"With the intervention of the golden crab and that human brat, our chances of securing victory had already dropped to only around 50%. Now that Bao Hua has released her Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain, our chances have slipped even further to only around 10% to 20%; I don't think it's wise to gamble on such bad odds. If your true body were here, perhaps I would be willing to take a risk with you, but as things currently are..." Lan Pu's voice trailed off here as she shook her head, but it was already quite clear what her intentions were.
"But if we let Bao Hua go, she'll come back for us once she recovers her powers, and you and I will both be in grave danger!" Liu Ji urged.
"Hmph, our holy realm is currently in the midst of its tribulation so who knows what things are going to be like in the future? On top of that, I'm not far away from my next heavenly tribulation; I'm not going to risk jeopardizing my chances of transcending that tribulation by taking a risk here," Lan Pu harrumphed coldly in response.
"But if we can kill Bao Hua, you'll receive a copy of the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain cultivation method and Bao Hua's Lightningward Tag; you won't have to fear your future tribulation then!"
"I understand what's at stake here, but it would be downright insane to take such a massive risk with such terrible odds. I've already made my decision and instructed my clones not to come here; if you still insist on battling them, then you can do it on your own. Bao Hua, release me from your Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain," Lan Pu said in a calm manner.
Liu Ji's expression darkened even further upon hearing this.
"You've made a wise choice, Fellow Daoist Lan," Bao Hua said as the tree in her hand shuddered slightly, and Lan Pu found her surroundings abruptly blur before she was teleported out of the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain.
After taking one last glance at Bao Hua and Han Li, as well as the Liu Ji clone, Lan Pu immediately turned and flew away as a streak of blue light without any hesitation.
Liu Ji could see that the situation had become hopeless for her, and she gritted her teeth as she said, "Alright, I'll concede on this occasion. Let me out of your Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain, Bao Hua."
"You think I'd just let you leave?" A hint of killing intent flashed through Bao Hua's eyes.
Right at this moment, Han Li suddenly said, "Let her go."
Bao Hua was rather taken aback to hear this, but a thought then immediately occurred to her, and she smiled as she agreed, "Alright, she's just a clone anyway; seeing as you want to let her go, I'd be happy to oblige."
After that, the tree that she was holding instantly vanished into her body as a ball of pink light, and the pink world around them also faded into nothingness.
Liu Ji couldn't help but turn toward Han Li with a perplexed expression, clearly befuddled by Han Li's unexpected gesture.
However, it would clearly be inadvisable for her to linger in this place for any longer, so she could only repress her curiosity and also fly away after giving Han Li a parting smile.
Han Li and Bao Hua looked on as she departed, and the former heaved an internal sigh.
Under normal circumstances, he definitely wouldn't have missed such an ideal opportunity to kill a Sacred Ancestor clone. In fact, he would've most likely joined in on the act. However, he didn't dare to do anything to this Liu Ji clone for the sake of Violet Spirit.
If too many of Liu Ji's clones were to be destroyed, perhaps it wouldn't be long until Violet Spirit would have to fill in for one of them.
As such, Han Li naturally wasn't going to take this risk, and he was also doing Liu Ji a favor here, which would hopefully make it easier for him to negotiate with her when he returned for Violet Spirit in the future.
"Let's go, Brother Xie. Those two may have retreated for now, but if they suddenly turn back, Senior Bao Hua won't be able to take a second Heavenly Soul Pill," Han Li said.
The giant golden crab nodded before reverting back into its human form amid countless bolts of silver lightning.
After that, he immediately flew onto one corner of the flying carriage.
"You know of the Heavenly Soul Pill?" Bao Hua was rather taken aback to hear this.
"Of course I'm aware of it. I've tried to refine the pill for myself in the past, but I've been unable to find several of the ingredients required, so I could only give upon on it. However, I know of the effects of the pill; after nullifying all of the oncoming attacks with your Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain, you most likely wouldn't have been able to muster up a second attack, so you were only bluffing just now, right?" Han Li chuckled.
"That Heavenly Soul Pill was something that I stumbled upon by chance, not something that I refined. As for whether I possess the power to unleash a second attack, that's up to your imagination," Bao Hua replied in an indifferent manner before also flying onto Han Li's flying carriage and stood only several feet away from him.
