As soon as the voice trailed off, spatial fluctuations rippled throughout the room, and an indistinct humanoid figure emerged out of thin air.
All of the armored warriors' expressions changed upon seeing this humanoid figure, and they bowed in unison as their leader greeted in a respectful manner, "The members of the 73rd enforcement squad pays their respects to Elder Bai!"
The humanoid figure was a man in a brocade robe who appeared to be quite young, but both his hair and beard were snowy white in color.
"There's no mistaking it; this is indeed a Vast Glacial Badge. Tsk tsk, I'd thought that all of these badges had fallen into the hands of the Jiao Chi Race, but who would've thought that there'd be one here?" In contrast with his snowy white hair and beard, the man had a pair of thick black eyebrows. There was an elated expression on his square face, and he paid no heed to anyone else as he stared up at the shimmering golden and silver badge hovering in mid-air.
Chapter 1593: Qian Jizi
Han Li was seated in the corner, and his expression abruptly changed as he swept his spiritual sense toward this newcomer.
This man's spiritual power was quite unfathomable, indicating that he was a Body Integration Stage being.
The man withdrew his gaze, then waved a hand toward the armored warriors before turning his attention to Han Li. "Are you the one who activated this Vast Glacial Badge?"
"I want to deny that, but it doesn't really seem possible at this point," Han Li sighed with a wry smile on his face.
"Why would you deny this? You've encountered a massive stroke of luck!" the man said with a hint of a smile on his face as he appraised Han Li through narrowed eyes.
"A massive stroke of luck? What do you..." Han Li's expression changed slightly, yet just as he was about to ask a question, the man's brows furrowed as he abruptly turned toward one of the walls of the room.
"Brother Cang Ying, seeing as you're already here, why don't you show yourself? Are you planning to hand over this Vast Glacial Badge to our Water Wraith Race? "
"Not many Vast Glacial Badges have appeared on this occasion, so every single badge is extremely valuable; would your Water Wraith Race dare to take one for yourselves? Without the Myriad Ancient Race to set up and activate the required formation, the badge will be useless to you even if you do take it," a cold voice replied.
A black shadow then flashed on the wall that the white-haired young man was staring at, following which a shadowy figure that was enshrouded under grey light appeared in a soundless manner. The figure was standing close to the wall, completely motionless, as if it were an insubstantial object.
The cold voice just then had sounded directly from within the grey light.
As opposed to becoming enraged, the white-haired man merely chuckled, "Hehe, I'm naturally aware of this. However, if this fellow Daoist wishes to join our Water Wraith Race, then it won't be an issue for us to use this Vast Glacial Badge to take some of our brethren into the Vast Glacial Realm, right?"
"That would be fine, of course, but this fellow Daoist doesn't seem to have expressed any intention of joining your race. Perhaps he'd rather become a guest member of our Yin Demon Race," the shadowy figure referred to as Cang Ying replied in a completely emotionless voice.
"Is that so? That's rather hard to say. If I recall correctly, there is an unspoken rule among our 13 races; if two races set their eyes on an outsider at the same time, the other race can only extend an invitation after said outsider has rejected the invitation from the first race. Fellow Daoist, I am Bai Yue of the Water Wraith Race, and I'm officially extending an invitation to you to become a guest member of our race. If you're willing to join our race, I can promise you that we'll help you advance a tier in your cultivation base within 100 years, and we'll also offer you a variety of other immense benefits." The white-haired man turned his gaze away from Cang Ying and extended a formal offer to Han Li.
However, he stared intently into Han Li's eyes as he spoke, and a strange iridescent light rapidly swirled within his own eyes, seemingly emitting an invisible power that threatened to suck away the beholder's sense of reason.
Han Li's eyelids twitched, and as soon as he looked into Bai Yue's iridescent eyes, his spiritual sense blurred, and almost reflexively opened his mouth to accept the offer being extended toward him.
