Chapter 1420: The Trade Hall
The young woman calmly said, "That's right. Although you do have the qualifications to join our Tian Peng race, you are a human after all. Even if you pass through the trial, it is impossible for you to become our race's holy master. However, Fellow Daoist Han can provide support to the other two holy disciples as a fellow holy disciple and help them pass the trial. If you agree, I won't treat you unfairly. Not only can you fuse a bit of Kun Peng True Blood into you, but we'll thank you in other ways as well."
Such fortune would cause an ordinary person to rejoice and promptly agree, but Han Li simply blinked and didn't immediately answer.
The young woman didn't urge him and simply remained seated as she stared at him.
In the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Han Li eventually said, "For the matter of being a holy disciple, Senior would have an outsider like me enter your race. The trial must be quite dangerous. Could you first give me an explanation?"
"It is true the trial is quite dangerous. The various race's disciples have a sixty to seventy percent chance of failure and injury. Furthermore, the holy disciple's cultivation must be at the level of a Flying Spirit General, what is known to you humans as the Deity Transformation-stage. But now, our Holy Master has unexpectedly perished, and our holy disciples are only early Spirit General-stage. They still aren't prepared.
If they attempt the trial, they will most likely fail. Although I don't know much about your abilities, since you were able to cross most of the Feng Yuan Continent over here, your strength should be significant. Even with the danger in the trial, it shouldn't be a problem for you."
Han Li's eyes stirred and he solemnly asked, "They are only at the stage of a Spirit General?"
"Don't worry, I won't trick you." The young woman smiled.
With a moment of thought, Han Li eventually said, "I'll need some time to consider it."
The young woman appeared calm as if having expected this answer. "The matter is extremely important, so consideration is expected. How about this? I'll give you three days before I expect your answer. During this time, you are free to roam the city and no one will come to bother you. Furthermore, I'm named Jin Yue. Remember that name."
Han Li uttered a word of thanks and bid farewell without any hesitation.
When Han Li left, he blurred and vanished without a trace. Jin Yue smiled and sipped the teacup that was on the table.
"Grand Elder, did you truly release him?" Grey light flashed from the wall and two Tian Peng beings appeared.
Jin Yue glanced at a tall red-bearded old man and asked, "What? How did you think I'd treat that person?"
The lofty red-bearded old man rubbed his hands and said, "There is no need for us to pass off the foreign being as our holy disciple. Wouldn't it be better to force him to leave behind the wings and select someone better to inherit the true blood?"
The young woman sneered and bluntly answered, "If it were that easy, why would I go through the trouble of saying that to a foreign being. I would just kill him and take the wings away."
The petite beautiful woman standing at the old man's side hastily fixed her jacket and respectfully said, "Then the Grand Elder means..."
Jin Yue pondered for a moment and explained, "I hold the most understanding of humans among the entirety of the Tian Peng. The humans are different from us in which their body's powers are common and most of their abilities lie in the treasures they've refined. Furthermore, they can temper their treasures for long periods and thoroughly refine them with themselves. We can take it away and possess it, but it will be difficult to rid the treasure of the original master's markings in a short amount of time. Furthermore, the treasure's might will greatly decrease from when it was used by its original owner. I've already inspected the treasure to verify this. With the information I have and the trial of the holy disciple soon being imminent, we don't have the time to seize his treasure and bestow it to our kin."
The red-bearded old man shook his head. "So it was like that. But even so, must we hand over the True Ancestor's Blood to this outsider? This isn't some small matter."
A clear glint shined from the young woman's eyes, "Elder Xu, are you confused? If our race doesn't pass the trial of the holy disciple, the entire race will be absorbed by the other branches. Giving him some true blood is minor in comparison. Besides, we can consider other options to prevent this from happening."
The dainty middle-aged woman was startled for a moment and smiled, "Hehe, the Grand Elder's words are reasonable. After this outsider helps us through this calamity, this Spirit General-grade existence will be completely at our mercy."
