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

While listening to Hu Jingjing, Han Li swept his gaze over the surrounding area to find that the bridge was packed with carriages and pedestrians.

Not far beside him was the railing of the bridge, and through it, he could see a series of giant water-dwelling beasts, carrying beautiful louchuans on their bags or dragging them along through the water.

"The largest and most prestigious shop in the Imperial River Market is one by the name of the Flowing Wind Pavilion, and His Highness, Shi Zhanfeng, is the backer of the shop. Most of the items sold in the shop are of an extremely high caliber and also very expensive. The second-largest shop is run by the Vast Origin House, and it's only slightly inferior, but has the best reputation," Hu Jingjing introduced.

"Is the Vast Origin House headquarters here?" Han Li asked.

"No, the Vast Origin House shop in the Imperial River Market is only a branch, not the headquarters. The headquarters is also in the Maha Area, but it's over in another market on the other side of the Maha Area," Hu Jingjing replied.

As they were speaking to each other, the carriage passed over the bridge and was stopped on the other side.

From there, the two of them got down from the carriage and started traveling on foot.

"Continue," Han Li instructed.

Hu Jingjing was very pleased that Han Li seemed to be listening very attentively to what she had to say, and she continued, "The Imperial River Market has shops that sell treasures and materials from both our Holy Realm and the Immortal Realm. In particular, there's a shop called the Immortal Spirit Pavilion that specializes in selling wares from the Immortal Realm.

“As for the strangest shop in the market, that would have to be the Exotic Wares Shop. Some of the items sold in the shop are enough to create a massive stir in the entire city, while other items are downright inexplicable."

"That's quite an interesting shop. Does it have any backers?" Han Li asked.

"The backer of the Exotic Wares shop is His Highness, the twelfth prince, Shi Jingkai," Hu Jingjing replied.

"Hu Jingkai... Does he share the same mother with the fifth princess, Shi Jingyan?" Han Li asked.

"That's right. His Highness is a very interesting man. He's very handsome, but he has a very casual and easygoing personality, and he's never invested much time and effort into cultivation, so he's still at the True Immortal Stage. On top of that, he loves to travel and visit all types of secret areas and ancient immortal cave abodes.

“Many of the items sold in the Exotic Wares Shop were personally gathered by him over the course of his journeys," Hu Jingjing replied.

"He dares to visit all those places even though he's only at the True Immortal Stage? Her sister must be constantly worried about him," Han Li chuckled.

"Indeed. I've heard that Her Highness has arranged for three High Zenith cultivators and a Great Encompassment cultivator to look after him. Otherwise, she wouldn't be allowing him to embark on his journeys," Hu Jingjing replied with an amused smile.

The two of them reached the entrance of the market, and looking up at the tall stone archway, Han Li suddenly stopped in his tracks as he said, "Alright, you can go back now."

Hu Jingjing's expression instantly stiffened upon hearing this, and a perplexed look appeared on her face.

Han Li's smile faded as he said, "You know a little too much for a Body Integration cultivator. You've already led me to the Imperial River Market, and I know the way back, so there's no need for you to accompany me any longer."

The smile on Hu Jingjing's face also gradually faded, and she extended an expressionless curtsey toward Han Li as she said, "As you wish."

Han Li gave her a dismissive wave, then made his way into the market.

Hu Jingjing looked on as Han Li slowly vanished into the crowd, and she stomped a foot onto the ground in frustration before making her way back toward the bridge.

After walking for a while, Han Li took a backward glance to find that Hu Jingjing hadn't chosen to follow him in secret, and he gave a pleased nod before turning his attention to the shops that lined the street.

The buildings in the Imperial River Market weren't as uniform in style as those in Shi Pokong's manor. Instead, there was a wide range of styles on display, and the streets were also extremely packed.

Most of the people on the streets appeared to be no different from humans, retaining only minor devilish traits such as the odd scale, horn, or pupils of various colors.

Of course, there were also some who looked completely identical to humans, so Han Li didn't stick out much in the crowd.

After walking for a while, Han Li spotted a three-story pavilion that had been constructed more so in the style of the Immortal Realm, and hanging above its entrance was a plaque that read "Immortal Spirit Pavilion".

Compared with the neighboring shops, business was clearly a little slow for the Immortal Spirit Pavilion.

