After taking everything out of their Storage Bags, Lin He casually waved a hand, destroying Feng Yue's and Treasure Girl's bodies and erasing all traces of them. Then he blasted out a deep pit and buried the Storage Bags inside.
He certainly did not dare carry Treasure Girl's Storage Bag with him. Who knew whether it bore some strange identifying mark? As for Feng Yue, although Lin He had never heard of him having any relatives among the senior cultivators, he discarded his Storage Bag as well to avoid trouble.
Lin He only had the tenfold-capacity Storage Bag he had received upon joining the sect, which could not possibly hold so many things. But he did not mind. After all, he still had his portable space, which was vast and could not be detected by high-level cultivators. It was perfectly safe.
"That battle used up some of my spiritual power, and the Azure Water Crocodiles need to rest too. I'll return to my portable space for now and take stock of my gains."
Lin He did not enter his portable space immediately. Instead, he left the area, found a secluded spot, then waved a hand and entered it.
A large pile of items lay in one corner of the portable space. Lin He inspected them one by one. The Spirit Beast Mountain disciple he had killed earlier was hardly worth mentioning; he had not possessed even a single High-Grade Magical Artifact.
The burly Giant Sword Sect disciple and the Qingxu Sect Daoist he had killed yesterday, on the other hand, had yielded three High-Grade Magical Artifacts: a pair of Flame Flying Forks and a Black Greatsword. Their Mid-Grade Magical Artifacts and Low-Grade Magical Artifacts totaled more than a dozen. There were also various materials, a dozen or so Low-Tier Beginner Talismans, and over forty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Today's haul was the greatest of all. In Treasure Girl's Storage Bag, Lin He found four Top-Tier Magical Artifacts: an Azure Condensation Mirror, a pair of white rings, and a red crystal ball. There was also an emerald-green Little Sword Talisman Treasure, dozens of beginner talismans of various kinds, including three high-tier beginner talismans, and, astonishingly, over a hundred spirit stones. Her Mid-Grade Magical Artifacts and Low-Grade Magical Artifacts totaled more than thirty.
Feng Yue had possessed no shortage of treasures either: a pair of Cloud-Treading Boots, a Yellow Gauze Umbrella, a small saber Talisman Treasure, a top-grade flying sword, five High-Grade Magical Artifacts, a dozen or so Mid-Grade Magical Artifacts, over twenty Low-Grade Magical Artifacts, various materials, and more than eighty spirit stones.
In addition, he had collected forty or fifty Lower Level One Demon Beasts yesterday alone. Most were Iron-Arm Apes and Frost Toads, and all of them were currently at the other end of his portable space.
Naturally, Lin He needed to familiarize himself with these newly acquired Top-Tier Magical Artifacts. He spent some time practicing with them, then took out a Low-Grade Spirit Stone to restore his spiritual power. The two Azure Water Crocodiles had quietly followed him the whole way and had worked hard as well. They, too, needed a rest.
Two hours later, Lin He emerged from his portable space. It was now their second day in the Forbidden Land. The elite disciples of the major sects should all have reached the outskirts of the Central Area by now, waiting for the Moon-Yang Orb to disperse the dense fog tomorrow so they could enter the Central Area and gather medicinal herbs.
"By now, the elite disciples of every sect should be lying in wait on the outskirts of the Central Area, like hunters waiting beside a stump for a rabbit. I wonder who I'll run into next?"
With that thought, Lin He started toward the Central Area.
Han Li reached a bronze gate. Recalling his experiences over the past two days, he could not help sighing.
The moment he entered the Forbidden Land, he had been transported to Black Dragon Pool. There, he had witnessed a Heavenly Gate Fort disciple fall victim to a deadly ambush without even knowing what had happened, despite exercising great caution. Han Li had become all the more careful after that, picking up a transparent thread magical artifact along the way.
Even so, a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple and a Heavenly Gate Fort disciple had attacked him together. He had gone to great lengths to kill them both, expending a considerable amount of spiritual power in the process. He had therefore spent the night resting in meditation and only headed toward the Central Area after recovering his spiritual power.
Yet no sooner had he passed through the bronze gate into the outskirts of the central region than he encountered a powerful enemy. This was an ugly, pockmarked middle-aged man in his forties: Zhongwu, a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple skilled at commanding spirit beasts. At that moment, he was directing two winged flying snakes to attack Han Li.
Han Li used the Wind-Riding Art, relying on his superior movement techniques to maneuver around the two flying snakes. He did not use his full strength, because the Ugly Man, Zhongwu, was still watching from the sidelines like a hungry tiger, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"Boy, your movement techniques aren't bad. Looks like I'll have to spice things up for you."
Seven or eight Spirit Beast Bags hung from Zhongwu's waist. He took out one of them, and a large swarm of Poison Bees immediately flew out.
Although these Poison Bees were only Lower Level One spirit beasts, their sheer numbers made them formidable. There were at least thirty of them, and they all charged at Han Li together.
Han Li cursed inwardly at the sight and hurriedly took out the top-grade shield magical artifact he had purchased at the Yellow Maple Valley Market. Even then, he did not feel safe, so he applied a water-attribute defensive talisman as well.
Once he had put up his defenses, Han Li immediately slowed down. The two mid-tier rank-one flying snakes and the thirty-odd Lower Level One Poison Bees all began frantically ramming his Protective Shield.
Under so many attacks, the shield magical artifact shook violently. Fortunately, it was a Top-Tier Defensive Magical Artifact and could hold out for a while.
Han Li's expression darkened. He took out a top-grade flying sword and attacked one of the flying snakes. The top-grade flying sword truly was exceptional: catching the snake by surprise, it sliced it straight in two.
"You little bastard! How dare you hurt my spirit beast!"
Zhongwu flew into a rage. With a push of his spiritual sense, he made the swarm of Poison Bees attack even more fiercely. At the same time, he unfastened another Spirit Beast Bag, apparently intending to release yet another spirit beast, but suddenly stopped. Looking off to his right, he asked in a grave voice,
"Who are you? Why are you spying on us?"
Han Li sensed something as well and hurriedly looked in that direction, turning his gaze toward the person who had suddenly appeared.
It was a young man in blue robes, with delicate features, rosy lips, and pearly white teeth. He looked about eighteen and was holding a fragrant handkerchief, gently wiping the dust from his hands.
"Han Tianya!"
Zhongwu called out his name, his face full of wariness.
This effeminate young man was actually Han Tianya, one of Blade Transformation Valley's seeded contenders!
Han Tianya glanced at Han Li, then said, "Zhongwu, this boy actually has two Top-Tier Magical Artifacts. He won't be easy to deal with. Why don't I lend you a hand?"
"Hmph, lend me a hand?" Zhongwu replied coldly. "You say you want to help, yet you took your sweet time showing yourself. Were you planning to wait until this boy and I had both been badly wounded, then finish me off along with him?"
"Why would I do that?" Han Tianya asked in a shrill voice that made both Han Li and Zhongwu break out in goosebumps.
"You'd better not be thinking of swooping in for easy pickings. I can deal with this boy on my own. I don't need you interfering."
Seeing how wary Zhongwu was, Han Tianya snorted coldly. "You're no fun at all. I'd better... Hm? Someone else is coming in."
At that moment, a handsome young man in yellow slowly pushed open the bronze gate.