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

The white-robed elderly man's expression remained unchanged, but he immediately ascertained that the first possibility was quite implausible.

After all, if Han Li had a way to disguise his own cultivation base, then he would've used it back when he was a mid-Body Integration cultivator; why would he do something like this now, when everyone already knew that he was at the late-Body Integration Stage? If it were the latter...

The white-robed elderly man couldn't help but draw a sharp breath, and the tone of his voice unconsciously became even more polite.

Buddhist Monk Jin Yue's expression also remained unchanged, but his astonishment was no less potent than that of the white-robed elderly man. Even though he already had a very high estimate of Han Li's powers, it appeared that he had still underestimated him.

After making some brief small talk, Han Li said, "I've already received the congratulatory presents the two of you have sent to me; allow me to offer my thanks. Now then, I'm sure you've invited me here to discuss an urgent matter, so let's cut straight to the chase."

The white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue exchanged a glance before the former said, "In that case, I won't delay any longer either. Following your progression to the late-Body Integration Stage, you are already the most powerful cultivator in the city. Forgive me for being blunt, but what would you estimate your own chances to be if you were to go up against a Sacred Ancestor clone?"

"A Sacred Ancestor clone? That's hard to say. After all, the Sacred Ancestors all possess different powers and abilities. I don't know anything about the Sacred Ancestor clone outside the city, so I can't say anything definitive about it, but if it's anything like the Sacred Ancestor clones I've faced in the past, then I should have a decent chance of securing victory," Han Li replied after a long pause for contemplation.





Chapter 1996: Heavenly Halberd Talisman


"The Sacred Ancestor clone that's ruling over the devilish army outside has never shown itself, so we don't know much about its powers and abilities. However, according to the information we've managed to gather, it should be no more powerful than the clone that you were pursued by. These two clones both stem from that Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang, so even if there are some disparities between their abilities, they should all be somewhat connected. Having faced a clone of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang already, it should be easier for you to face this clone compared to clones of other Sacred Ancestors," the white-robed elderly man said.

"Oh? Are you planning to get me to face this Sacred Ancestor clone, Brother Gu?" Han Li asked in a calm manner, seemingly unsurprised by this arrangement.

"Indeed, Fellow Daoist Han. Under normal circumstances, I definitely wouldn't ask you to take such a huge risk, but the devilish army outside is extremely powerful, and just the number of devilish lords in the army alone is almost twice the number of elders in the city. The other elders and I have racked our brains to try and come up with a strategy, but the Sacred Ancestor clone is going to be more powerful than even the average late-Body Integration cultivator; there really is no good way for us to counter it. If it were to force its way through a weak point in the city's defenses and allow the devilish army to storm into the city, we would be in a dire situation," the white-robed elderly man replied.

Han Li was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "How was the panel of elders initially planning to address this Sacred Ancestor clone? Don't tell me you had no plans at all!"

"What plans could we have other than to rely on our advantage in numbers and our restrictions? Our initial plan was that once the battle commenced, we would send someone to lure the clone into a formation that we had prepared in advance, then trap him in the formation. We wouldn't be able to kill it that way, but at the very least, we'd be able to keep it out of the battle for a while. Unfortunately, the plan sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult to execute, so the chances of success are not very high," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue explained.

"Indeed. All of the Sacred Ancestor clones are extremely cunning; luring one into a formation certainly wouldn't be an easy task," Han Li replied with a solemn nod.

"That's right. Fellow Daoist Jin and I had planned to ask you to lure the Sacred Ancestor clone into the formation, but with your past cultivation base, the plan was too risky for you, so we didn't propose it to you. However, now that you've progressed to the late-Body Integration Stage, there's no need for such concerns. We're not asking you to defeat the Sacred Ancestor clone, Brother Han; all that we ask is that you keep it occupied once the battle begins so it can't attack the city's restrictions. As for the devilish army and devilish lords, our panel of elders will face them. The survival of the city is at stake here, so please don't turn us down, Brother Han," the white-robed elderly man said in an earnest manner.

Han Li pondered this for a moment before replying with a smile, "I agreed to do everything in my power to help the city ward off the devilish army, and I'm certainly not going to eat my words. If all I need to do is hold off the Sacred Ancestor clone, then that should be within my capabilities; leave the Xue Guang clone to me."

The white-robed elderly man was ecstatic to hear this. "Thank you for being so selfless, Brother Han! If we can ward off the devilish army, we'll definitely reward you handsomely for your efforts."

"It's alright, I'm just doing what's expected of me. The fate of the entire human race hinges on this battle, so I'll naturally be giving it my all. If that's everything that needs to be discussed, then I'll be taking my leave now. I only recently completed my breakthrough and still need to consolidate my cultivation base," Han Li said as he rose to his feet.

The white-robed elderly man and Buddhist Monk Jin Yue were rather surprised by this, but there was no reason for them to keep Han Li any longer, so they accompanied him out of the hall.

Following Han Li's departure, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue's smile faded, and he asked, "Brother Gu, why didn't you try to recruit Fellow Daoist Han to join our city? That was a great opportunity just now."

"Do you think there's any point in doing so? I was holding onto some hope, but as soon as I saw Fellow Daoist Han today, I knew that there was no way he would agree to join any power. With his current powers, how do you think he ranks among all of the late-Body Integration cultivators of our two races?" the white-robed elderly man asked.

Buddhist Monk Jin Yue's heart stirred upon hearing this, and only after pondering the question for a long while did he reply, "I've met all of the late-Body Integration Stage fellow daoists of our two races, but none of them have been unfathomable to me as Fellow Daoist Han was. On top of that, he slew multiple devilish lords at the mid-Body Integration Stage and even faced a Sacred Ancestor clone; judging from all that, I would speculate that Fellow Daoist Han is already the most powerful being among our two races aside from Senior Mo and Senior Ao."

"There you go. With Fellow Daoist Han's powers, why would he bind himself to any power for no reason? Also, what can our Deep Heaven City offer to tempt someone of his powers? I would only risk offending Fellow Daoist Han by trying to recruit him to join our city again, so I naturally decided against it," the white-robed elderly man said with a wry smile.

"That's true. It's incredible to think that someone who was an ordinary guard of our city less than 2,000 years ago has since surpassed us on the path to pursuing the Great Dao," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue sighed in a slightly wistful manner.