Chapter 185: Arriving at the Blaze Dragon Dao
The Bell Toll Mountain Range was situated atop a massive system of spirit veins, so the world's origin qi in the area was extremely abundant. Hence, even though the climate here was quite cold, the mountain range was still rife with lush greenery, and countless spirit beasts and spirit herbs could be found in the region.
The mountain range was so vast that it stretched across virtually half of the entire Ancient Cloud Continent, and all of the mountains within it were extremely tall and steep, extending straight up into the heavens. Furthermore, the mountains were enshrouded within a type of azure mist all year round, giving them a sense of enigma and mystique.
A strange loud noise would periodically ring out across the entire mountain range during all times of the year, and the sound was very similar to the toll of a bell, thereby giving the mountain range its name.
Apparently, these sounds came from the tectonic plate activity taking place in the earth beneath the mountain range.
The Bell Toll Mountain Range was quite a renowned place in its own right, but it was overshadowed by the Blaze Dragon Dao, which was vastly renowned across the entire Northern Glacial Immortal Region.
The Blaze Dragon Dao was one of the oldest sects in the entire Northern Glacial Immortal Region, and its founder was a man with the title of Daoist Master Blaze Dragon.
Ever since its founding, the Blaze Dragon Dao had always been the number one sect on the Ancient Cloud Continent, and at this point, its forces had branched out across the entire continent. The sect was home to countless prodigious disciples, and even in the context of the entire Northern Glacial Immortal Region, it ranked among a small handful of the very top sects.
Around the central region of the Bell Toll Mountain Range stood a massive mountain near the edge of the mountain range.
The mountain extended all the way up into the clouds, and a vast white jade plaza had been constructed halfway up the mountain. A series of tall buildings were situated on the plaza, and they were also primarily white in color, giving off a bright glow that allowed them to be clearly seen even from hundreds of kilometers away.
This was one of the external mountains of the Blaze Dragon Dao, and it was generally used to accommodate visitors.
Due to the resounding reputation of the Blaze Dragon Dao, it received an enormous number of visitors, so there were several dozen such accommodation sites littered throughout the Bell Toll Mountain Range.
At this moment, there were several Blaze Dragon Dao disciples chatting with one another while standing in the welcome pavilion on the plaza.
These disciples were all at around the Deity Transformation Stage, and each of them had the visage of a dragon with a pair of wings and a single horn on its head embroidered onto their sleeve.
"How many batches of visitors have we had over the past few days?" a tall and thin young man asked with a smile.
"It's already been 25 batches. What can I say? Our Blaze Dragon Dao has such a resounding reputation that people flock here from all over the continent," a slightly portly man replied with a proud grin on his face.
"Welcoming these guests is such a boring job. I just want my shift to be over as soon as possible," a gorgeous purple-haired young woman complained with a disgruntled expression.
"I understand your frustration, Junior Martial Sister Yin. You've already reached the pinnacle of the Deity Transformation Stage, so you'll be attempting a breakthrough to the Spatial Tempering Stage soon. This is indeed a rather unsuitable time for you to be serving guest welcoming duties. How are your preparations for the breakthrough coming along?" the thin young man asked.
"I've already made some preparations, but I'd say I only have a roughly 30% chance of success," the purple-haired young woman replied with furrowed brows.
"Don't be disheartened, Junior Disciple Sister. Welcoming guests isn't necessarily always a waste of time. If you encounter a generous senior and ensure that they receive a satisfactory welcome, perhaps they'll be willing to gift you some spirit stones. In particular, someone as beautiful as yourself stands a much better chance of receiving such a reward than men like us," the portly man said with a smile.
The purple-haired young woman's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this. "Is that so?"
Right at this moment, a speck of white light appeared on the distant horizon, and it was rapidly approaching the Bell Toll Mountain Range.
As the speck of white light drew closer to the mountain range, it was revealed to be a white jade boat.
A middle-aged man with a yellow complexion was standing on the boat, accompanied by a gorgeous young woman in a long white dress.
