Chapter 470: Refining Crystals

Volume 4: Winds of Change Overseas

"How many swarms of flying ants have we encountered since we started our journey?" Han Li asked slowly, looking at the insect corpses on the ground.

"This is the seventh swarm! Although we're encountering ant swarms more frequently, at least we haven't come across any massive swarms of over ten thousand ants yet!" Yuan Yao, standing beside Han Li, replied obediently.

It had been half a day since the two of them set off together.

Hearing her words, Han Li frowned, his expression somewhat somber, as if something was weighing on his mind.

He pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, beckoning the Swallowing Gold Beetles that had cleared the insect corpses from the ground. The flying insects transformed into glittering clouds of light and flew back into the spirit beast pouch floating in mid-air. Han Li calmly put away the spirit beast pouch.

"What's wrong? You seem a little displeased, fellow Daoist. We've already passed through the most dangerous middle section of the desert. It should be much safer from now on, shouldn't it?" Yuan Yao asked, blinking her beautiful eyes, somewhat puzzled as she observed Han Li's expression.

"Safe? Do you really think so?" Han Li glanced at Yuan Yao, a hint of a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Is there still danger ahead?" Yuan Yao subconsciously frowned, questioning him with a touch of disbelief.

"I don't know what dangers lie ahead. But one thing I can confirm is that none of the ant swarms we've encountered so far contained a queen-level existence. Either there's only one queen in the entire desert, or we've been lucky, and the few super swarms with queens haven't appeared yet. It's best to be cautious for the rest of the journey. If we travel for another half day without incident, then it will truly be safe," Han Li said with an indifferent expression.

"Perhaps you're overthinking it! These flying ants are so powerful, maybe there are no queen ants at all!" Yuan Yao's face initially paled, but after a moment, she forced a smile as if nothing were amiss.

"I hope so!" Han Li didn't argue further. Although he knew very well that Ironfire Ants did have queen-level existences. And while their individual strength was generally average, it was said that their intelligence was terrifyingly high. Encountering one would definitely be extremely troublesome.

Affected by their earlier conversation, the two remained silent during the next two hours of travel.

But then, an even stranger phenomenon occurred: they didn't encounter a single ant swarm for the rest of the journey. At this point, even Yuan Yao herself sensed that something was amiss, a hint of unease subtly appearing on her face.

However, when they inadvertently climbed a tall sand dune and looked ahead, both of them were stunned!

"This is..." Yuan Yao's face was filled with horror, her red lips moving several times, but she couldn't utter a word.

Han Li's expression was more composed, but his surprise was no less evident.

Before them, on the sandy ground, a solitary, massive crystal pillar, about twenty to thirty feet high, stood inexplicably. The crystal pillar was incredibly cold, not only shimmering with a faint white light, but also encasing an equally tall, black giant within it. This giant was extremely hideous, with wide, furious eyes and a bald head. It stood motionless within the crystal pillar, appearing utterly bizarre!

Han Li gazed for a moment, then immediately scanned the surrounding sandy ground. The ground was pitted and riddled with holes of various sizes, as if a great battle had taken place there. Han Li's eyes flickered with unusual light as he refocused his gaze on the giant.

But this time, when he saw one of the giant's eyes, he couldn't help but let out a soft "咦."

"What did you discover, Fellow Daoist Han?" Yuan Yao finally recovered herself upon hearing Han Li's voice and couldn't help but ask.

Han Li smiled faintly, not answering her question. Instead, he half-closed his eyes and extended his spiritual sense. After confirming that no one else was lurking nearby, he directly walked down the sand dune and strode towards the crystal pillar.

"Hmph!" Seeing Han Li act so mysterious, Yuan Yao let out an irritated huff, showing some displeasure, but she could only follow him. After all, if she stepped outside the range of Han Li's Ice Pearl, she would have to expend her own spiritual power to resist the high temperature.

"Flying ants!"

When she followed Han Li to within ten paces of the crystal pillar, Yuan Yao exclaimed with astonishment, her red lips agape. From this distance, she could finally see the giant's true form. It was actually composed of countless black flying ants clustered together! From afar, it was convincing enough to be mistaken for something else, appearing incredibly still and motionless. She wondered if they were alive or dead.

Han Li stopped at this point, contemplating the crystal pillar before him.

