Breaking the Barrier

While the leaders of the various sects gathered to discuss the procedure for opening the forbidden land, Han Li continued his idle survey of the ruthless experts from each faction.

As for those at the peak of the thirteenth layer, Han Li decided his best course of action was to avoid them if possible, flee if necessary, and only attack from behind as a last resort. He absolutely did not want a repeat of his battle with that ‘Senior Brother Lu,’ which had drained him of every last drop of mana.

This time was completely different, after all. He wasn't facing a single opponent, but a swarm of red-eyed cultivators. If he didn't conserve his strength and maintain the ability to counterattack, he was certain to be among the first to be eliminated.

As he pondered this while observing the crowd, Han Li suddenly felt someone watching him. A slight start of surprise ran through him, and he instinctively looked toward the source of the gaze.

A female disciple from the Spirit Beast Mountain Sect was looking at him somewhat furtively. Her delicate features seemed familiar.

Bewildered, Han Li filtered through all the women he knew in his mind, until a slender figure surfaced.

“It’s her. The girl who sold me the Gold Bamboo Brush at the Tai Nan meeting. How did she join the Spirit Beast Mountain Sect and come to participate in the Blood Forbidden Trial?” Han Li finally recognized the girl, now even more handsome than before, but he was puzzled.

However, he still vividly remembered her shyness, the way her face would flush red at the slightest provocation. He had taken a liking to her back then.

Thinking this, he couldn’t help but offer the girl a smile.

The girl saw it clearly. A blush “shuah” instantly crept across her cheeks. She was still just as easily embarrassed as before!

A burly, bearded man standing behind the girl seemed to notice their exchange. His expression darkened, and he suddenly barked something harsh at the girl. Her expression turned pale, and she lowered her head, not daring to look in Han Li’s direction again.

The man wasn’t satisfied. He shot Han Li a venomous glare, the warning clear for all to see.

Han Li’s brow furrowed. It seemed the girl’s life in Spirit Beast Mountain Sect was not a pleasant one. This bearded man was one of the ruthless characters he had just noted, boasting the power of the thirteenth layer. For a girl to be targeted by someone like him, she must have suffered quite a bit.

Still, Han Li didn’t consider himself a member of the Spirit Beast Mountain Sect. Besides, once inside the forbidden land, everyone was an enemy. He naturally wasn’t about to back down. Without a care, he abruptly made a funny face at the man.

This act infuriated the bearded man, whose face turned a deep purple. But with no way to retaliate, he could only turn and snarl at the girl, drawing the attention of nearby Spirit Beast disciples, most of whom cast disdainful looks at her.

Anger welled up in Han Li’s heart, and pity for the girl grew. However, they were too far apart for him to hear exactly what the bearded man was saying.

To avoid causing the girl any more trouble, Han Li stopped provoking the brute who had no appreciation for feminine beauty. He was confident he had enough tricks to drive the man mad with frustration, yet leave him helpless.

Just then, the founding patriarchs of each sect finished their discussion and returned to their respective groups. They then led their juniors, rising into the air and flying toward the legendary forbidden land.

The flight was short. After only a few hours, heading toward the border of Yuan Wu Country, they descended onto a vast, boundless expanse of yellow earth. The place was nothing but piles of rocks; not even a single blade of grass was visible. As far as the eye could see, there was only a desolate yellow landscape.

“Could this really be the place?”

Like everyone else, Han Li was astonished. This place didn’t seem like a place that could nurture heavenly spiritual herbs.

The several Core Formation cultivators huddled for a few more words. Then, the tall, burly expert from the Giant Sword Sect stepped forward alone. He walked a dozen paces ahead before stopping.

He extended his left hand, which was enveloped in yellow light. He grabbed the ground, pulling up a stream of mud that coiled like a yellow dragon, which then condensed in his hand into a massive mud sword.

With a finger from his other hand, he lightly traced from the hilt to the tip of the blade. A white light followed his finger, and in an instant, the mud sword turned a grayish-white, becoming a heavy stone sword. This display of the mid-grade spell ‘Transforming Mud into Stone’ drew murmurs of admiration from the disciples of the seven sects, opening their eyes to new wonders.

