Blood Curse Gate

Seeing Han Li’s actions, Marquis Nanlong and the old man each took a medicine bottle and carefully put it into their storage pouches.

The three of them then turned their attention to the remaining two ancient treasures. Now that they had two treasures, it would be quite difficult for them to split them among themselves.

Just as Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying were hesitating, Han Li blinked and suddenly chuckled.

“How about this? I don’t lack any ancient treasures. If you have enough spirit stones on you, you can take these two ancient treasures as long as you pay me an equivalent amount of spirit stones,” Han Li said slowly.

When Lu Weiying heard this, he revealed a happy expression and immediately agreed, “Since Fellow Daoist Han is so modest, we will respectfully comply. I’ve brought quite a few spirit stones with me.” After all, ancient treasures were simply priceless in the cultivation world of the Heavenly South.

Marquis Nanlong himself needed ancient treasures even more badly, so he naturally agreed to Han Li’s suggestion with a smile.

As a result, when the two of them had found most of their spirit stones, they finally gathered enough and handed them over to Han Li.

As such, both sides were quite happy.

After Han Li and Marquis Nanlong put away the remaining two ancient treasures, Han Li casually waved his hand and absorbed the azure silkworm robe that Marquis Nanlong had thrown to the side. Then, he swaggeringly put it away.

Although Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying were stunned, Han Li had just given them the two ancient treasures, so they couldn’t say anything about it.

Although this robe was rare, it was not very useful, so they didn’t say anything when Han Li picked it up.

After the three finished dividing up the treasures, they greedily harvested the spiritual herbs at the side of the lava lake. Each of them was given several stalks.

These spirit herbs naturally weren’t ordinary. They were a type of fire-attribute spirit herb, called the Golden Sun Ganoderma, which was a top-grade material for refining fire-attribute spirit pills.

After confirming that there was nothing else here that could attract their attention, the three of them gathered in front of the stone platform and discussed the following matters.

“Since I’ve obtained the treasures, I’m not going to stay in the inner valley any longer. I plan to return to the outer valley by the same route I came from. Why don’t the two of you return together with me?” Han Li said calmly.

Marquis Nanlong chuckled and said, “Fellow Daoist Han must be joking. It wasn’t easy for Brother Lu and I to enter the valley, so we naturally wouldn’t return like this. As for Brother Han, why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just that I’ve already gained something, so I don’t intend to take any more risks. The path of cultivation will be very long in the future. I have no interest in staying in such a dangerous place,” Han Li replied casually.

Lu Weiying chuckled and said, “I didn’t think that Fellow Daoist Han would know how to protect himself. It is a pity that we won’t be able to travel with you. Fellow Daoist Han can leave the valley alone.”

“Alone? If I take the Heaven-Earth Ring with me, how will the two of you deal with the Greatnorth Essence Light in the passageway?” Han Li asked slowly with a strange expression.

Marquis Nanlong confidently replied, “We’ve already considered this. Please be at ease, Brother Han! Master Cang Kun found a teleportation formation in the inner valley that can directly transport us back to the outer valley. However, the journey to that place is a bit long, so it’s better to return the way we came. Otherwise, I would’ve directly told you.”

Han Li could not help but be stunned, but he immediately nodded with a calm expression.

“I see. Then I’ll take my leave. I hope you’ll be able to reap great benefits.”

“Thank you for your kind words!”

“I won’t be sending you off.”

When Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying saw Han Li take his leave, they were elated.

Han Li faintly smiled and took one last glance at the sparkling skeleton. He then turned into a streak of azure light and flew towards the exit, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The smile on the elderly man’s face faded when he saw Han Li leave. Marquis Nanlong expressionlessly patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist, and several small golden birds flew out.

They were none other than his spirit birds, the Thousand Kilometer Orioles.

He swept his sleeve toward the exit, and several Thousand Kilometer Orioles shot out in streaks of golden light before disappearing into the passageway.

Marquis Nanlong then gently closed his eyes as if he were sensing something.

When Lu Weiying saw this, he raised his brow and silently stood to the side.

After an unknown amount of time, Marquis Nanlong slowly opened his eyes.

Marquis Nanlong calmly said, “That person has indeed left. At the very least, he isn’t nearby. The Thousand Kilometer Orioles have searched a radius of five kilometers, but there is no trace of him.”

Lu Weiying frowned and asked, “Didn’t you say that this person’s spiritual sense was extremely powerful? Could he have used a concealment technique to conceal himself from your search?”

Marquis Nanlong stroked his chin and said weirdly, “Don’t worry. If he truly is hiding nearby, he won’t be able to hide from me. As for the reason, I won’t tell you in detail.”

