Published: August 28, 2025
Chapter 463: Turbulent Undercurrents
Yuan Yao saw this, her eyes sparkling with a playful glint, and she smiled lightly as she said, “What’s the matter? Brother Han no longer wants this item? Or are you afraid the Soul Resonance Orb I gave you is fake?”
Her words carried a hint of sarcasm.
Han Li didn’t immediately reply but stared at the orb closely for a while before speaking.
“Fake? Just from the Yin soul aura on it, I can tell whether it’s genuine. It’s just that I don’t know much about the wailing soul beasts. After refining this orb, will it cause any harm to me?”
As Han Li spoke, he fixed his gaze on Yuan Yao’s beautiful eyes without looking away.
“Unfavorable? How could that be! If there really were any problems, how could I have personally refined this orb? Although the process causes some discomfort, you just need to endure it, and everything will be fine!” Yuan Yao said casually, her expression calm.
“Discomfort?”
Han Li frowned, studying her for a moment and then glancing at the orb again. He suspected there was some falsehood in her words, but he couldn’t see any abnormalities for now.
After some thought, he decided to accept the orb first and study it later.
If it really had harmful effects, he could simply choose not to refine it. After all, possessing the orb alone allowed him to command the wailing soul beast.
With that in mind, he carefully placed the orb into his storage bag.
“Let’s go. While we’re still on this section of the Lava Path, I’ll do my best to protect Miss Yuan’s life. But I have to say this upfront: if we encounter danger even I can’t handle, Miss Yuan should escape on her own,” Han Li said calmly after securing the Soul Resonance Orb.
Then he touched the Frozen Ice Pearl floating above his head with his finger. Immediately, a strong chilling aura spread out, enveloping Yuan Yao as well.
“That’s natural. If such a situation really arises, I’ll accept it myself. But I believe, with your golden and silver beetles, Brother Han, such a scenario is unlikely,” the enchanting woman wrinkled her nose and smiled softly.
At this moment, her smile was like a blooming flower — utterly captivating.
Faced with such beauty, Han Li didn’t hold back and admired her for a moment before turning silently to walk ahead.
Yuan Yao smiled and walked a few steps lightly, then fell into step beside Han Li, appearing very intimate.
The closer she was to Han Li, the stronger the chilling aura emitted by the Frozen Ice Pearl surrounding them, making her feel more comfortable.
“Speaking of which, this Path of Ice and Fire is really strange! How could a Black Desert appear here? And such powerful iron fire ant swarms that don’t fear magical treasure attacks, able to spew black fire and transform in combinations. If I hadn’t had some Azure Fire Thunderbombs on me, I probably wouldn’t have made it to meet Brother Han. Even so, they still destroyed one of my defensive ancient treasures,” Yuan Yao complained lightly as she walked.
Apparently, she had not recognized the origin of the iron fire ants.
“The Black Desert never appeared before?” Upon hearing this, Han Li was taken aback and asked seriously.
He also felt something was off about such formidable spirit insects appearing here.
Except for cultivators with special magical abilities or powerful magical treasures, even core formation stage cultivators faced uncertain odds escaping the Black Desert unscathed.
“No! This Black Desert is appearing on the Lava Path for the first time. Previously, cultivators passing through here only faced high temperatures and dangerous terrain, maybe some flame beasts at most. Such strange flying ants never appeared. If these powerful ant swarms had been known, I’m sure very few cultivators would dare to brave the Lava Path. Most would have turned back right after the ghost mist. No cultivator would gamble with their life,” Yuan Yao replied decisively, clearly well-informed, though a puzzled expression lingered on her jade-like face.