Chapter 179: Colorful Butterfly and Deadly Battle

“Hmph! Dream on!”

“Don't be so foolish! It's sheer luck that the two of us, fellow disciples, were transported to the same location this time. At the very least, our chances of survival are far greater than anyone else's. Killing this person was just a fluke. Do you really think you're so powerful that you want to play such a foolish game of 'waiting for rabbits by the stump'? Aren't you afraid of encountering a strong opponent who could shatter our teeth and cost us our lives? Moreover, who would possibly come to a godforsaken place like this? The best strategy is to head to the central area as soon as possible and fish in troubled waters!”

The elder Spirit Beast Mountain disciple was clearly more dominant and cunning than the younger one. While lecturing his companion, he frequently scanned the surrounding dense forest with vigilance.

Seeing this, Han Li became even more cautious. He raised his Qi Concealment Technique to its limit, completely retracting his aura, not daring to reveal the slightest trace. As for the foolish idea of "one against two," Han Li had never considered it, nor would he be so foolish as to attempt it.

One of them was at the initial stage of the twelfth layer of cultivation, and the other was at the advanced stage. If they joined forces, Han Li knew he would have little chance of victory. He did not possess any great divine abilities that would allow him to single-handedly take on a hundred opponents.

Therefore, Han Li could only watch as they completely pulled out the last few stalks of Frost Smoke Grass by the pond and then burned the Heavenly Citadel disciple's body to ashes. Finally, the two men stored the Ice Toad in a red leather pouch and disappeared into the dense forest on the opposite side.

As soon as the two left, Han Li did not get up immediately. Instead, after some time passed, he shook off the fallen leaves from his body, straightened up, and thoughtfully gazed in the direction they had disappeared.

It seemed many people had similar ideas to his own.

This was hardly surprising. Since people dared to risk participating in the Blood Trial, how many of them wouldn't covet the spiritual treasures in the central area? A fierce battle was inevitable! After all, the heavenly spiritual herbs that materialized and matured each time were extremely limited, nowhere near enough to be distributed among all the sects.

Han Li stood in place for a while, his face grim, and thought bitterly.

Han Li had personally witnessed how the blue-robed man, a person no less cautious than himself, had simply vanished silently from the world. Similar events had undoubtedly played out countless times in the corners of this forbidden area, significantly shaking Han Li's confidence in achieving his goal.

He truly wondered if this journey into the forbidden area was the right decision or a mistake. Perhaps he could have successfully established his foundation by simply taking those two Foundation Establishment Pills, making this extraordinary risk unnecessary.

Han Li thought dejectedly, a faint urge to retreat stirring within him. After all, it was easy to talk about, but when the shadow of death truly loomed over his heart, it was still somewhat unsettling.

Several hours later, Han Li departed from the area. Judging by his direction of travel, he was still heading towards the center of the forbidden area.

After some deliberation, Han Li's rationality prevailed. He knew that his previous timid thoughts were merely excuses for his cowardice. Therefore, he steeled his resolve and set off again.

Han Li did not follow the duo. Instead, he took a slight detour and advanced indirectly, even though the Spirit Beast Mountain disciples' path was the shortest and fastest.

Han Li wasn't worried that they could discover him through their own abilities. Rather, he was greatly wary of the Spirit Beast Mountain's strange beast-controlling techniques. He didn't know if they had special methods to detect someone tailing them through other means, so it was better to keep his distance.

He knew that he himself, with just a small Cloud-Winged Bird that had barely developed intelligence, could track and monitor specific individuals from a distance. He reasoned that the Spirit Beast Mountain's similar beast-controlling methods would undoubtedly be even more covert and bizarre. After all, they were cultivators; how could their techniques be comparable to those of ordinary martial artists?

Speaking of the Cloud-Winged Bird, Han Li felt some annoyance. When he first entered Huangfeng Valley, he had released the Cloud-Winged Bird into the Taiyue Mountain Range to allow it to roam freely, so as not to attract attention.

Initially, the bird would frequently return to Han Li, its master, to beg for its favorite "Yellow Chestnut Pills."

