Gui Li's savage grin and the Green-Haired Refined Corpse's foul wind bore down on him! Before the claws even reached him, the corpse's bone-chilling fiendish aura had already made the dark spiritual power around Han Li falter!
There was no escape! Cold light blazed in Han Li's eyes. He knew that any hesitation now meant death! Rather than retreat, he ducked low and pushed Shadow Step to its limit, sliding along the ground like a loach toward the refined corpse's flank! At the same time, he activated the Yin Thunder Talisman already gripped in his left hand without the slightest hesitation!
Crackle!
A deathly pale arc of lightning flashed into existence without a sound. Instead of striking the refined corpse's hardened body, it shot precisely into the joint of his knee! Yin lightning specialized in breaking sinister forces and could counter refined corpses!
The refined corpse's charge was too fierce for him to change direction, and the lightning arc instantly sank into the crook of his knee!
"Aaargh!" The refined corpse let out an agonized howl and abruptly stiffened. One leg nearly went out of control, throwing his massive body off balance and sending him stumbling forward!
Seizing the opening, Han Li thrust the Shadow Blade in his right hand like a venomous snake bursting from its hole, driving it straight into the gap between the vertebrae exposed by the refined corpse's forward lurch! Pseudo core flame silently coated the blade's tip!
Squelch!
The Shadow Blade struck home with perfect accuracy! The yin-corrosive properties of the pseudo core flame erupted instantly. Black smoke rose from the refined corpse's back amid sizzling sounds, and he went completely rigid!
But Gui Li's attack had arrived as well! Paying no heed to whether the refined corpse lived or died, he clawed at the air with his withered right hand. Five ink-black claw shadows, accompanied by shrill ghost howls, descended over Han Li's head! The pressure of spiritual power at the peak of late Foundation Establishment stole Han Li's breath!
"Profound Yin Binding!"
Gritting his teeth, Han Li drove the Profound Yin Threads with all his strength. Several black threads wound toward the claw shadows, attempting to slow them down! At the same time, he shot backward!
"A mantis raising its arms against a chariot!" Gui Li sneered. The claw shadows paused only briefly before tearing through the Profound Yin Binding and continuing their descent!
As the claw shadows were about to strike, a trace of madness flashed through Han Li's eyes! He abruptly pinched the Blood-Colored Teleportation Talisman obtained from Mo Yuan's remains between his fingertips. Instead of activating it immediately, he violently drew out the spatial fluctuations contained within it, while throwing himself toward the burbling stream of the Profound Yin True Fiend Vein diagonally behind him!
"Trying to escape with a teleportation talisman? You're staying right here!" Assuming Han Li meant to flee, Gui Li sent the claw shadows hurtling down even faster!
The instant Han Li's body touched the dark-silver stream of fiendish energy, a sudden change erupted!
The previously tranquil flow of profound yin true fiend seemed to be stirred by both the Blood-Colored Teleportation Talisman's spatial fluctuations and the profound fiend spiritual power inside Han Li. It abruptly began to boil! A tiny vortex appeared out of thin air in the middle of the stream, radiating a terrifying spatial suction! The yin fiend energy throughout the cavern surged madly toward it, and stalactites showered down from the ceiling!
"What?!" Gui Li's expression changed drastically. The sudden gravitational pull of the spatial vortex warped the claw shadows reaching for Han Li, dragging them off course! Sensing the destructive aura pouring from the vortex, he was horrified and hastily tried to withdraw!
But it was already too late!
Riding the vortex's suction, Han Li plunged into its center like a meteor! In the instant before he vanished, he flicked the wisp of pseudo core flame from his fingertip. It shot not toward Gui Li, but toward an extremely unstable yin fiend stone at the vortex's edge, one packed with immense amounts of fiendish energy!
"Explode!"
BOOM-!!!
The pseudo core flame ignited the yin fiend stone, triggering a chain reaction! The entire Profound Yin True Fiend Vein erupted like a powder keg set alight! An indescribable yin fiend storm, mingled with shattered spatial power, swept wildly outward from the vortex!
"No-!" Gui Li managed only a desperate howl before the black torrent of energy swallowed him! The protective Ghost Artifact he summoned and his other refined corpse were shredded like scraps of paper in the storm!
Amid an earth-shaking roar, the entire cavern collapsed!
He had no idea how much time had passed. It seemed like an instant, yet also an eternity.
Han Li regained consciousness amid violent spatial jolts and tearing sensations. He found himself inside a narrow, temporary passage riddled with sharp spatial rifts, his body hurtling forward beyond his control. Pain wracked him, and his spiritual power was in disarray-clearly the result of the combined impact of the fiend vein's explosion and spatial teleportation. The Blood-Colored Teleportation Talisman had already crumbled to ash.
