Chapter 1009: Rescue
Elder Qiu was quite startled by this turn of events, but she was immediately able to identify Han Li as a human, and a look of burning hatred appeared in her eyes as she sprang forward to attack Han Li.
"Stay put if you want these two to live!" Han Li warned as he casually swept a sleeve through the air, and a burst of azure light flew out of his hand to ward off the ferocious blue flames.
The blue flames immediately began to rear up like an infuriated wild beast, crashing against the azure light with all its might, but to no avail.
Elder Qiu stopped in her tracks upon seeing this, but she was still glowering intently at Han Li, and her hand remained raised aloft, ready to strike at any moment.
Han Li paid no heed to her as he swept his sleeve through the air once again, releasing another burst of azure light that fused with the first one to rapidly force back the blue flames.
The blue flames had been far too powerful for Ye Susu and her mother to resist, yet Han Li was able to easily suppress it back down to the woman's calf.
He swept his sleeve through the air a third time, releasing a ball of silver flames that transformed into a silver fire raven, which plunged headfirst into the blue flames.
A cry of elation rang out as a burst of scorching heat erupted out of the silver flames, instantly melting away all of the blue ice in the stone chamber.
A surprised look appeared in Elder Qiu's eyes upon seeing this, but she still didn't let down her guard.
Shortly thereafter, the silver fire raven re-emerged, clutching a fist-sized ball of blue fire in its beak, which it promptly devoured before letting loose an elated cry, as if it had just enjoyed a delicious meal.
After that, the silver fire raven flew back up Han Li's sleeve.
At this point, the blue ice that encapsulated the bodies of Ye Susu and her mother had already completely vanished, and both of them were rooted to the spot with stunned looks on their faces.
All of a sudden, an agonized look appeared on Ye Susu's face, and her body began to slowly shrink as tufts of azure fur appeared over her skin.
"Susu!" the azure-robed woman yelled in an alarmed manner as she sat up on the bed.
"Don't move!" Han Li warned in a cold voice, following which two bursts of azure light shot out of his hands before vanishing into the bodies of Ye Susu and her mother, upon which the two of them were instantly immobilized.
"What are you doing, you human scum?!" Elder Qiu roared in a furious voice as she pounced at him from behind, but Han Li didn't even spare her a glance as he swept a sleeve through the air, releasing five translucent threads of light that vanished into her body in a flash.
Immediately thereafter, she was also completely immobilized, and despite her best efforts, she wasn't able to lift even a single finger.
Meanwhile, Han Li released a burst of crimson light into the array on the ground with his other hand, and the array immediately lit up once again.
Countless strands of crimson light surged out of it before wrapping themselves around Ye Susu and her mother, forming a crimson bridge between them.
"Susu, take Fellow Daoist Han back to his residence. I'll pay you a visit in person tomorrow, Fellow Daoist Han," Ye Luo said.
"In that case, I'll be taking my leave now," Han Li replied as he cupped his fist in a parting salute.
Ye Luo returned the salute, while Elder Qiu continued to observe him with a cold look of distrust in her eyes.
Han Li naturally didn't care about how Elder Qiu regarded him, and he turned and made his way outside, immediately followed by Ye Susu.
Before long, the two of them had reached the surface, and Han Li stopped in his tracks as he looked down at the plots of spirit farmland in the basin.
"I noticed this place as I was passing through. I can see that there are some spirit medicines of a very high caliber growing here. Has your Azure Fox Tribe always been adept in nurturing spirit plants?" Han Li asked.
It seemed that a huge weight had been lifted from Ye Susu's shoulders in the wake of her mother's recovery, and she was a lot more relaxed as she smiled and said, "I'm surprised that you're able to see into the plots of farmland with all of these restrictions in place, Senior Han. Then again, with your powers, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you can see through these restrictions."
Han Li merely smiled and offered no response.
"I don't mean to brag, but when it comes to growing spirit medicines, our Azure Fox Tribe is the undisputed number one authority in the entire Golden Origin Mountain Range! Do you require any spirit plants for your cultivation, Senior Han? Here's a list of all of the spirit plants grown in our tribe. If you need any of them, feel free to tell me," Ye Susu said as she offered a jade slip to Han Li.
"I am indeed looking for some spirit plants," Han Li replied as he accepted the jade slip, then inspected its contents with his spiritual sense before giving a slight nod.
He had already assessed all of the plots of spirit farmland, and the jade slip did indeed contain an exhaustive list of everything growing here, so Ye Susu hadn't tried to hide anything from him.
"Please forgive Elder Qiu for her cold attitude, Senior Han. Her parents and her two brothers were all killed by human cultivators, so she's always harbored deep enmity toward human cultivators, and she's not targeting you," Ye Susu explained.
"I see," Han Li replied with a nod.
This did indeed explain things, but it wasn't like Elder Qiu's frosty attitude had weighed on his mind at all anyway.
With that, the two of them promptly departed.
......
Inside the underground stone chamber, Ye Qiu cast several layers of restrictions one after another.
Ye Luo heaved a faint sigh upon seeing this, then said, "Elder Qiu, I know that you sorely resent human cultivators, but Fellow Daoist Han has helped us on more than one occasion, so please try to rein in your animosity. At the very least, try not to be so rude in his presence."
"Do you think he's helping us out of the kindness of his heart?" Ye Qiu sneered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ye Luo asked as her brows furrowed slightly.