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

Chapter 1156: Reunion with Xiao Bai

A hint of guilt welled up in Han Li's heart at the sight of the five remaining colored flames on the Essence Fire Child's head.

The Essence Fire Raven had expended two of its seven Rainbow Fire Pill Sand flames to protect him inside the Nine Dragon Divine Flame Dome, and Han Li had always felt rather guilty about this.

In contrast, the Essence Fire Raven didn't seem to be bothered by this at all, and as soon as it was released, it began skipping around joyfully on the palm of Han Li's hand as it always did.

"I promise that I'll recover everything that you've lost," Han Li vowed in a solemn manner, and the silver figure nodded firmly in response.

After that, Han Li raised a hand to send the dog-shaped black rock rising up into the air, following which the Essence Fire Raven transformed into a burst of silver flames that enveloped the entire rock.

Plumes of black smoke began to rise up from the black rock, and its surface gradually melted away like a layer of ice. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The black coloration became lighter and lighter, and it was as if layers were being peeled away from the exterior of the rock, gradually revealing the contents inside.

Before long, the entire outer layer of black rock had melted away, revealing what appeared to be an ice crystal, encapsulated within which was a small, white, furry beast that was curled up into a ball.

"Xiao Bai!" Han Li couldn't help but exclaim at the sight of the beast.

Indeed, the creature encased within the ice crystal was none other than the Pixiu that had traveled to the greater Golden Origin Immortal Region with Jin Tong, Xiao Bai.

Sang Tu and the others were very surprised by the fact that Han Li seemed to be familiar with the adolescent beast, but Han Li paid no heed to their reactions as he instructed the Essence Fire Raven to melt away the final layer of ice.

However, even after the ice had melted away, Xiao Bai's eyes remained shut, and it was as if it were nothing more than a lifeless body.

Han Li began scouring his gaze and spiritual sense over Xiao Bai's body, and only then did he discover that even though Xiao Bai had been freed from its self-imposed seal of ice, its soul remained in a state of slumber, as if it had been sealed away by its own bloodline power.

Han Li could tell that this was an emergency self-preservation measure adopted by Xiao Bai, but he had no idea how to awaken Xiao Bai from this state.

The Essence Fire Raven could see that Han Li was preoccupied with the task of awakening Xiao Bai, so it vanished into his body on its own.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li channeled his Spirit Refinement Technique, releasing his spiritual sense into Xiao Bai's consciousness to try and awaken it.

However, upon entering Xiao Bai's consciousness, he discovered that there was nothing but a boundless expanse of darkness inside, and there seemed to be a burst of strange power that was sucking his spiritual deeper and deeper into the darkness.

Han Li immediately withdrew his spiritual sense from Xiao Bai's consciousness as a safety precaution upon sensing this strange suction force.

He then attempted to awaken Xiao Bai through the spiritual connection that existed between them, but as he projected his spiritual sense onto Xiao Bai, his surroundings suddenly turned to complete darkness, just like the all-encompassing darkness in Xiao Bai's consciousness.

Right at this moment, a pair of giant, glowing eyes emerged within the darkness, and they projected a cold gaze onto Han Li.

Before Han Li had a chance to figure out what was happening, he felt a burst of sharp pain in his consciousness before snapping back to reality with a flabbergasted look on his face.

"Can you save him?" Sang Tu asked.

"This beast is an acquaintance of mine, but for some reason, his consciousness is completely enshrouded in darkness, and as soon as I attempt to awaken him, I see a pair of glowing eyes that reject my spiritual sense," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

"That sounds like... Could it be that this beast is a descendant of one of the eight ancient True Spirit Kings, the Ink-Eyed Pixiu?" Yun Bao exclaimed with a stunned expression, and Sang Tu's expression also changed drastically upon hearing this.

"What's an Ink-Eyed Pixiu?" Han Li asked.

"The Ink-Eyed Pixiu was said to be a tribe of beings that possessed the most powerful ocular ability under the heavens, allowing them to see the essence of all things and identify all manners of treasures. There are even legends claiming that their eyes are able to see through the ethereal cycle of reincarnation and predict the futures of others," Yun Bao explained.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. It was true that Xiao Bai possessed the ability to find hidden treasures, but he certainly wasn't able to see into the cycle of reincarnation or predict the future.

"Not only that, but it's said that the eyes of the Ink-Eyed Pixiu can also connect to a strange space, and that once an Ink-Eyed Pixiu develops to fully maturity, they'll be able to suck enemies into that space with just a single look. Unless the enemy is far more powerful than them, there's no way they'll be able to escape from that space," Yun Bao continued.

