Han Li looked around and saw that, apart from the five-meter-diameter circular platform beneath their feet, there was a bottomless abyss surrounding them. The only path was a narrow road, less than half a foot wide, just enough for two feet to stand side by side, leading into the unknown darkness. This was the only way off the platform.
Glancing back at the others still meditating, Han Li approached the edge of the platform and peered into the abyss below.
His right eye emitted a faint red glow, penetrating the darkness below. The scene at the bottom of the abyss came into view: a blood-red pool churning as if alive, radiating intense energy.
"I want to jump down and try it out. If I could drain the energy here, I wonder how many titled Douluo it could create," Han Li thought, feeling a bit tempted. But he restrained the impulse.
Aside from the dangers below, if he jumped, the Slaughter King would come out to fight him to the death, and even Qian Daoliu wouldn't be able to help.
"What a pity," Han Li sighed softly.
"When I have enough strength in the future, I must come back and explore this place. Letting all this accumulated energy go to waste is such a shame."
Burying these thoughts, Han Li walked back to the others.
Although the Hell Road could amplify killing intent, with the Blood Fiend Technique and over a year of cultivation, their mental strength had grown significantly.
Soon, after Dugu Bo returned to normal, the three women also opened their eyes one after another. At this point, their killing intent could no longer affect them.
"If we need to fight later, try not to use killing intent," Han Li carefully checked the three women's conditions and advised.
The three women exchanged glances and nodded obediently. The uncontrollable killing intent they just experienced was indeed unpleasant. No wonder the people in the City of Slaughter were all like that.
"Is this the only path?"
While Han Li checked on the others, Dugu Bo also surveyed their surroundings, frowning.
"It seems so," Han Li shrugged, indicating that it was indeed the case.
"Let's go then. I'll go first," Dugu Bo looked at the group and volunteered to lead the way.
"Wait a moment. Let me test the rules here first," Han Li stopped him. Green wings unfolded from his back, and after some thought, flames began to jet from his feet, lifting him into the air.
As he stepped off the platform, he also summoned the Ice-Fire Dragon God Bow. Under his control, a soul power arrow transformed into a thin line, one end held by him and the other by Dugu Bo.
After making all the preparations, Han Li confidently stepped off the platform.
One step, two steps, he stood steadily in mid-air.
Then, with a flap of his wings, Han Li quickly vanished from their sight, diving into the darkness ahead.
After a few breaths, Han Li returned to the platform, and the soul power thread dissipated.
"Let's go. Flying abilities from soul bones and natural flight abilities aren't restricted here. I'll lead the way, Grandpa can bring up the rear. Sister Xiu'er, follow me closely. You two keep an eye on her; I'll handle any danger."
Han Li spoke methodically.
"Alright," Dugu Bo agreed without insisting. Since flying wasn't restricted, he had nothing to worry about.
With that, they all activated their martial souls and proceeded along the narrow path.
After about three minutes of walking, the path ahead began to change. In Han Li's mental scan, a large group of life forms suddenly appeared.
The other four also noticed Han Li's slowed pace and Dugu Bo extended his mental power to probe ahead.
"Do you need my help?"
He shouted from a distance of three people.
"No need, keep going, I can handle it," Han Li replied with a smile, turning back. As he spoke, the dual-colored field began to rotate and spread outwards from him as the center.
The buzzing sound grew closer, and the group saw a large swarm of blood-red bats swiftly approaching them.
Although Han Li said he could handle it, the others continued to move forward while keeping an eye on the incoming bats, ready to assist if needed.
"They're quite similar to the Slaughter King. I wonder if they're its descendants. Speaking of which, where is the Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat Kin? Is it also a descendant, or perhaps its mate?"
Han Li mused whimsically, despite the situation.
But it wasn't entirely his fault; these bats were extremely weak, merely a facade. Aside from their considerable numbers, they were not worth mentioning. Their blood-sucking abilities, ultrasonic waves, or the storm created by their collective wing flaps all had limited attack ranges.
However, as Han Li's Ice-Fire Field expanded, it covered most of the area. Though this diluted the damage concentration, his ice-fire elemental strength was among the highest in the world. Under such circumstances, these small creatures, whether century-old or millennium-old soul beasts, were obliterated by the alternating high-intensity elemental impacts.
The luckier ones were frozen in ice the moment they caught fire, falling to the depths below but at least keeping their bodies intact.
