Han Li's brows also furrowed slightly upon hearing this unexpected question.
"I don't want to disappoint all of you, but the situation is very urgent, and we'll only have time to do one of those things. On top of that, regardless of which option we choose, we have to focus all of our power on that one objective for any chance of success. This is why I haven't disclosed the situation at the original sealed site to you before this, Brother Jin," Xie Lian said as a wry smile appeared on her face.
"Hmph, so you're telling me that the arrival of these two gave you the confidence to disclose this information to us?" Jin Chai harrumphed in a displeased manner.
"Even if Fellow Daoist Han hadn't arrived, I would've disclosed the information to you in another month at most anyway. Us Sacred Ancestors are going to be meeting up in a month to discuss how to save our holy realm with all of our allies that have arrived from the other realms, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss that occasion," Xie Lian revealed.
"Fellow Daoist Xie Lian, regardless of what our objectives are, I think it would be better if you disclose the situation in the original sealed site first before we make our decision," Han Li said.
Chapter 2220: The Truth
"I agree with Fellow Daoist Han there," Jin Chai chimed in in agreement.
"I'm naturally willing to disclose the situation in the original sealed site to all of you, but in reality, even the information that I have is rather vague and inconclusive," Xie Lian said after a brief hesitation.
"What do you mean by that? Surely you know what's going on. Otherwise, why haven't you taken any action?" Jin Chai asked as his expression darkened slightly.
"Please don't misunderstand, Brother Jin. While it's true that we haven't taken any action after we lost contact with the original sealed site, that's only because of a piece of information that we received from the site," Xie Lian replied with a wry smile.
A smile appeared on Jin Chai's face upon hearing this. "I knew all of the Grand Ascension Stage fellow daoists in the original sealed site would be able to send some information to the outside world somehow."
"Don't celebrate too early, Brother Jin; this piece of information is very vague, and was sent out by Fellow Daoist Yuan Yan in a rushed manner using a rare secret technique. The message states that due to a sudden turn of events, the Stemborer Queen was able to break through most of the restrictions in the ancient seal, and that it was somehow able to utilize a part of the seal's power to seal everyone in the original sealed site. However, the Stemborer Queen is still restricted by the seal and unable to leave the area.
"Furthermore, it's expended a significant amount of its power and had to fall into hibernation again. The stemborers that have appeared in our holy realm were contaminated by the Stemborer Queen's aura, which it unintentionally released during its slumber," Xie Lian revealed.
"So you're saying that all of our fellow daoists have been trapped in the ancient seal. Just how fearsome is this ancient seal to be able to trap so many Grand Ascension Stage fellow daoists with just a part of its power?" Jin Chai exclaimed with an astonished expression.
"I don't know about that; all I know is that this is the only piece of information that was sent out of the original sealed site before all contact was cut off. It seems that the Stemborer Queen must've done something to make even Fellow Daoist Yuan Yan's secret technique ineffective before it went into hibernation," Xie Lian replied.
"I feel like you're hiding something, Fellow Daoist Xie Lian. According to what you just said, wouldn't it have made more sense if Sacred Ancestors outside of the original sealed site like yourself had taken action right away? Why would you wait until a month from now to meet up? On top of that, this doesn't explain why we can't simultaneously reseal the Stemborer Queen while also rescuing our brethren," Han Li countered.
Xie Lian's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this. "Do you know who was the first person to receive this information?"
"Who was it? Could it be someone other than one of the Sacred Ancestors outside the original sealed site?" Han Li asked.
"Hmph, it was none other than the person that you mistook me for earlier," Xie Lian harrumphed coldly in response.
"You mean Bao Hua?" Han Li was quite surprised to hear this.
"That's right, she was the one who received the information first, and it's most likely because Yuan Yan thinks only Bao Hua is capable of saving them," Xie Lian said with a dark expression.
