Upon hearing Han Meiyan's words, Zhang He fell silent for a moment, but ultimately steeled himself and asked, "I wonder what the Saintess is seeking on this trip? I am but a person of humble status and meager strength, and I don't know if I can be of any help?"
"If I say you can help, then naturally you can help."
Han Meiyan's lazy voice rang out, extremely seductive, causing Zhang He to constantly waver between falling into a trance and staying clearheaded.
Then, she slowly spoke, "What I seek is the essence blood left behind by the legendary ancient divine beast, the Fire Qilin, known as 'Qilin Blood'."
As soon as these words came out, Zhang He shook his head vigorously, bringing his consciousness back to clarity from the charming technique of this Six Desires Demonic Sect Saintess before him.
With a shocked expression on his face, he looked at Han Meiyan and asked, "Does something like Qilin Blood truly exist? I thought it was just rumors in the martial world."
"Nonsense, if it didn't exist, why would I have come to this place?"
Han Meiyan glanced at Zhang He and explained, "Whether the ancient divine beast Fire Qilin exists is still uncertain, but Qilin Blood is undoubtedly a 'divine treasure' that exists in this world."
"In the martial world of the Great Wu in the north, the Ni family, known for their 'Tyrant Blade', had an ancestor who by fortunate encounter drank Qilin Blood. After surviving the ordeal of having his bloodline burned, he continued the Qilin bloodline to this day, establishing the Ni family's illustrious reputation in the martial Dao!"
"Furthermore, the 'Peerless Divine Arm' Shangguan Yun, widely renowned in the Great Xuan martial world, has an arm that was formed by being soaked in Qilin Blood. It is impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire, and moreover, his body possesses Qilin divine strength, granting him terrifying talent in palm and fist martial arts."
Hearing this, Zhang He's eyes flickered with uncertainty, and for a moment, his gaze revealed deep longing and greed.
He himself possessed an extremely strong self-healing constitution, and combined with his cultivation of the Undying Blood Sacred Technique, this gave him the characteristic of being extremely difficult to kill.
There were many people in the world whose martial Dao strength surpassed his, but those who could truly kill him were few.
And this Qilin Blood was simply a perfect match for him. If he could obtain this treasure, not only could he improve his martial Dao cultivation and gain various mysterious powers bestowed by Qilin Blood, he might even possess the characteristic of being immortal and indestructible, invincible in the world.
At this moment, Han Meiyan narrowed her eyes slightly and glanced at Zhang He meaningfully, saying calmly, "It seems you're quite interested in Qilin Blood. I can promise you here that as long as you help me obtain the Qilin Blood, I don't mind sharing some with you."
Hearing this, Zhang He quickly restrained his expression. That dandy yet handsome face showed an awkward smile as he cupped his hands and said, "The Saintess jests. A divine treasure like Qilin Blood is not a blessing I am qualified to receive."
"Are you saying you're unwilling to help me?"
"Of course not. I will certainly do my utmost to assist the Saintess in obtaining the Qilin Blood, but... I don't know where in Floating Boat City this Qilin Blood is hidden? And how should I help the Saintess?"
"You need not worry about this."
Han Meiyan slowly shook her head and said, "As long as we pass the third trial in the end, I will naturally tell you how to obtain the Qilin Blood."
Zhang He's eyes moved slightly as he pondered for a moment, then turned his head to survey the surrounding underground lake. Suddenly, he smiled, "These inferior little tricks, with mine and the Saintess's strength, getting into the top ten is simple, isn't it? Even first place would be easy to obtain."
However, Han Meiyan shook her head again and said, "The forces behind Floating Boat City are not to be underestimated. The top three positions are too conspicuous. We only need to obtain a middling ranking."
Hearing this, Zhang He was not surprised and merely nodded slowly, "Everything shall be as the Saintess says."
...
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Before long, the grand sound of bells suddenly rang out from above the underground lake, spreading from near to far through the darkness in all directions.
Immediately after, a resonant voice drifted over from the distance, "In five breaths, the second trial will officially begin. All honored guests, please note the time."
Hearing this, Li Yuanling took a deep breath and stood up from the soft stool, her eyes vigilantly watching her surroundings.
Here, essentially no one would know her identity as a Great Li princess, so she had to rely entirely on herself.
But it was precisely because of this that she found it exciting and interesting, perfectly suited for her to let loose and display her abilities.
Across from her, Li Musheng crossed his arms with his usual expression. Watching Li Yuanling's pretty face tense with nervousness, he chuckled, "Not to criticize you, but I wonder if you can even last the time it takes to burn one incense stick?"
"Can't you avoid saying such discouraging words?"
Li Yuanling turned her head and rolled her eyes at Li Musheng, snorting, "This princess's martial Dao strength is not weak. Snatching a few dozen jade tokens shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
At this moment, the five breaths passed, and the four sides of the underground lake suddenly erupted with the rumbling sound of iron wheels rolling, thundering through the entire underground space like thunder.
Immediately after, iron gates rapidly opened or closed, causing the water flow on the lake's surface to suddenly surge with waves.
In an instant, five massive undercurrent whirlpools formed in the center of the underground lake.
The undercurrent whirlpools continuously stirred the lake water into turmoil while simultaneously creating a powerful spiral suction force in the air above the lake's center, pulling the wooden boats from all directions and causing them to begin moving toward the heart of the lake.
"Quickly steady the boat, don't get close to that couple's wooden boat."
The middle-aged swordsman hurriedly shouted. Originally, he and another martial world warrior had been maneuvering their boat to quietly move away from Li Musheng and his companion.
But now, affected by the wind spiral and undercurrents, they were actually trending toward approaching the other boat again, so he became somewhat anxious.
He had seen everything that happened in the first trial with his own eyes. He knew the two people on that boat were definitely not simple, so he didn't want to encounter them so early.
Hearing this, the martial world warrior responded and was about to use his martial Dao true qi to steady the boat that was continuously sliding toward the lake's center.
However, just at this moment, a black shadow suddenly leaped from a nearby boat. Sharp claw winds pressed forward aggressively, directly targeting the jade token in his hand.
Having no choice, the martial world warrior had to focus on responding and began fighting with his opponent...
At the same time, fierce battles for the tokens also rapidly erupted on the wooden boats throughout various parts of the underground lake.
For a time, martial Dao true qi became chaotic throughout the entire underground space, and the sounds of clashing blades and swords along with cursing voices were constant.
Li Yuanling seemed to be infected by the surrounding battles for supremacy. Her originally somewhat hesitant mindset immediately became filled with fighting spirit.
"Watch the candle flame carefully."
She turned her head to specifically instruct Li Musheng, then stepped forward with her foot.
Her emerald green skirt hem fluttered in the dim candlelight, rolling up a hunting wind sound as she leaped toward a nearby wooden boat she had long set her sights on.
Li Yuanling had already noticed that on that boat, the two men and one woman were not only young in age, but their martial Dao auras also seemed weak, making them exactly the soft targets she was looking for.