In a moment, a cold-eyed young man in blue, an elderly man with white hair and beard, and a stunning beauty in green came out one after another. They tacitly chose different routes and slipped into the mountain forest ahead.
Han Li waited for nearly another quarter of an hour. Seeing no one else appear, he made final adjustments to his belongings, mimicked the earlier figures, and found an unexplored direction to slip in quietly.
Han Li didn't know that shortly after he entered, the ugly man Zhong Wu, whom he had seen just yesterday, appeared at the entrance. Staring up at the dark mountain path, he let out a few cold laughs, then released over a dozen yellow lights from his body that flew into the forest. Only then did he follow at a leisurely pace.
Outside the restricted area, at the entrance, the remaining disciples of the Seven Sects gazed worriedly toward the forbidden grounds. Han Li's Granduncle Master Li was among them.
It was unclear whether he was worried about his own disciple's performance or more concerned about his own wager.
The situation of the Daoist from the Clear Void Valley, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was no better! Ever since the Old Freak Qiong of the Crescent Moon Sect had thrust himself into the bet, the Daoist had lost all the confidence he'd had when the wager was first made. Now he was full of anxiety and indecision.
No wonder— that Blood Line Flood Dragon Inner Pill had been incredibly difficult to obtain. He had spent almost his entire fortune to acquire it. If he lost it so easily, no matter how refined his mental cultivation, the Daoist would probably be so heartbroken he couldn't sleep for years!
The Daoist secretly glanced at the only person in the crowd who appeared completely at ease— the Crescent Moon Sect's female team leader, Fairy Nishang.
This was the only woman among the seven Foundation Establishment experts. Since the disciples of the Seven Sects had entered the forbidden grounds, she had never shown the slightest hint of worry. She had been chatting and laughing with everyone the whole time, seeming completely confident in the disciples the Crescent Moon Sect had sent, not needing to worry in the least.
The more the Daoist looked at her smiling face, the more anxious he became. Combined with the Old Freak Qiong's confident expression when making the bet, he felt as if his Blood Line Flood Dragon Inner Pill had already flown out of his pocket and into someone else's bag!
Thinking about it, the worry on his face grew heavier and heavier. Anyone who didn't know better would truly think he was agonizing over his own sect's disciples inside the forbidden grounds!
After a while, the Daoist could no longer bear it. While no one was paying attention, he quietly sidled up to Granduncle Master Li, who stood elsewhere, and asked with a worried expression:
"Benefactor Li, the disciples your Yellow Maple Valley sent this time should be quite capable, right? Our two sects really shouldn't lose to that Old Freak Qiong! This poor Daoist still has some confidence in the Clear Void Sect disciples who entered the restricted grounds!"
"What do you mean? Daoist Brother looks down on our Yellow Maple Valley?" Granduncle Master Li's face darkened at the words.
"Ha ha ha! Of course not. This poor Daoist simply finds the disciples the Crescent Moon Sect sent this time rather peculiar, and I just can't rest easy!" The Daoist laughed awkwardly, forcing a smile as he explained.
"That's true! I, Li, have also sensed something amiss. In the past few times, when has the Crescent Moon Sect ever sent such young disciples, and in male-female pairs at that? Do they think the trip to the forbidden grounds is some children's game?" Granduncle Master Li said with a dark expression. It seemed he had been uneasy about the bet all along.
The Daoist nodded repeatedly at Granduncle Master Li's words, clearly agreeing strongly.
"But rest assured, Daoist Brother. Since I, Li, dared to place this bet, I must have some confidence in my own disciples. Their strength won't be inferior to your sect's." Granduncle Master Li gave the Daoist a meaningful look, then spoke slowly, his voice carrying a note of boldness.
"He he! Benefactor Li, now that you say that, this poor Daoist feels much more at ease! Then I won't disturb you further." Having gotten the answer he wanted, the Daoist's expression relaxed immediately. With a grin, he took his leave and returned to his original spot to sit in meditation and rest, preparing to wait quietly for the results in a few days.
After Granduncle Master Li watched the Daoist leave, he suddenly gave a soft hmph, then muttered under his breath in a voice only he could hear:
"Fu Yunzi, you old Daoist, don't think I don't know what you're plotting! You're just hoping our two sects can join forces to beat the Crescent Moon Sect, then your Clear Void Sect can overshadow our Yellow Maple Valley, aren't you? Heh heh! I don't know what impressive disciples the Clear Void Sect sent into the restricted grounds, but this time, our valley has sent out even those top disciples ranked among the top three in Qi Condensation strength— all of them, in one go! Otherwise, do you think I would have made this bet with you?"
