Chapter 180: Black Dragon Pool

Gray-black rotting ground, turbid water pits constantly bubbling, twisted trees of strange shapes, blood-red grass underfoot, and the pungent strange smell permeating the air—this was the scene Han Li felt when he first regained consciousness.

Unable to care about questioning this strange environment, Han Li first scanned his surroundings vigilantly to see if there were others here. After all, the greatest danger came from the disciples of other sects who entered the Forbidden Area together.

It seemed he was relatively lucky; there was no one else within dozens of feet of Han Li. He let out a light breath.

However, he did not relax his guard because of this, but instead hooked a talisman with one hand and took out the "Golden Cicada Mother-Child Blades" with the other as a foolproof measure.

Only then could Han Li calm down and carefully observe the strangeness of the place he was in.

Han Li was not surprised by his sudden arrival in a strange place. Long before the Forbidden Area trip, those managers had issued a detailed document about the Forbidden Area to these disciples.

In the document, it was mentioned that anyone who stepped into the Forbidden Area would be instantly teleported to various corners of the Forbidden Area by some kind of teleportation array that was still functioning inside. As for where exactly, it depended on everyone's luck.

It was possible to be teleported to the core area, where, as soon as one appeared, there would be a lot of spiritual herbs to collect; this was a guy who had great luck. It was also possible that as soon as one was teleported, several beasts would be staring at them, and one couldn't escape safely without a bloody battle. As for the unluckier guys, they were sent directly to some desperate place, and of course, they died immediately. Of course, this situation appeared the least.

The most common situation was like Han Li, teleported to a corner of the Forbidden Area, and could only explore forward on his own.

The reason why the above situations appeared, according to those senior experts, was because their way of breaking the restriction to enter was not the correct way to enter, so naturally, they would trigger some small restrictions and some accidents would occur.

Han Li cautiously wandered around the vicinity, while comparing the information he remembered with the scenery nearby, and finally found some very useful information. These were all accumulated by disciples who had walked out of the Forbidden Area before, and now they were of great use to newcomers.

"Black Dragon Pool is located in the northeast corner of the Forbidden Area, centered on a deep pool with an area of dozens of feet, with a radius of more than ten miles, with many rotting bone flowers, snake-winding trees, and other plants, which can be used to make poison, but the value is not great."

"In the center of Black Dragon Pool, by the pool, some 'Cold Smoke Grass' will randomly appear every ten years or so. This is a strange grass with extremely wide uses. If possible, try to collect it and hand it over to the sect in exchange for a certain reward. But what needs to be noted is that in the depths of the water pool, a group of Level 1 low-tier beasts, Cold Ice Toads, are lurking. However, they have a gentle temperament, and as long as you don't provoke them actively, there will be no danger."

Han Li recalled this information several times, and then he had a count in his heart.

According to common sense, the closer to the center of the Forbidden Area, the more likely rare spiritual objects and powerful guardian beasts would appear. The location of Black Dragon Pool was slightly leaning toward the outer circle, but it was not in the outermost layer. If he hurried, he could reach the central area within a day.

Thinking of this, Han Li did not dare to fly with his magic treasure, but jumped onto a big tree with lush branches and leaves, looked around, recognized the direction, and then jumped down.

The water pool was to the south of Han Li, just on the way to the center of the Forbidden Area, so it seemed he could take a look on the way.

Han Li cast an invisibility technique on himself, then walked lightly on the road, moving forward cautiously all the way. I don't know if Han Li was too nervous, but after walking several miles, no accidents happened, and it seemed that he was the only one in the entire Black Dragon Pool area.

When he heard the sound of water, Han Li finally relaxed his tense nerves a little.

He parted a few twisted branches blocking the front, and a deep green water pool appeared. Before he even got close, a chilling coldness had already made Han Li shiver.

This is Black Dragon Pool? Han Li looked at it curiously.

The water pool was not large, surrounded by a large area of snake-winding trees, but there were strands of visible cold air rising from the water surface, and even by the pool, a layer of crystal-clear frost had formed, showing the icy coldness of the pool water.

