"In the late stage of consolidating the Dan stage, closing the gate?" The voice transmitting clearly paused, then sighed deeply. The white-clad cultivator from Gu Jian Sect raised his hand without further explanation, and a beam of white light struck a seemingly ordinary green stone nearby. Instantly, among the scattered stones, flashes of light erupted, and a wave of white radiance surged forth—then the figure vanished completely. The chaotic pile of stones had been ingeniously concealed as a teleportation array. After the other person had departed, the gray-robed elder settled himself, quietly searching for a convenient stone to sit upon, and began to meditate. At the other end of the array, within a modest stone chamber of Bai Qiao Institute, the scholarly figure materialized in the light of the array, with senior cultivators from the three sects—among them, the Fu-clad elder—standing around. "How is it, younger brother? Is everything ready on that side?" As soon as the scholar appeared, the Jiang-named cultivator immediately asked. "Don't worry, senior. Everything at the Sacred Site is settled. We can now proceed with the transmission." The scholar replied with a smile. "That's excellent!" Could Brother Duan please arrange for those ten junior disciples to be brought in? As agreed, each of our three sects will send one Shen Dan cultivator along. On our side, I’ll be accompanying with Elder Wang, and Lu Yun Sect has already secured Master Yu Feng. As for your side, who is joining you, Brother Jiang?" The elder with the surname Fu nodded approvingly. Upon hearing this, the red-robed elder immediately pushed open the door and stepped out. "What’s so special about the Sacred Site? We’ve been there many times already. Let’s just have White Brother make the trip." Brother Jiang replied carelessly. "That works. Though White Brother hasn’t served on duty at the Sacred Site, he was one of the ten participants in the Sword-Testing Assembly back then. Now, it’s like a revisit to familiar ground." The elder with the surname Fu smiled. The scholarly young man in blue robes nodded calmly, saying nothing. Yet the young lady in white robes gave a graceful smile, came over to stand beside him, and stood shoulder to shoulder with him, radiating an atmosphere of deep affection. At that moment, footsteps echoed outside the stone hall, and the elderly man in red robes entered calmly, followed by disciples from the three sects who had ranked among the top ten. Although the Luoyun Sect still didn't secure first place this time, it had four disciples among the top ten—more than any other sect. This gave the elder with the Seg surname a sense of quiet pride, though he masked it well on the surface. As he thought of this, his gaze naturally turned toward his own disciples: the young woman from Tianquan Peak, the young man named Sun Huo from Huayun Peak, whose expression was cold and resolute, and the other two—Han Li and Du Dong. Han Li was indeed a disappointment! Upon seeing Du Dong, the peak master of Huayun Peak maintained a composed expression, yet a quiet sigh of contempt stirred within him, a subtle sense of mockery forming in his mind. The disciple who had taken first place, however, was a black-robed young man whose demeanor radiated the sharpness of a sword just drawn from its scabbard—this was Meng Di, a disciple from the Gu Jian Sect, renowned for possessing the "Nine Spirit Sword Body." "The Nine-Spirit Sword Body" is hailed as one of the top three sword-specialized spiritual essences in the immortal realm—no exaggeration. With merely a top-tier sword artifact in hand, this individual's unrelenting sword aura renders no opponent capable of withstanding even a moment's resistance, ultimately securing first place through overwhelming dominance. Reflecting on this, the red-robed elder could not help but feel a touch of envy toward the good fortune of the Ancient Sword Sect. The top-ranked disciple of Luoyun Sect was the young man named Sun Huo. His cultivation was quite strong, securing him the third position. Yet, in the eyes of Han Li, as long as Sun Huo's artifacts were well matched with his own techniques, he would have no trouble defeating the second-place disciple from Baiqiao Academy. After the tournament concluded, each of the top ten disciples received a top-tier artifact. The black-robed young man, Meng Di, additionally received a jade box containing a single Dingling Pill. Upon seeing the box, Han Li immediately made up his mind. If everything went smoothly and he succeeded in obtaining the root and formula from the Spirit Eye Tree, that would be fine. But if not, he would not mind borrowing this item from Meng Di's hands—especially since the Dingling Pill would greatly ease the process of consolidating his Yuan Shen. While Han Li was still pondering, the elder named Fu had already begun arranging for the disciples to be transported. The younger cultivators from the three sects also knew where they were headed, and most