A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality

”Does your Vast Origin House possess treasures similar to Star Defying Plates or Realm Phasing Beads?” Han Li asked.

”It would be impossible to accomplish this with something like a Star Defying Plate alone. Once I get into contact with the fellow daoist who possesses the Baleful Yin Qi refinement mantra, I’ll invite you to come again, and I’ll have everything prepared then. However, the treasure involved is extremely precious even to our Vast Origin House, and it can only be used for a set number of times. Even with this item, it won’t be easy for you to return to our Elder Devil Realm, so use it with caution,” Lan Ying said.

Han Li was naturally elated by the prospect of receiving a treasure that could allow him to travel between realms, and he immediately replied, ”Rest assured, I’ll definitely use it with care.”

Lan Ying nodded with a pleased expression at the sight of Han Li’s earnest display.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Han Li, and after a brief hesitation, he asked, ”By the way, there’s something else I’d like to ask you, Fairy Lan.”

Lan Ying faltered slightly upon hearing this before replying with a smile, ”Go ahead, Brother Han.”

”I want to know why the Elder Devil Realm’s invasion of the Spirit Realm is different from the past invasions. It seems that they’re planning to settle in the Spirit Realm permanently, but after entering the Elder Devil Realm, I discovered that none of the ordinary devilish beings know anything about this. It seems that all of the invaders are directly connected with Sacred Ancestors or are low-grade and mid-grade devilish beasts that have been controlled,” Han Li said in a solemn manner.

Lan Ying and the devilish woman’s expressions both changed slightly upon hearing this, and after a long hesitation, Lan Ying finally replied in an apologetic manner, ”I know the reason behind this, but our Vast Origin House has a rule strictly prohibiting becoming involved in inter-realm conflicts, so I won’t be able to tell you.”

Han Li naturally couldn’t pry any further upon hearing this, and he nodded as a gesture of understanding. ”I see, then just pretend as if I never raised the question.”

Meanwhile, Violet Spirit’s expression changed a few times before she finally sighed, ”Brother Han, I know the reason behind this due to my ties with Liu Ji, so there’s no need to ask Sister Lan about this manner.”

Han Li was quite elated to hear this, but a solemn look then appeared on his face. ”If it’s convenient for you to disclose it to me, then that would be great, but if not, then forget it; I’m sure I’ll be able to find out everything on my own if I do some digging.”

”It’s alright. This is information that only Sacred Ancestors should have access to, but as time passes, there’s no way this can remain a secret for much longer. Some disciples of Sacred Ancestors like myself have already become aware of it; I’m sure it wouldn’t take long for all of the high-grade devilish beings in the realm to learn about the tribulation of the Elder Devil Realm,” Violet Spirit said with a wry smile.

”Tribulation of the Elder Devil Realm?” Han Li was quite stunned to hear this.

”Sister Lan and Aunt Zhu already know about this, so I can disclose the information here with no issues. If I miss out on any details, please fill them in for me, Sister Lan,” Violet Spirit said.

”To be honest, we don’t know much more than you do about this tribulation. All I know is that if it’s not taken care of properly, our Elder Devil Realm will face complete destruction. All of the Sacred Ancestors and devilish patriarchs are working to address this major issue, and invading the Spirit Realm seems to only be one of their backup plans,” Lan Yin said with a wry smile.

Han Li was becoming more and more intrigued upon hearing this.

”This is a long story that begins from not long after the Elder Devil Realm came into existence. It’s said that at the time, there were many now extinct races residing in all of the realms, and beings of the upper realms like true immortals and true devils were occasionally able to communicate with the beings of the lower realms. However, during that period, a Stemborer Queen was suddenly born in a seemingly ordinary race of ancient insects. This creature was even more fearsome than the average true immortal, and not only does it possess an innate Dark Elemental Physique, it can devour all types of energy.”

