Chapter 334: Three Heroes Meet the Immortal Venerable

"Is it him?" The arrogant face of the Cultivator before him overlapped with the memory of that youth who had looked half-mad.

Li Fan was somewhat stunned.

"He's actually not dead? Not only did he escape the world-ending catastrophe of the Ink Kill, but he also seems to have had another fortuitous encounter in Yuandao Province?"

"This kind of Luck…"

Li Fan immediately became interested in this Han Yi.

Looking closely, he was completely different from his previous image of tattered clothes and messy hair.

The current Han Yi wore a purple-gold long robe with a faint luster flowing over it; it was clearly no ordinary item.

On his left hand, he wore a green jade thumb ring; besides its storage function, it also bore traces of Formation fluctuations.

At first glance, he gave off an extraordinary air, appearing either wealthy or noble.

His own cultivation was also impressive.

Thirteen years ago, he hadn't even broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Now, however, he already had a Golden Core cultivation, just like Li Fan.

"Interesting." Li Fan's gaze shifted slightly, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Under the gaze of the crowd, the Tianxuan Mirror in the center of the hall emitted a silver light that shone upon the purple wooden box in Han Yi's hand.

A moment later, the purple wooden box disappeared.

And on the ranking list of the Tianxuan Mirror, the writing changed slightly.

The top of the list had strikingly become: "Han Yi, celestial capital feather transformation pill. Can extend life by eight hundred and six years."

The Cultivators in the hall suddenly broke into an uproar.

"It's actually true? This kid wasn't talking big?"

"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 truly green with envy!"

"Celestial capital feather transformation… this name seems familiar?"

"Wasn't the Cultivation Technique practiced by the late Immortal Venerable Blue Feather of Yuandao Province the Celestial Capital Feather Transformation Skill? It's said that there's currently a fierce struggle in Yuandao Province over this Dao Integration true technique, and many Cultivators have fallen. I wonder what the connection is between this celestial capital feather transformation pill and Immortal Venerable Blue Feather."

Everyone discussed animatedly, their gazes fixed on Han Yi filled with various meanings.

Despite facing the stares of many Cultivators whose cultivation levels were far higher than his, Han Yi remained composed and calm.

He even gave a graceful salute to the Cultivators and said with a smile, "Thank you for letting me win, everyone! If nothing unexpected happens, the top spot for this reward goes to me."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the Cultivators present turned somewhat sour.

Han Yi didn't care at all. He pulled out a folding fan from somewhere and snapped it open.

He fanned himself leisurely, found a seat, and sat down to wait for the final results.

Han Yi's sudden appearance made the atmosphere in the Tianji Academy hall significantly more somber.

It was no longer as lively as before.

The first and second places were almost decided.

Although the third place might still change, the level of attention was clearly not as high as before.

Although the techniques derived by the derivation law jade were extraordinary, the third place could only have a technique derived up to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Compared to Soul Transformation or even Dao Integration techniques, it was simply incomparable.

After half a day, two or three more Cultivators arrived at the hall one after another.

After glancing at the ranking list on the Tianxuan Mirror, they knew there was no hope of competing for the top three.

However, for the double reward promised by Heavenly Venerable Jicheng, these Cultivators still presented their treasures one by one.

Li Fan saw that the time was about right, so he took out a Rebirth Longevity Fruit from his storage ring and placed it before the tianxuan mirror.

A light flashed, and the ranking list on the tianxuan mirror updated once more.

"Xiao Fan, Rebirth Longevity Fruit. Can delay by three hundred years."

Li Fan's sudden rise caused a stir in the somewhat stifled hall.

One Cultivator even stood up abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Li Fan.

As if Li Fan were his sworn enemy.

"Brother Wan! Calm down, calm down!"

It turned out this person was the original second-place holder, Wan Yu.

The appearance of Han Yi and Li Fan had suddenly knocked him out of the top three, causing him to lose the opportunity to use the derivation law jade.

Li Fan's gaze only lingered on him for a moment before completely ignoring him.

Under the gaze of the Cultivators, Li Fan slowly walked near Han Yi's seat and sat down beside him.

Han Yi sized up Li Fan, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

However, he didn't say anything at this time, only cupping his hands toward Li Fan with a smile.

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

After another brief moment, a numerical countdown began to appear on the Tianxuan Mirror.

The deadline for the reward was not far off.

At the very last moment, a figure dressed as a scholar rushed in as the finale.

He stopped beneath the Tianxuan Mirror, looking up with squinted eyes.

His subsequent reaction was also quite interesting; first, he let out a long sigh of relief.

Then he shook his head, looking very regretful.

His gaze swept around and locked directly onto Han Yi.

Following Li Fan's example, he found a seat near Han Yi and sat down.

Han Yi couldn't help but sneer, "Interesting!"

His fanning motion, however, became somewhat hurried.

The countdown on the tianxuan mirror slowly reached zero.

And on the ranking list on the mirror, only the top three lines ultimately remained.

A blue-robed Cultivator suddenly appeared in the hall.

He said loudly, "Han Yi, Simon Yue, Xiao Fan, please follow me."

"The rest of you stay here; someone will be responsible for verifying and distributing the rewards later."

Hearing this, Han Yi did not hesitate and stood up to lead the way.

After Li Fan stood up, he made a gesture of invitation to the second-place finisher, Simon Yue.

Simon Yue hesitated for a moment, whispered his thanks, and followed Han Yi out.

Li Fan walked last among the three.

Under the envious gazes of the Cultivators, the three of them followed the blue-robed Cultivator out of the hall, turned right, and headed deep inside.

Passing through a dozen doors, they finally arrived at a small courtyard with a large tree growing in the center.

This tree seemed to have once grown very lushly, its branches extending to cover almost the entire sky above the courtyard.

But now, having suffered some unknown calamity, all its leaves had fallen off.

Even the main trunk of the tree showed withered yellow patches.

Beneath the tree stood a white-haired old man.

His body was somewhat hunched as he stroked the large tree before him, which was also nearing death.

His back looked somewhat desolate.

"Greetings, Immortal Venerable!"

Seeing this, how could the three of them not realize the identity of this old man?

They hastily bowed in unison.

Han Yi also put away his arrogance and became restrained.

Immortal Venerable Jicheng slowly turned around, looking at the three young people, a hint of nostalgia and sadness flashing in his eyes.

"You all… are very good."

Immortal Venerable Jicheng said slowly, emphasizing each word.

"To be honest, the strength of the life-extending treasures you submitted this time far exceeded my original expectations."

"Thanks to you, I can finally stand up again and move around a bit."

"To make some further arrangements for what comes after."

Immortal Venerable Jicheng spoke very slowly, and a faint trace of Death Qi appeared on his face.

"Does the Immortal Venerable mean that you have already consumed all of these life-extending treasures?"

"But why?"

At this moment, Simon Yue couldn't help but ask.