After half a day's travel, Han Li finally reached the outskirts of the central area.
What greatly surprised Han Li was that the entire journey had been completely uneventful — he hadn't been ambushed by anyone else!
He naturally had no idea that in this direction, those who had arrived before him had already been slaughtered clean by those so-called "elites," while those behind him had been mopped up by Feng Yue and the Treasure Lady when they overtook him.
As a result, even a few stragglers who had slipped through the net realized they had no hope of seizing treasure, and each found a hidden spot to lie low and play the part of a turtle retreating into its shell. This was, after all, the one true secret to survival for the weak during the Blood Trial!
Han Li needed to obtain three key medicinal herbs to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, so he naturally couldn't follow their example. At this moment, he stood before a stone wall several zhang high, studying the surface before him with an odd expression.
A short distance to one side of the wall was an ancient bronze gate, its surface carved with many archaic inscriptions that looked like strange patterns — characters Han Li couldn't read at all.
The gate stood wide open, indicating that someone had already entered.
According to the information in Han Li's mind, there should be four such bronze gates, each corresponding to one of the four directions, and they were the only entrances into the central area. Everywhere else was enclosed by stone walls that, while not especially tall, served as a barrier.
If anyone tried to bypass the gate and leap over the wall into the central area instead, that person would suffer terribly — wind-attribute restrictions attached to the wall would slice them to pieces.
Han Li was well aware of this and naturally had no intention of attempting such a foolish feat. The reason he was staring so intently at the wall was because it was indeed rather unusual — it had something on it that ordinary walls did not.
Three people in different attire were pinned to the wall, impaled through their limbs by massive ice spikes, crucified side by side in spread-eagle positions. From the looks of it, all signs of life had long since departed — they had been dead for quite some time.
The blood flowing from the wounds in their limbs had congealed into dark purple-black clots, scattered everywhere from the wall down to the nearby ground. In Han Li's estimation, these people had likely still been alive when they were first nailed to the wall, only to bleed out and perish in agony.
Near the three corpses, no clues or markings had been left behind. But a moment's thought was enough for anyone to understand: someone was killing the chicken to scare the monkey — making an example of these people to intimidate newcomers and warn them not to enter through this gate!
Han Li studied the pained expressions frozen on the faces of the three dead for quite a while, then licked his somewhat dry lips and walked toward the bronze gate without any change in expression, as if the wretched fate of these three had no effect on him whatsoever.
The truth was, Han Li knew his own mind all too well. Having witnessed that scene just now, he was genuinely spooked! The manner of their deaths made it clear that whoever had left them there was, nine times out of ten, a person with a twisted psyche. If he ever fell into such a person's hands, it would probably be more merciful to just kill himself right away.
However, having already made it this far, Han Li couldn't very well turn tail and flee over something as simple as a threat. Even if a mountain of blades and a sea of fire lay ahead, he would grit his teeth and charge through!
With his stomach churning with unease, Han Li stepped through the gate. On the surface, though, he appeared even more composed than before — as leisurely as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.
The moment he entered, a paradise of birdsong and fragrant breezes unfolded before his eyes. All manner of exotic grasses and bizarre trees with strange, unnameable shapes were everywhere he looked — silver flowers the size of bowls, crimson trees that looked as though they were dipped in blood, purple herbs radiating an extraordinary fragrance, yellow bamboo as thick as a man's waist, and more. These were all rare treasures virtually impossible to find in the outside world. And winding among this precious vegetation was a narrow gravel path that stretched from where Han Li stood all the way into the distance, disappearing behind branches and leaves, seemingly without end.
Seeing this, Han Li was momentarily dazed, but he instinctively took a deep breath. Such dense spiritual energy! The qi, mingled with a rich scent of grass and trees, seeped into his very lungs and invigorated him.
No wonder a blessed land like this could produce heaven and earth spirit medicines! Han Li marveled inwardly.
"Kid, done looking yet?"
"Who's there?"
A voice like a cracked gong rang out abruptly, sending a chill through Han Li's heart. He couldn't help but bark the question.
"Heh heh! Since you've had your look, now go ahead and die peacefully!" The person ignored Han Li's question entirely and muttered to himself in that eerie tone instead.