Chapter 1232: Entering the Pass

"I don't know much about the Nine Origins Temple, so I can't think of any appropriate reason. Do you have one in mind, Fellow Daoist Lan?" Han Li asked.

"If there were any other guards stationed here, then I would be powerless to do anything as well, but given that it's the Golden Vein Guards that are here, I may have a trick up my sleeve," Lan Yan replied with a faint smile.

Han Li's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this, and he began discussing the matter with Lan Yan through voice transmission.

After some contemplation, Han Li nodded as he decided, "It's a little risky, but it's worth a try."

"Master, even if you can fool the guards and enter the inner temple, the Reincarnation Palace cultivators are still yet to reach this point. If you enter the inner temple on your own and are discovered, then you'll be in a very perilous situation. Is this not too risky?" Weeping Soul interjected in a concerned manner.

"Given the current situation, I presume that there won't be too many powerful cultivators in the inner temple, so this is a prime opportunity. Having said that, your concerns are not unwarranted. As a safety precaution, I'll contact the Reincarnation Palace..."

All of a sudden, Han Li's voice trailed off here, and a faint smile appeared on his face, but he immediately concealed it.

"What's wrong, Master?" Weeping Soul asked in a puzzled manner.

"Nothing. Looks like I won't need to contact the Reincarnation Palace, after all," Han Li replied.

Weeping Soul was still rather confused to hear this, but she didn't ask any further questions.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Come out, Lan Yan," Han Li instructed as he swept a sleeve through the air, and Lan Yan appeared out of thin air beside him.

At the moment, Lan Yan was wearing a blue cloak that concealed her face and body, and the two of them drifted down in to land in front of the Golden Jade Pass.

"Who's there?" an imposing man clad in a suit of golden armor yelled from the other side of the golden light barrier.

The man was around ten feet tall, and his entire body was riddled with bands of rippling muscle. There was also a large beard on his face, within which the individual strands of hair resembled black, steel needles, presenting a fearsome sight to behold.

His cultivation base was just as impressive as his physique, standing at the early-Great Encompassment Stage.

"It's me, Elder Qi," Lan Yan said as she lowered her hood to reveal her face.

"Lan Yan? What are you doing here?" the man asked in a perplexed manner.

"Please open the Golden Jade Pass, Elder Qi. I have important information to report to the sect," Lan Yan said in solemn manner.

"The three passes are closed due to the enemy invasion, and no one is allowed to enter or exit unless they have a special passage token. Do you have such a token?" Elder Qi asked.

"I was instructed by Holy Envoy Miao Fa to gather information on the enemy, and due to the rushed nature of the situation, she didn't grant me a token. However, the information that I've gathered is very important, so please let me through," Lan Yan said as she flipped a hand over to reveal a green badge.

The badge belonged to Immortal Lord Miao Fa, and a respectful look instantly appeared on Elder Qi's face at the sight of it.

The four holy envoys were only below the abbot and assistant abbots in status in the Nine Origins Temple, far superior to an ordinary elder like him.

As for what Lan Yan had just told him, Elder Qi didn't suspect her. Just like the Lan siblings, he had also been a vagrant cultivator, and the three of them had become acquaintances after joining the Nine Origins Temple. From there, Elder Qi had gone to the Golden Vein Guards, while the Lan siblings had been assigned to the shadow guard.

The three of them had remained in contact with one another, so Elder Qi was aware that Lan Yan had already been moved out of the shadow guard and was currently directly serving Immortal Lord Miao Fa, so it made sense that she had been sent out to gather information.

"You may be acting under Immortal Lord Miao Fa’s instructions, but even so, I'm afraid I cannot bend the rules for you," Elder Qi said after a brief hesitation.

"Elder Qi, the information that I've gathered is extremely important and concerns the objectives of the enemies outside. However, given my lowly status, I must report this information to Holy Envoy Miao Fa, and only she can relay it to the higher-ups of the sect.

“You've always wanted to enter the panel of elders, haven't you? If you do me this favor here, I can ask Holy Envoy Miao Fa to put in a good word for you with the abbot, and you'll be all but assured of a spot on the panel of elders," Lan Yan said through voice transmission.

While the Golden Jade Pass was an extremely formidable restriction, it didn't keep out sound.

A torn look appeared on Elder Qi's face, and he was clearly tempted by the proposition.

"You and I go way back, Elder Qi. I'm sure you're aware of my character. I can't say I'm someone who'll remain true to my word at all times, but I'm also not a deceitful charlatan, either. If you let me through to report this piece of information to Holy Envoy Miao Fa, I'll be rewarded handsomely as well, so this is mutually beneficial for both of us," Lan Yan urged.

Elder Qi was still a little hesitant, and he said, "In that case, please contact Holy Envoy Miao Fa and inform her of the situation so she can issue a direct order to open the pass."

"I've been trying to get into contact with her this entire time, but there's been no response, so she must be busy with something," Lan Yan said as she pulled out a blue communication array plate that was flashing with blue spiritual light, but just as she had said, there was no response being received.

