With the dust settled on the Sect Grand Tournament, the five who had secured places in the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land saw their standing in the sect soar. The resources allotted to them far exceeded those of ordinary disciples. Han Li did not slacken because of his moment in the limelight. On the second day after the tournament ended, he took the sect master's written authorization and visited one of the Seven Mysteries Sect's most important sites-the Scripture Pavilion.
The Scripture Pavilion stood in a secluded valley behind the main peak. Seven stories tall, with sweeping eaves and interlocking brackets, it bore the weathered dignity of ages. A powerful glow of restrictive wards enveloped it, faintly exuding a murderous chill. It housed most of the cultivation arts, spells, and miscellaneous texts the Seven Mysteries Sect had collected over the thousand years since its founding, forming the very foundation of the sect.
After inspecting the authorization, the elder on duty gave Han Li a long look before opening the wards and allowing him inside. The moment he entered, a tranquil scent of books and spiritual wood washed over him, clearing his mind. The first-floor hall was exceptionally spacious, its shelves standing in rows. Quite a few inner and outer disciples were quietly reading jade slips or ancient hide-bound texts.
With his objectives clear, Han Li did not linger on the first floor and went straight up the stairs. Under the rules, outer disciples could enter the first floor, inner disciples could reach the third, and core disciples and Foundation Establishment cultivators could access the fifth. Entry to the sixth and seventh floors required special contributions or an elder's express permission. As a core disciple carrying the sect master's authorization, he could go as high as the fifth floor.
The higher he climbed, the smaller the space became, and the more ancient the shelves appeared. The texts and jade slips stored there were clearly of higher grades, and security grew increasingly strict. By the fourth floor, he could scarcely see another disciple. Han Li extended his spiritual sense, carefully examining the faint spiritual power fluctuations lingering among the shelves as he searched for cultivation arts and secret techniques suited to his dark spiritual root or particularly useful for his journey into the forbidden land.
Black Water Art, Detailed Explanation of Shadow Step, Basic Array Analysis, Compendium of a Hundred Herbs, Compendium of Low-Grade Talismans... The shelves offered a dazzling array of texts. Han Li mainly sought two kinds: auxiliary cultivation arts that could improve his concealment, escape speed, and chances of survival, and records of the unusual terrain, demonic beasts, and spiritual materials he might encounter in the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land.
He first picked up a jade slip titled Shadowless Escape and sank his spiritual sense into it. This technique did not rely on speed alone. Instead, it used the refraction and distortion of light and shadow to achieve near-invisibility over short distances. It demanded exceptional control over spiritual power, making it an ideal match for his pure dark attribute spiritual power. Though it was only a fragment containing the formulas for the first two levels, mastering it would be a tremendous aid in the forbidden land, whether for ambushes or escapes.
"This technique is rather obscure and difficult to cultivate, and its demands on spiritual sense are considerable. Are you certain you want to choose it?" An aged voice sounded beside him.
Han Li looked up to find a gray-robed elder with white hair and beard and a lean face standing beside him, watching him calmly. He had no idea when the elder had appeared. The elder's aura was restrained, like that of a mortal, yet Han Li felt an unfathomable pressure from him. His heart tightened as he realized this must be a senior expert guarding the Scripture Pavilion.
"This disciple, Han Li, pays his respects to you, Senior." Han Li bowed respectfully. "Though this technique is difficult, its attributes suit my cultivation art. I would like to try my hand at it."
The elder nodded slightly and said nothing more. His figure slowly faded away, as though he had never appeared.
Inwardly startled, Han Li copied the technique's jade slip and put it away. He then found a secret technique called Profound Yin Spirit Eye, which could slightly enhance his vision and was particularly effective at seeing through low-grade illusions and mist. It would be quite useful for exploring unknown environments. He also selected several miscellaneous jade slips recording dangerous locations in the Heavenly South, unusual insects and beasts, and methods for refining common antidote and miasma-repelling pills.
Just as he was preparing to head to the fifth floor, an inconspicuous shelf in a corner caught his eye. A thin layer of dust covered it, and the jade slips upon it looked extraordinarily old. As though drawn by some unseen impulse, he walked over and picked up a dark gray jade slip without a label.
When he probed it with his spiritual sense, the first thing he saw was a line of ancient characters: Aura Concealment Art. Its contents concerned not how to unleash an imposing aura, but how to suppress one's aura, spiritual power fluctuations, and even signs of life to the utmost, mimicking inert stone or dead wood. It could even briefly deceive the senses of cultivators one or two minor stages above the user. The method appeared simple, but its demands on spiritual sense and spiritual power control were absurdly stringent, and its cultivation was extremely tedious and painful.
Aura concealment... tortoise breathing... A thought stirred in Han Li's mind. This method might lack offensive power, but for lying in wait, concealing himself, and avoiding disaster, it was an unparalleled technique. In a forbidden land fraught with danger, hiding could sometimes matter more than fighting head-on. Without hesitation, he copied this jade slip as well.
On the fifth floor, he found no higher-level primary cultivation art; the Profound Fiend Asura Art was sufficient for his current stage. However, he discovered a jade slip containing the basic soul-control formulas of the Puppet Art, along with a damaged ancient hide map marking portions of the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land's outer regions. Though indistinct, it might offer some clues, so he recorded both.
By the time he finished, the sun was already sinking in the west. After committing the copied jade slips' contents firmly to memory, Han Li left the Scripture Pavilion. Rather than returning to Cold Pool Cave, he headed for the sect marketplace, where he spent some contribution points and spirit stones on large quantities of superior talisman-making materials, ingredients for dozens of antidote and healing pills, and several sets of array flags and array disks. A craftsman must first sharpen his tools if he wished to do his work well; thorough preparation was the safeguard of survival.
Under cover of night, Han Li returned to Cold Pool Cave and activated its wards. He sat cross-legged but did not immediately begin practicing his newly acquired spells. Instead, he carefully sorted through the day's gains in his mind and worked through their applications.
Shadowless Escape served for surprise attacks and evasion, Profound Yin Spirit Eye enhanced detection, and Aura Concealment Art hid his presence. Together with his existing Shadow Step, Profound Yin Binding, Soul-Eroding Finger, pseudo core flame, and the Shadow Blade, his offensive, defensive, escape, and auxiliary methods had begun to take shape. Over the coming year, he would integrate all these methods and practice them until they became instinct.
Just as he became absorbed in his mental simulations, a slight fluctuation passed through the cave's outer wards, and a Sound Transmission Talisman flew inside.
Han Li caught it and activated it with spiritual power. Nangong Wan's cool voice emerged, bearing only a brief warning:
"Beware the Shadow Killer Sect."
Once the message ended, the jade slip crumbled into drifting ash.
Han Li's gaze sharpened. For Nangong Wan to send him a warning expressly, the threat from the Shadow Killer Sect clearly had not passed. It might even have intensified because of the forbidden land. The Black Fiend Cult, the Shadow Killer Sect... These enemies lurking in the darkness were like venomous snakes, ready to deliver a deadly strike at any moment.
"Come, then." A cold gleam flashed in Han Li's eyes. Rather than feeling afraid, his fighting spirit burned even fiercer. "The forbidden land will be the perfect place to finish all of you off!"
He closed his eyes and began following the methods of the Aura Concealment Art, attempting to suppress his vigorous aura. Within the cave, his presence gradually thinned until he seemed to merge with the surrounding stone and cold pool, leaving only the faintest trace of breathing.
Preparations before a storm were always silent and long. Only one final year remained before the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land opened. At that moment, every hidden current would erupt with a thunderous roar.
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