"So you're saying it was Bao Hua who convinced all of you to wait until now, and that it was impossible to simultaneously stop the Stemborer Queen while rescuing our brethren," Han Li mused as his brows furrowed slightly in a contemplative manner.
"Looks like you're quite familiar with that twin sister of mine, Fellow Daoist Han. Indeed, she gathered all of us remaining Sacred Ancestors and displayed Yuan Yan's message to us for verification. Otherwise, we wouldn't have listened to her instructions, seeing as she isn't even one of the three patriarchs anymore. The final part of the message sent out by Yuan Yan was very ambiguous, and according to Bao Hua, it states that the Stemborer Queen was somehow able to draw upon a part of the seal's power to trap everyone, but there's an effective period due to instability.
"The power of the seal will be at its weakest in several decades, but it's also when the restrictions of the original sealed site will be the most potent against the Stemborer Queen. As such, that will be the perfect opportunity for us to reseal the Stemborer Queen or rescue Yuan Yan and the others. As for why those objectives can't be simultaneously achieved, that's something that Bao Hua proposed. As soon as she received Yuan Yan's message, she had ventured into the original sealed site to investigate, and that was the conclusion she had arrived at.
"As for whether this conclusion is accurate or not, that'll be for all of you to judge when the time comes. However, all of us Sacred Ancestors think that it should be accurate. All of us have guarded the original sealed site at some point, and we're all very familiar with the ancient seal. Bao Hua does indeed possess incredible powers, but it's very unlikely that she'd be able to fool us in this aspect. On top of that, we can't think of any motive for Bao Hua to hatch a plot like this. After all, she's also a member of our holy realm, and she wouldn't just stand by idly and watch as our realm falls into peril," Xie Lian elaborated.
Jin Chai and Shi Ding exchanged an astonished glance upon hearing this. It was clear that what Xie Lian had revealed was quite a surprise to them, and they needed some time to process this information.
Meanwhile, Han Li pondered the situation for a moment before breaking the silence.
"If the information was provided by Fellow Daoist Bao Hua, then it should be accurate. However, seeing as Fellow Daoist Bao Hua was able to venture into the original sealed site, surely you and the other Sacred Ancestors would be able to do the same."
"If we could venture into the original sealed site to investigate, we would've naturally done so at all costs. However, Bao Hua's intrusion had already alerted the Stemborer Queen. Even though the Stemborer Queen is hibernating, the insect swarms surrounding the original sealed site became more than 10 times as fearsome. There are some extremely formidable stemborers among them that even Sacred Ancestors wouldn't dare to engage in battle. As such, our hands are completely tied," Xie Lian said as a hint of fear surfaced in her eyes.
"There are stemborers too fearsome even for Grand Ascension Stage beings? Are these the high-grade stemborers with Body Integration Stage powers?" Jin Chai asked.
Xie Lian immediately shook her head in response. "No, it's another type of crimson stemborer that's no more than a foot in length. These stemborers have never appeared anywhere else in our holy realm, and they've only been seen around the original sealed site. Even in those areas, they're extremely rare. At the very most, there are only less than 2,000 of them in total."
Jin Chai's eyes widened with shock upon hearing this. "Could it be that these stemborers possess Grand Ascension Stage powers? Otherwise, how can t
hey threaten you with such pitiful numbers?"
"That's not the case. Judging from their auras alone, those stemborers are only at the Spatial Tempering Stage, and they only possess two abilities. However, two abilities almost killed the two fellow daoists who had previously tried to venture into the original sealed site, and none of us dared to try again," Xie Lian replied with a wry smile.
Han Li's pupils contracted drastically upon hearing this. "They almost killed two Sacred Ancestors with just two abilities? May I ask what those abilities are?"
"It's very simple; one of them is instantaneous teleportation, while the other is self-detonation," Xie Lian replied.
A hint of enlightenment appeared in Han Li's eyes upon hearing this, but he continued, "There must be additional conditions attached to those abilities, right? Otherwise, they still wouldn't be able to pose such a major threat to Grand Ascension Stage beings."
