A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm-Chapter 1296: Ghostly Palace

"The lake is too vast, so the map that I've created only encompasses an area in a radius of several hundred kilometers of our current location," Gui Wu said in a slightly feeble voice, and it seemed that he had overexerted his soul power.

Weeping Soul extended a hand toward the Soul Locking Box upon seeing this, enveloping it in a burst of red light, and only did Gui Wu's condition improve slightly, upon which he extended some words of gratitude to Weeping Soul.

After examining the contents of the jade slip for a moment, Han Li cast his gaze forward as he activated his Infernal Devilish Eyes.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

The Six Paths Gale winds were virtually invisible to the naked eye, but Han Li was able to see them as clear as day with his Infernal Devilish Eyes.

The winds closer to shore were smaller and more difficult to discern, while the winds near the center of the lake were far more formidable and pronounced, and they were particularly powerful directly beneath the crimson clouds.

Just as Gui Wu had said, the distribution of Six Paths Gale winds over the lake was extremely chaotic, with no patterns to be found, nor was he able to see the channel that Gui Wu had mentioned.

"Fellow Daoist Gui Wu, the distribution of Six Paths Gale winds here seems to be different from what's presented on your map," Han Li remarked with slightly furrowed brows.

"The Six Paths Gale winds here are constantly changing, and my map only depicts the state of the Six Paths Gale winds when the channel is present. Once the winds here match what's shown on my map, the channel will appear," Gui Wu explained.

"How long will we have to wait?" Han Li asked.

"Judging from the state of the crimson clouds above the center of the lake, we shouldn't have to wait too long. If we're lucky, perhaps a month, but definitely no longer than a year," Gui Wu replied.

"In that case, let's wait," Han Li decided, and with that, the group temporarily settled in one of the stone forts beside the lake.

Over half a year flew by in a flash.

On this day, the Six Paths Gale winds over the lake were more ferocious than ever, and the giant gusts of wind that had originally been confined to the center of the lake had spread over almost the entirety of its surface, reaching no more than several dozen kilometers away from shore.

"This is it! We have to go now!" Gui Wu exclaimed in an urgent and ecstatic manner.

"Now? Are you kidding me? The conditions are clearly worse than ever!" Shi Chuankong exclaimed, and everyone else was also looking at Gui Wu with apprehensive and skeptical expressions.

"These are precisely the right conditions," Gui Wu insisted. "The smaller the Six Paths Gale winds are, the more pervasive they are. Right now, many of the smaller gusts of wind have combined to create larger gusts, but they've also become more spaced out as a result, and only then will the hidden channel appear."

Han Li carefully inspected the conditions with his Infernal Devilish Eyes, and sure enough, the current distribution of Six Paths Gale winds over the lake was identical to what was presented in Gui Wu's map.

"I can see the entrance of the channel," Han Li declared.

"We have to make haste, fellow daoists! At the very most, these conditions will only last for several hours, so we can't afford any delay," Gui Wu urged.

"Weeping Soul and I will cross the lake by boat with Fellow Daoist Gui Wu, while all of you can stay in my domain treasure, and we'll reconvene once we reach our destination," Han Li said.

No one raised any objections to this, so Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a door of silver light, and everyone quickly filed into the Flower Branch domain through it.

Violet Spirit was the last one to step through, and right before she did, she turned back to take a glance at Han Li as she cautioned, "Be careful."

Han Li gave her a smile and a reassuring nod, and after closing the door of silver light, he turned to Weeping Soul as he said, "Let's set off."

He then switched to voice transmission as he continued, "I'll steer the boat, while you keep an eye on our surroundings and on Gui Wu. If he tries anything funny, kill him right away. I have a way to get us out of here if anything goes wrong, so we won't be stranded even without him to guide us."

Now that he had reached the pinnacle of the mid-Great Encompassment Stage, he was feeling a lot more confident.

Weeping Soul raised no objections to this arrangement, and Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to summon one of the bamboo boats that was crafted earlier.

Upon landing on the surface of the lake, the boat bobbled up and down ever so slightly before stabilizing itself, and Han Li and Weeping Soul quickly leaped onto it.

