However, Han Li was not anxious! Because the central area of this forbidden land was truly vastly different from the outer regions.
In the other areas outside the central area, the spiritual herbs and wondrous fruits grew mostly without any pattern, scattered randomly throughout every corner. One could discover them anywhere, and it was generally a case of first come, first served; those who obtained them would immediately flee far away. Therefore, actual conflicts over spiritual medicine were not that frequent in these places. More people perished due to massive purges by others or acts of robbery and murder.
But once one reached the central area, it was different! According to disciples who had returned by sheer luck in the past, the central area was enormous, occupying nearly a third of the entire forbidden land, and was enclosed by surrounding stone walls into a massive circle. Starting from the periphery of the four bronze gates and moving inward, the entire region was divided into three major outer layers, much like the skin, flesh, and pit of an ordinary fruit—distinctly layered and quite peculiar!
The picturesque place Han Li was currently in was the outermost layer of the central area.
According to the materials, the distance from here to the next layer was not great, only a little over a li in width. Although the flowers, grass, and trees within this area were all rare and extraordinary, seldom seen in the world, very few of them could actually serve as spiritual medicine with practical benefits for cultivators. Most were merely for ornamental pleasure.
Many from the Seven Great Sects speculated that this layer was deliberately arranged by the forbidden land's master, treating it as a sort of garden. Those eye-catching, brilliantly colored flowers, fruits, and trees were originally meant for the forbidden land master's enjoyment. If one wanted to find something of actual use, it would be better to search in the other areas of the forbidden land—it would be less effort!
The truly high-grade spiritual medicine beneficial to cultivators was produced in the second layer of the central area. Most disciples who entered this region were aiming for this layer. Among them were the three main ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, which was naturally their primary goal. Han Li was equally determined to obtain these spiritual herbs!
Speaking of this second layer, it had indeed left Han Li, who had just seen the relevant materials, stunned for quite a while.
Because the second layer was entirely a massive ring-shaped mountain range, shrouded year-round by impenetrable fog so thick that one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Within this mountain, there were both natural spiritual locations such as caves, hidden valleys, and steep cliffs, as well as artificial structures like stone houses and stone halls—all kinds of spiritual herbs grew in these places.
The information the ugly man had exchanged with Han Li was mainly distribution maps of these spiritual herbs' locations. Because no one could guarantee that their existing materials would definitely cover the area they were in once they entered, having as many distribution maps as possible was essential for easier identification and targeted searching!
However, the fog on this ring-shaped mountain was too thick, too dense! When cultivators entered this mountain, they would become completely lost in the fog after taking only a few steps, forced to grope forward cautiously with uncertain steps. Whether they could find their way out again depended entirely on their luck.
What was even more troublesome was that the ring-shaped mountain was also home to countless demonic beasts, ranging from first-level low-rank Flame Rats and Wind-Chasing Rabbits to first-tier peak-rank Golden Light Pythons and Ice-Fire Wolves, encompassing virtually all first-tier demonic beast species that the Seven Great Sects had heard of or not.
Those among them with lower strength could be handled seven or eight at a time by cultivators at the sixth or seventh layer without any problem. But the peak high-ranking ones— even if the elite disciples of the Seven Great Sects encountered them, they could only flee in panic.
Fortunately, the last category of demonic beasts was extremely scarce on this mountain, and most had become guardian beasts specifically protecting certain spiritual herbs, rarely encountered outside!
Therefore, the most troublesome demonic beasts were still predominantly first-tier upper-rank ones. However, after several elite disciples joined forces, they could deal with them easily. Of course, if one encountered them alone, a bloody battle was still inevitable.
Whether it was the mountain's fog or the demonic beasts lurking within, if one only encountered either of these alone, these proud elite disciples might still have attempted aadventure into the mountain to gather herbs. But now that they would face both simultaneously, these disciples could only stare at each other blankly. Ascending the mountain under these conditions was absolutely a one-way trip with no return!
Therefore, the first few batches of disciples who entered the forbidden land in those early years simply gathered some ordinary spiritual herbs outside the central area and that was that—they had never entered the ring-shaped mountain!
But after several rounds, a cultivator from theYan Yue Sect exhausted his ingenuity and refined a magic treasure called the "Moon-Yang Treasure Pearl." This item could neither attack enemies nor provide defense; its sole function was to release a strange light capable of counteracting all kinds of fog and miasma. It had been specifically prepared by this person for the forbidden land expedition!
Sure enough, the disciple of theYan Yue Sect who obtained this treasure shone brilliantly in the subsequent expedition!
