Chapter 2379: Imminent Battle

Above a certain giant lake in the renowned Tidefall Grassland on the Blood Sky Continent, Han Li and the others were flying through the air in a nondescript flying boat.

Han Li was standing at the very front of the boat in an expressionless manner, while Zhu Guo'er and Patriarch Hua Shi were standing behind him with dejected expressions.

A short while ago, they had just tested the final ancient altar on the grassland, but were disappointed to find that it still wasn't the one they were searching for.

All of a sudden, a clear buzzing sound rang out from Han Li's body.

His expression changed slightly as he released a blue formation plate out of his sleeve, and around a dozen shimmering silver characters appeared on the object's surface.

"Let's go to the nearby Pegasus City," Han Li immediately instructed.

Patriarch Hua Shi was rather surprised to hear this, but he immediately obliged, controlling the flying boat to fly toward another direction.

"What happened, Senior Han? Could it be that the match against the Infernal Realm is about to begin?" Zhu Guo'er asked.

Han Li hadn't told her everything about this upcoming match, but he had revealed some inconsequential information about it to her.

Thus, she didn't know the exact details involved, but she did know that Han Li had to fight a certain group of powerful beings at a certain time and place.

"That's right. Hehe, I benefited from the He Lian Trade Guild in the past, so I can't revoke my promise now," Han Li replied.

"Even with so many Grand Ascension Stage beings among its ranks, the trade guild is still requesting your assistance; it's clear that this is going to be no ordinary match. Please be careful, Senior Han," Zhu Guo'er said in a concerned manner. "Don't worry, with my current powers, there shouldn't be many beings in the world who can pose a threat to me. Even if I can't defeat my opponent, I'll definitely be able to at least get away safely," Han Li said with a confident smile.

Both Zhu Guo'er and Patriarch Hua Shi were quite reassured by Han Li's display of confidence.

Half a month later, Han Li's trio arrived at a giant city on the outskirts of the grassland.

In contrast with normal cities, there were rows of thick dark green bamboo trees planted outside the city wall to form another wall of bamboo that surrounded the entire city.

There were grey pegasus statues that were over 100 meters tall situated at roughly 500-meter intervals along the city wall, and not only were they extremely life-like, all of them were in different poses.

Instead of landing at the city gate, Han Li's flying boat flew directly over the city wall before crashing into the invisible restrictions over the city, much to the astonishment of countless low-grade and mid-grade cultivators down below.

However, the flying boat only descended slightly before continuing on toward the center of the city.

"That's a Grand Ascension Stage senior!" many of the people down below immediately exclaimed.

The astonishment on the faces of the guards on the city wall also transitioned into respectful expressions upon seeing this.

There was no way that a Body Integration Stage being would be able to allow a flying boat to completely disregard a city's flight restrictions; only someone at or above the Grand Ascension Stage would be able to accomplish this.

Most cities had rules prohibiting outsiders from flying in the city, but Grand Ascension Stage beings and even some powerful Body Integration Stage beings could naturally ignore such rules.

Of course, the number and caliber of powerful beings guarding a city differed from city to city. Pegasus City wasn't a huge city, but there were no Grand Ascension Stage beings within its walls.

There were only several Body Integration cultivators in the city, and the guards certainly wouldn't dare to oppose a Grand Ascension Stage being.

Thus, Han Li's trio quickly arrived in front of a massive building at the center of the city that bore the symbol of the He Lian Trade Guild before the flying boat was stowed away.

As soon as they began to descend from above, two rows of people immediately emerged from the building with respectful expressions. All of them extended deep bows toward Han Li, and a grey-haired elderly man who appeared to be around 60 to 70 years of age said in a respectful voice, "We pay our respects to Senior Han. We were made aware of your imminent arrival several days ago, and have already prepared the teleportation formation. Would you like to take a rest before setting off, Senior Han?"

"I see your trade guild is very efficient. There's no need for any rest; prepare for teleportation right away," Han Li instructed.

"Alright, please come with me, Senior," the elderly man replied with another respectful bow.

Han Li nodded in response before making his way toward the entrance of the building, followed closely by Zhu Guo'er and Patriarch Hua Shi.

A short while later, Han Li arrived in a secluded underground hall, at the center of which stood a silver formation that was riddled with spirit runes.

