Seeing this, a flicker of playful charm danced in Yuanyao’s eyes as she let out a light laugh. “What’s the matter, Brother Han? Don’t you want this item anymore? Or are you afraid that the Soul Cry Pearl I gave you is a fake?” Her words carried a subtle hint of mockery.
Han Li did not reply immediately. Instead, he stared intently at the pearl for a while before speaking. “Whether it’s fake or not, I can certainly tell from the Yin soul aura emanating from it. It’s just that I know very little about the Soul Cry Beast. After refining this pearl, will there be any harm to myself?”
As he spoke, Han Li fixed his gaze firmly on Yuanyao’s beautiful eyes.
“Harm? How could that be! If there were really any issues, why would I have refined this pearl myself? However, there might be some slight discomfort during the refinement process. As long as you endure it, everything will be fine!” Yuanyao replied with an unchanged expression, her tone casual and light.
“Discomfort?” Han Li frowned. He studied her for a moment, then glanced at the pearl again. He knew there had to be more to her words than she was letting on, but he couldn’t detect anything unusual at the moment. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to accept the pearl for now and study it further later. If it truly posed any harm, he could simply choose not to refine it. After all, as long as he had the pearl, he could still command the Soul Cry Beast.
With this thought, he carefully stored the pearl in his storage pouch.
“Let’s go. For the duration of our journey through the Lava Path, I will do my best to ensure your safety. But let me be clear—if we encounter danger even I cannot handle, Fellow Daoist Yuan, you’ll have to fend for yourself!” Han Li said calmly to Yuanyao after storing the Soul Cry Pearl. He then pointed at the Ice Pearl floating above his head, and a surge of Yin cold energy instantly enveloped her as well.
“Naturally. If such a situation arises, I will accept my fate. However, I believe that with Brother Han’s gold and silver armored insects, the likelihood of that happening is quite small.” The stunning woman wrinkled her nose slightly before pursing her lips into a smile. At that moment, her smile was as radiant as a flower, utterly captivating.
Faced with such beauty, Han Li unabashedly admired her for a few moments before turning around without a word and walking away. Seeing this, Yuanyao smiled and gracefully moved forward, quickly catching up to walk side by side with him, appearing quite intimate.
The closer she was to Han Li, the more abundant the chilling cold energy from the Ice Pearl became, so it was only natural for her to seek greater comfort.
“Speaking of which, this Icefire Path is truly bizarre! How could there be a Black Desert and such formidable flying ants that fear neither magical tools nor spit black fire, transforming and combining? If I hadn’t happened to have some Green Flame Thunder on me, I likely wouldn’t have survived long enough to meet you, Brother Han. Even so, they destroyed one of my ancient defensive treasures.” Yuan Yao walked with a relaxed demeanor, complaining with a slight pout of her apricot-colored lips. Clearly, she hadn’t recognized the origin of the Ironfire Ants.
“The Black Desert has never appeared before?” Han Li was taken aback by her words and couldn’t help but ask in a deep voice. He also felt that the appearance of such powerful spirit insects like the Ironfire Ants here seemed unusual. Aside from those with special abilities or powerful magical tools, even Core Formation late-stage cultivators would find it difficult to escape unscathed from the Black Desert.
“No! This is the first time the Black Desert has appeared on the Lava Path. In the past, those who passed this trial only had to face extreme heat and various dangerous terrains, occasionally encountering some flame beasts at most. Never have such strange flying ants appeared. If cultivators had known about the existence of these formidable ant colonies, I’m sure very few would have been willing to venture into the Lava Path. Or perhaps most would have turned back immediately after passing through the Ghost Mist. No cultivator would joke with their own life.” Yuanyao seemed to know a great deal, replying without hesitation, though her jade-like face also showed a trace of puzzlement.
“So, the Icefire Path is somewhat abnormal!” A thoughtful glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes as he murmured.
…
“Absolutely abnormal. Someone must have tampered with it.” In a forest of blood-red ice pillars within the Profound Crystal Path, the Green Robe Scholar stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky and uttering the same words.
Countless green rays, about an inch long, whirled and danced around his body. Beyond them were hundreds of pitch-black, silver-furred small beasts. These creatures resembled mice, with shimmering silver fur and a small, exquisite silver horn on each of their heads, giving them a delicate and clever appearance.
