Chapter 75: Inquiry

"What happened?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"I just received news from Fellow Daoist Sima of the Cold Flame Sect that... that Young Mistress Liu was abducted," Daoist Closed Mountain stuttered.

"Tell me what happened," Han Li urged as his expression darkened slightly.

Daoist Closed Mountain hurriedly explained, "Last night, a woman in white suddenly broke through the restrictions around the Spirit Flame Mountain Range, then went straight to the Cloudrise Peak before taking Young Mistress Liu away."

"And the Cold Flame Sect just allowed it to happen without doing anything?" Han Li asked.

"Fellow Daoist Sima claims that he tried to step in, but his attacks were dispelled by the woman with ease, and all it took was a casual sweep of her sleeve to send him flying, so he was completely powerless to stop her. However, the woman seemed to have no intention of harming anyone. She said that she belonged to the same race as Young Mistress Liu, then took her away," Daoist Closed Mountain replied as he extended a respectful bow.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this. "You're telling me that she sent Sima Jingming flying with just a sweep of her sleeve?"

"That's what I was told by Fellow Daoist Sima. Would you like me to send out some disciples of our Origin Realm Temple to search for Young Mistress Liu? When it comes to searching for people, our Origin Realm Temple is..."

Before Daoist Closed Mountain had a chance to finish, Han Li cut him off as he asked, "Do you know of anyone in this realm capable of sending a Grand Ascension cultivator flying with just a sweep of their hand?"

"N... No," Daoist Closed Mountain replied in an uneasy voice.

"Alright, you can go now," Han Li replied.

Daoist Closed Mountain extended another respectful bow, then departed from the Star Gathering Platform.

Han Li looked on as Daoist Closed Mountain flew away into the distance, then suddenly swept a hand through the air after a brief silence to conjure up a silver light barrier that enshrouded the entire Star Gathering Platform.

……

The next morning.

Daoist Closed Mountain's portly figure appeared in front of the Nine Palace Peak once again, and he extended a respectful bow toward the Star Gathering Platform as he declared, "Junior Closed Mountain pays his respects to Senior Han."

During the past three years, he showed up at this time every single day without fail to report all of the noteworthy pieces of news that had arisen in the Spirit Domain Realm to Han Li. Occasionally, he would also act as a messenger bird between Han Li and the Cold Flame Sect, and his diligence to the task was truly commendable.

Most of the time, Han Li was cultivating in seclusion, in which case Daoist Closed Mountain would respectfully announce his arrival, then wait patiently for around two hours before departing after respectfully taking his leave. He displayed no agitation or impatience throughout this entire process, and his attitude was impeccable.

As a result, during the past three years, all of the disciples of the Origin Realm Temple gradually came to realize that their Grand Ascension Stage supreme elder, who was normally extremely rarely seen, had become a relatively common sight in the temple. Even though they could only see him from afar, this was already enough to fill many of the disciples with giddy excitement.

Of course, all of the Body Integration and some of the Spatial Tempering Stage elders of the temple were naturally aware of the circumstances involved. However, they all chose to refrain from speaking on the matter, as if there were some type of unspoken agreement between them.

Daoist Closed Mountain stood in mid-air around 1,000 feet away from the Nine Palace Peak with a respectful look on his face, but he was feeling a little perplexed as he looked at the silver light barrier around the Star Gathering Platform.

Normally, during Han Li's cultivation, the entire surrounding area would be teeming with turbulent starpower, but there was no sign of that at all on this day.

Despite his befuddlement, he didn't dare to intrude. Perhaps Han Li was undergoing some other type of cultivation. With that in mind, he continued to wait obediently off to the side, then took his leave once again two hours later.

Time passed by one day after another, and he still made his routine daily visits, but there still seemed to be nothing happening on the Star Gathering Platform.

Close to three months flew by in the blink of an eye, and Daoist Closed Mountain was gradually running out of patience.

On this day, he waited for half a day, but there was still no change whatsoever on the Star Gathering Platform.

He took a deep breath, then declared, "Senior Han, I've found some more leads pertaining to Young Mistress Liu's abduction. Would you happen to have some time to speak to me?"

There was no response at all.

"Senior Han!" Daoist Closed Mountain called out once again, but yet again, there was no response.

"Could it be..." His expression changed slightly as a thought occurred to him, and he swept a hand through the air, releasing a burst of golden light that fell upon the silver light barrier.

The silver light barrier was instantly shattered, revealing a completely deserted Star Gathering Platform.

However, there was a white jade slip sitting on the center of the platform.

Daoist Closed Mountain picked up the jade slip before injecting his spiritual sense into it, following which an excited look appeared on his face, and his flabby rolls began to tremble with elation.

The jade slip contained the method to remove the restriction that Han Li had placed in his body.

"Thank you, Senior Han!"

He withdrew his gaze before turning toward the distant sky, and he didn't know if Han Li could hear him, but he still loudly expressed his gratitude.

……

In the Spirit Flame Mountain Range.

Inside a certain hall, Sima Jingming was holding a discussion with the sect master and several Body Integration Stage elders of the sect. Following their discussion, everyone departed, leaving only Sima Jingming remaining in the hall.

He let out a long breath, and he was looking rather weary.

In the blink of an eye, the former number one sect of the Spirit Domain Realm, the Heavenly Ghost Sect, had been erased from existence, and all of the other major powers had been constantly competing with one another for the former territory of the Heavenly Ghost Sect during the past few years. As the only one of the former three top sects to have emerged completely unscathed from the incident, the Cold Flame Sect had been particularly busy.

