While the leaders of each sect were discussing the steps to open the forbidden grounds, Han Li was far from idle, observing the formidable figures from the various sects.
For experts at the peak of the thirteenth level of cultivation, Han Li's plan was to avoid them if possible, flee if he could, and if all else failed, strike from behind. He had no desire to repeat the same battle he'd had with "Senior Brother Lu," draining himself of every last drop of spiritual energy.
He knew this situation was completely different from last time. Here, he wouldn't face a single opponent but a horde of crazed cultivators. If he didn't conserve his strength and keep himself ready to counterattack at any moment, he would surely be among the first eliminated.
While he was observing and contemplating, Han Li suddenly felt someone's gaze upon him. A slight jolt of surprise ran through him, and he turned toward the source of that sensation.
A female disciple of the Beast Spirit Sect was looking at him, somewhat shyly. Her delicate features seemed oddly familiar.
Han Li felt a flicker of surprise. He mentally filtered through all the women he knew, and a slender figure surfaced in his mind.
"It's her—the girl who sold me the Golden Bamboo Brush at the Tainan Assembly. How did she end up joining the Beast Spirit Sect? And she's here participating in the Blood Trial?" Han Li finally recognized the girl, who had grown even more beautiful than before, though a hint of puzzlement lingered in his heart.
He still remembered her habit of blushing at the slightest provocation, and it left him with a favorable impression of her.
With this thought, he couldn't help but smile at her.
The girl clearly saw his smile, and her cheeks flushed crimson in an instant—just as bashful as ever!
A bearded man stood behind her, apparently noticing the exchange between the girl and Han Li. His face darkened, and he suddenly spoke harshly to the girl. She immediately turned pale, lowered her head, and fell silent, no longer daring to glance in Han Li's direction.
The man wasn't finished. He shot Han Li a venomous glare, the warning unmistakable.
Han Li frowned. It seemed the girl was having a difficult time at the Beast Spirit Sect. This bearded man was one of the formidable figures he had just noted, possessing cultivation at the thirteenth level. Being targeted by such a person, the girl must have endured considerable hardship.
However, Han Li wasn't from the Beast Spirit Sect, and once they entered the forbidden grounds, everyone would become enemies whether they liked it or not. He naturally wouldn't give the man any face. Without a care, he suddenly made a mocking face at the man.
This display left the bearded man's face flush with fury, but there was nothing he could do about Han Li. He could only turn back and snarl a few more words at the girl, drawing the attention of nearby Beast Spirit Sect disciples, most of whom looked at the girl with contempt.
Han Li felt a surge of anger and deep sympathy for the girl. However, due to the distance, he couldn't quite make out what the bearded man was saying.
To spare the girl any further mistreatment, Han Li decided to stop provoking this insensitive brute. Otherwise, he was confident he had enough tricks to make the man fume with rage while remaining utterly helpless.
At that moment, the sect ancestors finished their discussion and returned to their respective formations. They then led the younger generation into the air, flying toward the legendary forbidden grounds.
The flight was brief. Heading toward the border of the Yuanwu Country, they flew for only a few hours before landing on a vast, expansive stretch of yellow earth. There was nothing here but piles of stones—not a single blade of grass in sight. As far as the eye could see, everything was a hazy yellow.
"Could this really be the place?"
Han Li, like everyone else, was greatly surprised. This hardly looked like a place that could birth heaven and earth spirit treasures.
The several Core Formation stage experts gathered again for a brief consultation. Then, the towering figure from the Giant Sword Sect stepped forward alone, walked a dozen paces ahead, and stopped.
He extended his left hand, and yellow light surged forth. With a grabbing motion toward the ground, a stream of mud rose like a yellow dragon and condensed in his hand into a massive sword of yellow clay.
His other hand's finger then lightly traced from the hilt toward the tip of the blade. A trail of white light followed his finger, and the clay sword instantly turned grayish-white, becoming a heavy stone sword.
This intermediate-level earth-to-stone transformation technique amazed the disciples of the seven sects, opening their eyes to something extraordinary.
But the Giant Sword Sect expert wasn't finished. Gripping the stone sword with both hands, he crouched slightly, let out a mighty roar, and hurled the sword forward like a meteor, shooting it straight into the air ahead.
