This had been a truly crushing victory for Deep Heaven City, and embarked on a return journey in extremely high spirits.
Of course, the elders had sent out a lot of scouts to spy on the rest of the devilish army in case they decided to launch another attack.
Once they returned to the city, all of the people who had participated in the battle received an extremely warm welcome, and a massive feast was arranged in celebration.
Unbeknownst to the vast majority of the city, the Deep Heaven City elders hadn't participated in the celebrations. Instead, they were having a secret meeting in a certain secluded hall with some other Body Integration cultivators, some of which were obscure cultivators who had been in seclusion in the city for many years, while others were reinforcements sent to Deep Heaven City by the holy island.
All of the Body Integration cultivators were currently listening with stunned expressions as the white-robed elderly man recounted how the Xue Guang clone had been devoured by Han Li's Gold Devouring Beetles.
"To think that he was able to nurture over 10,000 mature Gold Devouring Beetles; that's incredible! So this Fellow Daoist Han was responsible for killing both the Xue Guang clone and the late-Body Integration Stage devilish lord who was far more powerful even than a Sacred Ancestor clone," a burly man with a heavy black beard murmured.
"In all honesty, I'm quite embarrassed. I wasn't able to do much in this battle at all; my greatest contribution was trapping the Sacred Ancestor clone for a while with Fellow Daoist Jin Yue's assistance, but we wouldn't have been able to kill the clone had it not been for Fellow Daoist Han's Gold Devouring Beetles. On top of that, Fellow Daoist Han had already slain that other late-Body Integration Stage devilish lord before that," the white-robed elderly man said with a wry smile.
"You're being far too self-critical, Brother Gu. Without the treasure unleashed by you and Fellow Daoist Jin, it would've been very difficult for Fellow Daoist Han's Gold Devouring Beetles to hunt down that Sacred Ancestor clone," a green-haired elderly man countered.
"That treasure was something that Master Mo Jianli had bestowed upon us; I wouldn't dare to take credit for something like that!" the white-robed elderly man said as he shook his head emphatically.
"Without the huge amount of blood essence that you and Fellow Daoist Jin had expended, the treasure wouldn't have been able to take effect; your contributions are far more significant than you proclaim them to be. If even your contributions don't count for anything, then the rest of us would've done less than nothing!" the green-haired elderly man chuckled.
At this moment, a woman in a long blue dress said with a smile, "Even setting that aside, the extensive planning done by you two prior to this battle is an extremely significant contribution. Having said that, judging from your description of this Fellow Daoist Han's powers, he definitely ranks among the top five most powerful beings among our two races; I certainly can't leave without meeting someone like him. Where is he currently staying right now?"
"Indeed, I would also like to meet him," someone else immediately chimed in.
"Fellow Daoist Han has expended a lot of energy during this battle, so he went into seclusion as soon as he returned to the city. That's why he's not present at this meeting, and this is most likely not a good time to try and meet him," the white-robed elderly man said.
"Ah, forgive me for being overeager. In that case, we'll pay Fellow Daoist Han a visit once he comes out of seclusion," the woman said as a slightly forlorn look appeared on her face.
The other elders wishing to meet Han Li were also rather disappointed to hear this, but they naturally couldn't press the issue any further.
"Fellow Daoist Han has made the most significant contribution in this battle, but it was thanks to everyone's collective efforts that our city was able to survive this ordeal. I won't cheapen your efforts by extending any words of gratitude; just know that if you ever need assistance from our city, we'll be sure to oblige," the white-robed elderly man said as he cupped his fist in a salute, and his words were echoed by the other elders of the city.
The other Body Integration cultivators were quite elated to hear this. After all, a promise from the elders of Deep Heaven City was a very valuable intangible asset.
"We may have won this battle, but we can't get complacent. After all, close to the half the devilish army and almost all of the devilish lords have survived. If that Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang decides to bite the bullet and send another one of his clones into the Spirit Realm, we'll most likely have another gruelling battle on our hands. If we want to prevent that happening, we have to take advantage of this opportunity to launch a counterattack and wipe out the remaining devilish army; we can't afford them any chance of making a resurgence," the white-robed elderly man said as a cold look appeared in his eyes.
Chapter 2010: Unexpected Guest
Everyone else immediately nodded in agreement, and thus, the Deep Heaven City elders quickly assigned a series of missions, sending out most of the Body Integration Stage beings present to continue hunting down the devilish army.
The rest of them remained behind to oversee the repair of all of the damaged formations and restrictions.
Of course, the most important thing was to send out some people to destroy the nearby devilish nodes right away. If they could do that, then even if the devilish beings were to send reinforcements, they wouldn't be able to arrive near Deep Heaven City.
These were all extremely urgent matters, so as soon as the assignment of these tasks were completed, everyone took their leave to carry out their respective duties.
Thus, the only two people left in the hall were the white-robed elderly man and the green-haired elderly man, the latter of whom was one of the holy island envoys.
The two conversed with one another for a long while before departing, and following their conversation, the white-robed elderly man seemed to be in high spirits, indicating that he had received some type of good news from the holy island envoy.
