Chapter 332: Three Heroes Meet the Immortal Lord

“Is that him?” The proud face of the cultivator before him overlapped with the image of the seemingly deranged young man from his memory.

Li Fan was somewhat stunned.

“He’s alive? Not only did he escape the catastrophic Ink-Slaughter Apocalypse, but he also seems to have found other opportunities in Yuan Daozhou?”

“Such luck…”

Li Fan immediately grew interested in Han Yi.

Upon closer inspection, Han Yi’s appearance was completely different from his previous image of ragged clothes and messy hair.

Now, Han Yi wore a purple-gold robe, subtly shimmering with light, clearly not an ordinary garment.

On his left hand, he wore a green jade thumb ring, which, besides its storage function, also showed traces of array fluctuations.

At first glance, he exuded an extraordinary aura, clearly indicating wealth or nobility.

His cultivation was also impressive.

Thirteen years ago, he hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment realm.

Now, he was at the Golden Core stage, just like Li Fan.

“Interesting,” Li Fan’s eyes flickered, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a silver light shot out from the Heaven’s Mystery Mirror in the center of the hall, illuminating the purple wooden box in Han Yi’s hand.

A moment later, the purple wooden box vanished.

The text on the Heaven’s Mystery Mirror’s ranking list subtly changed.

The top spot now boldly displayed: “Han Yi, Heaven’s Capital Feather Transformation Pill. Can extend life by 806 years.”

The cultivators in the hall immediately burst into an uproar.

“It’s actually true? This young man wasn’t bluffing?”

“A mere Golden Core cultivator, isn’t his luck a bit too good? To actually find a treasure that extends life by eight hundred years? I’m so envious!”

“Heaven’s Capital Feather Transformation… I seem to have heard that name somewhere before?”

“Wasn’t the cultivation method of the late Immortal Venerate Lan Yu, who perished in Yuan Daozhou, the ‘Heaven’s Capital Feather Transformation Art’? It’s said that cultivators in Yuan Daozhou are currently locked in fierce battles, with many perishing, to contend for this True Dao Integration Art. I wonder what connection this Heaven’s Capital Feather Transformation Pill has to Immortal Venerate Lan Yu.”

Everyone discussed animatedly, their gazes at Han Yi filled with various implications.

Yet, Han Yi remained composed and unflustered, even under the scrutiny of many cultivators whose cultivation far surpassed his own.

He even gracefully bowed to the cultivators present, smiling as he said, “I concede nothing, everyone! If all goes as expected, the top prize in this bounty will be mine.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the cultivators present turned rather sour.

Han Yi, however, didn’t care. He pulled out a folding fan from somewhere, flicked it open with a flourish, and leisurely fanned himself before finding a seat to await the final results.

Han Yi’s sudden appearance significantly dampened the atmosphere in the Grand Ultimate Academy hall.

The lively discussions that had characterized it earlier were gone.

The first two spots were practically decided.

Although the third spot might still change hands, it no longer garnered as much attention as before.

While the cultivation method deduced by the Heaven’s Deduction Jade was extraordinary, the third-place prize only offered a deduction up to the Nascent Soul realm.

This was incomparable to methods for the Spirit Transformation or even Dao Integration stages.

After a little over half a day, two or three more cultivators arrived in the hall, one after another.

After glancing at the Heaven’s Mystery Mirror’s ranking list, they knew there was no hope of competing for the top three.

However, these cultivators still presented their treasures, one by one, for the double reward promised by Immortal Venerate Jicheng.

Seeing that the time was opportune, Li Fan took out a Rebirth Longevity Fruit from his storage ring and placed it before the Heaven’s Mystery Mirror.

A flash of light occurred, and the Heaven’s Mystery Mirror’s ranking list updated again.

“Xiao Fan, Rebirth Longevity Fruit. Can delay aging by 300 years.”

Li Fan’s sudden emergence created a ripple in the somewhat subdued hall.

Moreover, a cultivator suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot, glaring intensely at Li Fan.

It was as if Li Fan were his sworn enemy.

“Brother Wan! Calm down, calm down!”

This person was none other than Wan Yu, who had originally held the second place.

Han Yi and Li Fan’s appearances had suddenly pushed him out of the top three, costing him the opportunity to use the Heaven’s Deduction Jade.

Li Fan’s gaze, however, merely lingered on him for a moment before completely disregarding him.

Under the watchful eyes of the cultivators, Li Fan slowly walked over to a spot near Han Yi’s seat and sat down.

Han Yi observed Li Fan, a glint flashing in his eyes.

But he said nothing at the moment, merely cupped his hands towards Li Fan, a smile on his face.

Li Fan nodded slightly, then closed his eyes to rest.

Another half an hour passed, and a digital countdown began to appear on the Heaven’s Mystery Mirror.

The deadline for the bounty was drawing near.

Just then, a scholar-dressed figure made a grand entrance, rushing in.

He stopped before the Heaven’s Mystery Mirror, tilting his head back and squinting.

His subsequent reaction was quite interesting: first, a long sigh of relief, then a shake of his head, looking very regretful.

His gaze swept the hall before settling directly on Han Yi.

Emulating Li Fan, he found a seat near Han Yi and sat down.

Han Yi couldn’t help but chuckle, “How amusing!”

The fanning motion of his fan, however, became a little more hurried.

The Heaven’s Mystery Mirror’s countdown slowly reached zero.

The ranking list on the mirror ultimately only retained the top three entries.

A cultivator in a blue robe suddenly appeared in the hall.

He announced loudly, “Han Yi, Ximen Yue, and Xiao Fan, please follow me.”

“The rest of you may remain here; someone will be responsible for verifying and distributing your rewards shortly.”

Upon hearing this, Han Yi, not one to defer, rose and walked at the forefront.

After standing up, Li Fan gestured to the second-ranked Ximen Yue to proceed.

Ximen Yue hesitated for a moment, then softly thanked him and followed Han Yi out.

Li Fan walked behind the three of them.

Under the envious gazes of the other cultivators, the three followed the blue-robed cultivator, turned right out of the hall, and proceeded deeper inside.

After passing through more than a dozen doors, they finally arrived at a small courtyard with a large tree growing in its center.

This large tree had once seemed incredibly lush, its branches extending to cover almost the entire courtyard.

But now, for some unknown reason, all its leaves had fallen.

Even the main trunk of the tree showed withered, yellowed spots.

Beneath the tree stood an old man with white hair.

His body was somewhat stooped as he caressed the dying tree before him.

His back view looked somewhat desolate.

“Greetings, Immortal Venerate!”

Upon seeing this, Li Fan and the other two immediately understood the old man’s identity.

They quickly bowed simultaneously.

Han Yi also set aside his arrogance, becoming reserved.

Immortal Venerate Jicheng slowly turned around, looking at the three young people, a flicker of nostalgia and sorrow in his eyes.

“You did well,” Immortal Venerate Jicheng said slowly, enunciating each word.

“To be honest, the effectiveness of the longevity treasures you submitted this time far exceeded my original expectations.”

“Thanks to you, I can finally stand up and move around a bit.”

“To make some final arrangements for what comes after.”

Immortal Venerate Jicheng spoke very slowly, and a faint aura of death was subtly visible on his face.

“Does Immortal Venerate mean you have already consumed all these longevity treasures?”

“But why?”

At this point, Ximen Yue couldn’t help but ask.