Chapter 536: The Demon Clan Man

The black hall looked unremarkable from the outside, but inside it was quite spacious. Seven or eight giant arenas, each several hundred zhang in size, were covered by transparent restrictions. Crowds of people stood all around, their clamor shaking the heavens.

Han Li stood at the entrance, sweeping his gaze around. He saw that fierce battles were raging on every arena. Some pitted two ferocious beasts against each other, others had one against many, and still others involved beasts fighting cultivators.

Every battle on each arena was extremely intense. Whenever either side was wounded or blood splattered the arena, the surrounding circular stands erupted in thunderous cheers from the crowd.

Watching the arena battles and bloodshed, the crowd seemed stirred to the depths of their bloodthirsty madness, their faces showing extreme excitement as they burst into cheers.

In addition, in the center of the stands stood a large stone stele listing pairs of beast names, with odds beside them, apparently the order of upcoming matches.

Seeing this scene, Han Li frowned slightly.

He was no stranger to such arenas, having seen them elsewhere before, but he did not particularly like this kind of environment.

However, Han Li had no time to dwell on this. He immediately looked around and soon spotted a familiar petite figure among the crowd beside one arena.

Like the red-eyed crowd around her, Gold童 was shouting shrilly at the arena before her, waving her arms and stamping her feet, her small face flushed red.

Han Li frowned, then sighed deeply and walked over.

"Jump... lift your claws... hit it with your tail... ouch, so stupid!" Gold童 seemed unaware of Han Li's approach, shouting and jumping as if she wanted to join the fight herself.

Han Li followed Gold童's gaze to one arena, where two beasts were locked in fierce combat.

One beast, shaped like a lizard, over ten zhang long, was covered in purple-black scales. Its tail ended in several sharp barbs, and its mouth was lined with sword-like fangs, looking quite ferocious.

The other beast, about seven or eight zhang tall, resembled a lion-tiger, with a thick single horn on its forehead. Its body was extremely muscular, and its claws, like anchors, gleamed with a chilling light.

Han Li looked at these two beasts, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

From what he knew, the beasts on these arenas were all captured from the Wildlands, savage and brutal. Their demonic power was sealed, and they were thrown into the arenas to fight each other, without fear of causing trouble.

The two beasts were now locked in combat, blood splattering, scales and fur falling off continuously.

From Gold童's demeanor, she was clearly rooting for the lizard beast, but it was gradually losing ground, forced back by the horned beast.

Roar!

The lizard beast let out a low roar, stepped back like lightning, and swung its thick, spiked tail like a black war blade, slashing fiercely at the charging horned beast.

But the horned beast was incredibly agile. In midair, it lightly kicked its limbs, turning its massive body into a blur, dodging the lizard's tail strike.

The lizard beast missed its attack and was about to try another move when a figure flickered near its tail. The horned beast appeared, bit down on the middle of the lizard's tail like lightning, and flung it hard.

Bang!

The giant lizard beast was thrown away, crashing heavily into the restriction near the arena.

A thunderclap!

The horned beast pounced like a shadow, its thick horn stabbing deep into the lizard's belly, pinning it to the restriction barrier.

Blood gushed like a waterfall. The lizard beast let out a miserable scream, struggling desperately but unable to break free.

As blood flowed, the lizard beast's strength quickly drained, its limbs moving slower and slower until they stopped.

The horned beast stepped back, shook its head, and tossed the lizard beast aside.

With a thud, the lizard beast's huge body hit the ground, its limbs twitched twice, then lay still.

"Good!"

"Brilliant!"

"How thrilling, how satisfying!"

Thunderous cheers erupted around the arena. The horned beast stood proudly, chest puffed out, holding its bloodied horn straight up, as if basking in the crowd's adoration.

"Useless!" Gold童 stamped her foot hard at the sight.

"Haha, Miss Gold, I win this time." A purple-robed youth standing beside Gold童 laughed heartily.

"Just a small victory, what's there to be proud of!" Gold童 pouted.

Han Li felt a flicker of surprise at this.

He knew that Gold童, apart from himself, usually detested other cultivators. It was rare for her to get along with someone like this.

He discreetly sized up the purple-robed youth, then his pupils suddenly contracted.

The purple-robed youth exuded an aura at the True Immortal level, but Han Li's divine sense was powerful enough to see through the disguise.

