A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face, and as the raucous cheers subsided a little, he waved a hand through the air, upon which countless azure threads converged beneath his feet to form the giant azure lotus flower above the pagoda again.
"The unwelcome guest has already been dealt with! According to past conventions, I will be retelling my cultivation journey for seven days and seven nights from now on. As for how much you can benefit from my retelling, that will be up to you. However, in contrast with past ceremonies of this nature, I will be removing the restrictions so anyone can come to the mountain and listen if they wish to do so," Han Li said.
His voice wasn't very loud, but it spread in all directions and was audible throughout the entirety of Deep Heaven City.
All of the cultivators faltered initially upon hearing this, following which joyful cheers erupted once again.
Immediately thereafter, everyone began to converge toward the giant three-colored mountain in a frenzy, and even the armored guards responsible for maintaining order had abandoned their posts to rush toward the mountain themselves.
Meanwhile, Han Li had already sat down onto the azure lotus flower and begun to retell his experiences and insights starting from the Qi Condensation Stage.
All of the cultivators on the plaza immediately began to listen intently with solemn expressions.
A Dao retelling from a Grand Ascension Stage being was a massive opportunity for anyone, so everyone was listening with rapt focus, even though the retelling had commenced from such a low cultivation base.
As Han Li began his retelling, more and more cultivators flocked onto the mountain, and all of the space around the plaza was quickly packed to the rafters.
As such, the people that arrived thereafter could only gather elsewhere on the mountain.
Several hours later, the entire top half of the giant mountain was completely full, and there were still more people gathering on the bottom half.
Regardless of where one stood, as long as they were situated on the mountain, Han Li's voice would immediately become clearly audible to them.
Many people wanted to scale even further up the mountain, but they would often involuntarily stop in their tracks as they listened to Han Li's Dao retelling, falling into a special state of enlightenment.
A day and a night later, virtually every single inch of the mountain was occupied, and everyone was completely silent with only Han Li's voice ringing out audibly from the mountain's summit…
Six days and six nights later, rainbow light suddenly appeared in the sky, and a flurry of flower petals rained down from above once again.
Han Li's voice drew to an abrupt halt, and all of the enraptured listeners were instantly brought back to reality.
Many people were immediately able to return to their senses, but they still appeared to be slightly disoriented, as if they had just awoken from a dream.
Moments later, Han Li's voice rang out once again.
"Thank you for attending my Grand Ascension Stage celebratory ceremony. The ceremony has concluded; you may all go now."
For many cultivators, Han Li had only just reached the critical juncture of his Dao retelling, so they were naturally very reluctant to leave, but in their eyes, Han Li was currently like a god, so they didn't dare to oppose his instructions.
Thus, everyone extended respectful bows toward the mountain summit before departing, and only then did the ceremony truly conclude.
Half a day later, the three-colored giant mountain vanished amid a rumbling boom, and the remaining armored guards near the plaza extended respectful bows once again before departing in an orderly fashion.
In the hall on the first floor of the stone pagoda, Han Li was already situated on the main seat.
On either side of the hall stood Qi Lingzi, Hai Yuetian, and the elders of Deep Heaven City.
Bai Guo'er had also returned, and she was standing next to Zhu Guo'er, who was of a similar age, and they really did look as if they were sisters.
Bai Guo'er had managed to return just before the commencement of the ceremony, and she was currently at the mid-Deity Transformation Stage.
As for the elders of Deep Heaven City, the respectful expressions in their eyes had become far more genuine compared to prior to the ceremony; it was quite clear that they had been completely won over by Han Li's dismantling of the Black Owl Monarch.
Li Rong was also standing in front of Han Li in the hall, listening intently to his every word.
"So you're saying that Senior Ao Xiao and Senior Mo Jianli have entered the Elder Devil Realm with the Grand Ascension Stage beings of the other races to help the devilish patriarchs transcend the tribulation of the Elder Devil Realm," Han Li said with furrowed brows.
"Indeed. Not only have all of the Grand Ascension Stage beings of the neighboring races entered the Elder Devil Realm, many of the super races of the Spirit Realm have also sent Grand Ascension Stage beings to assist in the same endeavor. That's why the devilish army was forced to abandon the territory they had claimed in our Spirit Realm and return to the Elder Devil Realm," Li Rong replied.
"So in return, the Grand Ascension Stage beings of our races must enter the Elder Devil Realm with the Grand Ascension Stage beings of those super races to resolve the issue in the Elder Devil Realm. After all, if the Stemborer Queen were to destroy the Elder Devil Realm, perhaps our Spirit Realm would be next," Han Li sighed.
