The rumble and dust of Swordspine Peak's collapse gradually faded into the distance. Han Li pushed Shadowless Escape to its limit, his figure a wisp of barely visible blue smoke as he raced through the treacherous mountains at the heart of the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land. Rather than fleeing immediately, he did the opposite, heading deeper into the forbidden land, toward areas where the fiendish qi was denser. The most dangerous place was often the safest. The Feng Family would never expect him to venture into the tiger's den.
After fleeing several hundred miles without stopping and confirming that no pursuers followed, Han Li finally halted at the bottom of a deep gorge shrouded in dense, blood-colored miasma. The steep rock walls on either side were riddled with holes and gave off a nauseating stench of blood and decay. They seemed to be the nests of some colony of demonic insects, yet everything was silent now. Perhaps a stronger creature had driven them out or devoured them.
He found a relatively dry cave and swiftly laid down the Profound Yin Aura-Hiding Formation and warning restrictions. Only then did he sit cross-legged and examine his condition. Though his sharp tactics had temporarily forced back the two Foundation Establishment Late-Stage Cultivators from the Feng Family, confronting them head-on had consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power. His meridians also ached faintly from being pushed beyond their limits. He swallowed several medicinal pills, closed his eyes, and began regulating his breathing.
Three days later, Han Li had recovered to his peak condition. After the successive fierce battles and tempering in the Sword-Washing Pool, his cultivation even showed faint signs of further improvement. He took out the Jade Slip containing the incomplete map he had obtained from Mo Yuan's remains and studied it carefully once more. Comparing its vague markings with the concentration of fiendish qi and the terrain around him, he deduced that the main Profound Yin True Fiend Vein was very likely deep within this gorge!
If I can find the main vein and draw on its pure fiendish qi, not only will my Profound Fiend Asura Art advance by leaps and bounds, but I might also be able to refine more powerful fiend corpse puppets, or even... break through to Foundation Establishment Late Stage! A flicker of burning eagerness flashed in Han Li's eyes. Danger and opportunity went hand in hand. Though killing threats lurked at every step in the forbidden land's core, it also held the possibility of ascending to the heavens in a single stride.
He concealed his aura and crept deeper into the gorge like a hunter in the dark. The farther he went, the thicker the miasma grew. The fiendish qi had almost become tangible, and a heart-quaking pressure filled the air. Huge claw marks and traces of combat began appearing on the ground. The lingering demonic aura chilled him to the bone. Clearly, powerful demonic beasts occupied this place.
After traveling a little over ten miles, the terrain abruptly opened up, revealing the enormous entrance to an underground cavern. Ink-dark Profound Yin True Fiend qi surged from within like a tide, carrying a trace of savage ferocity that made his soul tremble! Several fresh, torn-apart demonic beast skeletons lay scattered at the entrance. Judging from their lingering demonic power, they had been at least peak third-level beasts in life, equivalent to Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators!
Such dense fiendish qi! What a powerful beast! Han Li's heart tightened, and he grew even more cautious. Rather than entering rashly, he concealed himself in the shadows by the entrance, condensed his spiritual sense into a thread, and slowly extended it inside.
The cavern was vast, filled with jagged rocks, with faintly glowing stalactites hanging from its ceiling. In its center lay a main Profound Yin True Fiend Vein over ten feet wide, flowing slowly like dark silver lava! Its incomparably pure fiendish qi had almost liquefied. The energy it contained was more than ten times greater than that of the branch he had encountered in Ghost Soul Ravine!
Yet beside the vein crouched an enormous creature! It resembled a giant lizard, its entire body covered in dark red scales, with a row of savage-looking bone spikes along its back. Its head looked almost like a dragon's, and its slit pupils were scarlet as blood. It radiated a terrifying demonic aura comparable to that of an early Core Formation cultivator! Sprawled beside the vein, it breathed in and out the pure fiendish qi, each breath making the qi throughout the cavern churn!
A fourth-level demonic beast, a Blood Fiend Earth Dragon! Han Li sucked in a breath of cold air! This rare creature was born from the fiendish qi of heaven and earth. It had thick hide, tough flesh, and boundless strength, and could even manipulate fiendish qi to attack its enemies. In a place rich in fiendish qi, its strength rivaled that of a Core Formation Middle Stage cultivator! No wonder the beasts outside dared not approach!
Charging in would mean certain death! Han Li's thoughts raced as his gaze swept across the cavern. Suddenly, it settled on a pitch-black, lingzhi-shaped plant growing at the edge of the vein, not far behind the Blood Fiend Earth Dragon. Though only palm-sized, it exuded a strange resonance of the Dao, as though it could swallow all light. It was precisely the core material needed to refine high-grade fiend corpse puppets-netherworld lingzhi! Its value was no less than that of the Mystic Womb Spirit-Transforming Vine!
Netherworld lingzhi... I must get it! Resolve flashed in Han Li's eyes. But how could he snatch food from the jaws of this fourth-level demonic beast?
He carefully observed the Blood Fiend Earth Dragon and discovered that it seemed to be cultivating in a deep state of dormancy. Its breaths were long and slow, and its awareness of the outside world had fallen to its lowest point. Perhaps he could outwit it!
A bold plan swiftly took shape in Han Li's mind. He quietly withdrew from the entrance, found a concealed spot nearby, and took out several materials from Gui Li's Storage Bag. Then he began refining them at great speed. He needed to make several special Fiend-Attracting Talismans and a simple Substitute Puppet in the shortest possible time!