His true cultivation was actually at the mid-Golden Immortal stage, not inferior to Han Li's own.

Moreover, the youth's aura was unusual, not like an ordinary cultivator but more like a demon clan member.

"Gold童." Han Li called out.

"Hey, Uncle, what a coincidence! How did you get here?" Gold童 ran over when she saw Han Li.

The purple-robed youth also turned, following Gold童's gaze to Han Li. Han Li sized him up in return.

The man appeared in his twenties, with slightly curly white hair and handsome features. His eyes were especially striking, with faint purple pupils, quite unique.

The purple-robed youth also looked Han Li up and down, a faint purple light flashing in his eyes.

"It's already dark. You've been out all day without coming back. Could I not come and check?" Han Li said with a hint of anger.

"It's already this late? But it's so fun here, Uncle, you should join too." Gold童 scratched her head, then grinned cheekily.

"Gold童, who is this fellow daoist?" Han Li ignored Gold童, his gaze still fixed on the purple-robed youth as he asked.

"Oh, him? He's a friend I just made, Shi Chuankong." Gold童 glanced back and said.

"I am Shi Chuankong, a wildland hunter. May I ask who you are?" The purple-robed youth walked over, smiling and cupping his hands to Han Li.

As he raised his hand, the skin on his arm was exposed, covered in dense purple scales.

"I am Li Feiyu." Han Li raised an eyebrow at the sight and returned the greeting.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Li. A pleasure. I hit it off with Miss Gold and have been betting on beasts here. I hope I haven't delayed your affairs." Shi Chuankong laughed heartily.

"Gold童 is always mischievous, and I often don't know how to discipline her. Today, with Fellow Daoist Shi looking after her, I am grateful." Han Li also smiled.

"That's good. By the way, Miss Gold and I were just chatting. It seems you two have just arrived in Yuanhuang City and plan to go to the Wildlands. I intend to take the ferry in half a month to the Wildlands as well. How about we team up and travel together?" Shi Chuankong, seemingly straightforward, warmly invited.

"Thank you for the offer, Fellow Daoist Shi, but we have other arrangements." Han Li shook his head and politely declined.

"Is that so? What a pity." Shi Chuankong looked regretful.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, we have some matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave." Han Li said his goodbyes.

"Since Fellow Daoist Li is here, why rush off? Why not place a bet or two?" Shi Chuankong said with sparkling eyes.

The arena where he and Gold童 had been watching erupted in another round of rumbling, as the next match began.

Gold童's small ears perked up, and she looked eager to join.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Shi, but I have no interest in such gambling. I won't disturb your enjoyment." Han Li shook his head with a smile, took Gold童, who was still reluctant, by the hand, and headed for the entrance.

Shi Chuankong watched them go, shook his head regretfully, and soon turned his attention back to the arena.

...

"Gold童, how did you end up with that man?" After leaving the black hall of the arena, Han Li asked.

"Ah, don't get me started! That guy kept going against me, and I, this fairy, refused to give in!" Gold童 said, hands on her hips.

"What do you think of him?" Han Li pondered for a moment, then asked.

"His smell is a bit like yours, not as annoying as other cultivators." Gold童 produced a candied hawthorn stick from somewhere and munched on it as she spoke.

"That's rare." Han Li rubbed his nose, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Uncle, is there something wrong with that guy?" Gold童 blinked.

"He's not simple. If you run into him again, be careful." Han Li said noncommittally.

"Mm! Next time I meet him, I'll be more careful. I won't lose to him again!" Gold童 nodded emphatically.

Han Li was speechless. He turned to glance at the arena, then led Gold童 away, returning to Yanmiao Garden.

The next day, he went to Tongtian Street again to purchase some other items he might need in the Wildlands, such as pills. After that, he stayed in Yanmiao Garden, only occasionally going out to gather information.

To be safe, he didn't let Gold童 go out to play in the city.

During this time, although he didn't learn much about the Wildlands, he did hear some news about the sand sea outside the city.

That sand sea was not a barren wasteland; it produced some earth-attributed spiritual materials and was home to a special kind of sand beast, whose bodies contained sand crystals similar to demon cores, quite valuable.

Many cultivators in Yuanhuang City ventured into the edges of the sand sea to hunt small sand beasts for their sand crystals.

However, recently the sand sea had become unsettled, as quite a few cultivators who entered seemed to have gone missing, causing some unease in the city.