Elder Qi's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.

"Both of the assistant abbots and the other holy envoys have also sent out people to gather information on the enemy outside. If they gather the same piece of information, they'll be the ones to receive the reward, so this is a very fleeting window of opportunity that must be captured now!" Lan Yan said as a look of urgency appeared on her face.

Elder Qi shuddered slightly upon hearing this, but he was still unable to make a decision.

Right at this moment, a projection suddenly emerged from Lan Yan's blue array plate, and it was one of none other than Immortal Lord Miao Fa.

An ecstatic look appeared on Lan Yan's face upon seeing this, and Elder Qi's eyes lit up as well.

"Why have you contacted me, Lan Yan? I'm very busy right now, so keep it concise," Immortal Lord Miao Fa said in a cold voice.

"I was able to gather an important piece of information on the enemy that I must report to you in person, but the Golden Jade Pass is currently closed, so please ask Elder Qi to make an exception and grant me passage," Lan Yan requested.

"Open the Golden Jade Pass for her, Elder Qi. I'll explain the situation to the abbot," Immortal Lord Miao Fa instructed as she turned her gaze to Elder Qi.

"Yes, Holy Envoy Miao Fa," Elder Qi hurriedly answered, and the projection of Immortal Lord Miao Fa vanished from the array plate.

At this moment, Weeping Soul was inside the Flower Branch domain, having taken on the appearance of Immortal Lord Miao Fa, and there was a communication array plate in front of her that was identical in appearance to Lan Yan's.

After reverting back to her original appearance, she murmured to herself, "Hopefully everything goes well for Master outside."

"You can rest assured, Big Sister Weeping Soul. Master is very well prepared, and the timing is also just right. On top of that, Elder Qi is completely enamored by the carrot that's been dangled in front of him, so there's no way he would ever consider the possibility that someone could've posed as Immortal Lord Miao Fa to deceive him," Xiaobai reassured, and Weeping Soul nodded in response.

In front of the Golden Jade Pass.

"Now that Holy Envoy Miao Fa has spoken, please open the restriction for me, Elder Qi," Lan Yan requested loudly as she stowed her communication array plate away, as if he she were intentionally speaking for everyone else to hear.

Elder Qi was quite grateful for this as it showed all of his subordinates that he had followed correct official procedure in the matter, thereby giving his actions a seal of legitimacy.

Right as he was about to issue an order to open the pass, he suddenly noticed Han Li standing nearby. "Hold on, who's that?"

Han Li was currently displaying a very weak aura, and Elder Qi had been focused on his conversation with Lan Yan just now, so he had failed to notice Han Li's presence this entire time.

"His name is Zhou Yu, and he's an inner sect disciple of our temple. He served as an eyewitness to the piece of information that I'm about to present, so he has to accompany me to see Holy Envoy Miao Fa," Lan Yan explained.

"Disciple Zhou Yu pays his respects to Elder Qi," Han Li hurriedly said with a feigned look of fear and unease on his face as he extended a respectful bow toward Elder Qi before presenting his identity token.

The token contained the visage and name of its owner, but Han Li had already adopted Zhou Yu's physical appearance, so he wasn't afraid of being exposed.

Unfortunately, he hadn't personally met Zhou Yu, so he never had a chance to absorb Zhou Yu's aura, thereby leading to an imperfect disguise.

Elder Qi took a glance at Han Li, then flipped a hand over to produce a golden jade tablet, which released a beam of golden light that passed through the restriction to fall upon the identity token in Han Li's hand.

A burst of golden light instantly began to emanate from the token, and a projection emerged from it, one that was identical to Han Li's current appearance.

Elder Qi carefully compared the two while also meticulously examining Han Li with his spiritual sense, and only after verifying that there was nothing amiss did he give a nod before stowing the jade tablet away.

Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief as he stowed away his identity token as well.

"Open the restriction!" Elder Qi ordered, and eight golden-robed cultivators emerged from behind him.

Each of them was holding a large, golden flag, and the flags collectively unfurled at their behest, releasing bursts of radiant, rippling golden light that were formed by countless tiny, golden runes.

The waves of golden light quickly converged to form a ball of golden light roughly the size of a human head, following which Elder Qi swept a sleeve through the air to release a streak of golden light, which contained a golden badge.

He cast an incantation seal into the badge, and it also began to glow with dazzling, golden light, following which it released a beam of translucent light that vanished into the golden ball.

The ball immediately split up into eight pieces, each of which transformed into a golden rune that was round a foot in size, and all eight of the runes fused into the golden light barrier in the Golden Jade Pass.

The light barrier instantly began to flash erratically, following which an opening that was only wide enough for one person to pass through appeared over its surface.

A hint of elation appeared in Lan Yan's eyes upon seeing this, and she immediately flew through the opening, followed closely by Han Li.

As soon as the two of them passed through the restriction, Elder Qi immediately issued an order to close the pass again, but before the order could be carried out, disaster suddenly struck.