Chapter 1558: The High Priest

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The island was several hundred miles wide. Although these snake women moved incredibly fast, walking all the way to the island's center would likely take more than just a short while.

However, led by Yan Wu, after the group had advanced several miles inland, they came across a simple structure resembling a teahouse. Inside, a few male and female snake people were tending to more than a dozen lizard-like beasts. At one end of the tent, there was even a pitch-black carriage covered with an unknown black fabric.

As soon as the snake people saw the radiant woman approaching, two of them immediately came out and greeted her respectfully.

Yan Wu, however, gave a few faint instructions and then pointed to the black carriage.

The two snake people looked surprised and couldn't help but glance at Han Li. They then repeatedly nodded in agreement.

They immediately returned to the shed, hitched two of the lizard beasts to the black carriage, and brought three more.

Han Li was then carefully lifted into the black carriage by the snake women, and two snake women sat at the front. The other three rode individually on the lizard beasts.

Since these snake women did not have legs in their lower bodies, the lizard beasts had uniquely shaped, barrel-like saddles fixed to their backs, which allowed them to comfortably rest their snake tails inside.

The group immediately set off again.

These lizard beasts appeared somewhat clumsy and ran with exceptional bumpiness, but with each swing of their four legs, they could leap over twenty *zhang* (approximately 66 meters). Their speed was remarkably fast!

Consequently, the group's speed increased severalfold.

After just two hours, they arrived before an earthen city.

It was indeed a genuine earthen city!

It was not large, appearing to be only about ten miles in size. The city walls were dull gray, entirely constructed from light yellow earth. Looking through the gate into the city, one could see various earthen houses of different sizes, with very few stone buildings.

Han Li observed all this through the window, feeling somewhat surprised in his heart, but revealing no unusual expression on his face. Instead, he looked towards the dozen or so snake guards standing at the city gate.

These guards also had more females than males. Each of them was covered in armor made of an unknown material, held gleaming silver halberds, and carried shorter silver trident spears and other throwing weapons on their backs, appearing fully armed. From a distance, many armed snake people could be vaguely seen standing atop the nearby earthen walls.

The security seemed exceptionally strict!

Upon reaching the city gate, Yan Wu stopped her lizard beast and then leaped down.

From among the gate-keeping snake people, a valiant female snake person immediately stepped out and greeted the priestess with a smile.

The priestess was also exceptionally pleased to see the other party, stepping forward and speaking cheerfully. However, shortly after, she pointed towards the carriage behind her, and her expression suddenly turned solemn.

The gate-keeping female snake person likewise ceased smiling and nodded. Then she waved her hand behind her, and immediately the guards behind her cleared a path.

Thus, the radiant snake woman again mounted her lizard beast and, with the black carriage, entered the earthen city.

Seated inside the carriage, Han Li continuously observed everything in the earthen city.

Although the earthen city was not large, its main street was exceptionally wide and paved with light-colored stones. This stood in stark contrast to the surrounding earth-yellow houses, making it strikingly conspicuous.

Many snake people were walking to and fro on both sides of the street.

The males were all strong and robust, and the females were also exceptionally agile, most of them carrying weapons. Even some young snake people, only a few feet tall, carried spears and forks, though these were much smaller in size and appeared to be made of ordinary hardwood.

Upon seeing this, Han Li couldn't help but ponder.

Although it was the first time he had heard of the 'Juan' race, it was clear that its people embodied a 'nation of soldiers' ethos. He wondered if there were many cultivators among them. If the proportion of cultivators was astonishingly high, combined with the strength of their ordinary tribesmen, this race should be quite powerful. Yet, how could he have never heard of such a formidable foreign race?

Han Li also noticed that there were clearly many more female snake people than male snake people in the Huoyang Tribe.

Throughout his observation, the number of female snake people he encountered on the streets was roughly more than twice that of males.

Furthermore, the color of the snake-like skin on the lower halves of these snake people also varied.

Light green and light yellow were the most common, but their status appeared to be the lowest. White and black were less common, and those with such colors were usually surrounded by other snake people, seemingly holding a certain status within the tribe. Han Li had also observed other colors among the snake people.

Han Li silently analyzed everything he saw from inside the carriage. Before long, the carriage was driven to a plaza paved with smooth stones. At one end of the plaza, a magnificent hall constructed from a mixture of wood and earth stood prominently. Its surface was adorned with a layer of colorful, shell-like decorations.

However, none of this captivated Han Li's attention. His gaze fell upon a peculiar object in the center of the plaza.

It was a conical object, seemingly made of bronze, about ten *zhang* tall, wider at the base and tapering to a point at the top. Its surface was covered with strange patterns, and a faint white light flickered from it.

Around this object stood seven or eight male and female snake people, all dressed in white robes, with faint spiritual light flickering in their hands.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and immediately saw these individuals inserting something into the bottom of the strange object. Although these were fist-sized blocks, they were colorful and variegated, and did not appear to be spirit stones.

