Chapter 744: Breaking into the Forbidden Area

"Not good, the Yin Ruins are catching up again... no, the Ghostwood has come along too!" Han Li suddenly raised an eyebrow and said urgently.

"Are they dogs? How can they be so relentless! If we keep fleeing like this, it's no solution. We might as well fight to the death." Bai Liyan spat and said.

"We've expended too much earlier. I can use my spatial divine ability one more time to teleport everyone and put some distance between us, but at this speed, it won't buy us much time." Shi Chuankong sighed and said.

"It seems we have no choice but to fight to the death here... However, the disparity in strength between us and them is too great; our chances of victory are slim." Hu San also sighed.

"Don't be so quick to burn the boats. Since Yin Chengquan strictly forbids fierce battles near this palace, it must be an important place of the Nine Nether Tribe that cannot be easily destroyed. If they are truly hesitant to act rashly, we might as well take shelter inside this palace." Han Li's eyes flickered as he spoke.

"That's feasible. As expected of Master, you think things through thoroughly." Ti Hun's eyes lit up with admiration.

The others had no objections, so Han Li and his group quickly walked to the front of the palace.

Through the layer of light curtain restriction, they could see the two large doors of the palace tightly shut, carved with two huge, bizarre reliefs.

On the left door, the relief was carved with piles of white bones—skulls of various sizes and shapes stacked layer upon layer from the bottom to the middle and upper parts. At the top was carved a ferocious throne pieced together from various bones, on which sat a man of the Nine Nether Tribe holding a huge scythe, his arms spread wide, his face full of intoxicated expression.

On the right door, there were nothing but terrifying, grotesque beasts, slaughtering and devouring each other, with rivers of blood flowing. The sight made one feel a thick, bloody aura rushing toward the face.

The corpses of various terrifying beasts were also piled up to the top of the door, where a strange giant beast in an odd crawling posture was carved. Its body was wreathed in thick smoke, with a huge horn on its head and a bloody mouth wide open, as if about to devour all the beasts, making one tremble with fear just by looking.

"This restriction doesn't look simple. Breaking it will likely take a lot of time." Shi Chuankong paced back and forth along the light curtain outside the palace, examining the runes engraved on the ground, frowning deeply.

"There's no time. They've already arrived." Han Li's gaze sharpened as he said.

As he spoke, a dark red light flashed in his hand, and a black light flickered in his palm, revealing a black long blade.

Hu San's gaze swept over and landed on the ferocious two-headed fox relief coiled on the blade's guard. The corner of his eye twitched slightly, and a complex expression flickered in his eyes as he looked at Han Li.

At this moment, Han Li had no time to notice his peculiarity. Instead, he used his mind to contact Shi Qinghou in the blood blade and transmitted a message.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, the situation is urgent. I must rely on your power to break through the restrictive array before us. Please lend me your strength."

"Lad Li, I have a feeling that whatever is sealed here is no easy opponent. Have you truly thought this through? Do you really want to break the restrictions here?" Shi Qinghou's voice resounded in Han Li's sea of consciousness.

"The two pursuing us are not easy to deal with either. Time is pressing, so I ask Fellow Daoist Shi for your help." Han Li replied without hesitation.

"Very well, since you have decided, I will say no more. You only need to channel all your power into hacking at the restriction with the blood blade; leave the rest to me." Shi Qinghou said after a long silence.

"Many thanks."

After expressing his thanks, Han Li gripped the hilt of the blade with both hands, lifted the blade, and traced an arc in front of him, holding the blade vertically before him with the edge close to his ear.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at the light barrier before him. His aura began to contract sharply, and his entire demeanor suddenly changed.

Shi Chuankong and the others, seeing this, raised their brows slightly and stepped back several paces, distancing themselves from Han Li.

Hu San's eyes grew increasingly filled with doubt and astonishment.

On the black long blade, the double-headed fox relief's eyes suddenly glowed with a blood-red light. In a trance, its visage seemed even more ferocious, and wisps of dark red light emerged from the blade, appearing exceptionally eerie.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

After the sharp contraction, waves of increasingly powerful aura began to erupt from Han Li's body, surging outward as visible rings of air, shaking the entire underground space with continuous echoes.

Inside the outer passage, a mass of black mist carried the figures of Yin Xu and Gui Mu as they surged forward rapidly.

"Not good, they've gone to the forbidden area and seem to be attempting to break the restriction!" Yin Xu exclaimed in alarm and anger.

"Given their combat strength, even if they join forces, they won't be able to break the Profound Nether Crimson Bright Array anytime soon..." Gui Mu had barely finished speaking when a series of intense tremors came from ahead in the passage.

"Damn it..." Yin Xu cried out in shock, and a bright light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

The speed of the black mist mass instantly doubled, and it flashed to the entrance of the underground space where the palace was located, just in time to see Han Li take a step forward, swing his arms down, and slash the long-prepared strike at the restrictive light barrier.

