Hai Yuetian immediately understood that Han Li was preparing to handle all of the pressure of the situation on his own, and he was extremely grateful as he kowtowed to Han Li twice in succession.
After that, Han Li pointed at Silvermoon and Daoist Xie, and said, "These Fellow Daoist Silvermoon and Fellow Daoist Xie; they are to be treated with the same respect as you treat me. Come and pay your respects to them."
"We pay our respects to Senior Silvermoon and Senior Xie."
Qi Lingzi had already noticed Silvermoon and Daoist Xie, and he immediately offered his respects to them alongside his disciples at Han Li's behest.
Silvermoon waved a hand with a smile, while Daoist Xie nodded in an expressionless manner.
"This here is Zhu Guo'er. Hehe, her name is only one character different from Bai Guo'er; I was quite surprised as well when I first heard her name. However, she has no relation to Bai Guo'er. Instead, she comes from a secret place that very few people know about. I'll tell you about the specifics later, but for now, all you have to know is that she'll be by my side for some time, so just treat her like a normal junior martial sister," Han Li introduced.
"Greetings, Junior Martial Sister Zhu; I'm sure Junior Martial Sister Bai would be very pleased to meet you," Qi Lingzi said as he cupped his fist in a smiling salute.
"I'll most likely have to stay with Senior Han for a while; I hope we'll get along well, senior martial brothers," Zhu Guo'er said as she extended a curtsey toward Qi Lingzi and Hai Yuetian.
After that, Han Li was filled in by Qi Lingzi and the others on the events that had taken place during his seclusion, and he was particularly interested in why the devilish army had suddenly retreated from the Spirit Realm.
Unfortunately, Qi Lingzi and Hai Yuetian were just as perplexed about this matter as he was.
All he knew was that a truce was suddenly arranged between the devilish army and the panel of elders of Deep Heaven City, following which the devilish army returned to the Elder Devil Realm shortly thereafter.
Subsequently, the human and demon races were able to recover their lost territory very easily, and only very few devilish beings still remained behind, unwilling to leave.
During this period of time, the human and demon races had focused their efforts primarily on repairing the damage caused by the devilish tribulation, as well as to eradicate the remaining devilish beings, and everything was progressing in a positive direction.
Han Li listened carefully to Qi Lingzi's description with a calm expression, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
After Qi Lingzi concluded his recount, Han Li paused momentarily in contemplation before asking, "So you're saying that the two Grand Ascension Stage beings of our two races suddenly vanished not long after the conclusion of the devilish tribulation."
"That's right, Master. Our cultivation bases are quite lackluster, but we have some ties with the disciples of some of the elders, so we were made aware of the situation as soon as it unfolded. The disappearance of the two seniors is most likely also why the holy island dared to force Deep Heaven City to handle Junior Martial Brother Hai in such a blatant manner. Otherwise, there's no way they would be so brazen and completely disregard the relationship between Master and the two seniors," Qi Lingzi replied.
A cold smile appeared on Han Li's face as he said, "I'll be making a trip to the holy island sooner or later. By the way, there's something else I need you to do."
"What is it, Master? I'll be sure to give it my best effort," Qi Lingzi immediately replied.
"Here's a list of items for you to track down. These items are extremely rare even in the entire Spirit Realm, so even if you can't obtain them, find out their specific whereabouts, and I'll get them myself," Han Li said.
"Yes, Master," Qi Lingzi agreed without any hesitation.
Daoist Xie's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything.
"Alright, the two of you can go now; I have some things to discuss with Fellow Daoist Silvermoon," Han Li instructed.
Qi Lingzi and Hai Yuetian naturally had no objections, and they immediately departed from the room.
Zhu Guo'er also left the hall in a display of thoughtfulness even though Han Li hadn't asked her to leave.
Thus, Han Li, Daoist Xie, and Silvermoon were the only ones left in the hall.
"Silvermoon, did you hear Senior Ao Xiao mention that he was going anywhere prior to your departure?" Han Li asked with a solemn expression.
"I did not. I am Grandfather's only direct lineal descendant, so if his life is under threat for some reason, then he'd definitely tell me. On top of that, there was also nothing strange about Grandfather's behavior prior to my departure," Silvermoon replied, and her expression had also become slightly grim.
"In that case, it looks like your grandfather and Senior Mo's disappearance must be related to the devilish beings. Deep Heaven City most likely doesn't know any more specific details, either; perhaps only the holy island will know something about this. It looks like I really will have to make a trip to the holy island," Han Li said in a contemplative manner.
