Chapter 1695: Tiangang Seal

Outside the cave, more than a dozen non-human beings were waiting.

Four individuals in yellow robes, all at the Void Refinement stage, led the group. The rest were armored guards holding silver lances, appearing to be on high alert.

“Fellow Daoist Han, our brothers have been ordered by Senior Qianjizi to escort you to the meeting point,” said one of the yellow-robed men, clasping his fist as soon as he saw Han Li emerge from the cave.

“Then I shall trouble you all,” Han Li replied calmly, without showing any surprise.

Previously, only a select few high-ranking officials in Cloud City knew that he was the one who activated the Guanghan Token. However, with the imminent opening of the Guanghan Realm, it was likely that many more people now knew his identity.

Qianjizi, naturally, feared someone might cause trouble, kidnap him, or eliminate him at this crucial time, which explained the elaborate escort.

The yellow-robed man smiled upon hearing Han Li's words and waved a hand to the armored guards behind him. Immediately, the more than ten guards, who had been standing side-by-side, split apart, revealing a spirit carriage shimmering with a faint blue light. Pulling the carriage were two enormous azure birds with emerald green feathers, exceptionally beautiful. It was clear at a glance that this spirit carriage was no ordinary item. Seeing this, Han Li politely stepped into the carriage.

The four yellow-robed non-human beings also flew onto the carriage, skillfully positioning themselves at its four corners, effectively shielding Han Li completely.

With several clear cries, the two azure birds spread their wings, propelling the spirit carriage skyward. The silver-armored guards, in turn, each released a silver disc and, stepping onto their artifacts, ascended to follow. Moments later, the blue spirit carriage was soaring hundreds of feet in the air, speeding towards a specific location within Cloud City.

Evidently, the entire Cloud City was on high alert. Not only were pedestrians unusually scarce throughout the city, but patrols of armored guards of various types were visible everywhere, both on the ground and in the air.

Han Li also noticed faint fluctuations of restrictions emanating from certain areas that were typically quite important, suggesting that some formations and restrictions had been activated.

It seemed the Cloud City high-ranking officials were truly attaching immense importance to the opening of the Guanghan Realm.

The spirit carriage flew unimpeded, encountering no unexpected incidents along the way, and directly brought them near the inn where Han Li had activated the Guanghan Token that day.

This area was now completely sealed off by layer upon layer of dense restrictions. From a distance, dozens of enormous pillars, each a hundred zhang tall, could be seen towering within these restrictions, forming a circle. Everything within a radius of more than ten li, centered around the inn, was encompassed by this perimeter.

These pillars emitted multicolored spiritual light, forming a five-colored barrier in the air that resembled a celestial curtain. This barrier completely obscured everything within, making it impossible for outsiders to discern anything inside.

However, upon approaching this area, it became clear that the number of vigilant armored guards here was at least ten times greater than elsewhere. The entire zone was virtually encircled by these guards.

Additionally, over a hundred unknown puppets, seven to eight zhang tall, some as black as ink and others fiery red, were stationed motionlessly at various points.

A flicker of surprise crossed Han Li's face as he observed all this.

The armored guards stationed here were, at minimum, cultivators at or above the Core Formation stage, with those at the Nascent Soul stage forming the majority.

As for auras at the Void Refinement stage, a quick sweep with his divine sense revealed two or three in the vicinity.

Not to mention the layers upon layers of restrictions that formed a comprehensive net around the area.

Clearly, the security here was exceptionally stringent.

The blue spirit carriage bore some identifying mark, as it flew unimpeded, encountering no inspections or obstructions from anyone along the way.

However, upon nearing the light barrier, several armored guards riding spirit beasts resembling giant wolves with wings on their backs flew directly out of the barrier to meet Han Li and his escort.

“Commander Tie, has Fellow Daoist Han arrived?” a man in blue armor, about fifty years old, asked loudly from the back of his giant wolf, spotting the blue spirit carriage from afar.

“Haha, Senior Qian must have asked Brother Hua to come out and greet us, right? Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Han is already in the carriage. Fellow Daoist Hua, please open the restrictions,” the yellow-robed man replied with a smile from within the spirit carriage.

“It’s best that nothing went wrong. I’ll open the restrictions now,” the man riding the giant wolf said upon hearing this.

He and the others then each retrieved an item from their pockets—restriction tokens—and waved them towards the light barrier they had just emerged from.

Immediately, several beams of light of different colors flashed from the tokens, shooting onto the light barrier and forming a light array about a zhang in size.

The nearby light barrier trembled slightly, then, with a buzzing sound, split open, creating a passageway.

However, multicolored light still flowed erratically within the passageway, giving it an extraordinarily mysterious appearance.

The yellow-robed man immediately urged the azure spirit birds at the front, and the spirit carriage flew directly into the passageway.

The welcoming party and the armored guards also quickly followed.

What appeared to be a single layer of light barrier passageway actually took the spirit carriage almost a meal’s time to traverse before the exit finally came into view.

Han Li was slightly startled by this.

