Chapter 2256: Copper Crow Elder

As a gigantic, dark green lotus appeared on the horizon, the figures of Han Li, Xie Lian, Jin Cha, and others emerged upon it.

“So this is the meeting place. Old Monster Yellow Sand truly found a good spot, didn't he?” Han Li surveyed the yellow earthen city not far away and suddenly said with a smile, his tone making it impossible to tell if he was praising or mocking.

Upon hearing this, Xie Lian chuckled softly and replied, “Fellow Daoist Huang’s Earth-Quian Demonic Art is considered the foremost earth-attribute demonic art in our Holy Realm. As long as he is in the desert, he can even hold his own against Patriarchs like Baohua for a while. Furthermore, Old Monster Huang has always been a lone wolf, never easily associating with others. Holding the gathering here naturally puts other fellow Daoists at ease.”

“So that’s the reason. No wonder the meeting place is at his cave abode. This earthen city itself is just an ordinary spiritual treasure, but these tens of thousands of puppets are quite extraordinary. Each one possesses the strength of a Void Refinement stage cultivator, which truly surprises me.” Jin Cha’s gaze swept over the puppet warriors, and a rare hint of solemnity appeared on his face.

“Fellow Daoist Huang’s Earth-Quian Divine Guards are unique puppets he developed himself. Both their creation and control require the Earth-Quian Demonic Art as a foundation. However, these Earth-Quian Divine Guards can only exert their true power on the ground; their strength drops by almost half once they leave sandy soil. Yet, as long as these puppets are in an environment rich in earth elemental energy, they are very difficult to truly destroy, making them excellent guardians. Even for us Grand Ascension stage old ancestors, annihilating so many of these puppets all at once would be quite troublesome.” Xie Lian giggled as she explained.

“Indeed. Creatures with near-immortal bodies are always extremely annoying opponents.” This time, Jin Cha nodded repeatedly in strong agreement.

As they conversed for a brief moment, the dark green giant lotus carried them above the earthen city and slowly descended.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Han Li’s gaze swept over the gleaming golden palace gate, and a hint of surprise flashed across his face.

Despite his powerful divine sense, he couldn't directly penetrate the golden palace before him, which showed how extraordinary this object was. It was likely one of Old Monster Yellow Sand’s most cherished treasures.

Xie Lian, acting as if the host, greeted Han Li and Jin Cha’s groups, then led her two female disciples into the palace gate first.

“Let’s go,” Han Li said with a faint smile, then walked over with Daoist Crab and Yin Yue.

Jin Cha, who had previously acted without restraint, showed a hint of hesitation on his face after carefully scrutinizing the golden palace.

But at that moment, the brawny man with disheveled hair beside him stepped forward directly, expressionless.

Jin Cha was momentarily stunned, but then followed with a wry smile.

The moment he stepped through the palace gate, Han Li suddenly felt a ripple of restrictions beneath his feet, and a burst of green light shot out from below, enveloping him, Daoist Crab, and Yin Yue.

Yin Yue was startled; spiritual light flickered around her body, and she was about to use a divine ability to counter. But at that moment, Han Li’s gentle voice sounded in her ear.

“Don’t be afraid, this restriction bears no ill will.”

Upon hearing Han Li’s words, Yin Yue immediately felt at ease, and the spiritual light around her body dispersed.

After the green light intensified, the surroundings blurred again, and the three of them vanished from the palace gate.

The next moment, in a resplendent, mysterious grand hall, a pale green light formation flashed into existence, and Han Li and his two companions reappeared.

Dozens of gazes, sharp as blades, instantly fell upon Han Li and his companions, and a few murmurs of surprise immediately arose.

“Oh, human cultivators!” “Isn’t that the Golden Crab from the Demonic Abyss Sea?”

Han Li heard these remarks but calmly swept his gaze around the surroundings.

He saw that the three of them were conspicuously at the center of the grand hall, surrounded by over a hundred figures of varying heights, grouped in small clusters.

These individuals were divided into more than thirty groups, scattered around the hall.

A small portion of them sat on chairs, while the rest stood respectfully to the side.

Xie Lian had already made her way to a corner of the hall, found a chair, and sat down, her two female disciples standing respectfully behind her.

“Fellow Daoist Han, Brother Crab, please have a seat.” No sooner had Xie Lian sat down than she smiled sweetly at Han Li.

Han Li nodded, and after sweeping his gaze over the spots where the murmurs had originated, he led Daoist Crab and Yin Yue towards another corner of the hall and sat down.

The moment Han Li sat down, seven or eight divine senses unceremoniously swept over him.

Han Li’s expression darkened, and a cold snort suddenly escaped his nostrils.

The snort was not loud! However, the owners of those divine senses immediately felt a ringing in their ears, their souls trembling involuntarily, as if directly shaken.

These divine sense owners felt a chill in their hearts and immediately retracted their divine senses, daring not to probe Han Li any further.

Seeing this, the other Grand Ascension cultivators looked at Han Li with a hint of surprise and couldn't help but hold him in higher regard.

At this moment, Jin Cha and the brawny man with disheveled hair also flashed into existence in the hall. After surveying their surroundings as well, their gazes paused slightly on Han Li, then they walked over with a hearty laugh and sat down on two other available chairs nearby.

