Chapter 405: Assembled
A hint of wariness flashed through Han Li's eyes as he observed the woman.
Even with his tremendous spiritual sense, he was unable to detect her cultivation base, and he had only ever experienced this with Xiao Jinhan and Baili Yan. Not even Luo Qinghai had been so unfathomable in his eyes.
He observed the woman for a while longer, then closed his eyes to meditate.
The woman was none other than Qu Ling, and there was a small golden pouch hanging from her waist.
The pouch was glowing with spiritual light, and there were several peculiar patterns on its surface, giving off a burst of law fluctuations.
Right at this moment, the pouch twitched ever so slightly, and Qu Ling's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this as she brushed a hand over the pouch in a subtle fashion.
A ball of silver light appeared over the palm of her hand before quickly vanishing into the pouch, upon which it fell still again.
All of a sudden, Han Li's eyes sprang open as a hint of shock flashed across his face, and he hurriedly lowered his head to conceal his expression.
Right at this moment, Qu Ling raised her head as she swept her gaze across everyone in the cave.
At this moment, everyone was also observing her, and as soon as anyone's gaze met hers, they immediately felt a sharp pain in their eyes, as if they had been pricked by a needle.
Most of the people present hurriedly withdrew their gaze, and some with lesser cultivation bases couldn't help but give muffled groans, as if they had suffered some internal injuries.
Some of the Golden Immortals present were rather displeased to see this, but they didn't say anything.
Luo Qinghai's brows furrowed slightly, and he said, "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Fellow Daoist Qu Ling."
Just now, two of the Vast Flow Palace's True Immortals had suffered some internal injuries from their brief eye contact with Qu Ling, and this was not good news for their imminent venture into the immortal manor.
"You're constantly in seclusion, yet even you've come here, so why can't I be here?" Qu Ling countered as she took an indifferent glance at Luo Qinghai.
"The Infernal Frost Immortal Manor doesn't belong to our Vast Flow Palace, so of course you're free to come her as you please, but isn't it rather unbefitting for someone of your status to be intimidating these juniors?" Luo Qinghai asked with a faint smile.
"If you keep these juniors in check so that they don't go around gawking at others like idiots, perhaps I wouldn't have to discipline them in your stead," Qu Ling replied with a cold sneer.
The other Golden Immortals of the Vast Flow Palace immediately flared up with rage, yet Luo Qinghai raised a hand to stop them before they could say anything.
"You're right, Fellow Daoist Qu, these juniors were indeed at fault for being so rude. It seems like you've advanced even further in your cultivation since we last met. I must admit that I'm very impressed," Luo Qinghai said with a faint smile.
Qu Ling offered no response, taking a glance at the black restriction before finding a place to stand in the cave.
Luo Qinghai was completely unbothered by this, and his smile remained unchanged as he averted his gaze in a calm manner.
"Who is this woman, Senior Hu Yan? It seems like even Luo Qinghai doesn't dare to provoke her," Han Li inquired through voice transmission.
"Her name is Qu Ling, and she’s quite an enigmatic figure, but she's also very renowned in this immortal region. She already reached the late-Golden Immortal Stage over 100,000 years ago, and it seems that her cultivation base has advanced even further since then," Daoist Hu Yan replied.
Han Li's pupils contracted slightly upon hearing this.
"Despite her lofty cultivation base, what's actually most fearsome about her is the vast array of spirit beasts and spirit insects in her possession. On top of that, she has a very cruel and unpredictable personality, and even the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace wouldn't want to make an enemy out of her. If you run into her in the immortal manor, then make sure to stay away, and do not provoke her no matter what you do," Daoist Hu Yan continued.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Han Li replied.
Half a day passed by in the blink of an eye, and some of the people in the hall were beginning to grow rather agitated again, particularly the cultivators of the Ghost Wail Sect.
Chen Pi's gaze was flashing back and forth between the entrance of the cave and the black light barrier, and right at this moment, an ecstatic look appeared on Chen Pi's faces as another group of cultivators arrived.
They were none other than the cultivators of the Dawn Fall Sect, led by their sect master and Feng Tiandu.
"Welcome, Elder Feng, Sect Master Qi. I've already been waiting here for you for quite some time," Luo Qinghai greeted with a warm smile.
"You arrived quite early, Palace Luo, and you've brought with you quite a formidable entourage. It looks like you're determined to get your hands on some precious treasures in the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor," the Dawn Fall Sect Master remarked.
"I wouldn't even dare to consider competing against the two of you. I've only brought these juniors with me on this occasion to broaden their horizons, so rest assured, you won't be facing any competition from me," Luo Qinghai replied with a smile.
