After a moment’s contemplation, under Wen Qiang’s hopeful gaze, Han Li spoke slowly, “Since Brother Wen is also a member of the Miaoyin Sect, you should know that I am only a nominal elder and never involve myself in the sect’s affairs. However, if what you say is true and Fellow Daoist Siyue has suffered a great injustice, I will mention it to Fellow Daoist Ziling when I see her. But whether she will listen or not, I cannot say.”
Hearing that Han Li did not outright promise to handle the matter, Wen Qiang felt slightly disappointed.
But he knew that his relationship with Han Li was not deep, and the fact that Han Li had saved him and his daughter and was willing to do this much already showed that he cherished their past connection. He harbored no resentment and instead repeatedly expressed his gratitude with a face full of appreciation. He even asked Wen Siyue to step forward and bow to Han Li again, but Han Li declined with a smile.
However, Han Li seemed a bit puzzled and asked, “Isn’t Fellow Daoist Siyue a disciple of Vice Envoy Zhuo? Didn’t you mention this matter to him?”
Upon hearing this, Wen Siyue’s expression grew even more somber. She explained softly, “Senior Han, you may not know this, but the person who ordered me to come here on this mission is a close relative of my master. My master also hoped I would form a cultivation partnership with that person, but I refused, which made him very angry!”
After saying this, her face wore an expression of helplessness, appearing both pitiful and strikingly beautiful. Han Li couldn’t help but stare for a moment but quickly averted his gaze and turned to Wen Qiang, saying, “I have other urgent matters to attend to and likely cannot travel with you. I must take my leave now!”
With these words, Han Li cupped his hands in salute to the two.
Naturally, Wen Qiang and his daughter could not say anything to make him stay. After hurriedly expressing their gratitude a few more times, Han Li smiled faintly, transformed into a green streak of light, and shot into the sky.
Watching the direction where the green light disappeared, Wen Qiang and his daughter fell silent for a while. After a long pause, Wen Siyue said with a tone of dissatisfaction, “Father, you never told me that you were acquainted with Elder Han of our sect! And from your conversation, it seems you knew him before he even formed his Golden Core. Can you tell me about it? You know, Elder Han is quite a mystery to us disciples!”
As she spoke, her initial complaint turned into curiosity.
Wen Qiang sighed upon hearing his daughter’s words and said with affection, “Your father only met this Senior Han a few times; we were not close. When I first met him, his cultivation level was similar to mine, not particularly high. When I suddenly saw his portrait in the Hall of Offerings, I was truly shocked and couldn’t calm my mind for several days. That he could reach the Golden Core stage and even become an elder of our sect is truly unbelievable!”
As he spoke, Wen Qiang’s mind drifted to the time he first met Han Li, and he fell silent, lost in thought.
Wen Siyue, seeing this, seemed to understand what her father was thinking and waited quietly by his side. For a moment, father and daughter fell into silence again, with only the sound of the wind rustling their clothes above.
…
The vast, empty sea area suddenly became lively. From time to time, cultivators would fly swiftly to this place, then look up in surprise and delight before soaring high into the sky.
There, a majestic and enormous palace floated motionlessly in the air.
The palace was about a hundred zhang tall, entirely made of flawless white jade, exquisitely crafted and radiating a faint glow. It was enveloped in a thick golden light shield and suspended about a thousand zhang high in the sky.
The cultivators who arrived flew toward the palace without hesitation. With a flash of white light, they easily passed through the light shield and entered the palace.
On this day, a green streak of light sped over and suddenly stopped when it reached the sea surface below the palace. The green light faded, revealing an ordinary-looking young man—Han Li, who had followed the map to this place.
He glanced puzzledly at the brocade map in his hand and looked around, but the area was empty with nothing in sight. He then stared down at the sea surface for a long time but still found nothing.
The look of confusion on Han Li’s face grew even stronger. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he sharply looked up.
“Gasp!” At the sight of the palace towering among the clouds like a jade terrace, Han Li drew a sharp breath, his face full of astonishment.
He stared dumbfounded at the palace for a long time before snapping back to reality. However, he did not rashly approach it. Instead, he pondered for a moment on the spot. Suddenly, his expression shifted, a green light flashed around him, and he vanished without a trace.