“There's no need to be overly concerned about my grandfather, Brother Han; my grandfather and I share the same bloodline, so I'll definitely sense it if something happens to him. If he's fine, then I'd presume Senior Mo Jianli also isn't in any danger,” Silvermoon said.
“Your grandfather and Senior Mo are both Grand Ascension Stage beings, so it certainly wouldn't be easy for them to fall into peril under normal circumstances; I'm just concerned that they may have fallen into a devilish trap and are stuck somewhere, unable to escape. After all, trapping a pair of Grand Ascension Stage beings is easier than killing them,” Han Li said with a concerned expression.
Silvermoon's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but she was still quite optimistic. "Grandfather and Senior Mo are both very wise and cautious, so I'm sure that wouldn't have happened."
"Perhaps I'm overthinking things. I'll ask the elders of Deep Heaven City about this tomorrow; perhaps they'll have some additional information for me," Han Li said as his expression eased slightly, to which Silvermoon nodded in response.
After that, Han Li turned to Daoist Xie, and said, "Brother Xie, I've already asked my disciples to track down the items you asked for, but before I gather them, I hope you'll continue to assist me."
"I'll remain by your side until you satisfy my conditions or until it becomes apparent that you won't be able to," Daoist Xie replied in an expressionless manner, and Han Li was very pleased to hear this.
Han Li and Silvermoon then discussed some other possible reasons behind the disappearance of the two Grand Ascension Stage beings, but all to no avail in the end, so they could only set this matter aside for now and retire to their respective secret chambers.
The next morning, Elder Gu, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue, and almost all of the other Deep Heaven City elders arrived outside the stone pagoda that Han Li was residing in.
Upon being notified of their arrival by Qi Lingzi, a faint smile appeared on Han Li's face.
It seemed that these elders had all had sleepless nights. Otherwise, they wouldn't have arrived so early.
Qi Lingzi invited all of the elders into the hall at Han Li's behest, and a meeting between the elders and Han Li commenced.
A rather obscure conversation took place between early morning to noon, and only then did the elders depart with differing expressions.
Shortly thereafter, news of Han Li's progression to the Grand Ascension Stage was finally officially announced within Deep Heaven City.
The human and demon beings in the city were initially in disbelief upon hearing this, but this was immediately followed by ecstasy, and many of them were unable to contain their excitement as they poured out onto the streets to celebrate.
With a new Grand Ascension Stage being among their ranks, the two races would be able to establish themselves within the Spirit Realm for tens of thousands of years into the future.
On top of that, Han Li had already earned a resounding reputation for himself back when he was at the Body Integration Stage, and he had lived in Deep Heaven City for quite some time, and this made the inhabitants of Deep Heaven City even more elated for his success, as if his success were their success as well.
This piece of news spread like wildfire toward the rest of the human and demon territories, and of course, it was also revealed that the Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremony would be held at Deep Heaven City in a year.
Everyone who received this information was extremely astonished, and they quickly scrambled to verify its authenticity.
Upon ensuring that this was all indeed true, messengers were immediately sent by all powers to Deep Heaven City, expressing confirmation that they would be attending the ceremony.
As for some powers situated too far away from Deep Heaven City, they had already begun preparing congratulatory presents and selecting suitable representatives to send to the ceremony.
Thus, within the short span of only a couple months, almost everyone in the human and demon races had been made aware of this new Grand Ascension cultivator, as well as the celebratory ceremony that was about to be held soon.
Even the nearby races, including the Spirit Race and Yaksha Race, confirmed that they would also be sending envoys to attend the ceremony.
The only reaction that was rather peculiar came from the holy island; they seemed to be a little indifferent to the event and didn't make an effort to promote it.
Aside from the various powers and nearby foreign races, many of the vastly renowned vagrant cultivators of the human and demon races had also come out of seclusion in preparation to head to Deep Heaven City.
It was a common convention that all new Grand Ascension Stage beings would hold a lecture during their celebratory ceremonies, disclosing their thoughts and experiences while progressing to the Grand Ascension Stage.
This was naturally an extremely rare opportunity for those preparing for the Grand Ascension Stage breakthrough, or had been stumped by the bottleneck for countless years.
Perhaps listening to Han Li's experience would provide them with the final catalyst required to make the breakthrough. After all, similar things had happened during some past Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremonies.
