Chapter 203: First Entering the Tai Xuan Hall

After Han Li waved his hand to open the cave mansion gate, he saw Meng Yungui standing outside, accompanied by a square-faced middle-aged man in inner sect elder robes, who was none other than Qi Liang.

"Fellow Daoist Li, pardon the intrusion." Qi Liang said with a warm smile.

"Brother Qi, what brings you here today? Please come in." Han Li quickly ushered him in and instructed Meng Yungui to brew tea.

Qi Liang was also a rogue cultivator by origin, and since he had led Han Li into the Candle Dragon Sect, the two had interacted frequently over the years, but this was the first time he had visited Han Li's cave mansion.

"Having known Elder Li for so many years, I only now discover that you are a dedicated ascetic. However, these mere ten servants have managed to keep your cave mansion in good order." Qi Liang, following Han Li's invitation, stepped into the cave mansion, casually glanced around, and nodded slightly.

"Hehe, my cave mansion is crude; you must be amused, Brother Qi." Han Li chuckled.

His reception room was empty, with nothing but tables and chairs.

He had once visited Qi Liang's cave mansion, which was magnificent and luxurious, a world of difference from his own.

"Haha, since we have both achieved True Immortal cultivation, how could we truly care about such external possessions? Brother Li's ability to remain unmoved by external temptations and focus solely on cultivation is admirable." Qi Liang laughed heartily.

"As the saying goes, one does not visit the temple without a reason. Brother Qi, what important matter brings you here today?" Han Li asked directly without further ado.

"I came from the Tai Xuan Hall and dropped by on the way. You probably haven't heard about the task issued by Vice Dao Master Xiong Shan today, have you?" Qi Liang said with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

The Tai Xuan Hall was the place within the Candle Dragon Sect where tasks were issued and accepted. Han Li naturally knew of it, but he had been busy cultivating and searching for the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords over the years, with no intention of taking on tasks, so he had never been there.

"Vice Dao Master Xiong Shan... What task has you so excited, Brother Qi? I'm all ears." Han Li recalled Xiong Shan's short, stout figure and asked.

"Vice Dao Master Xiong Shan issued a task to find ten True Immortal realm cultivators proficient in flying sword techniques to assist him in refining a magic treasure. The reward is extremely generous; upon completion, each person can earn this many merit points." Qi Liang said mysteriously, holding up one hand and gesturing a 'five'.

"Fifty merit points?" Han Li was taken aback.

"It's five hundred merit points! I know you are skilled in sword control, far surpassing me, so I came to invite you to go together." Qi Liang said with great enthusiasm.

Han Li was somewhat moved this time.

Although he had never been to the Tai Xuan Hall, he knew something about the tasks there, and five hundred merit points was an extremely generous reward.

"Such a generous reward with no danger—such good tasks haven't appeared in a long time. Many elders with some knowledge of flying swords have signed up. Brother Li, you're not uninterested, are you?" Qi Liang asked with a smile.

"Since Brother Qi has personally come to invite me, how could I refuse?" Han Li thought for a moment and then nodded.

Although he had many matters to attend to and was not in the mood for tasks, since Qi Liang had personally invited him and they had a good relationship, he couldn't turn him down. Moreover, the five hundred merit points were very tempting, and he was genuinely intrigued.

The two soon left the cave mansion. After instructing Meng Yungui to take care of Red Cloud Peak, Han Li and Qi Liang transformed into two beams of light and vanished into the distant sky.

Watching their soaring beams, Meng Yungui's eyes showed deep envy.

...

The Tai Xuan Hall was situated on a peak called Startling Cloud Peak.

As its name suggested, Startling Cloud Peak was a straight, towering mountain with very few trees or vegetation from base to summit. The mountain walls were smooth and glossy, making it difficult even for monkeys to climb—truly perilous.

At the summit, someone had magically condensed a vast sea of colorful clouds, emitting a multicolored auspicious light visible for a thousand miles around.

The Tai Xuan Hall sat atop the sea of colorful clouds, over ten zhang high, entirely dark green. Whether walls or tiles, the materials were solid and thick, giving a heavy, mountain-like feeling that made one worry whether the colorful cloud sea below could support it.

In front of the hall was a large bluestone square.

At the edge of the square stood over a dozen thick stone pillars, all cyan in color, carved with reliefs of strange beasts like dragons, phoenixes, white tigers, and basilisks, lifelike and vivid.

From the square, the view was vast and unobstructed; the clear sky stretched like a mirror, stirring one's heroic spirit.

The Tai Xuan Hall was one of the busiest places in the Candle Dragon Sect. On the square stood a Transmission Pavilion, with people constantly coming and going.

Beams of light flew in from all directions and landed on the square.

Although in principle there was no restriction on who could accept tasks—even outer disciples with sufficient strength could come—most people here wore inner disciple attire.

