"Dao Ba's death is too coincidental… However, this also shows that the person who released the Flesh-Eating Worms into my room that day was indeed him. It's just that he's probably just a pawn, acting under the instructions of someone behind the scenes," Han Li muttered.

"No matter who instructed him, being able to get Flesh-Eating Worms, this person's capabilities are definitely not to be underestimated. It seems, Fellow Daoist Li, you've stirred up some big trouble…" Du Long frowned, and said.

"What, is Fellow Daoist Du Long afraid of being implicated in Li's trouble? Then the previously agreed transaction can be canceled if you wish," Han Li said with a smile.

He had already thought of what Du Long said.

It's just that within this Green Ram City, if he were to have a grudge with anyone, it would only be Chen Yang and Dao Ba. But if the former wanted to kill Han Li, he wouldn't have needed to throw him into this Profound Battle Arena in the first place. And now that Dao Ba is dead without proof, there's no way to continue investigating this matter.

"Haha! What are you saying, Fellow Daoist Li? Naturally, I'm afraid of trouble, but the transaction with you cannot be canceled. Let's go, I'll just兌現part of the beast cores I promised you, so you won't go back on your word," Du Long stopped in front of his room and said with a laugh.

"Very well, I can also pass on the Method of Opening Apertures of my cultivation technique to you, and then use my divine sense to help you resolve that hidden danger. It's just that I can't determine how many treatments will be needed afterward for now. But as long as you fulfill all your promises, I will definitely resolve your worries," Han Li nodded, and said.

"It's a deal, please!" Du Long nodded, opened his door, and said.

About half an hour later, Han Li returned to his room, took out the ten Tarot Beast Cores that Du Long had given him from his sleeve, picked one up, swallowed it, and then began to close his eyes and cultivate the Yu Hua Fei Sheng Gong.

……

Time flew by, and more than six years had passed.

Han Li had participated in many Profound Battles one after another. In the life-and-death struggles, his strength was also gradually improving.

Most of the Profound Points he won in the matches were exchanged for beast cores. In addition to those that Du Long gave him intermittently, the number was quite substantial, and he consumed them one by one in his cultivation.

However, as he continued to cultivate, Han Li also found that the speed at which his Profound Apertures were being opened gradually slowed down.

He knew in his heart that this was because the more one cultivated, the more Stellar Power was needed to open the Profound Apertures. The Stellar Power contained in a single Tarot Beast Core was limited, and only by consuming more beast cores could there be enough power to support the opening of a single Profound Aperture.

But even so, Han Li had already opened up forty-nine Profound Apertures. Compared to anyone else, this was a shocking and bizarre matter.

He was deeply concerned about this matter.

After all, the speed at which his Profound Aperture count was increasing was too unbelievable. Once he was targeted by someone with ulterior motives, forcing him to reveal the method of his rapid cultivation, it would definitely be an unavoidable disaster.

Coincidentally, one day two years ago, after participating in a Profound Battle, he returned to his room, exhausted, and found that the Sky Star Shell placed in his room had been destroyed.

However, when he entered the room to inspect it, he found that the furnishings in the room had hardly changed. Not only was nothing missing, but he found a leg bone of an unknown scaled beast in a corner of the room.

On that leg bone, many thumb-sized characters had been carved with a sharp instrument. Although there were only a few thousand words, Han Li was overjoyed after reading them.

Because the words recorded were not something else, but precisely a secret technique teaching him how to use Stellar Power to seal Profound Apertures.

This secret technique did not have a name inscribed on it. The carvings on it were also very new, but the handwriting was a bit scribbled, seemingly as if the person carving it was in a hurry.

At the end of the leg bone text, there were four additional words: Destroy after reading.

After reading it, Han Li didn't hesitate and immediately crushed the leg bone into powder.

Although the bone text did not record the person who gave it, Han Li didn't think of anyone else. The only one who could be anxious for his sake and send him this thing at a critical moment was the Crab Fellow Daoist.

As for why the Crab Fellow Daoist would realize that he had this need, and how the Crab Fellow Daoist sent this thing, he didn't have the answers for now and could only wait to see the Crab Fellow Daoist in the future to ask for confirmation.

Afterward, Han Li tried to cultivate the secret technique and quickly grasped the key points. Since then, several of his Profound Apertures had been sealed one by one, and the number of apertures he revealed had always been maintained at forty-three.

Until today, two years later, everyone still thought that he only had forty-three Profound Apertures.

……

At this moment, in a Profound Battle Arena in the Ninth District, a battle between a human and a Xuan-rank scaled beast was taking place. The audience in the stands was in high spirits, and the shouts shook the sky.

"Phantom, Phantom, Phantom…"

Waves of neat shouts, one stronger than the other, echoed in the Profound Battle Arena.

In the center of the Profound Battle Arena, a huge black-scaled elephant was covered in bloodstains, frantically running towards a young man holding a white bone spear.

