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Chapter 327: Five Decays
Chapter 327: Five Decays
Chapter 327: Five Decays
All of a sudden, a burst of laughter rang out in the distant sky, and a streak of blue light shot forth from afar, flying into the golden light barrier before hovering in the air outside of the white jade platform.
"Luo Qinghai of the Vast Flow Palace has come to attend the ceremony!"
An enormous blue flower that was around 1,000 feet in size bloomed within the burst of blue light with this declaration, and there were around a dozen figures standing atop the giant flower, all of whom were wearing the same blue robes and giving off formidable auras.
Everyone from the Blaze Dragon Dao instantly erupted into chatter upon seeing this.
Luo Qinghai was the current palace master of the Vast Flow Place, which ranked alongside the Blaze Dragon Dao as one of the three leading powers of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region.
Han Li quickly recalled all of the information that he had read about the Vast Flow Palace as he also cast his gaze upward, just like everyone else.
Within the giant blue flower was a large golden throne, upon which sat a tall and thin middle-aged man with hair that was as white as snow.
He had a set of benevolent facial features, and his eyes were as blue as the sea, while his aura was as vast as the ocean, and even from this far away, Han Li still couldn't help but be alarmed by the man's formidable aura.
The dozen or so figures behind Luo Qinghai all appeared to have been very formidable as well.
One of them appeared to have been in his early twenties, and he had a very effeminate appearance with skin that was even fairer than that of a young maiden. If it weren't for the fact that his chest was completely flat, he could've easily been mistaken for a woman.
Even though he was also wearing a blue robe, unlike everyone else in the ground, there were golden waves embroidered onto his collar and sleeves, making his attire more similar in appearance to Luo Qinghai's.
"Welcome, Palace Master Luo. Forgive me for not coming out to welcome you sooner," Ouyang Kuishan said as he rose to his feet and cupped his fist in a salute, while all of the other dao lords and deputy dao lords stood up as well.
"It's a very rare occasion that Fellow Daoist Baili comes out of seclusion, and he always has very unique insights on the five decays. All of his preaching ceremonies are extremely prestigious events in our Northern Glacial Immortal Realm, so I certainly couldn't miss it," Luo Qinghai replied with a smile.
Luo Qinghai and Ouyang Kuishan made some small talk, and instead of descending onto the preaching platform like everyone else, Luo Qinghai remained in the air atop his giant blue flower, hovering at the same height as the preaching platform.
Not long after the arrival of the Vast Flow Palace, a silver chariot that was drawn by eight silver-scaled dragon horses came flying in from afar. There were around seven or eight people on the carriage, and it remained hovering in mid-air on the other side of the platform.
"The Northern Glacial Immortal Region has come to attend the ceremony," a beautiful woman on the carriage declared.
"This is truly an honor, Deputy Palace Master Xue Ying," Ouyang Kuishan greeted as he rose to his feet, but it was clear that he wasn't particularly fond of the new arrivals.
The other Golden Immortal dao lords also seemed to have been rather disdainful of everyone from the Immortal Palace, merely taking a glance at them before looking away.
The cultivators of the Immortal Palace didn't appear to have been bothered by this, and they extended a greeting toward Luo Qinghai before hovering in the air on the other side of the preaching platform.
Following the arrival of the other two leading powers of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, there were no further new arrivals.
Another 15 minutes or so passed by, and Ouyang Kuishan spoke to several of the dao lords beside him briefly, then rose his feet and swept his gaze across the vast crowds of people gathered around the plaza as he declared, "It's time. Welcome, Dao Lord Baili!"
His voice wasn't very loud, but it was extremely clear, as if he were speaking right beside everyone on the plaza.
In the next instant, everyone rose to their feet, including those on the platform.
"Welcome, Dao Lord Baili!" all of the elders and disciples of the Blaze Dragon Dao yelled in unison, causing the entire plaza to buzz and tremble.
In the next instant, layers of strange ripples suddenly began to appear in the sky, and a crimson fireball slowly emerged, then turned from red to golden in color, glowing as radiantly as the sun.
At the same time, a burst of enormous spiritual pressure erupted out of the ball of fire, and the entirety of the White Jade Peak instantly fell completely silent.
Immediately thereafter, a humanoid figure stepped out of the ball of fire and onto the tall platform.
The man appeared to have been no more than 30 to 40 years of age, and his skin was slightly red in coloration and glowing brightly like a piece of flawless crimson jade.
He stood tall and proud with an authoritative look on his face, and he had a head of long crimson hair that was arranged inside a gold mesh crown. He was also dressed in a fiery red robe that was riddled with draconic embroidery, and it was none other than the number one dao lords of the Blaze Dragon Dao, the man who was said to have only been one step away from the High Zenith Stage, Baili Yan!
