Chapter 833: Audience With the Devilish Monarch

"Does the striking of the gong signify that the Devilish Monarch has come out of seclusion?" Han Li asked.

"That's right. He'll most likely summon us for an audience tomorrow, and we'll be able to carry out our plan then," Shi Chuankong replied with a nod.

Han Li nodded in response, but he was looking a little concerned.

"There's no need to be worried, Fellow Daoist Li. Pokong's plans are always very sound, so I'm sure our father will agree," Shi Chuankong reassured.

Han Li merely smiled and offered no response.

After that, Shi Chuankong advised Han Li on some things to keep in mind during the audience with the Devilish Monarch, following which the spatial avatar dissipated.

Han Li took a glance at the summit of the holy mountain, then returned to his room.

The next morning, Han Li emerged from the Long Garden Pavilion in a set of formal clothes, and Shi Pokong and Shi Chuankong had already arrived.

Both of them were dressed in opulent purple robes with a jade belt around each of their waists and golden crowns on their heads, giving them a very regal and noble appearance.

Three bright jewels were encrusted onto Shi Pokong's crown, while Shi Chuankong's crown was completely devoid of jewels and also a lot dimmer in terms of luster.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Han Li said.

"It's fine, we only just arrived," Shi Chuankong replied with a smile.

Shi Pokong was looking calm and collected as usual, and he gave Han Li a slight nod as he said, "Let's go."

There were two beast-drawn carriages waiting nearby, and the first one was extremely luxurious.

It was entirely golden in color, and it was also drawn by a golden lion beast that was covered in thick golden fur. Above the carriage was an ostentatious golden canopy that was rippling slightly in the wind.

The second carriage was far more mundane in appearance, but it was significantly larger than the first carriage, and standing beside it was none other than the Blood Drop Marquis, Xue Cheng.

Xue Cheng smiled and extended a greeting upon catching sight of Han Li, and Shi Chuankong said, "Father is very strict about upholding the laws and rules of our Holy Realm, so I'm afraid we won't be able to travel in the same carriage together, Fellow Daoist Li. You'll have to travel in the second carriage with Fellow Daoist Xue."

Han Li nodded in response and stepped onto the second carriage with Xue Cheng.

"Let's go," Shi Pokong instructed, and the two carriages immediately set off.

"Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Xue. Fellow Daoist Shi and I owe you utmost gratitude. If you hadn't lured Daoist Master Bone Shine away, we wouldn't have been able to return to Night Sun City safely," Han Li said.

"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Li. Honestly, I feel quite embarrassed whenever I think back to what happened back then. I was sent to escort you and His Highness safely back to Night Sun City, but I completely failed in my duty, and to add more insult to injury, I was severely wounded by Daoist Master Bone Shine. I had to go into seclusion for a long time to recover from my injuries, and I only recently came out.

“I heard that Daoist Master Bone Shine was later killed by you. That's truly an unfathomably remarkable feat for someone of your cultivation base, Fellow Daoist Li," Xue Cheng said with a smile.

"It was only through a series of massive strokes of fortune that I was able to kill Daoist Master Bone Shine, and even then, I was only just barely able to come out on top by the skin of my teeth," Han Li replied in a modest fashion.

"You're far too humble, Fellow Daoist Li," Xue Cheng chuckled.

The carriage continued onward as the two of them chatted with each other.

Over the past few years, Han Li had only made very few outings, mostly to purchase things in the Maha Area or to try and find a cure for Weeping Soul. Hence, he wasn't actually very familiar with the Naraka Area, and only now did he get a chance to take a good look at the area.

Due to its close proximity to the holy mountain, the terrain of the entire Naraka Area followed an upward trend from north to south.

This terrain also formed the basis for the area's layout, with layers of buildings stretching all the way from the foot of the holy mountain all the way to the edge of the city walls, and they were laid out in an extremely uniform fashion, like steps on a staircase.

The closer the proximity to the holy mountain, the taller and more opulent the buildings in the area would be.

The two carriages passed through a few streets, then arrived before an extremely wide white jade road.

The road was over a thousand feet wide, and it extended directly toward the holy mountain.

To Han Li's astonishment, the road was currently lined with people stretching all the way to the holy mountain, and all of them were kneeling and kowtowing reverently toward the holy mountain, paying no heed to Shi Pokong and the others.

"Whenever Father comes out of seclusion, a grand ceremony will be held, and all of the people in the city will gather at the holy road to pay their respects for an entire day," Xue Cheng explained.

"I see," Han Li replied with a nod.

The two carriages continued to make their way down the jade road toward the holy mountain, and close to an hour later, the carriages finally arrived at the foot of the holy mountain, where they drew to a halt in front of an enormous cluster of palaces.

