A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Chapter 1401-Chapter 1600)

"My cultivation base hasn't reached a bottleneck yet, so entering the realm won't benefit me much. Instead, there's a good chance that I'll be dying in there. The risk and reward comparison simply isn't worth it, so if there's any possibility that I can be exempt from entering the realm, I would definitely pass up this opportunity." Han Li shook his head in a gloomy manner.

Qian Jizi and Elder Ma exchanged a glance upon hearing this, and the former said in a slow voice, "Once a Vast Glacial Badge has been activated, only the one who has activated it can take others to the Void Glacial Realm with them. The future of our 13 races hinges on this, so you must enter the realm; that's non-negotiable. You've carried the badge to us, so our Myriad Ancient Race should be grateful to you, but you've activated the badge and we've given you the opportunity to enter the Vast Glacial Realm, so we've repaid you for your efforts. However, seeing as you're being forced into the Vast Glacial Realm against your will, you can state any condition that you may have, and we'll do our best to satisfy you."

Han Li's heart abruptly jolted upon hearing this, and he immediately said, "I'm sure you know what request I have already. After returning from the Vast Glacial Realm, I'd like to use your super teleportation formation."

"You want to use the teleportation formation? If it's only once, then we should be able to arrange that. However, teleportation using that formation requires a vast expenditure of top-grade spirit stones, and you'll have to issue the spirit stones yourself; there's no way that we'll supply them for you. Furthermore, our race cannot make executive decisions on the teleportation formation, so we have to discuss this matter with the other few races; perhaps they may also have some conditions that you must satisfy before they'll allow you to use the formation," Qian Jizi replied in a calm manner.

"As long as I can use the teleportation formation, I'll naturally supply the spirit stones required. As for any other conditions that may be raised, as long as they're not conditions that are completely outside of my realm of capability, I can accept them," Han Li said with an elated look on his face.

"Hehe, don't be so quick to jump at this opportunity, Fellow Daoist Han. Activating the super teleportation formation even just once requires so many top-grade spirit stones that even some holy race beings wouldn't be able to afford it. You may have some wealth, but it will still most likely be very difficult for you to gather enough top-grade spirit stones to use the formation. With your cultivation base, you'll be greatly valued even if you were to stay in our Myriad Ancient Race, so why insist on traveling to other continents? I suggest you take this opportunity to change to another condition and request for some tangible benefits like pills or treasures instead; that would be ideal for both sides," Elder Ma proposed.

Han Li's expression faltered upon hearing this, but he shook his head after a brief silence, and said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Senior, but I've already made up my mind."

As opposed to being enraged by Han Li's refusal, Elder Ma only nodded indifferently and spoke no further on this matter.

"By the way, when will the Vast Glacial Realm open up? I want to make some preparations beforehand, so learning the amount of time I have left will be quite beneficial," Han Li suddenly asked."We're not sure of the exact opening date, either, but according to past experience, it'll be somewhere between several years to a century from now," Qian Jizi replied with a smile."A century!" Han Li abruptly exclaimed upon hearing this. "For cultivators like us, a century passes in the mere blink of an eye; surely there's no need to be so alarmed, Fellow Daoist Han," the middle-aged man said as he raised an eyebrow. "My apologies, I was just surprised that it would take so long," Han Li replied with a wry smile.

"You're living in the inn from before, right? That place has been placed into lockdown, and you won't be leaving Cloud City anytime soon, so why don't you move to the Eight Cloud Mountains as well, Fellow Daoist Han? I'll get someone to organize a free cave abode for you so you can cultivate in peace while awaiting the opening of the Vast Glacial Realm," Qian Jizi said.

Han Li was a little taken aback by this offer, but after quickly weighing up his options, he nodded in agreement.

After that, Qian Jizi and Elder Ma asked some casual questions about Han Li's origins, to which Han Li gave a few intentionally ambiguous responses.

It was quite clear that Han Li didn't want to disclose too much information about himself, and the two Myriad Ancient Race elders didn't insist on prying, either.

Not long after that, the third elder of the Myriad Ancient Race finally arrived. This was a tall and broad heavily-bearded man, and he only took a glance at Han Li and delivered some absentminded praise before hurrying away, citing the excuse that he had a half-refined batch of spirit pills in his cauldron that he had to attend to.

Qian Jizi and Elder Ma could only exchange a resigned smile upon seeing this. They seemed to have already become accustomed to this Elder Huang's personality.

Thus, after receiving a Myriad Distance Talisman from Elder Ma, Han Li finally stood up to leave. Prior to his departure, Qian Jizi told him that he would discuss with the other races about the teleportation formation and organize a cave abode for him within three days. Hence, he could move in to the Eight Cloud Mountains after that.

Han Li naturally thanked the elderly man for his kindness, then left the hall and departed from the Myriad Ancient Race's fortress on the beast-drawn carriage outside. At this moment, both Qian Jizi and Elder Ma were sitting in silence within the hall, seemingly in deep thought. "What do you think? Could he be a spy from the Jiao Chi Race?" Qian Jizi asked.

"There's no way that he's a spy; expending a Vast Glacial Badge just to plant a spy in our Heavenly Cloud Races is far too heavy a price to pay. Besides, he also saved Master Jia and killed several Jiao Chi beings of the same cultivation base as himself. No matter how you look at it, the Jiao Chi Race would have to be downright insane to sacrifice so much just to plant a spy. On top of that, even if he were to become a guest member of one of our 13 races, he wouldn't be able to obtain any of our confidential secrets anyway, so what would be the point?" Elder Ma immediately shook his head in response.

"My thoughts exactly. In that case, we won't have to use a soul search technique to determine his origins. Otherwise, it could prove to be detrimental to us if we were to draw resentment from him," Qian Jizi agreed with a nod.

"On top of that, he possesses extremely powerful combat prowess that's no less potent than beings at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, so it would be greatly beneficial to our race if he could become a guest member of ours, so we should do our best to recruit him rather than get on his bad side," Elder Ma added."But he seems to be quite intent on leaving the Thunder Continent," Qian Jizi countered with furrowed brows.

"Hehe, it's not that easy to gather so many top-grade spirit stones; who knows how long it'll take for him to save up the spirit stones required? During this process, we'll just have to expend some effort to try and convince him to stay. Of course, if he still insists on leaving in the end, then there's no need for us to play the villains and force him to stay. Our race certainly isn't short of beings at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, so there's no need to risk ruining our reputation for him," Elder Ma mused.

Following a brief pause, Qian Jizi nodded, and said, "Seeing as you've already made up your mind, I have no objections."

"Let's talk about the news we received about the Jiao Chi Race. This invasion from the Jiao Chi Race is on a far larger scale than past invasions. Setting aside everything else, just the number of holy race beings they've deployed is..." Elder Ma changed the subject and moved on to the Jiao Chi Race invasion thereafter.