Chapter 1356: A Gathering of Heroes

"Fellow Daoist Zhu Yan is right. If I had any doubts before, now that I see these two and sense the fluctuations of their aura, I know they are no easy opponents. Besides, we are all Dao Ancestors, heavily constrained by the Heavenly Dao. If we truly fight to the death, the gain will not outweigh the loss." Dongli Hu also spoke.

"This matter was personally instructed by the Sovereign. If we act like this, we might be accused of dereliction of duty..." Meng Yuan hesitated.

"Fellow Daoist Meng Yuan, if you really can't get over it in your heart, why not go ahead and enter the formation to fight? We won't stand idly by; we'll assist from the side. That way, we can also witness your extraordinary divine powers. What do you say?" Zhu Yan smiled.

Hearing this, Meng Yuan narrowed his eyes, a hint of anger rising in his heart.

"Enough. Now that these two are trapped by us, as long as we ensure they don't cause trouble at the Heavenly Court, there's no need to stir up more trouble by entering the formation to fight. After the Bodhi Banquet is over, the Sovereign will make a decision." Zishan said with a sharp rebuke.

Among the four, she was clearly the leader. After she made the final judgment, the others fell silent.

Meng Yuan, who looked like a child, breathed a secret sigh of relief. He naturally didn't really want to fight Han Li to the death; he said those words only to have an excuse if questioned later.

After all, it was the others who refused to fight.

"I didn't expect that during such a grand feast, we would have to stay here. It seems we won't get to taste the Bodhi Fruit..." the old woman sighed, her words full of regret.

The others also sighed inwardly, adding another layer of resentment toward Han Li and the other person.

...

Zhongtu Immortal Domain.

Above the sea outside the Yingtian Gate of Nanzhan Continent, countless giant spirit boats hovered in the air, banners fluttering. A large command flag stood in the center, bearing the three characters "Reincarnation Hall."

On the spirit boats and in the void of the sea, there were dense crowds of people everywhere. Most of them wore Reincarnation Hall attire and various Reincarnation Hall masks on their faces, looking as if they were on high alert.

At the front of the leading spirit boat's deck, seven or eight figures stood side by side. Six of them wore black masks, while only the two in the center showed their true faces.

Among these two, one was a young man with silver short hair, not very tall, but with muscles as refined as steel. He wore a black cloth covering only his mouth and nose, and his green eyes flickered with intense killing intent.

Behind him, he carried two green war blades crossed on his back. The blades were long and sheathless, entirely emerald green like crystal, with faint green mist constantly seeping out, like a living thing breathing.

Beside him stood a young man with dark green skin and a towering figure like an iron tower—it was Wu Yang.

"Tan Lang, has the Hall Master entered the Heavenly Court?" Wu Yang asked with a furrowed brow.

"He has entered through the East Heavenly Gate. In a few hours... the Bodhi Banquet should begin." The silver-haired youth spoke slowly, his voice seeming to squeeze out from deep in his throat.

"How are Yan Zhuo and Xuan Yu doing?" Wu Yang felt a vague unease and asked.

"You're too tense... Relax. They should be the ones tense..." Tan Lang pointed to the opposite side, at the majestic Yingtian Gate far away, and said.

Wu Yang followed his pointing direction and saw behind the Yingtian Gate, various giant light pillars rising from the ground from time to time, like sky-piercing light arrays, rippling with strong spatial fluctuations.

That was the location of the large teleportation arrays connecting Nanzhan Continent to other Immortal Domains. They were operating very busily, gathering the most顶尖 figures of the True Immortal Realm from various domains, including Dao Ancestors and Daluo cultivators.

"The Cold Emerald Blades behind me are already itching, waiting to taste their blood..." Tan Lang let out a "hehe" laugh from his throat.

On his face, hidden under the black cloth, a shocking tear scar ran from near his ear down to the corner of his mouth.

...

Apart from the North Heavenly Gate on Beiju Continent, the Reincarnation Hall also deployed a million troops outside the East and West Heavenly Gates, confronting the Heavenly Court from a distance, locked in a stalemate for many days.

However, although both sides had provocative actions, they had not truly engaged in battle, showing considerable restraint.

Among these three Yingtian Gates, the North Heavenly Gate was the busiest. All teleportation arrays were operating at full capacity, continuously receiving attending cultivators from various Immortal Domains.

On the nine continents of the Zhongtu Immortal Domain, almost everywhere was decorated with lanterns and banners, immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Various large and small sects rooted in the Zhongtu Immortal Domain, though not necessarily qualified to attend the Bodhi Banquet, felt honored and held grand ceremonies during the banquet. Friendly sects from other domains also took this opportunity to visit, sharing in the grand occasion of the True Immortal Realm's premier land.

Moreover, various商会 and immortal sects took this chance to hold various treasure appraisal assemblies, gathering countless treasures from the True Immortal Realm, attracting countless immortal masters and散修 who came out of admiration.

However, these various revelries were ultimately just ripples stirred up by the Bodhi Feast. What truly drew attention were the official venues established across the nine continents of the Immortal Domain, where the most distinguished, eminent, and powerful figures of the entire True Immortal Realm truly gathered.

The central region of Tiangong Continent was a vast basin, where many important government offices of the Heavenly Court were distributed. The main venue of this Bodhi Feast was located in the vast sea of clouds ten thousand miles above this area.