Han Li stepped into the shop, and as soon as he did so, he immediately felt a burst of abundant immortal spiritual power.

As it turned out, there was a massive array in the shop that could confine the surrounding spiritual qi and keep it enclosed within the shop.

A young man in a scholarly robe emerged to approach Han Li, and he smiled as he asked, "What can I help you with today, esteemed customer?"

"I was wondering why this shop has been opened in the capital city of the Devil Realm," Han Li inquired in a casual manner.

"Just as there are devilish beings in the Immortal Realm, there are also human cultivators in the Devil Realm. You are precisely one of them, are you not? Our shop caters to foreign human cultivators like yourself," the young man explained, and Han Li nodded in response.

"Can I help you with anything today?" the young man asked.

"I would like to purchase some materials," Han Li replied, then pulled a list out of his sleeve before offering it to the young man.

The man accepted the list, but as he inspected the items on it, his brows gradually began to furrow.

The young man hesitated momentarily, then said, "All of these premium materials. I'm afraid our shop doesn't stock any of the materials on the list aside from the first two. However, if you'd like, I can consult my superiors to see if we can transfer stock over from elsewhere."

"That would be great. Ideally, I'd like to have all of the items on the list ticked off," Han Li replied with a nod.

"I'm afraid that's going to be very difficult. These materials are all extremely precious, and by estimates, we won't even be able to gather half of them, so you'll have to find the rest elsewhere," the young man said in an apologetic manner.

"That's fine, just gather what you can," Han Li replied in a nonchalant manner.

"A large amount of resources must be expended to transfer stock over from the Immortal Realm, so if you're not in a hurry, you can wait for the next scheduled stock transference between the two realms. If you require these items urgently, then we can transfer the stock earlier than scheduled, but that's going to make the materials more expensive," the young man said.

"It's fine, I can wait as long as it's not too long a wait," Han Li replied.

"The next scheduled stock transference will be roughly in ten years," the young man said.

"How much extra will I have to pay to cover the transference cost?" Han Li asked.

"According to the rules of our trading house, transferred stock will set you back an extra 10%," the young man replied.

"Can I pay using Immortal Origin Stones?" Han Li asked.

"Of course," the young man replied with a smile.

"Alright, then I'll wait the ten years," Han Li confirmed.

"In that case, please come with me, and I'll bring out the two materials that we have in stock for your inspection," the young man said.

……

Inside an elegant courtyard in the imperial city.

Hu Jingjing rushed through the front yard, then drew to a halt in front of a beautiful white building at the very rear of the courtyard.

Back when she was with Han Li, she had only displayed an early-Body Integration Stage cultivation base, yet now, her cultivation base had swelled to the early-Golden Immortal Stage.

She was just about to speak when the door in front of her opened up inward on its own, and she hesitated momentarily before stepping inside.

The room that she stepped into was quite spacious, and there was a silver-haired man in a tight-fitting robe, gently stroking a brush over a huge canvas.

The painting on the canvas depicted a tall and steep black mountain, standing on the summit of which was an indistinct figure, while a ferocious storm raged around them. At the very center of the painting was a bolt of white lightning that divided the entire image into two halves.

"What happened, Jingjing? Why are you back so soon?"

The silver-haired man was none other than Shi Pokong, and he turned to face Hu Jingjing with a warm smile on his face.

Hu Jingjing extended a respectful curtsey, then began to deliver a recount of what had happened.

She did so in an extremely detailed fashion, even going as far as to relay everything that Han Li had said to her word for word, as well as the expressions that he had displayed during their interactions.

Shi Chuankong crossed his arms as he listened in silence, and only after Hu Jingjing had completed her recount did he ask, "You didn't try to follow him in secret after he chased you away, did you?"

"You told me not to overstep any boundaries, so I didn't dare to try and follow him," Hu Jingjing hurriedly replied.

"You did very well," Shi Pokong replied with a smile.

A hint of hesitation flashed through Hu Jingjing's eyes, and it was clear that she wanted to say something.

"What is it?" Shi Pokong asked with a smile.

"On the way to the market, he was very pleasant and easygoing, but his demeanor suddenly shifted at the entrance of the Imperial River Market, and part of the reason that I refrained from following him was because I was scared," Hu Jingjing revealed.