A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

"Thank you for telling me all of this, Fellow Daoist Chen," Han Li said as he stood up to depart.

"Don't do anything rash, Fellow Daoist Li. Scarface on his own is nothing to be afraid of, but as the saying goes, before you beat a dog, you have to look at who its owner is. For Toxic Dragon, Scarface is a very obedient and useful dog, so if you kill him, you'll risk completely turning Toxic Dragon against yourself," Chen Lin hurriedly said.

"I've already turned Toxic Dragon against myself, haven't I? If he's going to come after me anyway, then what difference does it make if I take Scarface out of the picture or not?" Han Li countered.

"Even if you're not afraid of Toxic Dragon, you still have to follow the rules of the arena. Personal conflicts are permitted in our arena in private, and they're even encouraged to a certain extent, but battls of life and death can only take place in the arena. If you kill someone in private, you'll be in a lot of trouble, and that's why I'm telling you not to be rash," Chen Lin continued.

A hesitant look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, and he sat back down again.

Chen Lin also sat down beside him as he said with a relieved smile, "I'm glad I managed to talk some sense into you."

"You have my thanks, Fellow Daoist Chen," Han Li said with a smile.

"It's fine. Before you leave, I have something for you," Chen Lin said after a brief moment of hesitation.

Before Han Li had a chance to ask any questions, Chen Lin made his way into his inner chamber before bringing out a black stone box.

"Scarface isn't the type who knows when to give up, so take this for now. It may save you some trouble in the future," Chen Lin said as he offered the black stone box to Han Li in a slightly reluctant manner.

"What's this?" Han Li asked.

"It's a Heavenly Star Shell. You've seen this thing at the exchange center, right? There's no devilish qi in this godforsaken place, nor can devilish treasures be used, so it's very difficult to set up any restrictions. Hence, a Heavenly Star Shell is considered to be quite an advanced tool around these parts," Chen Lin explained with a smile.

Upon hearing mention of the term "Heavenly Star Shell", Han Li immediately recalled that he had indeed seen the name in the exchange hall. He didn't know what it was used for, but it was quite expensive, and that was why it had left an impression on him.

"I can't accept something so precious, Fellow Daoist Chen. I'm already extremely grateful for all of the information that you've imparted upon me," Han Li refused.

"You misunderstand my intentions, Fellow Daoist Li. I would like to give this to you for free, but I'm afraid my finances won't allow for that," Chen Lin said with a wry smile.

Han Li raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, and Chen Lin explained, "This is an old Heavenly Star Shell of mine, and much of its starpower has already been exhausted. I got into some conflicts with some other gladiators some time ago, so I purchased a better one in order to ensure my own safety, and this one's just been sitting around ever since.

“I know you won't have many profound points at the moment, so I can sell this Heavenly Star Shell to you for half price."

Han Li was tempted by the offer, but he replied in a resigned manner, "Truth be told, I've already exchanged all of my profound points for beast cores, so I don't have anything that I can give you in exchange aside from Tarot Beast Cores."

"It's fine. It's not every day that I meet another gladiator who I can get along with, so you can take this Heavenly Star Shell for now. As for the compensation, I can wait until you've won a couple more arena battles," Chen Lin said with a smile.

Han Li hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, then nodded in response.

"In that case, I'll have to thank you again, Fellow Daoist Chen."

He accepted the black stone box as he spoke, then opened it to reveal a palm-sized white shell with many complex patterns on its surface sitting inside.

"I've used this thing before, so it has my mark, but all you need to do is drip some of your blood essence onto it, and it'll recognize you as its new owner. All you need to do from there is place it in your room, and it'll release a layer of starpower that encompasses the entirety of your door. That way, no one will be able to enter your room unless they break in by force, and little things like Heart Pitting Insects will also be kept out," Chen Lin explained.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen, I'll remember what you've done for me," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute, then promptly departed.

After returning to his room, Han Li pulled out the Heavenly Star Shell, then dripped a drop of blood essence onto it.

The drop of blood essence created a red stain on the shell, which then vanished amid a flash of white light.