In this manner, almost every so often, Grand Ascension stage cultivators were directly teleported into the hall.

These Grand Ascension cultivators appeared either alone, with other Grand Ascension cultivators, or accompanied by their disciples.

In just a few hours, nearly half of the previously vacant chairs had found occupants.

During this time, the old monsters present either sat motionless with their eyes slightly closed or observed the other Grand Ascension cultivators in the hall with faint, enigmatic smiles, but none took the initiative to speak.

Han Li also unceremoniously surveyed the other Grand Ascension cultivators present.

Aside from the two Grand Ascension cultivators from the White Light Realm, including Jin Cha, most of those seated were powerful individuals from other realms; some had shimmering light around them, others had indistinct forms, or extremely strange auras.

These old ancestors were clearly quite formidable, even among Grand Ascension cultivators.

Apart from Xie Lian, there were five or six other Grand Ascension cultivators whose demonic qi soared to the sky; they were clearly also Holy Ancestors of the Holy Realm. Their numbers were indeed far fewer compared to the powerful individuals from other realms present.

Among these Holy Ancestors, Baohua’s figure was not seen; evidently, this former Progenitor of the Demon Realm had not yet arrived.

However, a yellow-haired old man sitting on a chair with eyes closed in meditation drew some of Han Li’s attention.

This old man had an ordinary face, a head full of yellow hair, and wore a gray robe. A ring of earthen mist slowly floated up and down around him, indicating a masterful control over earth-attribute elemental energy.

Clearly, this was the host of the place: Old Monster Yellow Sand, one of the Holy Ancestors of the Demon Realm.

He had indeed cultivated his earth-attribute demonic art to its peak.

Seeing this scene, Han Li’s eyes narrowed slightly, lost in thought.

A little while later, the light formation in the center of the hall suddenly flashed, and nine figures appeared simultaneously.

Each of these figures exuded a powerful aura, and all were Grand Ascension stage old monsters.

So many Grand Ascension cultivators teleporting in at once naturally caused another stir among the old ancestors present.

Many Grand Ascension old ancestors narrowed their eyes and carefully observed these nine individuals.

Han Li also swept his gaze over them.

He saw that these nine individuals were a mix of men and women, old and young, all with cold expressions. They were clad in various colored battle armor, but the armor was extremely peculiar in shape, appearing as if made from countless individual feathers woven together.

Among these Grand Ascension cultivators, eight of them stood at the outer edge of the light formation, while a gloomy, dove-faced old man stood right in the center.

The old man’s aura seemed similar to the others, but after he coldly swept his gaze around, anyone who met his eyes involuntarily shivered, experiencing the bizarre sensation of their soul instantly freezing.

The expressions of all the Grand Ascension old ancestors changed, and they couldn't help but show a hint of fear in their gaze towards the dove-faced old man.

Someone even whispered, “Old Man Copper Raven,” and dared not say anything more.

The dove-faced old man, surrounded by the other eight Grand Ascension cultivators, unceremoniously claimed an entire corner of the hall.

Seeing this, the other few Grand Ascension cultivators nearby, their expressions changed again, but they subconsciously avoided looking at the dove-faced old man too much.

After the nine Grand Ascension cultivators from the Sky Crow Realm arrived and a few more individuals entered the hall, it was clear that almost all of the Holy Realm demons and powerful individuals from other realms, who had been expected, had arrived.

But Baohua was still nowhere to be seen.

However, the Grand Ascension old ancestors present were all old monsters who had cultivated for untold tens of thousands of years, so naturally, they wouldn’t grow impatient with this slight wait and continued to wait as if nothing were amiss.

After an unknown period of time, when the light formation in the hall reappeared, an elegant figure, without a hint of mortal trace, flashed into existence.

It was none other than Baohua! Behind her, a black-armored, unsightly man stood respectfully; it was Black Alligator.

This fiend’s aura was not weak, and his cultivation had clearly advanced significantly compared to before.

Baohua’s face shimmered with crystalline light; her gaze swept around, her beautiful eyes full of divine radiance. Her previously lost vital energy had clearly been fully restored.

“Fellow Daoist Baohua, you’ve finally arrived.” Old Monster Yellow Sand, who had originally been in meditation, the moment Baohua appeared in the hall, immediately opened his eyes and burst into hearty laughter.

“I appreciate Fellow Daoist Huang’s efforts in hosting this gathering,” Baohua replied calmly. But the moment her gaze swept over Han Li, a hint of surprise couldn't help but flash across her face.

Clearly, this former Progenitor of the Demon Realm hadn’t expected that in such a short time since they last met, Han Li would have already become a Grand Ascension cultivator.

“It’s no trouble at all, really. On the contrary, for this old man to host so many fellow Daoists at once, it’s a great honor. Now that you have arrived, please take charge of the rest of the gathering.” Old Monster Yellow Sand said with another smile.

“Baohua is a little late, and I hope all fellow Daoists will forgive me. However, seeing that all of you have kept your appointments, it gives me even more confidence in this operation.” Baohua stood at the center of the hall, and after a brief glance around at everyone, she said with a faint smile.