These white-robed male and female snake people, like the radiant snake woman who led them, all exhibited spiritual energy fluctuations. However, in terms of cultivation, they were not as powerful as the radiant snake woman.

Nevertheless, as soon as the white-robed individuals saw Yan Wu and the procession, two of them immediately approached.

At this moment, Han Li was also carefully lifted down by the others and placed onto a bamboo chair found from an unknown source.

Han Li calmly observed the conversation of the people before him. Although he couldn't understand anything, it was clear that the two white-robed snake people held the radiant snake woman in considerable respect.

Just then, two rows of snake people, also clad in white robes, suddenly emerged from the hall across the plaza.

One row was female, the other male, and they slowly approached Han Li.

Upon seeing this sight, the radiant snake woman, who was speaking, and the other snake people in the plaza changed their expressions. They immediately moved to the side, their demeanor becoming respectful.

Once the two rows of white-robed snake people had taken their positions on either side, a red-robed individual emerged from within.

When Han Li saw this person, a hint of surprise flashed across his face.

It was actually an ordinary-looking, thin woman. Her lower body, astonishingly, consisted of two legs identical to those of a human, not a snake body.

What surprised Han Li even more was that he sensed Nascent Soul stage spiritual energy fluctuations from her.

This truly exceeded his expectations.

It was important to note that while the white-robed snake people in the plaza all had spiritual energy fluctuations, the highest cultivated among them was only a male snake person around the Foundation Establishment stage. The rest were mostly at the Qi Condensation stage, like the radiant snake woman.

Under such circumstances, for a high-level cultivator to suddenly appear, the disparity between them was simply too great.

After the woman's gaze swept over Han Li, she also revealed a look of surprise. However, she quickly composed herself a moment later and hurried over.

"This junior, Huo Yue, greets Senior Han!" The woman bowed deeply as soon as she reached Han Li, speaking in fluent Flying Spirit language.

"Are you the Great Priestess of the Huoyang Tribe?" Han Li's eyes flickered as he slowly asked.

"This junior is indeed! This is not the place to speak, Senior. How about you accompany me into the hall to converse?" the woman said with a smile.

"Very well. I have many questions I wish to ask you." Han Li surprisingly agreed without hesitation.

"Thank you for your presence, Senior! You few, quickly assist Senior into the main hall," the woman said, overjoyed, turning her head to instruct the white-robed snake women nearby.

Immediately, that row of snake women fell into a flurry. Two of them then rushed forward, carefully lifted the bamboo chair on which Han Li sat, and proceeded towards the hall.

The woman then waved her hand, and the others standing on either side followed closely behind.

A moment later, Han Li found himself in a simply decorated main hall within the temple.

Inside, Han Li and the woman were seated, while all other white-robed snake people, male and female alike, stood respectfully with their hands at their sides.

"Senior, with such inconvenience in your movement, I hope your body is not severely harmed. This junior has some Blood-Qi Pills I refined myself, which can nourish vitality and replenish qi. Would Senior like to take some?" the woman asked respectfully once she had settled down.

"No need. I just encountered a minor issue in my cultivation. I'll be fine after some time," Han Li said, glancing at the woman with a faint, enigmatic smile.

"Hehe, then this junior can rest assured. I previously received a message from Wu'er saying that Senior wished to ask me some questions. May I know what doubts Senior has? This junior will certainly tell you everything I know," the woman said with a dry chuckle, suddenly changing the subject.

"Oh, I'd like to know what sea region this place is in, and if there are any well-known fellow cultivators nearby," Han Li said after a brief moment of thought.

Hearing Han Li's question, the woman's expression, though natural, showed a hint of surprise, but she replied truthfully:

"This is the Huohu Coral Archipelago. There aren't any particularly powerful fellow Daoists nearby, at most they are at the same cultivation level as this junior."

"Huohu Coral Archipelago? Do you have a map of the nearby sea region?" Han Li asked, frowning slightly upon hearing such an unfamiliar place name.

"Of course, I do. However, my maps are inscribed with the script of the Nu Nai clan. Perhaps Senior could first learn their language and script, and then you would understand the sea map," the woman said with a smile, blinking her eyes.

"Hmm, that works too." Han Li frowned slightly, then nodded after a moment. Although the remnant divine sense in his mind couldn't be released outside his body, reading jade slips and similar objects was naturally still not an issue.

Upon hearing this, the woman's face showed a compensatory smile. She immediately touched her hand to her body, and with a flash of spiritual light, she produced a dark, gleaming stone tablet from an unknown place and threw it towards Han Li.

After such a long period of rest, although Han Li's body had recovered a trace of spiritual power, his limbs still felt weak and powerless.

His gaze swept over the stone tablet; it indeed resembled a jade slip-like object. He merely opened his mouth, and immediately, a stream of green light erupted, coiling around and drawing the jade slip to his forehead. He was about to close his eyes to examine its contents.

But just then, with a muffled 'bang,' the stone tablet suddenly burst apart. A cloud of ink-black mist dispersed, instantly enveloping Han Li.

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