Within a secretive and heavily-guarded hall in the underground world was a giant formation that was releasing resplendent five-colored light.

Around a dozen black-armored guards were busy at work in the formation, quickly placing one top-grade spirit stone after another into the slots on the formation.

At the same time, there were over fifty other people standing in the hall outside the formation.

Among them, there were only five Grand Ascension Stage beings, while the rest were mostly comprised of Body Integration Stage beings, and only seven or eight were of a lower cultivation base than that; the blood soul and Zhu Guo'er were naturally included in that final group.

Han Li was standing in one corner of the hall with the two women and Patriarch Hua Shi, calmly appraising the busy guards inside the formation.

The 12 fragrant maidens naturally couldn't be teleported to the Blood Sky Continent with them, so the trade guild was tasked with sending them to the human race.

The other Grand Ascension Stage beings in the hall were clearly very proud, and they were split up into distinct groups with their respective entourages, displaying no intention to communicate with one another.

The other foreign beings didn't even dare to look at Han Li and the other Grand Ascension Stage beings as they also waited in silence.

All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps rang out, and Ming Zun strode into the hall with Fairy Fei Yun.

All of the Grand Ascension Stage beings immediately directed their attention toward the duo, and Han Li also did the same after gently tapping a green bracelet on his wrist.

This seemingly ordinary storage bracelet was none other than Tian Fei'er.

"Fellow daoists, this teleportation formation can generally only be used once every century, so I came here in person to ensure that nothing goes wrong with the teleportation," Ming Zun said with a smile, and his gaze lingered on Han Li momentarily before he looked away.

"Hehe, with you here in person, I'm sure nothing will go wrong here, Brother Ming," an extremely thin and tall Grand Ascension Stage being said with a smile.

Everyone else also offered some words of gratitude with smiles on their faces.

Ming Zun was one of the most powerful figures in the trade guild, so no one dared to show any disrespect toward him. Ming Zun spoke briefly with the other four Grand Ascension Stage beings one after another before finally getting to Han Li.

He cupped his fist in a salute, and said, "I've heard much about you, Brother Han. If it weren't for the mishap that had taken place during the auction, I had planned to pay you a visit in person; please forgive me for failing to do so."

"You're far too kind, Brother Ming; I was quite honored to have met so many fellow daoists of the same cultivation base as myself during the auction," Han Li replied with a smile as he returned the salute.

The other Grand Ascension Stage beings were quite surprised at the attitude being displayed by Ming Zun toward Han Li.

One had to realize that Ming Zun was one of the most renowned powerful beings on the Tian Yuan Continent; the fact that he was treating Han Li as an equal indicated that Han Li was clearly no ordinary Grand Ascension Stage being, either.

"I believe an introduction is in order, Brother Ming," the tall and thin Grand Ascension Stage being said.

Before Ming Zun could give a reply, Han Li gave a self-introduction. "My name is Han Li; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Han Li? You're the human Grand Ascension Stage being who ventured into the Elder Devil Realm and slew the Stemborer Queen?" All of the Grand Ascension Stage beings' expressions changed drastically upon hearing this.

At this point, it was apparent to all of them that Ming Zun had most likely come here solely to see Han Li. Otherwise, there was no way that someone of his esteemed prestige would come here in person.

"I did indeed go to the Elder Devil Realm, but I didn't kill the Stemborer Queen on my own; all of the rumors have painted me in far too flattering a light," Han Li replied.

All of a sudden, the other Grand Ascension Stage beings became far more hospitable toward Han Li, and they all made self-introductions before engaging in conversation with him, with Ming Zun occasionally interjecting on the side.

Shortly thereafter, a faint buzzing sound rang out within the hall.

All of the spirit stone slots on the giant formation had been filled, and the formation lit up as countless five-colored runes appeared all over its surface.

"The spirit stones have been installed; you may all enter the formation now," Ming Zun said after taking a glance at the formation.

"Take care, Brother Ming; I'll be taking my leave now." Han Li cupped his fist in a salute before making his way toward the formation with his small entourage.

The other Grand Ascension Stage beings also followed suit.

Thus, all of the people waiting in the hall quickly entered the formation, then vanished amid a flash of dazzling light.

"They're finally gone. Master Ming, was that true dragon really among them?" Fairy Fei Yun asked after heaving a sigh of relief.

