Chapter 407: A Request
The pillar of blue light continued to erupt outward for close to 20 seconds before slowly fading, and only then did the disturbance in the gate of light subside.
"It seems like the entrance really does need to be somewhat sealed. I think each of the powers present should send out a representative and have them join forces to seal the entrance. That way, everyone can rest assured that there won't be any foul play afoot," Feng Tiandu suggested.
"I concur," Luo Qinghai immediately chimed in.
No one else raised any objections to this proposal, and each of the factions sent out a Golden Immortal representative, with the exception of Qu Ling, who was on her own.
Han Li's faction sent out Xu Yangzi, and in total, there were six Golden Immortals surrounding the blue gate of light as they chanted an incantation while hovering in mid-air.
Lights of different colors erupted out of their bodies, then intertwined to form a rainbow-like cage of light that encompassed the blue gate.
The light on the surface of the gate instantly began to shudder erratically while releasing shockwaves that were invisible to the naked eye in all directions. The cage of light still hadn't fully taken shape yet, and it began to tremble violently in the face of the shockwaves, looking as if it could shatter at any moment.
However, it was ultimately stabilized as everyone sped up their incantation, but a burst of residual shockwaves was still able to sneak through before spreading outward in all directions.
The weaker True Immortals in the cave were unable to stand their ground in the face of these shockwaves, and they were forced all the way back to the cave wall before finally steadying themselves.
As a result, the originally orderly formation of cultivators in the cave had become a little chaotic.
Han Li was able to withstand the shockwaves, but in order to blend in and not draw any attention to himself, he pretended to stumble back to the cave wall as well.
From there, he observed the six Golden Immortals around the gate of light, and a thought suddenly sprang into his mind.
According to Daoist Hu Yan, there were a total of eight Infernal Frost Scenic Paintings, yet there were only seven powers present, so was there one missing?
All of the Golden Immortals present were sly old foxes who had lived for countless years, so there was no way that they hadn't noticed this. Hence, they must've simply refrained from mentioning this matter for some reason.
While Han Li was deep in thought, a familiar voice rang out beside him.
"Brother Liu!"
Han Li was immediately snapped out of his train of thought, and he turned to discover none other than Lu Yuqing standing not far away from him, sneaking glances at him with a hint of a smile in her eyes.
It seemed that in the wake of the orderly formation of cultivators being broken up by that burst of shockwaves, Lu Yuqing had taken the opportunity to sneak over to his side.
A resigned look appeared on Han Li's face as he sighed through voice transmission, "I should've known I wouldn't be able to hide from you."
"I wasn't expecting to see you here, Brother Liu. Are you also interested in the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor?" Lu Yuqing asked.
"Of course I am, given the abundance of precious treasures in the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor. However, we belong to different factions at the moment. It looks like Black Wind Island is currently a subsidiary power to the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace, so surely it's inappropriate for you to be approaching me like this," Han Li replied.
"It's fine, Brother Liu. We've only been brought here to prevent us from leaking the location of the immortal manor's entrance. Now that the news has already been leaked, our presence here is completely superfluous. On top of that, the situation is a bit chaotic right now, so no one will be paying any attention to us," Lu Yuqing said.
Han Li offered no response to this.
Lu Yuqing hesitated momentarily, then continued, "Brother Liu, there's something I wanted to ask you. Time is of the essence, so I'll keep things brief."
Han Li was rather taken aback to hear this, but his expression remained unchanged as he prompted, "Go ahead."
"I also want to enter the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, and I'm hoping that the faction that you belong to can bring me along," Lu Yuqing declared in a direct and straightforward manner.
Han LI faltered slightly upon hearing this, then asked, "Isn't your Black Wind Island a subsidiary power of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace? Why don't you ask them to take you with them?"
"Are you not aware that each Infernal Frost Scenic Painting can only grant 12 people access into the immortal manor? With such a limited number of spots, there's no way that the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace would be willing to take me with them," Lu Yuqing said in a slightly self-deprecating voice.
"I was indeed unaware of that," Han Li replied.
Having said that, prior to this, he had already noticed that all of the each of the factions present seemed to have consisted of 12 people, but he hadn't thought much of this as there had been other things on his mind.
"You and I are acquaintances, and I really want to help you, but as you can see, all 12 of our spots are already occupied, so I'm afraid I won't be able to help you," Han Li replied.
He was already taking quite a significant risk on this trip, and after seeing so many Golden Immortals here, he was even more determined to keep a low profile. He had decided that he was just going to play it safe and help Daoist Hu Yan obtain what he wanted in exchange for the next three levels of the Mantra Axis Scripture.
Han Li was confident that he would be able to secure a spot from Daoist Hu Yan, but in doing so, he would have to offend the True Flame Sect, and that was not a desirable outcome for him.
