Han Yu curiously studied the green miasma before him, estimating the strength of his own body.
He paid no attention to the lopsided battle in the distance.
They were just two passersby. Han Yu had no desire to meddle in other people's fates, playing the good Samaritan and lending a hand to every stranger he met.
Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, held a hand to her chest, her eyes filled with sympathy. Watching the two fight for their lives, she couldn't help feeling shaken. She had been pampered since childhood and had never witnessed anything like this. The two were willing to risk their lives for a Thousand-Year Soul Bone.
The next instant.
Han Yu whipped around and shielded Ning Rongrong behind him. A faint golden light glimmered in his eyes as he watched the object flying toward them.
Once he made out its shape, he smiled wryly.
Seeing that he was about to die, the Soul Master had actually thrown the Soul Bone he had just obtained toward Han Yu.
Unfortunately, his actions only enraged the squad leader further. With a vicious look, the man snapped his neck, then tossed him aside like a piece of trash, near the Soul Master called Xiao Wu.
"Kid, leave the Soul Bone and that girl behind, then get lost."
Having easily dealt with a Soul Grandmaster, the squad leader was brimming with confidence. He regarded the two of them as already in his grasp.
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. She may be a little flat-chested, but she's a real beauty. She's got a charm all her own, hahaha." The squad leader's voice trailed off as he fixed an acquisitive gaze on Ning Rongrong, who was hiding behind Han Yu. His thoughts ran wild, and he gulped repeatedly.
Han Yu curled his lip and casually tossed the Soul Bone at his feet. He was about to summon the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords when he noticed something was off about Ning Rongrong behind him. Her little hands were clenched tight, her body trembling slightly as she lowered her head and muttered something.
"What did you say?" Ning Rongrong's voice was very low as she slowly raised her head.
She glared at the squad leader through gritted teeth, her delicate brows raised. Her clenched fingers had gone pale and bluish, and her chest heaved.
"Han Yu, kill him!"
"First: Strength. Second: Speed."
Ning Rongrong spoke rapidly, her dangerous eyes fixed on Han Yu. She immediately raised her hand, and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul appeared. Two Soul Skills shot forth.
A simultaneous boost to strength and speed enveloped Han Yu.
Han Yu swallowed, looked into Ning Rongrong's eyes, and fought with all his might to keep his gaze from wandering downward. Then he nodded firmly.
"The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda?! You're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!" The squad leader's eyes widened, terror in his voice as his legs began to buckle.
That flat-chested girl actually had the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind her. And she had two Soul Rings at such a young age—her status in the sect had to be exalted.
At the thought of the guards following her in secret, his legs trembled like reeds in the wind. He didn't even have the courage to run. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was renowned for fiercely protecting its own. Every member of the Ning Clan had high-ranking Soul Masters secretly guarding them whenever they went out, and not one had ever died.
"I'm sorry! Please spare me, both of you! I must've been blind—I beg you, let me go! I don't want the Soul Bone anymore!" The squad leader knelt and slapped himself again and again, his voice breaking into sobs.
Whoosh—
A golden bolt of lightning flashed by.
The Soul Elder's limbs were severed. He rolled to the ground, howling in agony.
Han Yu stopped in front of him, gazing down at him with pity as he pursed his lips and shook his head slightly.
People were greedy by nature. Get lucky once, and they wanted to gamble again. Win a few times, and they lost all sense of their own limits, thinking it was their strength that had kept them winning.
Besides, Han Yu wasn't the one who wanted him dead now. It was Ning Rongrong, who was calmly walking over.
Ning Rongrong stared intently at the squad leader on the ground, her face icy. With a dangerous smile, she asked softly, "Is my chest really that small?"
The man wept bitterly, forcing his agonized face into a fawning smile as he hurriedly replied, "Not at all! Not at all! Your figure is..."
His voice cut off abruptly. A sharp sword had appeared beneath his waist, and unbearable pain surged through him. He writhed wildly on the spot.
Han Yu felt a chill below the waist and retreated behind Ning Rongrong, turning his gaze elsewhere.
Half an hour later.
The Soul Elder finally got his wish and left this world.
The atmosphere grew rather delicate.
Han Yu pretended to be busy, standing in front of the miasma and examining it from every angle.
"Han Yu." Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly rang out.
Han Yu's body jolted. He turned stiffly, forcing a smile.
"What do you think of my figure?"
Ning Rongrong stared straight into Han Yu's eyes.
Her tone and expression were just like when she had asked the Soul Elder the same question.
Han Yu's palms began to sweat, and his body tensed. Against his conscience, he said, "Haha, Rongrong has a great figure. I like girls like you."
The chill in the air seemed to ease a little.
Just as Ning Rongrong was about to speak again—
The miasma nearby spread outward, and the Soul Beast's corpse instantly dissolved into a pool of foul liquid.
"Look out!" Han Yu cried urgently. Golden light flashed in his eyes as he lunged toward Ning Rongrong.
They fell to the ground, and a black hole suddenly appeared in midair, swallowing Han Yu and Ning Rongrong.
Gu Rong grabbed the two of them by the shoulders and appeared dozens of meters away. Frowning, he surveyed the strange miasma.
Since when had Sunset Forest had such potent poisonous miasma? There shouldn't have been any Soul Beasts this powerful in this area. The Medusa Soul Beast that had run rampant here years ago should have been killed long ago.
"It's a Soul Master. There's a Titled Douluo inside." Chen Xin descended from a tree with Ning Fengzhi and spoke slowly.
"Oh? A Titled Douluo lives here. Could he be unaffiliated with any sect or clan?" Ning Fengzhi's voice held a hint of delight, and his eyes lit up.
If they could recruit this person into the sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's strength would rise to another level.
"Hmph. Hiding away like that—what sort of decent person could he be?" Gu Rong said disdainfully.
"We should find a way to meet him first. Uncle Sword, I'll have to trouble you." Ning Fengzhi smiled, unbothered by Gu Rong's words.
Chen Xin nodded. His gaze sharpened as he turned his fingers into a sword and lightly pointed at the miasma.
The poisonous miasma split apart as if cleaved by a blade, leaving an opening several meters wide. Fierce sword energy lingered on the ground, sweeping the surrounding miasma aside and forming a path leading inward.
Chen Xin and Gu Rong walked in front and behind, keeping Han Yu and the other two protected between them as they slowly entered the poisonous miasma.
The vast green miasma gradually thinned, revealing the scene within.
A pool of water, half red and half blue, lay at the very center.
Scorching heat and biting cold rushed at them. Han Yu's left cheek went numb with frost while his right cheek burned. He was sweating and shivering at the same time.
What truly made them unable to look away—
Were the medicinal herbs growing in rings around the pool. They overflowed with fragrance and shimmered with precious light, illuminating the entire valley like a celestial paradise.
Gu Rong stood rooted to the spot, his fingers trembling and his mouth hanging wide open. His eyes were filled with shock.
He couldn't recognize the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for the treasure it was, but the fragrant herbs carpeting the ground were almost beyond belief. Nearly all of them were rare medicinal plants he had never seen before.