"So Fellow Daoist Bao Hua has already devised a plan. In that case, we should have some decent chances. How many beings from other realms will be able to arrive for the meeting," Jin Chai asked.
"Aside from the Black Flame Realm, all of the neighboring realms have sent more powerful beings into our holy realm. Even though the numbers are less than what was sent into our holy realm the first time, there are still over 40 in total. The most powerful realm among them, the Heavenly Crow Realm, sent nine Grand Ascension Stage beings on this occasion, including even the legendary Old Man Copper Crow," Xie Lian replied.
Jin Chai immediately drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. "Old Man Copper Crow? Isn't he one of the vastly renowned four great birds? Even he's arrived in this realm?"
"Looks like you've heard of him, Brother Jin. That makes sense, considering Fellow Daoist Copper Crow is more renowned in the other realms than even the three patriarchs of our realm. However, it's said that he only came to our holy realm as one of the beings trapped in the original sealed site is an extremely important direct lineal descendant of his, so he had no choice but to come," Xie Lian replied.
"It's quite surprising that someone as powerful as Old Man Copper Crow would take such a risk for a mere descendant," Jin Chai said as he rubbed his own bald head.
"Apparently, Old Man Copper Crow only has one direct lineal descendant, and he expended countless efforts and precious resources to nurture that descendant to the Grand Ascension Stage, so he naturally couldn't just abandon that descendant," Xie Lian replied.
"I see. Come to think of it, if I had a Grand Ascension Stage descendant, I'd also hold them in extremely high regard," Jin Chai chuckled.
Han Li pondered the situation in silence for a short while, then said, "Brother Xie and I will definitely be attending this meeting; please inform us when the time comes, Fellow Daoist Xie Lian."
"Of course. Once the date arrives, I'll send a message to all three of you," Xie Lian replied without any hesitation.
"In that case, we'll be taking our leave now," Han Li said as he immediately rose to his feet.
Daoist Xie and Silvermoon also stood up upon seeing this, clearly following Han Li's lead.
"Why are you in such a hurry, Brother Han? Our Sky Facing Peak produces a few types of special spirit fruits; why not have some before you leave?" Xie Lian said with a smile.
"There's no need for that; I'm sure there will be other opportunities in the future," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a parting salute. He then swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of golden light that enveloped all three of them before departing from the palace.
Xie Lian didn't say anything further upon seeing this, but her brows furrowed ever so slightly.
"Haha, looks like this Fellow Daoist Han has no intention of befriending a Sacred Ancestor like you. That's no surprise considering a battle has just taken place between your Elder Devil Realm the Spirit Realm," Jin Chai chortled.
"The relationship between our holy realm and the Spirit Realm is not for you to comment on, Fellow Daoist Jin. Now that Fellow Daoist Han has agreed to attend the meeting, what are your plans, Brother Jin?" Xie Lian asked.
"We'll be attending as well, of course. However, we have no interest in living without a roof over our heads, so we'll have to stay here for some time," Jin Chai chuckled.
"Sure, I'd be honored to host you, and it's certainly fantastic news that you're willing to attend our meeting," Xie Lian said with a smile.
The two men were quite pleased to hear this, and right at this moment, several female servants strode into the hall, carrying platters of spirit fruits and fragrant spirit tea…
Meanwhile, Han Li and the others were flying through the air, and a short while later, they descended into a peaceful valley in the Myriad Flower Mountain Range.
Han Li raised a hand to release several giant ape puppets, which quickly dug out a temporary cave abode.
The trio entered the cave abode, then retired to their respective secret chambers to meditate.
Prior to attending the meeting organized by the Sacred Ancestors, there was nothing that the three of them could do or discuss.
Silvermoon was naturally still very concerned about Patriarch Ao Xiao, but at the same time, she was also very relieved to hear that he had merely been trapped, not killed.
A month was nothing more than the blink of an eye for cultivators like Han Li, and on this day, Han Li was meditating in his secret chamber when he suddenly opened his eyes before reaching out and making a grabbing motion with one hand.
A translucent white jade shard was grabbed out of thin air, and he immediately rubbed his hands together, upon which the jade shard shattered, releasing a ball of green flames.
Xie Lian's voice then rang out from within the flames. "The date has arrived, Brother Han. Please come to the Sky Facing Peak so we can set off together."
Han Li smiled upon hearing this, then snuffed out the flames before rising to his feet.
……
Around half a day later, Han Li's trio arrived in a small secret palace within the palace on the Sky Facing Peak.
Xie Lian, Jin Chai, Shi Ding, and two seductive women who appeared to be Xie Lian's disciples were already waiting for them there.
At the center of the palace was a faint silver formation that was around 10 feet in size, and it was flashing with faint spiritual light.
"This formation can teleport us to the nearest city, and after that, it'll only take us half a month to get to the designated location," Xie Lian said.
"Alright, then let's go," Jin Chai said as he strode into the formation with Shi Ding without any inhibitions.
Faint spiritual light flashed, and the two of them disappeared.
Han Li's trio also made their way into the formation before being teleported away as well.
Xie Lian and her two disciples brought up the rear and were the last group to be teleported away.
……
Around half a month later, the central region of a boundless yellow desert suddenly began to quake violently, following which an ancient earthy yellow city emerged from underground.
The city was only several kilometers in size, but its walls were over 100 feet tall, and a series of armored warriors rushed onto the city walls amid bursts of dull drumming.
These expressionless armored warriors were all puppets, and there were over 10,000 of them, all of which were wielding different types of weapons.
At the center of the city stood a resplendent golden palace.
The palace was extremely beautiful, looking as if it were constructed from pure gold, and not only was its surface riddled with all types of profound devilish patterns, there were also countless fist-sized gems of different colors embedded onto its roof, creating an extremely spectacular sight to behold.
Shortly thereafter, a shrill cry suddenly rang out in the sky, and a pristine white beast-drawn carriage appeared in the distance amid a flash of white light.
The carriage was over 100 feet in length and was very aesthetically pleasing.
The entire carriage was completely translucent, and it was being drawn by four white wyrms.
A man and a woman stood side by side on the beast-drawn carriage.
The man looked to be in his forties and was wearing a long white robe with faint light surging all over his body.
As for the woman, she appeared to be in her twenties with a head of tall and voluminous hair and a set of beautiful facial features, wearing a suit of light blue armor.
The carriage arrived in the air above the city after just a few flashes, following which the man made a hand seal, and the carriage and white wyrms immediately disappeared amid a flash of white light.
The duo then transformed into streaks of white Qi that vanished into the golden palace down below in a completely silent manner.
Shortly thereafter, two streaks of light, one black and one silver, appeared in the distant sky in unison, covering a distance of close to 100 kilometers in just a few flashes before also flying into the palace.
Around an hour later, a burst of rainbow light appeared in the sky in another direction, and a group of over 1,000 people emerged in the distance.
The group was comprised evenly of men and women, with the men wearing suits of golden armor and wielding various types of weapons, while the women wore five-colored dresses and were playing different musical instruments.
At the center of this group was a ball of rainbow light that was around an acre in size, and within the ball of light was a massive chair, upon which sat a tall figure in a set of long robes.
The group arrived in the air above the city in an unhurried manner, following which the rainbow light descended toward the palace.
During its descent, the rainbow light faded, revealing an authoritative elderly man wearing a rainbow robe with a crown on his head.
The elderly man cast his gaze toward the palace before making his way toward it in an expressionless manner, while the armored men and instrument-playing women disintegrated into specks of spiritual light, as if they were mere illusions.
Within the next few hours, more groups of different beings arrived at the city using different methods of transportation, and all of them made their way directly into the golden palace.
