After the elder's eyes flickered several times, he flipped one hand over, and with a flash of white light, a white-jade slip suddenly appeared in his grasp.
The red-haired elder murmured an incantation and pointed a finger at the jade slip from afar.
Instantly, a halo of light bloomed across the surface of the jade slip, and lifelike portraits of people within it flickered and shifted rapidly.
The red-haired elder watched the changing portraits coldly, his entire body perfectly still.
Suddenly the halo trembled, and the images froze, becoming motionless.
Among the portraits, a man wearing a green robe and standing with his hands clasped behind his back was none other than Han Li.
"So it truly is this newly ascended human Mahayana. This person's strength is no ordinary matter — far beyond what an ordinary Mahayana can compare to. It seems we must receive him according to the highest standards." The red-haired elder murmured thoughtfully to himself, then clapped his hands together with a crisp snap.
Immediately, a section of wall in the great hall rippled, and a woman wearing a purple palace dress, her face veiled with thin gauze, appeared before the elder in a flash.
"Greetings, Chief Steward. Do you have any instructions?"
"Fei Yun, in a moment you will arrange for someone to receive our guest, Fellow Daoist Han Li. All arrangements are to follow the highest tier of guest reception standards in our Alliance. Make absolutely certain that this person is utterly satisfied with our Alliance." The red-haired elder spoke slowly.
"The highest tier. Understood. I will personally attend to his reception — I will absolutely not allow any dissatisfaction on his part." The woman in purple was startled, but replied deferentially.
"Good. I trust you to handle matters well. Go and make the arrangements quickly. This person has already entered the Xuantian Gate. Here is his dossier — take it and review it carefully so you do not touch on any of his taboos." The red-haired elder nodded, pointed at the jade slip once more with a single finger, and another jade slip materialized in his hand. He flicked his wrist and tossed it directly to her, showing complete trust in the woman before him.
The purple-clad woman raised her slender wrist and snatched the jade slip from the air, assenting verbally. Then her figure blurred, and she vanished from the hall like a phantom.
Only then did the red-haired elder flick his great sleeve, and the halo of light wavered and dispersed.
At the same moment, a flash of rainbow light appeared on the stone wall, and the image of a middle-aged man in a scholar's robe materialized. After cupping his fist in greeting to the elder, he immediately began to speak.
"Chief Steward, the final batch of auction items has arrived safely and been stored."
"Good. These auction items are exceptionally precious. Among them are several items personally requested by a few of the Alliance's Elder Stewards — you must guarantee that nothing goes wrong with them. Additionally, immediately begin preparing the security force for the auction assembly. All restriction arrays and formations must be inspected at least three times over…" The red-haired elder issued his instructions one by one.
……
The moment Han Li passed through the enormous gate of light, he saw a flash of white before his eyes, and then found himself standing atop a stone platform over ten zhang high.
Xue Po, Zhu Guo'er, and the others followed closely behind him. At their feet was a teleportation array several zhang in diameter.
Han Li swept his gaze around, and his expression shifted slightly.
As far as his eyes could see in every direction, there was nothing but towering ancient trees, arranged in row after row and completely encircling the stone platform. Only a single winding gravel path stretched off toward the far distance.
Han Li raised his head and looked up. High above, at an altitude of several thousand zhang, there were vast expanses of gray-white stone ceiling, its surface covered with rows upon rows of cone-shaped stalactites that stretched beyond what the eye could see.
They were, at that very moment, inside an underground world.
On the ceiling above, at intervals of roughly a li, hung light sources the size of a human head. From afar, they were densely packed like a sky full of stars, emitting soft white light that illuminated the underground world as if it were broad daylight.
However, when Han Li briefly swept his spiritual sense through the dense forest below, he immediately discovered seven or eight other stone platforms identical to the one beneath his feet, with faint signs of other people nearby.
It seemed that the teleportation arrays leading to this underground world were not limited to just the light gate at Black Scorched Peak as the sole entrance.
When Han Li tried to extend his spiritual sense further for a deeper probe, he faintly triggered something at a distance of over ten li away, and his spiritual sense trembled slightly and bounced back.
Han Li smiled faintly, paid it no mind, stepped down from the stone platform, and walked forward along the gravel path.
Xue Po, Zhu Guo'er, Fossil Ancestor, and the others naturally followed close behind, looking around nonstop.
After walking forward three or four li, the path ahead curved around a bend and opened into a crossroads with roads leading in all directions.
Beside the crossroads, there was a large pavilion constructed entirely from green branches. Inside, dozens of alien beings in various attire could be seen sitting.
These alien beings were clearly separated into seven or eight clusters. Some were whispering among themselves, while others sat with eyes closed beside tables, resting their minds — as though all of them were waiting for something.
Among these people, three young attendants with small braided tresses, white teeth, and red lips — appearing no older than eleven or twelve — wore matching short-attired uniforms and wove back and forth among the tables, frequently delivering cups of spirit tea or setting down platters of spirit fruit.
Seeing this scene, Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly but did not slow his steps. With a swagger and the others in tow, he walked straight toward the pavilion.
When the alien races inside the tea pavilion saw newcomers approaching, many of them shifted their gazes and swept them toward Han Li's group.