I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 37 Han Li: I feel like I've been seen through!

The blood-red forbidden land is hidden in a crevice in the rocks.

Zhou Yuan sat cross-legged.

My mind was still basking in the excitement of having just completed the equipment upgrade.

The appearance of the fourth equipment slot means that his strength will take another leap forward.

Now that we're in the Bloodstained Forbidden Zone, there's no need to learn new skills or equip functional items for the time being—the priority is to enhance our immediate combat power and improve our survivability.

After a moment's thought, he made his decision.

With a slight thought, he took out a mid-grade spirit stone from his storage bag—"Equipment!"

【Equipment 4: Mid-grade Spirit Stone (Wood attribute, mid-grade Tier 2)】

[Effect 1: Mana regeneration speed is greatly increased.]

[Effect 2: Increases the speed and efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy from spirit stones.]

[Note: This is a pure wood-attribute spiritual energy crystal, rich in spiritual energy, a precious resource for cultivators to quickly replenish their mana.]

Equip four mid-tier spirit stones simultaneously!

In an instant, Zhou Yuan felt as if four streams of pure spiritual springs were simultaneously flowing into his limbs, meridians, and dantian.

These spiritual energies, through some mysterious channel, are continuously transformed into magical power, replenishing every bit of energy consumed.

If we consider that when he was equipped with three mid-tier spirit stones, his mana recovery speed was already far superior to that of other players of the same tier.

At this moment, the combined effect of the four spirit stones was almost unbelievable!

Zhou Yuan attempted to instantly unleash the Golden Sword Technique—twelve golden sword blades shot out simultaneously, consuming approximately one-tenth of his mana.

But the moment the sword blade vanished, the depleted mana was instantly replenished.

"this----"

Zhou Yuan was shocked. "Doesn't that mean that as long as my mana isn't instantly drained, I can almost instantly cast the Golden Sword Technique an unlimited number of times?"

This terrifying regenerative ability, almost like a "perpetual motion machine," is a devastating blow in battles during the Qi Refining stage!

Imagine this: while your opponent is still worrying about the mana cost of casting a high-level spell and needs time to recover, you can launch wave after wave of attacks without stopping.

The basic advanced Golden Sword Technique is so simple that it can even give Zhou Yuan the effect of the intermediate-level area-of-effect spell, Thousand Blades Technique.

That sense of despair is enough to crush anyone's fighting spirit.

"very good."

A sharp glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes. "With this fourth spirit stone, we're much more confident about our next move."

He composed himself and looked at Han Li, who was still meditating and adjusting his breathing beside him.

Han Li had basically recovered and was now opening his eyes, cautiously observing his surroundings.

"Junior Brother Han, how is your recovery going?" Zhou Yuan asked.

"That's about it."

Han Li nodded.

Zhou Yuan waved his hand, "Now we should consider our next move."

He stood up, removed the simple barrier outside the crevice, and looked at the hazy outline of the mountains in the distance.

"According to the sect's information, the area we are currently in is only the outermost layer of the central area."

Zhou Yuan pointed ahead and said, "About a mile inward from here is the boundary of the second level. The truly valuable spiritual herbs—including the three main ingredients for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill—are all located in the second level."

Han Li's expression hardened: "Senior brother, do you mean we should head to the second level?"

"That's right." Zhou Yuan nodded. "But before that, we need to understand some things."

He explained in detail: "The central area is divided into three layers, resembling a fruit peel, pulp, and pit. We are currently in the 'peel' layer. Although the flowers and plants there are rare and precious, very few of them contain medicinal herbs that are actually effective for cultivators; most are purely ornamental."

"The real richest area of ​​elixirs is in the second layer—it's a huge ring-shaped mountain range."

Zhou Yuan paused for a moment, then continued, "But this ring-shaped mountain range is shrouded in thick fog year-round, so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. What's even more troublesome is that not only is the terrain complex, but it is also home to a large number of demonic beasts, ranging from the lower level of level one to the upper level of level one, with a wide variety of species."

"Dense fog?" Han Li frowned.

"The seven major sects were prepared long ago."

Zhou Yuandao said, "Each sect jointly possesses a treasure called the Moon Sun Pearl, which can dispel the fog. This time, it's Tianque Fort's turn to take control, and the seven major sects have agreed on the time for dispelling the fog—it will be on the morning of the third day."

He glanced at the timekeeping artifact in his hand: "It's evening of the second day now, and there are still about six hours until the fog is dispelled."

Han Li suddenly realized: "That's why the ugly man ambushed the cultivators on the first level instead of rushing into the second level—because the fog hadn't dissipated, and going in would have been pointless."

"That's right," Zhou Yuan said. "We're not in a hurry. Let's take this opportunity to rest and recuperate here. We'll enter the second level to search for medicine when the fog clears tomorrow."

time flies.

There is no distinction between day and night within the forbidden area; the sky is always hazy, but according to the timekeeping device, it is already late at night.

Occasionally, the roars of monsters, the explosions of magic, and faint screams could be heard from afar—clearly, even at night, the killing had not stopped.

The area where Zhou Yuan and Han Li were located was relatively peaceful.

Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the battles during the day, or perhaps it was the remote location of the place, but overnight, no one disturbed them.

On the morning of the third day.

Zhou Yuan and Han Li opened their eyes at the same time, ending their meditation.

"It's almost time." Zhou Yuan looked towards the distant mountains.

The words had barely left his mouth—

From the southwest direction, an astonishing surge of spiritual energy suddenly erupted!

