Chapter 1053: Indecision

After fleeing for nearly half a day, Su Qianxi and her group finally shook off the army of Fire-Year Fireflies and landed near a mound.

During this time, thanks to Su Qianxi's warning, most people managed to conceal their physical aura using various means, and no major incidents occurred. However, some were still entangled by the Fire-Year Fireflies.

Seeing this, the others wanted to help but found themselves powerless, watching helplessly as those people were burned by the flames of time, turning into dust one by one.

At this moment, although the group had escaped the crisis, many still wore grim expressions, looking shaken.

Han Li found a secluded corner, sat cross-legged, and began to regulate his breathing and rest.

Su Qianxi stood on a high spot, looking back at the distant sky where a huge dark red cloud of insects was slowly moving away. Only then did her expression relax slightly.

“I never expected there to be so many Fire-Year Fireflies here. Fortunately, Fellow Daoist Su understands their nature, or we might not have escaped,” Valley Master Fu said with a long sigh, expressing his gratitude to Su Qianxi.

“Valley Master Fu flatters me. I wouldn’t say I understand them; I just happened to read a few books about these insects before,” Su Qianxi replied indifferently.

“This tower is full of strangeness. Who knows what mechanisms and restrictions await us ahead,” Valley Master Fu said with a bitter smile.

“Speaking of which, Fellow Daoist Shi was the first to retreat after seeing the army of Fire-Year Fireflies. Have you encountered them before?” Su Qianxi suddenly looked at Han Li, her beautiful eyes flashing with a sharp light, ignoring Valley Master Fu.

Hearing this, the others also recalled the incident, and all eyes turned to Han Li, who was in a corner. Many faces showed contempt.

“Fellow Daoist Shi, since you knew, why didn’t you tell us? Were you trying to get us killed?” Jin Liu stared at Han Li and said coldly.

The others’ gazes also turned hostile.

“No, no. I just encountered these Fire-Year Fireflies in another secret realm before and suffered from them, so I recognized them,” Han Li quickly waved his hands, pretending to be flustered as he explained.

“Is that so?” Jin Liu snorted.

“Fellow Daoist Shi is skilled in escape techniques, and he happened to be at the rear of the group. When he sensed trouble, he naturally left faster,” Valley Master Fu said in a flat tone, which made most people lose interest in probing Han Li’s intentions.

Su Qianxi gave Han Li a deep look but then looked away. Clearly, the current situation was not good, and she was unwilling to waste energy on someone who seemed quite timid.

Han Li didn’t care about others’ opinions and just chuckled to himself.

Although this incident with the Fire-Year Fireflies was a good opportunity to act alone, he had no intention of doing so yet. After all, he was unfamiliar with the situation inside this tower and planned to stay with the group for a while before making his move.

"Alright, let's discuss what to do next. Should we continue forward?" said an old man with a slightly hunched back in the group. He was the head of a small sect, at the early Taiyi stage.

After the successive hard battles earlier, only a few Taiyi-stage cultivators remained in Han Li's group.

The Tianshui Sect originally had four Taiyi-stage cultivators, one of whom followed Han Li into the golden gate and perished inside, leaving only three.

The other Taiyi-stage cultivators were only the Qingsuo Valley Master, the Moxiang Pavilion Master, the hunchbacked old man, and a burly bearded man, totaling seven.

"This Tower of Years is desolate everywhere. We've gained nothing along the way and have encountered various dangers one after another, suffering heavy losses. Now only so few of us remain. I believe it is unwise to continue rashly," said the Moxiang Pavilion Master, a young woman in a pink dress named Yan Ying, with an uneasy expression.

Hearing this, many others nodded in agreement, including the hunchbacked old man.

"Pavilion Master Yan and Fellow Daoist Ba, do you mean to retreat halfway?" Su Qianxi glanced at the Moxiang Pavilion Master and the hunchbacked old man and said.

"Fairy Su, it's not that we are cowardly, but this Tower of Years is too dangerous. Those metal beasts earlier nearly wiped us out, and now so many Fire-Year Fireflies have appeared here. Who knows what lies ahead? Given our strength, continuing forward is too risky," the hunchbacked old man shook his head and said.

Su Qianxi fell silent upon hearing this.

"You two fellow Daoists need not be so pessimistic. This is the cave abode of the Tai Sui Immortal Venerable. Although there are some dangers, there are bound to be treasures as well, perhaps not far ahead. Those Fire-Year Fireflies are troublesome, but since we know their habits and our flying speed is not slower than theirs, as long as we are careful and avoid being surrounded, they are not a big deal. Besides, you all have worked hard to enter this Tower of Years. Would you really be content to leave empty-handed?" Jin Liu spoke up.

This team was under the charge of the Tianshui Sect. The morale of the entire team was already low. If the Moxiang Pavilion Master and the hunchbacked old man withdrew now, the team would almost collapse halfway.