"Indeed. The instantaneous teleportation of those stemborers is unavoidable. As soon as they catch sight of you, they'll immediately appear right beside you, and no treasures or abilities can keep them out. On top of that, once they self-detonate, no abilities or treasures can protect the target, so the force of the explosion can only be withstood using one's physical body. What's most damning of all is that the force of the explosions is somehow able to contaminate our souls, thereby inflicting severe injuries on all of our clones as well. Some of our clones with less powerful souls may even perish on the spot in the face of those explosions," Xie Lian explained with a grim expression.
"Even the souls of your clones were affected?" Jin Chai was astonished to hear this, as was Han Li.
"I'm sure you know why these stemborers are so fearsome now; even Bao Hua only managed to conduct a brief investigation before she was driven out by the swarms of stemborers," Xie Lian chuckled coldly.
At this point, it was clear to everyone that Xie Lian and Bao Hua didn't seem to be on good terms with one another.
"Will you be able to find a way to counter these new stemborers during the meeting that's going to be held in a month?" Han Li asked.
"You're a smart man, Brother Han. We chose to delay this operation to allow more powerful beings to arrive from other realms in order to bolster our forces, as well as to wait for Bao Hua to refine two types of special treasures that can counteract these self-detonating stemborers. According to Bao Hua, those two types of treasures will be able to nullify the explosions," Xie Lian replied.
Chapter 2221: Meeting
"So Fellow Daoist Bao Hua has already devised a plan. In that case, we should have some decent chances. How many beings from other realms will be able to arrive for the meeting," Jin Chai asked.
"Aside from the Black Flame Realm, all of the neighboring realms have sent more powerful beings into our holy realm. Even though the numbers are less than what was sent into our holy realm the first time, there are still over 40 in total. The most powerful realm among them, the Heavenly Crow Realm, sent nine Grand Ascension Stage beings on this occasion, including even the legendary Old Man Copper Crow," Xie Lian replied.
Jin Chai immediately drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. "Old Man Copper Crow? Isn't he one of the vastly renowned four great birds? Even he's arrived in this realm?"
"Looks like you've heard of him, Brother Jin. That makes sense, considering Fellow Daoist Copper Crow is more renowned in the other realms than even the three patriarchs of our realm. However, it's said that he only came to our holy realm as one of the beings trapped in the original sealed site is an extremely important direct lineal descendant of his, so he had no choice but to come," Xie Lian replied.
"It's quite surprising that someone as powerful as Old Man Copper Crow would take such a risk for a mere descendant," Jin Chai said as he rubbed his own bald head.
"Apparently, Old Man Copper Crow only has one direct lineal descendant, and he expended countless efforts and precious resources to nurture that descendant to the Grand Ascension Stage, so he naturally couldn't just abandon that descendant," Xie Lian replied.
"I see. Come to think of it, if I had a Grand Ascension Stage descendant, I'd also hold them in extremely high regard," Jin Chai chuckled.
Han Li pondered the situation in silence for a short while, then said, "Brother Xie and I will definitely be attending this meeting; please inform us when the time comes, Fellow Daoist Xie Lian."
"Of course. Once the date arrives, I'll send a message to all three of you," Xie Lian replied without any hesitation.
"In that case, we'll be taking our leave now," Han Li said as he immediately rose to his feet.
Daoist Xie and Silvermoon also stood up upon seeing this, clearly following Han Li's lead.
"Why are you in such a hurry, Brother Han? Our Sky Facing Peak produces a few types of special spirit fruits; why not have some before you leave?" Xie Lian said with a smile.
"There's no need for that; I'm sure there will be other opportunities in the future," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a parting salute. He then swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of golden light that enveloped all three of them before departing from the palace.
Xie Lian didn't say anything further upon seeing this, but her brows furrowed ever so slightly.
