Moonlight poured like water over the barren rock walls of the extinct volcano, casting a cold sheen across them. A purple-robed woman stood at the boundary of the shadows, her skirts fluttering gently in the wind. A faint smile hovered at the corners of her lips, and her shifting gaze held the understanding of someone who saw through everything, along with a hint of amusement. Who else could she have been but Yuan Yao?
Alarm bells rang in Han Li's mind, but his face remained unruffled. He slowly emerged from the shadows, still wearing that same sallow face, his aura steady at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. He looked calmly at Yuan Yao and spoke in a raspy voice. "So it's Miss Yuan. This place is remote and desolate. What brings you here?"
Yuan Yao chuckled, her voice like jade beads falling onto a platter, exceptionally clear in the still night. "Fellow Daoist Li, why ask when you already know? If you could sense something unusual here, naturally I could as well. Or perhaps..." Her gaze shifted, sweeping over Han Li. "When you killed that Alligator Dragon just now, that trace of water spiritual power was exquisitely pure, yet carried a hint of something quite different. That hardly seemed like something an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could possess."
Han Li's heart tightened. She really had been watching him from the shadows! Although he had not used his full strength to kill the Alligator Dragon, the trace of Golden Core aura and the distinctive quality of his Profound Yin Fiend Qi that had leaked out in that instant had not escaped her perception! Her spiritual sense was far keener than that of others at her level!
"Just a little trick to keep myself alive. I'm afraid it's hardly worth your