Published: August 16, 2025
Chapter 196: Han Li's Plan
Before long, a cold-faced blue-clothed youth, a white-bearded Taoist elder, and a beautiful young married woman dressed in green emerged one after another. They all showed great tacit understanding by choosing different locations and quietly entering the forest ahead.
Han Li waited for nearly a quarter of an hour more. Seeing no one else appear, he finally tidied up his belongings and, imitating the others, chose a direction no one had entered before and stealthily slipped inside.
What Han Li didn’t know was that shortly after he entered, the ugly man Zhong Wu, whom he had met just yesterday, appeared at the entrance to the path. Staring at the dark mountain trail, he chuckled coldly a few times, then released a dozen or so yellow dots from his body into the forest. After that, he calmly followed them inside.
Outside the Forbidden Zone, at the broken barrier entrance, the guards from the seven great sects anxiously watched in the direction of the Forbidden Zone. Grandmaster Li, Han Li’s master, was among them.
But it was unclear whether he was more worried about his own disciple’s mission or more concerned about the stakes he had placed!
Meanwhile, another core formation stage Taoist from Qingxu Valley wasn’t in a much better state! Ever since Old Qiong from the Moon Veil Sect forcibly inserted himself into the wager, this Taoist had lost the confidence he once had when the bet was first placed and now appeared quite anxious and unsettled.
It was no wonder—acquiring that Bloodline Flood Dragon Core Soul was extremely difficult. He had spent nearly all his wealth to obtain it. If he lost it so easily to others, no matter how refined his mindset was, he would probably suffer sleepless nights for years!
The Taoist furtively cast a glance toward the only person in the crowd who appeared calm: the team-leading beautiful young married woman, Fairy Ni Chang, from the Moon Veil Sect.
She was the only female among the seven core formation stage experts. Ever since the seven sect disciples entered the Forbidden Zone, she hadn’t shown any hint of worry. Instead, she chatted and laughed with others, clearly confident in the disciples sent by the Moon Veil Sect, as if she didn’t need to trouble herself at all.
The more the Taoist looked at her smiling face, the more worried he became. Thinking of Old Qiong’s confident expression when placing the bet, he felt as if his Bloodline Flood Dragon Core Soul had already slipped from his pocket and become someone else’s prize!
The more he thought about it, the deeper the worry became etched on his face! An ignorant onlooker might even think he was anxiously concerned about his sect’s disciples inside the Forbidden Zone!
After a while, the Taoist could no longer contain himself. Taking advantage of others not paying attention, he quietly approached Grandmaster Li standing elsewhere and asked with a worried expression:
“Disciple Li, the disciples Huang Feng Valley sent this time should be quite skilled, right? If we from the two sects really lose to Old Qiong, I still have some confidence in Qingxu Sect’s disciples entering the Forbidden Zone!”
“What do you mean? Do you look down on our Huang Feng Valley?” Grandmaster Li frowned at once.
“Ha ha! Of course not! I’m just a bit uneasy about the disciples the Moon Veil Sect sent this time. It’s hard to put my mind at rest!” The Taoist laughed nervously and forced a smile as he explained.
“That’s true! I’ve already sensed something amiss. In past times, the Moon Veil Sect never sent such young disciples, and they always came in male-female pairs! Do they think the journey into the Forbidden Zone is child’s play?” Grandmaster Li said with a solemn face, showing he too had been worried about this bet.
The Taoist nodded repeatedly, clearly agreeing with Grandmaster Li’s words.
“But don’t worry, Dao brother. Since I dared to place this bet, I must have some confidence in my sect’s disciples. Their strength will not be inferior to yours,” Grandmaster Li said significantly, then looked at the Taoist slowly with a voice full of pride.