bookbashuk Chapter 8 Bloodstained Forbidden Land
Chapter 8 Bloodstained Forbidden Land
Several days later, outside the entrance to the Crimson Forbidden Land, in a desolate desert where not a blade of grass grows.
Li Huayuan, the Core Formation Elder of Huangfeng Valley, led a group of disciples who were participating in the trial to occupy a sunny slope. The disciples had different expressions: some closed their eyes and meditated to regulate their breathing, some walked with their hands behind their backs and looked at the entrance of the forbidden area from afar, and three or five people gathered together and whispered in low voices.
Mu Chunfeng and Han Li stood side by side at the bottom of the slope, discussing in hushed tones how they would join forces after entering the forbidden area.
Mu Chunfeng turned to look at Han Li and said sincerely, "Junior Brother Han, this Blood Trial brings together elites from all seven sects, with experts everywhere. Even cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining wouldn't dare say they'd be safe inside. If we happen to meet in the forbidden area, I hope we can join forces and fight together against the common enemy."
Han Li nodded slightly and replied calmly, "Of course. If I happen to meet Senior Brother Mu, I will have to rely on him to take good care of me."
"It's not so much about taking care of them, but if the two of us join forces to fight the enemy, we'll have a better chance of surviving."
Han Li nodded in agreement, but Mu Chunfeng had no idea what he was really planning.
However, he also knew that Han Li still had some humanity at this time. As long as he didn't cross Han Li's bottom line, and with his own strength suppressing him, Han Li probably wouldn't harm him on his own initiative.
As for this proposal to join forces, Mu Chunfeng's real purpose is to use Han Li's trajectory to encounter Feng Yue and seize the golden page from him.
That was a core fragment of the top-tier cultivation technique, the Azure Origin Sword Manual. He naturally had no reason to let go of such a tremendous opportunity that had been delivered to his doorstep.
As the two were talking, not far away, the old Taoist Fuyunzi from Qingxu Sect approached Li Huayuan, shaking his whisk and bringing up the bet with a smile.
At first, Li Huayuan shook his head and sighed repeatedly, looking unwilling. It wasn't until Fuyunzi took out the Blood Thread Dragon's inner core, which was completely red and wrapped with blood lines, that the two finally hit it off and made a bet on the spot.
After the two finalized the bet, Li Huayuan glanced back and saw that the disciples all looked rather grim. He cleared his throat and said loudly, "Do you think it's too cold-blooded of me to bet your lives? But that's how cruel and ruthless the cultivation world is. High-level cultivators regard low-level cultivators as ants, and it's common for them to kill each other at the slightest disagreement. So, the sooner you understand this principle, the easier it will be for you to survive this cruel trial."
"Alright, everyone, get some rest."
Li Huayuan waved his hand to signal everyone, then turned and walked away without saying another word.
After hearing these words, Mu Chunfeng and Han Li both remained silent.
Han Li lowered his head, his fingertips rubbing his sleeve pocket, seemingly plotting something in secret.
Mu Chunfeng glanced at him, lowered her voice and said softly, "Junior Brother Han, cultivating immortality is going against the heavens. We cultivate desperately and climb higher so that one day we will never be manipulated by others like this again."
Han Li agreed wholeheartedly, raised his eyes and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Mu."
Mu Chunfeng patted his shoulder, turned around and sat down quietly, leaving Han Li standing alone, his eyes lowered in thought.
Several hours passed in the blink of an eye. Mu Chunfeng had been sitting quietly with his eyes closed, adjusting his breathing. When he finished and looked up, he saw Han Li still standing at the edge of the crowd, calmly observing the cultivators from the other sects.
Not far away, Chen Qiaoqian was standing with her brother Chen Qiaotian, discussing in hushed tones the matters of protection within the forbidden area.
At this moment, Chen Qiaoqian's face was as cold as ice. Apart from her own brother, she showed no kindness to anyone around her. It was clear that Han Li had still given her the Forget-Me-Not Pill that day. Although she had lost her memory, the matter of Senior Brother Lu still left an indelible mark on her heart.
Among the crowd, one person stood out in Mu Chunfeng's eyes—a small old man with gray hair and a hunched back, who was chatting enthusiastically with people everywhere. He was none other than Xiang Zhili, a Nascent Soul cultivator at the pinnacle of the human realm.
At this moment, this big shot was enjoying himself, disguised as an inconspicuous Qi Refining stage old cultivator, and was sitting next to Han Li, chatting and talking about cultivators from other sects.