Jin Liu's words made some sense. The Moxiang Pavilion Master and the hunchbacked old man had come here with expectations for the treasures in the tower, and upon hearing this, their faces showed hesitation.

Others who wanted to retreat also showed reluctance on their faces.

"If we encounter these insects again, listen to my instructions. I may have a way to help everyone avoid their pursuit," Su Qianxi said.

"Very well, let's advance a bit further and see. We'll decide based on the situation ahead," the Moxiang Pavilion Master and the hunchbacked old man exchanged glances and nodded.

"Hehe, fortune and opportunity are always sought through danger. This tower has been sealed for a long time. Jin believes it will not disappoint us," Jin Liu laughed.

"Since everyone has no objections, let's continue forward," Su Qianxi said upon seeing this.

The group soon set off again, flying onward.

Han Li naturally had no objection to this; if most people really were going to back out, he had planned to act alone ahead of time.

So he patted his backside, stood up, and continued to hang back at the very rear of the group, neither too close nor too far.

Most of those present sneered at Han Li's behavior, but no one said much, though almost everyone had made up their minds: even if they gained any benefits in the tower, they would never let Han Li have them easily.

For the rest of the journey, having learned from the previous incident, everyone became much more cautious than before, and their forward speed naturally slowed considerably.

They traveled in relative peace for less than half an hour when Han Li, at the very back, flickered his gaze, glanced unobtrusively to the right front, but said nothing.

Just then, Su Qianxi, at the very front of the group, suddenly stopped with a flash of her beautiful eyes.

"Careful, Fire Age Fireflies have appeared again. Follow me!"

She said this, then turned and flew swiftly toward the ground to the left front.

Han Li was somewhat surprised that Su Qianxi had also detected them early.

It seemed that this woman's divine sense was not much weaker than his own.

The others, upon hearing "Fire Age Fireflies," hurriedly activated techniques to conceal their physical auras and followed behind.

The group quickly landed on the ground and hid behind a low hill.

Su Qianxi raised her hand and waved; a small earth-yellow banner shot out from her sleeve, then transformed into a large patch of earth-yellow mist that enveloped everyone.

The yellow mist rippled for a moment, then quickly faded into the void and disappeared.

No sooner had the group hidden themselves than a buzzing sound came from the sky ahead, and a red cloud of insects appeared on the distant horizon, rapidly approaching, even larger in scale than the previous swarm of Fire Age Fireflies.

The group hid behind the hill, not daring to breathe. Fortunately, Su Qianxi's immortal artifact was quite powerful; the insect swarm in the sky did not detect them and soon flew past.

Only then did the group breathe a sigh of relief. After the swarm had flown far away, they came out.

Han Li glanced at the distant swarm and felt a slight stir in his heart.

This swarm, and the previous one as well, gave him the impression that they were patrolling.

After confirming that the swarm had completely departed, the group immediately set off and continued forward.

On the way ahead, the group encountered several more swarms of Fire Age Fireflies, but fortunately they detected them in advance and dodged in time.

After advancing for most of another day, the terrain ahead changed again, revealing a stretch of连绵赤红色山峰.

The mountains were densely packed with countless volcanoes of various sizes, some towering ten thousand zhang, others only a few dozen zhang.

Most of the volcanic craters were still active, with loud rumbling sounds as they continuously spewed scorching lava pillars into the sky.

A thick layer of black-red fire clouds hung in the sky, filled everywhere with the pungent smell of sulfur. The temperature was several times hotter than before, and the fire-attributed spiritual energy in the void was extremely dense.

The group's spirits lifted, and they increased their flying speed, entering the area.

"Ah! This is Golden Flame Saint Stone!" A Golden Immortal cultivator from the loose cultivators' eyes lit up, flew down near a volcanic crater, waved his hand to form a red light giant hand, and grabbed a piece of golden stone from the mountain wall, which flickered with flame-like golden light.

"Profound Flame Spirit Jade!" Another person found a piece of red spirit jade.

"Dragon Flame Grass!"

"Heavenly Fire Crystal!"

...

This volcanic region was extremely rich in various precious fire-attributed spiritual materials. Once inside, the group quickly discovered all kinds of materials and scrambled to collect them.

Han Li was mostly unimpressed by these materials, but he casually collected a few along with the others.

After a round of searching, everyone had made some small gains, naturally boosting their confidence. Under Su Qianxi's lead, they continued deeper and soon reached the heart of the volcanic region.

"Careful, Fire Age Fireflies have appeared again!" Su Qianxi suddenly warned again.

This time, the group was no longer as flustered as before. Under Su Qianxi's arrangements, they gathered together in an orderly manner and concealed their traces.

Before long, a huge red insect swarm appeared in the distant sky, but its scale was more than ten times larger than any swarm they had encountered before. It blotted out the sky as it flew outward, like a vast dark cloud pressing down, covering the sun.

Seeing this, everyone's face showed alarm. Even though they were under the cover of Su Qianxi's immortal artifact, they still couldn't help but feel their hearts pound with fear.