Not long after that, a significant chunk of the remaining devilish army in the nearby area was slain under the efforts of the Deep Heaven City Body Integration cultivators.
However, the remnants of the devilish army had been led away by the devilish lords and joined other devilish armies in neighboring areas.
Thus, the human and demonic cultivators naturally didn't dare to pursue them any further, and they returned to the city after setting up a large number of watchtowers on the borders. Thus, the battle of Deep Heaven City had finally drawn to a true conclusion.
Deep Heaven City had secured the final victory, but as many as a third of their defensive forces had been destroyed in the process. There were even a few Body Integration elders who had perished during the battle, as well as countless casualties among cultivators at or below the Spatial Tempering Stage.
Thankfully, they had managed to crush the devilish army and wipe out a considerable number of devilish beings, thereby securing the first major victory since the commencement of the devilish tribulation.
Of course, Deep Heaven City's victory didn't mean that the human and demonic races had actually gained the upper hand. On the contrary, the situation was only becoming more and more desperate for the other major human settlements. As for whether they would also be able to turn the tables, only the heavens knew the answer to that.
Following Deep Heaven City's victory, many vagrant cultivators and remnants of cultivating families and sects converged to join the city. There were even vagrant cultivators and small powers from neighboring areas that were willing to take the risk to flee toward Deep Heaven City, and as a result, the cultivators that the city had lost during the battle were easily replenished.
Even if another devilish army were to turn up soon, Deep Heaven City would be well equipped to fight them.
Thus, Deep Heaven City was accumulating power as quickly as it could, and a year passed by in the blink of an eye.
On this day, a special guest arrived at the stone pagoda that Han
Li was living. Hai Yuetian and Qi Lingzi immediately invited the guest into the hall on the top floor of the stone pagoda, and as soon as the guest took a seat, he said to Qi Lingzi, "I have an urgent matter to discuss with your master; inform him of my arrival."
Qi Lingzi was feeling rather uneasy, but he still replied, "Forgive me, Senior, but Master is currently in seclusion and told us that he wouldn't be entertaining any guests."
"It's alright, I arranged this meeting with your master well in advance. Just inform him of my arrival; Fellow Daoist Han won't blame you for this," the guest said in an aloof and nonchalant manner.
Qi Lingzi hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, but he knew that this guest was no ordinary Body Integration cultivator, so he could only agree to this request in the end. "In that case, I'll do as you say, Senior."
Thus, he flipped a hand over to summon a voice transmission talisman, then said something into it before letting it loose.
Han Li had been in seclusion for an entire year in the secret chamber beneath the stone pagoda, and all of a sudden, golden light flashed from his body as he slowly opened his eyes.
At this point, he was close to returning to his peak condition, and he made a grabbing motion to draw a streak of light into his grasp out of thin air.
He swept his spiritual sense into the object, then murmured to himself, "So it's him. Looks like I really will have to come out to meet him."
As soon as his voice trailed off, he stood up from his futon, then flew out of the secret chamber as a streak of azure light.
Moments later, the azure light faded at the center of the hall on the top floor of the stone pagoda, revealing Han Li within it.
"We pay our respects to Master!"
Qi Lingzi and Hai Yuetian immediately extended ecstatic bows toward him."No need for formalities. Brother Long, you seem to have arrived far earlier than the time we agreed on. Aren't you afraid that the devilish army will take advantage of your absence to destroy your Long Family stronghold?" Han Li asked.
The guest was none other than the Long Family patriarch, and he was currently appraising Han Li with a hint of astonishment in his eyes.
"I naturally made ample preparations before I departed the stronghold. I had heard that you had slain a Sacred Ancestor clone and a late-Body Integration Stage devilish lord in the battle that took place a year ago. At the time, I was rather skeptical, but it seems that I was wrong to have my doubts. Your rate of progression truly puts me to shame, Fellow Daoist Han. Having said that, you've instilled me with even greater confidence in the journey we're going to make. As for why I arrived here earlier than expected, that's because some unexpected circumstances arose."
"I was only able to make such quick progress as I had encountered some unique opportunities during the past few years. As for slaying that Sacred Ancestor clone, I was only able to do so after receiving a lot of assistance from Fellow Daoist Gu and the others," Han Li explained in a nonchalant manner.
"In any case, it's a matter of immense pride to be able to kill a Sacred Ancestor clone. On top of that, you've only just progressed to the late-Body Integration Stage, so you'll only become more powerful as you consolidate your cultivation base. Even now, I'm most likely already no match for you," the Long Family patriarch sighed.
"Hehe, you're being far too modest, Brother Long. Can you tell me what those unforeseen circumstances that you were referring to are?" Han Li chuckled in response.
"That's a long story..." the Long Family patriarch said as he cast a hesitant gaze toward Qi Lingzi and Hai Yuetian.
Han Li was immediately able to read between the lines, and he turned to his two disciples, and instructed, "You two can leave for now."
"Yes, Master!"
The two of them naturally had no objections and departed from the hall.
After that, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release a streak of azure light that vanished in a flash, and in the next instant, a layer of white light appeared to encompass the entire hall.
