In the core region of the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land, the terrain grew ever more treacherous.
The dark red sky resembled a congealed scab. A nauseating mixture of sulfur and blood filled the air, while violent currents of spiritual energy sliced at every intruder like invisible blades.
Enormous skeletons and shattered fragments of magical artifacts lay scattered across the ground, silently recounting the brutal slaughter that had once taken place here.
Han Li pushed the Essence-Concealing Technique and Shadowless Escape to their limits. Like a barely perceptible wisp of smoke, he sped through jagged rocks and twisted dead trees.
The vast Spiritual Power of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage surged through his meridians. His spiritual sense now reached more than three hundred zhang, and his perception of danger far surpassed what it had once been.
He avoided several areas where exceptionally violent Spiritual Power fluctuations clearly indicated the presence of powerful demonic beasts. He also skirted several groups of cultivators whose eyes had turned red with bloodlust as they fought over spiritual herbs or ore.
His goal was clear-the deadly region known as the Buried Demon Abyss, in the deepest reaches of the Forbidden Land! Judging by the indistinct markings on Mo Yuan's Remnant Map and the increasingly clear, abnormal spatial fluctuations in the air, he was certain that the supposed rare treasure or ultimate opportunity almost certainly lay at the bottom of the abyss!
The closer he drew to the Buried Demon Abyss, the more cultivators he encountered, and their cultivation levels were generally higher as well.
Foundation Establishment Late-Stage Cultivators were no longer rare. He could even faintly sense several obscure, unfathomable, terrifying auras lurking in the shadows, far beyond Foundation Establishment. Clearly, these belonged to the old Core Formation monsters serving as guardians for the various sects. Restricted by the Forbidden Land's rules, however, they could not directly compete for the treasures and could only protect their disciples at critical moments.
Han Li slipped along unobtrusively, avoiding conflict wherever possible.
Yet his Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation and the faint, fierce baleful aura surrounding him still drew considerable attention.
Gazes filled with curiosity, wariness, or greed swept over him.
"Hm? That fellow looks unfamiliar. Which sect is he from? His cultivation isn't weak."
"Seven Mysteries Sect robes? That second-rate sect actually managed to raise someone like him?"
"Be careful. He keeps his baleful aura contained, and his eyes are ice-cold. He's no one to trifle with."
"Hmph. So what if he's at Foundation Establishment Late Stage? Geniuses have gathered before the Buried Demon Abyss. He might not come out ahead."
Han Li turned a deaf ear to these comments, keeping his mind taut and watching for attacks that might come from the shadows.
He knew all too well that in a place like this, the slightest carelessness could plunge him into eternal ruin.
Half a day later, an enormous, seemingly bottomless abyss appeared at the edge of his vision.
Pitch-black demonic clouds hung thick above it, with serpents of lightning dancing wildly within them and thunder rolling again and again.
Along the rim, the earth was an eerie dark purple, riddled with enormous, intersecting fissures that spewed scorching subterranean fire and poisonous miasma.
A terrifying pressure that made the soul tremble spread from beneath the abyss, as though an ancient demon god slumbered there.
This was the Buried Demon Abyss!
At that moment, no fewer than several hundred cultivators had already gathered on a relatively level wasteland outside its rim! They were divided into dozens of sharply distinct camps. There were major demonic sects such as Heavenly Tower Fort, the Spirit Controlling Sect, Blade-Transforming Dock, and the Ghost King Sect, as well as leading righteous sects such as the Covering Moon Sect and the Qingxu Sect. Numerous bands of Rogue Cultivators were also present, their auras fierce and their eyes wary.
In the center of the crowd, an ancient altar could just be seen, surrounded by the various sects' finest disciples and emitting faint spatial fluctuations. Its runes were dim, and it seemed not yet fully activated.
Han Li quietly slipped into the outskirts of the Rogue Cultivators' gathering. His sharp gaze swept across the entire scene, and his heart tightened. He spotted many figures he knew or had heard of!
At the front of Heavenly Tower Fort's camp, the bushy-bearded Tyrant Blade Feng Yue was speaking quietly with a burly man who carried the Door-Sized Greatsword on his back and possessed an equally ferocious aura. Their blood and vital energy surged like dragons; clearly, both were elite body cultivators.
In the Spirit Controlling Sect's camp, a savage Demon Python as thick as a bucket, with a single horn on its head, circled beside an old man in green robes. Its demonic aura towered skyward, rivaling Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.