At the same time, all of the patterns on its surface lit up, releasing a layer of hazy white light.

Han Li set the shell down beside his door, and the white light immediately encompassed the entire door, including even all of the gaps around it.

After inspecting the Heavenly Star Shell momentarily with his spiritual sense, he discovered that the starpower within it was still quite abundant, so it was clear that Chen Lin had overstated how much he had used it in the past.

After some contemplation, Han Li sat back down onto his stone bed, then swallowed a Tarot Beast Core and began cultivating his Wingform Ascension Arts.

……

A month flew by in a flash.

Inside Han Li's room, the white tree root on the ceiling was still glowing faintly, and he was seated with his legs crossed and his eyes closed on his bed. At this point, he had already opened a total of forty-one profound acupoints.

In addition to the profound acupoint that he had opened after consuming the Tiger Scaled Beast Core, he had consumed seven Tarot Beast Cores in succession to open up two more profound acupoints, both of which were also on his legs.

Right at this moment, a faint buzzing sound suddenly rang out in his room, and a burst of black light began flashing incessantly by his bed.

Han Li slowly opened his eyes, and his brows furrowed slightly as he picked up the flashing badge by his bedside.

He slowly rose to his feet before making his way out of his room, and he discovered that there were more people than usual gathered in the ninth area, indicating that there were perhaps also some other arena battles taking place.

Han Li passed straight through the exchange hall to arrive in the waiting hall, and the horned man waiting there immediately called out to him.

As the only human gladiator, he had left quite a deep impression on the horned man.

"All of the platforms for the ninth area are currently occupied, so you'll have to wait until one of the ongoing battles ends before you can go in," the horned man said with a smile, speaking much more amicably than last time.

"It's fine, I'll just wait," Han Li replied with a nod, then sat down with his legs crossed near in the waiting hall.

Around fifteen minutes later, one of the battles finally concluded. Both of the gladiators participating in the battle had perished, and as a result, the city lord's manor had made a killing.

Han Li rose to his feet upon hearing the commotion from the spectators outside, and he was greeted by the sight of two sets of gladiator remains being carried in from outside. One of them had a huge hole in their head, while the other had had their chest completely torn open.

After waiting for a while longer for the platform to be repaired, the horned man entered the venue to announce the next battle.

"Everyone, I'm sure all of you still remember the human who miraculously defeated that Tiger Scaled Beast last month. Today, he returns to our arena, and he'll be going up against another C tier scaled beast, a Mountain Plowing Ape. He only possesses fewer than forty profound acupoints, will he be able to pull off another stunning upset?"

The horned man's announcement immediately sent the entire arena into a frenzy, and some of the spectators had already begun yelling Han Li's alias.

"Li Feiyu! Li Feiyu! Li Feiyu..."

Of course, there was also no shortage of spectators rooting against him, some of whom felt that he had only been lucky last time, while others simply despised him for the fact that he was a human.

Han Li could hear some of the cheers and jeers being directed at him from inside the waiting, but he remained completely unfazed and disinterested.

"The battle between Li Feiyu and the Mountain Plowing Ape is about to begin soon, so place your best now. Once the battle commences, no further bets will be taken. Once again, the odds for this battle are 5:1!" the horned man declared.

The atmosphere instantly became even more heated after the odds were declared, and most of the spectators still chose to bet on the Mountain Plowing Ape, but many were considering betting on Han Li this time.

Inside one of the VIP booths, Chen Yang was resting against a large black chair, but this time, he wasn't accompanied by the woman from last time, and Hu Bi wasn't with him, either.

"I don't know how you managed to win the last battle, but you really shouldn't have challenged another C tier scaled beast, particularly not a Mountain Plowing Ape. You may have pulled off a miracle last time, but lightning isn't going to strike twice," he murmured to himself with slightly narrowed eyes.

Moments later, the sound of a gong being struck rang out, indicating the imminent commencement of the battle.

The stone door was slowly opened, and Han Li emerged from the waiting hall, looking as calm as ever.