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

Chapter 1272: Preparations Complete

"This array and this altar were constructed according to your specifications, Master Liu. Here are all of the leftover materials," Luo Feng said as he offered up a black storage ring with both hands.

Han Li had already examined the altar to find that it had been constructed in a very sound manner, and he waved a hand as he said, "You can keep it."

"Thank you, Master Liu!" Luo Feng hurriedly replied in an ecstatic fashion.

"I've already taught you how to operate the array. I'm going to get Jin Tong to stand on lookout duty for you, so you can cultivate here in peace, but I can only give you forty-nine days," Han Li said.

"If this array really is as powerful as you say, then forty-nine days will be plenty," the Earthly Deity Avatar replied.

Luo Feng was observing the conversation between the two with a perplexed look in his eyes, but Han Li made no effort to explain anything to him as he flew down onto the altar.

He walked a lap along the edge of the altar, depositing round stones that were filled with abundant water law powers into the slots on the altar one by one.

After that, he returned to the ground as he said, "Alright, you can enter the array now."

The Earthly Deity Avatar nodded in response, then leaped onto the center of the altar before sitting down with its legs crossed.

Tremendous bursts of water-attribute spiritual qi converged toward the vortex from all directions before being funneled down onto the altar.

The Earthly Deity Avatar was instantly basked in a layer of blue light that turned its body translucent, and it began absorbing the influx of spiritual qi.

"You stay here and keep a lookout for forty-nine days," Han Li instructed as he patted Jin Tong on the shoulder.

"You can count on me, Uncle," Jin Tong replied with a nonchalant mood.

Han Li knew that it was very unrealistic to expect her to fully focus on something unless it was devouring precious treasures.

Thankfully, this was a very secluded place far away from the Heavenly Court's forces, so it was relatively safe, and if anyone dared to try and spoil Han Li's plans, then Jin Tong would be able to easily scare them away.

"Luo Feng, come back to Dark Veil Island with me," Han Li instructed, and the two of them promptly departed.

"I know you're perplexed about what I'm doing, right?" Han Li asked as the two of them flew through the air alongside one another.

Luo Feng didn't know how to respond, so he could only nod in silence.

"I wasn't planning to keep you in the dark anyway..."

With that, Han Li revealed to Luo Feng his plans of modifying his Earthly Deity Avatar, but of course, he kept the matter regarding his corpse soul severance a secret.

Initially, Luo Feng was horrified to hear about this arrangement, but he was quickly reassured after learning about all of the preparations that Han Li had made.

"It's all thanks to you that our Dark Veil Island has been able to reach such prosperous heights, Master Liu. I'm extremely grateful for the fact that you disclosed all of this to me, even though you could've easily chosen not to. Seeing as you've already made such meticulous arrangements, I have no objections and am willing to help in any way that I can," Luo Feng said as he extended a deep bow, and Han Li gave a pleased nod upon hearing this.

From there, Han Li remained on Dark Veil Island to instruct Luo Feng to complete the rest of the preparations in secret.

This was an island that was built upon faith, and the conversion process was not going to be so easy.

Hence, Han Li had begun addressing the matter from the most foundational level, selecting some children from the island with exceptional cultivation aptitude before gathering them in the Ancestral God Hall to instruct them on the basics of cultivation.

With the seed of change planted and Luo Feng pulling some strings from behind the scenes, it was only a matter of time before Dark Veil Island was gradually transformed into a place similar to an immortal sect.

After forty-nine days, Han Li departed from Dark Veil Island and traveled to Frostless Island.

He was immediately approached by Jin Tong, who complained, "You're finally back, Uncle. That avatar of yours came out of seclusion four days ago, and it's been sitting like a statue this entire time. You should check on it to make sure that it hasn't actually turned into a statue!"

"The array must've caused quite a commotion these past forty-nine days. Did anyone come to check on what was happening?" Han Li asked.

"Some people came the day after you left, and many more groups of people came after that, but none of them dared to get too close, and I chased them away just like you instructed," Jin Tong replied.

"How did you chase them away?" Han Li asked in a skeptical manner.

"I told them what you told me to say, that the Ancestral God of Dark Veil Island was cultivating in seclusion here, and that no one was to disturb him," Jin Tong replied as she averted her eyes in a sheepish manner.

"You didn't get physical with anyone?" Han Li asked.

