On the wasteland outside Devilfall Valley, thousands of cultivators stood in solemn silence. The air seemed so heavy it could drip water. Every gaze was fixed on the enormous spatial rift spanning the two peaks of Demon Fang Mountain. Serpents of lightning danced wildly along its edges, unleashing deafening thunder as destructive spatial fluctuations spread like tides, striking dread into every heart.
Han Li sat cross-legged at the edge of the Seven Mysteries Sect's gathering, his eyes half closed and his aura restrained to the utmost, like an inert stone. Yet his Profound Yin Spirit Eye was already working in secret, taking in every minute movement within several hundred zhang. He could clearly sense countless strands of divine sense-greedy, murderous, or wary-weaving and colliding in the air like invisible spiderwebs. The cold gaze of the Black Fiend Cult's late-stage Foundation Establishment middle-aged man swept over his position several times, like a venomous snake's flickering tongue. Several figures with inscrutable auras, suspected assassins from the Shadow Killer Sect, also appeared and vanished among the crowd like ghosts.
"The time is almost upon us." Elder Li's voice sounded beside Han Li's ear, carrying a trace of gravity. "The spatial storm at the entrance will briefly subside. That will be our only chance to enter. Remember, once inside, you will be randomly transported to different parts of the forbidden land's outer region. Be careful in everything you do. Preserving your own life comes first."
Han Li nodded slightly.
Just then, the enormous spatial rift shuddered violently. The raging lightning serpents abruptly contracted, and the destructive fluctuations rapidly weakened like an ebbing tide! At the center of the rift, a scene of Blood-and-Gray Chaos faintly emerged!
"The entrance has stabilized!"
"Charge!"
"The opportunities inside are mine!"
After a brief, deathly silence, the wasteland erupted! Someone let out the first shout, and thousands of streaks of flight light in every color surged madly toward the rift like a waterfall flowing backward! Battle cries, the whistle of bodies cutting through the air, and the thunder of spells blended into one deafening roar! To seize the advantage, some cultivators brazenly attacked their competitors ahead of them before even reaching the entrance. Screams immediately rang out, and blood flashed!
Chaos! Utter chaos! The earlier calm was torn to shreds in an instant by naked slaughter and greed!
"Go!" Elder Li barked. With a sweep of his sleeve, a gentle force enveloped Han Li and the other four. They became a sharp streak of azure light, forcing aside several rogue cultivators blocking their path as they hurtled toward the rift.
Han Li felt the space around him twist violently as a powerful tearing force seized him. Bizarre patches of color filled his vision. He hurriedly circulated his spiritual power to protect his entire body while pushing the Essence-Concealing Technique to its limit.
A moment later, the tearing force vanished, and his feet touched solid ground. An almost solid stench of blood, mingled with decay, struck him in the face, sickening enough to make him retch. The surroundings were dim, and the sky was an oppressive dark red, like congealed blood. Beneath his feet lay dark red mud, scattered with the pale skeletons of unknown animals. In the distance, he could vaguely make out twisted, monstrous silhouettes and jagged rocks. Chaotic, violent spiritual energy filled the air. His divine sense was severely suppressed here, reaching less than a hundred zhang.
So this is the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land... Han Li's heart tightened as he swiftly surveyed his surroundings. He stood amid low hills, with no one nearby. As expected, Zhang Tie and the others had been transported elsewhere.
He dared not delay. Immediately using Shadowless Escape, he merged into the shadow of a huge boulder like a ghost, concealing his aura completely. He quietly laid out the flags of the Profound Yin Aura-Hiding Formation, creating a tiny concealed area. His Profound Yin Spirit Eye worked at full strength as he vigilantly scanned his surroundings.
Silence. Deathly silence. Apart from the moaning wind, there was only his own faint heartbeat. Yet this silence was more unsettling than the chaos outside.
Half an hour later, Han Li had confirmed that the area was safe for the moment. He was just about to leave, find a more secure hiding place, and try to determine his bearings when his ears suddenly twitched. His Profound Yin Spirit Eye caught an exceedingly faint fluctuation of spiritual power several li to the southeast, accompanied by the indistinct clash of metal!
Someone is fighting! And not far away!
Han Li's gaze flickered. Rather than recklessly approach, he used the terrain and Shadowless Escape to creep soundlessly in that direction, like the most patient of hunters. In a place like this forbidden land, when the snipe and clam fought, the fisherman reaped the spoils.
Soon, he reached a high slope and looked down from concealment. In a devastated clearing below, four cultivators-three men and one woman-were surrounding a blood-soaked middle-aged man in a yellow tunic. The four wore matching clothes, with a hideous ghost's head embroidered on their cuffs. They were Black Fiend Cult members! The yellow-clad man they surrounded was at the peak of Foundation Establishment Early Stage. His cultivation art was fierce and forceful, and he wielded a Mountain-Splitting Yue, charging left and right. But he was clearly outnumbered, with numerous wounds already covering his body and his aura fading.
"Liu Mang! Hand over the blood essence ganoderma, and we'll give you a quick death!" The leader, a Black Fiend Cult cultivator at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, grinned savagely. He activated a Black Banner, sending ghostly figures streaming out to entangle the yellow-clad man.