The man was quite tall and had ordinary features, with a pair of eyes that were extremely deep. Who else could it be but Han Li?

The bone spear that Han Li held was quite special in shape. The spearhead and the spear shaft were almost the same length. The surface was shimmering, as if it was shrouded in the luster of stars. It seemed to be the thorny spine of some kind of scaled beast.

The black-scaled elephant seemed to be fierce, but its footsteps seemed a little messy. When it charged over, its pair of white bone tusks were like two spears that emitted a cold light, stabbing straight at Han Li.

Han Li held the spear with one hand. Although he also had bloodstains on his body, he seemed quite relaxed.

Seeing the black-scaled elephant rushing in front of him, he bent his knees slightly, and the Profound Apertures on his legs suddenly lit up. His whole body suddenly rose up and jumped, and his speed was extremely fast.

His figure blurred, and he suddenly appeared in front of the black-scaled elephant.

The black-scaled elephant seemed to be startled by Han Li's action. It didn't rashly ram into him, but suddenly flicked its trunk, sweeping horizontally towards Han Li.

Its speed was so fast that it was dazzling. Most of the audience in the stands could only see a series of afterimages flashing in the air.

If it was just speed, it wouldn't be a big deal. But this beast's trunk was covered with dark green scales, and its toughness was even better than its body. The force of the horizontal sweep was even greater than Han Li's full-strength punch. If he was hit by it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, just as its trunk was about to touch Han Li, the Profound Apertures on his legs lit up again. His figure shrunk in a bizarre posture, and then he suddenly kicked the horizontally sweeping trunk, and his figure was sent flying out.

But just as Han Li flew out, the white bone spear he was holding tightly in both hands had already pierced into the black-scaled elephant's cheek.

"Chi…"

A sound of flesh and blood tearing came.

The white bone spear in Han Li's hand, following that powerful force, was like an extremely sharp scythe, cutting from the black-scaled elephant's cheek all the way back, directly cutting a huge hole in the black-scaled elephant's abdomen.

A large amount of bright red blood poured down like a spring, dyeing half of the Profound Battle Arena red.

The black-scaled elephant's huge body took two steps forward, but it could no longer support itself. With a "bang", it crashed to the ground.

Han Li randomly followed closely, jumping high into the air, grabbing the spear in his hand and raising it high, the muscles on his arms bulging. All forty-three Profound Apertures on his body lit up, and he threw the spear out like a javelin.

"Whoosh"

A sharp sound of breaking through the air sounded briefly, and then stopped abruptly.

The white bone spear directly penetrated the black-scaled elephant's head and pierced deeply into the stone slab of the Profound Battle Arena. Han Li's figure also followed and fell down, heavily stepping on the black-scaled elephant's back.

"Phantom, Phantom, Phantom…"

……

The victory and defeat had been decided, and life and death had been seen.

The atmosphere in the Profound Battle Arena was finally ignited, and waves of wild shouts rose and fell, lasting for a long time.

Above the stands, in a hidden VIP room in the mountain wall, a black-robed man with a fierce face and a burly figure was watching the scene in the arena with his hands behind his back.

The half of his face covered with black scales had no expression, but the other half of his face, which seemed to have been burned by flames, was slightly wrinkled, and a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.

This person was none other than Du Qingyang, the city lord of Green Ram City.

"It seems that the cultivation technique you're practicing focuses on speed enhancement, and your movement techniques seem to have some room to spare. How interesting. But it seems, it's almost time," Du Qingyang muttered, his gaze fixed on Han Li.

After saying this, he left the VIP room and returned directly to his cave dwelling.

About half an hour later, Hu Ben, wearing a white bone armor, walked hastily through the city's passageways and arrived outside an议事大殿in the city lord's cave dwelling.

Before he could announce himself, the heavy door of the 议事大殿opened inward on its own, and two words floated out from inside:

"Come in"

Hu Ben didn't dare to hesitate and quickly walked in. He saw that four people were already seated on both sides of the long table in the hall.

Among them, a bald man on the left and a gaunt old man were the captains of the Third and Fourth Hunting Teams, respectively, just like him. On the right were a square-faced young man and a hair-tied man, who were both captains of the City Guard Team.

And sitting in the main seat facing the door was Du Qingyang.

"Greetings, City Lord," Hu Ben immediately saluted respectfully.

Du Qingyang was playing with a strange-looking black stone statue with three heads and six arms in his hand. He just nodded casually, signaling him to sit down quickly.

"The reason I called you here today is to tell you that the Jia Luo Blood Formation can now be started," Du Qingyang stopped his movements, sat up slightly straighter, and announced.

When Hu Ben and the others heard this, their expressions changed. Almost everyone's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. They quickly and respectfully clasped their fists and said, "Your subordinates obey."

"The time is approaching, and there are still some specific details to be explained. Listen carefully, and there must be no mistakes…" Du Qingyang said slowly.

Everyone's faces showed solemn expressions when they heard this.