Just then, two beams of light shot in from the distant sky, landed on the square, and revealed Han Li and Qi Liang.

Nearby disciples, seeing their inner sect elder robes, showed respectful expressions and moved aside.

Han Li glanced around and reevaluated the Candle Dragon Sect's foundation and strength.

At first glance, the cultivators coming and going varied widely in cultivation, most above the Nascent Soul stage, and some even at the Body Integration or Mahayana stages.

In fact, the cultivators present in the Tai Xuan Hall at this moment, if placed in the former Spirit Realm, would likely surpass the strength of a major sect by many times.

Qi Liang, clearly accustomed to such scenes, strode toward the Tai Xuan Hall ahead.

Han Li raised an eyebrow and followed, soon arriving at the hall's entrance and stepping inside.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, Han Li felt his视野 expand; the hall's interior space seemed to have enlarged tenfold, a rather奇妙 sensation.

From the outside, the hall did not appear very large, but now it seemed almost as spacious as the square outside.

"Could it be that the hall is enchanted with some mysterious禁制 related to spatial laws?" Han Li speculated inwardly.

After entering, Qi Liang paused briefly, then walked familiarly toward the interior.

The most striking features inside the hall were three massive stone tablets standing in the center, each twenty to thirty zhang high and over ten zhang wide—one white, one cyan, and one dark gold.

The three tablets were arranged in order: white, cyan, and gold.

The white tablet stood closest to the entrance, the cyan tablet in the center, and the dark gold tablet at the deepest part of the hall.

Though different in color, each tablet displayed rows of clear text, shimmering with spiritual light—each line a task.

In terms of quantity, the white tablet had the most tasks, densely packed with over a thousand; the cyan tablet had fewer; and the dark gold tablet had the fewest.

"The tasks on these three tablets correspond to different difficulty levels. The white tablet's tasks are the easiest, generally suitable for cultivators below the Deity Transformation stage; the cyan tablet's tasks are more difficult, usually attracting cultivators above the Void Refinement stage; and the innermost dark gold tablet is for True Immortal realm cultivators like us." Qi Liang said, walking straight to the dark gold tablet.

The hall was crowded, especially around the white and cyan tablets, where people swarmed.

However, around the dark gold tablet, only a few True Immortal realm elders stood sparsely, and inner disciples seemed reluctant to approach.

Although Han Li knew some inner sect elders, he did not recognize these few.

Qi Liang, evidently more sociable than Han Li, seemed quite familiar with them and greeted them warmly; the elders responded with smiles.

"Everyone, let me introduce you. This is Fellow Daoist Li Feiyu, who joined the sect a few years ago and resides at Red Cloud Peak. As for these几位..." Qi Liang made introductions.

Han Li greeted the elders with a smile, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then turned his gaze to the dark gold tablet.

Qi Liang, however, chatted and laughed with them, showing a diplomatic side.

The tasks on the dark gold tablet were numerous, and indeed none were simple. The merit point rewards were generally modest, mostly in the tens, with few offering hundreds.

Seeing the detailed task list for the first time, Han Li felt a sinking feeling.

Earning merit points seemed more difficult than he had anticipated. The second level of the True Speech Wheel Scripture required nine thousand merit points; he wondered how many tasks he would need to complete to accumulate that amount.

High-reward tasks did exist. At the top of the tablet were over a dozen tasks displayed in special red text, distinct from the ordinary white font. According to the description, these were special tasks issued by the sect.

Each of these special tasks offered generous rewards, the lowest being eight hundred merit points, with most exceeding a thousand. However, they were extremely difficult and perilous.

The task with the lowest reward was to hunt a True Immortal realm Great Perfection Windfire Fox and bring back its intact corpse.

Han Li had read about the Windfire Fox in ancient texts; it was a gregarious spirit beast that appeared only in the far north of Guyun Continent. Born with the strength of a Deity Transformation stage cultivator and possessing wind and fire abilities, adults reached at least the Body Integration stage, while those at True Immortal Great Perfection were Windfire Fox Kings.

Han Li had witnessed the power of a late True Immortal stage octopus sea monster and knew he could not slay it with his current strength, let alone hunt a peak True Immortal Windfire Fox King amidst a group of spirit beasts.

The other tasks were even more difficult, such as venturing into a deadly perilous land to find a nearly extinct material, or pursuing a notorious evil immortal whose cultivation was said to approach the Golden Immortal stage.

Han Li smiled wryly. Reading these tasks could broaden his knowledge and horizons, but accepting them was impossible; no matter how generous the rewards, they were useless.

But then his gaze shifted and landed on one red task.

This task was sandwiched between two lengthy descriptions, so he had not noticed it before. Its content was extremely concise, only a dozen or so words: "Cultivate the True Speech Wheel Scripture to the second level."

Yet the reward was extremely generous, a full five thousand merit points!