However, when Mu Chunfeng heard Xiang Zhili calmly tell Han Li, "There are ruthless characters everywhere here," his lips twitched, and he almost burst out laughing on the spot.
Looking around, of the seven sects, only the Hidden Moon Sect has yet to arrive.
Han Yunzhi stood gracefully among the Ling Shou Mountain group.
Her gaze swept over the group from Huangfeng Valley and happened to spot Han Li, so she nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Then his gaze shifted and he saw Mu Chunfeng beside Han Li. Mu Chunfeng nodded slightly in acknowledgment. Their eyes met for a moment before they looked away and did not exchange any further words.
A quarter of an hour later, all seven groups of people had arrived.
The Core Formation elders from each sect stepped forward in unison. The seven Core Formation cultivators attacked simultaneously, their immense spiritual power converging and crashing into the entrance barrier of the Crimson Forbidden Land.
The moment the restriction was lifted, a portal of light appeared out of thin air, with chaotic radiance surging within the portal.
The long-awaited Qi Refining disciples rushed into the entrance passage in a frenzy.
Mu Chunfeng entered the passage amidst the crowd, only to feel an irresistible pulling force, followed by a severe dizziness that made the world spin. In the blink of an eye, he was thrown out from the other end of the passage.
He lightly touched the ground with his toes and immediately took out the map of the forbidden area, focusing intently on checking his location.
The terrain here is flat, surrounded by ancient trees and craggy rocks, with a babbling stream meandering in the distance, converging into a crescent-shaped lake.
Mu Chunfeng understood: This place should be the Crescent Lake marked on the map.
By referring to the medicinal herbs and danger markers on the map, he quickly decided on a route—first heading north to the Black Pine Forest below the Misty Valley, where Han Li met Feng Yue in the original story.
Having confirmed the direction, Mu Chunfeng put away the map, keeping his double pupils slightly open, but not fully releasing his divine sense. After all, even with his divine sense strength comparable to the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he couldn't withstand such continuous consumption of his divine sense over a long period of time.
He immediately activated the Azure Leaf Magic Artifact, flying low over the dense forest canopy and speeding northward.
About half a day later, in the clearing in the woods ahead, a bewitching figure suddenly appeared out of thin air and blocked his path.
Upon seeing the other person's appearance and attire, Mu Chunfeng was secretly astonished. Today, he finally witnessed firsthand that there were cultivators in the cultivation world who acted like demons.
The other party was dressed in the standard uniform of Huadaowu, with a delicate face and a seductive figure. He was Han Tianya, a core disciple of Huadaowu.
When Han Tianya saw that Mu Chunfeng dared to fly swaggerly at low altitude in the Blood Forbidden Land on a flying artifact, a greedy look flashed in his eyes. He immediately waved his hands, and two fiery red flying knives shot out from the air. They were as fast as lightning and carried a piercing sound as they were being slashed, aiming straight for Mu Chunfeng's heart and head.
Mu Chunfeng activated his double pupils at this moment. Although the throwing knife was fast, its trajectory was as clear as if it were in slow motion under his double pupils.
He immediately patted his storage bag, and the Xuanjin Shield's spiritual light surged, instantly blocking in front of him. At the same time, he manipulated the Qingye magic weapon to suddenly reduce its power and plunge straight down towards the ground.
"Clang! Clang!" Two crisp sounds of metal clashing rang out in succession as two throwing knives slammed into the Xuanjin shield, sparks flying everywhere, but they failed to leave even the slightest mark on the shield's surface.
Mu Chunfeng also took advantage of the swooping momentum to land steadily on the ground ten feet away from Han Tianya.
Han Tianya maneuvered two flying knives around him, his gaze falling on Mu Chunfeng. He saw that Mu Chunfeng was dressed in the disciple's robes of Huangfeng Valley and was a handsome young man.
But when his gaze fell on Mu Chunfeng's eyes, he was stunned—each of the other's eyes had double pupils, and a faint purple light shone deep within the pupils.
Han Tianya immediately swayed her hips, adopting a coquettish posture, and said in a high-pitched, sweet voice, "Oh my, what beautiful eyes! But fellow Daoist from Huangfeng Valley, this Crimson Forbidden Land is not your backyard. How dare you fly so blatantly? Why don't you let someone give you a ride and get on your way sooner!"
His last words turned cold. He made hand seals, and two throwing knives flew down from above and below him again. One knife severed three heads, and the other cut off three legs, clearly intending to leave Mu Chunfeng unable to defend himself.
