Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked, "The holy island? Why do you ask, Fellow Daoist?"
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me. However, I have something I would like to discuss with you. Would you be interested in meeting me in the Myriad Spirit Hall tonight?" the Long Family patriarch asked with a faint smile.
"The Myriad Spirit Hall?" Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and many thoughts raced through his mind at once.
The so-called Myriad Spirit Hall was a hall that had been carved into a mountain face in this valley. The hall was where the true spirit family leaders and elders had first gathered to discuss the proceedings of the ceremony.
The fact that the Long Family patriarch was extending an invitation to meet him later in this hall suggested that he definitely had something very important to talk about.
Han Li didn't reject this offer right away, but he took a rather cautious route as he asked, "Would you be able to reveal what you would like to speak to me about so I can make a decision?"
The Long Family patriarch was silent for a moment before replying in a calm manner, "I can't reveal too much to you, but what I can tell you is that this has something to do with a major event that will take place following the arrival of the devilish tribulation. On top of that, this event could bring you enormous benefits; it could even decide whether we would have the opportunity to progress to the Grand Ascension Stage."
Despite Han Li's calm and steadfast nature, he was still stunned by what he had just heard. "The Grand Ascension Stage?"
"Indeed. I've already made agreements with several other fellow Daoists to join me, and with the powers you've displayed, you've earned the right to participate in this matter as well," the Long Family patriarch confirmed.
Han Li forcibly repressed his own astonishment, and only after a long while did he finally make a decision. "Alright, in that case, I'll be meeting you later tonight."
The Long Family patriarch seemed to be very pleased with Han Li's answer, and he chuckled, "Hehe, you've definitely made a wise decision, Fellow Daoist. I'm sure what we're going to be talking about will be of great interest to you." After that, he didn't speak any further about this matter.
The rest of the true spirit ceremony was very simple. After finally arriving at an agreement about the distribution of resources, the entire ceremony drew to a conclusion.
Fairy Xiao Feng led Han Li to a secluded place and handed over what she had promised to Han Li without any delay. After that, she couldn't help but extend another invitation for Han Li to join the Gu Family, and she stated that if Han Li were to agree, not only would he receive the same benefits afforded to the grand elder of the Gu Family, he would have absolute authority in the family second only to the family leader herself.
However, Han Li euphemistically turned her down again. Fairy Xiao Feng was very disappointed by this, and she could only ask Han Li to visit the Gu Family whenever he had some free time. It was quite clear that she wanted her Gu Family to establish good relations with Han Li.
Han Li naturally agreed with a smile to this proposal.
Thus, some of the true spirit families began to depart from the Myriad Spirit Valley and embarked on the journey to return to their respective territories.
In contrast, most of the families decided to remain in the Myriad Spirit Valley for a few more days to exchange some resources and cultivation arts, which would make the journey to come here somewhat worthwhile for the ordinary members of these true spirit families.
The Gu Family was one of the families that stayed, temporarily settling in a cluster of buildings within the valley, among which Han Li occupied a small pavilion to himself.
That night, he silently departed from the pavilion and flew toward the Myriad Spirit Hall. Upon approaching the hall, he discovered that there was someone standing at the entrance in silence, seemingly stationed there specifically to wait for him.
Han Li focused his gaze on the figure to find that it was Elder Hui of the Long Family.
The black-robed man had completely discarded his animosity toward Han Li, and he cupped his fist in a salute with a warm smile on his face. "You really are a man of your word, Fellow Daoist Han. Brother Long and the other fellow Daoists have been waiting for some time already."
"Oh? Has Brother Long invited other people as well?" Han Li asked in a contemplative manner.
"Haha, indeed he has. All will be revealed soon enough; please follow me," the black-robed man chuckled as he made an inviting hand gesture.
"Alright, then please lead the way, Fellow Daoist Hui," Han Li replied with an indifferent nod.
The black-robed man seemed to be completely unfazed by Han Li's rather aloof demeanor, and the two of them strode into the hall one after the other.
The entire hall was almost completely empty, devoid of even the guards that were normally stationed here. It was quite clear that they had been asked to vacate the hall in advance.
Han Li was led by the black-robed man into a rather secretive side hall connected to the main hall, and there were already three people seated around a massive stone table waiting for him there.
As soon as Han Li made his way into the room, everyone turned toward him in unison, and upon catching sight of these people, Han Li's pupils immediately contracted slightly.
The trio consisted of the Long Family patriarch, as well as the woman in the five-colored dress from the Ye Family and the mid-Body Integration cultivator from the Lin Family.
Thus, there were five cultivators who possessed powers at or above the mid-Body Integration Stage gathered here at once, and that was quite a formidable lineup.
