Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

"Qing?" Han Yi secretly memorized the name. Although he didn't understand how it came about, he could clearly tell which two characters made up the name just by hearing the sound. The power of this language made him slightly astonished.

After the deal was reached.

Both parties were satisfied with the cooperation, and the atmosphere eased, leading to casual conversation.

It was just casual chatting.

The other party was mainly talking, and Han Yi was listening.

The man named Qing seemed to have been imprisoned for a very long time and appeared extremely lonely and bored. He rarely encountered someone like Han Yi to confide in, so he began to talk incessantly.

From our conversations over the past few days...

Han Yi also learned the reason why the other party was imprisoned here.

Qing claimed to be an artist, a painter, who had created countless paintings, leaving his mark and title in all the heavens and worlds.

However, during his creative process, he somehow offended a powerful being among the Outer Gods, was hunted down and forced to flee for decades, and was eventually imprisoned here.

During this time, Qing also took out this painting she had created and asked Han Yi to observe and comment on it.

After reading this.

Han Yi was speechless.

The images of this Outer God in the painting are all created using black and gray paint. In the despairing atmosphere of black and white tones, a huge beast, which is neither an octopus nor a whale shark, appears and disappears on the sea like a mountain. Its dark skin is covered with coral and seaweed, and its two huge eyes are filled with hatred and murderous intent.

It is said that this Outer God was a woman.

Perhaps Qing's painting is realistic and lifelike enough, but for a woman, the circulation of such a painting would undoubtedly be an extremely heavy blow.

and so.

It's no surprise that the other party flew into a rage and imprisoned Qing; it was entirely her own fault.

Time passes little by little.

Amidst Qing's rambling words, seeing that it was almost time, Han Yi got up to say goodbye and left the spiritual land.

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The Illusionary Water Palace, with its floating bridges and waterside pavilions.

"Go home and visit?" Master Yunshui pondered for a moment, her expression somewhat weary, as if she had overworked herself recently. "Very well. Your cultivation level is stable now. Although there are many unexpected events in the Desire Realm, as long as you deal with them carefully and follow my instructions, there shouldn't be too much danger."

"Disciple understands. I will certainly remember what Master has instructed me to do." Han Yi bowed and solemnly agreed.

"Since that's the case... if you want to go, then go." Master Yunshui waved his hand and handed a small bundle of pale yellow incense to Han Yi. "Soul-stabilizing incense. If you encounter unavoidable danger, light this incense to ensure your safety for the time being."

"Thank you, Master." Han Yi bowed.

"Alright. Go now." Master Yunshui said calmly. "Take your supplies, defensive artifacts and the like. Go to the equipment room to get them. Make sure you are all ready before you set off."

"I know," Han Yi nodded.

Master Yunshui carefully gave Han Yi some instructions on taboos until Han Yi could recite them all by heart before he felt at ease to let him go and make preparations.

In this world, as long as you don't go to particularly dangerous places or encounter calamities in the Desire Realm, you can be basically safe in ordinary human settlements.

After packing his luggage, Han Yi left quietly alone under the cover of night without notifying anyone, taking with him the supplies prepared for him by Yunshui Shangren.

This trip wasn't just a simple homecoming visit; he was going to find seven places and open seven doors to the heart.

If he wasn't mistaken, opening the door to the heart was one of the processes to help the man break the seal.

This process will take a long time, which gives him a good opportunity to study the new things he has acquired.

The Golden Pearl for Stargazing.

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Shengyang County.

Springtime is warm yet chilly, but the sun shines brightly.

On both sides of the bluestone road, a layer of winter snow covered with black dust had accumulated, and wisps of cold air kept escaping.

A soft rustling sound...

As the ice melts, the snow slowly flows down the eaves, gradually revealing the gray-black building surface underneath.

Sizzle sizzle...

"Hiss... This awful weather... It's spring, why is it still so cold?" The waiter grabbed a large broom and cleaned up the puddles in front of the restaurant to make it easier for people to pass.

Occasionally.

He threw the broom aside, clasped his hands together, and blew hot air into them to warm them.

"Alright, stop busying yourself. When you should be busy, sit down and do your work; when you shouldn't, just do unnecessary things!"

A hand reached out from inside the restaurant and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

"Who is it?"

Just as the waiter was about to get angry, he turned around and saw that the restaurant manager was standing behind him.

"Oh, it's the boss... What brings you here..."

moment.

His attitude softened, his anger subsided, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Waiter, bring me the wine! How many times have I called you? Are you deaf? Can't you hear me?"

"Alright, alright, I'll send it over right away." The shopkeeper responded loudly with a smile, then turned around and glared fiercely at the waiter. "Haven't you seen any new customers? Hurry up and go! After you deliver the wine, go to the backyard and get some charcoal. Ugh... this late spring cold snap is killing me, it's freezing!"

