Chapter 847: In but Not Out

"Elder Xu need not be so courteous," Shi Chuankong said upon seeing this.

"Thirteenth Prince, what brings you here today?" Xu Fu straightened up, glanced at Han Li, and asked with some confusion.

"We have come today on important business," Shi Chuankong said with a light cough.

"In that case, please enter the hall to speak," Xu Fu said, gesturing for them to enter.

"Very well," Shi Chuankong nodded, exchanged a glance with Han Li, and the two walked into the hall.

Inside the hall, upon learning that Han Li and Shi Chuankong intended to enter the Scale-Scale Void, Xu Fu was first startled, then immediately began to dissuade them.

Shi Chuankong produced a handwritten order from Shi Chuankong from somewhere, claiming they were on an urgent mission and needed to enter the secret realm immediately.

"Thirteenth Prince, forgive my bluntness. The Scale-Scale Void has been sealed for so many years; no one knows what conditions are like inside now. As for the teleportation array you mentioned, it has not been used for a long time," Xu Fu said with a frown.

"Since we have come on orders from Lord Luoheng, he has his own arrangements. There is no need for Elder Xu to worry," Shi Chuankong waved his hand and said.

"Since the Prince and this senior have made up your minds, I will say no more. Please follow me," Xu Fu said, leading Han Li and the other to the rear hall.

There, a back door led to a dune area beyond, clearly the entrance to the spatial restriction.

"Once you enter, just step into the dunes, and you will sink into them, eventually reaching the Scale-Scale Void. Remember, this entrance is one-way: in but not out," Xu Fu said solemnly, pointing outside.

"Thank you for your trouble," Han Li said to him.

Xu Fu formed hand seals, and a black square seal floated out from before him, settling into a recess above the doorframe. He softly shouted "Open," and a flash of light flowed through the back door as the restriction was lifted.

"I wish the Prince and the senior success in your endeavors and a safe return," Xu Fu said, looking at them.

"Thank you for your kind words," Shi Chuankong said with a smile.

With that, they stepped through the door and came outside the hall. Walking slowly, they soon reached the edge of the first dune and stopped.

Han Li examined the dune; it appeared normal, with no spatial fluctuations whatsoever, looking no different from any ordinary place.

Shi Chuankong flipped his palm, and a black long knife appeared in his hand. He casually hung it at his waist. Seeing Han Li looking at him, he smiled and said, "Since we can't use magical treasures, it's better to carry a blade than to go empty-handed, right?"

Han Li said nothing but waved his hand, opening a silver light door from which the Crab Immortal emerged.

Earlier, Shi Chuankong had only mentioned that storage rings and such could not be opened, not mentioning cave-heaven treasures, but Han Li was uneasy and decided to summon the Crab Immortal in advance.

Shi Chuankong noticed the Crab Immortal had a war blade hanging on each side and nodded inwardly, thinking the Crab Immortal was a kindred spirit.

After a moment's hesitation, Han Li decided not to take out a Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword for self-defense. Instead, he placed all his storage treasures into the cave-heaven treasure, leaving only the Time Ring transformed into a ring on his ring finger.

Once prepared, the three exchanged glances and leaped together onto the dune.

As they landed, the otherwise ordinary dune immediately lit up with a chaotic silver light, which swept them up and slowly sank downward until they disappeared.

"How strange. For so many years, no one cared, but recently..."

In the front hall, Xu Fu watched the three figures gradually vanish, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Oh well, these matters of princes and lords are not for me to meddle with. Let them be."

After a long while, he shook his head lightly, removed the seal, closed the restriction, turned around with his hands behind his back, and hummed an unknown tune as he walked slowly toward the front hall.

...

Inside the Scale-Scale Void, on a desolate island, dust and smoke rose everywhere.

A long-tailed giant lizard covered in gray scales and a giant centipede covered in black scales raced from opposite ends of the island and collided with a thunderous crash.

With a loud "boom!"

The two giant beasts crashed into each other, the immense impact sending them flying, and the resulting air blast scattered the rising dust in all directions.

The long-tailed giant lizard fell to the ground, while the giant centipede rolled away.

But as soon as they steadied themselves, they turned to face each other again, preparing for an even more violent charge.

Just then, at the center between the two beasts, a sound of wind and sand arose from the ground. A patch of quicksand surged up like a fountain, and three figures emerged from it—Han Li and his companions.