of them beamed with joy. As white light flashed, a white-clad cultivator and a middle-aged cultivator from Baiyao Hall, with a rosy complexion, stepped forward first and passed through. Then, the disciples paired up and followed suit. After a moment of dizziness, Han Li and the others materialized in a desolate stone area shrouded in dense mist and with damp air. Subconsciously, Han Li narrowed his eyes and extended his spiritual awareness to probe the surroundings. However, as his spirit sense reached just a few dozen zhang, it was immediately blocked by an invisible restriction. He felt a sudden sense of alertness, realizing that a powerful spell had been set up here—best to proceed quietly and achieve their objective without drawing attention. The gray-robed elder, seeing all of them arrive, stood up calmly. With a simple gesture, he cast a yellow seal, which vanished into the mist. The surrounding fog began to swirl. Then, facing their direction, the mist suddenly cleared, revealing a stone wall covered in moss, as if it had never been visited by anyone. "Listen closely," the scholar with the surname Bai said. "Since the spiritual water has been prepared, it must be used immediately to cleanse your eyes. Only then do you have the chance to enter the inner sanctuaries of the three sects. Otherwise, even we would not be able to approach this place. Once you enter, you may stay for only one full day and one night—by the second day, you must leave immediately. The inner wards are heavily sealed, and you must not wander around freely. Should you do otherwise, the consequences will be yours." The scholar seemed extremely familiar with everything within, and before the other two could speak, he had already delivered his warning with a sharp tone. Naturally, each of the junior disciples nodded in agreement. At that moment, a voice from the direction of the green stone wall—identical to the one that had previously spoken—resounded. "All right. We can discuss any instructions once we're inside. I'm now going to open a passage in the great array for you." As soon as the man of the Yue surname finished speaking, the stone wall shimmered like water, then burst into a radiant green glow, blinding everyone. After a moment, when the crowd regained their composure and looked ahead, they were astonished to find that the once-blue stone wall had vanished entirely, replaced by a massive stone gate with two doors tightly shut. The gate was adorned with an intricate array of incantations and seals, in a variety of colors, constantly pulsing with vibrant spiritual light—seeming to hold countless powerful restrictions. Beyond the gate, several translucent, yellow-hued screens hovered, enclosing the gate and making it nearly impossible to reach or touch. Yet, at the entrance of this towering gate, several zhang high, stood a yellow-robed cultivator with both hands behind his back. The cultivator appeared to be in his forties, with thick, dark brows slightly arched upward, radiating an astonishing aura of intensity that sent ordinary onlookers gasping in awe, unable to meet his gaze. "It seems that Master has been practicing near the Sacred Tree, and his cultivation has truly advanced at an astonishing pace," the middle-aged cultivator from Baiqiao Pavilion murmured, his face showing a touch of admiration as he observed the intense aura of the yellow-robed cultivator. Though his voice was soft, the words reached the ears of the Yu surname cultivator clearly. The yellow-robed cultivator rolled his eyes, responding without hesitation. "Hmph! If you're willing to remain confined within the sanctuary for fifty to sixty years, then by all means, come and practice here. But I fear Master's younger brother will grow restless and unable to endure it!" Upon hearing this, the middle-aged cultivator flushed slightly, embarrassed. "Master, I only said that casually. Yu Master and my two elder brothers, Wu and Qian, have been tirelessly guarding this place—how exhausting they must find it. I just—” "Enough. There's no need to elaborate further. This seal was established jointly by several Yuan-Ying stage elders from my three sects. I can only maintain it for a brief period. Please make the most of the time you have!" The yellow-robed monastic immediately flipped his palm, producing a yellow seal from it. His face grew serious as he chanted softly. Suddenly, a bright yellow glow surged from the seal, followed by a sweeping wave of yellow mist that swept across the area. Where it reached, the light screens instantly melted and vanished, revealing a passage several zhang in width. "All of you—enter quickly!" the scholar exclaimed, without hesitation, and then launched himself forward as a streak of white light. The gray-robed elder and the middle-aged monastic from Bai Qiao also issued a brief command and surged in with the same vigor. Seeing this, Han Li and the others could not afford to delay, and swiftly followed, each riding their respective artifacts.