"You're still as modest as ever, Palace Master Luo," the Dawn Fall Sect Master chuckled, clearly completely unconvinced by Luo Qinghai's words.
Meanwhile, Feng Tiandu remained silent as he swept his gaze across everyone else in the hall. He had changed into a clean gray robe, and he was still zombie-like in appearance, but he already appeared far more normal than before, and the chains around his body had also disappeared.
All of a sudden, his gaze fell upon none other than Qu Ling.
"Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Qu," Feng Tiandu said with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Qu Ling merely nodded in response.
Han Li was quite taken aback to see this.
Qu Ling had displayed a great deal of arrogance to everyone else in the cave, including even Luo Qinghai, yet she was far more restrained in the face of Feng Tiandu.
Having said that, it seemed that this was for good reason as Feng Tiandu's cultivation base felt just as unfathomable as Qu Ling's to Han Li.
"Senior Hu Yan, are these people from the Dawn Fall Sect?" Han Li asked through voice transmission.
"That's right. The man with the scar on his face is the sect master, Qi Tianxiao. He's always kept a low profile, so he's not all that renowned. The one standing beside him is Feng Tiandu, the grand elder of the Dawn Fall Sect, and he's a much more renowned figure in our Northern Glacial Immortal Region.
“Feng Tiandu, Dao Lord Baili, and Xiao Jinhan are considered to be the three most formidable Golden Immortals of our Northern Glacial Immortal Region, but for some reason, he went into seclusion tens of thousands of years ago and hasn't come out since then, but it seems that he's finally come out of seclusion for this occasion," Daoist Hu Yan replied.
Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this.
He was carefully observing Feng Tiandu, and for some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity in Feng Tiandu, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
Right at this moment, Feng Tiandu seemed to have sensed Han Li's gaze, and he turned to look at Han Li.
Their eyes met, and Han Li instantly felt a chill run down his spine. He felt as if Feng Tiandu were seeing right through him, laying him completely bare and exposed.
Han Li hurriedly averted his gaze, while Feng Tiandu observed Han Li for a while longer with a peculiar look in his eyes before also looking away, turning his attention to the black restriction in the cave.
"Are the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators in there right now, Palace Master Luo?" Feng Tiandu asked.
"That's right," Luo Qinghai replied with a nod.
Feng Tiandu observed the black light barrier for a moment, then raised a hand, and a streak of black light shot out of the palm of his hand like an arrow before striking the black light barrier in a flash.
The streak of light wasn't remarkable in appearance at all, and it wasn't even all that bright, but the impact caused the black light barrier to shudder violently, sending ripples surging over its surface.
Countless specks of black light appeared on the light barrier to form a nine-grid array, and a burst of peculiar force emerged, quickly settling the ripples on the light barrier.
"This is the Nine Heavens Profound Array. Looks like Xiao Jinhan is indeed responsible for this," Feng Tiandu remarked as he turned to Luo Qinghai.
"Indeed, Elder Feng," Luo Qinghai replied with a smile.
"This restriction is certainly not easy to break, but given the combined powers of yourself and the other elders of your Vast Flow Palace, you're definitely capable of breaking this restriction, so why have you still not done so, Palace Master Luo?" Feng Tiandu asked.
"You think far too highly of me, Elder Feng. Besides, seeing as all of us want to enter the immortal manor, we should all contribute our efforts to breaking the restriction," Luo Qinghai replied with a smile.
"I suppose you're right, Palace Master Luo. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Qu?" Feng Tiandu asked as he turned to Qu Ling, in response to which she only gave a silent nod.
"Alright, in that case, let's not waste any more time with idle chatter. Everyone, let's all join forces for now and force the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace to remove the restriction so we can all enter the immortal manor. After that, we all go our separate ways. What do you all say?" Feng Tiandu declared as he swept his gaze over everyone else in the cave.
Everyone immediately expressed their agreement to this proposal, and with that, Feng Tiandu rose up into the air before descending in front of the black restriction.
All of the other Dawn Fall Sect cultivators hurriedly followed along, as did the cultivators from the other powers gathered in the cave.
Han Li was naturally among them, but he intentionally lagged behind a little, situating himself in a discreet corner near the back of the crowd.
An immense collective aura was emanating out of everyone's bodies, placing tremendous pressure upon the black restriction.
The very space was trembling in the wake of the enormous spiritual pressure, and even the entire cave was beginning to rumble.
The black restriction was rippling incessantly as Feng Tiandu declared in a cold voice, "Xiao Jinhan, your plan to keep the immortal manor to yourself has been foiled. Remove this restriction right now. Otherwise, we certainly wouldn't mind doing so by force!"
The black restriction continued to ripple, but remained in place.
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