When Han Li found a dense tree at the edge of the forest and jumped up to restore his magical power, the entire Forbidden Zone welcomed the first killing climax of the Blood Trial.
Various powerful figures bared their fangs, beginning a great purge of the weak nearby. The closer to the central region, the more frequent and bloody the killings became.
Of course, when two "experts" of comparable strength occasionally met, they would tacitly ignore each other and pass by. Now was not the time for them to fight to the death.
Speaking of which, the disciples from various sects in the Forbidden Zone could generally be divided into three categories!
The first category was those with extremely weak strength, whose cultivation methods were only at the eleventh or even tenth level.
Their reasons for entering the Forbidden Zone varied. Some were forced to come due to unavoidable circumstances, while others harbored a fluke mentality, hoping to fish in troubled waters. Regardless of their purpose, they were at the very bottom of the Blood Trial and could only play the role of prey to be slaughtered.
Often, after just the first day in the Forbidden Zone, except for a few cunning individuals with special means of self-preservation, these too-weak people would be nearly wiped out by others.
Of course, someone like Han Li, who could rely on extraordinary treasures to fight head-on with fierce opponents, could be considered an exception!
The second category was people like the bearded man—those with decent magical power but who considered their overall strength far inferior to other experts and knew they had no hope of obtaining spirit herbs. They were unwilling to risk their lives fighting the top experts in the Forbidden Zone for spirit herbs. Instead, they set their sights on the first category and their own kind, intending to seize this opportunity to kill and plunder, secretly growing rich.
These people were quite active during the first two days of the Blood Trial, but starting from the third day, the victors among them would voluntarily disappear from the Forbidden Zone, no longer showing themselves.
They knew very well that the last three days were for the "experts" to fight frantically among themselves. If they encountered such fights during that time, they, with their mid-level strength, would definitely die.
Of course, among them were some who were arrogant or had an unclear understanding of their own strength, who would charge headfirst into the whirlwind of fighting over spirit herbs and end up with no remains left.
However, most people were quick to see the situation and withdraw early, often becoming the group with the highest survival rate in the Blood Trial. Meanwhile, those with great strength often died miserably in the earlier stages—truly an ironic twist.
The last category was the smallest in number.
They were at the very top of the pyramid, the most elite disciples sent into the Forbidden Zone by their respective sects, the ones truly placed with high hopes by their sect's upper echelons. The other fellow disciples were merely cannon fodder meant to draw the attention of rival sects!
These elites possessed deep magical power and were equipped with top-grade magical treasures of astonishing power! They had only one goal: to kill disciples from other sects and seize enough spirit herbs!
The commencement of this first large-scale massacre was carried out tacitly and unanimously under their unspoken agreement. The purpose was to clear out the small fry who wanted to profit from the chaos, to prevent them from causing trouble and complications.
Furthermore, they were neither impatient nor panicked about someone having already entered the central zone earlier. After all, getting in might be easy, but trying to bring spirit herbs out of there would be quite difficult!
The killing continued, but because Han Li was still some distance from the central zone, it did not reach him as he restored his magical power.
But other weak individuals were not as lucky as Han Li. Many were forced into the killing, desperately trying to break free to save their lives!
And Xiao Er of Blade Transformation Dock was one of them.
Xiao Er's face was pale now, staring with terror at the person opposite him—a barefoot giant man with a massive silver sword strapped to his back.
It was this man who, right before Xiao Er's eyes, had already killed two other fellow disciples from Blade Transformation Dock who had gathered together. Under the giant man's silver sword, no matter what high-grade magical treasures or defensive barriers were used, they seemed utterly unable to withstand a single blow, shattering like thin paper one after another. In the end, even the people were cleaved in two.
However, it was precisely because the other fellow disciples had drawn the giant's attention that Xiao Er, sensing the danger, had managed to seize the chance to slip away, fleeing in panic all the way.
But unfortunately, the giant man seemed unwilling to let him go, actually pursuing him relentlessly for several hours until he finally cornered him again here. This left him completely desperate!
"If you kill yourself, I can leave your corpse intact!" the giant man said coldly, his eyes devoid of emotion.
"You... go to hell!"
Knowing his end was near, Xiao Er erupted with desperate ferocity in his despair, unleashing both of his remaining two high-grade magical treasures in one go.
"Foolish!"
The giant man spoke tersely. Then the silver sword flew from his back into the sky, effortlessly smashing both treasures to pieces, and continued downward to cut Xiao Er in two.
After doing all this, the giant man didn't even glance at Xiao Er's corpse before turning and leaving, having no intention whatsoever of touching the storage pouch. For him, having just the silver sword as his sole magical treasure was more than enough! Other treasures and magical items would only distract him, greatly hindering his cultivation!
...
Similarly, near a small stream close to the central zone, a female disciple from Concealed Moon Sect was perspiring heavily as she struggled to command a silk kerchief-like magical treasure, desperately resisting two brilliantly glowing red flying blades. She was on the verge of being overwhelmed.
"Senior Brother from Blade Transformation Dock, can't you spare this little sister? I'm willing to serve you for one night!"
At the moment between life and death, the woman finally abandoned her shame, deploying a woman's greatest asset to seduce her opponent. But whether it would succeed—after witnessing his methods, she had no confidence at all in her heart.
"Fine, put away your magical treasure, and I promise you!" The speaker was a young man of eighteen or nineteen in a blue-green robe, with delicate features, red lips, and white teeth—a handsome, elegant gentleman.
After saying this, the man froze the two flying blades in midair and then smiled at the woman.
The woman from Concealed Moon Sect was overjoyed. She quickly cast two flirtatious glances at the man, hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered the silk kerchief, gathering it into her hand. She then thrust out her chest, about to say something.
Unfortunately, before her cherry lips could open, a murderous look suddenly appeared on the handsome man's face. He pointed his finger sharply, and the two red flying blades instantly shot down in a lightning-fast crossing motion. The woman collapsed silently to the ground, blood flowing everywhere.
"Slut! A common tramp like you dares to try to bewitch me, Han Tianya!"
The handsome man's face wore an expression of disgust, his voice suddenly becoming somewhat sharp. He then pulled a fragrant handkerchief from his waist and delicately wiped the dust from his face, his movements extremely graceful and feminine, like a lady from a noble family.
"I should hurry on my way. Perhaps I'll run into a few more along the way to relieve my boredom!"
After murmuring this to himself, the man casually tossed the used handkerchief onto the woman's face, then walked away swaying his hips.
...
Inside the mountain forest, the corpse of a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple lay on the ground, while nearby stood a middle-aged man in yellow robes. He was shaking his head and mumbling to himself while gazing at the sky. Behind him lay several extremely fierce beasts, all lifeless!
...
On a barren mountain, an ugly-faced figure in green robes was frantically commanding a massive swarm of giant bees, attacking a group of people dressed in Daoist robes.
...
Thus, incidents of the strong slaughtering the weak were occurring everywhere throughout the Forbidden Zone. Though Han Li did not see any of this, he could faintly sense a hint of blood scent floating in the air.
But Han Li could not concern himself with such things. His only thought now was to restore his magical power as quickly as possible, fearing that a formidable enemy might discover him in his currently weakened state.
At this moment, the first night in the Forbidden Zone had nearly passed. To Han Li's slight surprise, the darkness here was as bright as daylight, and the entire sky remained a constant grayish hue, which was somewhat unpleasant to look at.
Just as Han Li was secretly rejoicing that his magical power was nearly restored, sudden hurried footsteps and heavy panting gradually approached from the distance, as if someone were running toward the very tree where Han Li sat in meditation.