I Am Immortal in Great Yu

"Oh, right,"

He remembered something, took a piece of paper from his robes, and tossed it over. "This is a prescription that will make Gao Le happy. The ingredients are rare, though, so it’s up to you what you do with it."

"Oh?!"

Zhou Changfa’s eyes lit up. He carefully took the paper, and upon opening it, saw that it was indeed a list of precious materials like various Exotic Fruits. "The ingredients are a small matter. Back in the day, I squeezed plenty of benefits out of the Zheng Family."

He said this with righteous and brazen confidence.

"Good! This is wonderful! I can finally... Words cannot express my gratitude!"

"Don’t mention it."

Fang Rui shook his head and turned to leave. "I’m off."

"Fang Rui, don’t do anything stupid! Think things through, act within your limits, and don’t get yourself killed. I’m still waiting for you to see me off on my deathbed!" Zhou Changfa shouted after him.

"Don’t worry." Fang Rui waved from a distance without looking back.

...

"The result of this Divination: great fortune!"

Fang Rui nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, this could only be taken as a reference at best. Even with a good result, the journey would not necessarily be smooth, and there might even be factors he had overlooked.

’To be able to block my locational Divination, the other party must possess an object of an extremely high order. Is it that page filled with a treacherous and ominous aura?!’

’I should assume the worst of my enemy. Perhaps behind that page, there’s an even more terrifying existence, hidden beyond the reach of my Divination.’

’I’ll have to act cautiously. If I can win, I’ll fight. If not, I’ll run. The benefits of "great fortune" aren’t more important than my own life.’

Fang Rui resolved to himself.

...

「Two Realms Mountain.」

"SCREEE!"

Fang Rui circled high in the sky, riding the Flowing Cloud Cyan Simurgh.

Looking down, he saw that men from the Great Yu Court had already set up a blockade around the outskirts of Two Realms Mountain and begun a dragnet search for the ’Black Beasts’, but their progress was slow.

’It seems the matter of the ’Black Beasts’ in Two Realms Mountain has already attracted the Great Yu’s attention, but from the looks of it, they’re only in the initial stages.’

’That makes sense. I heard the ’Black Beasts’ are only at the Low Grade or Middle Grade level. With their limited range and the small number of casualties, how could the Court place too much importance on them right from the start?’

Fang Rui avoided them and entered the vast inner region of Two Realms Mountain directly.

’First step: capture some Black Beasts and collect a medium for Divination.’

As he was plotting, he suddenly saw a Black Eagle streak past twenty zhang away and couldn’t help but reach out and grab for it.

In mid-air.

CRACK!

A Great Hand Seal materialized and captured it instantly.

"SCREE SCREE SCREE!"

The Cyan Eagle shrieked sharply, its cries like needles stabbing into the mind, but it had no effect on Fang Rui whatsoever.

Its whole body was rotten and cold, like a walking corpse. Thick black gas emanated from its surface, condensing into foul-smelling droplets that trickled down.

Clearly, this was one of the so-called ’Black Beasts’!

’It’s aggressive toward living things and only at the Low Grade level, but it causes a certain degree of spiritual pollution. If a large number of them were to gather, even an ordinary Middle Grade Martial Artist would be in trouble.’

Fang Rui studied it for a moment, made his assessment, and then, with a sudden squeeze, annihilated the ’Black Beast’, turning it into black gas.

’Time to continue the hunt!’

...

「An incense stick later.」

Fang Rui looked at the Black Gas Light Sphere in his hand, formed from the essence of the dozens of Black Beasts he had slain, and a glint flashed in his eyes.

’This should be enough.’

’If it were any other Super Grade existence, they probably couldn’t succeed even with a Divination medium like this. But by borrowing a sliver of my panel’s authority, I can give it a try.’

"Go!"

Fang Rui formed a hand seal, and with a flash of Spiritual Light, the Black Gas Light Sphere exploded, transforming into a black arrow.

’It worked!’

He smiled faintly and headed in the direction the arrow pointed. A moment later, he arrived at a remote, perilous cliff. As soon as he got there, the black arrow instantly dimmed and vanished.

’It’s here?!’

Fang Rui locked onto the location and searched meticulously, from the sky above to the ground below.

But to his surprise, he found nothing at all.

’Was there a mistake? That’s not likely!’

Fang Rui thought for a moment, then turned and left. He repeated the process of capturing ’Black Beasts’, extracting the medium, and performing Divination. Before long, he found himself back at the same spot.

’Interesting!’

He rubbed his chin, his eyes glinting. ’I read in the legacy of the Primordial Path that in ancient times, there were Grotto Heavens and Blessed Lands, some natural, others created by Supreme Treasures. The small ones were a few li in radius, while the large ones could span a hundred li.’

In layman’s terms, an ’Alternate Space’!

’Could this be a situation like that?!’

’If so, the entry node should be somewhere around here. But knowing that doesn’t help much. Such Alternate Spaces are extremely well-hidden; without a guide, one can’t just enter easily.’

’But, there’s no rush. The continuous appearance of ’Black Beasts’ means there’s traffic between the inside and outside. I can use this to my advantage, follow the clues to their source, and force my way in when the ’door’ opens.’

Fang Rui took a blanket from his Spirit Ring, sat down cross-legged nearby, and waited quietly.

Time passed. The sun rose and set, and night fell.

Until—

「The frost was heavy with dew, around midnight.」

In mid-air, wisps of black gas suddenly appeared, coalescing into a massive black cloud. A bird flew through it and was instantly transformed into a ’Black Beast’.

’Just as I expected. Here it is!’

Fang Rui’s eyes snapped open. He slapped the Flowing Cloud Cyan Simurgh beside him. "Go!"

"SCREEE!"

The Flowing Cloud Cyan Simurgh shrieked and soared into the sky.

’This is the place. The ’door’ is opening right now. It’s time to go!’

Fang Rui tapped his toes on the Flowing Cloud Cyan Simurgh’s back, launched himself into the air, and transformed into a streak of light, crashing into a point in mid-air and disappearing.

"Wait for me out here!"

Only his lingering voice was left behind, instructing the Flowing Cloud Cyan Simurgh.

...

BOOM!

Fang Rui felt as if he had broken through a soap bubble. Immediately, he was met with a rolling wave of Spiritual Qi so dense it was overwhelming.

The windless, moonless night outside was suddenly gone. The sky was bright.