"We're about to set off, Fellow Daoist Gui Wu. If there's anything that I need to take note of along the way, make sure to notify me in a timely fashion," Han Li said.

Gui Wu emerged from the Soul Locking Box with a smile as he said, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han. We are in the same boat right now, both literally and figuratively, so I'll be sure to do everything in my power to help you."

Han Li nodded in response, then swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a fierce gust of wind, sending the boat racing over the surface of the lake like a speeding arrow.

The boat traveled extremely quickly, and it seemed to have been gliding over the surface of the lake in a completely frictionless manner, heading directly toward a cluster of Six Paths Gale winds.

Han Li hurriedly summoned a bamboo pole upon seeing this, then plunged it into the lake to forcibly alter the trajectory of the bamboo boat so that it just barely glanced past the cluster of Six Paths Gale winds.

"Be careful!" Gui Wu yelled in an alarmed manner.

Han Li slowed down the boat slightly, after passing through a narrow path between two gusts of Six Paths Gale winds, it officially entered the hidden channel.

Initially, the going proved to be quite smooth, but as they continued onward, the Six Paths Gale winds became stronger and stronger, making it very difficult to control the bamboo boat.

Hence, Han Li was forced to focus solely on steering the boat while relying on Gui Wu for navigation.

After steering the boat to the left past a giant cluster of Six Paths Gale winds, they arrived before an enormous wall of red clouds that completely blocked the way forward.

Han Li hurriedly plunged the bamboo pole vertically into the water to stop the boat cold in its tracks.

"What's going on here?" he asked, but Gui Wu was also looking completely incredulous.

"This is impossible! There's supposed to be a way through here!" Gui Wu exclaimed in a frustrated manner, while Weeping Soul was standing behind him with a hostile expression, prepared to strike at a moment's notice.

Han Li could see that he didn't appear to have been putting on an act, and a perplexed look appeared on his face. Could it be that some type of unexpected change really had arisen?

Right at this moment, something caught his attention, and he cast his Infernal Devilish Eyes toward the wall of crimson clouds up ahead with an intrigued expression.

"Have you discovered something, Fellow Daoist Han?" Gui Wu hurriedly asked.

"The channel is still there, it's just been concealed by this cloud," Han Li replied.

Gui Wu hurriedly cast his gaze toward the base of the wall of clouds up ahead, and sure enough, it was nowhere near as dense and thick as the crimson clouds elsewhere.

After a brief hesitation, Han Li steered the boat forward once again, and it plunged headfirst into the wall of clouds.

Inside the cloud, it was impossible to see anything, and even breathing had become a very difficult task, but it only took an instant for the boat to emerge on the other side, much to Gui Wu's elation.

Han Li quickly inspected the surrounding area to discover that the channel was lined by two walls of crimson clouds on either side, and these clouds had been dragged down from the heavens by the surrounding Six Paths Gale winds.

At the moment, it was as if they were traversing through a canyon between a pair of cliff faces, and extra vigilance had to be exercised.

"You can relax a little for now, Fellow Daoist Han. Now that we're in the Safe Passage Channel, things should go much smoother for a good portion of the journey ahead," Gui Wu said in a relieved manner.

"What is this Safe Passage Channel?" Han Li asked.

"I named it myself on a whim. It's more so for good luck than anything else," Gui Wu replied.

......

Meanwhile, at the center of the Yellow Springs was a vast, isolated area that was completely surrounded by a circular wall of incredibly dense crimson clouds.

The area itself was completely serene and tranquil, with no more Six Paths Gale winds present, and at its center sat an island that resembled the shape of a wagon wheel.

There were six mountain ridges on the island that were pointed at its center from different directions, looking much like the spokes of a wagon wheel from above.

Even though the entire island was devoid of vegetation, it didn't appear bleak or desolate at all as it was riddled with structures like stone staircases and simple pavilions.

At the center of the island stood a majestic, stone palace constructed from giant blocks of gray stone, and the palace was surrounded by a series of flat and level plazas of different shapes and sizes, all of which were being patrolled by ghostly guards.