Chapter 874: Viewing Ceremony

Volume 4: Winds Rising Overseas, Volume 6: Heavenly Spiritual Treasure. Han Li noticed that among those present, he was the only one at the Mid-Nascent Soul stage, and he was already approaching its peak.

As the bearded elder entered the hall, he politely scanned Senior Brother Cheng and the others. However, his gaze eventually settled on Han Li, and his expression subtly shifted.

"You must be Fellow Daoist Han! I've long heard of your name. But weren't you an early-Nascent Soul cultivator? Has your cultivation advanced so quickly that you've progressed this rapidly?" the bearded elder asked slowly, a strange expression on his face.

"You must be Brother Jin. You flatter me. I only recently advanced to the mid-stage," Han Li said calmly, standing up and cupping his hands.

Upon hearing this, the elder's heart sank.

"As soon as I came out of seclusion, I heard people speaking of your incredible divine abilities. It seems that even if the rumors are somewhat exaggerated, they are not far from the truth," the bearded elder said after a moment of silence, a bitter smile on his face.

Han Li smiled, his lips twitching, but before he could respond, Senior Brother Cheng, who was standing beside him, also stood up with a hearty laugh.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, why are you so focused on Junior Brother Han? Let's sit down and chat, us old folks," the elder surnamed Cheng said with surprising warmth.

"Brother Cheng, please don't take offense. I didn't mean to ignore you. Before I arrived, all I heard were the famous rumors about your Junior Brother Han, so my curiosity was naturally piqued," Old Eccentric Jin said with a forced laugh.

"Is that so? Now that you've met Junior Brother Han, Brother Jin, you're not disappointed, are you?" the elder surnamed Cheng asked with a smile.

"Hehe! Of course, I'm not disappointed; rather, it's quite beyond my expectations. With Fellow Daoist Han, the Falling Cloud Sect will surely soar in the future. However, I heard that Brother Han wasn't originally a direct disciple of your esteemed sect, but came from Yellow Maple Valley!" Old Eccentric Jin said with a sneer, glancing at the elder surnamed Cheng.

"Even if Junior Brother Han had some ties with Yellow Maple Valley before, what does it matter? What counts is that he is now an elder of our Falling Cloud Sect," the elder surnamed Cheng said calmly.

Old Eccentric Jin rolled his eyes, about to retort, when the elder surnamed Feng suddenly interjected:

"Fellow Daoists, please don't be in such a hurry to talk. Our Hundred Skill Academy has recently introduced a delicious spiritual fruit. Why don't you all try some first?"

After saying this, he lightly clapped his hands.

A team of young female disciples, who had been waiting outside for a long time, brought in several plates of reddish, oval-shaped spiritual fruits.

Seeing this, Old Eccentric Jin, the elder surnamed Cheng, and the others naturally couldn't refuse the host's gesture and took their seats.

"These are Fire Pomegranate Fruits," the elder surnamed Feng introduced immediately after the female disciples finished arranging the fruits. "A disciple of our academy discovered them in an unnamed wild spiritual fruit location. Their flesh is sweet and juicy, and for mortals, they have a miraculous effect of improving eyesight."

Han Li and the others had indeed never seen spiritual fruits quite like these, and they all curiously tasted them.

They were indeed exceptionally sweet and contained a considerable amount of spiritual energy. Han Li also found them quite good and ate three in one sitting before stopping.

"By the way, why isn't Fellow Daoist Fire Dragon at this gathering? And this fellow Daoist must be Fellow Daoist Ming Xin from your esteemed sect, right? I heard that Fellow Daoist Ming Xin's magic treasure is exceptionally rare, refined from ten-thousand-year-old Yellow Wood, and that she cultivates the top-tier wood-attribute cultivation method, the 'Hundred Flowers Spring Bloom Art'," the elder surnamed Ding inquired with a smile, glancing at the young woman from the Ancient Sword Sect.

"That's right, I am Ming Xin. Senior Brother Fire Dragon heard that someone was selling Fire Ying Beast young eggs at the market in Tan Yun Mountain and was very interested, so he left the sect months ago. Although I have been at the Nascent Soul stage for fifty or sixty years, I rarely meet people. I hope you fellow Daoists will not hesitate to offer advice during this meeting." This woman, though not exceptionally beautiful, exuded gentleness and grace with every movement. A faint, natural floral scent emanated from her, making people feel instinctively drawn to her.

Han Li clearly sensed that after she finished speaking, her bright eyes flickered, appearing quite interested in him.

Han Li's brow subtly furrowed, but his expression immediately returned to normal.

After tasting the fruits, the powerful elders from the three sects began to converse.

Han Li allowed Elder Yin, Lu Luo, and the others to engage in their seemingly casual but subtly challenging conversations, while he himself sat quietly, rarely speaking. When he was occasionally mentioned, he merely smiled without saying anything.

Despite this, awed by Han Li's reputation, the old eccentrics from Hundred Skill Academy and Ancient Sword Sect constantly paid attention to his every move, as if trying to discern something about him.

Just as everyone in the hall was chatting freely, a red light flashed at the hall entrance. After the light converged, a middle-aged cultivator in a purple robe appeared there.