As Granduncle Master Li spoke, a cunning gleam appeared on his face. The earlier worried expression had completely vanished, clearly revealing another sly fox hidden beneath.
Han Li naturally knew nothing of the scheming between the two Foundation Establishment cultivators outside the restricted grounds. At that moment, he was blocked by a massive brown wild boar.
This boar was identical to an ordinary wild boar in every way, except for its brown skin color and its enormous size— standing several zhang tall.
But the moment Han Li saw it, he recognized it immediately as one of the most common low-tier demon beasts on the Circular Mountain— the Mountain-Pushing Beast. Apart from its thick hide and great strength, it only knew one innate ability: the Stone Skin Art. Its intelligence was extremely low, making it not difficult to deal with.
At this moment, the Mountain-Pushing Beast snorted a few times, and with a flash of yellow light, a layer of white rock-like armor covered its entire body. Then it charged ferociously toward Han Li.
Han Li stood still, waiting calmly for the beast's charge. Only when it was about seven or eight zhang away did he wave his right hand, then his figure flickered, and he appeared behind the demon beast.
Only after the Mountain-Pushing Beast had passed by did it split neatly from nose to tail into two halves with a squelch, colorful viscera spilling all over the ground. It had been completely cleaved open by Han Li's thread artifact!
Han Li retracted the invisible threads, glanced at the dead Mountain-Pushing Beast, shook his head lightly, then immediately jumped into a tree and left the area. He knew that the bloody scent of the demon beast corpse would soon attract a swarm of other beasts with keen senses. It was better to slip away as soon as possible!
Han Li had been in the dense forest of the Circular Mountain for several hours. Yet in such a short time, he had already encountered four demon beasts.
Three of them were low-tier, which Han Li had mercilessly killed without hesitation. But the mid-tier Flying Feather Peacock had been quite troublesome— its five-colored long feathers could detach from its body to automatically chase and attack or defend. Fortunately, although it was a bird, it wasn't fast. So in the end, Han Li simply picked up his pace and shook it off completely in one burst, avoiding an unnecessary fight.
Now, Han Li leaped from tree to tree like the wind, sighing continuously!
At last, he understood just how many demon beasts filled the Circular Mountain.
He was still on the outskirts, where he mostly encountered low-tier beasts, which were still manageable. But once he ventured deeper into the heart of the Circular Mountain, mid-tier and even high-tier beasts would appear in droves. At that point, besides fleeing in panic, Han Li couldn't think of any other way to escape.
No wonder the information about where spiritual herbs were hidden was so sparse in the records! The disciples who had entered this mountain before had probably spent most of their energy just dodging these beasts, leaving only enough time to check seven or eight locations. And even then, there was no guarantee each search would yield anything!
"It seems the hope of collecting enough spiritual herbs isn't very high!" Han Li thought dejectedly.
The direction Han Li was currently heading was a secluded cave where "Purple Monkey Flowers" commonly grew.
According to the records, this location shouldn't have much value. The cave had only been harvested once over a hundred years ago, and what remained should be seedlings far from maturity— useless for medicine.
"Seedlings?" The thought made Han Li smile slightly!
What Han Li needed was precisely these seedlings that no one else would touch!
The main reason he had taken such a great risk to enter the restricted grounds, and why he was so certain he could snatch the "Heaven and Earth Spiritual Herbs" from among so many "experts," was that he had set his sights on the unharvested seedlings from the very beginning! Only this way could he avoid conflicts with disciples from other sects, visit more locations, and gather more of what others considered useless materials.
Once he brought these spiritual herb seedlings back, he could use the green liquid from the mysterious small bottle to accelerate their growth. This way, it would be no different from harvesting mature herbs directly.
Although Senior Uncle Ma had mentioned that these seedlings couldn't survive long outside the restricted grounds— only a year or two— that time would be more than enough to accelerate their growth several times. After all, as the main ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills, they didn't need to be very old— just four or five hundred years would suffice.
The only trouble now was whether the remaining three days would be enough to gather a sufficient number of spiritual herbs. These seedlings were scattered all over the place, and along the way, he might be blocked by demon beasts or run into conflicts with disciples from other sects. All of this left Han Li feeling uncertain.