"Xiao Bai does have a special space in his stomach that's completely isolated from the outside world, but I'm not aware of anything noteworthy about his eyes," Han Li mused.

"It seems like the entire Ink-Eyed Pixiu Tribe was wiped out after the Ink-Eyed Pixiu True Spirit King disappeared. Even to this day, it's extremely rare to see descendants of the Ink-Eyed Pixiu Tribe. If we can take him to Eight Plains Mountain, he'll surely be regarded as a precious treasure by all of the primordial tribes, and the True Spirit King will definitely be able to wake him up, " Sang Tu said.

A hesitant look flashed through Han Li's eyes upon hearing this.

His original intention was to find a place to cultivate in seclusion until he reached the early-Great Encompassment Stage and recovered all his Time Dao Runes, at which point he would travel to the greater Golden Origin Immortal Region in anticipation for the Reincarnation Palace mission, but he had to reconsider his plans now.

After some contemplation, he decided to save Xiao Bai first. Once Xiao Bai woke up, he would be able to ask him about what happened in the Nine Origins Temple, thereby giving him better chances of saving Jin Tong while carrying out the Reincarnation Palace mission.

With that in mind, Han Li declared, "I'm willing to accompany you to Eight Plains Mountain to save Xiao Bai."

Sang Tu and Yun Bao's expressions both changed slightly upon hearing this, and the former immediately said, "Our Silver Horn Rhinoceros Tribe can complete that task on our own."

Yun Bao gave a cold harrumph, but didn't say anything.

After all, Xiao Bai had been found by the Silver Horn Rhinoceros Tribe and was still on the Silver Horn Rhinoceros Tribe's territory, so he had no right to speak on the matter.

"Are you planning to move your entire tribe to Eight Plains Mountain, Chief Sang Tu?" Han Li asked.

"Of course not, I'll only be taking the most capable warriors of our tribe for the journey," Sang Tu replied.

"In that case, what's going to become of the rest of your brethren? Don't forget that none of the Cloud Spot Tiger Tribe's most capable warriors are going anywhere," Han Li said in a meaningful voice, and a sheen of cold sweat instantly beaded up on Sang Tu's forehead upon hearing this.

If he were to take Xiao Bai to Eight Plains Mountain, then the Cloud Spot Tiger Tribe would be backed into a corner and be left with no choice but to kill all of the Silver Horn Rhinoceros beings that were left behind.

Even if they were to be rewarded by the True Spirit King for delivering Xiao Bai to Eight Plains Mountain, it would hardly matter if their entire tribe were wiped out.

"I'm willing to work with the Cloud Spot Tiger Tribe to deliver Xiao Bai to Eight Plains Mountain," Sang Tu conceded, and Yun Bao cast a grateful glance toward Han Li upon hearing this.

"After the two of you depart, your tribes will be without their leaders, and eventually, word of this is inevitably going to spread, to the other nearby tribes, which could view this as a potential opportunity to strike. Hence, not only do the two of you have to work together, your two tribes must also join forces and look out for one another in each other's time of need. Otherwise, there's a good chance that neither of your tribes will still exist by the time that you're back," Han Li continued.

Sang Tu and Yun Bao both displayed reluctant expressions to the idea, and it was clear that this was a rather difficult notion for them to stomach.

The two tribes had been in conflict with one another for millions of years, so how could they possibly set their differences aside and work together at the drop of a hat?

"I understand that this may be a difficult proposition for you to accept, but you don't need to be allies forever. Just maintain this alliance until the two of you are back from the blood inheritance ceremony, and you'll be free to do whatever you want after that," Han Li said with a smile.

Sang Tu and Yun Bao were both silent for a long while, following which both of them nodded in unison.

"Thank you for pointing out a path forward for us, Senior. We'll do as you say."

"There's no need to refer to me as senior, just call me Shi Mu or Fellow Daoist Shi. By the way, when is this blood inheritance ceremony set to begin?" Han Li asked.

"It was announced thirty years ago that the ceremony would commence in a hundred years, so we have less than seventy years left. The journey to Eight Plains Mountain will be quite a lengthy one, so we'll have to set off soon," Sang Tu replied.

At this point, Han Li had already essentially become the joint leader of the two tribes, and he instructed, "In that case, go back to your tribes right away and make the necessary arrangements. We'll depart as soon as possible."

Sang Tu and Yun Bao gave a collective, affirmative response, following which both of them promptly departed.

Sang Tu declared that this tent would be reserved for Han Li for now, and that no one was to approach the tent without permission.

Han Li sat in the tent for a moment, then swept a sleeve through the air to open the Flower Branch domain.

After that, he picked up Xiao Bai in his arms and stepped into the bamboo pavilion in the domain.