Immediately afterwards, a thick white beam of light shot into the sky, piercing straight into the clouds!

The beam of light coalesced above the vast sea of ​​fog, forming a gigantic sphere of light. The sphere grew brighter and brighter, more and more dazzling, like a newly risen sun, its light shining in all directions.

It was the Moon Sun Pearl that was activated!

The white beam of light continuously injected energy, causing the light sphere to expand and emit a blazing light.

Under this light, the thick fog that had enveloped the ring-shaped mountain range, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face, began to melt and dissipate rapidly, like ice and snow meeting the sun.

A moment later, the fog completely dissipated, and the true face of the ring mountain range was finally revealed to everyone.

This mountain is thousands of feet high, with steep slopes and overlapping peaks.

The mountain is covered with ancient trees and vines, and you can vaguely see natural terrain such as caves, valleys, and cliffs, as well as some ruins of stone houses and temples.

More importantly, as the mist dissipated, the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from various parts of the mountain became clearly perceptible—that place was the growing ground for all kinds of natural medicinal herbs!

"Walk!"

A glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes, and he sped off towards the mountain range without hesitation.

Han Li followed closely behind.

Both of them knew that with the fog just dissipating, it was the perfect time to enter the second level.

At this time, most cultivators had just set off and had not yet ventured deep into the area, so the chances of them encountering each other were relatively small.

Moreover, after the fierce competition of the past two days, those who have survived to this point are all elites with both excellent skills and strong character. The competition to come will only become more brutal.

But Zhou Yuan was full of confidence at this moment.

After equipping four mid-grade spirit stones, his mana recovery ability reached a terrifying level. Combined with his spellcasting, powerful divine sense, and numerous magical artifacts and talismans, he was almost invincible during the Qi Refining stage.

Not to mention, he also possesses divine sense killing moves such as the Twelve Divine Thorns.

"It's time to show my true strength," Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

The two moved extremely fast and soon arrived at the foot of the ring mountain.

From here, you officially enter the second floor of the central area.

Without hesitation, Zhou Yuan and Han Li began climbing up a seemingly gentle mountain path.

Ancient trees and exotic flowers and plants can be seen everywhere along the mountain road.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the air was more than 30% higher than that in the outer layer, making each breath refreshing.

However, neither of them dared to be careless. According to records, the mountains were teeming with monsters, and powerful monsters often guarded the places where spiritual herbs grew.

Sure enough, after traveling less than half a mile, a low roar of a beast came from the dense forest ahead.

"It's a mid-level level one demonic beast, an Ironback Bear." Zhou Yuan scanned it with his divine sense and immediately identified the type of demonic beast.

This kind of monster is incredibly strong and has amazing defense, but it is slow and not very intelligent.

"Never mind it," Zhou Yuan said.

He didn't want to waste time on this kind of monster.

The two turned and bypassed the dense forest from the side.

The iron-backed bear seemed to sense something, and cautiously looked in that direction for a moment, but ultimately did not pursue.

move on.

As they ventured deeper into the mountains, they encountered more and more cultivators.

About a dozen people appeared one after another as they entered the second floor from all directions.

Most of these people looked wary and hurried along, keeping their distance from each other. Occasionally, their eyes would meet, but they would quickly look away, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Those who have survived to this day are not fools.

Before discovering the precious medicinal herbs, neither side was willing to easily start a war—who knew what trump cards the other was hiding? What if they ended up losing both sides, wouldn't that benefit the newcomer?

Zhou Yuan and Han Li also adhered to the same principle. When they encountered other cultivators, as long as the other party did not provoke them, they pretended not to see them and went their separate ways.

However, this situation will change instantly when one actually encounters a miraculous elixir.

In a relatively open mountain valley.

Zhou Yuan and Han Li stopped and exchanged a glance.

"Senior brother, why don't we split up and search for the medicine?" Han Li suddenly said.

Zhou Yuan glanced at him, pondered for a moment, and nodded, saying, "Alright. Splitting up will be more efficient."

He knew Han Li's plan—Han Li, who possessed the little green bottle, didn't really want mature elixirs, but rather those undeveloped seedlings.

Mature medicinal herbs are indeed precious, but when taken out of the forbidden area, the spirit beasts raised by the seven sects can smell the herbs in the storage bag. If they are found to be hiding them, the consequences range from confiscation to severe punishment.

As for handing over spiritual herbs, the sect would at most reward one Foundation Establishment Pill. For someone with a pseudo-spiritual root like Han Li, one pill would be far from enough.

But seedlings are different.

Those neglected saplings, though they can only survive for one or two years after being taken out of the forbidden area, are enough time for Han Li to use the little green bottle to accelerate their growth several times over!

This is Han Li's greatest opportunity.

By splitting up, Han Li can focus on finding seedlings, avoiding competition with others for mature medicinal herbs and reducing the risk of conflict.

"Take care, senior brother." Han Li cupped his hands in greeting.

"Be careful too." Zhou Yuan nodded. "Remember, the Azure Condensation Mirror must not be used again."

"I see.

The two parted ways. Han Li chose a more secluded path on the left, while Zhou Yuan continued up the main road.

"He actually agreed so readily—" Han Li watched Zhou Yuan's departing figure, a hint of surprise flashing through his mind.

He had assumed Zhou Yuan would ask to come along, since the two of them together would be even stronger.

But then I thought, Senior Brother Zhou's strength is unfathomable, and he may not need me as a "burden" at all.

"Alright, we each get what we need."

Han Li shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and focused on finding the seedlings of spiritual herbs.