He waited until the suction beneath his feet began to weaken to a certain degree, then took another step forward, before pausing once more for a good while…
In this manner, the final dozen or so stone steps ultimately cost Han Li half an incense stick's worth of time before he finally completed them.
The instant both his feet touched the summit, Han Li felt the suction beneath him vanish without a trace. His body became extraordinarily light, as though he could launch himself skyward with a single great stride without expending any Magical Power at all.
Han Li let out a long breath, and the hazy golden armor about his body flickered once before disappearing.
He turned his head and cast a glance down the mountain.
He could see that Shi Kun was still several hundred steps below, gasping for breath as he stared up at Han Li with a face full of frustration.
Liu Shui'er was still over two thousand steps away — nothing more than a tiny black dot in the distance.
Fortunately, the two of them understood that even though Han Li had gained the initiative, the purple palace was enormous, and no one knew what other formidable restrictions might lie within. They were not overly afraid that all the treasures would be swept away by a single person.
Han Li smiled faintly, knowing that it would still be a long time before the other two reached the summit. Without another word, he turned his body around and gazed at the purple palace before him.
At a distance of several dozen zhang from him, a towering palace gate over twenty zhang high stood imposingly in place.
The gate was shut tight, its surface embedded with dozens of large crystals of various colors, while along its edges, dense and intricate patterns were inscribed in orderly arrangement.
After sweeping his gaze carefully over the gate several times, Han Li's eyes flashed and a hint of surprise crossed his face.
He realized that those fist-sized crystals were actually extraordinarily rare supreme-grade spirit stones — and they appeared to be even more pure than the "supreme-grade spirit stones" of the Spirit Realm.
Han Li clicked his tongue in quiet admiration, then shifted his gaze downward to the purple palace wall beside the gate.
These walls, constructed from some unknown material, were only five or six zhang high, yet they emanated a peculiar purple, misty glow. Their surfaces were imprinted with pale silver runes of varying sizes.
The corner of Han Li's mouth curved upward as he instantly recognized these runes — they were the "Silver Tadpole Script," a writing system he had already become thoroughly familiar with.
"This place was indeed built by immortals of the True Immortal Realm!" Han Li's outward expression remained calm, but his heart churned violently. His gaze toward the palace gradually grew fervent.
Though he possessed all manner of extraordinary treasures and had encountered one marvel after another since embarking on the path of cultivation, the mere thought that this palace might contain treasures left behind by immortals made his excitement almost impossible to contain.
No wonder Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren had been so certain that this place must hold pills capable of helping them break through the bottleneck to the Sacred stage.
With the great abilities of a True Immortal Realm immortal, refining pills useful to inhabitants of the lower realms would be a trivial matter.
However, Han Li was no ordinary person. After steadying his mind, he calmed himself once more and looked upward at the top of the purple palace wall.
Suddenly, he raised one hand, extended a finger, and tapped it into the empty air.
Immediately, with a crack of thunder, a faint golden arc of lightning materialized and, after a single flash, shot straight toward the space above the palace wall.
A bizarre scene unfolded!
The moment the golden lightning arc struck the seemingly empty space above the purple wall, a delightful sound of celestial music rang out. Then the purple light flashed, and the golden lightning vanished as though swallowed by the sea.
Han Li furrowed his brow.
Even with a momentary activation of his Provenance True Eye, he could not perceive the slightest mystery behind that purple light.
As for his spiritual sense — the moment it neared the palace wall, an invisible force repelled it instantly, preventing it from penetrating the palace in the slightest.
With a soft sigh, Han Li abandoned his intention to pass over the wall and returned his gaze to the palace gate.
Compared to the mysterious restrictions on the wall, naturally, proceeding through the main entrance would be far more reliable.
However, although he had been unable to discern anything unusual about the gate, he would naturally not rashly attempt to open it himself.
After a brief moment of thought, Han Li tapped the storage bracelet on his wrist with one hand. A mass of green light shot out, only to plummet heavily toward the ground.
It was a giant ape puppet standing two zhang tall, which now lay prone on the ground on all fours, apparently quite shaken by the anti-flight restriction.
Seeing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow, formed a one-handed seal, and flicked a casual gesture toward the puppet.
The next instant, a series of creaking sounds echoed from the giant ape puppet's body as it slowly rose to its feet. Then, with an expressionless face, it turned and strode toward the distant palace gate.
Han Li remained motionless in place, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the giant ape puppet's every move without blinking.
Under his scrutiny, the giant ape walked up to the gate without hesitation and raised both hands, pressing them against either side of the door.
After several brilliant flashes of green light across the puppet's body, the palace gate slowly began to move, pushed open from within.
Han Li's expression turned somewhat peculiar — a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
The gate had been opened so effortlessly that it seemed almost too simple to be real.
With this thought in mind, he forcibly suppressed the trace of doubt and excitement stirring within him and quickly peered through the gap into the palace.
Beyond the gate lay a plaza paved with green stone tiles, surrounded on all sides by gleaming white jade railings.