Setting aside the others, he spotted Shangren Xuan Gu the moment he laid eyes on the hall — the man had only separated from him not long ago.
The latter sat alone in a corner of the great hall, gazing at him with cold indifference, a trace of undisguised surprise flickering in his eyes.
Meanwhile, a man and a woman stood atop another jade pillar. The female cultivator, delicate of brow and pleasing of feature, stared at Han Li with equal astonishment, her face full of shock.
She was none other than Fairy Zi Ling of the Marvelous Sound Sect, and beside her stood a composed, elegant-looking man in green robes.
When the man in green noticed the strange look on Fairy Zi Ling's face, he followed her gaze and looked Han Li up and down. Seeing that Han Li appeared quite young, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he murmured something to Fairy Zi Ling.
In response, Fairy Zi Ling pursed her lips in a light smile and whispered a few words to the man, apparently explaining who Han Li was.
Han Li furrowed his brow. He paid no further attention to the pair, instead directing his gaze coldly elsewhere.
A stare from another direction carried unmistakable hostility, and this surprised him somewhat.
What met his eyes was an elderly man glaring at him with rage written across his face.
Han Li was startled for a moment, then recognized the man, and inwardly sensed that trouble had arrived.
It was none other than Elder Miao of the Six Harmonies Hall.
Back when the Infant Carp Beast affair had occurred, this Elder Miao and another elder surnamed Gu had tried to silence Han Li permanently. They had never expected that Han Li, exploiting their depleted spiritual energy and the surprising effects of the hall's restriction formations, would turn the tables and destroy them instead.
After all these years, Elder Miao still remembered him. It seemed his bond with the slain Elder Gu truly ran deep.
Though Han Li muttered a few complaints inwardly, he no longer placed much weight on the matter.
He turned his head and briefly surveyed the remaining cultivators. Apart from those he had already noticed, there was no one else he recognized.
After a moment's hesitation, he passed through the blue radiance and entered the hall. He casually chose an unoccupied jade pillar, flew to its summit, and sat cross-legged like the rest.
Only then did he take a proper look at the unfamiliar cultivators.
Since his spiritual sense was equally suppressed by the restrictions within the hall, Han Li could not discern their cultivation levels. He could only guess that the majority were at least Core Formation stage cultivators. Foundation Establishment cultivators would be exceedingly rare among them — and there might even be quite a few Nascent Soul monsters present.
Harboring this thought, Han Li remained seated motionless but carefully examined each of the other cultivators one by one.
After a short while, he finally noticed two individuals who were almost certainly Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
The first was a gaunt-faced elderly scholar in yellow robes with white eyebrows. He stood with one hand casually clasped behind his back, holding a tattered bamboo scroll in the other, reading it with great relish while occasionally shaking his head and swaying — looking every bit the bookish pedant.
The second was a beautiful middle-aged woman dressed entirely in white, spotless as snow. Her features were lovely, yet her entire being radiated a bone-piercing chill, giving off an air that said "keep your distance." At this moment, this frost-faced beauty was expressionlessly wiping a long, sheathed sword of jet-black. From the time Han Li had appeared outside the hall to the moment he entered, she had not so much as glanced his way once — the very picture of haughtiness.
Among the other cultivators there were certainly those who appeared calm and composed, projecting an air of aloofness. But compared to these two, such bearing seemed somewhat forced by comparison.
Moreover, the majority of cultivators here could not help but show a hint of reverence when their eyes fell upon this pair — something they displayed toward no one else.
This alone was enough for Han Li to be certain that both were Nascent Soul stage experts.
Of course, Han Li was also well aware that apart from these two, there were surely other unusual characters among the cultivators who should not be underestimated.
The most obvious example was Shangren Xuan Gu himself.
In terms of cultivation, the old demon appeared to be merely at late Core Formation. But in an actual fight, a cultivator of late Core Formation was far from being his match — he was practically a existence just below the Nascent Soul stage.
Who knew how many others among this crowd were similarly "playing the pig to eat the tiger"?
Han Li's mind churned endlessly, seemingly forgetting that he himself had destroyed a cultivator of the same rank without all that much effort.
Regardless, after this round of calculation, Han Li grew ever more cautious. He quietly pondered the true purpose behind all these people gathering here.
Surely they hadn't come for some pointless cultivator conference?
After all, whether it was the remnant map on the brocade handkerchief or this Void Heaven Palace floating in midair, everything about this place screamed mystery. The draw was powerful enough to attract even Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
That could only mean something momentous was about to happen here.
The pity was that he knew nothing about it.
Otherwise, he could have quietly planned his next moves in advance, sparing himself from being caught in a disadvantageous position should danger or unexpected events arise.