"The Northern Glacial Immortal Region?" Han Li took a moment to inspect his surroundings, and only then did he discover that he was lying in a small square pond with side lengths of several feet. The water in the pond was warm and of a milky white color, and it was injecting a pleasant warmth into his body.

"Hehe, the Northern Glacial Immortal Region is one of the four northern immortal regions of the True Immortal Realm; I'm sure you'll quickly familiarize yourself with this region. May I ask your name, Fellow Daoist? This Immortal Ascension Platform is in a very secluded area, and very rarely will fellow daoists from the lower realms ascend to this place," the young man asked with a smile.

"I am Han Li, and I ascended from the Spirit Realm. So this is an Immortal Ascension Platform! There doesn't seem to be anyone else here aside from you." Han Li pressed his palms gently onto the bottom of the pond, and he immediately flew out of the water. A flash of azure light then swept over his body, and he was completely dry again.

At this point, he had already ensured that the important treasures in his body, such as the Integrated Five Extreme Mountains and the Heaven Controlling Vial, were safe and sound. However, Mo Guang and everything in his spirit beast pouch had become completely unresponsive.

This place was a very simple platform, and the pond was situated at the center of the platform, which was enshrouded under a blue light barrier.

Outside the light barrier, snow was falling thick and fast. This was a translucent world of snow and ice.

Gao Sheng's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but they smoothed out again almost immediately thereafter. "I see, so it's Fellow Daoist Han. It's a bit troublesome that you've come from the Spirit Realm. Unfortunately, there are many lower realms that have been named 'Spirit Realm' by their inhabitants. In any case, I'll just register you under a random Spirit Realm; the higher-ups generally won't check these records anyway."

Thus, he made a grabbing motion with both hands, and a translucent jade book and a huge silver brush appeared in his grasp before he began to quickly write something down onto the book.

Han Li was a little bewildered by his current situation, but his expression remained unchanged as he waited patiently on the spot.

Moments later, both the jade book and the silver brush vanished in unison amid a flash of light from Gao Sheng's hands, and they were replaced by a thin purplish-golden jade badge, which he handed over to Han Li with a smile.

Instead of immediately accepting the badge, Han Li asked, "May I ask what this is?"

"This is your immortal badge, something that every ascended immortal receives following registration. With this badge, you'll be able to enter any of the major immortal cities without being examined. On top of that, this badge will grant you free access to some special places. Hehe, this is a benefit only ascended immortals like you can enjoy; local immortals like us don't have access to these things," Gao Sheng explained with a hint of envy in his voice.

"Oh? Why is that?" Han Li asked with a surprised expression.

"The True Immortal Realm is virtually boundless, and there are trillions upon trillions of local immortals. However, there are extremely few immortals who have ascended through their own power. Despite this, the number of high-grade immortals in each immortal region is almost evenly divided among ascended immortals and local immortals; I'm sure you understand what this entails, right, Fellow Daoist?" Gao Sheng replied with a smile.

"I see, I understand now. In that case, I'd be more than happy to accept this badge." Han Li nodded in response with an enlightened expression before raising a hand to accept the purplish-golden jade badge. He looked down at the badge to find that there was an extremely lifelike full-body portrait that was identical to him etched onto its surface, and the word "ascended" was inscribed next to his name in golden seal text.

Han stowed the jade badge up his sleeve, then smiled as he asked, "You seem very familiar with the True Immortal Realm, Brother Gao; may I ask who the higher-ups you were referring to are?"

"There's no need for you to ask me that, Brother Han; you'll have a rough understanding of the True Immortal Realm once you examine everything recorded in this memory crystal," Gao Sheng replied as he raised a hand to toss a blue crystal over to Han Li.

"You have my thanks, Brother Gao." Han Li caught the crystal with a grateful expression, then pressed it against his forehead, quickly learning the way to use the crystal. Soon, his spiritual sense had entered the crystal.

Only after around 15 minutes had passed did Han Li remove the crystal from his forehead, and he said, "I see, so the True Immortal Realm has been split up into countless immortal regions, all of which are being overseen by the immortal palaces. That's quite interesting. Are they only responsible for supervision? Do they not rule over the immortal regions?"

A peculiar look appeared on Gao Sheng's face upon hearing this, and he said, "You're a fast learner, Fellow Daoist. Would you be interested to hear about the current state of the True Immortal Realm?"

"Please enlighten me, Brother Gao." Han Li cupped a fist as he adopted a serious expression.

"There's no need to be so polite, Fellow Daoist Han. The situation in the True Immortal Realm is rather different from that of the lower realms. Technically, the immortal regions are supposed to submit to the rule of the immortal palaces, but in reality, each immortal region has many powers that aren't under the immortal palace. In fact, there are some formidable powers that are even more powerful than their immortal region's immortal palace. However, a certain level of order needs to be maintained in the True Immortal Realm to avoid catastrophes, so on an official basis, each immortal region is under the jurisdiction of its immortal palace.

"Of course, these immortal palaces themselves are also forces to be reckoned with. Otherwise, they wouldn't be in their positions. Those in charge of the immortal palaces are generally quite intelligent and refrain from provoking powers that are just as or even more formidable than the immortal palaces, so the True Immortal Realm is currently relatively peaceful. As long as you don't break the laws of the realm, you'll be able to live a free and leisurely life. As an ascended immortal, your situation will be slightly different from that of local immortals.

"You've transcended the lightning tribulation during your ascension, and the energy with your body has already begun to change, allowing you to accept immortal spiritual power, but the conversion process will most likely require several centuries to complete. If I were you, I would definitely choose to join a first-rate power in this immortal region and only consider other matters after your energy has been fully converted. Otherwise, for someone like you who has only just arrived in the True Immortal Realm, just the immortal spirit crystals you'll have to expend daily will cost a considerable sum," Gao Sheng explained.

A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face as he listened to Gao Sheng's explanation. 

"Thank you for your guidance, Brother Gao. Judging from your tone, I presume you're not from the immortal palace," Han Li said with a smile.

"You've seen right through me, Fellow Daoist Han! I am indeed not from the immortal palace. Instead, I'm from the Stone Hall, and I'm only here as I'm fulfilling some duties that the Stone Hall has assigned me. If you're willing to join our Stone Hall, then you would be welcomed with open arms. Not only will our Stone Hall be able to offer you all of the benefits that other powers can provide, I can make the decision to allow you to choose any high-grade immortal cultivation art to your liking from our Stone Hall's Heaven Scaling Pavilion," Gao Sheng said with a smile, making no effort to hide his intentions.