Chapter 865: Blood Pool

"No need to look, you won. That kid must have stepped in dog shit—opened so few acupoints and still managed to kill a Xuan-tier scaled beast. Damn unlucky." Hu Ben stood up, shoved the woman in his arms forward, and said.

Chen Yang casually pushed her aside onto a large chair, frowning. "What happened?"

"Hell if I know! Alright, don't act smug. I'll have someone deliver the beast core to your residence tomorrow." Hu Ben cursed bitterly, then turned and left.

Chen Yang stood there for a moment, glanced at the woman, and also turned to leave.

…

At this moment, Han Li was covered in wounds, his legs especially aching fiercely. He limped off the arena and returned to the backstage dark hall.

"Not bad for your first match. I thought you wouldn't make it down. Give me your token." The one-horned giant was already waiting there, sizing Han Li up.

Han Li silently unclipped the token from his waist and handed it over.

The giant took out a golden short rod and lightly swiped it across Han Li's token.

The number of Xuan points on the token instantly changed, increasing by twenty.

Seeing this, Han Li couldn't help but show a hint of joy.

Earning twenty Xuan points made this hard fight worthwhile.

The one-horned giant returned the token to Han Li and clapped his hands. Two tall armored warriors emerged from a side door deep in the dark hall and, without a word, hoisted Han Li up and carried him toward the door.

"You..." Han Li's face changed color as he struggled.

But the warriors' arms were as hard as iron, clamping his arms like vises; he couldn't break free at all.

Moreover, their arms were icy cold, not at all like living flesh.

Han Li looked at the two warriors in surprise.

Their facial skin showed an eerie bluish-black, with bulging veins protruding, quite frightening.

Not only that, but their expressions were dull, their eyes lifeless, like corpses, yet they still breathed, exuding a cold aura.

"Don't worry. You're badly hurt. They're taking you to heal. How can you continue the Xuan fights without proper treatment?" The one-horned giant chuckled.

"Heal..." Han Li was taken aback, his eyes flickering, and he stopped struggling.

The two warriors carried Han Li through the side door into a long corridor. They moved quickly, turning at several forks along the way.

During this time, Han Li secretly observed the warriors and soon judged them to be something like corpse puppets, though he couldn't tell how they were made.

The warriors soon reached the end of a corridor and entered a large stone chamber. In the center was a pool over ten zhang wide, its water a thick, blood-red color, like a pool of blood.

In the middle of the blood pool, the water churned, bubbling like a fountain.

Strands of crimson mist rose from the water and drifted above the pool.

A pungent, bloody smell filled the chamber, but without any stench. In fact, it was invigorating.

Han Li looked at the scene in astonishment.

The two warriors walked to the edge of the pool and, without a word, flung Han Li out.

Midair, with no leverage and his body aching and weak, Han Li couldn't struggle. With a splash, he fell into the blood pool.

A sizzling sound arose.

As soon as he entered the pool, Han Li's skin turned bright red, and his features twisted slightly.

The pool water was scorching hot, burning every inch of his skin like fire, causing intense pain.

As the blood water seared his body, streams of heat surged into him, flowing toward his injuries, which began to heal.

Feeling this, Han Li was overjoyed.

"You have only half an hour," one warrior said, his voice hoarse.

Han Li immediately circulated his blood and qi, and the heat flow from the pool quickened.

He focused, fully driving his blood and qi to absorb the heat and heal his injuries.

Time flew by; in the blink of an eye, a quarter-hour passed.

The blood pool's healing effect was excellent. In that short time, nearly half his wounds had recovered, surprising and delighting him.

Just then, footsteps sounded.

Han Li opened his eyes and saw two more armored guards walking in, carrying a Xuan Dou warrior between them.

The man was a young male with spiral patterns on his left cheek, extending from his forehead to his chin, looking quite strange.

He was also severely injured, pale-faced, and covered in wounds. Particularly, there were two huge gashes on his lower abdomen, nearly cutting his body into three parts, with blood gushing out, and through the wounds one could clearly see his intestines and internal organs.

The two armored guards simply waved their hands and threw the patterned-faced man into the blood pool.

The patterned-faced man had obviously been here before. As soon as he entered the blood pool, he immediately activated his blood energy to heal his injuries, and his pale complexion quickly recovered somewhat.

Although the two wounds on his waist had not healed, the flesh had already joined together.

Seeing this, Han Li gained a new understanding of the blood pool's restorative power.

The patterned-faced man sensed Han Li's gaze, looked over, and showed a hint of surprise.

"Hehe, you're Li Feiyu, right? Pleased to meet you," the man said with a smile.

"You are?" Han Li looked at the man, feeling vaguely familiar, but couldn't recall where he had seen him.