”What’s even more terrifying about it is its incredible reproductive abilities, and all of its descendants also possess the ability to devour all types of energy. It’s said that the most feared insects of the realms, such as the Gold Devouring Beetles, may have inherited the bloodline of the Stemborer Queen, thereby granting them the ability to devour all things.” Violet Spirit paused here as she cast a meaningful glance toward Han Li.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but his eyes had narrowed slightly.

Violet Spirit continued, ”In just over 1,000 years, this Stemborer Queen had slaughtered all of the other living beings in its realm with its billions of descendants. After another 10,000 years, all of the energy within that realm had been devoured, and it began to crumble away. However, the Stemborer Queen was able to teleport itself and its descendants to a neighboring realm with its unfathomable powers right before the realm was destroyed. Tens of thousands of years later, that realm also suffered the same fate.

”During the next close to 200,000 years, the Stemborer Queen and its descendants laid waste to several realms and finally attracted the attention of the upper realms. Two true immortals were somehow sent down to lure the Stemborer Queen and its descendants into the Elder Devil Realm, where a fierce battle took place. It’s said that the battle almost destroyed this entire realm, and many of the perilous regions in the Elder Devil Realm were left behind by that battle. In the end, all of the Stemborer Queen’s descendants were killed, and the Stemborer Queen itself was severely wounded before being sealed away in an eternal slumber by the two true immortals.”

”Why didn’t the true immortals kill it instead of going through the trouble of sealing it away? Could it be that it’s recently awakened?” Han Li asked with furrowed brows.

”Everything happened too long ago, so it’s unclear why the true immortals didn’t kill the Stemborer Queen; perhaps it had some type of life-saving trump cards that made it unkillable. Alternatively, it could be because the two true immortals were too severely wounded at that point to kill the Stemborer Queen. In any case, the Stemborer Queen did indeed reawaken over 10,000 years ago, and it’s produced more offspring. They’re currently constantly attacking the seal, and the three patriarchs have joined forces to fortify the seal, as well as to kill the stemborers that have made it through the cracks in the seal, but they’re only delaying the inevitable.”

”The stemborers take no prisoners or slaves, so once the Stemborer Queen breaks free from the seal, the Elder Devil Realm will be doomed; that’s the tribulation we’re currently facing,” Violet Spirit said with a concerned expression.

”If this Stemborer Queen really were to destroy the Elder Devil Realm, wouldn’t the Spirit Realm be next?” Han Li asked as his expression darkened significantly.

”There are several realms neighboring the Elder Devil Realm, including the Spirit Realm, so if the Elder Devil Realm were to be destroyed, there would indeed be a chance that the Spirit Realm would be next. Even if that doesn’t turn out to be the case, the Spirit Realm will eventually get its turn once the nearby realms are all destroyed,” Lan Ying said.

Han Li fell into a contemplative silence for a long while before musing, ”So that means if we can take care of this Stemborer Queen, not only will the devilish army retreat from the Spirit Realm, a major future tribulation for the Spirit Realm would also be circumvented.”

”Indeed. If the threat of the Stemborer Queen could be eradicated, the Elder Devil Realm can cease its invasions of the Spirit Realm altogether. However, this would be impossible to accomplish unless true immortals were to intervene,” Violet Spirit sighed.

”This is indeed something that we won’t be able to do anything about for now. Thankfully, it sounds like the seal will be able to last for a while longer, so we’ll just have to wait and see,” Han Li also sighed in a resigned manner.

This was a major issue concerning multiple realms, so it would be best to leave it to the Grand Ascension Stage beings; a mere Body Integration cultivator like him was ill-equipped to shoulder such a heavy burden.

With that in mind, Han Li moved on to other topics and chatted with everyone for a while longer before departing with Violet Spirit in accompaniment.

After Han Li and Violet Spirit emerged from the pavilion and made their way out of the lush forest, they were met by eight armored devilish guards, who were standing in front of a lavish beast-drawn carriage.

”Brother Han, you’re returning to the city anyway, so why don’t you come with me on my carriage? I have something to discuss with you along the way,” Violet Spirit said.

”Sure, I wanted to talk to you about something as well,” Han Li replied with a nod.