"Facing another Grand Ascension Stage being in battle isn't a simple matter; I'll have to think about this first," Daoist San Quan replied with tightly furrowed brows.
"Of course. How about this? I'll wait here for your decision for a few days. If you're willing to come with me within the next three days, then we'll set off together. Otherwise, I'll visit Fellow Daoist Chou Yuan of the Blood Vendetta Canyon; the Essence Sucking Arts he's cultivated are extremely effective against even fellow Grand Ascension Stage beings," Huang Yuanzi replied.
"Alright, I'll give you a response within three days," Daoist San Quan said with a nod, then made a hand seal, following which he abruptly vanished from the grassland.
As for Huang Yuanzi, he swept a sleeve through the air to release a ball of golden light, which transformed into a resplendent palace on the grassland.
Several beautiful women in palatial dresses emerged from the palace, then extended respectful curtseys toward Huang Yuanzi while referring to him as their master.
Huang Yuanzi smiled as he made his way into the palace.
……
Above the sea near the Flying Spirit Race, a giant black ark was flying through the sky.
On the deck of the ark stood around a dozen Devil Crystal Puppet warriors that were giving off powerful auras.
Whenever a reckless sea beast leaped out of the sea to attack the ark, several puppets would immediately release pillars of light to instantly vaporize those sea beasts.
In a refined and elegant hall on the top floor of the giant ark was a silver chair, on which Han Li sat with his eyes closed, seemingly pondering something.
Patriarch Hua Shi and Zhu Guo'er were both standing behind the chair in a respectful manner.
Even though this wasn't Han Li's first time entering the primordial and he was using the Inkspirit Holy Ark as a transportation device, it had still taken him over two years to reach this place from the Boundless Sea.
On another chair near Han Li sat a white-robed woman with a pair of red eyes and a strange red rune on her glabella.
"We're about to enter the Flying Spirit Race territory soon, Fellow Daoist Blood Soul. Is this your first time coming here?" Han Li asked with a smile.
The white-robed woman was none other than Fairy Ice Soul's blood soul clone, and Han Li had visited the Xu Family to take her on this journey with him prior to entering the primordial world.
The woman immediately extended a respectful bow as she replied, "That's right, I've never come into contact with the Flying Spirit Race, but I've heard that they possess several types of renowned abilities that are related to true spirit beings."
"I've visited the Flying Spirit Race in the past, and one of my good friends is residing in the area. Seeing as we're passing through, I plan to pay him a visit along the way. Speaking of which, is the information about the available spot to teleport to the foreign continent really reliable? It would be a huge waste of time if we were to get there, only for it to not be true," Han Li said.
"Rest Assured, Senior; the He Lian Trade Guild is one of very few hidden powers that span across the three continents, and it's comparable in power even to a super race like the Jiao Chi Race, which is why it possesses teleportation formations capable of intercontinental travel. Due to some special reasons, the trade guild auctions off some spots for intercontinental teleportation once in a while. I was very fortunate to have become a VIP of the guild, thereby granting me the right to attend these auctions. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have heard about this.
"The next auction just so happens to be coming up this year, whereas if we wait for the next one, we may have to wait for several decades or even two to three centuries. Thus, a lot of powerful beings from all races flock to attend these auctions," the blood soul explained.
"I've heard of the He Lian Trade Guild as well. If I had known about the existence of these auctions back when I was returning from the Thunder Continent, then perhaps I could've saved myself a lot of trouble. Then again, with my status at the time, I most likely wouldn't have been taken seriously by the He Lian Trade Guild anyway," Han Li chuckled.
The blood soul nodded in response. "Even for the He Lian Trade Guild, these auctions for intercontinental teleportation spots are quite a big deal. If an outsider wants to participate in these auctions, then they'll require a recommendation and have to be quite an important figure themselves. Alternatively, unconditional access is granted to those at or above the Body Integration Stage. I'm sure the organizers of the auction would be very eager to have someone of your status attend their auction."
"I hope it'll go as smoothly as you say. Also, there's something that I must tell you: I'm taking you with me to fulfill our prior agreement, but once we arrive on the Thunder Continent, we'll have to stay there for a while as I want to search for something there; please excuse the delay," Han Li said.
"I've already waited for this long; a slight delay is certainly not an issue. If you have something that you need to do, then go right ahead; I have no objections at all," the blood soul replied without any hesitation.
