Chapter 529: Coming to Visit

"There is nothing more for you here. You may all withdraw." The green-faced old Daoist cleared his throat and turned to address the nearby crowd.

Although the surrounding people were curious, the green-faced old Daoist seemed to hold a high status, and no one dared to disobey. They all acknowledged and dispersed in all directions.

"Fellow Daoist, please follow me." The green-faced old Daoist said to Han Li, then flew ahead toward the depths of Mount Diancang.

Han Li seemed to have anticipated this. Green light flickered around him as he followed closely, step by step.

With their flying speed, they soon reached the depths of the Diancang Mountain Range.

There, the thick mist that surrounded the mountains suddenly vanished, and the view gradually became clear.

Before them, layer upon layer of mountains rose and fell, stretching endlessly to the horizon.

Among the mountains, traces of buildings and restrictions began to emerge.

"The area we just passed was the outer region of the Diancang Mountain Range. This is the inner region, where the Cangliu Sect is located." The green-faced old Daoist said as he flew forward.

Han Li casually glanced around, his expression unchanged, which somewhat discouraged the green-faced old man who had been secretly observing him.

After flying for a while longer, Han Li's expression suddenly shifted.

Ahead, an enormous peak appeared among the mountains. It was towering and majestic, like a mountain reaching to the heavens, straight into the sky.

The surrounding mountains seemed like mere hillocks before this giant peak.

Han Li had seen many majestic peaks before, but none could compare to this one.

The spiritual energy around the giant peak suddenly became much denser. From halfway up the mountain, countless buildings such as palaces and pavilions were constructed, looking as dense as a beehive from afar.

The peak was enveloped in a huge white light, shining brightly, making it impossible to perceive what was inside, whether by sight or divine sense.

"It is said that the Cangliu Sect has nineteen towering peaks, which are the convergence points of the Diancang Mountain Range's spiritual veins, known as the Nineteen Sacred Peaks. The first Grand Palace Master of the Cangliu Sect, using his great supernatural power, opened a secret realm on the summit of each peak based on the spiritual power of the Nineteen Sacred Peaks, called the Nineteen Sacred Realms. I wonder which sacred peak this one is?" Han Li suddenly asked.

"Hehe, you are well-informed, Fellow Daoist. This is one of the Nineteen Sacred Peaks, 'Huai Guang'." The green-faced old man said with a hint of surprise.

Han Li nodded silently upon hearing this.

He saw that beside the Huaiguang Sacred Peak, an immensely wide great river wound its way, its waves vast and mighty, surging forward.

The water in the river was azure, exuding an extremely rich water spiritual power; it was clearly not ordinary flowing water but rather something akin to a kind of true water.

Han Li's eyes flickered slightly. From the texts of the Candle Dragon Sect and the earlier soul search of the black-bearded elder, he had learned much about the Cangliu Palace.

The Cangliu Palace had nineteen sacred peaks, and beside each sacred peak flowed a great river. These nineteen great rivers were also called the Nineteen True Rivers.

These Nineteen True Rivers were not ordinary rivers. The unique water spiritual veins of the Diancang Mountains transformed the flowing water in the Nineteen True Rivers into true water, and the properties of the true water in each of the nineteen rivers were different.

Generations of Cangliu Palace cultivators had built upon these Nineteen True Rivers, creating countless water-attribute divine abilities and techniques, developing to their current state.

The two flew forward all the way, encountering several other sacred peaks and true rivers along the journey.

In particular, the Nineteen True Rivers seemed to be gradually converging toward one place.

After about half an hour, the green-faced old man suddenly stopped.

Han Li looked ahead, a surprised expression appearing on his face.

He saw that the ground ahead had suddenly collapsed, forming a massive circular pit, tens of thousands of li in circumference, like a heavenly pit, pitch-black and bottomless.

The nineteen true rivers all converged here, pouring into this heavenly pit, forming nineteen earth-shaking giant waterfalls that thundered down with a roar, an extremely spectacular sight.

"Fellow Daoist, please follow me," the green-faced old man said. He paused by the heavenly pit for a moment, as if to let Han Li admire the magnificent scenery, then shot downward.

Han Li withdrew his gaze, flickered, and followed.

The two flew into the heavenly pit, shooting downward, and soon reached the bottom.

The bottom of the heavenly pit was a vast expanse of water, sky-blue in color.

The nineteen giant waterfalls poured down into it, but the water surface was extremely calm, without a single ripple, like a giant piece of blue glass.

A blue palace hovered above the water surface. The entire hall was built from a water-blue crystal, appearing seamless, without any trace of masonry, as if carved from a single giant crystal.

The palace was covered with spiritual patterns, radiating bursts of light.

A huge plaque hung in the center above the main hall's entrance, inscribed with three large characters: 'Cangliu Hall.'

The green-faced old Daoist led Han Li to the front of Cangliu Hall, where six or seven people were already standing, all with formidable auras—they were Golden Immortals, and Luo Qinghai was among them.

