When Han Li found a lush, large tree at the edge of the forest, leaped onto it, and began recovering his energy, the entire forbidden area was experiencing the first wave of slaughter in the Bloody Trial.
Various formidable characters bared their fangs and began purging the weaker individuals nearby. The closer to the center, the more frequent and brutal the killings became. Of course, when experts of similar strength occasionally crossed paths, they would tacitly ignore each other and pass by—now was not the time for them to clash.
Generally speaking, the disciples from various sects in the forbidden area could be divided into three categories!
The first category consisted of those with extremely weak strength, whose cultivation levels were only at the eleventh or even tenth layer.
Their reasons for entering the forbidden area varied. Some were forced to come due to unavoidable circumstances, while others harbored a sense of luck, hoping to take advantage of the chaos. Regardless of their motives, they were at the bottom of the Bloody Trial, merely playing the role of prey for others.
Often, just after the first day in the forbidden area, aside from the cleverest few with special self-preservation methods, these weaker individuals would be nearly wiped out by others.
Of course, someone like Han Li, who could rely on extraordinary treasures to directly confront other fierce opponents, was an exception!
The second category included people like the bearded man—those with decent magical power but who believed their overall strength fell far short of the true experts. Knowing they had no hope of obtaining spiritual items, they were unwilling to risk their lives against the top experts in the forbidden area for spiritual herbs. Instead, they turned their attention to the first category and others like themselves, intending to seize the opportunity to kill and plunder treasures, quietly amassing wealth.
These individuals were relatively active during the first two days of the Bloody Trial. However, from the third day onward, the survivors among them would automatically vanish from the forbidden area, never to show themselves again.
They were well aware that the latter three days were reserved for the fierce clashes among the “experts.” If they encountered any during this time, those of medium strength would undoubtedly meet their doom.
Of course, some among them, either overly arrogant or with a poor grasp of their own abilities, would plunge into the struggle for spiritual herbs, only to end up utterly annihilated.
Still, most of them recognized the danger early and withdrew quickly. Ironically, they often ended up being the group with the highest survival rate in the Bloody Trial, while many of the powerful experts met gruesome deaths earlier on.
The last category was the smallest.
They were the top of the pyramid, the most elite disciples sent by each sect into the forbidden area, truly the ones upon whom the higher-ups of their sects pinned their hopes. As for their fellow sect members, they were merely cannon fodder meant to divert the attention of other sects!
These elites possessed profound magical power and were equipped with astonishingly powerful top-grade magical instruments! Their sole purpose was to kill disciples from other sects and seize as many spiritual herbs as possible!
The inception of this first large-scale purge was a tacit, simultaneous move on their part, designed to eliminate those insignificant figures attempting to fish in troubled waters. This was to prevent such nuisances from obstructing their efforts and creating complications.
Moreover, they were neither anxious nor panicked about the fact that some had already entered the central area ahead of them. After all, getting in was easy, but coming out with spiritual herbs would be far more difficult!
The slaughter continued unabated, but because Han Li was still some distance from the central area, it had not yet reached him as he recovered his energy.
However, other weaker individuals were not as fortunate as Han Li. Many were forced into the killings, struggling desperately to break free and save their lives!
Xiao Er from the Hua Dao Wu was one of them.
At this moment, Xiao Er’s face was pale, filled with terror as he stared at the person opposite him—a barefooted burly man carrying a massive silver sword.
This man had already slain two other Hua Dao Wu disciples right before Xiao Er’s eyes. Under the burly man’s massive silver sword, no matter how powerful the top-grade magical artifacts or defensive barriers were, they all seemed utterly不堪一击, shattering like fragile paper one after another. In the end, even the people themselves were cleaved in half.
However, it was precisely because of his fellow disciples’ diversion that Xiao Er, seeing the situation turning dire, managed to slip away and flee in panic.
