Chapter 1692: Coming Visitor

"So fast."

"Now is hardly the right time for this to open."

In an instant, everyone in the hall stirred.

"Not long after the Glacial Medallion appeared, the Glacial Instrument showed signs. This is indeed somewhat different from before. Moreover, it's precisely the time when the Horned Chi Race is invading our Heaven Cloud, so we can't fully devote our attention to this. However, the opening of the Glacial Realm is an excellent opportunity for all races on our Thunderclap Continent to greatly increase their strength, and we certainly cannot neglect it. Therefore, how to prepare for this still requires all fellow Daoists and Senior Weng to decide together," Qian Jizi said with a serious expression.

"Fellow Daoist Qian is right. The attacks from the Horned Chi Race have already consumed most of our Yun City's energy. But fortunately, this isn't our first experience with the opening of the Glacial Realm. Even if it's opening earlier this time, there's no need to panic," the young man surnamed Weng said, nodding.

"Actually, the opening of the Glacial Realm mainly depends on the potential and fortune of the younger generation. All we can do is quickly finalize the entry list and set up the grand formation for entering this realm. This time, our thirteen clans didn't obtain many Glacial Medallions. We only have two preserved here in Yun City. In that case, we only need to prepare two formations. The other Glacial Medallions will naturally be handled by people from other places, so we don't need to worry about them," a burly man, whose body was dark as charcoal, said with a grin, in agreement.

"Indeed."

"However, we have many junior cultivators at the Void Refinement Peak in Yun City, so determining this list might be difficult."

"We must be wary of spies from the Horned Chi Race taking advantage of the situation; these two teleportation formations must be heavily guarded."

Some of those present looked pleased, while others frowned deeply, as they all began to speak.

The young man surnamed Weng listened to the comments from these Saint-level beings, a slight smile on his face. But after everyone had spoken, he turned to the Crystal Clan woman and asked:

"Fairy Cai, do you have anything to add?"

"All fellow Daoists have said enough. This humble one has nothing to add," the beautiful Crystal Clan woman replied with a smile after a moment of surprise.

"Hmm, in that case. The Glacial Realm will be prepared according to past custom this time as well. The specific list of junior cultivators who will enter will be decided by each of you upon your return. However, they must at least be late-stage peak cultivators. The guard on the teleportation formations must be increased by more than threefold, and the area within a ten-mile radius of the formations will be designated a restricted zone, prohibiting unauthorized individuals from approaching. Only the Eternal Clan knows how to set up these formations, so all of this will be entrusted to Fellow Daoist Qian and the other two," the young man surnamed Weng decided after some deliberation.

Qian Jizi and the two elders seated beside him naturally bowed and accepted the order.

"Oh, by the way, have you chosen the individuals to activate the Glacial Medallions?" the young man surnamed Weng suddenly asked, recalling another matter.

"The individual for one of the medallions has been confirmed, but the other one requires no preparation at all—it has already been activated," Qian Jizi replied after a moment of hesitation.

"If I'm not mistaken, to prevent any unforeseen incidents, the individuals who activate the Glacial Medallions are carefully chosen, and the activation ceremony is held at the very last moment. Why was it activated so early this time?" The young man surnamed Weng's expression darkened upon hearing this.

"Senior, please calm your anger. The situation with that particular Glacial Medallion is somewhat special; it was already activated when it was obtained. The matter is like this..." Qian Jizi then carefully recounted Han Li's story.

"Such a thing happened? So, this person is not from our Heaven Cloud, nor even from this continent?" The young man surnamed Weng was surprised after hearing this.

"Indeed. And our clans have also agreed to let him use the continental teleportation array once afterward. Of course, he'll need to provide the spirit stones consumed by the array himself," Qian Jizi replied honestly.

"The continental teleportation array isn't the main issue. The key is, is there anything problematic about this person himself?" The young man surnamed Weng's expression returned to normal, but he still asked, somewhat uneasy.

"Senior Weng, rest assured, there should be no problem with this person. Moreover, we are merely borrowing his power to enter the Glacial Realm. The entire process will be practically under our noses, so how could he possibly pull any tricks? As for after entering, they will act independently, so there will be even fewer issues," Qian Jizi said confidently.

"Since Fellow Daoist is so confident, and the Glacial Medallion has already been activated by this person, then let's drop the matter. Just instruct the others to discreetly monitor him a bit when the time comes," the young man surnamed Weng said, feeling it wasn't an issue, and finally nodded.

Qian Jizi naturally agreed readily.

"Fellow Daoist Lu and his group have sent back information that the Horned Chi Race has reinforced their troops at the front, adding as many as five or six Saint-level beings. Caught off guard, we've already had three cities breached and are largely at a disadvantage. It seems the Horned Chi Race intends to expand the scale of this war."