"I'm Chen Lin, also from District Nine. I happened to be present when you clashed with Scarface earlier. I also watched your fight with the Tiger Scale Beast while waiting. I never thought you could kill a Xuan-level Tiger Scale Beast. Not many in District Nine can do that. Admirable," Chen Lin said sincerely.

"It was just luck. You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Chen," Han Li replied with his usual modesty.

Chen Lin seemed intent on befriending Han Li.

Since entering the Xuan Dou Arena, Han Li had been busy cultivating, and the other Xuan Dou warriors in District Nine had treated him strangely, as if avoiding him. This was the first time someone was willing to talk with him.

He had some things he wanted to ask, so he chatted with Chen Lin, soon bringing up the earlier conflict with Scarface.

Chen Lin told Han Li that Scarface had complained to Poison Dragon, who wanted to cause trouble for Han Li but had been delayed by the matches.

Hearing this, Han Li finally understood why the Xuan Dou warriors in District Nine had treated him that way.

"Fellow Daoist Li, your strength is not weak, and you're tough enough, but you still need to watch out for Scarface's revenge. He is extremely narrow-minded and vengeful. Moreover, he has a good relationship with Poison Dragon. To maintain his authority in District Nine, Poison Dragon will definitely not let this go. You must be very careful," Chen Lin warned in a low voice.

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Chen. May I ask how strong Poison Dragon is?" Han Li asked after a moment's thought.

"As far as I know, Poison Dragon has already opened seventy Xuan acupoints, which is considered above average among the leaders of the ten districts. Forgive me for saying this, but given your current situation, you are far from a match for Boss Poison Dragon. As the saying goes, a wise man knows when to yield. You're new here; showing some weakness is nothing to be ashamed of," Chen Lin said after some hesitation.

Han Li frowned at this and nodded noncommittally.

"But you don't need to worry in the short term. The boss Poison Dragon was severely injured in a recent Xuan battle against a top-tier Xuan-grade scaled beast, and he won't recover without two or three months of rest, so he won't be troubling you for now," Chen Lin said again.

"It seems my luck isn't too bad," Han Li said with a bitter smile.

"According to the rules of the Xuan Battle Arena, we Xuan fighters must participate in at least one Xuan battle per month. Fellow Daoist Li, since you've just finished a match, you have a month of rest time. You should take the opportunity to improve your strength," Chen Lin suggested.

"Oh, there's such a rule? This is the first I've heard of it," Han Li said, raising an eyebrow.

"Unless we Xuan fighters are too severely injured in a match and the arena evaluates that we truly cannot fight, only then can we delay. That's the case with Boss Poison Dragon's injury and seclusion," Chen Lin shook his head and continued on his own.

Han Li nodded slowly, then asked a few more questions about the Xuan Battle Arena. Chen Lin did not decline and explained everything to Han Li one by one.

"Time's up." Half an hour later, the two armored guards who had brought Han Li in walked over and spoke.

Han Li stood up upon hearing this, stepped out of the blood pool, and cupped his hands toward Chen Lin, saying, "Fellow Daoist Chen, thank you for today."

"It's just information that everyone knows. Fellow Daoist Li, you flatter me," Chen Lin returned the gesture with a cupped fist.

Han Li nodded to Chen Lin once more, then turned and left the stone chamber.

While chatting with Chen Lin, he had not relaxed his healing efforts. By now, his injuries had mostly recovered, and his movements were no longer hindered. He quickly returned to the exchange hall above.

Han Li took his token, walked quickly to the exchange stone table, exchanged the twenty-one Xuan points on his token for seven Taluo beast cores, and immediately headed toward the Ninth District.

Having learned of Poison Dragon's strength, he did not want to waste any time. He soon returned to the Ninth District.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I heard you killed a Xuan-grade Tiger Scale Beast. Truly admirable."

"Fellow Daoist Li looks young, yet already possesses such strength. It puts us to shame."

As soon as he stepped into the Ninth District, several people immediately came up to greet him warmly. Even those who did not speak wore smiles on their faces, a stark contrast to their previous cold demeanor.

"You flatter me," Han Li said. Though he scorned these Xuan fighters' opportunism, he did not want to offend them for no reason, so he casually brushed them off.

Just then, a cold gaze fell upon him, like the stare of a venomous snake.

Sensing it, Han Li turned his head and saw Scarface.

When Scarface saw Han Li's gaze, a flicker of fear and deep-seated venom appeared in his eyes.

But then, the man got up and entered his own dwelling, as if afraid Han Li would cause him trouble.

Han Li recalled Chen Lin's words, frowned slightly, and walked toward his own dwelling without a word.