Chapter 317: Heavenly Scorpion Badge
Qi Liang strode forward, then flipped a hand over to produce a white badge that was giving off a faint white glow with a scorpion design engraved onto its surface.
With a wave of the badge, a streak of white light was released, and it vanished into the white light barrier in a flash.
An opening immediately appeared in the light barrier, and it instantly closed after Han Li and Qi Liang had passed through.
Only then was Han Li able to see the pavilion enshrouded within the light barrier in its full glory. It was an intricately constructed three-story pavilion that was entirely a pristine white color and appeared to have been constructed from some type of special jade.
Hanging above the entrance of the pavilion was a white plaque that bore the words "Heavenly Scorpion Pavilion" in large characters, and some scorpion designs were engraved around the edge of the plaque, much like the badge that Qi Liang had pulled out earlier.
"This exchange event is being hosted by the Heavenly Scorpion Sect, which is a subsidiary sect to our Blaze Dragon Dao. The Heavenly Scorpion Sect isn't a particularly powerful sect, but it has a great deal of expertise in all types of restrictions and the refinement of Dao Warriors," Qi Liang informed in a low voice.
Han Li nodded in response with a contemplative expression.
Qi Liang stowed his badge away before entering the pavilion.
The furnishings inside the pavilion were quite lavish, with a lush red carpet on the ground and dragons and phoenixes engraved on the pristine white walls. The room was also surrounded by screens and immaculately pruned potted plants, resembling the interior of a wealthy family's estate.
Several maidservants dressed in red were situated around the room, and they immediately extended respectful curtseys toward Han Li and Qi Liang.
They appeared to have been no different from normal people, but in reality, they were merely Dao warriors, and all of them were giving off auras comparable to that of a Body Integration cultivator.
Han Li took a closer look at these maidservants to find that their movements were very natural, and their eyes were also just as bright and full of life as a normal person.
Having already refined a batch of Dao Warriors of his own, he had naturally gained a far better understanding of Dao Warriors, but even so, he was still unable to tell how the Heavenly Scorpion Sect had managed to refine these Dao Warrior maidservants.
His Dao Warriors were most likely far more formidable in battle than these Dao Warriors, but they were far lacking when it came to how life-like they were.
Right at this moment a young woman emerged from deeper in the building, and she extended a respectful curtsey to Han Li and Qi Liang.
"Take us to the exchange hall," Qi Liang instructed.
"Yes, please come with me, seniors," the young woman hurriedly replied, then led the two of them up a staircase to a hall on the third floor.
The hall was quite large, but it was completely empty with the exception of some furniture.
At the center of the room was a giant screen that bore an extremely life-like scenic painting, making one feel as if they were situated in the depicted scenic location.
Han Li inspected his surroundings momentarily, following which his brows furrowed slightly as he turned his gaze back to the screen.
Right at this moment, the young woman chanted an incantation before releasing a streak of white light into the screen, and a layer of translucent white light instantly appeared on its surface.
The scenery depicted on it instantly sprang to life in a flurry of movement, and it was also releasing black light that fused with the white light to form a black door.
A hint of intrigue flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this.
The young woman continued to chant her incantation while making hand seals, and the black door began to glow brighter and brighter with black light while also rapidly expanding.
A dull thump rang out as the black door flew out of the screen, hovering in front of it before opening to reveal a long passageway.
"Go ahead, seniors, the hall is just up ahead," the young woman informed.
Qi Liang nodded in response, then waved a dismissive hand, and the young woman quickly departed after extending a parting curtsey.
"Let's go," Qi Liang said as he led the way into the passageway.
Han Li strode through the passageway while inspecting it closely, and he could tell that the passageway had been created using an extremely advanced spatial restriction that resulted in a very stable space.
Qi Liang could see that Han Li had taken an interest in the passageway that they were walking through, and he explained, "The Heavenly Scorpion Sect is very adept in spatial restrictions, particularly ones that create independent areas. I've heard that many of the secret areas in our sect were created with the help of the Heavenly Scorpion Sect."
Han Li nodded in response, but his brows then furrowed slightly as he asked, "This is just an exchange event, not some shady, under-the-table deal, so why have they gone out of their way to hold the event in this separate space? Could it be that there are going to be so many people in attendance that they can't all fit in the hall outside?"
"There won't be many people in attendance, but the Heavenly Scorpion Sect has always had a habit of doing this, both to provide a private area for all of the event attendees, as well as to show off their expertise in spatial restrictions," Qi Liang explained with a smile.
"I see," Han Li replied with a nod.
"By the way, the exchange event here will be held once per day in the leadup to the preaching ceremony. If you're interested, I can get them to assign you a Heavenly Scorpion Badge as well so you can come to the next few exchange events as well," Qi Liang said.
"I hope that's not too much trouble," Han Li replied with a smile.
