Chapter 1613: Invitation

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"In short, even though the Guanghan Realm contains numerous rare spiritual treasures, it still depends on whether you have the destiny to obtain them." A clear voice rang out from outside the great hall. Immediately, a white light shot directly towards the hall entrance. After the light receded, a middle-aged man in a dark robe appeared. He had long, narrow eyes, a pale face, and an aquiline nose. "Elder Ma, you arrived so quickly! I thought Brother Huang would be here first," Qianjizi said with a wide smile as soon as he saw the middle-aged man.

Han Li, already realizing that the newcomer was another Integration-stage elder of the Myriad Ancient Clan, hastily rose to greet him.

"Elder Huang is currently refining a batch of pills. Even if he received the news earlier than I did, he'll likely be delayed for a while. Is this fellow cultivator the outsider Elder Qian mentioned, the one who activated the Guanghan Token?" The middle-aged man, Elder Ma, scanned Han Li from head to toe and asked indifferently. "Yes, that would be me!" Han Li could only honestly admit. "Hmm, a fifth-tier higher-species cultivator. Your cultivation is quite formidable, Fellow Daoist. It seems to be more than twice as profound as others at the same level. I suspect even sixth or seventh-tier cultivators might not fare well against you." Elder Ma discerned the depth of Han Li's cultivation at a glance and pointed it out, though his intention was unclear. "My cultivation technique is somewhat unique, allowing me to gain a slight advantage in terms of magical power," Han Li replied, secretly startled but maintaining an extremely humble demeanor.

"It's more than just a slight advantage. If your opponents were to deliberately underestimate your magical power during a fight, they might inadvertently find themselves countered by you. Oh? Your spiritual sense also appears to be beyond what a typical higher-species cultivator possesses." Elder Ma, perhaps using some secret technique, let out a soft "Oh?" after a golden glow flashed across his face. He seemed to have seen seventy to eighty percent of the strength of Han Li's spiritual sense. Hearing this, Han Li could no longer remain composed. His expression involuntarily changed.

"Alright, Elder Ma. Your 'Spirit-Gazing' secret technique is indeed the best in our clan, so what you say must be true. However, this isn't anything strange. When Fellow Daoist Han rescued Master Jia, he single-handedly slew several cultivators of the same level in an instant. How could he be regarded as an ordinary higher-species cultivator?" The stout old man said, completely unsurprised. "Oh, I see. Then I, Ma, have been showing off in front of an expert. Please, Fellow Daoist, have a seat!" The middle-aged man chuckled upon hearing this and then sat down next to Qianjizi. Han Li's surprised expression finally vanished, and he sat down with a wry smile.

"Just now, I overheard you discussing the Guanghan matter from afar. It sounds like Fellow Daoist Han doesn't really understand the Guanghan Realm very well. Brother Qian, why do you always beat around the bush? You should just tell him the most important implications directly." As soon as Elder Ma sat down, he turned his head and spoke to Qianjizi, a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

"I was just about to tell Fellow Daoist Han, but then you, Brother Ma, arrived and interrupted me!" Qianjizi said, spreading his hands and looking slightly annoyed. "Haha, you're right. It seems I was a bit too abrupt just now." The middle-aged man laughed.

"Since Brother Ma is here, why don't you personally explain it to Fellow Daoist Han? After all, you personally entered the Guanghan Realm once back then; your explanation would be far better than mine." Qianjizi's eyes darted around, and he suddenly grinned.

"What is there to say? When I entered the Guanghan Realm back then, my fortune was quite ordinary. I didn't obtain any heaven-defying treasures or spiritual herbs there. The reason various clans place such importance on the Guanghan Heaven is merely because they value the astonishing spiritual energy within it. They hope that many clan members whose cultivation has reached a bottleneck and haven't broken through for a long time can use the spiritual energy there to achieve breakthroughs. If I hadn't made that trip back then, I wouldn't have my current cultivation." The middle-aged man shook his head, his expression turning somewhat strange. "Using the spiritual energy within to break through bottlenecks!" Han Li exclaimed, quite surprised to hear this.

"Precisely. As for the various spiritual treasures in the Guanghan Realm, they are relatively secondary; whether one obtains them depends entirely on individual fortune. Back then, I only obtained some very ordinary spiritual herbs and practically came out empty-handed. However, I've heard that others acquired some extremely rare refining materials and used them to forge several Spirit-Communing Treasures." Elder Ma sighed, seemingly filled with regret.

"Haha, you should be content. The fact that you were sent by the clan to enter the Guanghan Palace back then must have made countless peers envious. At the very least, I never had such an opportunity to enter." The stout old man glared at the middle-aged man and said, clearly displeased.

"If I, Ma, had a heaven-defying talent like Brother Qian, who broke through the Saint-tier bottleneck in just over a thousand years, I naturally wouldn't need to enter the Guanghan Realm either. You should know very well that the Guanghan Realm is not a peaceful place," Elder Ma replied indifferently.