A moment later, a fiery red cloud flew rapidly over and stopped not far from where Han Li had disappeared. The red cloud dispersed, revealing an old man with fiery red hair holding a similar brocade cloth.
He glanced down at the cloth, coldly surveyed his surroundings, and then looked up without hesitation, immediately spotting the palace in the sky. His face lit up with joy. Without a second thought, the red-haired old man transformed back into a red cloud and flew upward.
Only after the old man flashed with white light and entered the golden light shield did Han Li’s figure reappear nearby. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression was uncertain!
Over the next seven or eight days, Han Li patiently hid nearby and saw two more Golden Core cultivators fly into the light shield and enter the palace, each also holding a brocade map.
Han Li could finally bear it no longer. On this day, he flew up to the golden shield himself, took out the map with a flip of his hand, and slowly channeled spiritual power into it. Immediately, white spiritual light emanated from the map, enveloping Han Li. He then took a light step forward and passed through the golden shield as if it were nothing.
Looking back at the light shield and then at the extremely magnificent palace, Han Li flew toward it without hesitation.
As he drew nearer, Han Li saw three large silver ancient characters inscribed above the palace gate, which stood over ten zhang tall: “Void Heaven Palace.”
These three characters were not only imposing but also exuded an extremely sharp and fierce aura in their strokes. After staring at them for just a short while, Han Li’s eyes began to ache faintly.
This startled him greatly, and he quickly lowered his head, not daring to look any longer, his heart filled with extreme awe.
Glancing at the deep palace entrance, Han Li gritted his teeth and cautiously walked inside.
Upon entering, Han Li was stunned.
Before him lay a narrow, straight passageway that stretched as far as the eye could see, also constructed of crystal-clear jade.
That alone would have been one thing, but the passage was only two or three zhang wide yet thirty to forty zhang high. Walking inside, one felt extremely mentally oppressed and very uncomfortable.
Han Li frowned, thought for a moment, and then released his spiritual sense. But his face slightly changed immediately. His spiritual sense rebounded unceremoniously upon touching the walls, unable to penetrate even slightly, let alone explore the palace’s interior.
A sharp light flashed in Han Li’s eyes as he focused intently on a jade wall. Only then did he notice faint, almost imperceptible glimmers of light flickering on it—something impossible to see without careful observation. It seemed the entire passage had been enchanted with restrictions by someone of great supernatural power.
Han Li reached out his finger and gently stroked the jade. Though he couldn’t identify the exact type of restriction, the profound and immeasurable spiritual power contained within made his heart tremble slightly.
He silently withdrew his finger, cupped his chin with one hand, and pondered quietly in the passage for a moment before stepping forward again.
Han Li narrowed his eyes, looking around unhurriedly within the passage.
Since restrictions were placed here, he didn’t have to worry about ambushes or sneak attacks nearby and could boldly move forward.
However, this passage, resembling a small canyon, was indeed long. Han Li walked for the time it takes to finish a meal before finally reaching the end, where an exit emitting a water-blue light appeared.
Han Li’s spirits lifted slightly, and he quickened his pace to approach.
What met his eyes made his pupils contract, and his heart suddenly jolted. Within the blue light was a large, square hall covering an area of three to four hundred zhang—vast and majestic to the extreme. Even if thousands of people entered simultaneously, it wouldn’t feel crowded.
What was even more peculiar was that dozens of thick jade pillars stood uniformly in the hall. These pillars were not only wide enough to require several people to encircle but were also exquisitely carved, each adorned with various rare birds and exotic beasts—some Han Li had seen, some he hadn’t—all vividly lifelike and full of spiritual energy, with no two alike.
At the tops of some pillars, dozens of cultivators in varied attire either stood or sat.
Aside from a few exceptions, each cultivator occupied a single pillar, and no one was speaking loudly, all engrossed in their own activities.
Han Li’s arrival only drew the lazy attention of a small number of cultivators, though a few among them showed surprise.
A wry smile appeared on Han Li’s face because he recognized those few individuals as well!
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