Then came a breathtaking sight. The stone sword had barely traveled dozens of steps when it seemed to strike something. It shuddered violently and disintegrated into powder. From the void, a massive wave of cyan light surged forth, sweeping over everyone and tinting their skin green.
While the disciples stood trembling, the cyan light churned violently for no apparent reason, howling as it transformed into countless wind blades that whipped wildly in every direction. They formed a wall of wind blades impenetrable to rain and storms. Looking along the wall in either direction, it stretched endlessly, its end nowhere in sight, filled with the relentless howling of cyan wind.
Han Li believed that anyone who entered this wall would immediately experience the agony of death by a thousand cuts, sliced to pieces by the chaotic blades.
This was the protective seal of the forbidden grounds, truly impressive to behold. He wondered what kind of ancient cultivators could set up such a massive and formidable formation. Compared to it, the protective barrier of Yellow Maple Valley was like a child's toy—not worth mentioning. Han Li silently marveled.
At this moment, the Giant Sword Sect expert shook his head and turned back. The other leaders announced that the time had not yet come and told the disciples to rest a while before the forbidden grounds would be opened.
Thus, roughly every hour, the Giant Sword Sect man would repeat the same procedure to test the strength of the seal. It wasn't until the fourth stone sword was hurled that the cyan light and wind blades emerging from the forbidden grounds significantly diminished.
Upon seeing this, the other six Core Formation cultivators simultaneously shot forward, standing shoulder to shoulder.
Master Li extended his hand, and from his palm slowly emerged a ruler-like object, which then shot forth with a silver glow. The Daoist patted the back of his own head, opened his mouth, and a beam of cyan light roughly an inch long shot out. It grew in the wind, becoming a flying sword several feet in length.
The other five also unleashed something dazzling: a pink satin ribbon, a dragon-headed cane, a pitch-black giant sword, a long blade radiating red light, and a large yellow-glowing seal.
Seven people, seven artifacts, their radiance intertwining as they formed a circular formation and charged directly into the wind blade array.
These were the treasures that each of them had painstakingly refined over years of bitter cultivation after reaching the Core Formation stage.
The disciples of each sect dared not slack off. Under the instructions of their Foundation Establishment elders, they all stood behind the seven, forming seven columns, ready to enter the forbidden grounds at any moment.
A thunderous roar erupted as the seven treasures clashed head-on with the wind blades. Multicolored light scattered in all directions, accompanied by eerie howling sounds that left the watching disciples tense with anxiety.
Master Li's ruler spun ceaselessly, its silver glow fluctuating between large and small as if possessed by a spirit, shattering countless wind blades.
The cyan flying sword transformed into a flood dragon over a dozen zhang long. With each sweep, it carried a strange cry that shook the soul.
The remaining five treasures also displayed their might. Especially the yellow seal of the Heavenly Bastion Sect expert—it was the most imposing of all. Each time it smashed down, it swelled to the size of a small hill, simultaneously erupting with the sounds of wind and thunder. But when it flew back, it shrank to its original form. Its movement, however, appeared somewhat clumsy and sluggish.
Though the seven treasures were astonishing in power, they struggled against the significantly weakened wind blade array. Advancing even a single step through the wind wall required considerable effort. Before long, beads of sweat began forming on the foreheads of all seven.
After three or four hours of fierce struggle, the seven were drenched in sweat, but their treasures finally gained the upper hand, forcibly carving out a circular passage roughly ten feet high in the wind wall. Inside the passage, everything was pitch black—nothing could be seen.
"Hurry in! We can't hold this much longer!" the Daoist shouted first, as his spiritual energy was the shallowest among the seven, and he had lost the most sweat.
Upon hearing this, the disciples of the seven sects wasted no time. Interspersing with one another, they flew into the passage in waves.
At this moment, everyone was silent, their expressions grim. All knew that once they entered the forbidden grounds, everyone would immediately become mortal enemies. Even fellow disciples would become untrustworthy.
Han Li was positioned toward the middle-rear of the line. Ahead of him were disciples from the Giant Sword Sect, and behind him were people from the Blade Transformation Dock.
The passage wasn't long—only about twenty-odd zhang—and passed in a flash. As soon as Han Li flew out of the exit, before he could even see what lay ahead, he felt a sudden sensation of the world spinning. His vision blurred, and he vanished without a trace from the exit.