As soon as Han Li steadied himself, the yellow sand around them dissipated, and they immediately felt a powerful spatial pressure pressing in from all directions.

His internal organs felt an external pressure squeezing them, and his arms and legs felt somewhat heavy. Although this sensation was noticeable, it did not hinder his movements.

What struck him as most unusual was that the flow of immortal spiritual power within him also came to a halt at that moment.

Before he could get a clear view of his surroundings, he felt the ground tremble violently as the two beasts, driven by fierce instincts, charged toward them simultaneously.

"Watch out!" Han Li shouted.

As he spoke, he waved his hand, but the air remained still—no treasure light appeared, no flying swords emerged.

Han Li then realized that within the Scale-Scale Void, he could not use magical treasures, nor could he use laws or domains.

After a brief pause, he took a step forward. His acupoints shone brightly, and he raised a fist to punch the oncoming long-tailed giant lizard.

On the other side, Shi Chuankong gripped his black long knife with both hands, stomped the ground, leaped into the air, and slashed downward at the black-scaled centipede.

With a loud "boom,"

Han Li's fist struck the giant lizard's forehead, causing its head to cave inward, shattering a large gray scale. The beast slid backward and rolled rapidly on the ground.

Han Li himself was pushed back several steps by the tremendous force before steadying himself.

He was somewhat surprised. This long-tailed giant lizard looked similar to those seen in the Immortal Domain, except its scales were more grayish-white, but its immense strength and incredibly thick armor were far beyond those of giant lizards elsewhere.

For an ordinary giant lizard, even if Han Li had not used the Great Cycle Star Origin Technique, just his physical strength alone should have shattered its skull with one punch.

Although Han Li had not used his full strength, the fact that the giant lizard only lost a single scale was hard to believe.

On the other side, a sharp "clang" rang out.

Shi Chuankong, wielding his long knife, slashed at the giant centipede's head. The blade slid from its head down along its abdomen, striking a series of dazzling red sparks, but only left a scratch on its body, failing to pierce its armor.

"Third Brother said earlier that all creatures here are vastly different from those outside. Now it seems it's not just vastly different—they're practically a different species altogether," Shi Chuankong shouted after landing.

"The spatial pressure here is far greater than in the Holy Domain, at least twice that of the outside. To withstand this pressure, these beasts must develop harder armor and stronger physiques. We cannot judge them by past standards," Han Li said, his gaze fixed on the giant lizard that had already turned around.

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant lizard charged at him again.

Han Li clenched his right fist, stomped the ground, and sprinted forward. Each step shook the earth, his momentum no less than that of the charging giant lizard.

Five hundred zhang, three hundred zhang, one hundred zhang... With each step, the distance between them shrank rapidly.

Just as they were about to collide, Han Li leaped into the air, his body like a spear thrusting toward the giant lizard.

At the moment of impact, Han Li's clenched fist suddenly opened, transforming from a fist into a palm, and stabbed straight down at the giant lizard's head.

His two fingers, transformed from the Flower Branch Cave Heaven, shimmered with jade light and struck precisely where the scale had fallen off the giant lizard's head.

With a "pop," a large amount of warm, yellowish-brown blood splattered out.

Han Li's hand pierced through the giant lizard's skull, and due to inertia, his entire arm plunged inside.

The giant lizard let out a hoarse roar, its head drooped, and it fell heavily to the ground.

Han Li smelled the thick blood, and as he was about to withdraw his arm, he frowned. His hand inside the lizard's head seemed to have touched something.

After groping around, he slowly pulled out his hand. In his palm lay a fist-sized tumor, inside which was a yellowish-brown crystal the size of a longan—clearly the beast core of the long-tailed giant lizard.

On the other side, Shi Chuankong held his long knife against the giant centipede's heavy body, while the Crab Immortal seized the opportunity to rush to the beast's mouth. Wielding both Zhan Ting and Duan Xiao blades, he slashed left and right, cutting it open from the inside.

Han Li walked over, borrowed a long knife from the Crab Immortal, found a gap among the dense scales on the centipede's head, inserted the blade tip, pried it, and broke off a black scale.

The scales on the giant centipede were finer and much smaller than those of the lizard. After prying off three scales, Han Li thrust the long knife into the flesh, twisted it to shred the meat, reached in, groped around, and retrieved another beast core.