The middle-aged man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, exuding an imposing aura the moment he appeared.

As soon as this person appeared at the hall entrance, the elder surnamed Feng and the elder surnamed Ding immediately stood up to greet him.

"Senior Brother Lie Huo. The fellow Daoists from Falling Cloud Sect and Ancient Sword Sect have all arrived. Is everything ready for the ceremony?"

"Yes, everything is arranged. Fellow Daoists can just go and observe the ceremony," the middle-aged cultivator replied casually, his gaze sweeping across the cultivators in the hall.

At this point, the other cultivators also rose to greet him. After all, he was the Grand Elder of Hundred Skill Academy, and they naturally dared not be disrespectful.

"Brother Lie Huo, you're finally out! I wonder if your 'Heavenly Fire Art' has improved. After the ceremony, perhaps we two could spar a little?" Old Eccentric Jin seemed to have some acquaintance with this person and said boisterously.

"Hmph! Forget it. Even if my 'Heavenly Fire Art' is powerful, I'm a whole stage below you. What benefit would I gain from fighting you? You'd better find someone else," Old Eccentric Lie Huo said, rolling his eyes irritably.

At this point, Senior Brother Cheng also introduced Han Li. Old Eccentric Lie Huo was greatly astonished by Han Li's rapid advancement to the mid-stage and was exceptionally courteous to him.

Afterward, the Grand Elder of Hundred Skill Academy wasted no words and immediately invited everyone to observe the recognition ceremony.

The others naturally had no objections. The group exited the mountain cave and arrived at the platform they had just seen.

By this time, the high altitudes and mountain walls nearby were already empty. Directly in front of the huge pavilion, hundreds of Foundation Establishment disciples were waiting in several teams.

In the very front, a dozen Core Formation cultivators stood side by side, their faces solemn.

Approximately ten zhang in front of these individuals, a strangely shaped cauldron was placed.

This cauldron was about a zhang in diameter, short and squat, with mysterious flame-like patterns carved all over its body. Even more strangely, despite nothing being around it, the entire cauldron glowed a brilliant red. Anyone walking within ten zhang of it could feel a strong heat wave emanating from it.

But none of this attracted the cultivators' attention; their gazes were fixed on a young man kneeling about a zhang in front of the cauldron.

This young man appeared not very old, kneeling on a golden silk cushion and chanting something softly. However, because his head was bowed, his face could not be clearly seen.

In a blink of an eye, Han Li and the others landed in front of the group of cultivators. After a brief stir, the dozen disciples immediately came forward and respectfully greeted them.

"Greetings, Martial Uncles and Seniors. Junior Brother Yu has been bathing and performing rituals for over half an hour. In a little while, the cauldron can be opened and the ceremony can begin," the elder surnamed Fu said respectfully to Han Li and the others after emerging from the group of Core Formation cultivators and greeting them.

"Understood, you may step down," Old Eccentric Lie Huo nodded, then led Han Li and the others to stand in front of the crowd, gazing at the young man performing the ritual.

"Fellow Daoist Lie Huo, is this the disciple who formed a Core in less than a hundred years? His talent is indeed extraordinary. Now, with the 'Heaven and Earth Pagoda' as his innate magic treasure for cultivation, your academy will probably have another Nascent Soul cultivator in two or three hundred years," the bearded elder said suddenly after carefully examining the disciple.

"Hehe, whether someone can form a Nascent Soul is merely a matter of destiny. It's not that good talent guarantees advancement to the Nascent Soul stage; it's just that disciples with better spiritual roots have a greater chance," he said dismissively.

The bearded elder smiled faintly and said nothing more. The others also remained silent.

The disciples behind them, seeing not only their own sect's patriarchs but also so many Nascent Soul cultivators present, became extremely cautious, not daring to even breathe loudly. In a blink of an eye, there was no other sound on the platform except for the disciple's soft chanting.

Han Li listened briefly and found it was merely an ordinary article for worshipping heaven and earth, recited repeatedly, with no special meaning. He wondered if these old eccentrics intended to temper the disciple's resolve, or if such an odd rule genuinely existed within Hundred Skill Academy's recognition ceremony.

From the perspective of these old eccentrics, whose cultivation time was measured in years, less than half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

When Han Li estimated that the time was about right, the scorching giant cauldron, which had been steadily sitting in front, suddenly had its lid tremble slightly. Then, a clear ringing sound emerged from within the cauldron, and spiritual light burst forth.

The temperature near the giant cauldron soared significantly in an instant, and a nearly visible reddish heatwave swept out in all directions.

Han Li and the others in front were fine; the heatwave had no effect on them after a flash of spiritual light. However, the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation disciples behind them all activated their protective shields to resist the incredibly scorching hot wind.

As for the young disciple kneeling a zhang away, his body glowed with a fiery red shield, steadfastly resisting the heatwave. Once the hot wind passed, the disciple let out a long breath and finally raised his head, staring at the giant cauldron with fervent eyes.

This was a slender young man with clear features, appearing to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. To have formed a Golden Core at such a young age, it was no wonder the elders of Hundred Skill Academy were willing to entrust such a vital treasure as the 'Heaven and Earth Pagoda' to him.

Han Li couldn't help but ponder this.