"Senior Li, please come in!" The woman pushed the stone door open and made a courteous gesture for Han Li to enter first.
Han Li nodded and stepped inside without a word. The woman followed closely behind.
The stone door then closed on its own, and the outside once again became an ordinary wall.
Once inside, Han Li found himself in a bluish stone corridor. At its end, faint white light flickered, suggesting the passage wasn't particularly long.
Han Li walked forward in silence. After rounding a bend, a wide-open stone door suddenly appeared before him.
Standing outside the door was a middle-aged cultivator with a somber complexion — a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator dressed in a scholar's green robes.
The moment he saw Han Li, his face broke into a broad smile, and he clasped his hands in greeting:
"Would this be Fellow Daoist Li? My name is Yun Tianxiao — I am the host here. Welcome to this exchange meeting. Most of the other Fellow Daoists have already arrived. Miss Wen, make sure you take good care of Brother Li — no negligence!" The scholar surnamed Yun was extremely courteous to Han Li, then gave the woman an indifferent instruction.
"Miss Wen?"
This form of address immediately revealed the white-robed woman's identity. She was none other than Wen Siyue, the daughter of Wen Qiang — the woman from the Myriad Sound Gate whom Han Li had once happened to encounter.
He had no idea what this woman had been through to end up in a place like this.
Naturally, Han Li was quite startled to see her here so suddenly.
Of course, since he was using the "Shape-Shifting Art," Han Li recognized her, but she did not recognize him.
The moment the middle-aged scholar spoke, Wen Siyue's expression shifted. She quickly answered from behind Han Li.
Though Han Li didn't turn around, he could faintly sense that Wen Siyue seemed to be terrified of this Yun Tianxiao.
A flicker of something crossed Han Li's eyes, but after a light laugh, he exchanged a few pleasantries with the scholar and stepped through the gate.
Inside was a square hall. In the center stood a massive round table, around which were sparsely arranged more than a dozen exceptionally wide armchairs. Over half of them were already occupied by cultivators.
However, when Han Li took in the scene around those chairs, a peculiar look crossed his face.
Aside from two female Core Formation cultivators sitting alone, every other male Core Formation cultivator had a beautiful, alluring woman nestled at his side. These women were all at the twelfth or thirteenth level of Qi Condensation, or at the very early stages of Foundation Establishment.
Without exception, they were young and strikingly beautiful.
While Han Li was still taken aback, a fragrant breeze rose at his side, and a soft, slender body pressed tremblingly against him.
Han Li straightened up and slowly turned his head to find a delicate face with a somewhat blank expression gazing back at him.
Wen Siyue had come to him of her own accord, her lingering fragrance filling his nostrils.
Han Li furrowed his brow slightly but didn't stand on ceremony and push her away.
Instead, after glancing at the other female cultivators beside their respective partners, a look of understanding appeared in his eyes.
After a brief moment of thought, he extended an arm around her slender waist and strode over to an empty armchair, settling into it firmly.
Wen Siyue, like the other women accompanying the male cultivators, sat down reluctantly alongside him. By now, half of her body was resting against him.
For a moment, he was enveloped in warmth and fragrance — quite the stroke of luck.
Just as Wen Siyue sat in silence, her body somewhat stiff, the arm around her waist loosened ever so slightly.
This caught Wen Siyue off guard. She instinctively glanced up at Han Li, a trace of surprise and doubt in her eyes.
But at that moment, Han Li was calmly surveying the other attendees.
The seven or eight Core Formation cultivators seated around the room naturally sizing Han Li up as well.
Although they found his features unfamiliar, none showed any unusual expression. On the contrary, most of them offered Han Li a friendly smile.
Han Li's expression softened, and he returned their smiles.
A short while later, another five or six Core Formation cultivators entered the hall, each accompanied by a young, beautiful woman.
Seeing all of this, Han Li's expression remained unchanged, though inwardly he felt a flicker of surprise.