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Chapter 1,670: Ceremony of the Jade Palace

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Although Han Li was surprised that the Dharma Master had immediately bestowed upon him a rare treasure upon their first meeting, he naturally could not refuse. After receiving the treasure, the others—Qian Ji and her companions—looked at each other in astonishment, exchanging glances. They had expected the young man of the Wang family to say something more to Han Li, but he simply leaned back and remained silent. Qian Ji paused momentarily, then smiled warmly at Han Li. "It must be a great fortune indeed that you have been honored with such a treasure from Master Wang. With this treasure, you will likely be safe in the Guanghan Realm. However, time is short. Allow me to introduce you to your companions who will join you in entering the Guanghan Realm." "That would be most kind of Qian Master," Han Li replied respectfully. "Let me first introduce you to Yue Xianzi. Like yourself, she is one of the individuals awakened by the Guanghan Mandate and will lead another group into the interior. However, after the transmission, it is unlikely that your two groups will arrive at the same region." "But if we happen to meet inside, we should still look out for one another." Qi Jian gestured toward a woman dressed in blue imperial robes, with an unusually pale complexion. "Ah, the Moon Princess!" Han Li turned to gaze at her, momentarily unable to determine her ethnic origin, and then smiled, bowing slightly. The "Moon Princess" merely nodded politely to Han Li without speaking. "This is Shi Kun from the Shi Jian clan—he possesses exceptional defensive powers and ranks among the top in your group. The two standing beside him are Feng Xiao and Yun Teng, siblings from the Qing clan, who excel at working together in combat..." Qi Jian introduced each of the standing cultivators at the Qi Jian stage, one by one. He did not intend to go into great detail, merely offering brief remarks about each person, thus completing the introductions within a short while. Yet, regarding Han Li, a seventh-stage being, some remained composed, others expressed cold demeanor, while only a few met his gaze with warm smiles. This was understandable—these individuals were all from the upper clans, most of them just one step away from reaching the Sage stage, and thus were specifically selected to participate in this journey. How could they have been overly concerned about a foreigner whose cultivation level lagged behind theirs by two stages? Even if the young man from the Wang family had personally praised him earlier, that was merely due to the uniqueness of Han Li’s cultivation method. Many of the standing figures shared this view. Upon observing this, Qian Jizi slightly furrowed his brows. Others might not realize it, but he knew well that Han Li had once single-handedly defeated several peers of his own stage. While he couldn’t claim his cultivation techniques surpassed all others, his overall strength certainly ranked among the top three among these individuals. Yet Han Li showed no concern, merely nodding politely to each of them in turn. Among these individuals, both Cailiu Ying and Zhuan Tianren's disciples are present. Stone Kun of the Stone Cocoon Clan is Zhuan Tianren's disciple, and the cloaked woman clearly heard his name—Li Shui'er. I have no idea what means the Cai Liu Ying and Duan Tian Ren employed to secure the favor of Tianji Zi. Yet, Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun have truly been assigned to his team. Nevertheless, both of them remain remarkably composed, as if meeting Han Li for the very first time. Thus, it seems that the ancient site and sacred sanctuary deep within Guanghan Realm will indeed have to be ventured into. After all the personnel assignments were finalized, under the gesture of Qianji Zi, another elderly saint of unfamiliar face rose and began to recount various customs and precautions specific to Guanghan Realm. Though Han Li and the others had already heard these details from various sources multiple times, they remained fully attentive, unable to shift their focus. Once the elder had finished speaking, Qianji Zi waved his hand, and a shimmering, pale radiance surged forth from his sleeve, swiftly materializing before him into fifty or sixty objects of varying sizes and shapes—ranging from circular rings, golden bowls, small banners, to staffs—each exuding a splendid aura, truly diverse and magnificent. Yet among the most common treasures—such as flying daggers and flying swords—none were present. Everyone gazed at the objects floating in the air, their eyes dazzled, their faces expressing growing astonishment. Some turned directly to Qianji, their lips moving as if ready to ask questions. But at that moment, Qianji smiled and said, "Why are you still waiting? These treasures have all been drawn from the city's secret vaults, specially granted to you for a smooth