These two were none other than Han Li and Bai Suyuan, and they had finally arrived here after traveling for several years.
"So this is the Bell Toll Mountain Range... the world's origin qi here is extremely abundant," Han Li remarked with an approving nod.
A hint of longing had also surfaced in Bai Suyuan's eyes, and she was looking quite excited, but she then immediately took a deep breath to recover her composure.
Instead of descending onto the mountain range right away, a contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face.
Even though Bai Suyuan had told him that the Blaze Dragon Token would be sufficient for him to join the Blaze Dragon Dao, he still had to think about how to make the best use of the token.
Ideally, he would have someone in the Blaze Dragon Dao submit a recommendation for him.
Han Li knew nothing about the Blaze Dragon Dao, but this wasn't a very difficult task to accomplish. All that he required was some time for planning.
An intelligent gleam flashed through Bai Suyuan's eyes as she said, "Senior Li, if you're considering how to acquaint yourself with someone in the Blaze Dragon Dao, then I believe I can lend you a hand."
"What do you propose?" Han Li asked as he turned to Bai Suyuan.
He wasn't all that surprised that she had managed to guess his intentions.
During the past few years traveling together, he had come to know Bai Suyuan quite well. Her cultivation base wasn't worthy of note, but she was extremely intelligent and observant, often able to glean his thoughts and intentions from very limited tidbits of information.
As a result, he barely said a word to her throughout the final two to three years of their journey.
"It just so happens that the ancestor of our Bai Clan had a good friend by the name of Qi Liang in the Blaze Dragon Dao. He's an inner sect elder, and our ancestor once said that if anyone in our clan wishes to join the Blaze Dragon Dao in the future, then we can seek out Qi Liang to look out for us.
“It's been several thousand years since our ancestor disappeared, so I'm not sure if he would still be willing to help us, but we should at least be able to request an audience with him," Bai Suyuan explained.
"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Fellow Daoist Bai," Han Li replied with a nod.
"It's no trouble at all, Senior Li. You looked after me throughout our entire journey to the Blaze Dragon Dao, this is the least that I can do for you. However..." Bai Suyuan's voice trailed off here as a hesitant look appeared on her face.
"What is it?" Han Li asked.
"Forgive me for prying into your personal matters, but I'm assuming that your current appearance isn't your true appearance, right, Senior Li?" Bai Suyuan asked in a hesitant voice.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Bai?"
"Over the past few years, I've developed somewhat of an understanding of your personality. You're extremely cautious when it comes to everything else, but you've made no effort at all to hide your appearance, and that tells me that this most likely isn't your true appearance at all. On top of that, as a member of the Transient Guild, I'm aware that these masks can provide extremely effective disguises," Bai Suyuan explained with a faint smile.
"As expected, these little tricks of mine aren't enough to fool you. Your intelligence is truly unmatched, Fellow Daoist Bai," Han Li praised with a smile of his own.
"You're far too kind, Senior Li. If it isn't for the fact that I've been by your side for so long, I wouldn't have been able to make this educated guess. If you want to join the Blaze Dragon Dao, then you'll have to do away with your disguise.
“The masks of the Transient Guild can fool the vast majority of cultivators, but it's said that here are 13 Golden Immortal Stage dao lords in the Blaze Dragon Dao, and the first dao lord is said to have already reached the pinnacle of the Golden Immortal Stage and is on the very cusp of the High Zenith Stage.
“I doubt the disguises conjured up by the masks of the Transient Guild will be able to fool them, and if you're exposed, not only will you be barred from joining the sect, there's a chance that you'll even be regarded as a spy from an enemy sect," Bai Suyuan said with a serious expression.
Han Li was silent for a moment, then nodded in response as he made a hand seal, reverting back to his original appearance amid a faint flash of light.
Bai Suyuan's gaze lingered momentarily on Han Li's completely unremarkable appearance, following which she pursed her lips slightly as she withdrew her gaze.