As soon as Qian Jizi and the other two had taken their seats, another Saint-level being with dark green skin stood up and reported another matter to the young man surnamed Weng.

"Hmph, immediately dispatch five Saint-level beings and over a thousand mid-to-high-level cultivators from the city to the front lines. If they want to escalate this war, our Heaven Cloud will certainly fight them to the end," the young man surnamed Weng commanded with a cold snort, without hesitation.

"Yes!"

For the remainder of the time, others also began reporting on other important matters.

Ultimately, this meeting, which gathered the highest-ranking beings of Yun City, lasted for nearly an hour before concluding.

After all the Saint-level beings left the hall, they immediately returned to their respective preparations.

Meanwhile, Han Li was still diligently cultivating in seclusion within his cave dwelling.

One year later, one day, Han Li suddenly emerged from his cave dwelling and left Yun City.

However, just half a day later, he mysteriously returned to the city and once again entered a secret chamber, not coming out.

Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, three years had gone by.

In the dimly lit secret chamber of Han Li's cave dwelling, three figures sat cross-legged on separate meditation mats.

One figure shimmered with golden light, its body covered in golden scales, appearing like pure gold. Another was enveloped in swirling black mist, its form exceptionally blurry and indistinct. The last one pulsed with purple light and had unusually verdant skin.

All three held different hand seals, yet remained perfectly still.

It was unclear how much time had passed when suddenly, the golden figure trembled and opened its eyes.

Two beams of dazzling blue light burst forth.

"What's going on? That person actually came to my door? Could it be..." the golden figure muttered to itself.

Then, with a sudden wave of his sleeve, a white light flew out and hovered motionless near the ceiling.

The void brightened considerably, and the white light illuminated all three figures with remarkable clarity.

The central, light-golden figure was precisely Han Li, his brow slightly furrowed as if contemplating something.

To one side, the purple-glowing, verdant-skinned figure had a face identical to Han Li's. Its eyes, however, were exceptionally clear, blinking as it gazed at Han Li himself, appearing extremely curious.

At this moment, a burst of Sanskrit chanting emanated from the black mist on the other side, and the mist slowly began to dissipate, revealing a three-headed, six-armed monstrous figure, resembling both a demon and a god.

This monster had three heads and six arms, stood two *zhang* tall (approx. 6.6 meters), and shimmered with golden light all over. However, only two of its faces were distinct; the third had no mouth or nose, making it somewhat horrifying to behold.

The eyes on the two distinct faces of this monstrous, golden statue-like figure twitched open on their own. Its pupils were deep and dark, seemingly capable of drawing one's mind into them.

"We have guests. You two continue with your cultivation. I'll go see them first," Han Li said, having finished his contemplation. With a flash of golden light, he transformed into a golden streak and shot towards a wall on one side of the secret chamber.

With just a flicker, the golden streak silently vanished into the wall.

A moment later, the previously tightly shut main door of the cave dwelling flashed with green light and slowly opened.

Han Li calmly stepped out.

"Greetings, Senior Cai. What brings you to my humble abode?" Han Li slightly bowed to the woman who had been waiting at the entrance of his cave dwelling and respectfully greeted her.

The woman, elegant in appearance and slender in build, was none other than Cai Liuying of the Crystal Clan.

"What, Fellow Daoist Han, do you not welcome this humble one?" the woman said with a charming smile.

"Senior must be joking. I'm honored that Senior Cai would visit my cave dwelling. And this fellow Daoist is..." Han Li naturally chuckled and said, but then his gaze shifted to another person standing behind her.

Standing behind Cai Liuying was another graceful woman, but she wore a white cloak, and her face was vaguely obscured by a shimmering crystal light, making it impossible to discern her features.

"She is my newly accepted disciple," the beautiful Crystal Clan woman said briefly, without elaborating further.

The graceful woman merely nodded, remaining silent. Seeing this, Han Li naturally refrained from asking further questions and simply invited the two into his cave dwelling to sit. Soon after, the three of them were seated in the main hall of Han Li's cave dwelling. A humanoid puppet, under Han Li's mental command, immediately served some spirit fruits and several cups of spirit tea.

The beautiful Crystal Clan woman, with considerable interest, personally sampled the spirit tea in her cup, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"Such potent spiritual energy! It seems these leaves must come from a tea tree over a thousand years old. Moreover, the tea tree itself is a rare species. Given that, this kind of spirit tea is rarely sold in Yun City," Cai Liuying couldn't help but exclaim in praise after tasting a few sips.

"Since Senior enjoys it, I have some more here. Please accept it as a humble offering from me," Han Li said with a smile upon seeing her reaction. He then swept his sleeve over the table, and an opaque white box appeared on the surface.

"Since Fellow Daoist puts it that way, I won't be modest and will accept it. I truly am quite fond of this tea," the beautiful Crystal Clan woman said with a smile, her eyes sparkling.