However, in the next instant, he activated his Great Development Technique, and his pupils contracted as piercing blue light appeared in his eyes, thereby allowing him to resist the strange captivating force of the white-haired man's eyes.
At the same time, Han Li regained clarity in his spiritual sense, following which a burst of fury welled up in his heart.
This white-haired young man appeared to be quite honest and benevolent, yet he had used a captivation technique to try and sway Han Li's decision. If it weren't for the fact that he possessed his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he would've most likely been drawn into accepting his offer just then.
The white-haired young man faltered upon seeing this before a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
Cang Ying was also rather taken aback by this development, but he then burst into laughter as he said in a derisive tone, "Haha, I didn't think that your Iridescent Illusionary Eyes would fail to take effect on a being below the holy race. Stop trying to play your little tricks, Fellow Daoist Bai. As you said yourself, the rule stipulating that invitations had to be made in sequential order to outsiders is only an unspoken one. In the face of the Vast Glacial Badge, none of our 13 races would be willing to follow an unofficial rule like that."
The white-haired man's expression quickly returned to normal, and he cast a meaningful glance toward Han Li before turning to Cang Ying. "Seeing as this fellow Daoist has no intention of joining our Water Wraith Race, I naturally won't force him to do so against his will. Brother Cang Ying, aren't you going to try and invite this fellow Daoist to join your Yin Demon Race?"
"This matter concerns a Vast Glacial Badge, which is an item of the utmost importance, so neither of us can decide which race he will join. In that case, I'm not going to waste my efforts doing something that won't lead to anything," Cang Ying harrumphed in response.
Bai Yue merely smiled and remained silent upon hearing this.
Cang Ying also chuckled as he fell silent as well.
As for Han Li, he also refrained from saying anything as the blue light in his eyes faded.
Thus, the room became extremely silent, and the nearby armored warriors were left staring blankly at one another, wondering what they should do in this situation.
However, this silence was broken just moments later.
The sound of knocking suddenly rang out from the other side of the door, following which an elderly voice sounded. "I am Qian Jizi of the Myriad Ancient Race. Would I be able to see the owner of this place?"
Bai Yue's face paled slightly upon hearing this elderly voice, and the grey light around Cang Ying's body rippled unsteadily as well.
Han Li immediately replied, "Please come in, Senior. It is a great honor for me to welcome you to my humble abode."
Upon hearing Han Li's polite response, the elderly man didn't delay any longer. Spiritual light flashed, and he passed directly through the door, appearing in the room in the next instant.
This was a chubby yellow-robed elderly man with a strange woven basket on his back. He wasn't very tall, and he had a set of benevolent facial features.
"Fellow Daoist Bai, Fellow Daoist Cang Ying, I didn't expect to see you two here," the elderly man greeted in a warm voice, as if he really were only just finding out that these two beings were in the room.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist, the two of us have only just arrived as well."
"Indeed. I just so happened to be doing something nearby, and I noticed the phenomenon resulting from the activation of the Vast Glacial Badge, so I decided to come and have a look."
Bai Yue and Cang Ying were regarding each other with enmity just a moment ago, but in the face of this elderly
man, both of them were behaving in an extremely careful manner.
Han Li was naturally rather intrigued by their sudden changes in demeanor, and he swept his spiritual sense toward the elderly man, upon which a wave of shock surged through his heart.
This Qian Jizi's magic power was as boundless as the ocean, and it was completely unfathomable to Han Li. At the very least, he was unable to glean the elderly man's cultivation base as he currently was, which meant that the elderly man was most likely a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage.
It was no wonder than Bai Yue and Cang Ying were so wary of him. Even if the two of them were to combine their powers, they'd most likely still be no match for the elderly man.
"So there really is a Vast Glacial Badge here! Does this badge belong to you, Fellow Daoist?" Qian Jizi gave the two a benevolent smile, then glanced at the golden and silver badge hovering in mid-air before turning to Han Li.