"Pah! Black Fiend Cult scum! I'd destroy it before giving it to you!" Liu Mang roared. He cleaved apart a ghostly figure with his axe, only for a poisoned dagger to slash his thigh from the side, sending him staggering backward.
Han Li's gaze turned icy. The Black Fiend Cult was arrogant indeed, murdering people for their treasures as soon as they entered. Blood essence ganoderma was a rare spiritual herb used to refine pills that advanced cultivation. No wonder they had attacked.
He did not strike immediately. He was waiting for the best opportunity, and also checking whether anyone else lay in ambush nearby.
The battle grew increasingly fierce. Though Liu Mang fought valiantly, he had already been wounded and was facing four opponents. Soon, danger closed in on him from every side. With death looming, a flash of despair and madness crossed his eyes. He slammed a hand against his chest and spat a mouthful of blood essence onto the Mountain-Splitting Yue. Bloody light immediately blazed from its blade!
"Die with me!" he roared, about to unleash a self-destructive attack!
"Stop him!" The middle-stage Foundation Establishment leader's expression changed, and he hastily retreated.
In that lightning-swift instant, everything changed!
Han Li, who had been lurking nearby all along, moved!
Like a reaper in the dark, he shot out of the shadows! His target was not the four Black Fiend Cult members as a group, but their middle-stage Foundation Establishment leader, who had just retreated and let his guard slip slightly!
With Shadowless Escape enhancing his movements, he moved so fast that only a barely visible shadow remained! The Shadow Blade appeared silently in his hand, a wisp of pseudo core flame quietly coating its tip!
"Profound Yin Binding!"
Several black threads struck first despite being released later, instantly coiling toward the leader's feet! At the same time, Han Li unleashed a full-powered Soul-Eroding Finger, striking at the point between his brows from a distance!
"Who?!" The leader's face blanched in horror. He had not sensed anyone else nearby at all! In his haste, he frantically activated the Black Banner to shield himself and scrambled backward!
Hiss! The force of the Soul-Eroding Finger struck the Black Banner, sending a ripple across it. Though Profound Yin Binding failed to restrain him completely, it still made him falter!
In that brief hesitation, Han Li had already closed to within three feet! The Shadow Blade drove straight for his throat, carrying the chill of death! Simple, direct, ruthless!
"How dare you, brat!" Shocked and furious, the leader hastily thrust out his other hand, deploying a Bone Shield to block the blow!
But Han Li had been gathering strength for this strike for a long time. How could a hurried defense stop it? The Shadow Blade was incomparably sharp, and the pseudo core flame was vicious beyond measure!
Shluck!
The Bone Shield was pierced as though it were made of paper! Without slowing, the Shadow Blade plunged precisely into the leader's throat!
The leader's eyes bulged, filled with disbelieving terror. Hoarse, leaking gasps rattled from his throat as blood gushed out!
[Ding! Killed one Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Black Fiend Cult member. Plundered fifty percent of his cultivation essence, along with a portion of his blood essence and soul. Cultivation increased to the limit of Foundation Establishment Early Stage, reaching the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage bottleneck.]
A surge of pure energy poured into Han Li's body, invigorating him! But his hands never paused. He spun and lunged toward the other three Black Fiend Cult members, who stood stunned by the sudden turn of events!
"Elder!"
"Run!"
The three Qi Refining Great Perfection cult members were frightened out of their wits and turned to flee!
"Where do you think you're going!" Han Li's gaze was icy. Wielding the Shadow Blade in concert with Profound Yin Binding and Soul-Eroding Finger, he descended like a tiger among sheep! In moments, he killed all three cult members who had lost their guiding pillar! Swift and clean!
[Ding! Killed three Qi Refining Great Perfection Black Fiend Cult members. Plundered a portion of their cultivation and blood essence.]
From his sudden attack to the end of the battle, only ten breaths had passed! All four Black Fiend Cult members were dead!
Liu Mang, who had been about to blow himself up, stared at the scene before him in utter disbelief, as though trapped in a dream.
Han Li did not spare him a glance. He swiftly swept the battlefield, collected the five Storage Bags, and flicked out a burst of pseudo core flame, reducing the corpses to ashes. The entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water, without a single unnecessary movement.
Only after finishing everything did he glance indifferently at Liu Mang, his voice utterly calm. "Can you walk?"
Liu Mang jolted back to his senses. He hurriedly struggled to his feet and bowed, his voice trembling with the relief of surviving disaster. "Th-thank you for saving my life, fellow Daoist! I... I can still move!"
"We shouldn't linger here. Go." With that, Han Li turned and sped deeper into the hills. He did not travel with Liu Mang. Saving him had merely been incidental, and in this forbidden land, traveling alone was often safer.
Watching Han Li's swiftly disappearing figure, Liu Mang opened his mouth, but in the end, all that emerged was a long sigh. He swallowed a medicinal pill and staggered away in another direction.
Han Li moved through the hills and their jagged rocks, his heart as still as an ancient well. His first battle had ended in victory. Not only had he eliminated a small Black Fiend Cult squad, but his cultivation had also advanced to the bottleneck. Yet this was only the beginning. The forbidden land's bloody curtain had only just risen.
His gaze turned toward the blood-red sky deeper within the forbidden land. There were more enemies there, and also the... power he had to obtain!
The slaughter had only just begun.
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