"I'm glad to hear that. Rest assured, the item that I'm searching for won't be too difficult to find, so we won't have to waste much time on the Thunder Continent," Han Li said with a pleased smile.
Thus, the Inkspirit Holy Ark entered Flying Spirit Race territory, and its massive stature naturally attracted a lot of attention.
However, all of the Flying Spirit beings that swept their spiritual sense toward the ark immediately gave it a wide berth upon sensing the fearsome Grand Ascension Stage aura emanating from it.
As a result, all of the powerful Flying Spirit beings that the ark passed by merely turned a blind eye and didn't dare to stop the ark at all.
On the fifth day after the ark entered Flying Spirit Race territory, a coarse male voice suddenly rang out up ahead just as the ark was passing over a lake.
"Which fellow daoists has come to visit our Flying Spirit Race? I am Yue Long, and I wish to make your acquaintance."
As soon as the voice trailed off, a vast expanse of dark clouds appeared up ahead alongside a gust of fierce winds, and a nine-headed bird that was over 10,000 feet in length appeared.
The bird's nine heads were all extremely menacing and fierce in appearance, but its body was covered in resplendent colorful feathers.
At the same time, it was giving off a formidable aura that wasn't inferior to the one emanating from the massive ark.
The male voice was coming from none other than one of the giant bird's nine heads.
Han Li immediately appeared at the front of the ark amid a flash of azure light, then replied, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Yue Long; I am Han Li of the human race, and I only came here to visit an old friend, so there's no need for you to be concerned."
A hint of astonishment surfaced in the eyes of the nine-headed bird upon hearing this. "Han Li? Could it be that you're the human fellow daoist who slew the Stemborer Queen in the Elder Devil Realm?"
"As long as there's no other Han Li in the human race, I should be the one you're referring to. I'm surprised that you've heard about my exploits," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
The nine-headed bird was ecstatic to hear this, and it quickly transformed into a hideous elderly man amid a gust of black wind. "Haha, so it really is you, Fellow Daoist Han; Our Flying Spirit Race is truly honored by your visit. You must come and visit my cave abode so I can show you some hospitality. One of my good friends was invited to the Elder Devil Realm to face the Stemborer Queen, and following his return, he has mentioned your powers and exploits on more than one occasion."
The elderly man was wearing a colorful feather robe, holding a simple-looking yellow wooden cane while appraising Han Li with an elated expression.
"I see. Which race is this good friend of yours from? Perhaps I may know of him," Han Li said.
"That good friend of mine is Fellow Daoist Yuan Fei of the Long Body Race; have you heard of him, Brother Han?" Yue Long asked.
Han Li pondered the name for a moment before a hint of enlightenment appeared in his eyes. "Yuan Fei of the Long Body Race… Now that you mention it, I do have some recollection of him; I recall he was one of the fellow daoists trapped in the original sealed site?"
"The Long Body Race is a direct neighbor of our Flying Spirit Race, and Fellow Daoist Yuan Fei is a close friend of mine. During the ordeal he suffered in the Elder Devil Realm, he sustained some rather severe injuries, so he's currently in seclusion. Otherwise, I'm sure he would come to meet you in person. Please come and visit my cave abode, Fellow Daoist Han; it's not far away from here," Yue Long invited again in an enthusiastic manner.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li decided that it would be rather inappropriate to reject Yue Long, so he nodded in response. "Your hospitality is very difficult to refuse, Fellow Daoist. In that case, please pardon my intrusion."
"Fantastic! Please come with me, Fellow Daoist." Yue Long was ecstatic to hear this, and he immediately sped away into the distance as a gust of fierce wind.
"Wait for me here; I'll be back soon," Han Li said to his small entourage, then followed along behind Yue Long as a streak of azure light.
Patriarch Hua Shi and the others naturally didn't raise any objections.
As Grand Ascension Stage beings, Han Li and Yue Long were naturally incredibly fast, and even though they weren't flying at full speed, a distance of hundreds of thousands of kilometers was still covered in just over two hours, upon which they arrived above a basin surrounded by a lush mountain range.
At the center of the basin was a giant stone pagoda that was over 10,000 feet tall with over 100 levels.
There were also many other buildings constructed around the basin, but all of them were situated several kilometers away from the stone pagoda, giving it a wide berth.
