Chapter 1171: The Bodhi Feast

After Li Qima left, Han Li released his spiritual sense to inspect every part of the separate courtyard. Finding nothing unusual, he waved his hand to set up layers of restrictions and then turned and walked into the room at the deepest part of the courtyard.

After setting up several more layers of restrictions there, he finally entered the Flower Branch Space.

Little White was pacing back and forth in the open space before the bamboo building. Seeing Han Li appear, he hurriedly came up to greet him.

"Alright, now that there are no outsiders here, tell me about Gold Boy. How did you encounter the people from Nine Yuan Temple, and who captured her?" Han Li asked in a deep voice.

"After leaving you, Master, my eldest and I traveled around and eventually arrived at the Jinyuan Immortal Domain. We found a way to locate the Gold Devouring Immortal you had mentioned before. After much effort, my eldest finally devoured it and successfully broke through to the Da Luo realm," Little White said rapidly.

Han Li was delighted to hear that Gold Boy had already reached the Da Luo realm, but then his joy quickly faded.

If Gold Boy, with her Da Luo realm strength, had still been captured, the one who acted must be extremely formidable, making it very difficult to rescue her.

Sure enough, Little White's next words confirmed his suspicions.

"But who would have thought that Gold Devouring Immortal had an owner, and that person was a powerful figure within Nine Yuan Temple. He personally came after my eldest and me. We fled desperately for many years, but in the end, he caught up. That person was incredibly strong. After a fierce struggle, my eldest was captured. However, at the last moment, she used a spell to tear open the void and sent me out, telling me to find you to rescue her. I never expected to see you so soon."

Little White spoke clearly and quickly, recounting the entire sequence of events.

"Do you know the name of the person who captured you and his status within Nine Yuan Temple?" Han Li asked after a moment of silence.

"His name is Gui Lingzi, and he seems to be one of the Four Great Envoys of Nine Yuan Temple," Little White said, his body trembling and a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.

"Gui Lingzi..." Han Li narrowed his eyes.

He had gathered quite a bit of information about Nine Yuan Temple from Lan Yan, including details about this Gui Lingzi. It was said that this man's strength surpassed even that of Miao Fa Immortal Venerable and that he was arguably the leader of the Four Great Envoys.

Han Li frowned slightly. Miao Fa Immortal Venerable's strength was already formidable, let alone this even more powerful Gui Lingzi.

"Master, don't worry. That man didn't capture my eldest to harm her. It seems he intends to use her as a gift to give to someone at a Bodhi Feast. For now, she should be safe," Little White said quickly upon seeing Han Li's expression.

"Bodhi Feast?" Han Li's expression shifted. He had never heard of this name, but it sounded like some kind of grand gathering.

After a brief deliberation, he took out the Reincarnation Palace mask and offered a high bounty for information about the Bodhi Feast. Seeing this, Little White wisely stayed quietly aside and waited.

Unexpectedly, someone responded quickly.

According to the information, the Bodhi Feast was a grand gathering held by the Heavenly Court once every five million years, with a long and storied history.

The origin of the Bodhi Feast was a Bodhi Dao Tree in the Heavenly Court. This tree was said to be an immortal spiritual root that had existed since the time when heaven and earth were still in chaos, before their separation. The Bodhi Dao Fruit it bore had unparalleled effects; eating one could increase one's cultivation by tens of millions of years.

Moreover, after consuming a Bodhi Dao Fruit, there was a certain chance that one's physical body would transform into a Bodhi Dao Body, which was extremely beneficial for the cultivation of all laws and was incredibly precious.

Originally, the Bodhi Dao Tree required billions of years to bloom and bear fruit once, but the Time Dao Ancestor of the Heavenly Court used his peerless divine abilities to make the tree bear fruit once every five million years. Moreover, each time the Bodhi Dao Fruit ripened, the Time Dao Ancestor did not hoard them but invited powerful forces from various immortal domains to gather together for a grand feast, distributing the Bodhi Dao Fruits. Thus, the Bodhi Feast, held once every five million years, came into being.

In the distant past, the Bodhi Feast was merely a banquet to discuss the distribution of Bodhi Dao Fruits. However, as the fame of the Bodhi Dao Fruit spread, more and more forces requested to participate, and the scale grew larger. The supply of Bodhi Dao Fruits could not meet the demand, and various major forces began to offer great gifts to the Time Dao Ancestor in exchange for a Bodhi Dao Fruit.

As more and more forces joined the Bodhi Feast, it was no longer just an activity for distributing fruits. The major forces used the feast to strengthen ties, discuss important matters, and form alliances.

Today, the Bodhi Feast has become the number one grand event in the Heavenly Court and even in the entire True Immortal Realm.

The next Bodhi Feast is less than three thousand years away.

Seeing this, Han Li couldn't help but frown.

According to Little White, Gui Lingzi probably intended to present Gold Boy at the Bodhi Feast to the Heavenly Court, or even directly to the Time Dao Ancestor.

Based on the information provided by the Reincarnation Palace, the Time Dao Ancestor had a particular fondness for all kinds of rare and unusual things, whether strange heavenly treasures or exotic beasts. It was likely that Gui Lingzi, thinking the Gold Devouring Immortal was rare, planned to offer it to the Time Dao Ancestor.

If Gold Boy was still in Gui Lingzi's hands, there was a chance he could rescue her. But once she fell into the hands of the Time Dao Ancestor, Han Li would have no hope of getting her back.

