Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 250

Han Li was genuinely surprised by her seduction.

However, he soon narrowed his eyes, stroked his chin, and said,

“If Miss Yuan uses her beauty and charm techniques, there wouldn’t be a man who could resist. But it’s useless on me, so it’s better to save your magical power to preserve your life.”

Indeed, the hazy allure on Yuan Yao’s face vanished, replaced by a venomous glare.

“Hmph! You really are a man who doesn’t know how to appreciate beauty.”

“How could that be? If this wasn’t a dangerous place like the Void Sky Hall, there’s no reason I wouldn’t fall for a beauty like you. Haha…”

“Ha, keep dreaming! If it weren’t for this place, I wouldn’t be…”

Yuan Yao glared at him, her eyes wide.

“Then that’s settled. I don’t want your body or your reward, so I’ll be going first.”

Han Li cupped his fist and turned to leave, but Yuan Yao immediately changed her tune, adopting a pitiful expression.

“Brother Han, why are you so angry? Please, tell me what you want. Have you forgotten our bond from over a hundred years ago, when we passed through the Ghost Cry [a dangerous area] together? I have nothing more to offer except the Cyan Fire Thunderbolts.”

Han Li looked at Yuan Yao with a half-smile.

The current pitiful gaze and seductive aura were completely different from the arrogant expression she had shown when they first met. It seemed her journey from the Qi Refining stage to the Core Formation stage [stages of cultivation] had not been ordinary. As he pondered this, Yuan Yao looked at him with expectant eyes.

After a long while, he opened his mouth as if he couldn’t help it.

“Since you mention our bond from over a hundred years ago, I can’t refuse to help. But my principle is not to waste time and effort, so if you hand over your Soul Devourer, I’ll pass through the Lava Road with you. I’m curious about the spirit beast’s ability to absorb souls.”

The Soul Devourer was the reward he had always wanted. If he had such a spirit beast, it would be helpful in his collaboration with Old Devil Xuangu. Moreover, it was a spirit beast with immense potential.

Yuan Yao’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“You want the Soul Devourer?”

“Why not?”

“So, if I give you the Soul Devourer, you’ll take me out of the Lava Road?”

Despite Han Li’s cold question, Yuan Yao asked back with a strange expression.

“That’s right!”

He gave a clear answer, but he felt that her reaction was odd.

“Okay! The Soul Devourer is yours, Fellow Cultivator Han!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yuan Yao released the spirit beast pouch and handed it to him. She didn’t seem to regret it at all. Han Li blinked, feeling rather displeased.

‘She handed over the Soul Devourer as if she was waiting for it. Is there something wrong?’

With this thought, he scanned the inside of the spirit beast pouch with his consciousness and found the Soul Devourer fast asleep. He nodded and fastened the spirit beast pouch to his waist.

Yuan Yao opened her mouth and took out a gray bead, placing it on her palm.

“This is the Soul Calling Bead, which can control the Soul Devourer. If you refine it like a magic treasure, the Soul Devourer will be yours forever. I haven’t fully refined this spirit beast since I haven’t had it for long, so you can push out my traces of consciousness and refine it yourself.”

She finished her explanation with a smile and tried to hand the Soul Calling Bead to Han Li. However, Han Li, looking down at the bead, didn’t seem inclined to take it.

He already knew about this bead. He had learned about it through a voice transmission with Fairy Ziling after seeing the Soul Devourer in the Ghost Cry.

He also knew that the woman couldn’t control the Soul Devourer at will, which meant she hadn’t fully refined it. However, seeing the joyful expression on her face as she handed over the Soul Calling Bead, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious and couldn’t accept it.

Yuan Yao smiled slyly.

“Are you worried that I might give you a fake Soul Calling Bead?”

Her words were laced with sarcasm. Han Li didn’t answer immediately, but after examining the bead further, he spoke.

“It could be fake. Also, I can feel the aura of a soul in the bead, but will there be any disadvantages if I refine it?”

He stared intently into Yuan Yao’s eyes. Yuan Yao calmly explained.

“There’s no disadvantage! If there were any problems, would I have refined it myself? You’ll just have to endure some discomfort during the refining process.”

‘Discomfort?’

Han Li frowned and looked at her before turning his gaze to the bead. In the end, he decided to take the bead and examine it slowly.

If there were any harmful effects, he could just not refine it. After all, he could control the Soul Devourer with the Soul Calling Bead. He carefully placed the bead into his storage pouch.

“Then let’s go. I’ll tell you in advance, I’ll do my best to ensure your safety in the Lava Road, but if we encounter insurmountable difficulties, it’s best to look out for yourself.”

With these calm words, his Ice Essence Bead emitted a cold aura, enveloping Yuan Yao within it.

“Of course. If anything happens, I’ll take care of myself.”

After looking at her face, Han Li immediately quickened his pace. Yuan Yao also walked closely beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

The further she was from Han Li, the weaker the cold aura of the Ice Essence Bead became, so she had no choice but to stick closer. As she maintained a light pace, she moved her red lips and complained.

“But isn’t this Icefire Path too strange? A black desert and swarms of ants that are immune to magic treasures. If it weren’t for the Cyan Fire Thunderbolts, I would have died before even meeting Fellow Cultivator Han. And I even lost a defensive treasure.”

She also seemed to know nothing about the Ironclad Ants.

“Has the black desert never appeared before?”