Looking up at this sea of clouds from below the basin, no matter the angle, one could see myriad rays of radiant light and surging purple mist within the clouds. On lucky days, one might even witness various wonders such as celestial horses galloping and fairy maidens dancing in clusters within the sea of clouds.

In fact, suspended above this sea of clouds was a massive floating island covering an area of a million miles, known as the Yaochi Wonderland, the long-time residence of Gu Huojin, the Time Ancestor and foremost of the Seven Heavenly Sovereigns.

The periphery of Yaochi Wonderland was a ring of surrounding peaks, filled with abundant spiritual energy and swirling immortal mist. Countless hundred-zhang waterfalls hung from the cliffs, cascading like rivers of stars, splashing myriad pearls.

Beside the deep pools beneath the waterfalls, nine-colored divine deer bowed their heads to drink, their gazes peaceful and content.

From the forests not far away, clear cries occasionally rang out, with faint glimpses of immortal apes swinging among the branches, fully displaying their natural instincts.

Above the forests, flocks of red-crowned immortal cranes led groups of spirit birds flying past, their calls like celestial music, uplifting the spirits of all who heard them.

Higher up in the sky, ten thousand streams of light, like clusters of rainbows, converged toward the center of the wonderland.

Among those ten thousand streams of light, phoenix carriages and dragon chariots raced endlessly, while qilin and other divine beasts leaped and bounded. More numerous were groups of immortals, clad in splendid feathered garments, flying hand in hand through the clouds, creating a scene of bustling excitement.

The closer one got to the very center of Yaochi Wonderland, the denser the spiritual energy of this realm became. At dawn and dusk, the dew on the immortal herbs and spirit trees in the forests was almost entirely condensed from pure spiritual energy.

As a result, every morning and evening, a large number of immortal boys and maidens were tasked with collecting this dew throughout the wonderland's landscapes, to brew true jade nectar and fine wine.

At the center of Yaochi Wonderland lay a pure lake a hundred miles in circumference. The lake water was clear and smooth as a mirror, shaped like an unfolded fan, and was named the 'Jingming Lake.'

Behind Jingming Lake grew an ancient locust tree so old that few could tell its exact age. It towered over a thousand zhang, its canopy like a giant umbrella, shading nearly half the lake's surface.

Beneath the ancient locust tree stood a two-story pavilion no more than three zhang high, which was the Time Ancestor's former cultivation abode.

Outside Jingming Lake, the area had been transformed into a vast semicircular plaza.

The entire plaza, resembling an even larger fan, was paved entirely with white spirit jade. Channels about two feet wide were carved into it, channeling water from Jingming Lake and dividing the plaza into layered, increasingly larger strip-shaped zones radiating outward.

On these semicircular strip-shaped zones were placed countless purple jade tables, densely packed, numbering tens of thousands. On each table were lit aloeswood incense and arranged various fresh spirit fruits and delicacies to entertain the banquet guests.

Every few hundred zhang, there was an open space among the seats, where a slightly raised platform was built. On these platforms, beautiful immortal maidens in palace attire danced gracefully to the lingering celestial music.

At the center of the plaza, almost backed against Jingming Lake, was the core of the entire plaza. There, only seven purple jade tables were placed, all currently empty, with no one seated.

Not far from this row of tables, there were nearly a hundred seats, sparsely occupied by several dozen people.

Most of these people were venerable elders with immortal bearing, their attire mostly varied. Each appeared profound in aura and restrained in spirit, all being renowned ancestral masters of major sects throughout the True Immortal Realm.

Among them were even some legendary figures who had become myths, forgotten by the world.

Most of them sat with eyes closed, meditating and resting, appearing indifferent to worldly affairs. In contrast, one or two disciples, seemingly male and female, standing behind them could not suppress their curiosity and looked around.

Nevertheless, as members of major sects, their behavior was quite restrained.

However, there were exceptions. For instance, a white-haired old woman sitting at a table on the right side of this row, relatively close to the center, was slouching sideways, her body swaying back and forth like withered grass on a wall. Upon closer look, her eyelids were drooping as if she were lost in a deep dream.

Behind her sat a white-clad woman with skin as white as snow and a beautiful face. She too swayed like the former, nodding frequently as if pounding garlic, also appearing drowsy.

But just as her body leaned forward again, a purple radiance suddenly flashed on her body, and numerous fine purple electric snakes shot out from her, poised to strike in all directions.

At that moment, the white-haired old woman, who seemed to be sleeping even more soundly, suddenly twisted her body and pressed a hand on the woman's forehead.

The woman's radiance faded, and the purple lightning vanished without a trace. She then woke up in a daze, mumbling a call:

"Master..."

"Meng Han, child, didn't I tell you? Although the 'True Scripture of the Five Thunder Righteous Dharma' is orthodox thunder magic that you can cultivate concurrently, you must not continue practicing thunder magic while cultivating my 'Great Dream of Spring and Autumn.' You'll hurt yourself if you're not careful." The white-haired old woman looked at the woman, advising her earnestly.

That white-clad woman was none other than Yu Meng Han.

After parting ways with Han Li at the Nine Yuan City back then, she was fortunate to be noticed by this ancestral master of the Mengtan Sect, who took her as a closed-door disciple and personally taught her a supreme immortal method of cultivation through dreams.