Although Jiao San had mentioned that there would be a mission concerning Nine Yuan Temple that could help him rescue Gold Boy, it was uncertain how much help the Reincarnation Palace would provide. In the end, he could only rely on himself.

But a mere three thousand years was really too tight.

To advance his cultivation further, he would need to find two more items matching the Time Law to raise the Time Law Crystal Threads on the Eastwood Divine Wood and the Illusory Time Hourglass. Only then would it be possible.

But items that match the Time Law are hard to come by, only found by chance.

He had been lucky before, obtaining a Water-Evolution Time Monarch Crystal, but how could such good fortune come again?

"I'll find a way to rescue Golden Boy. Xiao Bai, you've just awakened. Take these and devour them to recover properly." Han Li's mind raced with various thoughts as he waved his hand, producing a large pile of various immortal artifacts and materials, which he gave to Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai's eyes lit up at the sight of the immortal artifacts, and he quickly thanked him.

"By the way, Master, when my boss and I were capturing that Devourer Gold Immortal, we once infiltrated the Nine Yuan Temple. I found this thing inside, but I can't digest it at all. It should be useful to you." Xiao Bai was about to devour a few immortal artifacts when he suddenly remembered something and said.

Then he opened his mouth and spat out an earth-yellow alms bowl, which flew out and landed before Han Li.

The alms bowl looked somewhat worn, appearing to be an ancient relic from long ago, inscribed with golden patterns.

"This is..." Han Li's eyes brightened as he stared intently at the alms bowl, frozen in place.

The alms bowl emitted waves of powerful Law fluctuations—none other than Time Law fluctuations, very similar to those of the Illusory辰 Hourglass.

Moreover, the Time Law power emanating from this alms bowl was exceptionally vast, surpassing even the Water-Evolution Time Monarch Crystal he had obtained not long ago.

"Xiao Bai, well done! This is exactly what I need!" He scooped up Xiao Bai, rubbed his head vigorously, and said excitedly.

"Could it be that my luck has turned lately, receiving Time Law items one after another?" Han Li couldn't help but think to himself.

"I'm glad this thing is useful to you, Master. I'll go cultivate now." Xiao Bai grinned, took the immortal artifact materials Han Li had given him, and flew to the side.

Han Li took the alms bowl, turning it over and examining it, growing more and more excited.

He then let out a soft breath to calm his excitement, sat cross-legged, and activated the "Great Five Elements Illusory World Art." Five streams of golden light shot out, condensing into a golden ring that enveloped the earth-yellow alms bowl.

With a "crack!"

The earth-yellow alms bowl shattered, and countless sand-grain-sized golden light spots shot out, merging into the golden ring.

Then, golden light flickered on the ring, and strands of golden crystal filaments condensed, totaling sixty-three strands, all shooting out to wrap around the Illusory辰 Hourglass.

The Time Law power within Han Li surged again, and its operation became smoother, bringing him another surge of joy.

Now only the East乙 Divine Wood remained. As long as he found a matching Time Law item, he could once again attempt to break through to the Great Luo realm.

Han Li's eyes flickered, and he flipped his hand to take out the Reincarnation Temple mask again, raising the price for purchasing Time Law items by a full fifty percent.

What mattered most to him now was time. With less than three thousand years until the Bodhi Banquet, this period was neither long nor short—especially for someone of his cultivation level, it was merely the span of a single seclusion, which would pass in a flash.

Han Li must advance to the Great Luo realm before the Bodhi Banquet to have any chance of infiltrating the Nine Yuan Temple and rescuing Golden Boy.

As for the expenditure of immortal essence stones, it was no concern; he had a full seventy million immortal essence stones on hand, more than enough.

Han Li took off the Reincarnation Temple mask, pondered briefly, then first left the Flower Branch Space and went outside the courtyard, instructing the attendant outside to inform Liqima that he intended to remain on the Eight Desolations Mountain.

He then returned to the inner chamber, entered the Flower Branch Space again, and raised his hand to wave.

A silver light flew out from Han Li's sleeve—it was the Essence Flame Boy.

"In a few hundred years, I have a very important matter to attend to, and I may need your power. From today onward, you will go into seclusion here and refine that white fire pearl. As for the primordial energy you lost, I will find a way to help you recover." He said to the Essence Flame Boy.

The Essence Flame Boy tilted his head, looked at Han Li twice, then nodded and flew to a corner of the Flower Branch Space.

Its body flickered with silver flames, transforming into a silver fireball about ten feet in size, rolling and churning. Within the silver flames, the white fire pearl spun rapidly, emitting waves of powerful Fire Law fluctuations.

Seeing this, Han Li showed a hint of joy, then turned his gaze to the distant pavilion.

From within the pavilion came faint ghostly howls; Ti Hun was still in seclusion there, and it was unknown when he would awaken.

He quickly withdrew his gaze but did not continue cultivating. Instead, he flipped his hand and took out a palm-sized jade plate inscribed with a complex formation diagram—the diagram of the Time-Space Heavenly Spiral Formation.

After returning from the True Word Sect's time travel, Han Li, fearing he might forget over time, had recorded the formation diagram on this jade plate.

He still had many things to do: comprehending the Tongtian Sword Formation, cultivating time-based divine abilities like "Reversal of the True Wheel" and "Dharma Word Heaven and Earth"—not just advancing to Great Luo. Time was simply insufficient no matter what. If he could set up a time-differential space like that of the True Word Sect, all problems would be solved.

Although there was still an important issue unresolved in constructing a time-differential space, he decided to start setting it up anyway.