Han Li quickly inspected his surroundings, and his brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "Will this formation take me directly to the small world?"

"Indeed, Senior; Master Bi Ying arranged for all of our trade guild's representatives to meet in the small world," the elderly man replied.

"In that case, I'm sure the preparations on Fellow Daoist Bi's end are complete. Begin the teleportation," Han Li instructed with a smile before stepping into the formation, as did Zhu Guo'er and Patriarch Hua Shi.

The elderly man gave an affirmative response before summoning an azure jade badge, which he waved through the air to release a streak of silver light that vanished into the formation in a flash.

In the next instant, the entire formation began to emit a faint buzzing sound, and Han Li's trio vanished amid a flash of silver light.

......

Silver light flashed within a formation surrounded by lush greenery in another world, and Han Li's trio re-emerged.

"You've finally arrived, Brother Han. How have you been these past few years?" A voice rang out from behind the nearby trees, following which one of the trees suddenly split apart into two people.

The duo was comprised of a green-robed elderly man with a smile on his wizened face, and a young brocade-robed woman who was quite elegant and refined appearance, and was holding a small silver beast in her arms.

Han Li could sense a familiar aura from the elderly man, and he asked, "Fellow Daoist Bi Ying?"

"That's right, it's me. I hope you aren't holding any grudges over the test I implemented during our first meeting; we'll be counting on you during this match," Bi Ying said with a smile.

"Of course, Brother Bi; I agreed to participate in this match, so I'll be sure to do my best," Han Li replied with a smile.

Bi Ying then turned to the young woman beside him, and introduced, "This is Elder Wen Xinfeng of our trade guild's panel of elders, and she hails from the Illusion Heart Sect. Her powers rank near the top of all of our elders on the Blood Sky Continent, and she's also one of our trade guild's representatives for this match."

"The Illusion Heart Sect? I've heard that this is the largest sect in the northern region of the Blood Sky Continent. The sect doesn't have many disciples, but all of them are top-tier beings at their respective cultivation bases," Han Li said as a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.

Having roamed the Blood Sky Continent for several years, he had become rather familiar with some of the major powers on the continent.

This was a powerful being from a sect that was not inferior to the Blood Bone Sect, so it was rather counterintuitive that someone like her would join the He Lian Trade Guild, and that was the reason for his surprise.

Wen Xinfeng seemed to have sensed Han Li's befuddlement, and she smiled as she explained, "The founding father of our sect came from our trade guild, and ever since our sect was founded, it had always been a strong ally of the trade guild, so it's only natural that I became an elder of the guild."

"I see, that does make sense," Han Li said as an enlightened look appeared on his face.

"Please come to my abode to take a good rest, Brother Han. There are only two months left until the match against the Infernal Realm, and Fellow Daoist Lei and Fellow Daoist Xue Sha should be arriving soon. If you have any needs, feel free to state them, and our trade guild will do our best to fulfill those needs," Bi Ying said as he led Han Li's trio toward a small path.

"I'll be sure to do so, Brother Bi," Han Li replied with a smile.

Thus, the group soon emerged from the surrounding forest before arriving in front of a massive cluster of buildings akin to a stronghold.

"This is one of the large settlements our trade guild has set up in this world, and it's the one closest to the area controlled by those beings of the Infernal Realm. Their territory is only hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, and the match will be taking place on the border between the territories under each side's control. When the time for the match comes, the armies of both sides will also be mobilized, so as a safety precaution..." Bi Ying began to introduce the current circumstances while leading Han Li's group toward the stronghold.

There were over 100 armored warriors stationed at the gate of the stronghold, and there were also some human-beast hybrid puppets that were roaming the city walls, which were over 1,000 feet tall and resembled sheer cliff faces.

Lights of all types of different colors were flashing above the stronghold, and restriction fluctuations encompassed the entire area, making it apparent that the stronghold was very tightly guarded.

With Bi Ying leading the way, the guards at the gate naturally weren't going to stop them. Instead, they quickly extended respectful bows before backing away to either side, granting the group entry to the stronghold.

Around an hour later, Han Li found himself situated in a secret chamber on the top floor small stone pagoda at the center of the stronghold.

He was currently seated with his legs crossed, meditating to prime himself into the best condition, while Zhu Guo'er and Patriarch Hua Shi were standing on guard duty in shifts outside.

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