Half a day later, Han Li was ready. He crept back to the entrance, waited for the right moment, and attached a Fiend-Attracting Talisman to the Substitute Puppet. Controlling it, he made it glide soundlessly into the cavern and stop behind a stalagmite roughly a thousand feet from the Blood Fiend Earth Dragon.
He then retreated far away, concealed his aura, and brought himself into the best possible condition. Taking a deep breath, he issued a mental command!
Deep inside the cavern, the Substitute Puppet abruptly activated the Fiend-Attracting Talisman! The talisman burst apart, generating a powerful suction that frantically drew in the surrounding Profound Yin True Fiend qi! At once, the fiendish qi in that area began fluctuating violently!
"Roar!"
The sleeping Blood Fiend Earth Dragon jolted awake, its blood-red slit pupils instantly locking onto the source of the disturbance-the Substitute Puppet! Furious at having its cultivation interrupted, it let out a heaven-shaking roar and swept its thick tail toward the puppet with crushing force!
Boom! The stalagmite shattered, and the Substitute Puppet was instantly pulverized by the Core Formation beast's blow!
Now!
The instant the Substitute Puppet drew the Blood Fiend Earth Dragon's attention, Han Li moved! Combining Shadowless Escape with Shadow Step, he became a streak of light that almost merged with the shadows and hurtled toward the netherworld lingzhi at the fastest speed of his life!
His movements were lightning-fast and utterly silent! The Shadow Blade in his right hand was already sweeping out, slicing precisely toward the netherworld lingzhi's roots!
Yet just as the Shadow Blade was about to touch the netherworld lingzhi, another sudden change occurred!
The motionless netherworld lingzhi abruptly shuddered. A slit opened in the center of its cap, spraying an ink-dark current of air carrying a bone-piercing chill straight at Han Li's face! This was not fiendish qi, but extremely pure netherworld death qi, powerful enough to freeze the soul and erode life itself!
This netherworld lingzhi had actually awakened its spiritual awareness and knew how to defend itself!
Han Li's pupils contracted sharply! He had never imagined that it possessed such intelligence! His previous burst of strength was spent, and the next had yet to rise. Evading it completely was already impossible!
At that critical moment, the mysterious Small Bottle within him gave another faint tremor! The blurred rune on its surface flashed, producing an invisible suction that forcibly swallowed most of the incoming netherworld death qi! Even so, a wisp pierced his defenses and struck his left shoulder!
"Ugh!" Han Li felt his left shoulder go numb, instantly losing all sensation as a cold, deathly power frantically ate its way into his body! Enduring the searing pain, he made the Shadow Blade in his right hand move even faster. With a swish, he severed the netherworld lingzhi at its roots and stored it in a specially made jade box he had prepared in advance!
Meanwhile, the Blood Fiend Earth Dragon had flown into an utter rage! Discovering that a tiny insect dared steal its "treasure," it fixed its scarlet slit pupils on Han Li and opened its bloody maw. A dark red beam packed with terrifying fiendish qi blasted forth like a torrent of destruction! A furious strike from a Core Formation demonic beast was enough to instantly kill any Foundation Establishment cultivator!
The shadow of death engulfed him in an instant!
Han Li's scalp prickled. Without a second thought, he crushed the single-use Directional Teleportation Talisman tucked inside his robes-the last one he had obtained from Mo Yuan's cave abode! At the same time, he frantically circulated every scrap of his spiritual power and poured it into the defensive jade pendant he wore close to his body, the one he had received from Nangong Wan!
Hum!
The teleportation talisman blazed with light, and space fluctuated violently! Nangong Wan's defensive jade pendant also shone with a soft white glow, forming a barrier around Han Li!
Boom!!!
The beam of fiendish qi slammed into the barrier! The jade pendant's shield lasted only an instant before shattering with a crash! Yet that instant's delay was enough for the teleportation power to activate!
A moment before the beam struck him, Han Li's figure warped, blurred, and vanished!
The dark red beam swallowed the spot where he had stood, blasting a bottomless pit into the ground. The entire cavern shook violently, and broken rocks rained down!
"Roar!!!"
Realizing its prey had disappeared, the Blood Fiend Earth Dragon unleashed a frenzied, earth-shaking roar. Fiendish qi swept through the entire gorge!
Several hundred miles away, space twisted above a barren hillside, and Han Li stumbled into view. His face was white as paper, his left shoulder pitch-black as death qi spread through it. He could not stop himself from coughing up another mouthful of blood. The spatial tearing caused by teleportation and the aftershock of enduring the Core Formation beast's strike had piled injury upon injury!
But he had no time to tend his wounds. Forcing his grievously injured body to keep moving, he immediately used an escape technique and fled desperately into the distance without looking back! He had to leave this area as quickly as possible. The Blood Fiend Earth Dragon's fury was far beyond anything he could withstand!
Though this journey into the forbidden land's core had won him the netherworld lingzhi, it had also disturbed a Core Formation demonic beast, left him gravely wounded, and consumed his life-saving teleportation talisman. Misfortune lurked within good fortune, and the road ahead had become even more perilous and uncertain.
His figure vanished into the mists deeper within the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land, leaving only the demonic beast's earth-shaking roars echoing endlessly through the gorge behind him.
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