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

Chapter 1287: The Pinnacle of the Great Dao

The plaque was covered almost entirely in dark green moss, and only a part of a character for "Manor" could be made out on its surface.

The plaque was also broken in a very uneven fashion, and there was a fist-sized hole in its center.

"Look over there, Uncle!" Jin Tong suddenly yelled, and Han Li turned to the direction that she was pointing in to discover the other half of the plaque.

After brushing away the soil and weeds on its surface, Han Li discovered that the characters for "Yama" were engraved onto its surface.

"Looks like this is where the Yama Manor is. I can't see any physical building here, so it must be in something like a secret area or an array," Weeping Soul analyzed.

"It's right here," Han Li replied with a nod.

"Where?" Jin Tong asked in a puzzled manner.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he made a grabbing motion to release a streak of golden light, which swept up the half of the plaque that was laying on the ground before lifting it up into the air and setting it down onto the half of the plaque.

The two halves of the plaque came together in a seamless manner, but there was still a piece missing.

"Why's there a hole in the middle?" Jin Tong asked.

"It looks like we're still missing a key," Gui Wu said.

"Would you happen to know what this key is, Fellow Daoist Gui Wu?" Han Li asked.

"The Yama Manor has existed for countless years, and I don't even know who constructed it, so I'm afraid I don't know what this key could be, either," Gui Wu replied.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. Patriarch Miro had only instructed him to visit the Yama Manor, but had never mentioned its specific location or any key that was to be used to access it.

He approached the stone plaque to conduct a closer inspection, but wasn't able to detect any clear law power fluctuations emanating from it.

After some contemplation, he began paying closer attention to the hole in its center, and it suddenly occurred to him that the hole was of a rather familiar size and shape. His eyes immediately lit up at this discovery, and he flipped a hand over to produce a golden inkstone.

It was the very same inkstone that had been given to him by Wu Yang back in Nine Origins City.

As soon as the inkstone appeared, it immediately began to give off a golden glow along with waves of tremendous earth law powers.

A dense passage of runes instantly surfaced over the plaque, as if to resonate with the inkstone, and a burst of golden light appeared in the hole in its center to release bursts of suction force.

Han Li extended his hand forward, and the golden inkstone flew into the hole on its own. It was a perfect fit, and it quickly fused into one with the plaque.

Immediately thereafter, a golden vortex abruptly appeared over the surface of the plaque.

"That's it!" Jin Tong exclaimed in an ecstatic manner.

Was this all predestined by fate, or did you arrange all of this, Patriarch Miro? Han Li wondered to himself.

"What are you spacing out for, Uncle? Why aren't you going in?" Jin Tong asked with a puzzled expression.

Han Li shook his head to cast aside these disruptive thoughts, and right as he was about to go in, he turned to Jin Tong and Weeping Soul before instructing, "Now that the restriction on this island has been broken, it'll be accessible to outsiders, so we'll have to be on the lookout for potential intruders. Hence, I'll get you two to stay outside while I go in."

"You can count on us, Master," Weeping Soul immediately replied with a nod.

Jin Tong was very curious about what was inside the Yama Manor, but she still reluctantly obliged to Han Li's instructions.

"I'll leave Fellow Daoist Gui Wu in your care for now as well," Han Li said as he removed the pouch from his waist before handing it to Weeping Soul, and the latter gave an affirmative response, while Gui Wu remained silent.

Only after doing all of that did Han Li finally step into the golden vortex.

The entire world instantly began to spin around him, and by the time everything around him settled, he found himself on a lush, green plain.

The plain stretched as far as the eyes could see, and there were also some indistinct mountains that could be made out in the extremely far distance.

There was a date tree that was over a hundred feet tall standing several thousand feet away, and beneath the tree was a small thatch hut.

Despite its lackluster size, the thatch hut had clearly been very meticulously constructed, and even the thatch on the roof had been woven together in a very tidy fashion.

Right at this moment, a familiar voice rang out from within the thatch hut.

"What are you looking at? I've already been waiting for you for a very long time."

Immediately thereafter, a rotund monk in a red kasaya squeezed his way out of the hut's entrance.