Han Li didn't care about these. What he cared about was that in a low-lying place by the pool, more than a dozen small white fluffy grasses were growing. This grass had one stem and five leaves, was pure white all over, and emitted faint white air, seemingly shrouded in mist, truly having a bit of the appearance of a spiritual root.

"That's right, this is indeed Cold Smoke Grass, exactly as described in the information!" Han Li muttered softly, with a bit of secret joy in his heart.

Although this grass had nothing to do with his Foundation Establishment Pill, being able to get it so easily at the beginning was truly a good omen.

Han Li habitually looked left and right, and was about to lift his leg to walk over, but suddenly his face changed slightly. He bowed his body, retreated a few steps gently, hid behind the branches and leaves again, and then looked at the dense forest on the left with an expressionless face.

Not long after, a figure flashed, and a person in blue clothes poked his head out, looking around. Judging by this attire, this person should be from Heaven's Gate. This person was extremely careful, looking back every step of the way, and kept looking around. Judging by the tightly clenched fists, he should have been prepared to deal with an attack. The direction of his movement was exactly toward those few "Cold Smoke Grasses."

Han Li sighed. It seemed he was going to return empty-handed.

The other party was so cautious that it was impossible to sneak attack successfully, and he didn't intend to have a head-on battle with this person. To take such a risk for a few dispensable things was too uneconomical!

"Come out! I saw you, don't hide anymore!" Just ten steps away from the Cold Smoke Grass, the blue-clothed person suddenly stopped and turned around, shouting.

Han Li was startled, thinking he had accidentally revealed his tracks. But immediately, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, because although the blue-clothed person shouted loudly, his two eyes were spinning around, not looking at Han Li's hiding place at all, but using a bluff.

Han Li felt both annoyed and amused, watching the blue-clothed person shout for a good while before truly feeling at ease to pick the "Cold Smoke Grass." The blue-clothed person's self-clever approach made Han Li hesitate, considering whether to take advantage of the other party's carelessness and give him a hit from behind.

Before he could make up his mind, the blue-clothed person acted extremely quickly, picking three or four white grasses in a row. It seemed this person also knew the truth that long delays lead to trouble, and in the blink of an eye, he was about to sweep the grass clean.

Han Li shook his head secretly, still deciding to retreat. His main goal was still the three main herbs for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Before that, trying his best to maintain his strength was the best approach!

Thinking of this, Han Li quietly withdrew. When he retreated more than ten feet away, he felt relieved and intended to run fast, so as not to let that person follow him after picking the herbs.

But before he could unfold his figure, a scream came from the water pool, and the sound was exactly the dying scream of the blue-clothed person.

Han Li shivered, hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and quietly circled back. He had to figure out what was going on, so as not to end up in the same situation himself.

When Han Li sneaked back to the vicinity of the water pool, two fierce-looking men had already appeared by the pool. Judging by their colorful clothes, they should be from the Spirit Beast Mountain.

At this time, they were happily rummaging through the Heaven's Gate disciple's storage bag, with more than a dozen large blue toads lying beside them. And the blue-clothed person, with more than a dozen large holes all over his body, was already dead.

"Senior Brother Yu, this idea is too wonderful. Once we discovered this fool, we didn't attack from the front, but rushed to Black Dragon Pool to hide, and then sprinkled some beast-repelling powder in the water. This nest of Cold Ice Toads temporarily listened to us obediently. Hehe! I didn't expect that just by making a little noise, his attention was drawn away, and the beasts gave this kid a surprise attack from behind, spraying a bunch of ice cone techniques, and this idiot immediately hung up. This person probably didn't think until he died that he would die in the hands of a group of low-level beasts. However, this guy's net worth is really not small! Senior Brother, why don't we follow the prescription, keep lurking here, and wait for others to take the bait? These Cold Smoke Grasses will be the bait!" After dividing the things, the younger man kicked the Heaven's Gate disciple's corpse and said greedily.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 181 =====