They encircled the old man, continuously transforming into streaks of silver light, charging at him like arrows with their silver horns. The collisions produced thunderous roars, creating an astonishingly fierce scene. Yet, the green rays in front of the old man remained motionless, utterly unfazed by the relentless silver assaults.
“Seeking death!” The scholar seemed irritated by the noise of the strange mice’s attacks. Lowering his head, his face turned cold as he flicked his sleeve outward. Instantly, the green rays exploded, their dazzling radiance illuminating the area within a radius of several dozen zhang, making it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
A moment later, the green light dimmed, revealing the ground littered with the corpses of small silver beasts. Each corpse was pierced by countless fine green needles, gleaming with an eerie blue cold light.
The Green Robe Scholar’s expression remained unchanged, clearly having anticipated this outcome. He cast a cold glance at the ground before stretching out a thin, withered right hand and gently beckoning into the air. The needles on the ground converged like rivers returning to the sea, transforming back into green rays that flew into his body and vanished.
“Silverlight Mice! Why would such things appear in the second trial? Could it be…” The old man’s face darkened as he pondered, standing motionless in place.
“Hmph! Since Silverlight Mice have appeared in the Profound Crystal Path, it seems the Lava Path won’t be the same as before either. That kid surnamed Han is probably in big trouble!” The Green Robe Scholar let out an extremely annoyed snort, muttering to himself with some anxiety. Then, sighing and shaking his head, he swayed a few times and vanished from the spot.
Amid the towering blood-red ice pillars, only the ground littered with silver beast corpses remained, lending an eerie atmosphere to the scene.
…
In a lightless area of the great canyon, two voices conversed unhurriedly in the darkness.
“Was it too rash to deploy the Ironfire Ants and Silverlight Mice this time? Although we’ve tampered with things in previous treasure hunts, it’s always been done discreetly. But the appearance of the Black Desert and the Blood Ice Forest this time is far too blatant. Aside from the few who haven’t passed through these areas, most of the Core Formation cultivators from the righteous and demonic factions will likely perish here. When the time comes, I’m afraid we won’t be able to fool Wan Tianming and Man Huzi anymore,” one voice said with concern.
“Fool them? Do you really think the righteous and demonic factions were unaware of our previous tampering in the Void Palace? They’ve known all along but turned a blind eye because our Star Palace was powerful. They understand that we can only manipulate some minor restrictions in the Void Palace, which don’t pose a significant threat—it’s just a way to thin out their Core Formation cultivators during each treasure hunt,” another icy voice replied calmly.
“The Black Desert and Blood Ice Forest are the most powerful restrictions I can control. Using them like this still feels like a waste. After all, it took our previous Star Palace Lords great effort to master them,” the first voice lamented with a sigh.
“Not a waste at all! Rumors are spreading like wildfire outside, and both Holy Masters are at a critical moment in their closed-door cultivation, completely unreachable. This has caused unrest throughout the Twisted Star Sea. Even our own inner disciples in the Star Palace are growing uneasy. The palace affairs are now solely supported by us few old folks, but both the righteous and demonic factions are growing restless. It’s difficult for us to maintain control. While we wouldn’t fear either faction alone, we dread the possibility of them joining forces—that would be disastrous.”
“Our only option now is to adopt a firm stance and forcefully weaken both factions’ strength, making them cautious and uncertain of our true situation. After all, the Star Palace has ruled the Twisted Star Sea for so long—they can’t help but be wary. As long as we buy some more time, the two Holy Masters will emerge from seclusion. Even if the factions unite then, we’ll have nothing to fear. After all, even the madwoman of the Ten Thousand Laws Sect and the Six Paths of the Sacred Demon Island would have to retreat before our Holy Masters’ Primordial Magnetic Divine Light.”
“Deploying the Ironfire Ant and Silverlight Mouse restrictions was a necessary move. No other restrictions could inflict such heavy casualties on Core Formation cultivators or serve as an effective warning to demonstrate our firm stance. As for your worry that they might use this as a pretext to cause trouble, that’s undue anxiety. Judging by their actions, they’re most likely after the Void Cauldron again. Since those who died aren’t their direct disciples, they won’t go out of their way to make an issue of it—at most, they’ll seethe inwardly.”
The icy voice coldly delivered this lengthy explanation.
Hearing this, the first voice sighed softly and fell silent, seemingly accepting the other’s judgment.
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