The less fortunate ones were turned to dust by the extreme energy impacts, leaving no trace of their existence.
They came aggressively and left in a hurry, perfectly describing these bats.
In less than five minutes, Han Li had wiped out the attacking bats while chatting and moving forward, without even needing to finish them off.
"Are we going downwards? What's below? Lava?"
Dugu Bo casually asked, sensing the increasing temperature.
"A blood pool, the accumulation of a thousand years in the City of Slaughter. As for the heat, perhaps it's due to the energy," Han Li replied casually, then raised his left hand, signaling the group to halt.
"Is there something ahead?"
Dugu Bo queried, extending his mental power to probe forward.
"There's a big guy below, but don't use your mental power to detect it; it's very sensitive to that," Han Li warned, pointing downward.
Only then did Dugu Bo notice that Han Li had already activated all his soul bones. Sometimes, the effects of his soul bones were more useful than mental power.
"A big bat?"
Dugu Bo peered in the direction Han Li pointed but saw nothing.
"Yes, the kind with three heads. Let's deal with it here to avoid trouble later," Han Li said, preparing his bow.
Unlike usual, Han Li actively covered the arrow with his domain, concealing the soul power fluctuations to surprise the enemy.
Moreover, to the astonishment of the others, the arrow grew thicker until it was almost as wide as half the bow.
"Is it that troublesome? How about I go down and deal with it first?"
Dugu Bo suggested, seeing Han Li's grand display.
"It's not particularly strong, but it has three heads, a strong self-healing ability, and can split. I'm just preparing in advance," Han Li explained, drawing his bow.
"Oh, the Slaughter King gave me the intel," Han Li added facetiously.
Whoever believed that was a fool. The four rolled their eyes at him but said nothing.
After years together, they had grown used to Han Li's occasional foresight and didn't question it anymore.
"Alright, get on with it. Can you even call that an arrow?"
Dugu Bo grumbled.
"Single shot, just a bit thicker. Why wouldn't it be an arrow?"
Han Li retorted, releasing his right hand while chanting, "Take this, Demon's Penetrating, Killing Light Gun." (Dbz Reference.)
The three women couldn't help but laugh. Though they didn't know what a cannon was, it was clear Han Li himself didn't think his attack was an arrow.
Before his arrow hit, Han Li's mental attack, infused with ice elements, struck the Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat Kin, hitting all three heads before it could react.
Sensing the mental disturbance, the Bat King tried to move, but its three heads were simultaneously struck, slowing its thoughts.
Enemy...where...
Before it could finish its thought, a massive energy beam descended, enveloping all its heads. After passing through, it exploded, with ice and fire elements engulfing its body.
"Done, let's move," Han Li declared, putting away his bow in a stylish manner and gesturing to the group.
Seeing the dual-colored fireworks in the darkness below, the group felt uplifted and followed Han Li with smiles.
After a long detour, they reached the spot where the Dark Golden Three-Headed Bat Kin had been.
Han Li searched but found nothing left. Regretfully, he carried Xiu'er over the broken path caused by his attack and continued forward.
The air grew hotter, and even those behind Han Li could vaguely see the dark red flowing below the abyss.
The increasingly hot air made breathing uncomfortable as if their lungs were burning.
"This blood river isn't much different from lava. Without the Blood Fiend Technique and purification power, many trying to pass through here would lose control just from walking this far," Han Li remarked.
"No wonder you didn't fly them down directly but had them walk to gradually adapt," Dugu Bo noted, licking his lips.
"Yes, only ten people have exited here on their own in a thousand years. Gaining a domain isn't easy. We took a shortcut, so walking through and experiencing it might yield some benefits," Han Li said, observing the three women. Seeing they were in decent condition, he slowed his pace further.
In terms of combat strength, the three women were much stronger than Hu Liena, who had walked out of the City of Slaughter in the original story. However, their willpower wasn't as strong.
But Han Li felt this was enough.
He wasn't someone with extreme willpower either, and he didn't like glorifying suffering. Willpower was unpredictable until faced with a dire situation. He preferred to crush obstacles with sheer strength.
"Prepare yourselves. You'll handle the upcoming battle. Grandpa and I will support you. Don't worry about the path's destruction; we should be near the end," Han Li said to the three women behind him as they walked.
"Got it, no problem," the three women responded eagerly, anticipating the challenges ahead.