Chapter 873: Hidden Danger

A soft 'chi' sound was heard.

A semi-transparent crystalline chain shot out from Han Li's palm—it was the Divine Thought Chain—and instantly coiled around the Poison Dragon's right leg, yanking it violently to the side.

Light flashed at the tip of the chain, which turned from solid to insubstantial, pierced through the True Extremity Membrane in a flash, and vanished into a spot on his leg.

The Poison Dragon's right leg suddenly stiffened, then was pulled off course by the Divine Thought Chain, brushing past Han Li's body.

Then, with a 'boom,' he crashed heavily to the ground, producing a loud noise.

Han Li, meanwhile, flickered and retreated another dozen zhang to the side, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Witnessing this series of events, everyone present was stunned, and the scene fell silent.

"What's going on?" Tu Gang blurted out, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Even Sun Binghe's cold face showed surprise.

The purple-robed woman stared blankly, her lips slightly parted, almost crying out in shock.

Chen Lin, standing behind Gu Qianxun, looked at the stage and suddenly recalled her earlier words. His eyes flickered as if he had thought of something.

Only Gu Qianxun showed a faint smile and nodded slightly, as if she had anticipated this situation.

On the arena, the Poison Dragon's body hit the ground without injury. He slapped the ground with his palm, and with a loud crash, he leaped up using the force.

He turned to glare at Han Li, a strange glint in his eyes, and roared as he moved.

Boom!

The ground beneath the Poison Dragon's feet exploded into a large crater. His figure vanished again, reappearing beside Han Li. His right leg, like a huge cleaver, swept toward Han Li's waist with multiple afterimages, even faster than before.

Where the leg shadow passed, the air let out a piercing shriek.

Han Li's eyes narrowed. His figure flickered as he dodged to the side, while the Divine Thought Chain shot from his palm, lightning-fast, wrapping around the Poison Dragon's right leg. The tip of the chain stabbed again at the same spot on the Poison Dragon's leg.

That spot was exactly where a hidden acupoint lay.

Struck by the Divine Thought Chain, the starlight emanating from the acupoint suddenly became wildly chaotic, and the nearby True Extremity Membrane also thinned considerably.

The Poison Dragon's right leg movement stalled again, and his whole body swayed before falling to the ground once more.

A smile curled at the corner of Han Li's mouth. With a flick of his arm, the Divine Thought Chain vanished instantly.

Surprised murmurs began to rise from the nearby stands, the audience's faces full of disbelief.

The Poison Dragon, who had the upper hand in strength, was dominating just moments ago, but the situation had suddenly taken a sharp turn.

The series of movements by Han Li and his opponent were lightning-fast, and the Divine Thought Chain was semi-transparent. Except for a few people nearby, no one else saw clearly what had happened; they only saw Han Li wave his hand, a blurry white shadow flash by, and the Poison Dragon fall again.

Outside the Exchange Hall.

"You saw it long ago?" Tu Gang's expression darkened as he turned to Gu Qianxun and asked.

"What do you think?" Gu Qianxun chuckled softly.

"Fellow Daoist Gu has keen insight. I am far inferior and concede defeat. I will have the Black-Striped Scale Tortoise shell delivered to your place. Farewell." Tu Gang snorted coldly, looking as if he had been thoroughly tricked, and turned to leave.

Sun Binghe's eyes flickered, and he also turned to leave.

"Why are they all leaving? Although Li Feiyu seems to have the upper hand, the Poison Dragon hasn't suffered any fatal injuries. The outcome is not yet decided," the purple-robed woman said in surprise.

"The outcome has long been decided," Gu Qianxun said indifferently.

The purple-robed woman was taken aback.

"Yao Li, although your strength has improved considerably over the years, your insight is still lacking. In the future, take the opportunity to learn from Li Feiyu; it will benefit you greatly. Stop acting childishly." Having said this, Gu Qianxun turned and walked back into the hall.

"Yes." Yao Li's eyes flashed with shame and anger, as if she had been insulted, but she replied respectfully.

Chen Lin nodded slightly to Yao Li and followed behind Gu Qianxun.

Their figures quickly disappeared into the hall. Yao Li turned to look at the arena below, a cold glint in her eyes.

A figure stood in the distance—it was Scarface.

He looked in the direction Gu Qianxun had gone, his face deathly pale, his eyes filled with terror.

With that, Scarface stamped his foot and strode quickly into the hall.

On the arena, Poison Dragon immediately stood up again, staring at Han Li with a mixture of shock and anger, but he did not attack again.

"Fellow Daoist Poison Dragon, do you wish to continue fighting?" Han Li grinned and transmitted his voice.

"How did you find out?" Poison Dragon, seeing that Han Li was communicating via voice transmission rather than speaking aloud, calmed down slightly and asked coldly through transmission.

"I have my own methods. The hidden acupoint on your leg is a major隐患. With a little external stimulation, it can disrupt the flow of qi and blood throughout your body. Although your strength is great and this alone cannot harm your foundation, if we exchange a few more rounds, those with keen eyes present might also guess your condition." Han Li said with a faint smile via transmission.

