Chapter 1820: Black Bell
"Of course. Our Black Realm wouldn't dare to proclaim itself as the wealthiest power among the two races, but we're definitely comparable in that respect to the likes of the three sovereigns and seven monarchs. There are some precious items that we purchased from other foreign races in the primordial world, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed by them, Senior," the black-veiled woman said with a smile.
At this point, she had already removed the black veil over her face, revealing a set of exquisitely beautiful facial features that were extremely alluring to behold.
It was quite clear that she was using some kind of special captivation cultivation art. Otherwise, there was no way that she could give off such an astonishing level of allure.
However, Han Li was completely unaffected by her attempts at seduction and merely nodded in a calm manner before asking, "It's quite an investment for the Black Realm to acquire and nurture a group of women like you. I'm curious; with your looks, there's no way that you wouldn't be recognized if you were to appear in the outside world. Could it be..."
"As you suspect, Senior; my sisters and I have been living in the Black Realm for as long as we can remember and have never ventured into the outside world. How about you take me as your concubine, Senior? I'll finally be able to see the light of day, then." Number 11 put on a pitiable expression that would set the average cultivator's heart aflutter, and they could easily be tempted into agreeing to her request. However, Han Li possessed immense spiritual sense and willpower, and he easily brushed her off with an excuse that he preferred solitude.
This Number 11 clearly knew her boundaries, and seeing as Han Li had no intention of taking her, she made no further mention of this and merely sidled up against Han Li's body.
Han Li reflexively tightened her arm around her waist, basking in the sensation of intimate contact with such an exquisite beauty.
After that, he asked her some more questions about the Black Realm Exchange Convention, all of which were answered to a very satisfactory degree, and Han Li was quite pleased with her service. At this moment, more and more people began to appear in the surrounding hovering pavilions.
All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out from down below, causing the entire space to tremor slightly.
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and blue light flashed through his eyes as his gaze instantly pierced through the dark space before him, allowing him to see the source of the commotion.
At the entrance to the hall down below, there was a 100-feet-tall giant that was enshrouded in a layer of scorching flames, putting on a violent and menacing display.
There was a black-veiled woman beside the giant, explaining something in an urgent and panicked manner.
However, the fiery giant seemed to be too angry to listen to her explanations, and it let loose a thunderous roar before a massive hand emerged from the flames, hurtling downward to crush the woman into mincemeat.
Right at this moment, spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted nearby, and a streak of golden light appeared before slashing directly toward the giant without holding back in the slightest!
The fiery giant let loose another infuriated roar and was forced to turn its attention away from the black-veiled woman, reaching out toward the golden sword projection instead.
A screeching metallic clang rang out as the flames and sword projection intertwined, and the giant stumbled back several steps in succession. At the same time, spatial fluctuations erupted above it, and a grey-robed humanoid figure was also forced to emerge in the air above.
Han Li focused his gaze on the grey-robed figure to find that his robes were made from some kind of unknown materials that gave them an illusionary quality. On top of that, he was wearing a sinister ghostly mask and appraising the fiery giant down below with an intense gaze.
"What has gotten you so worked up that you're attacking a junior, Fellow Daoist? Number 37, how did you offend our esteemed guest? Hurry up and apologize!" Much to everyone's surprise, even though the grey-robed figure hadn't held back at all in his attack, he was now scolding the black-veiled woman.
"My sincerest apologies for my transgressions in serving you, Senior; please forgive me!" Number 37's face was extremely pale, clearly still reeling from that near-death ordeal, but after hearing the order issued by the grey-robed figure, she immediately extended a respectful bow toward the fiery giant with a pitiable look on her face.
The fiery giant seemed to have regained much of its composure after being struck by that sword strike, and the fury in its eyes gradually faded, but it still harrumphed coldly, "I'll let you off the hook this time, but if you do something that's considered taboo in our race again, I'll swallow you alive!"
In the next instant, the flames around the giant's body receded, and it shrank down to become a normal human-sized red-robed figure with a pair of crimson horns. However, the red-robed figure's facial features had been completely concealed by a layer of red light.