In fact, he was also puzzled by the appearance of such a powerful demonic beast like the Ironclad Ants. Except for cultivators with special techniques or magic treasures, even late-stage Core Formation cultivators would have a low chance of escaping the black desert unscathed.

Yuan Yao answered immediately, as if she had done a lot of research.

“Never! The black desert has never appeared in the Lava Road before. Cultivators who have been here before only had to overcome the high temperatures, dangerous terrain, and the occasional fire-attribute demonic beasts. If they had known that swarms of Ironclad Ants would appear, no cultivator would have tried to pass through this place. They would have probably returned immediately after passing through the Ghost Cry and receiving their rewards.”

‘So, the Icefire Path is not normal.’

* * *

“This is not normal. Someone must have interfered.”

In the blood-red ice pillar of the Profound Ice Road, Qing Yi Layman muttered with his hands behind his back.

Numerous blue lights swirled around him, and beyond them, hundreds of silver demonic beasts were approaching. The small beasts had silver fur and small horns on their heads.

Thump! Thump!

One by one, they turned into silver lights and collided with the old man. Despite their small size, they made a tremendous noise, indicating that they were not weak demonic beasts.

The old man remained unfazed by this onslaught. However, it was clear that the attacks of the monstrous rats were bothering him.

“Do you want to die so badly?”

He had been looking down and lost in thought, but now he swung his arm, causing the blue lights around him to explode and sweep away the surrounding beasts.

After a moment, the blue light disappeared, and the ground was covered with the corpses of countless beasts, all riddled with dense blue needles. Qing Yi Layman looked down at them as if it were a matter of course.

With a cold gaze, the old man moved his hand again, and the tiny needles gathered as if flowing backward, disappearing into his body.

“Silver Light Rats in the second checkpoint, could it be…”

The old man didn’t move, his face dark.

“Hmph! If Silver Light Rats have appeared in the Profound Ice Road, then the Lava Road won’t be the same as before. I wonder what happened to that Han fellow!”

He sighed with a hint of anxiety and vanished from his spot.

* * *

In the darkness of the great canyon, only two voices could be heard.

“I’m not sure if using the Ironclad Ants and Silver Light Rats was too reckless. We didn’t interfere before, but we moved secretly. This time, making the black desert and the forest of blood appear was too conspicuous. Many Core Formation cultivators from both the righteous and demonic paths must have died, and Manhuozi and Mantianming must have noticed.”

A cold reply came to the worried voice.

“They must have noticed. But did you think that the righteous and demonic paths didn’t know what we did in the Void Sky Hall before? They had already noticed, but they couldn’t protest because the power of the Sacred Palace was too strong. They thought we were just manipulating the small restrictions within the Void Sky Hall and didn’t pay much attention.”

“It’s a pity that we used the black desert and the forest of blood as cards. After all, the previous master of the Sacred Palace spent a lot of time controlling them.”

“There’s nothing to regret. Right now, many rumors are circulating in the Chaotic Star Sea, and the two Palace Lords are in the most crucial stage of their closed-door cultivation and cannot be contacted. The atmosphere in the Chaotic Star Sea is ominous, and even the disciples within the Sacred Palace are feeling uneasy.

At this point, we must suppress any righteous or demonic forces that try to grow. If either side acts alone, the Sacred Palace has nothing to fear, but if they unite, it will become a big problem.

First, we must use any means to suppress both forces and prevent them from turning their attention to us. After all, the Sacred Palace has dominated the Chaotic Star Sea for a long time, so no one can dare to oppose us.

If we buy enough time for the two Palace Lords to finish their closed-door cultivation, we won’t have to worry even if the righteous and demonic paths unite. Even if the Wind Rider of the Myriad Dharma Sect or the Six Paths of the Sacred Devil Path appear, they will hesitate before the two Palace Lords’ Nascent Soul Light [a powerful display of cultivation].

In this situation, activating the restrictions of the Ironclad Ants and Silver Light Rats was an unavoidable choice. Without these two, we don’t have the killing power to deal with a large number of Core Formation cultivators.

Looking at the people from both sides now, they must have come for the Void Sky Hall. If his direct disciple hadn’t been harmed, he wouldn’t have had time to argue about this.”

The cold voice quickly summarized the situation.

* * *

Han Li looked at the insects covering the ground and asked,

“Do you know how many times we’ve encountered ant swarms on our way here?”

“Seven times! We’ve encountered them often, but there haven’t been any large swarms of more than ten thousand.”

It had been half a day since they started moving together. Han Li frowned and fell into thought. The Devouring Gold Bugs, which had eaten all the fallen ants, returned to the spirit beast pouch at Han Li’s gesture.

Yuan Yao looked at Han Li’s face and asked, as if she didn’t understand,

“What’s wrong? Your expression doesn’t look good. We’ve already passed the center of the desert, so the rest of the way should be much safer.”

Han Li sneered.

“Are you really sure it’s safe? I don’t know what dangers lie ahead, but one thing is clear: we haven’t encountered the queen ant or any ant swarms yet. If we haven’t encountered the queen ant yet, then we’ve been lucky. It seems we should continue to be vigilant.”

At those words, Yuan Yao’s face turned pale, and she forced a smile.

“Aren’t you worrying too much? The queen ant might not be that powerful, or it might not even exist.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Han Li thought that there could be a queen ant demonic beast among the Ironclad Ants, and although its power might not be great, its intelligence would be high, making it a very difficult battle if they encountered it.