journey. Each one can be used immediately without needing to be refined. However, each person may only take one; the rest shall be reclaimed by me." At once, the surfaces of these treasures flashed with various hues of spiritual light, drifting and swaying in the void, their final destinations naturally depending on the merits of each individual. In the span of a moment, a significant portion of the celestial artifacts had been collected, yet several others remained inactive, merely gazing intently at the remaining treasures, still deliberating. To these individuals, while the powerful spiritual essences of the treasures undoubtedly conferred great strength, it did not necessarily mean that those with weaker essences were destined to fall short of their personal preferences. Indeed, sometimes a treasure harmonizing perfectly with one's cultivation technique could even amplify its power significantly. Han Li was among those who had not yet claimed any treasure. However, he did not wait long. A flash of blue light in his eyes, and with a sudden motion, he reached out and grasped one of the artifacts in his hand. As the treasure above shimmered with a clear glow, a large, misty hand materialized in midair, extended downward, and then transformed into a surge of jade-like radiance, rushing toward Han Li. A flash of spiritual light in Han Li's hand caused the azure glow to dissipate, revealing a jade fan shimmering with a cool blue hue. Etched upon its surface was the graceful outline of a mountain, yet a strange, piercing cold radiated directly from the fan. It proved to be a rare artifact of icy nature. Han Li smiled slightly, nodded with satisfaction, but at the very next moment, as if sensing something, he calmly raised his head and glanced toward the opposite side. To his surprise, the "Moon Immortal Maiden" was now gazing at him, her gaze clearly fixed on the blue jade fan now held in his hand. Yet, upon sensing Han Li's gaze, she quickly shifted her attention, withdrawing her eyes and once again gazing into the void. This maiden had been among those who had not yet claimed any of the treasures. A faint, gentle smile played at the corner of Han Li's lips, while a thoughtful expression flickered in his eyes. In the end, the "Moon Immortal Maiden" did retrieve a slender object from the air—a pale, misty item that also bore the appearance of a cold, Yin-natured treasure. When the last person had also gathered the desired treasures from the air, Qianji Zi merely swept his sleeve upward, and at once, as white light flashed, all the remaining treasures in the sky were drawn into a cascade of luminous streams and collected into the folds of his sleeve. "It's about time," Qianji Zi said, after a brief inquiry with the young man of the Wang surname, and then issued his command in a steady tone. Thus, everyone in the hall stirred and began to move toward the outer doors. Han Li stood on the square outside the hall and glanced casually upward. The sunlight above was bright and intense, clearly indicating that it was midday. Then he turned his gaze to the two large arrays not far away. He saw that already over a hundred soldiers were standing there, each holding array panels, banners, and other ritual implements. The embedded spiritual stones within the arrays were also beginning to glow faintly, as if all was ready except for the final touch. Yet, upon narrowing his eyes slightly, Han Li suddenly turned his gaze toward the high space in the center of the array. There, suspended in the void, was a luminous sphere the size of a human head, its surface flashing with ever-changing hues of five colors, as though something subtle yet present within it. Han Li's expression shifted slightly; with a brief inner sense of awareness, he immediately recognized that the sphere contained precisely the Jade Command he had unintentionally activated. However, this command seemed temporarily sealed by the five-hued sphere, and at present, he could not stir it in any way. At that moment, Qian Ji Zi and the others also stepped out of the hall, paused at the entrance, and then raised their heads to gaze at the bright sun overhead, their eyes flashing with sharp intensity. "The timing must be exact—retrieve the Cold Moon Instrument," he suddenly ordered the nearby soldiers. "Yes, sir." Upon receiving the command, several soldiers instantly transformed into streaks of silver light and sped into the hall. After a brief moment, these several figures struggled to carry a massive object out from the hall once more. The object stood over ten zhang tall, resembling a large, jade-colored bell, yet its surface bore a dozen lifelike dragon-head statues with closed eyes, giving it an unusually mysterious appearance. At this moment, the elder immortals, including Tianji Zi, no longer paid any attention to Guanghan Yi, and began conversing with one another among themselves. Yet the young man of the Wang family, for some reason, remained inside the hall without stepping out.