"Well... I did beat up that one guy. I already told him to piss off, but he still snuck back a second time, so I flicked him on the head and sent him plunging to the seabed. It took quite a while for him to float back up to the surface," Jin Tong replied with a sheepish smile.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Han Li asked.

"No, no, I didn't even put any force into my flick, and no one else dared to come after what happened to him," Jin Tong replied.

Han Li nodded in response, then leaped onto the altar on the island.

All of the water-attribute Immortal Origin Stones that had been embedded into the altar had already turned a lifeless, gray color, clearly indicating that the immortal spiritual power that they contained had already been absorbed by the Earthly Deity Avatar.

At this moment, the Earthly Deity Avatar was seated with its legs crossed, and its body was still in a near-translucent state. As a result, all of its internal organs were visible, and immortal spiritual power and the power of faith could be seen circulating through them.

A miniature, blue figure that resembled a nascent soul could be seen in the avatar's head, but it was nowhere near as clear as a nascent soul and appeared more like a cloud of mist.

"You've already reached the desired state," Han Li said with a pleased nod.

Right at this moment, a miniature, glowing figure suddenly scattered like smoke before spreading over the avatar's entire body, restoring it to its normal, opaque state.

"I'm ready. What do I need to do next?" the Earthly Deity Avatar asked as its eyes sprang open.

Han Li offered no response as he smiled and swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a door of silver light, and Weeping Soul stepped out from within.

Following such an extended period of rest and recuperation, she had already fully recovered from her injuries, and her cultivation base had also returned to its peak.

"This is Weeping Soul. She is going to seal away your soul and spiritual sense through the use of a secret technique to put you into a state of slumber," Han Li said.

The Earthly Deity Avatar took a glance at Weeping Soul before nodding in response.

After that, he closed his eyes and waited for her to begin.

Han Li gave Weeping Soul a nod, and she immediately strode over to the Earthly Deity Avatar before pressing her joined middle and index fingers against its glabella.

A speck of dark red light emerged over her fingertips, and bursts of formidable soul power fluctuations came surging out from within.

Han Li observed the proceedings for a moment before stepping down from the altar.

With a flick of his wrist, a stack of array tools appeared over the palm of his hand, and he placed them down over certain strategic locations on the island.

After around four hours, Han Li had covered virtually every single inch of the island, having planted close to two thousand array flags and array plates in the process.

By the time he returned to the altar, Weeping Soul had also finished what she was doing. The Earthly Deity Avatar had reverted back to its previous, translucent state, but the hazy figure in its head was already nowhere to be seen.

Han Li released his spiritual sense to carefully inspect the Earthly Deity Avatar, and he was rather taken aback by what he saw.

"Even with my spiritual sense and spiritual connection with my avatar, I'm no longer able to detect its soul. Could it be that you've pulled its soul out of its body?" Han Li asked.

"I wouldn't do that," Weeping Soul replied with a smile. "Didn't you tell me that the soul of an Ancestral God can't leave their body for extended periods of time?"

"In that case, this soul sealing secret technique of yours is truly impressive," Han Li praised.

Weeping Soul was quite pleased with his praise, and she pointed a finger at one of the Earthly Deity Avatar's hands, upon which an indistinct, longan-sized figure appeared momentarily within the palm of its hand before quickly fading away again.

"If even I can't detect its soul, then there's no way that my wicked corpse soul will be able to detect anything," Han Li said, then flipped a hand over to produce an Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword before using it to carve an array into the ground.

This array was far more complex than any that Han Li had ever seen before, and it consisted of three layers.

Each layer was filled with countless tiny runes, and after completing the array, Han Li summoned around a dozen Immortal Origin Stones and several treasures that contained spiritual power of different attributes before placing them down onto the important points in the array.

By the time all of the preparations were complete, the sun had already set down to sea level, basking the entire sea in a warm, orange glow.

"Jin Tong has gone out to play again. Get her to come back here, and the two of you will be stationed at the northernmost and southernmost tips of the island," Han Li instructed.

Weeping Soul nodded in response before turning to depart, but Han Li raised a hand to stop her as he continued, "From this point onward, whenever the array on the altar is activated, you two will have to activate the restrictions that I've set up on the island. Regardless of what happens on the altar, do not interfere. All you have to do is focus on guarding the island to ensure that no one comes in and no one leaves. Understood?"

"Understood," Weeping Soul replied with a nod, then flew away to fetch Jin Tong.