"Brother Luo, if I recall correctly, it's been over 100,000 years since we last met in the battle in the Hidden Azure Sea," Baili Yan said with a smile as he cast his gaze toward the Vast Flow Palace camp.
"If you hadn't gone into seclusion so quickly, the two of us could've had plenty of time to meet and chat," Luo Qinghai jibed.
"You're here as well, Deputy Palace Master Xue Ying!" Baili Yan greeted as he turned to the Immortal Palace camp.
"You're looking as handsome as ever, Dao Lord Baili. Now that you've come out of seclusion, I'm sure you're even closer to the High Zenith Stage. Allow me to offer you my congratulations in advance," the woman by the name of Xue Ying replied with a nod.
"I'm afraid your congratulations may be premature, Fellow Daoist Xue Ying. If the High Zenith Stage were that easy to reach, then I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of going into seclusion so many times," Baili Yan chuckled, while Xue Ying merely smiled in response.
"I'm very honored to be hosting all of you here today. During this ceremony, I'm going to be sharing my cultivation experiences and insights in the hope that I can help you all further your own cultivation."
He swept his gaze calmly across the crowd gathered all over the White Jade Peak as he spoke, much like an emperor inspecting his own empire, giving off an unmatched sense of majesty and regal authority.
After that, he turned around and flew onto the platform, taking a seat with his legs crossed behind the purple table at its center.
The dozens of Blaze Dragon Dao dao lords and deputy lords and the cultivators from the Blaze Dragon Dao's allied sects were seated on either side of him, making him resemble a bright moon surrounded by stars.
The sound of a loud gong being struck three times in succession rang out, and a peculiar burst of fluctuations instantly spread over the entire mountain range.
Han Li was immediately instilled with a sense of calmness upon hearing this sound, and what little remained of the background noise quickly died down to result in complete silence.
Baili Yan cast his gaze directly forward as he began to speak, and his voice was surprisingly smooth and mellow.
His voice didn't appear to have been remarkable in any way, and those who were further away from him were initially struggling to hear him, but it didn't take long before his voice began to reverberate around the entire mountain.
His words were echoing incessantly, striking deep into the hearts of the listeners like the tolls of a giant bell, or like the mantric chantings of the Buddha.
Everyone was immersed in this unique sound, and as for exactly what Baili Yan was saying, it was becoming a little indistinct.
However, this immersive atmosphere struck everyone with a sense of comfort both in the body and the soul, and many people could feel their magic power circulation becoming a lot smoother, while certain bottlenecks were beginning to loosen.
However, most of the people experiencing this were at or below the Grand Ascension Stage, while everyone at the True Immortal Stage and above weren't benefitting anywhere near as much.
As for Han Li, he was able to roughly understand what was being preached, but he was not experiencing any profound sensation like everyone else.
The reason for this was his enormous spiritual sense, which was even more formidable than that of the average Golden Immortal. As a result of this, the preaching of a late-Golden Immortal Stage dao lord wasn't enough to place him into an entranced state of immersion.
Furthermore, the preaching of the portly monk on the wall of light manifested by the Eye of Truth and the Heaven Controlling Vial was far more profound, and in comparison, Han Li was left feeling a little disappointed.
However, he didn't outwardly express his disappointment, merely sitting on his cushion with his legs crossed and meditating with his eyes closed.
After all, this was still the preaching of someone on the verge of reaching the High Zenith Stage, so it was still going to be somewhat beneficial to him.
As time passed, noon quickly arrived, and Baili Yan's voice was still reverberating across the entire mountain.
In fact, it was audible even in White Jade City, and everyone in the city had stopped to listen, making the usually lively and bustling city uncharacteristically quiet.
"...Among the five decays, True Immortals must face three without fail, and those trials will either lead to one's demise or rebirth. Only by cultivating arduously can one hope to..."
At this point in Baili Yan's preaching, all of the True Immortals on the platform were leaning forward slightly, listening intently with focused looks on their faces.
Even the Golden Immortals present had sat up a little straighter to listen to what he had to say.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of befuddlement appeared in his eyes.
He turned to look at Qi Liang to find that he was just focusing just as intently as all of the other True Immortals, seemingly latching onto Baili Yan's every word.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Han Li took advantage of a pause in Baili Yan's preaching to raise a question to Qi Liang through voice transmission, "Fellow Daoist Qi, may I ask what these three decays and five decays are?"
Qi Liang immediately turned to him with an incredulous expression. "You're unaware of the three decays of the True Immortal Stage?"
"Please enlighten me, Brother Qi," Han Li said.