"Indeed, Senior Han. If it weren't for this agreement, the devilish army wouldn't have retreated," Li Rong said in a resigned manner.
"I was wondering why no battle had erupted between our two races and the Shadow Tribe and Yaksha Race; so it's because all of the Grand Ascension Stage beings have entered the Elder Devil Realm. The Yaksha Race must've intentionally hidden the Black Owl Monarch as a trump card to usurp our two races. If I hadn't made a breakthrough to the Grand Ascension Stage at this juncture, our two races would've been in some trouble," Han Li mused in a contemplative manner.
"Indeed. If you hadn't progressed to the Grand Ascension Stage, no Body Integration Stage being would've been able to oppose the Black Owl Monarch. I'm sure that once word of what happened during the ceremony spreads, none of the foreign races would dare to plot against us again," Li Rong replied with a smile.
"So the elders of the holy island would like to meet me to discuss how to deal with the other races, as well as to track down Senior Ao Xiao and Senior Mo Jianli, is that correct?" Han Li asked.
"Yes, Senior Han," Li Rong replied.
It was clear that she had already been completely won over by Han Li's scintillating display of power, and was telling him everything that she knew.
"Alright, you can accompany me to the holy island later. Aside from discussing these matters with the fellow daoists on the holy island, I'm also quite interested in the Heavenly Tome Library and Chaotic Myriad Spirit Roll there," Han Li said.
Li Rong was ecstatic to hear this, and she immediately replied, "I'd be honored to accompany you to the island, Senior Han."
Han Li then turned to Elder Gu and the others, and said, "I'll have to trouble you to look after my disciples again, Fellow Daoist Gu."
"Rest assured, Senior Han; as long as they continue to remain in our city, we'll be sure to keep them safe," Elder Gu assured with a respectful bow, and all of the other elders also chimed in in agreement.
"There's no need to be overly concerned; I'll be taking Yuetian away from the city for now. In his absence, I'm sure no one will cause any trouble for the city. Qi Lingzi, Zhu Guo'er, you two can come with me as well," Han Li instructed with a smile.
"Yes, Senior Han."
"Yes, Master."
The two of them replied in unison.
Shortly thereafter, everyone departed from the hall, but right before Qi Lingzi left, Han Li delivered an instruction to him through voice transmission, and Qi Lingzi immediately gave an affirmative response before also departing.
Han Li remained in the hall with a contemplative look on his face, and shortly thereafter, footsteps rang out outside again, following which a slender figure appeared before him.
"Xu Qianyu pays her respects to Senior Han."
"No need for formalities. I'm sure you know why I asked you to stay, right, Fellow Daoist Xu?" Han Li asked.
Xu Qianyu didn't dare to look directly at Han Li, so her head was slightly bowed as she replied. "I'm guessing you want to ask me about the Heavenvoid Cauldron."
"That's right. If I recall correctly, the Heavenvoid Cauldron is an extremely important treasure to your Xu Family; why has it suddenly been offered to me as a present?" Han Li asked.
"Truth be told, I was instructed by the blood soul of our matriarch to present the Heavenvoid Cauldron to you as a congratulatory present, Senior Han," Xu Qianyu replied in a slightly uneasy manner.
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before asking, "The blood soul? Has Fellow Daoist Ice Soul's blood soul already returned to the Xu Family?"
"She has. Around half a year ago, she suddenly returned with severe injuries, but not long after her return, she fell unconscious from those injuries. However, prior to this, she instructed us to present the Heavenvoid Cauldron to you in the hope that you would pay a visit to our Xu Family with the cauldron," Xu Qianyu replied.
"I see, so Fellow Daoist Blood Soul asked you to present this cauldron to me after she was made aware that I had progressed to the Grand Ascension Stage, is that correct?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.
"That's right," Xu Qianyu replied.
"Has your Xu Family not tried to treat Fellow Daoist Blood Soul?" Han Li asked.
"The seniors of our Xu Family have exhausted all available methods for treatment, but all to no avail. Prior to my departure, Senior Blood Soul was still in an unconscious state," Xu Qianyu replied.
"Alright, I understand now. You can go back; I'll pay your Xu Family a visit in the next few days," Han Li said after a brief moment of contemplation.
Xu Qianyu was naturally ecstatic to hear this, and she hurriedly extended another grateful curtsey.
