After the cheers from every direction subsided somewhat, Han Li smiled faintly and waved one hand. Instantly, countless threads of azure light shot from the void toward his feet, merging and condensing in a flash to re-form the azure lotus. It drifted down slowly to settle atop the tower, hovering motionless there.
"The unwelcome guest has departed! As is customary, I will spend the next seven days and seven nights continuously expounding upon the Great Dao. How much each of you can comprehend will depend on your own fortune. However, unlike previous celebrations, this lecture will be completely open. I will now remove the restrictions — anyone who wishes may come to the mountain to listen." Han Li swept his gaze around and spoke in a measured tone.
His voice was not loud, but in an instant it rumbled outward in every direction, penetrating beyond the mountain peaks to reverberate throughout the entire sky over Heavenly Origin City.
Every cultivator in the city was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, but wild jubilation erupted almost at once.
Whether indoors or on the streets, cultivators surged toward the three-colored mountain like a rising tide.
Even the armored guards who had been maintaining order near the teleportation formation joined the flow of people, their faces alight with astonishment and joy.
At the same moment, Han Li had already seated himself cross-legged upon the azure lotus. Starting from the lowest level of Qi Refinement, he began to speak slowly about his own experiences and insights.
The vast crowd of cultivators on the plaza — whether humans, demonkind, or members of other races — all wore solemn expressions as they listened with focused attention.
A lecture by a Mahayana existence was a heaven-sent opportunity for any race. Even though he was beginning from the very lowest realm they had once considered beneath notice, not a single person was willing to miss a single word.
As Han Li's resonant voice echoed through the void, even more cultivators flooded onto the mountain, quickly claiming every remaining space along the edges of the plaza until no more could squeeze in.
Those who arrived too late had no choice but to gather and linger along the various mountain paths and buildings across the three-colored peak.
Several hours later, the upper half of the three-colored mountain was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with figures, and still more cultivators were converging upon its lower slopes.
Yet no matter where one stood, so long as one was upon the great mountain, Han Li's voice would immediately ring clearly in one's ears.
Many people had initially wanted to climb higher up the mountain, but the moment the lecture began echoing in their ears, they found themselves involuntarily stopping in place, falling into a state of sudden enlightenment.
After a day and a night, every inch of the three-colored mountain's domain was covered with dense clusters of people.
Whether standing ramrod straight or seated cross-legged, everyone remained silent and still. Only Han Li's voice continued to issue clearly from the mountain's summit…
After seven days and seven nights, colorful clouds suddenly began to churn across the sky, and showers of fragrant petals once again rained down from above.
Han Li's lecture came to an abrupt halt.
Several cultivators who had been listening in a state of rapt absorption were startled. Many snapped out of their enlightenment on the spot, though a trace of bewildered daze still lingered in most of their eyes.
After a brief pause, Han Li's voice drifted faintly to everyone's ears once more.
"I thank all fellow Daoists for attending Han's Mahayana ceremony. The celebration now concludes — you may all descend the mountain."
The many cultivators who had been listening at crucial junctures felt a deep reluctance to leave, but Han Li now appeared to them as something akin to a deity, and none dared show the slightest disobedience.
After everyone bowed respectfully toward the summit, they filed off the great mountain one after another.
The Mahayana celebration had, at last, truly come to an end.
Half a day later, a boom resounded through the high sky, and the three-colored mountain blurred for an instant before vanishing entirely from the void.
The handful of armored guards still standing watch nearby bowed reverently toward the sky before departing in orderly formation.
Inside a great hall at the top tier of the stone tower, Han Li was already seated in the seat of honor.
On either side of the hall, Qi Lingzi, Hai Dashao, the silver-haired elder, and several other Heavenly Origin City elders stood at attention with their hands clasped respectfully.
Among Han Li's direct disciples, Bai Guo'er was conspicuously present, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zhu Guo'er — who appeared about the same age — both wearing warm smiles as though they truly were sisters.
Bai Guo'er had made it back safely just before the Mahayana celebration.
She had now reached the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation, even slightly surpassing Hai Dashao in cultivation.
As for the silver-haired elder and the other Heavenly Origin City elders, their respectful demeanor toward Han Li was now, compared to before the celebration, unmistakably heartfelt and genuine, entirely devoid of any perfunctory pretense.
Han Li's earlier devastating blow against the Black Owl King had clearly won the complete and sincere admiration of these Void Refinement cultivators, filling them with true reverence.
In the center of the hall, Li Rong also stood before Han Li, her expression one of attentive deference as she listened to his words.
"So, Senior Ao Xiao and Lord Mo Jianli have truly entered the Demon Realm to join forces with the Mahayana cultivators of other races in assisting the Demon Ancestors to resolve the great catastrophe befalling the Demon Realm?" Han Li said, his brow furrowing slightly.