Chapter 1562: Dilemma

Han Li quickly scanned the surroundings with his gaze, only to be stunned by what he saw.

Before him stretched an enormous plaza spanning thousands of feet, entirely paved with white stone. It was densely packed with an uncountable number of figures.

Most of these individuals wore various types of battle armor and bore a humanoid resemblance, yet their subtle features differed greatly.

Some had unusually long ears, resembling those of a rabbit; others were covered in black fur, akin to towering gorillas; still others shimmered with golden light, as if clad entirely in golden armor, making their features indistinguishable. There were even those with humanoid upper bodies and serpentine lower halves—descendants of the legendary Nüwa.

However, the most numerous were a race with pale green skin and ghastly white faces. They all wore identical green battle armor and wielded long halberds that glowed with a crimson light.

These beings, both male and female, were whispering among themselves, their expressions filled with extreme anxiety.

Though each of them emitted varying degrees of magical fluctuations, their cultivation levels were mostly around the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages. A few, numbering only about a hundred, had reached the Nascent Soul or even the Deity Transformation stage. These higher-level cultivators had formed their own separate circle, standing at the forefront of the crowd and murmuring among themselves.

Han Li swiftly swept his spiritual sense across them and was startled to discover three Void Refinement-stage beings among the high-ranking figures.

According to Qing Xiao, the other end of this teleportation array was supposed to lead to a small transit city jointly managed by several minor races. Normally, the highest-ranking cultivators stationed here would only be one or two Deity Transformation-stage individuals, and the usual number of practitioners present would not exceed four or five thousand.

Yet now, the plaza was packed with tens of thousands of cultivators, and among them were many of his own rank.

How could this not shock Han Li?

Had something changed in the “Green Light City” during the thousands of years since he last had contact with it?

Moreover, his spiritual sense detected faint fluctuations of a restriction in the air above the plaza. Everyone remained on the ground, with not a single person flying—clearly, there was an anti-flight restriction in place.

Han Li’s eyes flickered as he took a deep breath and slowly made his way toward the crowd.

Just as he was trying to figure out what was happening, among the gathering of Void Refinement-stage beings, one with an unusually large, bald head suddenly let out a soft exclamation. He reached into his robes and pulled out a wooden disk covered in glowing runes.

“What is it, Brother Yuan? Did you discover something?” asked another pale-skinned green individual nearby.

“A fellow upper-third-rank cultivator has suddenly appeared here. Unless I’m mistaken, all usable teleportation arrays leading to this city were already severed by the Horned Race. How could someone still teleport in?” The large-headed being wore a puzzled expression.

“Such a thing? Could the Horned Race have overlooked one array by mistake? If so, we must find this person and question them immediately!” The green-skinned being’s expression shifted to one of excitement.

“Impossible. I personally tested all the teleportation arrays just days ago—they were all deactivated.” The large-headed being shook his head while staring at the wooden disk in his hand.

“Enough talk. Let’s find this person and ask directly. Brother Yuan, with your Spirit Light Disk, locating them should be easy, no?” Another being enveloped in fiery red light, having listened to their exchange, couldn’t help but interject.

“Heh, this person just appeared in the plaza. I’ve already locked onto them with a restriction—they’re right there.” The large-headed being’s eyes flashed as he turned his gaze toward Han Li’s position.

The other two naturally followed his line of sight.

Despite the dense crowd and Han Li’s efforts to conceal his cultivation level with a secret technique, he still stood out conspicuously among the lower-ranked beings. The Void Refinement-stage cultivators spotted him instantly.

Han Li had just approached a few nearby beings and overheard a couple of sentences when he sensed their gazes. Frowning slightly, he turned to meet their eyes, mildly surprised they had located him so quickly. After a brief pause, he strode confidently toward the trio.

Moments later, he stood before the four Void Refinement-stage beings, studying them in turn.

“Fellow Daoist, you’ve just arrived in Green Light City, haven’t you? May I ask your name?” The large-headed being’s wooden disk vanished in a flash of light as he spoke calmly.