This layer of light barrier actually contained spatial restrictions. If someone unaware of this tried to sneak in, they would be trapped for a while, no matter how clever their escape technique.

With such a prolonged delay, any infiltrator would have long since been discovered by those inside. Han Li pondered this, his thoughts racing.

Just then, the blue spirit carriage flew out of the exit. Before Han Li, everything suddenly brightened and came into view.

Below, he saw two enormous arrays, dozens of zhang in diameter. Their surfaces were inlaid with countless fist-sized crystals, and their edges were inscribed with intricate, mysterious patterns that shimmered with faint, multicolored light.

From a distance, they appeared exceptionally dazzling.

Between the two arrays, apart from a newly constructed hall covering several mu, there were no other buildings.

However, around both arrays and the large hall, figures moved about. Several thousand non-human beings had gathered there.

Most were armored guards responsible for vigilance, while the remaining hundreds wore diverse attire but were all high-level cultivators.

These individuals vaguely surrounded the two arrays and the hall, yet not a single person spoke.

However, as soon as Han Li’s blue spirit carriage flew out of the sky, many people below immediately spotted it and looked up.

The yellow-robed man, however, completely ignored their gazes. He simply maneuvered the spirit carriage in a circle in the air and landed it on a specially reserved open space in front of the hall.

Han Li’s gaze swept over the area and then he noticed another identical spirit carriage parked nearby, except that one was entirely white.

“Fellow Daoist Han, Senior Qianjizi and the others are waiting for you in the great hall. Our duty ends here,” the yellow-robed man said, clasping his fist courteously to Han Li as soon as the carriage stopped.

“Many thanks for the escort, Brother Tie,” Han Li replied with a faint smile, returning the gesture.

Then, with a flicker of his figure, he slowly floated down from the carriage. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he unhurriedly proceeded towards the hall.

The dozen or so armored guards stationed outside the hall, who had witnessed Han Li descending from the spirit carriage, merely observed him with curious gazes for a few moments, but did not step forward to question him.

Seeing this, Han Li naturally chose to ignore them and entered.

Passing through a corridor lined with armored guards, Han Li entered an extraordinarily spacious hall.

Inside, forty to fifty people were either sitting or standing, arranged in two rows.

On a chair in the center sat a fair-skinned young man in his twenties, who was none other than the youth surnamed Weng. Qianjizi, Duan Tianren, Cai Liuying, and seven or eight other Saint-stage cultivators were sparsely seated below them.

Behind these individuals were men and women of various appearances, all with strong auras, revealed to be at the peak of the Void Refinement stage.

As Han Li entered, Qianjizi was smiling and speaking to the young man surnamed Weng, while everyone else listened quietly.

The moment Han Li stepped into the hall, the gazes of most people immediately swept over to him.

“This junior greets all seniors,” Han Li said, bowing deeply to the elders with a composed demeanor, though he was inwardly surprised to see the young man surnamed Weng.

“Fellow Daoist Han, you’ve arrived. Excellent. The Guanghan Realm will open in a few hours. I’ll introduce you to your companions for the teleportation shortly,” Qianjizi said with a smile.

“Yes, this junior will follow all of Senior’s instructions,” Han Li replied, naturally not uttering a single word of dissent at this moment.

“You are the young friend Han who inadvertently activated the Guanghan Token?” the young man surnamed Weng asked suddenly, a faint hint of surprise flashing in his eyes after scanning Han Li’s body, as if he had discovered something.

“Reporting to Senior Weng, that would be this junior,” Han Li replied, bowing with utmost respect and not daring to be negligent.

“You recognize me?” The young man seemed somewhat surprised. “This junior was fortunate enough to witness Senior’s grandeur once at the Four-Race Auction,” Han Li replied honestly.

“The Four-Race Auction. I see. So, we have some connection. I observe that while your cultivation is only at the seventh stage of the Upper Race, your magical power and divine sense far exceed those of your peers by several times. I have a ‘Heavenly Fiend Seal’ here, a rare treasure I unexpectedly acquired in my early years. It consumes a considerable amount of magical power and spiritual sense to wield, but it is extremely useful for those below the Saint stage. It will be perfectly suited for your journey. Consider it a gift,” the young man surnamed Weng said, after observing Han Li closely for a few more moments and pondering briefly, uttering words that greatly surprised everyone else.

No sooner had he spoken than he flicked his sleeve, and a shimmering silver object flashed out, flying directly towards Han Li.

Han Li was startled at first, then both surprised and delighted. His thoughts raced, and he quickly expressed his gratitude aloud, reaching out with one hand to grasp the flying object.

A burst of green mist shot from his fingertips, instantly enveloping the object and pulling it into his hand.

He focused his gaze and saw that it was a small, ancient-looking silver seal, about five or six inches in size.

Turning the seal slightly, he saw three pea-sized purple characters engraved at the very bottom.

These were precisely the three ancient characters for “Heavenly Fiend Seal.”

This was a very rare ancient script. Fortunately, his past studies had been quite diverse, and he had coincidentally learned it, allowing him to recognize it at a glance.

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