The woman from the Ye Family turned toward Han Li with a wide smile, while the man from the Lin Family merely took an indifferent glance at him before looking away, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
A rare smile appeared on the Long Family patriarch's face at the sight of Han Li's arrival, and he said, "Please take a seat, Fellow Daoist Han."
Han Li gave a faint smile in response before making his way over to the table in an unhurried manner, then sitting down in one of the empty chairs.
As for Elder Hui, he sat down directly beside the Long Family patriarch.
"Old Man Long, why have you gathered all of us at once? I don't have much time to waste here!" the man from the Lin Family said in an impatient manner.
"Hehe, let's not rush things, Fellow Daoist Lin; I'll introduce one more person to everyone, and after that, I'll elaborate on everything," the Long Family patriarch chuckled in a nonchalant manner.
"Oh? There's someone else who's yet to join us? How many people did you invite, Brother Long? Don't tell me the Feng brothers were invited as well," the woman from the Ye Family said with a smile.
"The Feng brothers combined possess powers that aren't inferior to those of a mid-Body Integration cultivator, but their combination techniques have too many limitations. On top of that, it would be best to keep our numbers to a minimum for what we're going to do, so I didn't invite them. As for the person I'm going to introduce to all of you, she's already arrived in advance. Please come out to meet everyone, Fellow Daoist Thousand Autumns." The Long Family patriarch shook his head in response before turning toward a seemingly empty corner of the hall.
Everyone was quite alarmed to see this, and they hurriedly turned toward that corner as well.
All of a sudden, an extremely feeble aura emerged from that corner of the hall, followed by a flash of yellow light, and a yellow copper mirror appeared out of thin air.
The mirror then blurred and warped slightly before transforming into a yellow-robed young woman.
Han Li's pupils immediately contracted slightly at the sight of this woman.
The man from the Lin Family immediately rose to his feet with a wary look on his face. "That's the holy maiden from the Spirit Race! What's the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Long?"
Indeed, this yellow-robed woman was none other than Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns, who had appeared once during the Myriad Treasure Convention.
It was quite clear that this grand elder of the Lin Family had also attended that convention, so he was able to immediately identify her.
"No need to be alarmed, fellow Daoists; Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns' presence is imperative for what I want to discuss with all of you today. Without her inclusion, there's no way our plan can be set into motion," the Long Family patriarch said in a calm manner.
However, no one seemed to be convinced by his reassuring words. Not only had a wary look appeared on Han Li's face, the smile had also been wiped from the face of the woman from the Ye Family. The man from the Lin Family harrumphed coldly and was appraising Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns in a hostile manner, while Elder Hui displayed no reaction at all, clearly having already been filled in on the matter in advance.
Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns extended a graceful curtsey, and said, "There's no need to be so cautious toward me, fellow Daoists. I may be a member of the Artifact Spirit Race, but if we were to trace back my origins, I was once a treasure owned by Daoist Master Can Tian of your human race. Only many years after he passed away did I manage to attain intelligence by chance, thereby allowing me to become a member of the Artifact Spirit Race."
The woman from the Ye Family exclaimed, "Daoist Master Can Tian? Could you be referring to the ancient Grand Ascension Stage senior who founded Deep Heaven City?"
"Indeed. Otherwise, the Artifact Spirit Race wouldn't have sent me here as an alliance envoy," Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns replied with a smile.
"Since when was there an alliance between our two races? Why have I not heard anything about this?" the man from the Lin Family asked in a bewildered manner.
"This alliance was agreed upon by some beings on your race's holy island, as well as the sovereigns and several Grand Ascension cultivators. Due to some reasons, the alliance will only be officially announced around a year from now. When that time comes, you'll be able to verify the authenticity of my claims," Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns explained with a smile.
"Seeing as you appeared during the Myriad Treasure Convention, it's only a matter of time before we forged an alliance with the Spirit Race anyway. However, isn't it rather inappropriate for you to take her into Myriad Spirit Valley like this, Brother Long? This is a sacred place for our true spirit families!" The woman from the Ye Family clearly still wasn't very pleased.
The Long Family patriarch seemed to have already anticipated this to be a point of contention, and he calmly replied, "Rest assured, Fairy Ye, Fellow Daoist Thousand Autumns only entered the valley following the conclusion of our ceremony, and she'll immediately depart following our discussion tonight, so there won't be any issues."
The woman from the Ye Family was silent for a moment before heaving a faint sigh. "In that case, I'll trust your judgment, Brother Long. Please elaborate on why you gathered all of us here."
The man from the Lin Family also sat back down as his expression eased slightly.
The Long Family patriarch nodded upon seeing this, but what he said next almost had the Lin Family grand elder jumping out of his seat again.
"It's quite a simple matter, really; I invited all of you here as I wanted you to accompany me into the Elder Devil Realm when our two realms fuse as one during the devilish tribulation."
