Chapter 477: Internal Palace Opens

"Little Sister?" Han Li's eyes flickered as he gazed at the young woman before him. Her face and words stirred up long-buried memories in his heart.

"Fourth Brother, why am I here? Didn't I die from a severe illness many years ago? I'm so scared!" The white figure trembled slightly as she stood up, her face pale, and edged closer to Han Li, looking utterly terrified and helpless.

Han Li's eyes showed a strange expression.

Just as the young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to his little sister, was about two steps away from lunging at him, Han Li's eyes flashed with a cold light. He raised his hand, and a small green sword silently shot out from his palm, piercing through the young woman's forehead in a flash.

The white figure shrieked, then transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished without a trace.

"Even if it transformed to look exactly like my little sister, my little sister was separated from me when she was very young. Not to mention my current appearance, she's probably almost forgotten what I looked like when we parted. How could she recognize me, her Fourth Brother, at first glance?" Han Li murmured to himself, a trace of loneliness on his face as he looked in the direction where the black smoke had disappeared.

After speaking, he raised his wrist and looked at the four Bodhi Beads on it.

Though he spoke with such confidence, if the Bodhi Beads hadn't suddenly grown hot as the white figure approached, extinguishing his last shred of hesitation, he might not have acted so decisively. Even at the moment the flying sword pierced through the figure, Han Li's heart still couldn't help but tremble slightly.

After all, even knowing the opponent was just an illusion or some kind of spirit transformation, he still wanted to gaze at his little sister's face a little longer.

Carrying a trace of inexplicable sadness, Han Li continued his solitary journey in the darkness. In front of a massive building, over a dozen people sat motionless before a towering pagoda.

The pagoda soared into the clouds, immense and constructed entirely from colossal green stones. From a distance, it appeared to be divided into five levels, each narrower than the one below, yet with an astonishing interval of at least a hundred zhang between them. Even the lowest green stone gate of the pagoda was fifty to sixty zhang high. Its grandeur was truly immense!

The pagoda was enveloped by a faint white light screen. In front of it, like ants, numerous individuals sat with lowered heads, eyes closed, meditating before the light screen. In the center of their gathering was a white teleportation array, quietly built.

Among these individuals were cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage from both orthodox and demonic factions, including Ji Yin and Wan Tianming. Additionally, Wu Chou, Xuan Gu, and another late Core Formation cultivator were present. The only ones missing were Han Li, Yuan Yao, the two elders from the Star Palace, and one other late Core Formation cultivator.

Old Devil Ji Yin's expression was calm, seemingly unhurried. Yet, he felt a subtle anxiety. After all, at a normal cultivator's progression speed, Han Li should have already appeared here, just like Wu Chou.

His heart began to feel uneasy.

Just then, a white light glowed within the magic array, and a figure appeared.

Man Huzi, Ji Yin, and the others simultaneously opened their eyes to look, but disappointment quickly flickered across their faces. The person who appeared was Yuan Yao, veiled and robed in black.

Being stared at by so many Nascent Soul old devils, her heart involuntarily skipped a beat, but she quickly composed herself and silently walked out of the array.

Coincidentally, just as she stepped out, the teleportation array flickered again. Han Li's figure appeared out of thin air.

Ji Yin's eyebrow twitched, and an imperceptible smile flashed across his face. Man Huzi and the Confucian-robed elder exchanged knowing glances, both seeing a sense of relief in the other's eyes.

Upon his arrival, Han Li was momentarily surprised to see Yuan Yao.

However, after giving her a faint smile, he automatically walked towards Grandmaster Ji Yin. After a slight bow, he took his place behind him.

Grandmaster Ji Yin seemed immensely pleased by Han Li's display of "respect for his master." He nodded at Han Li and said nothing more.

Indeed, he didn't have the nerve to mention the return of the Bodhi Bead bracelet.

Not just him, Man Huzi also refrained from asking for the treasure armor at that moment. It seemed that for this period, everyone had conveniently forgotten the treasures they had lent to Han Li.

Han Li was now present, yet these cultivators remained seated, showing no intention of moving, as if waiting for something. It was only then that Han Li, with a jolt of surprise, noticed the colossal pagoda before him, feeling genuinely astonished.

"This is the inner hall, and it's not quite what I imagined," Han Li muttered to himself.