He had a pair of extremely long earlobes that drooped all the way down onto his shoulders, and there was a benevolent smile on his face that squeezed his eyes into a pair of tiny slits. That, in conjunction with his enormous belly, gave him a very festive and joyful appearance.

"Master!" Han Li exclaimed in an ecstatic voice, only to quickly realize that this was nothing more than a soul fragment of Patriarch Miro's.

"You seem a little disappointed," Patriarch Miro jibed.

"I thought you were still alive, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the realization that this is not the case," Han Li sighed in a dejected manner.

In contrast, Patriarch Miro appeared as joyful as ever as he said, "Now that you're, it was worth the long wait for me."

"I should also be happy that I get to see you again," Han Li said as a smile appeared on his face.

"I created this secret area with what remained of my power, and the restriction around the island has ensured that my power remains fully intact. However, now that the restriction has been undone, my power is going to begin dissipating very quickly, so we don't have any time to waste. Show me the fruits of your cultivation," Patriarch Miro urged.

Han Li nodded in response, then immediately channeled his Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra while simultaneously conjuring up his time spirit domain, which encompassed the entire area within a radius of close to ten kilometers around the thatch hut.

A slightly surprised look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and Patriarch Miro smiled as he explained, "That's the extent of the size of this space. The mountains and landscape that you see in the distance are nothing more than illusions."

Han Li was even more surprised to hear this as he wasn't able to identify this at all.

However, he quickly cast those thoughts aside and began focusing on channeling his cultivation arts.

A full moon, a mountain range, a winding river, and a lush forest emerged in his spirit domain in quick succession, and Patriarch Miro nodded with a pleased expression as he praised, "Not bad at all. Once all five of your time law treasures are manifested into substantial forms, your Five Elemental Illusory World will become even more powerful."

"I was going to work on that, but some unforeseen mishaps arose, and I had a lot of trouble with my wicked corpse soul, so everything was delayed," Han Li explained.

"I see that you've already severed a corpse soul..." Patriarch Miro remarked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Is there something wrong, Master?" Han Li asked.

After some contemplation, Patriarch Miro replied, "There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that given how far you've managed to cultivate the laws of time, I presume you must've already caught the attention of Gu Huojin."

Gu Huojin was the name of the Time Dao Ancestor, and Han Li's heart instantly jolted slightly upon hearing this.

"I've already been on the Heavenly Court's Immortal Slaying List for a very long time, but I'm not sure if the Time Dao Ancestor has already noticed me," Han Li said with a wry smile.

"The battle for the Great Dao is extremely perilous. I didn't even have any intention of fighting over the berth of Time Dao Ancestor with Gu Huojin, yet I was still killed by him. Your aptitude in cultivating the laws of time exceeds even my own, so there's no way that he hasn't already noticed you," Patriarch Miro said.

"Why didn't you want to become the Time Dao Ancestor?" Han Li asked.

"Do you know what becoming a Dao Ancestor entails?" Patriarch Miro asked with a smile.

"A Dao Ancestor is someone who has reached the pinnacle of the Great Dao," Han Li replied.

"That's right. In that case, do you know what reaching the pinnacle of the Great Dao entails?" Patriarch Miro asked.

Han Li was stumped by this question.

"Dao Ancestors stand at the very pinnacle of the law powers that they've mastered, but the Heavenly Dao still transcends above them all. While one is beneath the Great Dao, the law powers that they wield must rely on the support of the Great Dao and also be subject to the restrictions of the Great Dao. However, Dao Ancestors are cultivators who have become equals with the Great Dao, so what do you think will happen to them?" Patriarch Miro asked.

"Could it be that once one becomes a Dao Ancestor, they'll fuse with the Great Dao and become a part of it?" Han Li asked as a harrowing realization began to dawn on him.

"According to my knowledge, a Dao Ancestor won't be devoured by the Great Dao right away. However, whenever they use their law powers, that will speed up the rate at which they are assimilated by the Great Dao," Patriarch Miro explained.

"That must be why Dao Ancestors so seldomly take part in battle!" Han Li exclaimed as a look of realization appeared on his face.

"Precisely. However, they will still strike if they see someone that poses a threat to their status as Dao Ancestor, and there are some ways for Dao Ancestors to delay their assimilation to the Great Dao," Patriarch Miro replied.