“My surname is Han. Indeed, I’ve only just arrived. What’s happening here? Is the city preparing for war?” Han Li glanced around before replying nonchalantly.

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Han. It seems you’ve teleported from a very distant place, otherwise you’d surely know about the Horned Race’s invasion of our Thirteen Races of Tianyun.” The large-headed being stared at Han Li for a long moment before speaking with a strange expression.

“The Horned Race!” Han Li’s expression darkened abruptly.

This was a superpower ranked among the top ten in the entire Spirit Realm.

“Brother Han, other matters can wait. How exactly did you teleport into Green Light City? By all accounts, all other teleportation arrays leading here should have been severed by the Horned Race.” The green-skinned being couldn’t help but press.

“I arrived from overseas,” Han Li replied evenly, withholding nothing.

“Overseas? A small city like Green Light City has such a teleportation array?” The red-glowing being sounded incredulous.

“There were indeed two overseas arrays, but they were abandoned and broken long ago. From which overseas location did you come, Fellow Daoist?” The large-headed being also looked astonished.

“The Fire Coral Archipelago,” Han Li answered swiftly after a moment’s thought.

“That place! If I recall correctly, that array was destroyed thousands of years ago and has long lost contact with Green Light City. Could you explain?” The large-headed being muttered, suspicion creeping into his tone.

“It’s quite simple…” Han Li remained composed as he briefly recounted the destruction of the array, carefully omitting any details about his origins. This led the others to assume he was a cultivator native to that region.

“In the end, though I managed to retrieve the Void Cloud Crystal by chance, an anomaly occurred during the array’s repair. Whether due to an error in the recorded teleportation method or some alteration the crystal underwent inside the sea beast’s belly, the array can now only teleport one person at a time. Moreover, each use requires a seven-day cooldown, or the array will immediately collapse.” Han Li sighed in frustration.

Now, even he couldn’t use the array to leave right away.

The three beings had initially brightened at his words, but their expressions fell at the last part.

“So, the array you used is currently unusable?” The green-skinned being’s disappointment was palpable.

“Precisely,” Han Li admitted with a sigh.

“Not that we doubt your words, Fellow Daoist Han, but this matter is of great importance. We’d like to verify it ourselves—if you have no objections.” After exchanging glances, the large-headed being forced a dry chuckle.

“Of course not,” Han Li replied lightly.

“Brother Hong, please stay and manage the others. We’ll go inspect the teleportation array.” The large-headed being turned to the red-glowing figure and spoke solemnly.

“Very well. Return quickly,” the latter agreed after a brief hesitation.

Thus, the two followed Han Li toward the edge of the plaza.

Soon, they arrived at the teleportation hall from which Han Li had emerged.

The array lay there silently.

“There are residual spatial fluctuations—someone did activate this array recently,” the green-skinned being declared after scanning the hall with his spiritual sense.

The large-headed being stepped forward, circling the array several times before forming a hand seal and striking it with a beam of green light.

The dormant array immediately hummed to life, emitting a faint white glow.

The green-skinned being’s eyes widened in delight.

But then, the hum ceased abruptly, the light dissipated, and the array fell silent once more.

“No good. The array on the other end is unstable—it’s been shut down,” the large-headed being said grimly.

Hearing this, the green-skinned being’s expression darkened.

“Fellow Daoists, is the city truly in such dire straits? Could you elaborate on the situation with the Horned Race?” Han Li asked calmly.

“What’s there to say? As you can see, our humble Green Light City has gathered so many cultivators. Most are refugees from nearby areas who hoped to use our teleportation arrays to escape. But the Horned Race acted faster than expected—all arrays connecting to other cities were deactivated simultaneously. Either those cities have already fallen, or the Horned Race sent forces to sever the links. Given your arrival, it’s likely the former. Now, the Horned Race’s vanguard is at our gates, awaiting their main force. We’re preparing to abandon the city with everyone here, but whether we can escape under their watch is uncertain. At the very least, they won’t let high-ranking cultivators like us go easily.” The large-headed being smiled bitterly.

Han Li’s face turned grim upon hearing this.