As a result, he was constantly having to attend to different duties and matters and had no time for cultivation.

For a very long time, he had been focused solely on secluded cultivation and very rarely addressed the matters of the sect, so this was a very jarring change for him.

Of course, another reason why he was doing this was because of the current state of the Origin Realm Temple. He had thought that the Origin Realm Temple had been dealt a heavy blow, but not only was that not the case, it had also benefited immensely from the fall of the Heavenly Ghost Sect.

As for why this was the case, he was naturally aware of the underlying reasons, but he didn't dare to say anything.

However, Patriarch Cold Flame had been extremely pleased with the expansion of the Cold Flame Sect, and had already sent down several rewards.

With these rewards, Sima Jingchi was confident that he would be able to take another stride in his cultivation once everything settled down and he had a chance to go into seclusion.

At this rate, the prospect of ascending into the Immortal Realm no longer seemed to be completely out of reach.

With that in mind, Sima Jingming was feeling very pleased, and he rose to his feet, yet right as he was about to depart from the hall, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

"Fellow Daoist Sima."

Sima Jingming's expression changed slightly upon hearing this voice, and in the next instant, Han Li appeared in the hall amid a flash of azure light.

In one of his hands, which was concealed up his sleeve, he was holding a purple talisman that was flashing with silver light.

Sima Jingming's pupils contracted slightly at the sight of Han Li, and he instantly put on a warm smile as he cupped his fist in a salute. "Long time no see, Senior Han. You've become even more powerful since we last met several years ago! Congratulations!"

"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Sima," Han Li replied in a rather aloof voice.

"Please take a seat, Senior Han."

Sima Jingming's heart jolted slightly at the sight of Han Li's cold demeanor, and he hurriedly invited Han Li to take a seat before sitting down beside him.

"I came here today to inquire about Sister Liu. Is it true that she was abducted from the Cold Flame Sect?" Han Li immediately asked after taking a seat.

"It's true. I was unable to protect her, but her abductor was someone truly formidable, and..." Sima Jingming replied in an uneasy manner.

Han Li cut him off in an expressionless manner as he asked, "Do you have any leads on her abductor, Fellow Daoist Sima? Did she say anything to you that day?"

"The person who abducted Liu Le'er was a young woman in white, and she claimed to be from the same race as her. She asked me to thank you for looking after Le'er. I'm certain that I've never seen this woman before, and since the incident, I've sent out many of our sect's disciples to investigate her, but to no avail. Hence, I've developed a theory about her origins..." Sima Jingming's voice trailed off at the end, and a slightly hesitant look appeared on his face.

"Go on," Han Li prompted as he raised an eyebrow.

"My theory is that she isn't from the Spirit Domain Realm. She was so powerful that I was unable to withstand even a single attack from her, which leads me to believe that she's a True Immortal from the Immortal Realm."

Han Li had already guessed this to be the case, so he wasn't surprised to hear this theory being proposed by Sima Jingming. Instead, his brows furrowed slightly in contemplation.

According to his knowledge, the Cloud Fox Race that Liu Le'er belonged to was a branch of the Fox Race that had fallen well into decline. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been wiped out by the Blood Sword Sect. With that in mind, he couldn't help but wonder how such a race had managed to produce a True Immortal.

Perhaps an ancestor of the race had ascended to the Immortal Realm many years ago and just so happened to have returned to the Spirit Domain Realm recently, or perhaps Liu Le'er had been keeping some secrets from him...

"You've already done everything in your power, so I can't blame you for this. Fortunately, Le'er seems to have been taken by one of her brethren, so she shouldn't be in any danger," Han Li sighed.

Sima Jingming heaved an internal sigh of relief upon hearing this, and only then did he realize that his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

"By the way, I came here because there was another thing that I wanted you to enlighten me on, Fellow Daoist Sima," Han Li suddenly continued after a brief silence.

"I wouldn't dare to claim to be able to enlighten you, Senior Han! Please, ask me anything, and I'll tell you everything that I know," Sima Jingming hurriedly replied.

"Has Fellow Daoist Cold Flame ever spoken to you about his ascension to the Immortal Realm? Also, is there anything I have to be mindful of if I wish to attempt an ascension into the Immortal Realm from the Spirit Domain Realm?" Han Li asked.

Sima Jingming faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he took a deep breath, then replied in a respectful manner, "Senior Han, seeing as you're pursuing the path of body cultivation, once you attain a True Extreme Body, your physical body will automatically be rejected by the power of this realm. If you wish to ascend, then you'll have to break through the interrealm barrier with your physical strength."

"I see," Han Li replied with an enlightened expression.

It was no wonder that the closer he came to fully mastering the Big Dipper Origin Arts, the more he felt suppressed by some type of inexplicable force, to the point that even his flight was slightly hampered.

"The Spirit Domain Realm is very close to the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, so ascending to the Immortal Realm from here will take you to a random Ascension Platform in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region.

“Due to how sparse spiritual power in the lower realms is compared to in the Immortal Realm, all those who can successfully ascend possess exceptional aptitude and resolute wills, so they'll be generally held in very high regard in the Immortal Realm," Sima Jingming replied, revealing everything that he knew.

Han Li's expression remained completely unchanged, but he was quickly processing the information that he had just been given.

The Immortal Realm's attitude toward ascended immortals had always been the same, regardless of whether it was in the Spirit Domain Realm or back in the Spirit Realm. It was clear that he was currently being targeted by a certain power or person in the Immortal Realm, and the last thing that he wanted was to attract attention to himself.