Poison Dragon's face turned ashen upon hearing this.

The body-tempering technique he practiced focused on refining his right leg; it was an extremely powerful功法, but it was incomplete. In his early years, eager for quick results, he had damaged a hidden acupoint on his leg, leaving a significant隐患.

Later, he sought various remedies and tried his best to make amends, achieving some minor success so that the defect in the hidden acupoint was nearly impossible to detect externally, but he could never fully restore it.

He had carefully guarded this weakness, and since he was already renowned and could seize the initiative in battles, few ever touched his body. Thus, this secret had remained undiscovered for years, only to be seen through by Han Li at this moment.

Not only that, but the two strikes Han Li had just delivered to his隐患 might not be obvious to ordinary people, but Gu Qianxun, Tu Gang, and Sun Binghe had certainly noticed.

At their level of cultivation, even a small flaw could determine life or death, let alone such a major weakness.

At this thought, Poison Dragon's mind became a tangled mess.

Han Li watched Poison Dragon's expression change, his eyes flickering slightly.

It was pure luck that he had discovered Poison Dragon's隐患 hidden acupoint. This acupoint was the same as one in the "Feather Ascension Art."

Having just打通 this acupoint, he was extremely sensitive to its various changes, and coupled with his powerful divine sense, he was able to detect Poison Dragon's weakness.

However, relying solely on this non-fatal weakness to truly defeat the opponent was not easy. If the other party cast aside the concern of being seen through by others and went all out, he might not be a match.

"Fellow Daoist Poison Dragon, you need not worry so much. I know a method that can help you repair this hidden acupoint." Han Li, after a moment of thought, transmitted his voice.

Upon hearing this, Poison Dragon was overjoyed and exclaimed excitedly, "Is that true?"

In his excitement, he forgot to use voice transmission and spoke aloud, his voice trembling slightly.

"I specialize in cultivating leg acupoints; otherwise, I wouldn't have discovered your problem." Han Li said.

He was not boasting. With the correct method to open this acupoint from the "Feather Ascension Art" and the aid of his powerful divine sense, he was seventy percent confident he could repair Poison Dragon's acupoint.

"If you can help me solve this problem, our past grievances will be wiped clean, and you can make any request you wish." Poison Dragon looked at Han Li, suddenly took a deep breath, and bowed.

The nearby crowd, seeing this, were all astonished, not knowing what had happened.

"Fellow Daoist Poison Dragon, you are too kind. Let us find a place to discuss this." Han Li smiled slightly.

Poison Dragon nodded and, without another word, turned to the Du family burly man and declared his surrender.

The Du family burly man was also surprised, but since Poison Dragon had conceded, he had no choice but to announce it.

Ignoring the commotion in the stands, Poison Dragon led Han Li straight off the arena under the astonished gaze of the crowd and soon returned to the Ninth District.

The two walked in silence to the door of Poison Dragon's room.

Poison Dragon raised his hand and pressed it on the door. A faint white light flickered from the gap beneath the door, and the stone door slowly opened with a rumbling sound.

Entering the room, Han Li saw that Poison Dragon's room was much larger than his and Chen Lin's, with additional furnishings such as a stone platform and animal skins.

"Fellow Daoist Li, please sit." Poison Dragon extended his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Han Li sat down gracefully at the stone table, waiting for Poison Dragon to speak.

"This hidden worry has plagued me for many years. Fellow Daoist Li, do you truly have a way to resolve it?" Sure enough, as soon as Poison Dragon sat down, he couldn't help asking.

"Fellow Daoist Poison Dragon, the reason you have this隐患 is not only due to your haste in cultivation but also, I suspect, related to the功法 you practice." Han Li said after a moment's deliberation.

"That... I think you are overthinking it. Although the功法 I practice is not some profound secret scripture, it is an orthodox text passed down in my clan. There is absolutely no problem." Poison Dragon frowned and waved his hand.

"It's fine. I don't need you to reveal all the cultivation content. Just tell me in detail about the acupoint opening part of the功法." Han Li said casually.

After hesitating for a moment, Poison Dragon still told Han Li everything about the acupoint opening, not even hiding some subtle and exquisite details.

"Just as I thought. Fellow Daoist Poison Dragon, although your family's 'Xuan Yuan Shen Xing Jue' is fierce and swift in cultivation, allowing rapid opening of leg acupoints, it falls short in stabilizing the foundation. I believe you have already noticed this problem and deliberately slowed down, concentrating the隐患 on that one point; otherwise, there would be more issues now." Han Li nodded and said.

"You hit the nail on the head, Fellow Daoist Li. I admire that. Please help me resolve this problem, and I will repay you handsomely in the future." Poison Dragon's expression changed slightly, and he bowed respectfully to Han Li again.

"To save you, the cost to me is also considerable. This..." Han Li pretended to hesitate.

"Fellow Daoist Li, just name your terms. If I can fulfill them, I will not refuse." Poison Dragon's eyes focused as he spoke.