Jin Yue coldly glanced at the beautiful woman and emotionlessly said, "We cannot kill him. Even if he is a foreign being, he's fused Kun Peng True Blood into his body and can be considered half our kin. Our Tian Peng vows will restrict us. Furthermore, he will be our benefactor if he truly aids us through calamity. If it isn't necessary, we mustn't harm him, but we'll be able to restrict him in other ways. From now on, he won't be able to leave the holy city."
The red-bearded old man said, "So that's the case. Should we inform the gatekeepers or send people to follow the outsider in secret to keep him from escaping?"
Jin Yue aloofly said, "There is no need for Elder Xu to worry. I've performed a small trick on his wings. If he wants to escape the city, I'll immediately know about it."
The beautiful woman's eyes brightly lit up and she grinned, "It seems we've been worrying too much."
"That isn't so. Our clan has five grand elders and only three of us are in the present. The matter concerning our clan's existence is something that we must deliberate. I wouldn't have secretly called you over here otherwise. Do either of you have any objections?"
"No, the Grand Elder's method is reliable." Both the beautiful woman and the old man readily agreed.
The young woman nodded in response.
From the very beginning, none of the three Tian Peng elders had even considered that Han Li would refuse.
This came as no surprise. After all Han Li was only a Deity Transformation-grade outsider. How could he refuse their request?
At that moment, hundreds of kilometers away, Han Li was flying at a low altitude.
Although his expression was ordinary and he appeared at the various buildings below him with interest, he was inwardly pondering about his dilemma.
He had carelessly exposed his identity and found himself in a bad situation.
With his rich experience, he figured that no matter if he completed the young woman's request, the result definitely wouldn't be good for him.
A bold refusal definitely wouldn't be possible.
As for immediately escaping, the thought had already surfaced in his mind several times.
But after he swept his spiritual sense past his wings, he could only wryly laugh.
The Tian Peng Grand Elder had brazenly placed a marking on the wings. Within a certain area, she'd be able to find him without a doubt.
And he wouldn't be able to erase the mark at his current cultivation. At the very least, he'd need to spend many days. The Grand Elder could find him countless times during the duration.
It appeared his only option would be to negotiate a few conditions to protect himself.
Otherwise, it'd be better to take the risk to flee than to become the holy disciple of foreign race.
As for the conditions, he would properly deliberate them once he understood the general circumstances surrounding the Tian Peng Race.
Fortunately, he's already encountered danger countless times and managed to keep calm even under such a dilemma.
As Han Li slowly flew, thoughts quickly flickered through his mind.
After some time, Han Li arrived at a lofty bookstore in the holy city.
He spent an entire day looking through a small half of the books there before departing with a tired expression.
When he returned to his residence, Han Li shut himself in the honored guest lodge until the morning of the third day. He departed with his objective being the large trade hall that he wanted to go from the very start.
He hadn't encountered any trouble along the way.
As Han Li flew, he eventually arrived at the edge of the holy city and stood in front of a strangely constructed building.
The building was constructed next to a three-kilometer-tall mountain cliff, and in the cliff, a huge rectangular plaza was carved out of it. At the end of the plaza, there was a three-hundred-meter-tall arched gate embedded on top of the mountain wall.
To either side of the arch, a dozen armed guards were standing in formation. Between them, countless Tian Peng beings rushed to and fro the gate.
Han Li simply examined them from a distance for a moment. Then, his wings stirred and he flew among them in a ball of azure light.
A guard in front of the gate noticed Han Li. His expression faintly changed before he gave Han Li a deep salute.
Han Li nodded to him and boldly walked through.
He walked through and saw the space before him brightly light up.
There seemed to be an entirely different world past the gate.
At a glance, he saw long passages that seemingly had no end. There were also lines to lofty buildings that appeared to be walls. Under closer examination, the halls seemed to have over ten stores with each story being a hundred meters tall. And every three hundred meters in width, there would be a thirty-meter tall hall entrance.
Countless Tian Peng beings were flying back and forth, up and down. It appeared this was where the Tian Peng Race traded.