"Yes...yes..." The waiter didn't dare to delay and threw down his broom to rush inside.

"Wait a moment."

A calm, deep voice rang out.

"Excuse me... are there any guest rooms available?"

A man's figure blocked the waiter's way. He was dressed in a loose black robe, with a black bamboo hat on his head that obscured his features, and a black longsword hanging at his waist.

"Flash..." The waiter swallowed the words that were about to come out after he saw the other person's figure clearly.

Just by looking at the other person's attire, he knew that this was someone he couldn't afford to mess with.

They are either chivalrous heroes who roam the martial world all day, or noble cultivators.

This kind of temperament cannot be faked by ordinary people.

"Oh, please come in, sir. We happen to have a superior room available today, you see..." the waiter said with a bow and a smile.

“Sure. Give me a room.” The man said calmly. “Also, prepare a table of my specialty dishes and drinks.”

"Our specialty is white ice wine, green mosquito wine, and ten-year aged wine... Please take a look, sir..." the waiter said, listing the wines with great familiarity.

"You decide what to do," the man said casually.

"How about a pot of white ice wine? It's refreshing and delicious, with a hint of sweetness. In this time of year when the weather is still chilly... a sip will send a refreshing rush straight to your head, making you feel clear-headed from the inside out." The waiter enthusiastically recommended his specialty.

of course.

He won't say.

The white ice wine is the most expensive, and he gets the highest commission from it.

"Alright. Then bring me a pot." The man didn't haggle over the price and casually handed over a piece of gold and jade.

Gold and jade.

It is a type of currency that circulates among ordinary people in this world.

The flawless white circular jade disc contains strands of gold. Apart from a small hole in the center, it is slightly thicker and about the size of a common copper coin.

"Alright! Sir, please have a seat!" The waiter took the gold and jade and cheerfully led the way.

He made the right bet.

The other party is indeed of extraordinary wealth.

A piece of gold and jade is enough to rent a superior room and live a life of good food and drink for ten days.

The man strode after him and entered the restaurant.

There were quite a few people scattered around in the lobby on the first floor.

There were traveling merchants carrying their bags, young masters eating and chatting, and even mysterious lone travelers like Han Yi, who concealed their faces and figures.

The man's entry went unnoticed by anyone except a few people at the tables near the entrance.

I followed the waiter upstairs to the second floor and arrived at my room.

Gently remove the straw hat.

A face even more handsome than a woman's was revealed; it was none other than Han Yi, who had just left the Illusionary Water Palace.

After receiving information about the Gate of the Heart from Qing, he immediately went down the mountain to find it.

The exact location of the Gate of the Heart.

Qing was very honest; he didn't know either.

However, he gave Han Yi a little gadget that would glow and provide hints as long as he got close to the Gate of the Heart.

Since there is no specific direction.

Han Yi decided to head straight to his hometown to visit his family.

"Shengyang County..." he sighed, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

It wasn't him reminiscing; it was Han Yuan's memory at work.

This place...

This is the place where Han Yuan has lived since he was a child.

I am extremely familiar with every plant and tree here, including the restaurant where I am currently staying, which I have actually visited many times in the past.

A feeling of déjà vu, tinged with a touch of melancholy, slowly rose in Han Yi's heart.

His mood suddenly became somewhat complicated.

"Constantly seeking out other versions of oneself, merging with them to elevate oneself... the cultivation path of the Heavenly Demon..." Han Yi's heart sank. "A path that seems simple... in reality... is fraught with hardship..."

He had only absorbed Han Yuan's soul.

obviously.

If this happens repeatedly, even if the souls are essentially the same, quantitative changes can lead to qualitative changes. No matter how subtle the differences are, the accumulation of these differences is enough to destroy the mind and make it impossible to distinguish the subject from the object.

“The path of cultivation on this path... requires caution…” Han Yi put on his bamboo hat, turned around, opened the door, and prepared to go to the first-floor hall for a meal.

He doesn't know enough about this world yet.

The hall was a bit noisy, but it was a good place to gather intelligence.

"Have you heard?" a burly man whispered to his companion, "Zhangjia Village... not a single person left. They're all dead!"

“What are you worried about, brother? If we can’t get through Zhangjia Village, we can take a second route and go around Li Village,” another man said, frowning.

"What do you know? When I came to meet them, I came from Li Village. The situation is similar to that of Li Family Village; many people have died in both places." The burly man at the head of the group trembled, his expression becoming even more worried.

"What exactly happened, brother? Tell us, so we can all learn something," one of the men urged.

The burly man sighed again: "I don't know the specifics, but it's said that several fishing villages around Taiping Lake have been affected, apparently by water ghosts."

"A water ghost?! No way?" The others at the table were shocked.

There were five or six people sitting at the table, all of them strong and dark-skinned, clearly people who had been out on the road for many years.