These palaces took up hundreds of acres, and there were thousands of them in total, all of which were entirely constructed from some type of black crystalline material.

This material was smooth and translucent, giving off a pure black glow, and it was clear that this was an exceptional material.

All of the palaces were etched with extremely elegant reliefs of devilish deities or ferocious beasts, and Xue Cheng introduced, "This is the Holy Imperial Palace, the residence of the Holy Emperor."

Beside the palace was an enormous white jade plaza that was no smaller in area than the cluster of palaces, and at the center of the plaza was a huge antiquated altar that was entirely constructed from some type of dark green material.

The people paying their respects stretched all the way from the plaza to the beginning of the white jade road, and at this moment, the plaza was packed with worshippers that were chanting prayers.

"According to the rules, we also have to go and pay our respects, and only then can we enter the Holy Imperial Palace to meet my father," Shi Pokong said after emerging from his carriage, then made his way toward the altar.

Han Li and the others quickly followed along, and Han Li couldn't see anything remarkable about the altar aside from the two tall statues standing on it.

The statues were very antiquated in appearance, and the lines on them weren't very clear and pronounced, but they still appeared extremely lifelike, as if they could suddenly begin moving at any moment.

One of them was completely white in color and depicted a benevolent-looking woman standing with a smile on her face, giving off an aura of universal motherly love.

The other statue was completely different. It was completely black in color, and it had twelve heads and twenty-four arms.

Each of its faces was displaying a different emotion, such as rage, elation, detachment, or sorrow, and all of its hands were also arranged into different signs and gestures.

Having studied extensively about the Devilish Realm through Shi Pokong's books, Han Li knew that the two deities being worshiped here were the Infernal Holy Mother and the Baleful Holy Emperor.

It was said that the Devilish Realm had been created by the Baleful Holy Emperor after slicing through boundless space, while the Infernal Holy Mother had created all of the life forms within the Devilish Realm.

Han Li naturally wasn't a believer of this story, but he was still quite intrigued by the sight of these statues.

His gaze only lingered momentarily on the Infernal Holy Mother before he turned his attention to the Baleful Holy Emperor, upon which his brows suddenly furrowed slightly.

This was definitely the first time that he had seen a statue of the Baleful Holy Emperor, but for some reason, it struck him with a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen it before.

A faint purple gleam surfaced in his eyes as he took a closer look.

At this moment, there was still some distance left until he reached the pinnacle of the altar, but with his exceptional eyesight, he was able to clearly see both statues in meticulous detail.

All of a sudden, he noticed a line of strange text engraved onto the jade belt around the Baleful Holy Emperor's waist.

This line of text appeared to be of the same language as the text that he had seen on the statue in Daoist Master Bone Shine's storage ring.

He had occasionally tried to study the text on that statue over the past few years, but to no avail, and he certainly wasn't expecting to see more of the same text here.

Right as he was about to take a closer look, a hint of black light suddenly flashed through the eyes on one of the Baleful Holy Emperor's heads, and it abruptly turned its gaze toward him, giving off a boundless aura of darkness that instantly devoured all of the surrounding light.

Han Li shuddered involuntarily, and in that instant, he felt as if his soul were about to be sucked out of his body and into the boundless darkness.

He felt as if he were trapped under an ice shelf that was billions of feet thick, and everything inside his body was completely frozen solid, rendering him powerless to do anything.

However, in the next instant, everything returned to normal. The black gleam in the eyes of the statue had faded, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Even though it was only for an instant, all of the fine hairs on Han Li's body were standing up on end, and his heart was thumping in his chest as he took an involuntary step backward.

"What's wrong, Fellow Daoist Li?" Xue Cheng asked.

Shi Chuankong also turned to him with a perplexed expression, and it was clear that they hadn't seen what Han Li had just witnessed.

Han Li took a moment to compose himself, then replied, "It's nothing, I'm just feeling a little apprehensive now that I'm about to meet the Holy Monarch."

"There's no need to be concerned, Fellow Daoist Li. Father is a very strict man, but he's not unreasonable," Shi Chuankong assured with a smile.

Han Li forced a smile in response, then snuck another glance at the Baleful Holy Emperor statue, but it had completely returned to normal.

"Let's go," Shi Pokong said, then stepped onto the staircase leading up to the altar.

Han Li and the others immediately followed along, and they quickly arrived on the summit of the altar.

On the summit was a plot of flat land that was several hundred feet in size, and in addition to the two statues, there was also a giant ovular array engraved onto the ground.

At this moment, there were dozens of priests seated within the array, holding various types of artifacts while chanting to the two statues