"There's only one way to find out," Ming Zun replied before making a grabbing motion toward the giant formation, upon which a round formation plate immediately flew out of the formation before landing in his grasp.

This was a translucent formation plate with spirit symbols akin to the markings of a compass running along its edge, and most of the markings were flashing with faint light.

Fei Yun took a glance at the formation plate before an elated look quickly appeared on her face. "There are 57; as expected, there was an extra person's worth of teleportation energy expended than expected. I wonder how she managed to do it; none of the restrictions in the hall were able to detect her."

"The true dragons possess unfathomable powers, so it's no surprise that she had some type of cultivation art or treasure that could allow her to escape our detection. This was her only opportunity to return to the dragon race in the near future. Now that the Nightmare Dragon blood has been taken out of our hands, we can all heave a huge sigh of relief," Ming Zun replied with a faint smile.

"It's a good thing a close friend of yours from the dragon race informed us that it was Nightmare Dragon blood rather than Ancestral Dragon blood. Otherwise, if it had been sold or we had enforced stronger measures and harmed the dragons performing the heist, it would've spelled a lot of trouble for our trade guild," Fei Yun said with a wry smile.

"Given the properties of the Nightmare Dragon blood, it would definitely have been a ticking time bomb if it had been sold. However, handing it over to the dragon race would've been a display of weakness that would've placed our trade guild in a bad light. Even though allowing those two to get away would also affect our guild's reputation, it's the better alternative in comparison," Ming Zun mused.

"That's true. It was too late to employ any other course of action anyway, so this was our only choice," Fei Yun replied in a respectful manner.

"Alright, that brings this matter to a conclusion. Keep the bounty for those two, but it'll just be for show; I'm sure everyone will forget about this incident in a few years. Let's go back; the auction may have concluded, but there are still some things that must be taken care of," Ming Zun said before departing, followed closely by Fei Yun.

Han Li was naturally unaware that the Nightmare Dragon blood heist had actually been partially orchestrated by the He Lian Trade Guild.

Even if he did hear about it, he wouldn't have thought much of it anyway.

The white light around him faded, and he quickly recovered from the rush of teleportation dizziness, but upon which he immediately identified that he had arrived in another giant formation.

There was a spacious area around the giant formation that was paved with bluestone, and only a man and a woman were situated in the area.

The man had a round face and appeared to be around 30 years of age, and he cupped his fist in a salute with a benevolent smile on his face. "Welcome, seniors and fellow daoists, to the Blood Sky Continent. My name is Fang Jin, and I'm the supervisor of the He Lian Trade Guild here. If anyone has any questions, feel free to direct them toward me, and I'll be sure to answer them to the best of my abilities."

In contrast, the young woman beside him was much more cold and forbidding, and she was appraising everyone in the formation in silence.

These two were both at the Body Integration Stage, so most of the people in the teleportation formation hurriedly returned their salute, and one of them immediately asked, "Fellow Daoist Fang, do you have a map of the nearby area with annotations of the powers that we need to look out for?"

"Of course. Those who require such a map can receive a copy from me," Fang Jin immediately replied before sweeping a sleeve through the air, releasing several tens of jade slips of different colors. Everyone was quite pleased to see this, and they each took a jade slip for themselves.

Some of the more eager individuals only briefly inspected their jade slips before quickly departing, while the others also left after asking some questions, including the four Grand Ascension Stage beings and their entourages.

Thus, Han Li was the only Grand Ascension Stage being left near the formation, and he was joined by several foreign beings who seemed to be from the same group.

The group of beings were currently discussing something quietly among themselves.

"Let's go." After briefly inspecting the contents of the jade slip, Han Li also prepared to depart.

Of course, he hadn't taken a jade slip in person; it was Patriarch Hua Shi who had collected jade slips for everyone in the group.

The blood soul and the others naturally didn't offer any objections, yet just as they were about to depart, the woman suddenly called out, "Please wait, Fellow Daoist Han. I was sent here with the sole purpose of welcoming you, and I hope you can come with me."

The woman's voice was surprisingly sweet and pleasant to the ears.

"You were sent here to welcome me? By who? Someone from your He Lian Trade Guild?" Han Li was quite surprised to hear this.