"Haha, looks like this Fellow Daoist Han has no intention of befriending a Sacred Ancestor like you. That's no surprise considering a battle has just taken place between your Elder Devil Realm and the Spirit Realm," Jin Chai chortled.
"The relationship between our holy realm and the Spirit Realm is not for you to comment on, Fellow Daoist Jin. Now that Fellow Daoist Han has agreed to attend the meeting, what are your plans, Brother Jin?" Xie Lian asked.
"We'll be attending as well, of course. However, we have no interest in living without a roof over our heads, so we'll have to stay here for some time," Jin Chai chuckled.
"Sure, I'd be honored to host you, and it's certainly fantastic news that you're willing to attend our meeting," Xie Lian said with a smile.
The two men were quite pleased to hear this, and right at this moment, several female servants strode into the hall, carrying platters of spirit fruits and fragrant spirit tea...
Meanwhile, Han Li and the others were flying through the air, and a short while later, they descended into a peaceful valley in the Myriad Flower Mountain Range.
Han Li raised a hand to release several giant ape puppets, which quickly dug out a temporary cave abode.
The trio entered the cave abode, then retired to their respective secret chambers to meditate.
Prior to attending the meeting organized by the Sacred Ancestors, there was nothing that the three of them could do or discuss.
Silvermoon was naturally still very concerned about Patriarch Ao Xiao, but at the same time, she was also very relieved to hear that he had merely been trapped, not killed.
A month was nothing more than the blink of an eye for cultivators like Han Li, and on this day, Han Li was meditating in his secret chamber when he suddenly opened his eyes before reaching out and making a grabbing motion with one hand.
A translucent white jade shard was grabbed out of thin air, and he immediately rubbed his hands together, upon which the jade shard shattered, releasing a ball of green flames.
Xie Lian's voice then rang out from within the flames. "The date has arrived, Brother Han. Please come to the Sky Facing Peak so we can set off together."
Han Li smiled upon hearing this, then snuffed out the flames before rising to his feet.
......
Around half a day later, Han Li's trio arrived in a small secret palace within the palace on the Sky Facing Peak.
Xie Lian, Jin Chai, Shi Ding, and two seductive women who appeared to be Xie Lian's disciples were already waiting for them there.
At the center of the palace was a faint silver formation that was around 10 feet in size, and it was flashing with faint spiritual light.
"This formation can teleport us to the nearest city, and after that, it'll only take us half a
month to get to the designated location," Xie Lian said.
"Alright, then let's go," Jin Chai said as he strode into the formation with Shi Ding without any inhibitions.
Faint spiritual light flashed, and the two of them disappeared.
Han Li's trio also made their way into the formation before being teleported away as well.
Xie Lian and her two disciples brought up the rear and were the last group to be teleported away.
......
Around half a month later, the central region of a boundless yellow desert suddenly began to quake violently, following which an ancient earthy yellow city emerged from underground.
The city was only several kilometers in size, but its walls were over 100 feet tall, and a series of armored warriors rushed onto the city walls amid bursts of dull drumming.
These expressionless armored warriors were all puppets, and there were over 10,000 of them, all of which were wielding different types of weapons.
At the center of the city stood a resplendent golden palace.
The palace was extremely beautiful, looking as if it were constructed from pure gold, and not only was its surface riddled with all types of profound devilish patterns, there were also countless fist-sized gems of different colors embedded onto its roof, creating an extremely spectacular sight to behold.
Shortly thereafter, a shrill cry suddenly rang out in the sky, and a pristine white beast-drawn carriage appeared in the distance amid a flash of white light.
The carriage was over 100 feet in length and was very aesthetically pleasing.
The entire carriage was completely translucent, and it was being drawn by four white wyrms.
A man and a woman stood side by side on the beast-drawn carriage.
The man looked to be in his forties and was wearing a long white robe with faint light surging all over his body.
As for the woman, she appeared to be in her twenties with a head of tall and voluminous hair and a set of beautiful facial features, wearing a suit of light blue armor.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1273