42: Chapter 42: I've Made Up My Mind

She quickly put away the Spirit Stone and hurried to catch up.

Deep within the mine tunnel, Xiao Yuan heard the footsteps behind him, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

He slowed his pace, waiting for Su Li to catch up before turning his head to look at her:

"Have you made up your mind?"

Su Li pressed her lips together, her gaze complex: "Can you... really do it?"

"You'll know once you try." Xiao Yuan shrugged, "But let's get this straight first—I help you, you help me. We each take what we need, and neither of us owes the other anything."

Su Li fell silent for a moment, then nodded: "Alright."

"Then let's go." Xiao Yuan turned and continued walking forward, "Let's find a place first and talk about your 'obsession'."

Su Li followed behind him, looking at that figure that wasn't particularly tall, a complex mix of emotions welling up in her heart.

What kind of person was this anyway?

He was powerful, decisive in killing, yet kept his promises.

His words were irritatingly blunt, yet inexplicably made people... feel somewhat at ease.

"That's right," Xiao Yuan suddenly turned back, "I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Xiao Yuan, former Disciple of the Jade Maiden Palace Scrap Recycling Station, and now a veteran miner of the mineral vein."

Su Li: "..."

How could this self-introduction sound so unreliable?

But she still said in a low voice: "Su Li, former Inner Sect Disciple of the Jade Maiden Palace..."

Xiao Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Inner Sect? How did you end up falling to a place like this?"

Su Li's gaze darkened, and she didn't speak.

Xiao Yuan didn't press further either, waving his hand: "Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, forget it. Let's go, I'll take you to see my 'secret base'."

The two of them went one after the other, disappearing deep into the mine tunnel.

Inside the mine cave, only four gradually cooling corpses and a faint scent of blood in the air remained.

Turning this way and that, passing through several branch paths, they walked deeper and deeper.

Su Li followed behind Xiao Yuan, her heart beating more and more anxiously the further they walked.

The surrounding Spiritual Qi was becoming increasingly thin, and the air began to fill with a coercive pressure that made her heart palpitate—not coming from a Cultivator, but from some kind of... might of heaven and earth.

"We're here."

Xiao Yuan stopped his footsteps.

The view ahead suddenly opened up.

A huge underground valley appeared before their eyes, with a churning silver thunder pool in the center! Silver serpents of lightning danced wildly, the deafening roar and a destructive aura rushing right at them!

Su Li's pupils shrank sharply, and she instinctively took half a step back.

"This... is this the core of the mineral vein's grand formation?!" Her voice was trembling.

That pillar of light above the thunder pool led straight to the dome, connecting with the grand formation enveloping the entire mineral vein.

With thunder of this level, let alone her at Qi Refining Stage 8, even if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator approached, they would probably be severely injured!

What shocked her even more was—

Xiao Yuan was actually standing a hundred meters from the edge of the thunder pool without changing his expression, and even... stretched?

"How is it? Is this place hidden enough?" Xiao Yuan turned back and said with a smile.

Su Li watched him stroll leisurely amidst the lingering might of the thunder. Threads of lightning from the lightning serpents struck Xiao Yuan from time to time, yet he acted as if nothing was wrong, making her throat feel somewhat dry.

Just how strong was this person's Physical Body... exactly?

She could clearly feel that even standing at her current distance, that thunder pressure made her Meridians faintly ache and caused her spiritual power to circulate sluggishly.

But what about Xiao Yuan? He was completely fine.

"You... Cultivate here?" Su Li asked with difficulty.

"That's right." Xiao Yuan pointed to a sunken rock wall beside the thunder pool, "That's my Immortal Cave. But—"

He turned to look at Su Li, his gaze sweeping over her: "You can't withstand this intensity of the thunder's lingering might."

As he spoke, he walked over to a rock wall about two hundred and fifty meters away from the thunder pool, raising his hand with fingers together like a sword.

Chi chi chi!

Golden light flickered, and gravel splattered.

In less than a quarter of an hour, a five-meter-square, simple yet clean stone chamber was carved out.

Xiao Yuan then took out a fur cushion, an illumination stone, and even a small stone table from his Storage Pouch.

"Here, yours." He clapped his hands, "You should be able to endure the lingering thunder might at this distance, and it's beneficial for tempering your Physical Body."

Su Li blankly looked at this "instantly built" Immortal Cave, and then looked at Xiao Yuan.

This person... wasn't his speed a bit too fast?

"Come in." Xiao Yuan walked into the stone chamber first.

Su Li hesitated for a moment, then followed him in.

The stone chamber wasn't big, but everything it needed was there. Under the soft light of the illumination stone, the atmosphere inexplicably felt a bit... subtle.

Xiao Yuan turned around and looked at Su Li, who was standing somewhat constrained at the doorway.

He walked over slowly.

One step, two steps.

Su Li's body instantly tensed up, her hand unconsciously pressing toward her waist—though her sword had already been put away.

She could feel Xiao Yuan approaching, could smell the faint scent on him, mixed with the aura of earth and thunder.

What was he going to do?

Fulfill that proposal of Dual Cultivation?

Su Li's heart beat like a pounding drum, her mind in complete disarray.

When she agreed to come with him, she had actually vaguely guessed what might happen.

But when this moment truly arrived, she still couldn't control her nervousness, resistance, and even... a trace of fear.

Xiao Yuan stopped in front of her, very close.

So close that he could clearly see her slightly trembling eyelashes and her tightly pressed lips beneath her veil.

He reached out his hand.

Su Li closed her eyes, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails almost embedded into her palms.

There was a voice screaming in her heart: Push him away! Kill him! Another voice was saying: This is your only chance to leave the mineral vein...

Then—

That hand did not touch her body, but instead gently brushed past a stray lock of hair beside her ear, tucking it behind her ear.

The movement was very light, very gentle.

Su Li trembled all over and abruptly opened her eyes.

Xiao Yuan was looking at her, his gaze calm, without desire, without aggressiveness, only a faint scrutiny.

"You are very nervous," he said.

Su Li opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Xiao Yuan looked at her and smiled: "Rest assured, I don't force people. Just now I was only testing your reaction."

Su Li froze: "T—test me?"

Xiao Yuan's expression was calm as he nodded slightly.

"Mhm. I wanted to know whether you were truly driven to a dead end and willing to cooperate, or... harboring other intentions."

A trace of faint amusement hung at the corners of his mouth.

"Now it seems that although you were afraid, you didn't harbor any murderous intent. You passed."

Su Li: "..."

So all of her psychological struggle just now was completely in vain? This person was just testing her?

She suddenly felt like hitting someone.

But at the same time, that tight string in her heart inexplicably relaxed a bit. A wave of relief also welled up in her heart; she didn't know what the consequences would have been if she had harbored other thoughts just now.

However, she could feel a deterrent force emanating from Xiao Yuan.

If she had truly harbored other thoughts just now, the man before her would have definitely executed her without the slightest hesitation.

He looked very gentle, but... he was also very decisive and very calm!

At this moment, Xiao Yuan's gaze grew a bit more solemn, gazing intently at her.

"Now, are you ready?!"

Facing Xiao Yuan's sudden solemnity, Su Li was slightly stunned, but after understanding the meaning behind Xiao Yuan's words, a blush quickly surged onto her face.

Amidst her apprehension, nervousness, and hesitation, meeting Xiao Yuan's profound gaze that seemed capable of drawing one's soul into it, her heart inexplicably found a sense of peace.

She turned her head away, rarely showing a trace of shyness, nodded slightly, and let out a soft "mhm."