"Rumble..."

A violent roar erupted as the dark red light on the black long blade suddenly blazed, blood light surged from the blade, condensing into a colossal blood-colored blade shadow over a hundred zhang long, which fell upon the layer of light curtain.

On the blade shadow seemed to lie a snow-white two-headed white fox, which turned its head and flashed a ghostly smile at the two from Yinxu.

The next instant, a violent thunderclap sounded.

Countless dark red electric sparks burst forth from the intersection of the blade shadow and the light curtain, forming an extremely irregular lightning screen that directly blasted open a huge dome above the palace, revealing a dim ray of sky light.

The dark red electric sparks, bouncing in all directions like the whips of the thunder god, flailed chaotically, but under the impact of the airwaves, they spread out like an umbrella, forming another lightning screen tens of zhang in radius over the square, which happened to separate Han Li and the others.

"It's open," Shi Chuankong exclaimed in surprise, his eyes fixed on where the blade shadow had fallen.

On the light curtain, runes flickered and faint light rippled, revealing a narrow opening over ten zhang long.

"Go, hurry in..." Hu San urged.

Han Li's earlier slash had nearly exhausted the immortal spiritual power in his body. After putting away the long blade, he felt a sudden emptiness within.

Baili Yan and Ti Hun stepped forward, supporting him on either side, and with a flicker, they flew into the light curtain.

Seeing that Han Li and his group had truly broken the restriction, the faces of Yinxu and Guimu turned extremely ugly.

Both of them simultaneously charged toward the gap in the restriction, but were blocked by the layer of lightning screen, forced to watch helplessly as they pushed open the palace doors and entered.

By the time the power of the lightning screen gradually weakened, the opening on the light curtain had already closed again.

The next moment, two beams of light shot over from afar, revealing the figures of Guimu and Yinxu.

"How is this possible? They actually broke the restriction. What kind of immortal artifact is that long blade?" Guimu said, somewhat incredulous at the sight.

"This is not the time to discuss that. Damn it, these people have fled into the forbidden area. Chase them quickly!" Yinxu's face was ashen, and he immediately flipped his hand and waved.

A black light flew out from his sleeve—it was a black token engraved with a ferocious ghost head, emitting faint black light all over.

Yin Xu's hands swiftly formed hand seals, and the black token immediately blazed with light. The black ghost beast relief on its surface twisted its features, as if coming to life.

Hearing this, Gui Mu quickly composed himself and helped form hand seals to activate the black token.

The light radiating from the black token grew brighter and brighter. The ghost face relief on its surface writhed rapidly, expanding by about half, while two dazzling white lights lit up in its eyes, making it look somewhat ferocious and terrifying.

Two grayish-white beams suddenly shot out from the eyes of the ghost face relief, plunging into the black light barrier.

A crack about ten feet long instantly split open on the black light barrier, then slowly parted to both sides.

Although Yin Xu and his companion activated it with all their might, the change in the black light barrier was still not very fast. It took a full dozen breaths before they barely formed an opening large enough for a person to pass through.

Yin Xu flipped his hand and put away the ghost face token. With a flicker of his form, he shot through the gap in the restriction, and Gui Mu immediately followed him in.

But as soon as they entered the hall, they found it dim and quiet as before, with no trace of Han Li and the others—they had clearly fled deep into the hall.

The two exchanged a glance, then immediately turned into two streaks of light and gave chase, though they both tried their best to suppress their aura fluctuations, as if afraid of disturbing something.

"Yin Xu, this is no small matter. Should we inform the Domain Lord?" Gui Mu asked with a hesitant expression while flying.

"Absolutely not. Don't you know his temper? If he finds out we let a few outsiders into the forbidden area, we won't survive. Have you forgotten what happened to Elder Yin Hou back then?" Yin Xu's expression changed, and he immediately lowered his voice.

"But if we don't report it and those people cause trouble inside, the punishment will surely be worse. Then even death might be a mercy." Gui Mu shuddered, as if recalling something terrifying, but spoke with concern.

"No. The restrictions in the forbidden area are extremely formidable—even you and I cannot break through. Those people fled in here, seemingly clever, but they've actually walked into a trap. Let's catch them first and handle it cleanly." Yin Xu let out a contemptuous sneer and said.

"Alright." Gui Mu hesitated briefly, then nodded in agreement.

As they spoke, the two had already passed through the palace gate and a square inside.

Behind the square were seven or eight smaller palaces, with a dozen or so paths winding deep into the complex.

The light inside the palace was very dim, making it difficult to see clearly beyond a hundred zhang. Moreover, an invisible restrictive force permeated the air, preventing the use of spiritual sense to probe.

There was still no trace of Han Li and the others, not even the slightest unusual fluctuation. It was unclear where they had fled.