Chapter 167: Hell Road, Precision Sniping, One Shot, One Kill
Han Li surveyed his surroundings. Aside from the five meter wide circular platform beneath his feet, there was nothing but a bottomless abyss stretching infinitely around them. A single narrow path, barely half a foot wide just enough for both feet to stand side by side extended into the unknown darkness. It was the only way forward.
Glancing back at his still meditating companions, Han Li stepped to the platform's edge and peered into the depths of the abyss.
His right eye emitted a faint crimson glow, piercing through the darkness below. The scene at the bottom of the chasm unfolded before him a vast pool of surging blood red liquid, writhing as if alive, radiating an intense energy.
I really want to jump down and see… If I drained all that energy, how many Title Douluo could I create?
Han Li felt an itch in his heart, but he quickly suppressed the idea.
Leaving aside the potential dangers below, if he really leaped down, the Slaughter King would undoubtedly come after him with a vengeance never mind Qian Daoliu, even he wouldn't be able to mediate that mess.
What a shame. He let out a quiet sigh.
One day, when I have the strength, I have to come back and take a look. Leaving all this energy here to waste is just a crime.
Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Han Li returned to his team.
Though the Hell Road was designed to amplify killing intent, the presence of the Blood Fiend Art, combined with over a year of training, had greatly strengthened their spiritual power.
Before long, Dugu Bo recovered fully, followed closely by the three women, who opened their eyes one after another. The killing intent around them no longer had any effect.
"If we need to fight later, try not to use killing intent."
Han Li carefully checked the three women's conditions and gave them a reminder.
The three exchanged glances before obediently nodding. The sensation of losing control to killing intent earlier had been truly uncomfortable. No wonder the people of Slaughter City all looked so crazed.
"This is the only path?"
While Han Li was checking on the others, Dugu Bo had taken a quick look around. His brows furrowed.
"This should be it."
Han Li shrugged, confirming it.
"Then let's go. I'll lead the way."
Dugu Bo took one last look at the group and volunteered to go first.
"Hold on. Let me test the rules here first."
Han Li stopped him, unfolding his azure wings. After a moment's thought, flames erupted beneath his feet, allowing him to hover.
At the same time, the Ice Fire Dragon Bow appeared in his hand. Controlling it, he transformed a soul power arrow into a thin thread, one end grasped in his hand while the other was sent to Dugu Bo.
After setting everything up, Han Li confidently stepped forward.
One step, two steps standing steadily in midair.
Then, with a powerful beat of his wings, he shot forward, vanishing into the darkness ahead.
A few breaths later, he returned, landing on the platform as the soul power thread dissipated.
"Let's go. Flight isn't restricted here, whether from soul bones or inherent abilities. I'll lead, Elder, you take the rear. Qiu'er, you stay behind me. You two, keep an eye on her. I'll handle any threats."
Han Li issued his orders in an orderly manner.
"Fine by me."
Dugu Bo didn't argue. Since flight was allowed, he had nothing to worry about.
With that settled, the group activated their martial souls and stepped onto the narrow path.
After about three minutes of walking, the surroundings finally changed.
Han Li's spiritual detection picked up a large number of lifeforms suddenly entering range.
The other four noticed his slowing pace, and Dugu Bo extended his spiritual sense forward as well.
"Need help?"
Dugu Bo called out across the group.
"No need, I can handle it."
Han Li chuckled as he turned back to reply. As soon as he spoke, his dual element domain expanded around him, spinning as it spread outward.
The buzzing of wings grew louder. Soon, the others could see a swarm of blood red bats hurtling toward them.
Though Han Li claimed he could handle it, the rest still kept an eye on the approaching swarm, ready to assist if necessary.
They look a lot like the Slaughter King... Are these his descendants? Wait, where's the Dark Gold Three Headed Bat King? Is that one his descendant too? Or maybe his mate?
Han Li's mind wandered even as the bats rushed toward them.
Not that he could be blamed these bats were weak. Laughably weak.
Aside from their sheer numbers, they weren't worth mentioning.
Whether it was their bloodsucking ability, ultrasonic attacks, or their attempts to create windstorms with their wings, all of their attacks had limited range.
But as soon as Han Li's Yin Yang domain expanded, it covered nearly the entire battlefield.
Although spreading the effect so wide weakened its concentrated power, that didn't matter his control over the Ice Fire elements was unmatched.
Under the alternating waves of extreme ice and fire, the bats were wiped out en masse.
The lucky ones were instantly frozen mid flight, plummeting toward the abyss below with their bodies intact.
The unlucky ones? They were caught in a chaotic fusion of extreme heat and cold, reduced to fine dust completely erased from existence.