They led disciples from the other sects to clear most of the fog, then returned from the ring-shaped mountain fully loaded. Relying on this harvest, they refined a large batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, then widely recruited disciples, causing their sect's strength to soar overnight, establishing theYan Yue Sect's status as the foremost cultivation sect in the Kingdom of Yue from then on.
However, as the saying goes, there is no wall that can completely contain a secret! News of theYan Yue Sect using the "Moon-Yang Treasure Pearl" to harvest abundant spiritual herbs in the forbidden land eventually spread. Before long, the other six sects, unwilling to let them monopolize everything, came knocking.
Unwilling to offend everyone, yet unwilling to hand over the treasure, theYan Yue Sect finally, after much haggling and bargaining with the other six sects, surrendered the pearl, making it a shared possession of the Seven Great Sects.
Then this treasure was managed in rotation by the seven sects. After each forbidden land expedition, the sect that had been in possession of the treasure had to hand it over, with another sect taking over its safekeeping.
But regardless of which sect held the treasure, once inside the forbidden land, that sect's disciples had to use it under the supervision of disciples from all other sects, within a pre-determined time window. They absolutely could not deliberately rush ahead or delay the timing of fog clearance.
This way, all disciples who arrived at the central area in time could enter the ring-shaped mountain simultaneously to gather spiritual herbs, making it extremely fair.
Achieving these conditions seemed like theYan Yue Sect had suffered a great loss, forced to abandon their dream of monopolizing the forbidden land's spiritual herbs. But in reality, it also saved theYan Yue Sect from the disaster of annihilation, leaving them the opportunity to gradually grow stronger.
By now, theYan Yue Sect had become preeminent among the Seven Great Sects, its strength truly unfathomable! Without the other sects joining forces in pairs, they simply could not contend with it!
And the reason Han Li was not anxious, and could patiently deal with the ugly man before him while saying one thing and meaning another, also lay in this!
This time, the Seven Great Sects had agreed beforehand, before entering, on the timing for clearing the fog—it would be on the morning of the third day.
Han Li had previously rushed to the central area without rest, fearing that someone might ambush him on the way and delay his entry into the mountain. Now that he had entered the central area, there was no need to be frantic anymore! Even if he hurried to the second layer now, he would just stand there helplessly gazing at the fog!
As for the third layer at the center of the forbidden land, that was even more mysterious!
Anyone standing on the summit of the ring-shaped mountain could clearly see that within the vast area enclosed by the second layer, a giant pagoda reaching a hundred zhang in height stood at the center. Around the pagoda was a vast expanse of dense green forest, surrounding it completely. This was the so-called third layer—the innermost core of the forbidden land!
The masters of the Seven Great Sects, upon hearing their disciples' descriptions, immediately recognized this as the original residence of the forbidden land's master. They were incredibly envious of whatever lay within this pagoda!
However, at the boundary between the second and third layers, a powerful and unknown barrier was still operating, blocking all disciples who attempted tobreak in from entering. This barrier was simply something that mere Qi Condensation stage disciples could not break through, while cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage could not enter the forbidden land. Therefore, what exactly was inside this pagoda remained an unsolved mystery to this day!
Han Li had absolutely no interest in the giant pagoda within this third layer! For him, being able to find enough spiritual herbs in the second layer and then retreat unscathed would be thanking heaven, earth, and all the gods and Buddhas for their blessing.
Han Li patiently endured for a full quarter of an hour before finally extricating himself from the ugly man'sentanglement. He stepped aside into the surrounding vegetation and vanished from sight. Just before disappearing, he glanced back at his counterpart and saw that Zhong Wu still lingered lazily in place, showing no intention whatsoever of leaving!
It seemed that these "experts" would not rest until they had cleared out nine out of ten of the other disciples who were trying to take advantage of the chaos! He guessed that at the other three gates, there were probably people doing the same thing!
While pondering this, Han Li searched everywhere, far from the bronze gate, for something.
Under a towering tree, Han Li discovered an inconspicuous tree hollow, which delighted him.
He squeezed inside, set up some simple protective measures at the entrance, and then, without thinking about anything further, fell into a deep sleep.
Han Li needed to get proper rest. Tomorrow morning, when the fog of the ring-shaped mountain was to be broken, who knew what might happen! It was the wisest course to restore himself to peak condition first.
However, he believed that those who would stand before the ring-shaped mountain tomorrow, waiting for the fog to be cleared by disciples from all sects, would definitely not be many! And each of them would likely be no easier to deal with than Feng Yue had been!
Han Li slept extremely soundly through the night. It was not until the early hours of the next day that he slowly awakened. The most important day of the forbidden land expedition had finally arrived!