The Black Dragon Pool Trap

The ground beneath him was a rotting gray-black, dotted with bubbling murky puddles. Twisted trees of grotesque shapes rose from the earth, and at his feet lay unknown patches of blood-red grass. The air was thick with a pungent, alien stench. This was the scene that greeted Han Li the moment his senses cleared.

He didn’t waste time questioning the bizarre environment. His first instinct was a sharp, sweeping glance around him, checking for any other presence. The greatest danger in the Forbidden Land would always come from the disciples of other sects who had entered alongside him.

He seemed to be in luck. For several dozen zhang in every direction, he was utterly alone. He let out a quiet breath.

But he didn’t let his guard down. With one hand, he held a talisman at the ready; with the other, he produced the set of Golden Coin Mother-Child Blades, a precaution for any eventuality.

Only then did Han Li calm himself enough to carefully observe the strangeness of his surroundings.

He wasn’t surprised to find himself in an unfamiliar place. Long before the expedition, the stewards had given all participating disciples a detailed dossier on the Forbidden Land.

The dossier had mentioned that anyone stepping into the forbidden land would be instantly teleported to a random location by a translocation formation still active within. Where one ended up depended entirely on luck.

One might be sent to the most core area, appearing in a place teeming with spiritual herbs ready for the taking—a stroke of incredible fortune. Another might appear in front of several demonic beasts, unable to escape without a bloody fight. And the truly unlucky ones might be dropped directly into a deadly trap, dying on the spot. This last scenario was the rarest.

The most common outcome, as in Han Li’s case, was to be deposited in a remote corner of the forbidden land, forced to find one’s own way forward.

The senior cultivators theorized that this was because their method of breaking into the seal was not the proper entry procedure, which triggered certain minor restrictions and caused these anomalies.

Han Li made a cautious circuit of his immediate vicinity while comparing the scenery with the data he had memorized from the dossier. After a short while, he found useful information, a legacy of knowledge accumulated by disciples who had walked these lands before him.

“Black Dragon Pool is located in the northeast corner of the forbidden land. It is centered on a deep pool several dozen zhang across, extending for about ten li. The area is rich in plants like Decay Bones and Serpent Vine Trees, which can be used to concoct poisons, but they are of little value.”

“At the center of Black Dragon Pool, by the water’s edge, a few patches of ‘Cold Smoke Grass’ appear randomly every ten years or so. This is a versatile and rare herb. If possible, it should be gathered and turned in to the sect for a reward. Be cautious, however. A group of first-tier, low-grade Frost Toads lurk in the depths of the pool. They are docile by nature and will not attack unless provoked.”

After reviewing the dossier several times, Han Li had a clear picture.

As a general rule, the closer one got to the core of the forbidden land, the rarer the spiritual objects and the stronger the guardian beasts. Black Dragon Pool was slightly on the outer edge, but not the outermost. If he hurried, he could still reach the core zone within a day.

Having made up his mind, Han Li did not dare to fly on his artifact. Instead, he leaped onto a broad, leafy tree, surveyed the surroundings, fixed his direction, and jumped down.

The pool was to his south, conveniently located on the path toward the forbidden land’s center. He could take a look on the way.

Applying a concealment spell to himself, Han Li began to move forward, light on his feet, proceeding with extreme caution. Perhaps he was being overly tense, but after walking for several li, nothing unusual happened. The entire Black Dragon Pool area seemed deserted.

When he heard the sound of water, the tension in his nerves finally eased.

Pushing aside a few tangled branches, a green, deep pool appeared before him. Even before he grew close, a bone-chilling cold made him shiver.

So this was Black Dragon Pool? Han Li examined it with curiosity.

The pool wasn’t large, surrounded by a dense growth of Serpent Vine Trees. A visible, icy mist rose from the surface, and a layer of crystalline frost had formed on the banks. It was a testament to the water’s frigid temperature.

Han Li wasn’t interested in that. What caught his attention was a patch of low-lying ground near the bank where a dozen or so fluffy, white-petaled herbs grew. Each stalk had five leaves, was pure white, and emitted a faint, white vapor as if shrouded in smoke. They looked the part of a magical herb.

“That’s exactly it. Cold Smoke Grass. It matches the description perfectly,” Han Li murmured to himself, feeling a flicker of satisfaction.

Though this herb had nothing to do with his Foundation Establishment Pill, to stumble upon such an easy prize at the very start was a good omen.

Han Li habitually looked left and right, then took a step forward. But his expression changed slightly. He bent his body, took a few light steps backward, and once again hid himself behind the foliage. Expressionless, he stared at the dense forest to his left.

In a short moment, a figure flickered. A man in blue robes emerged, poking his head out cautiously. Judging by his attire, he was from the Heaven’s Fortress Sect. The man was extremely wary, looking back over his shoulder every few steps and constantly scanning his surroundings. From the tightness of his fists, he was ready to fend off an attack. His direction of travel was aimed straight at the Cold Smoke Grass.

Han Li sighed. It seemed he would have to leave empty-handed.

The man was too cautious to be ambushed successfully, and Han Li had no intention of fighting him face-to-face over a few herbs of questionable value. The risk was simply not worth the reward.

“Come out! I see you! Stop hiding!” The blue-robed man suddenly stopped a dozen paces from the Cold Smoke Grass and turned around, shouting into the air.

Han Li was startled, thinking he had carelessly revealed himself. But then a wave of absurd amusement washed over him. The man was shouting loudly enough, but his eyes were darting around wildly, never once looking in Han Li’s direction. He was just using a bluff.

Amused and exasperated, Han Li watched as the man carried on his noisy act for a while before finally, with genuine confidence, turning to harvest the grass. The blue-robed man’s self-conscious cleverness made Han Li hesitate. He considered striking him from behind while he was distracted.

Before he could decide, the man acted with surprising speed, plucking three or four stalks of the white herb in quick succession. He clearly understood the principle of delay breeding disaster. In the blink of an eye, he was about to strip the patch clean.

Han Li shook his head. He decided to retreat. His main goal was still the three primary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Until then, preserving his strength was the best strategy.

With that thought, Han Li quietly withdrew. Once he was several dozen zhang away, he felt safe enough to start a brisk run, wanting to put distance between himself and the man before the herb-gathering was over.

But before he could even break into a sprint, a miserable scream came from the direction of the pool. By the sound of it, it was the blue-robed man’s death cry.

A cold shiver ran down Han Li’s spine. He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and crept back. He had to know what had happened, to avoid suffering the same fate.

When Han Li crept back to the vicinity of the pool, two fierce-looking men had appeared on the bank. Their clothes were green, marking them as disciples of the Spirit Beast Mountain Sect.

They were rifling through the Heaven’s Fortress disciple’s storage pouch with elation. Around them lay a dozen large, blue toads. The blue-robed man was now dead, his body riddled with a dozen gaping holes.

“Senior Brother Yu, this idea was brilliant! Instead of attacking that fool head-on, we got to the Black Dragon Pool first to hide. Then we sprinkled some beast-repelling powder in the water, and this nest of Frost Toads listened to us for a while. Hah! We just made a little noise to draw his attention away, and the beasts hit him from behind with a volley of Ice Spike techniques. The idiot was dead in an instant. He probably never even imagined he’d be killed by a pack of low-grade beasts. Not a bad haul on him, either. Say, Senior Brother, let’s do it again. Let’s just stay hidden here and wait for the next fool to take the bait. These Cold Smoke Grasses can be our bait!” After dividing the spoils, the younger of the two men kicked the corpse of the Heaven’s Fortress disciple and spoke with a touch of greed.