"Don't be in such a hurry to refuse, Brother Liu, I can be more of a valuable asset than you think. Our Lu Clan actually discovered the entrance of the immortal manor even earlier than the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace, and at the time, we obtained a stone plaque from here that contains a part of the immortal manor's map and some other information.
“As I'm sure you're aware, the immortal palace is fraught with peril. If you bring me along, I'm willing to share my knowledge with you," Lu Yuqing said.
Han Li's eyes immediately lit up slightly upon hearing this.
They were venturing into the immortal manor completely blind, so it would indeed be a lot safer if Lu Yuqing could act as a guide for them.
Han Li was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"I'm willing to swear a vow. If I'm lying to you here, then let me be racked with inner demons and suffer a terrible death," Lu Yuqing vowed in a solemn voice.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li nodded in response. "Alright, in that case, I can relay your request to the leader of our group, but I can't guarantee whether he'll agree or not."
"I knew I could count on you, Brother Liu!" Lu Yuqing said with a faint smile, seemingly completely unconcerned.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, but he still approached Daoist Hu Yan before relaying what Lu Yuqing had told him through voice transmission.
An ecstatic look instantly appeared in Daoist Hu Yan's eyes after he heard what Han Li had to say. "What? She has a map of the immortal manor?"
"I've met her on several past occasions, so I know her decently well, and I think she's telling the truth," Han Li replied.
Daoist Hu Yan was silent for a moment, then nodded in response. "In that case, let's bring her along."
"What about the True Flame Sect?" Han Li asked in a hesitant voice.
"Leave them to me," Daoist Hu Yan replied.
Han Li nodded in response, then turned to Lu Yuqing and informed her of what had just transpired through voice transmission.
An elated look appeared in Lu Yuqing's eyes, and she gave Han Li a slight nod from afar before returning to the group of Black Wind Island cultivators.
At this point, the restriction set up by the six Golden Immortals around the gate of light had already been fully established, and a thick rainbow light barrier had appeared over the blue gate.
Glacial qi was surging violently within the gate of light, but the light barrier remained firm and resolute, standing against the waves of glacial qi without any trouble. It seemed that his restriction was even more formidable than the one that the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace had set up here earlier.
"As expected of a master of arrays like yourself, Fellow Daoist Feng, this restriction of yours is quite profound," Xiao Jinhan praised as he cupped his fist in a salute.
"You're far too kind, Palace Master Xiao," Feng Tiandu replied in an indifferent voice, then sat down with his legs crossed somewhere in the cave.
All of the other Dawn Fall Sect cultivators immediately sat down around him.
Meanwhile, Xiao Jinhan glanced at Feng Tiandu for a moment longer before returning to the group of Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators.
The other factions in the cave were also waiting for the immortal manor to descend, and with so many people present, the cave was virtually entirely filled.
Xu Yangzi had also returned to the group, and Daoist Hu Yan approached him to exchange a few words.
After hearing what Daoist Hu Yan had to say, Xu Yangzi was initially quite disgruntled, glowering at Han Li with a furious expression, but as Daoist Hu Yan continued, the fury on Xu Yangzi's face gradually faded, and in the end, he gave a reluctant nod.
Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief upon seeing this, then closed his eyes to meditate.
Two days passed by in the blink of an eye.
The gate of light in the cave had swelled to over twice its original size, and the patterns on its surface had become extremely clear, making it seem as if it really were a spatial gate that led to another world.
Hovering within the gate of light was a ball of blue light that was churning violently and giving off radiant blue light.
A spatial passageway could be seen within the ball of light, but it was unclear where it led to.
At this point, everyone in the cave had already risen to their feet and were intently scrutinizing the gate of light, which was trembling incessantly.
The nearby space was also buzzing and trembling, causing the entire cave to shudder and sway.
The rainbow cage of light around the gate was still standing, but it was clearly being overwhelmed.
The six Golden Immortals rose up into the air once again at Feng Tiandu's instruction before attempting to fortify the cage of light, but their efforts proved to be futile as the light radiating out of the blue gate was becoming brighter and brighter, slowly forcing the rainbow cage outward.
All of a sudden, the ball of blue light within the gate abruptly swelled to several times its original size, virtually filling the entire blue gate while fluctuating in size in an unstable fashion.
At the same time, waves of rippling blue light erupted out of the gate, and all of the space in the wake of the rippling immediately blurred and warped.
Before long, the rainbow cage was completely shattered, and the six Golden Immortals around it were instantly sent flying back, but they were already prepared for this outcome, and they were able to escape injury by activating some protective secret techniques.
"There's not much time left, so there's no need to continue," Feng Tiandu said as he stared intently at the gate of light.
Right at this moment, the entire gate of light exploded violently amid a resounding boom, transforming into a ball of radiant blue light.
A projection of a series of mountains, rivers, palaces, and pavilions appeared deep within the ball of light, but it was unclear what location the projection was depicting.
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