Mu Chunfeng stood motionless, raised his hand, and the Li Huo Sword, carrying raging flames, shot out and pierced straight for Han Tianya's brow. The Xuan Jin Shield swirled and danced around him, forming an impenetrable defense.
Upon seeing this, a greedy glint flashed in Han Tianya's eyes: This is a fat sheep with a lot of money!
He immediately manipulated one of the throwing knives to bend and intercept the Li Huo sword, while the other throwing knife continued its momentum, heading straight for Mu Chunfeng's face.
Just as the flying knife was about to collide with the Blazing Fire Sword, and the Blazing Fire Sword was still several feet away from Han Tianya, a sudden flash of purple light appeared in Mu Chunfeng's eyes, and he uttered a low shout: "Freeze!"
The fiery red throwing knife that was heading straight for the Fire Sword froze in mid-air, unable to move an inch!
With no obstruction, the Blazing Sword surged forward, carrying billowing flames, heading straight for Han Tianya's face.
Han Tianya was shocked, completely unprepared for the strange method of immobilization. He hurriedly took out a small red shield and held it in front of him, while gathering spiritual power under his feet and desperately retreating backward.
"Clang!" A deafeningly sharp sound rang out as the Blazing Fire Sword slammed into the red shield. The shield's spiritual light dimmed by more than half in an instant, and the entire small shield trembled violently. Han Tianya was also shaken by the immense force, causing his blood to surge and his retreating steps to become somewhat disordered.
How could Mu Chunfeng let such a golden opportunity slip by? He immediately leaped forward, pulling out ten Fire Cloud Talismans and activating them all with a burst of spiritual power.
Ten raging flames, each the size of a washbasin, roared out and swept towards Han Tianya, engulfing everything in their path.
At that moment, another flying knife aimed at him was once again steadily blocked by the Xuanjin Shield, without even touching the hem of his clothes.
With the Blazing Sword closing in from the front and ten fiery clouds following closely behind, Han Tianya was instantly plunged into a desperate situation. His eyes were bloodshot with anxiety, and he gritted his teeth as he pulled out a high-level golden shield talisman and slammed it onto himself. A thick golden light shield instantly enveloped him, and at the same time, he frantically made hand seals, trying to recall another flying knife to defend himself.
Mu Chunfeng would never give him a chance to catch his breath and defend.
Then, the purple light in his eyes intensified again, and he shouted again: "Freeze!" This time, the power of freezing directly locked the spiritual power in Han Tianya's meridians. He froze on the spot, his fingers forming a hand seal stopped in mid-air, and he couldn't even blink!
Even with the double defense of the red shield and the high-level gold shield talisman, the Blazing Fire Sword still carried unparalleled flames. It pierced through the golden light shield with a single strike, then shattered the red shield in the process. It then intertwined with the ten swirling fire clouds, transforming into a raging fire dragon that crashed heavily into Han Tianya's chest.
A loud bang rang out, followed by an extremely shrill scream.
As the thick smoke slowly dissipated, Han Tianya's charred corpse lay stiffly on the ground, a gaping hole the size of a bowl blasted into his chest. He was already beyond dead.
Mu Chunfeng exhaled a breath of turbid air, thinking to himself: Fortunately, this combination of attacks just broke through his double defenses, otherwise I would have wasted several more high-level talismans.
He looked at the corpse on the ground, raised his hand and pulled Han Tianya's storage bag into his hand, also collecting the two fiery red throwing knives that had fallen to the side.
But when he probed the storage bag with his divine sense, he couldn't help but chuckle. He hadn't expected this person to be so arrogant. The storage bag was mostly filled with offensive magic weapons, and all of them were throwing knives. Unfortunately, the spiritual strength of a Qi Refining cultivator was limited, and he couldn't control so many magic weapons at once. It was a complete reversal of priorities.
But the next second, his gaze suddenly froze, and his eyes lit up instantly—in an inconspicuous wooden box inside the storage bag, there was a Foundation Establishment Pill lying peacefully!
Mu Chunfeng was overjoyed and couldn't help but chuckle: Sure enough, Han Tianya also had a Foundation Establishment Pill!
This is a huge windfall! Including the two from before, we now have three Foundation Establishment Pills. Next, we just need to get the Foundation Establishment Pill from either Duobao Nu or Feng Yue to make a total of four, and the Foundation Establishment will be a sure thing!
After checking and storing everything in the storage bag, Mu Chunfeng casually waved his hand, and a fireball was shot out, burning Han Tianya's corpse and all traces to ashes, leaving no trace whatsoever.
He then summoned the Azure Leaf artifact again and continued speeding northward.