"Indeed, Senior," Han Li hurriedly replied with a respectful bow.
"Your surname is Han, right?" Qian Jizi suddenly asked with a smile.
"How did you know that, Senior?" Han Li's expression changed slightly, and even though he was asking that question, he most likely knew the answer already.
As expected, Qian Jizi smiled, and replied, "I've heard about you from Fellow Daoist Jia, and I also have your portrait. I was going to send someone to invite you for a chat a few days from now, but it looks like I have no choice but to meet you a little earlier than expected."
"Do you recognize him, Fellow Daoist Qian Jizi?" Bai Yue asked.
"Hehe, one of our Myriad Ancient Race's four top puppet masters, Master Jia, was almost captured by the Jiao Chi Race a few days ago, and it was all thanks to Fellow Daoist Han that he was able to escape unscathed, so of course I've heard of him," Qian Jizi replied as he stroked his beard.
"What? Does that mean Master Jia was sent to the border?" Cang Ying asked with a surprised look on his face.
"Indeed. Our race had an important matter to take care of, so we had no choice but to send Master Jia. We deployed a few guards to accompany him, but due to the invasion of the Jiao Chi Race, all of them perished on the border. Are you two interested in the internal affairs of our Myriad Ancient Race?" the elderly man asked with an amused smile.
Bai Yue's expression changed upon hearing this, and he forced a smile onto his own face as he replied, "I wouldn't dare to pry into your race's internal affairs, Fellow Daoist. It's just that Master Jia's proficiency in puppetry is quite extraordinary, making him an indispensable member of our 13 races, so I am merely concerned for his safety."
"Indeed. We're both very happy to hear that Master Jia is now safe." It was quite apparent that Cang Ying was also feeling very uneasy.
"Looks like I was overthinking things, then. Seeing as this Vast Glacial Badge has been activated by Fellow Daoist Han, you wouldn't mind if I invited Fellow Daoist Han back our race for a chat, would you? As for this place, we'll set up restrictions and deploy troops to put it into complete lockdown. Our Myriad Ancient Race will deploy people soon after this to set up the relevant formation." Qian Jizi was speaking in a polite tone, but he gave the other two beings no opportunity to state any objections.
Bai Yue and Cang Ying naturally weren't very pleased by this arrangement, but they had no choice but to bow to Qian Jizi's overwhelming might.
The elderly man nodded with a content look before turning to Han Li with a smile as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Han, would you like to follow me to our race?"
A wry smile appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this. This was an invitation that was being extended by a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, so he certainly wouldn't dare to refuse it. As such, he could only respectfully reply, "If you don't mind my intrusion, I'd love to accompany you, Senior."
Qian Jizi could see the hesitation in Han Li's eyes, and he chuckled, "Haha, not to worry, Fellow Daoist Han. Setting aside everything else, you are the one who saved Master Jia's life, and our Myriad Ancient Race isn't one to repay kindness with animosity."
Chapter 1594: Vast Glacial Realm
Han Li could naturally only proclaim that those were never his thoughts.
The rest of the process was quite simple. The armored warriors departed at Qian Jizi's behest to gather more of their comrades to this place, temporarily placing the area in a radius of several kilometers into a state of lockdown. As for this inn, it was naturally also isolated as the epicenter of the incident.
Thus, a completely oblivious and stunned Xiang Zhili was summoned to the room, and Han Li could only appraise the situation with a resigned smile.
After that, Han Li and the elderly man departed from the inn while the Vast Glacial Badge remained there with countless armored warriors guarding the place.
Bai Yue and Cang Ying didn't remain in this place for much longer before taking their leave.
However, Han Li and the elderly man didn't travel through the city via flight. Instead, there was a carriage being drawn by a pair of giant golden lion spirit beasts waiting on the side of the street beside the inn.
The elderly man invited Han Li onto the carriage, and the giant lions rose up several feet above the ground before charging along at an incredible speed.
