, then I'd presume Senior Mo Jianli also isn't in any danger,” Silvermoon said.

“Your grandfather and Senior Mo are both Grand Ascension Stage beings, so it certainly wouldn't be easy for them to fall into peril under normal circumstances; I'm just concerned that they may have fallen into a devilish trap and are stuck somewhere, unable to escape. After all, trapping a pair of Grand Ascension Stage beings is easier than killing them,” Han Li said with a concerned expression.

Silvermoon's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she was still quite optimistic. "Grandfather and Senior Mo are both very wise and cautious, so I'm sure that wouldn't have happened."

"Perhaps I'm overthinking things. I'll ask the elders of Deep Heaven City about this tomorrow; perhaps they'll have some additional information for me," Han Li said as his expression eased slightly, to which Silvermoon nodded in response.

After that, Han Li turned to Daoist Xie, and said, "Brother Xie, I've already asked my disciples to track down the items you asked for, but before I gather them, I hope you'll continue to assist me."

"I'll remain by your side until you satisfy my conditions or until it becomes apparent that you won't be able to," Daoist Xie replied in an expressionless manner, and Han Li was very pleased to hear this.

Han Li and Silvermoon then discussed some other possible reasons behind the disappearance of the two Grand Ascension Stage beings, but all to no avail in the end, so they could only set this matter aside for now and retire to their respective secret chambers.

The next morning, Elder Gu, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, and almost all of the other Deep Heaven City elders arrived outside the stone pagoda that Han Li was residing in.

Upon being notified of their arrival by Qi Lingzi, a faint smile appeared on Han Li's face.

It seemed that these elders had all had sleepless nights. Otherwise, they wouldn't have arrived so early.

Qi Lingzi invited all of the elders into the hall at Han Li's behest, and a meeting between the elders and Han Li commenced.

A rather obscure conversation took place between early morning to noon, and only then did the elders depart with differing expressions.

Shortly thereafter, news of Han Li's progression to the Grand Ascension Stage was finally officially announced within Deep Heaven City.

The human and demon beings in the city were initially in disbelief upon hearing this, but this was immediately followed by ecstasy, and many of them were unable to contain their excitement as they poured out onto the streets to celebrate.

With a new Grand Ascension Stage being among their ranks, the two races would be able to establish themselves within the Spirit Realm for tens of thousands of years into the future.

On top of that, Han Li had already earned a resounding reputation for himself back when he was at the Body Integration Stage, and he had lived in Deep Heaven City for quite some time, and this made the inhabitants of Deep Heaven City even more elated for his success, as if his success were their success as well.

This piece of news spread like wildfire toward the rest of the human and demon territories, and of course, it was also revealed that the Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremony would be held at Deep Heaven City in a year.

Everyone who received this information was extremely astonished, and they quickly scrambled to verify its authenticity.

Upon ensuring that this was all indeed true, messengers were immediately sent by all powers to Deep Heaven City, expressing confirmation that they would be attending the ceremony.

As for some powers situated too far away from Deep Heaven City, they had already begun preparing congratulatory presents and selecting suitable representatives to send to the ceremony.

Thus, within the short span of only a couple months, almost everyone in the human and demon races had been made aware of this new Grand Ascension cultivator, as well as the celebratory ceremony that was about to be held soon.

Even the nearby races, including the Spirit Race and Yaksha Race, confirmed that they would also be sending envoys to attend the ceremony.

The only reaction that was rather peculiar came from the holy island; they seemed to be a little indifferent to the event and didn't make an effort to promote it.

Aside from the various powers and nearby foreign races, many of the vastly renowned vagrant cultivators of the human and demon races had also come out of seclusion in preparation to head to Deep Heaven City.

It was a common convention that all new Grand Ascension Stage beings would hold a lecture during their celebratory ceremonies, disclosing their thoughts and experiences while progressing to the Grand Ascension Stage.

This was naturally an extremely rare opportunity for those preparing for the Grand Ascension Stage breakthrough, or had been stumped by the bottleneck for countless years.

Perhaps listening to Han Li's experience would provide them with the final catalyst required to make the breakthrough. After all, similar things had happened during some past Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremonies.





Chapter 2204: Commencement of the Ceremony


To a mortal, a year was a period of time that could be referred to as neither short or long, but to some cultivators who were constantly in seclusion, a year was akin to the blink of an eye.

Ever since news of Han Li's Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremony was announced, cultivators in the nearby area had immediately begun to flock to Deep Heaven City.

As time passed, more and more cultivators arrived in the city, including powerful demonic beings who had come from afar.

Some of these cultivators entered the Deep Heaven City, while others created temporary lodging for themselves in the mountain ranges near the city.

In the final month leading up to the ceremony, even more cultivators rushed to the city, with over 100,000 new arrivals almost every day, and the city became extremely lively and bustling as a result.

Some of the cultivators took advantage of this opportunity to seek out others and establish relationships, or set up all types of small markets to exchange for the resources they required.

As for Deep Heaven City itself, it would hold an official auction almost once every week.

During these auctions, all types of rare items were frequently being presented, and even the elders of the city benefited immensely from these auctions, securing many spirit medicines and other exotic items that they would've otherwise been unable to.

Several days prior to the commencement of the ceremony, the cultivators residing in the nearby mountain ranges also began to enter the city en masse.

Deep Heaven City was extremely massive, but with such a huge influx of new arrivals, it was becoming quite crowded.

Overpopulation had suddenly become an issue, and there were even some cultivators who couldn't find any places to stay.

The panel of elders of Deep Heaven City immediately addressed this issue by opening up some stone pagodas inhabited by the city guards, as well as some underground secret chambers, as extra lodging. On top of that, they also built several temporary pavilions for the new arrivals to stay in a few secluded corners of the city, and only then were they able to just barely resolve the issue of insufficient lodging.

Of course, due to the enormous and spontaneous increase in population, all types of trouble and unrest began to arise in the city, but the panel of elders was very proactive and quickly resolved all of these problems one after another.