The Giant Sword Sect expert did not stop there. Holding the sword with both hands, he braced himself, let out a loud shout, and hurled the stone sword like a shooting star, straight at the air before him.

What followed was a startling scene. The stone sword had only flown a few dozen paces when it seemed to trigger something. It trembled, then turned to powder. Following that, a vast expanse of cyan light emerged from the void, flooding the sky and casting everyone’s skin in a cyan hue.

While the disciples watched with pounding hearts, the cyan light violently churned. It howled as it transformed into countless wind blades, which whipped around wildly in every direction, forming an impenetrable wall of gales. Looking along the wind wall to either side, it stretched on without end, its edge invisible. The air was filled with the sound of a vast, cyan-colored windstorm.

Anyone entering that wall would surely die a thousand cuts.

“So this is the restriction here. It looks terrifying indeed. I wonder what kind of ancient cultivator could have set up such a massive and powerful formation. Compared to this, Yellow Maple Valley’s protective mountain formation is like a child’s toy, not even worth mentioning,” Han Li thought to himself, sighing.

At that moment, the Giant Sword Sect expert shook his head and turned back. The other leaders announced that the time had not yet come, telling the disciples to rest for a while, as they would open the forbidden land later.

Thus, about once an hour, the Giant Sword Sect cultivator performed the same test to measure the strength of the barrier. It wasn’t until they threw the fourth stone sword that the cyan light and the wind blades it summoned had clearly weakened.

Seeing this, the other six Core Formation cultivators shot forward as one, standing shoulder to shoulder.

Grandmaster Li extended his hand, and a ruler-like object slowly emerged from his palm. It then emitted a streak of silver light as it shot forward. The Daoist patted the back of his head, opened his mouth, and spat out a mere inch-long beam of cyan light. The light grew with the wind, becoming a flying sword several feet long.

From each of the other five, a dazzling item also flew out: a pink silk ribbon, a dragon-shaped staff, a pitch-black giant sword, a red-glowing long blade, and a glowing yellow seal.

Seven people, seven treasures, shone in competition, forming a circular formation as they charged directly into the wind blade array.

These were the nascent magic treasures these individuals had painstakingly tempered and refined over many long years after reaching the Core Formation stage.

The disciples of the various sects, following the orders of their Foundation Establishment elders, formed into seven columns behind their respective patriarchs, ready to enter the forbidden land at a moment’s notice.

A thunderous “rumbling” filled the air as the seven treasures clashed with the wind blades. All colors of light scattered and flew, accompanied by eerie howls that grated on the nerves of the watching disciples.

Grandmaster Li’s ruler spun rapidly. The silver light upon it grew and shrank in turns, as if it were alive, smashing countless wind blades to pieces.

The cyan flying sword transformed into a flood dragon over ten zhang long, each swing of its blade carrying a strange roar, shaking the hearts of all who heard it.

The other five treasures also displayed their might. Among them, the expert from Tian Que Fortress’s great yellow seal had the most spectacular presence. Every time it struck down, it swelled to the size of a small hill, exploding with the sound of wind and thunder. When it flew back, it shrank back to its original form, though it was somewhat clumsy and sluggish in its movement.

The seven treasures were formidable, but against the even-weakened wind blade array, they struggled mightily. Advancing through the wind wall at each step was a grueling effort. Before long, sweat marks could be seen on the brows of the seven cultivators.

After three or four hours of fierce combat, they were drenched in sweat, but their treasures finally gained the upper hand, blasting a circular passage about a zhang high into the wind wall. Inside, all was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

“Quickly, enter! We can’t hold this for long!” the Daoist called out first, his magic power being the shallowest among the seven and his sweat the heaviest.

The disciples of the seven sects dared not delay. Intermingling with each other, they flew through the passage in waves.

At this moment, everyone was silent, their expressions grim. Everyone knew that once they entered the forbidden land, everyone would immediately become mortal enemies. Even fellow disciples of the same sect would become untrustworthy.

Han Li was in the middle of the queue, with the Giant Sword disciples ahead of him and the Hua Dao Wu disciples behind.

The passage wasn’t long, only a dozen zhang or so, but Han Li passed through it in a flash. As soon as he flew out of the exit, before he could clearly see the situation before him, a violent spinning sensation overtook him. His vision went black, and he vanished from the entrance without a trace.