In the Ghost King Sect's camp, a sinister young man with a deathly pale face held a Soul-Summoning Banner, staring coldly toward the Covering Moon Sect.
At the front of the Covering Moon Sect's disciples stood Nangong Wan, who had already returned to her sect. Dressed in robes whiter than snow, with a light veil covering her face, she stood with cool composure. Beside her was an ethereal young woman with a small snow-white fox perched on her shoulder-Yunzhi of Spirit Beast Mountain.
Standing together, the two women resembled twin lotus blossoms on a single stem, attracting countless gazes.
There were plenty of ruthless figures among the Rogue Cultivators as well.
Sword Demon Dugu Jian, whom Han Li had met once before, stood alone atop a boulder with an ancient sword cradled in his arms. Biting sword energy surrounded him, warning strangers to keep their distance.
Farther away, a figure shrouded in a broad cloak, face hidden from view, exuded an unsettling aura of deathly stillness.
The Black Fiend Cult members, whom Han Li watched most warily, had gathered in a corner. They were still led by Elder Feng, the Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator. His venomous gaze swept the crowd as though searching for something.
When his gaze passed over Han Li's area, it paused briefly, and a trace of doubt flashed through his eyes. But he did not immediately recognize Han Li, who had altered his aura and concealed himself discreetly.
It seems this altar is the key to entering the Buried Demon Abyss. It isn't time for it to open yet, Han Li realized.
He restrained his impatience and waited quietly, like the most patient of hunters. At the same time, he secretly activated the Profound Yin Spirit Eye, carefully examining the structure of the altar's runes in an attempt to discover patterns or flaws.
Time passed amid the oppressive wait.
New cultivators arrived from time to time, sparking minor clashes and disturbances, but the various factions suppressed them all.
Everyone understood that before they entered the Buried Demon Abyss, large-scale slaughter would be meaningless and only benefit others.
Suddenly, Han Li sensed something and turned his gaze toward another part of the Rogue Cultivators' crowd.
A plump cultivator in ordinary clothes, with an honest-looking face, was chatting cheerfully with several people nearby. He seemed harmless to man and beast alike.
Yet Han Li's Profound Yin Spirit Eye keenly detected that the circulation of this man's blood and vital energy was concealed, while his Spiritual Power was unusually condensed. His true cultivation was probably close to Foundation Establishment Great Perfection!
What made Han Li's heart skip a beat was the inconspicuous jade pendant hanging at the man's waist. It faintly emitted a trace of Yin Fiend Qi that shared its origin with that of the Shadow Killer Sect's assassins, but was far purer and more profound!
A top assassin from the Shadow Killer Sect? Or... someone even higher up? Han Li's pupils contracted slightly, and he firmly committed the man's appearance and aura to memory.
The threat of the Shadow Killer Sect remained like a sword hanging over his head.
Just then, the ancient altar in the center of the wasteland abruptly let out a violent hum! The dim runes on its surface lit up one after another, radiating dazzling light! A powerful spatial fluctuation spread outward like a tide!
"The altar is opening!"
"Prepare to enter the Buried Demon Abyss!"
The crowd instantly stirred. Every cultivator held their breath, spiritual power surging beneath the surface and magical artifacts in hand, as they stared tensely at the altar!
Boom!
A massive pillar of light shot skyward from the altar's center, tearing through the demonic clouds above and reaching straight down to the bottom of the abyss! Within the pillar, a rotating spatial vortex slowly took shape!
"The entrance is open! Charge!"
"Our opportunity is right before us!"
Someone shouted, and hundreds of streaks of flight light swarmed toward the spatial vortex like a plague of locusts! In their struggle to seize the initiative, the radiance of spells and magical artifacts erupted at once. Screams, furious roars, and explosions blended into a deafening din! Chaotic slaughter broke out at the entrance in an instant!
Han Li's eyes were cold. He did not rush to take the lead.
His figure flickered as he dodged several arrows fired from concealment. Like a fish, he slipped along the fringes of the chaotic battle. Spotting a gap, he abruptly accelerated, becoming a nearly invisible black shadow that slipped soundlessly into the spatial vortex!
At the instant he entered the vortex, he glanced back and happened to see Nangong Wan and Han Yunzhi, escorted by the Covering Moon Sect's disciples, turn into a streak of cool moonlight and enter the pillar without haste.
The honest-looking plump cultivator flickered through the crowd like a phantom and vanished after just a few movements.
Buried Demon Abyss... here I come! As the sensation of spatial distortion washed over him, Han Li focused his mind to its utmost.
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