The white jade boat continued to fly onward at Han Li's behest, quickly reaching the mountain up ahead before descending onto the plaza.
After Bai Suyuan had gotten down from the boat, Han Li stowed it away, and the two of them were standing side by side on the plaza.
The disciples responsible for welcoming guests had already spotted them from afar, and they approached Han Li's duo as one of them said, "Welcome to the Blaze Dragon Dao. May I ask what business you have here?"
The disciples were immediately able to tell that Han Li possessed a cultivation base far superior to theirs, but even so, all of them wore relaxed smiles and didn't appear to have been feeling intimidated or inferior in the slightest.
"We've come here with the intention of paying Elder Qi Liang a visit. Is he in the sect right now?" Han Li asked as he revealed a hint of his True Immortal Stage aura, and the Blaze Dragon Dao cultivators before him shuddered collectively in the face of his aura, but thankfully, the aura was only revealed for an instant before it was withdrawn again.
"Please inform Elder Qi of our arrival." Han Li flicked a finger through the air as he spoke, releasing several precious Deity Transformation Stage pills.
These pills had all been obtained from the storage treasures of cultivators that he had slain in the past, and they were useless to him, so he was naturally happy to present them as gifts to these Blaze Dragon Dao cultivators.
The group of cultivators before him swept their spiritual sense over the pills, and they weren't able to maintain their composure any longer as ecstatic looks appeared on their faces.
These worthless pills to Han Li were nothing short of priceless treasures to these disciples.
Even a pill suitable for consumption for Nascent Soul cultivators could be sold on the market in exchange for spirit stones sufficient to cover their cultivation needs for a long time, let alone these pills that were fit for consumption for Deity Transformation cultivators.
Among the disciples, the thin young man was more restrained, and he cupped his fist in a respectful salute as he said, "You're far too kind, Senior. Elder Qi Liang serves in the Heavenly Star Palace, so he's always present in the sect. May I ask your name, Senior? And also, do you have any tokens that we can pass onto Elder Qi?"
"I am Li Feiyu, and this is Bai Suyuan. In terms of tokens..." Han Li turned to Bai Suyuan as he spoke.
"Please pass this onto Elder Qi and he'll know who we are." Bai Suyuan pulled out a red penannular jade pendant and offered it to the thin young man as she spoke.
"I see. I'll inform Elder Qi of your arrival right away, Senior Li. However, I must make it clear ahead of time that I can't guarantee whether Elder Qi will agree to see you or not," the thin young man said as he accepted the jade pendant.
"Of course," Han Li replied with a nod.
Thus, the thin young man took his leave before quickly making his way toward a certain palace in the sect.
"Senior Li, Fellow Daoist Bai, please come and take a rest in the side hall," the slightly portly man said in a respectful voice, then led Han Li and Bai Suyuan to a pavilion constructed halfway up the mountain.
The pavilion was situated in a bamboo forest, and the light of the sun was filtering through the gaps among the bamboo leaves, casting some beautiful shadows onto the building. The interior of the pavilion was cool and tidy, and all of the furnishings inside had clearly been chosen with care, presenting a pleasant sight to behold.
"Please wait here for a moment. Elder Qi is an inner sect elder, so it may take some time to reach him," the portly man said with a hint of apology on his face, then offered up two cups of spirit tea.
Han Li nodded in response and left the spirit tea on the table beside him, while Bai Suyuan began to sip on her tea, savoring it with keen interest.
The portly man remained in the hall alongside Han Li and Bai Suyuan, and before long, close to half a day had passed by.
Despite the long wait, Han Li remained patient, taking the time to ponder the situation that he was in.
While traveling to the Blaze Dragon Dao, he had been periodically detecting for the presence of Daoist Xie and his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.
To his elation, the closer he drew to the Bell Toll Mountain Range, the clearer he was able to sense those lost treasures, indicating to him that they were most likely situated in the Bell Toll Mountain Range.
If he wanted to recover them, then he would have to join the Blaze Dragon Dao first.
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