The grey-robed figure turned to Number 37 before transmitting his voice toward her to ask a few questions, then nodded to end their conversation before turning to the red-robed figure in a slightly apologetic manner. "I see, so you're from that race. Number 37 did indeed cross the line here, but please forgive her; she would've had no way of knowing your origins, Fellow Daoist. I'll immediately order for another better replacement to serve you."
"Hmph, you can do whatever you want; I just want this convention to get started as quickly as possible. I don't have a lot of time to waste in this Black Realm," the red-robed demonic cultivator harrumphed coldly before flying toward a certain empty stone pavilion on his own as a massive fireball.
The grey-robed figure down below shook his head in a resigned manner upon seeing this, then waved a hand toward Number 37. Immediately thereafter, his body swayed, and he vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Only then did Number 37 rise to her feet and take her leave.
Han Li was quite intrigued by the reason behind the red-robed demonic cultivator's furious outburst, but seeing as the matter had been addressed in a relatively peaceful fashion, he withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes again to continue to rest.
Meanwhile, Number 11 stood up before quietly making her way behind him before using her fair delicate hands to gently massage his shoulders, serving her much like a mortal servant would.
With Han Li's immensely powerful body, he naturally didn't require any such services to relieve fatigue, but it was still quite an enjoyable experience to receive this gentle massage while breathing in the fragrant scent wafting from her body.
He lay still on his chair, and it seemed that he had truly fallen half-asleep. Thus, time slowly passed, and more and more of the stone pavilions were filled.
After about six to eight hours had passed, almost all of the stone pavilions had been taken. Even so, there were only a total of around 400 to 500 people present, but considering the fact that there were several tens of Body Integration cultivators among them while most of the rest were Spatial Tempering cultivators carrying extremely valuable treasures, this was indeed an extremely formidable gathering.
Despite the growing number of convention-goers, all of the human and demonic cultivators in the stone pavilions kept to themselves, either sitting in silence or sipping on spirit wine or spirit tea on their own without displaying any intention to communicate with others.
Thus, an extremely silent atmosphere had settled over the entire hall.
After around another hour had passed, a ball of piercing golden light suddenly erupted in the air above the pristine white platform, following which a giant black bell and a green humanoid figure emerged at one corner of the golden formation.
The huge bell was about as tall as a person and was completely black in color, with a few traces of rust visible along its edges. At the center of the bell was a diagram depicting a black wyrm with a single eye that was giving off an unsettling red light.
The green figure that had emerged alongside the black bell had a small purple club in his hand, and his upper body was completely bare, revealing a burly and strong physique.
His skin was of a light green color, indicating that he wasn't a human, but there was no demonic Qi emanating from his body, either, thereby making it quite difficult to determine just what kind of being he was.
However, there was a faint golden metallic luster intermingled with the green of his skin, so it was quite clear that he had cultivated some kind of special body refinement art, and definitely possessed an immensely powerful body.
All of the cultivators in the stone pavilions naturally cast their eyes toward the black bell in unison, waiting for what was going to happen next.
The burly green-skinned figure was completely unfazed by the scrutiny from so many powerful beings. He merely took a deep breath, and green light swirled around him, upon which his body expanded to over twice its original size, taking him to around 30 feet tall.
His arms also expanded significantly as bulging veins began to squirm like worms beneath his skin, and he tightened both of his hands around the purple copper club before swinging it toward the giant black in a slow and extremely careful manner.
The bell chimed, and a purple halo of light proliferated forth from the center of the giant bell, rippling through the air before vanishing in a flash.
Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this, and before he could react, the burly green-skinned man's body suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon. In the blink of an eye, he had been reduced to a frail and emaciated elderly man with white hair and a white beard, looking as if he were close to his deathbed.
That strike of the bell seemed to have exhausted all of his energy and a vast amount of his lifespan, an occurrence that came as quite a shock to all of the observers present.
Han Li's pupils also contracted upon seeing this, but the bell chime just now was quite ordinary and didn't seem to be special in any way.
However, in the next instant, the spiritual power within his body suddenly began to churn, and his blood essence also began to flow at several times its normal speed before becoming extremely hot within his body.
Han Li was quite alarmed by this, and he immediately rose to his feet. He circulated his own powerful true essence to forcibly quell these physical reactions, and almost at the same time, he discovered that his magic power seemed to have increased slightly after hearing that bell chime.