These Golden Immortals of Cangliu Palace looked at Han Li with some hostility.

In particular, a burly man with a single blue horn on his forehead had been eyeing Han Li with an unfriendly expression.

These Golden Immortals deliberately released their auras, pressing down on Han Li, clearly intending to intimidate him.

“So it’s you. Since our parting at Guanlan City, I never expected you to visit today. I failed to welcome you from afar; please forgive my negligence,” Luo Qinghai greeted him with a smile.

Han Li swept his gaze over the crowd and felt a stir in his heart.

All the Golden Immortal cultivators of Cangliu Palace should be here.

Indeed, Cangliu Palace, as a top-tier sect in the Northern Cold Immortal Domain, was truly extraordinary.

In terms of the number of Golden Immortals alone, even counting those who fell at the Nethercold Immortal Palace, it was no less than the Zhulong Dao of old.

Among the Golden Immortals present, three had reached the mid-Golden Immortal stage.

The green-faced old Daoist who brought Han Li here was one of them, along with a veiled woman in blue robes, and finally the horned burly man.

Especially the horned burly man, whose aura surged, having reached the peak of mid-Golden Immortal stage, only a hair's breadth away from late-Golden Immortal stage.

The spiritual pressure of everyone merged into one, pressing down like a tidal wave.

But Han Li had even crossed blows with Gongshu Jiu; how could he be intimidated by the auras of a few Golden Immortals from Cangliu Palace?

“Grand Palace Master Luo, it’s truly not easy to see you,” Han Li said calmly and indifferently.

“Hehe, I was in seclusion cultivating, so I instructed that no outside guests be received. Of course, you are an exception. These people don’t know you, so please don’t take offense,” Luo Qinghai said, his gaze flickering slightly as he saw Han Li completely unaffected by the surrounding pressure, yet he still spoke amiably.

Han Li smiled but said nothing.

“Since you’ve come from afar, you are our guest. Please take a seat inside the hall,” Luo Qinghai then said, leading the way.

Han Li, ignoring everyone around him, walked into the blue hall without any hesitation.

The other Golden Immortals exchanged glances and silently followed into the hall.

Entering the hall, it was a reception area about thirty to forty zhang in size.

The hall was simply furnished, with a dozen blue jade pillars, each inlaid with a diamond-shaped crystal that emitted a faint blue light, illuminating the entire hall.

Between these pillars were two rows of blue chairs.

“Please, have a seat,” Luo Qinghai said, sitting in the main seat and pointing to a chair beside him.

Han Li did not stand on ceremony and sat down; the others also took their seats.

“This is our second meeting. I’m ashamed to say I still don’t know your name or which sect you belong to,” Luo Qinghai said, first introducing everyone present, then asking casually.

“My surname is Liu. As for my origin, there’s no need to ask. I am not from the Northern Cold Immortal Domain, and even if I told you my sect, you wouldn’t know it,” Han Li said indifferently.

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Liu. May I ask what brings you to our Cangliu Palace today?” Luo Qinghai cupped his hands and smiled.

“That’s what I should be asking you all. After leaving the Black Wind Sea, I was heading back to my sect when I was ambushed near Guanlan City by two Golden Immortals from your Cangliu Palace. Fortunately, I have some skill, or I would have been buried in the wild forest. I want to ask Grand Palace Master Luo, was this act ordered by you?” Han Li said coldly, flipping his hand to produce two blue tokens and slapping them heavily on the side table.

These two tokens were found in the storage artifacts of the white-faced scholar and the black-bearded elder; they were their identity tokens.

The Cangliu Palace crowd changed expression upon seeing the two tokens.

Luo Qinghai’s pupils also contracted, but he did not speak.

“Fellow Daoist Liu, where do you get this idea? Our sect’s Palace Masters Tie and Qiu went missing at Guanlan City, likely fallen into enemy hands. We are urgently searching for them. Now you say they ambushed you—this leaves us perplexed,” the horned burly man sneered, looking at Han Li with a provocative gaze.

Han Li looked at the horned burly man; this man was named Feng Hai, the Southern Pole Palace Master among the Five Pole Palace Masters of Cangliu Palace.

“Do you mean to say that I am falsely accusing these two?” Han Li asked with a light laugh, addressing Feng Hai.

“Such a grave matter cannot be based solely on your word. If you claim they ambushed you, produce solid evidence. Our Cangliu Palace cannot lightly accept such an accusation,” Feng Hai said coldly.

“I came today precisely to seek an explanation for this matter. Since you are unwilling to believe me, so be it. By the way, my two juniors happen to need two Golden Soul Pills. I take my leave,” Han Li said meaningfully, then stood up and walked toward the exit.

The Cangliu Palace crowd all changed color upon hearing this.

A blue flash appeared, and the horned burly man blocked Han Li’s path, saying in a deep voice, “Do you take our Cangliu Palace for a place you can come and go as you please? If you want to leave, you can, but leave behind the nascent souls of Palace Masters Tie and Qiu!”