He then took the opportunity to steal a glance at Xuan Gu.

Xuan Gu was sitting docilely in a position further back, with his eyes closed, meditating. He seemed completely unaware of Han Li's gaze.

"Kid, stop looking. Be careful, lest my unruly disciple discovers you. Don't worry! I've already planned how to deal with Ji Yin. It's a sure thing. However, this matter can only happen after you retrieve the treasure using the Blood Jade Spider. Before that, just deal with things as they come! Remember, don't casually send me voice transmissions, lest you expose a flaw!" Xuan Gu's voice suddenly rang in Han Li's ears without warning.

First, a word of comfort, then a warning to Han Li.

Han Li listened clearly, his expression unchanged, then calmly shifted his gaze away from him.

"An opportunity only after retrieving the treasure! What does that mean? Could this old devil also be eyeing the treasures within the Skyreach Cauldron?"

A wave of doubt and unease swept through Han Li's heart!

With the inner hall about to open, he was truly worried about his fate after retrieving the treasure. Regardless of whether he succeeded in taking out the Skyreach Cauldron, his situation seemed precarious.

As Han Li was anxiously pondering, a cold voice came from across. "The time for the inner hall to open is approaching, and those two from the Star Palace still haven't arrived. It seems they won't be getting involved in this mess. Brother Man, what do you think?" Wan Tianming, seated between two other orthodox cultivators, opened his sparkling eyes and slowly spoke, staring at Man Huzi with a faint glow, an astonishing aura emanating from him.

"Heh heh! What, Old Man Wan, are you getting impatient? Let's wait and see. After all, those Star Palace fellows are extremely cunning. Perhaps they're deliberately delaying their appearance, hoping you and I will fight each other first?" Man Huzi chuckled disdainfully, stroking his chin lazily.

Upon hearing this, Wan Tianming showed a pensive expression. But then he nodded and closed his eyes again, seemingly agreeing with Man Huzi's words.

After waiting for another hour, a violent tremor suddenly came from the ground.

The massive stone gate of the inner hall slowly rose, revealing a green stone passage within.

From a distance, the passage appeared incredibly tall and wide.

As the inner hall's stone gate fully opened, the teleportation array in the center, which had been emitting a faint white light, dimmed and became lifeless.

"Haha, good! Good! It seems the Star Palace fellows truly won't cause trouble. In that case, Wan Tianming! How about you and I have a good contest? The loser won't be allowed into the inner hall, what do you say?" Man Huzi, without waiting for the other party to speak again, suddenly leaped up, revealing his gleaming white teeth as he spoke with fervent combativeness.

"No, I've changed my mind. I don't want to fight Brother Man anymore."

To everyone's great surprise, Wan Tianming explicitly refused, his expression resolute, upon hearing Man Huzi's words.

"Changed your mind? Are you saying your orthodox faction intends to surrender without a fight, to concede automatically?" Man Huzi was startled at first, but then sneered with a cruel grin.

"Withdraw? Of course not! However, it's quite laughable for us to fight over treasures we haven't even retrieved yet! Why don't we agree that our two factions will take turns retrieving the treasures? Before that, we should temporarily restrain ourselves. This way, we avoid fighting each other. After all, our true enemy right now is the Star Palace, not each other. Don't look at us coming here with such confidence; nine times out of ten, we won't be able to retrieve the treasures anyway. In that case, this fight would be even more unnecessary." Wan Tianming shook his head and spoke unhurriedly.

Ji Yin, Man Huzi, and the others were slightly taken aback. They exchanged glances and began conversing through whispered voice transmissions.

Wan Tianming, Tian Wu Zi, and the others seemed to have already discussed this and showed no impatience, calmly waiting for the demonic cultivators' reply.

After a while, Ji Yin spoke, his face grim:

"What you say sounds good, but who goes first to retrieve the treasure, and who goes second? If we succeed in retrieving the treasure, how can we trust that you won't attempt to seize it? Are we to rely solely on your glib tongue?"

Upon hearing this, Wan Tianming smiled broadly. "Ji Yin, what you're saying is nonsense. If you retrieve the treasure, we will, of course, attempt to snatch it. But likewise, if the treasure falls into our hands, you can also contend for it. At that point, both sides can prove their might. It's better than fighting now and wasting time!" Wan Tianming chuckled, speaking without hesitation.