However, as time passed, its visits gradually became less frequent. By the time Han Li realized his mistake, the bird had completely wilded itself. After one particular flight, it never returned, causing Han Li great distress. Otherwise, it could have been quite useful on this trip to the forbidden area.

Han Li was unaware that this decision to take a detour had truly saved him from disaster.

After the two Spirit Beast Mountain disciples left Black Dragon Pond together, they each released a large swarm of multi-colored moths from a pouch.

As soon as these vibrant insects flew out, they immediately dispersed, densely covering an area of over a hundred zhang. Their colors gradually changed, slowly blending with the surrounding scenery to match its hues, making them almost impossible to detect without close inspection.

Moreover, even if someone observant discovered the moths, they would most likely assume them to be natural creatures of the forbidden area and wouldn't become suspicious.

In this way, these colorful moths became the duo's natural sentinels. As soon as anyone approached their alert range, the two would immediately be informed and could prepare countermeasures in advance.

This living alert network, composed of numerous insects, was truly impeccable for warning purposes and a specialty of Spirit Beast Mountain disciples. Even if disciples from other sects were aware of this beforehand, they still had no way to deal with these insects, making silent sneak attacks impossible.

In fact, Han Li had been extremely lucky at Black Dragon Pond. The two Spirit Beast Mountain disciples had not released the colorful moths near the pond but only after they had left. Otherwise, Han Li would never have escaped their detection.

This wasn't due to any oversight or forgetfulness on the duo's part. Rather, these moths were naturally afraid of cold; even a slight drop in temperature would cause them to freeze to death, which was quite unfortunate.

Furthermore, the water in Black Dragon Pond possessed an unusual, extremely cold quality, making a large area around the pond feel like winter. In such conditions, how could they dare release the colorful moths to their demise?

Han Li, completely unaware of having narrowly escaped danger, stood silently beneath a peculiar cliff, looking at the two tragically deceased bodies at his feet.

One corpse wore tight black clothing. It had a robust build and large hands. A thin, dark red bloodline marked its neck, and its eyes were wide open, its face filled with unwillingness, as if it had died with a great grievance. It appeared to be a disciple of the Giant Sword Sect.

The other corpse was of average build, its body a bloody mess. Most notably, its face was devoid of features, as a giant sword had been driven straight through it from front to back, pinning the entire body to the ground, with brain matter and blood spilled all around. However, wrapped around the ring finger of its curled right hand were strange, transparent silk threads, faintly shimmering in the sunlight.

Han Li examined the Giant Sword Sect disciple's corpse carefully for a long time. Suddenly, he raised his toe and gently kicked the head with the red line on its neck. The large head immediately rolled to the side with no effort at all.

The person had long been decapitated.

Han Li sighed and then looked at the other corpse, whose identity was obvious even without a face. Its facial features were gone, but the yellow robes identical to Han Li's own were undeniable proof. He wondered which Huangfeng Valley fellow disciple had died here.

It was clear that both had perished in a mutual kill!

Han Li looked up at the cliff top, motionless, but he had already formed a conclusion in his mind. He largely reconstructed the scene where the two had met and immediately engaged in a fierce battle.

Judging from all the signs, the Giant Sword Sect individual should have been stronger than Han Li's fellow disciple.

The mangled and scarred body of the yellow-robed corpse, and the unwilling expression on the black-robed man's severed head, all indicated this.

Although this unknown fellow disciple was at a disadvantage, he was clearly a cunning individual. His magical artifact was revealed to be those transparent silk threads. He must have exploited the opponent's overconfidence in their impending victory, launching a sneak attack with the threads at the last moment, severing the Giant Sword Sect individual's head and causing his death.

However, he clearly didn't anticipate that, for some unknown reason, the black-robed man, before his death, still had the strength to unleash his giant sword. With a single strike, he impaled the yellow-robed fellow disciple to the ground. It was unclear whether the yellow-robed disciple was too gravely injured to dodge, or if he made the same mistake of becoming overconfident due to his perceived victory. This resulted in a brutal battle with no ultimate victor.