"That's true. Each time the Guanghan Tokens appear in Thunderclap Continent, there are hundreds of them, and how many people each token can bring inside depends on the capabilities of the teleportation arrays arranged. Our Heavenly Cloud clan has always been responsible for this, but our maximum capability is only for one token to allow a dozen or so people to enter. However, I've heard there are a few clans particularly skilled in teleportation array restrictions that can allow one token to bring in over thirty people. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to obtain their array diagrams. Otherwise, we could also allow more people to enter the Guanghan Realm. But with so many people entering each time, the chaos within the Guanghan Realm is imaginable," the stout old man said, frowning.

"The worst part is that the teleportation location for each token is random. If, by chance, one is teleported to the same area as hostile races, a fierce battle is naturally unavoidable. Everyone knows that breaking through a bottleneck inside can increase the chance of success by at least thirty percent. Naturally, we wouldn't allow our rival clans to gain so many additional high-level cultivators." Elder Ma seemed to be explaining to Han Li, yet also speaking to himself. Han Li's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this.

"Not only that, but in the later stages, robbing and killing for treasures is rampant. However, these aren't the most dangerous aspects of the Guanghan Realm; the greatest trouble lies within the Guanghan Realm itself. Although no one has ever seen a true immortal in the Guanghan Realm, there are incredibly powerful ancient beasts within it, each one beyond the ability of any entering cultivator to contend with. If you encounter one with a good temper, simply fleeing far away will suffice. But if you encounter a ferocious beast, you can only pray for your life. Furthermore, the Guanghan Realm contains numerous terrifying restrictions, suspected to be left behind by immortals. If one accidentally strays into them, survival is highly unlikely. Therefore, fewer than half of those who enter typically emerge alive," Qianjizi added. Han Li's expression involuntarily darkened. After a long moment, he finally asked, "May I ask, esteemed Elders, when was the Guanghan Realm discovered, and how were these Guanghan Tokens found?"

"That question actually seems to stump both of us. The exact era when the Guanghan Realm appeared isn't clear, but it was certainly discovered by various clans in ancient times. It's said that during a crucial battle between the clans, several Profound Heavenly Treasures were used. As a result, the combined power of these Profound Heavenly Treasures unintentionally shattered the void, opening a passage to this realm. As for how these Guanghan Tokens appeared, that's genuinely unclear. It's as if the tokens emerged simultaneously with the Guanghan Realm itself. Initially, there were over a thousand Guanghan Tokens, but after so many years, most of them have been destroyed, leaving only this many," the stout old man slowly explained.

"The method for entering and exiting the Guanghan Realm is also quite peculiar. While entry requires a teleporter to assist with the token, to leave, one must abandon the token within the Guanghan Realm. Then, when it reopens after more than ten thousand years, these tokens reappear in various mysterious ways across the Thunderclap Continent. Moreover, these tokens cannot transport beings above the Saint-tier; even the elders of various clans cannot enter the Guanghan Realm. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so troublesome. However, I'd like to know how you obtained the token in your possession, Fellow Daoist Han." Elder Ma's eyes glinted sharply as he stared at Han Li, his voice suddenly devoid of emotion. Han Li's heart gave a slight jump, but he calmly replied:

"This Guanghan Token, as it happens, was obtained from a fellow Daoist of your esteemed clan, someone named Yuan. At the time, the city where several of us were located was besieged by the Horned Chi Clan. This Fellow Daoist Yuan gave three jade boxes to the other three of us. He told us to take them and break through the encirclement to escape for our lives. He said that we could give the item to any of the Thirteen Heavenly Cloud Clans, and if there was absolutely no hope of breaking through, we could destroy the jade box directly. Out of curiosity, I opened the box earlier, unexpectedly activating this token by chance."

"A Yuan-named person! So this token is indeed one of those obtained by the clan member responsible for Greenlight City." Qianjizi showed no surprise at all; instead, he nodded faintly, as if he had already guessed the token's origin. Seeing this, Han Li's heart secretly tightened. At this moment, the middle-aged man beside him spoke, his expression sinking: "Recently, the clans in Cloud City haven't received news of any other Guanghan Tokens. So, it means the other tokens have all fallen into the hands of the Horned Chi Clan, and the others failed to break through!"

"It seems so. Reportedly, two Saint-tier beings led the assault, even deploying a fortress-class war vessel. For Fellow Daoist Han to escape with a token is already an extreme stroke of luck," Qianjizi said with a light sigh.

"In that case, it's rather troublesome. Our thirteen clans now collectively possess only seventeen or eighteen tokens, far fewer than before. With this ebb and flow, the number of Horned Chi Clan members entering the Guanghan Realm will greatly increase," Elder Ma said, his expression subtly changing.

"There's nothing we can do about it. All discoverable Guanghan Tokens have already been collected by now. When it was reported earlier that five more tokens were discovered, I thought our clan had gained a great opportunity, but I never expected the Horned Chi Clan to launch an attack at that very moment, preventing us from transferring them in time, which led to this situation," Qianjizi murmured, his eyes narrowed, sighing softly.

"Since matters have come to this, there's no use saying more. Fellow Daoist Han, when the Guanghan Realm opens this time, I'm afraid you'll also be making the journey with the selected individuals from our Myriad Ancient Clan." Elder Ma nodded, then suddenly turned to Han Li and stated plainly, his tone full of undeniable authority.

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