Unfortunately, the burly man seemed intent on not letting him go, pursuing him relentlessly for several hours until he finally cornered him here again. This left Xiao Er utterly desperate!
“If you commit suicide, I can leave your body intact!” the burly man said coldly, his expression devoid of emotion.
“You… go to hell!”
Knowing his life was nearing its end, Xiao Er, in his despair, erupted with a fierce determination to fight to the death. In one breath, he summoned the only two top-grade magical instruments he had and launched them at the man.
“Foolish!”
The burly man spoke sparingly. Then, the silver greatsword soared into the sky from his back, effortlessly shattering the two magical instruments into pieces, and顺势 cleaved Xiao Er into two halves.
After doing all this, the burly man didn’t even glance at Xiao Er’s corpse and immediately turned to leave, showing no interest in the opponent’s storage pouch. For him, possessing the silver greatsword alone was sufficient! Other magical instruments and treasures would only distract him and greatly hinder his cultivation!
…
Similarly, near a small stream close to the central area, a female disciple from the Masked Moon Sect, drenched in fragrant sweat, was desperately controlling a handkerchief-like magical instrument to fend off two gleaming red flying daggers. It was clear she was on the verge of being overwhelmed.
“Brother from Hua Dao Wu, can’t you let your little sister go? I’m willing to serve you for a night!”
At the brink of life and death, the woman finally cast aside her shame and used her greatest asset as a woman to seduce the opponent. But whether it would succeed? After witnessing the opponent’s methods, she had no confidence at all.
“Fine, put away your magical instrument, and I agree!” The speaker was a young man around eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in blue robes. He had clear eyebrows and bright eyes, red lips and white teeth—the picture of a handsome, elegant man.
After saying this, the man halted the two flying daggers in mid-air and looked at the woman with a smile.
Overjoyed, the Masked Moon Sect woman hurriedly flashed him a couple of seductive glances. After a moment’s hesitation, she slowly lowered the handkerchief, retrieving it into her hand. Then, puffing out her chest, she was about to say something.
Unfortunately, before her cherry lips could part, the handsome man’s face suddenly revealed a killing intent. His fingers pointed sharply, and the two red flying daggers instantly shot down like thunder, crossing paths and cutting through the air. The woman silently collapsed to the ground, blood flowing everywhere.
“Slut! How dare such a mediocre powder and paint like you try to bewitch me, Han Tianya!”
The handsome man’s face showed disgust, and his voice suddenly turned somewhat sharp. Then, he took out a fragrant handkerchief from his waist and delicately wiped the dust from his face, his movements exceedingly gentle and graceful, like a young lady from a wealthy family.
“I should hurry on my way. Perhaps I’ll run into a few more to relieve my boredom along the way!”
Muttering to himself, the man tossed the used handkerchief onto the woman’s face and swayed his hips as he departed.
…
In a mountain forest, the corpse of a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple lay sprawled on the ground. Nearby stood a middle-aged man in yellow robes, shaking his head and murmuring something to the sky. Behind him lay several extremely ferocious beasts, devoid of any breath!
…
On a desolate mountain, a grotesque figure clad in green robes was frantically driving a massive swarm of giant bees, besieging several individuals dressed as Taoists.
…
Thus, incidents of the strong slaughtering the weak were commonplace throughout the forbidden area at this time. Although Han Li did not witness any of this, he could faintly sense a hint of bloodshed lingering in the air.
But Han Li had no time to dwell on this. His only thought was to recover his energy as quickly as possible, fearing that a powerful enemy might discover him in his currently weakened state.
By now, the first night in the forbidden area had almost passed. To Han Li’s surprise, the night here was as bright as day, and the sky remained a perpetual gray, which felt somewhat uncomfortable to behold.
Just as Han Li was secretly pleased that his energy had nearly fully recovered, sudden hurried footsteps and heavy panting sounds approached from afar. It seemed someone was running toward the tree where Han Li was meditating.
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