Qian Jizi didn't have any intention to engage in an in-depth conversation with Han Li inside the carriage. He merely made some small talk before closing his eyes to meditate.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but countless thoughts were racing through his mind as he considered just why he was being taken.
The elderly man had assured him that he was only trying to repay Han Li for saving Jia Tianmu, but he certainly wasn't going to allow himself to be convinced by that.
Even if he had saved Jia Tianmu, the favor had already been repaid by the sentient puppet that had been given to him.
However, it appeared that they required his assistance to enter this so-called Vast Glacial Realm, seeing as his blood essence had activated the Vast Glacial Badge.
In that case, he could perhaps use that as leverage to see if he could be granted access to use the super teleportation formation.
Thus, he was still useful to the Heavenly Cloud Races, so they definitely wouldn't plot against him right away. With that in mind, he was feeling a lot more reassured.
The beast-drawn carriage that he was currently riding in was significantly faster than the other carriages he'd ridden in before, and it didn't take long for the carriage to reach the Eight Cloud Mountains.
Han Li cast his gaze out the window at the eight massive mountains in the distance, and a peculiar look flashed through his eyes. Was this Qian Jizi taking him back to his cave abode?
A short while later, just as the beast-drawn carriage was approaching one of the eight mountains, it suddenly changed directions and skirted around the mountain, flying toward the area behind it instead.
Han Li was a little surprised by this, but after the beast-drawn carriage traveled around the mountain, he discovered that there was a small fortress that was several kilometers in size beyond the mountain.
The fortress wasn't very large, but there were seven or eight layers of city walls around it. Each successive layer of the city walls was taller than the previous one as they approached the fortress, and just the outermost wall was already over 1,000 feet tall, while the innermost wall appeared to be close to 10,000 feet in height.
From a distance, it appeared to be a fortress, but it was probably more accurate to call it a giant tower.
Through the use of his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, Han Li could clearly see that there were silvery-white statues situated atop the city walls as intervals of just over 1,000 feet.
These statues all differed in appearance with some being carved to resemble beasts while others were more humanoid in shape. The largest of these statues were over 1,000 feet tall, and even the smallest were 700 to 800 feet tall. All of them were completely stationary, but there was an indescribable menacing aura eman
ating from their bodies.
There were also rows of azure-armored guards wielding long halberds standing atop the city walls. All of them were patrolling the walls in a uniform manner, yet none of them were actually living creatures; they were all humanoid puppets.
There was a tall pillar situated on each of the four corners of the fortress, and these pillars were respectively, yellow, blue, red, and green in color. All of them were quite translucent, and they reached all the way up into the clouds. There were countless large runes flashing over their surfaces, giving them an extremely mysterious and eye-catching appearance.
Just as Han Li was taking in the scenes before his eyes with a hint of awe in his heart, the beast-drawn carriage flew into the air above the fortress, then descended before a strange green hall that was situated at the center of the fortress.
After disembarking from the carriage, Han Li glanced up at the hall to find a plaque that was several tens of feet long hanging from it. The words "Sentient Hall" were inscribed on the plaque in large golden letters, and Han Li immediately thought of his own sentient puppet.
Could it be that this hall was somehow related to sentient puppets or was this just a pure coincidence?
Just as these thoughts were running through Han Li's mind, Qian Jizi chuckled, "Please come in, Fellow Daoist. This is an important place to our Myriad Ancient Race, and very rarely will we ever invite outsiders into it."
"Thank you for giving me this honor, Senior," Han Li replied with a respectful bow.
In the face of this immensely powerful being, Han Li didn't dare to show any disrespect as nothing could come from a show of dissent.
A hint of a smile appeared on Qian Jizi's face, and he waved a hand before walking on ahead.
There was a white-robed guard standing on either side of the palace gates, and he remained completely expressionless as the elderly man strode toward the gates, as if he couldn't even see anything.
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