"Of course not! With your formidable cultivation base, the Heavenly Scorpion Sect would be scrambling to befriend you!" Qi Liang chuckled.
As they were chatting with one another, they reached the end of the passageway, where they arrived in a side hall and were greeted by an azure-robed elderly man with a warm smile on his face.
"Welcome, Fellow Daoist Qi. May I ask who this fellow daoist is?"
"This is Elder Li, a good friend of mine who's also from the Blaze Dragon Dao. He's always in seclusion, so very few people know of him. Brother Li, this is Fellow Daoist Changhe of the Heavenly Scorpion Sect, he'll be the one hosting the exchange event."
It seemed that Qi Liang and the elderly man were very familiar with one another.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fellow Daoist Changhe," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a salute.
The elderly man responded in kind. "The pleasure is all mine, Fellow Daoist Li."
"Brother Li only just got here today, so he doesn't yet have a Heavenly Scorpion Badge. You wouldn't turn him away on that basis, would you, Fellow Daoist Changhe?" Qi Liang asked in a joking manner.
"Of course not, Fellow Daoist Qi. Fellow Daoist Li is more than welcome to attend our exchange events. Here's a Heavenly Scorpion Badge for you, Fellow Daoist Li. We'll be holding exchange events every day for the next few days, so feel free to come as you please," Daoist Changhe said as he offered a white badge to Han Li.
"You have my thanks," Han Li said as he accepted the badge.
"You're very much welcome, Fellow Daoist Li. Please follow me, the exchange event will be starting very soon."
With that, Daoist Changhe led Han Li's duo out of the side hall, and they passed through a corridor before arriving in a circular main hall.
The furnishings in this main hall were extremely lavish, and the ground was entirely paved with a type of premium material known as Green Pine Jade. There were also many bright gems embedded into the walls to fill the entire hall with dazzling radiance.
An antiquated little cauldron was placed in each of the hall's four corners, and there was a stick of burning yellow incense in each cauldron, giving off a refined and elegant aroma.
At the center of the hall was a large round table, around which were placed around two dozen chairs.
The table and the chairs were all crafted from some type of blue jade material that was giving off a cool and refreshing energy, clearly indicating that this was some type of precious material.
At this point, there were already around a dozen True Immortal cultivators seated around the table, and everyone immediately turned to look at Han Li's trio as they came in.
Some of them appeared to have been familiar with Qi Liang, and they only took a few glances at Han Li before averting their eyes.
Han Li made no eye contact with anyone, and only after taking seat did he begin to inspect the people around him.
Close to half of the people present were Blaze Dragon Dao elders, but Han Li only recalled two or three of them. As for those from outside of the Blaze Dragon Dao, he naturally didn't know any of them.
Qi Liang had a large social circle and began to chat with many of the other people present, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually began to liven up a little.
Han Li took no part in the conversations, merely sitting in silence as he casually swept his gaze around the table.
With this tremendous spiritual sense, he was able to instantly determine that most of the cultivators present were at the early-True Immortal Stage, while only two were at the mid-True Immortal Stage.
One of those two was a portly middle-aged man dressed in Blaze Dragon Dao elder robes. He had a thin mustache and a pair of eyes that were constantly darting around, making him resemble a fat yet shrewd rat.
The other mid-True Immortal cultivator was a white-robed elderly man from outside of the Blaze Dragon Dao, and he was seated with his eyes closed, paying no heed to the people around him.
The portly Blaze Dragon Dao elder seemed to have detected Han Li's gaze, and he looked back at Han Li before flashing him a smile, causing his mustache to wiggle a little in a rather comical sight.
Han Li was rather amused by this, but he naturally wasn't going to display his amusement. He gave the portly elder a slight nod, yet right as he was about to avert his gaze, a layer of black light suddenly appeared within the portly elder's eyes before quickly transforming into a pair of tiny vortexes.
A burst of peculiar power erupted out of the vortexes to ensnare Han Li's gaze, and all of a sudden, Han Li found himself situated in a world that was filled with white mist.
Several young women emerged from the mist, and their thin veil clothing didn't leave much to the imagination as they made all types of seductive gestures toward Han Li with their alluring bodies.
Han Li was able to instantly tell that this was an illusion, and he paid no heed to the women around him as he gently blew out a breath.
All of the women around him instantly faded, and countless cracks abruptly appeared in the surrounding world of white mist without any warning, following which it shattered to reveal the hall that Han Li was situated in once again.
The portly elder shuddered slightly, and the black light in his eyes was thrown into a state of disarray before fading away, revealing the stunned look in his eyes.
Han Li cast a cold gaze toward the portly elder, in response to which the elder offered up an apologetic smile.
This was only a very discreet clash between the two, but all of the other cultivators present were at the True Immortal Stage, so this naturally didn't escape their notice, and all of them were rather taken aback by this turn of events.
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