Came in full force, left in a panic. That's probably the best way to describe these things.
It took less than five minutes. Han Li advanced casually, chatting along the way, while effortlessly exterminating the bats. He didn't even need to land finishing blows.
"Are we heading downward? What's below? Lava?" Dugu Bo asked casually, feeling the temperature rising around them.
"A blood pool, the accumulation of Slaughter City over a thousand years. As for the heat, it might be due to the energy concentrated there," Han Li replied absentmindedly. Then, he raised his left hand, signaling the others to stop.
"Something ahead?" Dugu Bo probed forward with his spiritual sense, puzzled.
"There's a big one down below, but don't scan it with your spiritual sense. It's extremely sensitive to that," Han Li turned around and pointed downward to the side.
Dugu Bo only then realized that at some point, Han Li had fully activated his soul bones. Sometimes, those were far more practical than pure spiritual scanning.
"A big bat?" Dugu Bo leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse of what Han Li was referring to, but saw nothing.
"Yeah, and it has three heads. We should take care of it now to avoid trouble later."
As he spoke, Han Li had already drawn his bow.
Unlike before, this time he actively infused his domain into the arrow, concealing its soul power fluctuations.
Not only that, but under the astonished gazes of the others, the arrow grew thicker and thicker, until it was nearly half the size of the bow itself.
"Is it that troublesome? Maybe I should just go down and deal with it first," Dugu Bo suggested upon seeing the grand preparation.
"It's not that strong, but it has three heads, insane regeneration, and the ability to split. I'm just preparing in advance," Han Li explained. "Oh, and the Slaughter King gave me this intel."
Yeah, right.
The four of them rolled their eyes at him but didn't say anything. After years of traveling together, they no longer questioned Han Li's occasional "prophetic" knowledge.
"Just shoot already. Can you even call that an arrow anymore?" Dugu Bo remarked irritably.
"A single shot. Just a bit thicker. Why wouldn't it be an arrow?" Han Li stubbornly retorted before letting go of the bowstring. He even muttered under his breath, "Taste my Demon Light Piercing Kill Cannon."
The three women covered their mouths, stifling laughter. They had no idea what a "cannon" was, but even Han Li didn't seem to believe this could still be called an arrow.
Before the projectile even reached its target, Han Li's spiritual attack arrived first. Infused with ice elements, it struck all three heads of the Darkgolden Three Headed Bat King before it could react.
Sensing the spiritual disturbance, the bat king instinctively tried to dodge, but its thoughts were abruptly halted its three heads simultaneously suffered a massive impact, throwing its mind into disarray.
Where… is the enemy…?
That was its final thought before a gigantic energy beam descended from above, engulfing all its heads. The beam pierced straight through, exploding upon exit as ice and fire ravaged its entire body.
"Done. Let's move on."
Perhaps it was the excitement of nearing the end, but Han Li seemed unusually lively. Casually retracting his bow, he gestured toward the others.
Watching the brilliant bicolor explosion illuminating the darkness below, the group felt a surge of satisfaction and followed Han Li forward with smiles.
After walking for a long while, they reached the area where the Darkgolden Three Headed Bat King had once been.
Han Li searched briefly but found nothing left. With a hint of regret, he picked up Qiu'er and flew her over the gap caused by his earlier attack, continuing forward.
The air grew increasingly stifling, and soon even those behind him could vaguely see the dark red currents flowing in the abyss below.
Breathing became uncomfortable, as if their lungs were burning.
"This blood river is hardly different from lava. If we didn't have the Blood Fiend Art and purification abilities, most challengers would have lost control just by reaching this point," Dugu Bo commented, licking his lips uncomfortably.
"No wonder you didn't just fly them straight down but had them walk the path gradually," he added.
"Mhm. After all, in a thousand years, only ten people have ever made it out of here on their own. Gaining the domain isn't that easy. We took a shortcut, so we might as well walk the full path and experience it properly," Han Li observed the three women, ensuring they were still in good condition. Then, he slowed his pace slightly.
In terms of combat power, the three of them were undoubtedly far stronger than Hu Liena when she left Slaughter City in the original story. However, in terms of willpower, they were still behind Hu Liena had survived the trial with her life on the line.
Still, Han Li thought this was enough.
He had never been someone with absolute willpower himself, nor did he believe in glorifying suffering. Willpower was unpredictable in the face of true despair. He preferred overwhelming power to brute force his way through challenges.
"Get ready. You three will handle the upcoming fight. Grandpa and I will cover you. Don't worry about destroying the path. We should be nearing the end."
As they walked, Han Li spoke to the three women.
"Alright, no problem!"
Excited by the challenge, the three women looked forward with anticipation, eager to see what awaited them ahead.
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