"My gamble paid off..." Han Li coughed up a mouthful of blood, but relief eased his heart. He had risked detonating the fiend vein for two reasons: first, to use the explosion to severely injure or even kill Gui Li; second, to use the immense energy and spatial chaos generated at the moment of detonation to forcibly activate the talisman, which he suspected was meant for fixed-destination teleportation, and gamble on a sliver of survival!
Now it seemed he had won that gamble. Though his injuries were serious, he had finally escaped certain death.
Thud!
Light appeared ahead, and he was flung out of the spatial passage like a torn sack, crashing heavily onto the hard ground.
The dazzling sunlight made him narrow his eyes. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and found himself in an unfamiliar, desolate stretch of rocky desert. The sky remained the dark red unique to the Forbidden Land, but the terrain was utterly unlike Ghost Soul Ravine. In the distance, he could faintly make out a solitary peak thrusting into the clouds like a sharp sword.
"Have I... been teleported somewhere else in the Forbidden Land?" Han Li struggled into a sitting position and hurriedly examined himself. His injuries were severe: his internal organs had been wounded, and his meridians were damaged as well, but his foundation remained intact. He promptly swallowed medicinal pills and circulated his cultivation art to heal.
Just as he stabilized his injuries, a streak of white light swept across the horizon toward him at astonishing speed, landing nearby in the blink of an eye. The radiance faded to reveal an exquisitely beautiful figure in white, her face covered by a light veil and her bearing cool as an immortal's. It was Nangong Wan!
Her beautiful eyes swept over the bedraggled Han Li, then turned toward the spatial ripples gradually closing behind him. A hint of surprise flickered in her gaze. "Spatial teleportation fluctuations? Where did you come from?"
Han Li grew wary, but his expression remained composed. He struggled to his feet and bowed. "Disciple Han Li greets Elder Nangong. I accidentally entered an ancient cultivator's cave abode and triggered a restriction that randomly teleported me here."
Nangong Wan's gaze was like lightning. It lingered on Han Li for a moment, as though she had seen through his incomplete account, but she did not press him. She merely said coolly, "There was a violent eruption of energy in the direction of Ghost Soul Ravine not long ago. Did it have anything to do with you?"
Han Li's thoughts raced before he answered frankly, "A cultivator from the Ghost King Sect was indeed pursuing me near Ghost Soul Ravine. I had no choice but to detonate a dangerous earth vein to escape. That must have caused the disturbance."
"The Ghost King Sect... Gui Li?" Nangong Wan's delicate brows drew together slightly. "You actually escaped Gui Li, who is at the peak of late Foundation Establishment?"
"Only by luck. I was seriously injured as well." Han Li's tone remained calm.
Nangong Wan gave him a long, searching look. Turning her fair hand over, she flicked a snow-white pill the size of a longan, fragrant with a refreshing medicinal scent, toward Han Li. "Take it. It will stabilize your injuries."
Han Li caught the pill and swept it with his spiritual sense, immediately recognizing it as a top-grade healing pill of considerable value. After a brief hesitation, he swallowed it and bowed. "Thank you for the medicine, Elder Nangong."
Once swallowed, the pill dissolved into a gentle yet abundant medicinal force that swiftly nourished his damaged meridians and internal organs. Its effects were remarkable.
Nangong Wan turned to face the solitary peak in the distance, her voice cool. "This is already the edge of the Forbidden Land's core region, near Swordspine Peak. At its summit lies the Sword-Washing Pool left behind by ancient sword cultivators. It has remarkable effects on tempering spiritual power and comprehending sword intent, but the competition is fierce. Your injuries have yet to heal. Take care of yourself."
With that, her figure flickered and transformed into white light, heading toward Swordspine Peak without inviting Han Li to accompany her.
Han Li watched her receding figure, lost in thought. Had Nangong Wan appeared by coincidence, or deliberately? She seemed quite familiar with the Forbidden Land's core region. Still, since she had offered him medicine, she at least bore him no ill will for now.
"Swordspine Peak... the Sword-Washing Pool..." Han Li suppressed his distracting thoughts. His most urgent task was to recover as quickly as possible. Nangong Wan was right: though the core region held many opportunities, its dangers were greater still. Without strength, everything was empty talk.
He found a secluded crevice among the rocks in the desert, laid down restrictions, and began devoting all his effort to healing. Though he had narrowly escaped death this time, disaster had also brought good fortune. He had finally shaken off Gui Li's pursuit and reached the core region, closer to the opportunities awaiting him.
"Once my injuries heal, I'll go take a look at Swordspine Peak!" A sharp gleam flashed in Han Li's eyes. His journey through the Forbidden Land was already more than halfway over, but the true contest had only just begun!
Before you continue