"Alright, there's no one else here aside from the two of us now; go ahead, Brother Long," Han Li said with a smile.
The Long Family Patriarch nodded as a solemn look appeared on his face. "As you may have already guessed, we're going to have to enter the Elder Devil Realm earlier than planned. I received news that our two races are going to be launching a counterattack against the devilish army in the next few years, and the devilish patriarchs will also be descending into our Spirit Realm. Regardless of what the outcome of that battle is, we most likely won't have a chance to enter the Elder Devil Realm. As such, if we don't want to miss this opportunity, then our only option would be to enter the Elder Devil Realm prior to the commencement of this battle."
"The three devilish patriarchs!" Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
"So you've heard of them as well. These three patriarchs are the most powerful of the elder devils, and normal Sacred Ancestors are completely incomparable to them. I heard that many of the Grand Ascension Stage beings from foreign races in our Spirit Realm have fallen by their hands," the Long Family patriarch said in a grim voice.
Han Li's expression also darkened upon hearing this, and a contemplative look appeared in his eyes.
The Long Family patriarch remained silent and waited for Han Li's response.
Only after a long while did Han Li break the silence again. "According to my knowledge, the three devilish patriarchs never leave the Elder Devil Realm; even those foreign race Grand Ascension Stage beings only perished by their hands after venturing into the Elder Devil Race. Are you sure that they're going to be descending into the Spirit Realm?"
"Are you suspecting me of falsehood, Brother Han?" the Long Family patriarch asked.
"No, it's just that what you're saying is a very important piece of information, so I have to verify it," Han Li replied.
"In that case, you can rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han; I received this information from the holy island, and it was revealed by Senior Ao Xiao of the demon race," the Long Family patriarch said.
Han Li was quite surprised to hear this, and he hurriedly asked, "Senior Ao Xiao went to the holy island?"
Chapter 2011: Unforeseen Circumstances
"Not only did Senior Ao Xiao go to the holy island, he's going to be staying there until the true battle against the devilish beings commences," the Long Family Patriarch said in a grim voice.
"So that means the rumors of the devilish patriarchs descending into our Spirit Realm are most likely true. In that case, all of our plans will be heavily affected," Han Li sighed.
"Indeed. We had already planned to enter the Elder Devil Realm after the most ferocious attacks from the devilish army had passed by, but if the devilish patriarchs are going to be descending into this realm, then things will be a lot more troublesome. When that time comes, Senior Ao Xiao, Senior Mo Jianli, and the holy island will be the keys to the battle. If our two races are defeated, then we'll have no choice but to flee and hand over this territory. As a result, our plan of entering the Elder Devil Realm will be completely thrown out the window.
"If we were to win the battle, then all of the devilish beings will retreat back to the Elder Devil Realm. If that happens, the spatial nodes will be rife with high-grade devilish beings, and that would also make it very difficult for us to sneak through. If the devilish patriarchs were to descend into our realm, then our risk would be reduced to a minimum. From that perspective, it's a very good thing for us that the devilish patriarchs are planning to descend into the Spirit Realm," the Long Family patriarch said with a wry smile.
"We can only think like that now. Have you informed our fellow daoists from the Spirit Race about this, Brother Long?" Han Li asked.
"It's not that easy to get into contact with the Spirit Race, so I haven't had time to tell them yet, but as long as we have no issues here, there shouldn't be any issues with them, either. The devilish beings aren't just targeting our human and demon races; they're targeting all o
f the nearby foreign races as well, so the decision that they make will most like be the same as ours," the Long Family patriarch said in a confident manner.
"I see. Would you be able to give me two days to ponder this issue before I get back to you?" Han Li asked after a brief pause for contemplation.
"Hehe, of course. I'll be returning to hear you reply in two days then, Fellow Daoist Han," the Long Family patriarch agreed with a smile.
"I'll be sure to give you a definitive answer in two days. However, prior to that, would you be able to tell me about what the devilish beings have been doing over on your end?" Han Li suddenly changed the subject.
The Long Family Patriarch nodded in response. "I don't know about what they're doing elsewhere, but our stronghold was attacked a few times by the devilish army. Thankfully, we were able to keep them at bay. However, if it weren't for the fact that the Holy Sovereign City had attracted the majority of the devilish army, our stronghold would've been in some peril. It seems that the devilish army in that area intends to focus its power on conquering the Holy Sovereign City, then wipe out the rest of the nearby human settlements. Fortunately, the Holy Sovereign City has managed to hold its own against the devilish army, and..."
Han Li listened intently to what the Long Family patriarch had to say and occasionally raised a few questions, all of which were answered by the Long Family patriarch to the best of his abilities.
Han Li was very pleased with this information, and the two of them chatted for a while longer before the Long Family patriarch departed.
Han Li accompanied him to the gate of the hall before suddenly asking in a seemingly nonchalant manner, "By the way, would you happen to know if Senior Ao Xiao is on the holy island by himself or if he's there with one of his descendants?"
"I'm not sure exactly who it is, but I heard that Senior Ao is indeed being accompanied by one of his descendants. Why do you ask, Fellow Daoist Han?" the Long Family patriarch asked with a peculiar look in his eyes.
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