"Since these flying ants are dead, let's go! Let's not waste any more time here," Yuan Yao said slowly after examining them for a few moments.

"How are you sure they're dead? Perhaps they're still alive!" Han Li seemed a little puzzled.

"Alive? How is that possible?" Yuan Yao looked at Han Li in surprise, then continued, somewhat incredulously. "Don't you know about the renowned ancient treasure of the Myriad Laws Sect, the Xuanhuang Mirror? Any living creature illuminated by this treasure immediately has its soul scattered, and its body becomes encased in these crystal prisms! After a few days, the body within the crystal pillar will also vanish into nothingness."

"I've never heard of it," Han Li answered honestly, causing her to widen her beautiful eyes, somewhat speechless.

"So, according to that, these insects must have been destroyed by Wan Tianming," Han Li said thoughtfully after circling the large crystal pillar several times.

"Who else would it be? What are you planning? These crystals will dissolve on their own after a certain time, but ordinary magic treasures can't destroy them. Otherwise, the Xuanhuang Mirror wouldn't have such a great reputation," Yuan Yao said with a light chuckle, glancing at Han Li, as if she had guessed some of his thoughts.

Han Li looked at her calmly after hearing this. He reached for his waist, and all his spirit beast pouches were released. A massive cloud of golden-silver Swallowing Gold Beetles suddenly appeared in mid-air.

"Go!"

Han Li unceremoniously pointed a finger at the crystal pillar. Immediately, the golden-silver insect cloud pressed down, instantly covering the top of the crystal pillar, dense and impenetrable.

"You're actually trying to salvage these flying ant remains? Even if your insects are powerful, they can't possibly bite through this..." Yuan Yao's words cut off mid-sentence.

Because, right before her eyes, the giant encased in the white crystal pillar rapidly shrank from top to bottom. In a blink of an eye, the giant's head had completely vanished. Yuan Yao's mouth hung wide open, unable to close for a long time.

Under her astonished gaze, the Swallowing Gold Beetles completely devoured the enormous crystal pillar, along with the crystal and the giant inside, leaving only an egg-sized, spherical crystal object shimmering with a mysterious black light on the ground.

Upon seeing this object, a hint of a smile appeared on Han Li's face. He took a few steps, picked it up, and held it in his hand.

This object was called "Refined Crystal." It was a rare material that the Ironfire Ant Queen would regurgitate from its abdomen daily after consuming minerals. Although very few cultivators knew about it, Han Li had only seen related rumors in a very ancient book and wasn't sure if they were true.

It was only when he saw the Ironfire Ant Queen, which served as the giant's eye, that he suddenly remembered this matter and decided to try it on a whim. He never expected to actually obtain such a piece of Refined Crystal.

This was the best auxiliary material for strengthening magic treasures. Because if even a small amount of this material was mixed into any magic treasure, not only would its power increase significantly, but the treasure's structural integrity would also instantly elevate to an unimaginable level, making it extremely difficult to be easily cut or destroyed by anything.

He wondered if Wan Tianming simply didn't know about this object, or if he had forgotten about it in a moment of oversight, which ended up benefiting Han Li. Now, if he was given some time to re-refine the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, the power of this set of magic treasures would undoubtedly reach a higher level.

Yuan Yao evidently didn't know what "Refined Crystal" was. But seeing Han Li's joyful expression, she knew it must be something good. However, she was discerning enough not to ask any inappropriate questions.

Without another word, the two of them set off directly. The area was fifty to sixty feet wide and about seven or eight feet high. Aside from a teleportation array in the center, there were four large bluestone doors, each several feet high, on each side. At this moment, all the doors were tightly closed, sealing the area like a large prison cell.

Inside the stone hall, there were also numerous stone tables and stools of various styles, none identical, totaling several dozens. On these stone stools sat a sparse group of five or six cultivators, each with a different expression. Grandmaster Extreme Yin, the scholar-robed elder, and Wan Tianming were all present. The remaining cultivators were also in the late Core Formation stage; there wasn't a single weaker cultivator among them.

But at this moment, their faces were all grim, and no one was interested in speaking. The stone hall was filled with an extremely oppressive atmosphere! Grandmaster Extreme Yin was particularly terrifyingly gloomy, his face completely ashen, glaring at the teleportation array in the center, his eyes flickering with fierce light!