Seeing Marquis Nanlong’s confidence, Lu Weiying was somewhat skeptical. However, after a moment of thought, he formed an incantation gesture with his hands and cast a few spell seals in all directions.

A small white soundproof barrier appeared around them, completely enveloping them.

Marquis Nanlong smiled, but a disapproving expression appeared on his face.

After setting up the soundproof barrier, Lu Weiying said with relief, “There is nothing wrong with being careful. We’ve never been able to see through this Fellow Daoist Han’s background. His cultivation isn’t high, but he gives me an unfathomable feeling. He took one last look at the skeleton. Is there something fishy about it?” When he said the last sentence, he became skeptical again.

Marquis Nanlong shook his head and said, “Brother Lu, you’re overthinking things. Although Han Li’s abilities aren’t small, how could he know the secret of the skeleton? It should’ve been a spontaneous action. After all, the skeleton does appear somewhat unusual.”

After a moment of thought, the old man pensively said, “Regardless of whether or not he saw something amiss, it is true that he doesn’t want to stay with us. Perhaps he feels that his abilities are sufficient to search for treasures alone in the inner valley!”

“Alright! So long as this brat doesn’t hinder us, it doesn’t matter if he really left the valley or if he’s faking it. We’ll just have to increase our vigilance. It’s getting late, so let’s hurry up and act.”

Marquis Nanlong sighed and said, “According to Master Cang Kun’s statement, the ancient cultivator’s skeleton is the key to breaking through the Blood Curse Gate. Since the gate is sealed with such a powerful restriction, it is clear that the item inside is no small matter. In ancient times, the Blood Curse Gate was used to store precious treasures. This ancient cultivator skeleton became transparent, which is a sign that the curse had been used. Back then, Master Cang Kun was forced to retreat. We were lucky.”

“That’s right. Compared to the precious treasures behind the Blood Curse Gate, the treasures we have now shouldn’t be worth mentioning. Alright, let’s go. Although the Blood Curse Gate isn’t far from here, we should retrieve the treasures as soon as possible,” said Lu Weiying after pondering for a moment.

“Brother Lu’s words are reasonable. Let’s set off. I am also looking forward to what lies beyond the Blood Curse Gate. If it weren’t for Master Cang Kun’s coincidental discovery of this ancient cultivator’s remains near the Blood Curse Gate, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything to it. The person who placed the curse on the gate back then actually didn’t move away from the Blood Curse Gate for long before passing away. This is rather strange. It seems this ancient cultivator must have had a story behind him.”

“What story? I have no interest in it. Brother Nanlong, let’s go.”

Not long after, two streaks of light flew out from the cave beneath the giant mountain and flew directly toward an unknown location.

…

At this moment, Han Li did not stay nearby. He was already on his way back.

He was already fifty kilometers away, and Silvermoon was asking something in Han Li’s mind.

Silvermoon’s puzzled voice sounded, “Master, are we really leaving? Those two are clearly hiding something from you. There seems to be something wrong with that skeleton.”

“Of course I know about this. It’s most likely related to some other treasure. Although I’m also a little tempted, I’m more concerned about the Spirit Kindle Fruit. Apart from this, what other treasures in the valley are more useful to me? I’ve already fallen behind the Ghost Spirit Sect for so long. No matter what Marquis Nanlong and the others are plotting, I don’t want to interfere,” Han Li said indifferently as he flew back the way he came.

Silvermoon curiously asked, “I see. Except for the Spirit Kindle Fruit, Devilfall Valley truly doesn’t have any other treasures that are valuable to Master. However, why did Master suddenly pick up the Azure Silkworm Robe in the end? I don’t think Master truly covets this item.”

“Hehe! In this matter, those two old fellows were blind.” When Han Li heard this, the corners of his mouth curled up and he said with some ridicule.

“Master, what do you mean?” Silvermoon was puzzled.

Han Li did not answer immediately. Instead, he suddenly reached out and patted his storage pouch.

With a flash of green light, the light silk robe appeared in Han Li’s hand.

With a sizzling sound, Han Li’s hands were like hooks as he easily tore off the Azure Silkworm Robe along one corner.

This was because Han Li took out a small piece of something that was neither cloth nor silk from the inside of the green robe. Using the most primitive method, someone had drawn out some rough and thin lines. Han Li put away the damaged green robe and held the thin and soft thing in one hand. He narrowed his eyes and looked at it carefully.

“This is a map, and it seems to be a map of Devilfall Valley.” While Han Li was staring at this item, Silvermoon naturally saw it clearly. She only took a few glances before she could not help but exclaim.

Han Li did not say anything, but he stared at a large and eye-catching mark on the map and could not help but narrow his eyes.