They were very careful when they spoke, keeping their voices very low, so that most people couldn't hear them at all.

pity.

Han Yi is no ordinary person.

He deliberately slowed his pace so that he could hear their entire conversation.

"Water ghost..."

Han Yi slowly walked down the stairs and headed towards the spot the waiter had prepared for him—a table in the corner.

His brows furrowed tightly, clearly indicating that he had thought of something.

Where the realm of desire and the real world intersect, all sorts of unusual phenomena will occur.

These phenomena.

To ordinary people who do not cultivate, it becomes an inexplicable and incomprehensible natural disaster or supernatural event.

"Please enjoy your meal, sir! The food will take some time to prepare, please wait a moment." Just as he was thinking, the waiter brought over four boxes of side dishes and a pot of wine.

"Okay, go ahead." Han Yi took out his chopsticks, picked up a peanut, and slowly chewed it.

He listened carefully to the conversations of the people around him.

Many people mentioned the water ghost in their conversations, and the voices of Xinyi Guan and Qingfeng Chen could be faintly heard.

There is no imperial court or government in this world.

Some are areas divided by cultivation forces.

of course.

There was no imperial court.

This does not mean there are no constraints or rules.

Shengyang County is under the jurisdiction of Huanshui Palace.

The concept of mind and intention.

Their task was to maintain order and rules in Shengyang County and to obey the orders of Huanshui Palace.

Qingfeng Chen is the current head of the Xinyi Temple and the strongest person in the area in public.

According to seniority.

He was Han Yi's senior.

"Senior Brother Chen..."

Han Yi slowly ate the side dishes, his eyes filled with amusement.

Taiping Lake... haunted by water ghosts... several fishing villages suffer...

unusual.

Besides maintaining daily order, the most important responsibility of the Mind-Intention Observation is to resolve the abnormalities at the intersection of the Desire Realm and Reality.

If one or two deaths go unnoticed and unpunished, it wouldn't be a big deal.

But now...

The impact extended to the entire village, and even several consecutive villages...

at this time.

The Mindfulness Observation hasn't been implemented yet?

Han Yi sipped the white ice wine. As the icy liquid went down his throat, just as the waiter had said, a refreshing sensation shot straight to his head, invigorating him and clearing his mind considerably.

While listening to the casual conversations of the diners around me, I was organizing the information in my mind.

Snapped.

He put down his chopsticks, somewhat puzzled.

The Gate of the Heart.

We can't possibly find a door at the very first stop after leaving the Illusionary Water Palace, can we?

He touched the little gadget Qing had given him.

The small black stone was icy cold and showed no reaction whatsoever.

Just then, the conversation of the men at the next table reached my ears again.

"Brother, are we still going to ship this goods?"

"Leave? How can we leave? Who dares to walk along the roads of Taiping Lake now? I heard that two more peddlers who didn't believe in ghosts went missing yesterday! Their bodies haven't even been found!"

"What are we going to do? If this shipment doesn't get delivered, we'll suffer huge losses!"

"Sigh, we can only wait for the Xinyi Temple or some expert there to settle things... I plan to go to the foot of Xinyi Temple tomorrow morning to see if I can get an audience with a Taoist priest, or even just pay for a talisman for protection..."

The location of the Gate of the Heart is elusive and uncertain. Perhaps this sudden and unusual event is actually a clue? The deeper the intersection of the Desire Realm and Reality, the greater the possibility of the Gate of the Heart appearing.

Whether it was to complete Qing's mission or to fulfill Han Yuan's wish.

It seems necessary to visit all of them on this trip.

But not before that.

He needs to go home and visit.

Han Yuan's home.

Count it up.

It's been over a year since Han Yuan was chosen by the Illusionary Water Palace...

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The sky is bright.

Morning light streamed through the wooden window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the dusty ground.

Following the route from memory.

Han Yi walked through the streets that were gradually becoming bustling.

Along the way, there were vendors hawking breakfast, peddlers carrying loads on their shoulders, and passersby hurrying by...

The mornings in Shengyang County are filled with the lively atmosphere of everyday life.

All of this was intimately familiar to Han Yuan, but to Han Yi, it was like looking through frosted glass—both clear and blurry. The fused memories brought emotional resonance, not genuine empathy, which allowed him to maintain a detached composure.

Boom boom boom!

In the quiet streets and alleys, the sudden knocking sounded particularly jarring.

In front of a courtyard with four doors, a plaque reading "Han Residence" hangs above the door. The characters are old, and the edges are even peeling.

Boom boom boom!

Black lacquered wooden door with brass door knocker.

Han Yi knocked on the door knocker again, but there was still no response.

Boom!

Use a little more force.

Suddenly.

A gap slowly appeared in the middle of the wooden door.

Clearly, the door was not locked.

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