Han Li was quite startled by this, but he didn't take any evasive measures and merely spurred the flying carriage into motion.
A day later, the flying carriage was hovering in the air above a lush forest, and Han Li was standing on the carriage, pondering something with a solemn expression.
At this point, Bao Hua was already gone.
"Senior, is the information provided to you by Senior Bao Hua authentic? Will we be able to find an entrance to the Small Spirit Sky using the method she provided?" Zhu Guo'er asked in a careful manner.
Following her ordeals in the Elder Devil Realm, she was naturally feeling very homesick.
"The information is most likely genuine; I'm sure someone of her status wouldn't lie about something like this," Han Li replied with a reassuring smile.
Zhu Guo'er was ecstatic to hear this, and a joyful smile appeared on her face. "That's great! I'll be able to return home one day then. But Senior Han, are you really just going to let her go like this?"
"Are you saying I should take her with me back to the Spirit Realm?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Zhu Guo'er shook her head as she replied, "No, but in her current state, I'm sure you would've been able to kill her."
"Do you really think I didn't want to do that? I simply lack the confidence to do so. She was once a devilish matriarch; who knows if she has some life-saving trump cards up her sleeve? I have no interest in losing my life over something like this," Han Li said with a wry smile.
Chapter 2144: Unexpected Situation
Zhu Guo'er stuck out her tongue in a sheepish display upon hearing this before falling silent.
"The other reason I let Bao Hua go is that I don't want to continue to be caught up in her mess. Even though Liu Ji and Lan Pu retreated earlier, there's a very good chance that they'll come after Bao Hua again. Even though I foiled their plans, I'm sure they'd prioritize hunting down Bao Hua over coming after me. After that ordeal, Bao Hua will only become more cautious, and it'll be very difficult for Liu Ji and Lan Pu to corner her again," Han Li explained in a calm voice.
Zhu Guo'er's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. "Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Senior Han! We can take advantage of their conflict that they're preoccupied with to return to the Spirit Realm!"
Meanwhile, Daoist Xie remained standing in one corner of the flying carriage in complete silence.
"Let's continue onward. I'm assuming Liu Ji and Lan Pu will go after Bao Hua, but it's not entirely impossible for them to come after us instead," Han Li said as he injected his magic power into the flying carriage again, and it began to fly toward the edge of the forest.
......
Meanwhile, countless kilometers away, Bao Hua was standing on the peak of a nondescript mountain. Her complexion had returned to normal, and there were no signs to indicate that she was injured in any way.
Standing behind her was the black-armored Hei'e. His aura was rather feeble, and his complexion was quite pale, but he was still standing tall like an immovable stone pillar.
The two of them stood on the mountain peak for over an hour without displaying an
y intention of leaving, seemingly waiting for something.
After almost another hour had passed, spatial fluctuations erupted in the distance, and a gust of yellow wind swept toward the mountain.
Bao Hu's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and in the next instant, the yellow winds subsided, revealing a humanoid figure that was enshrouded in yellow light.
"I pay my respects to Mistress Bao Hua! I came here as quickly as I could, but I was still late by one day; please forgive me for my tardiness," the yellow figure said in a fearful manner as he extended a deep bow toward Bao Hua.
"You're not to blame; I originally had something else that I wished to discuss with you, and I didn't think that I would fall into Liu Ji and Lan Pu's trap. I'm going to have to hide in your abode for now. Your cultivation base has improved quite significantly since the last time I saw you; you're only one step away from becoming a Sacred Ancestor," Bao Hua remarked in an indifferent voice.
"If you hadn't saved me all those years ago, I'd already be dead; it's an honor for me to be serving to you, Mistress. Liu Ji and Lan Pu are a pair of wily old foxes, but they definitely wouldn't suspect me. During these past years, I've intentionally been expressing constant hostility toward you, and I've always been on very good terms with those two," the yellow figure said in a respectful manner.
"Looks like I made the right choice to summon you here. Let's go to your cave abode; I'm sure Liu Ji and Lan Pu wouldn't give up so easily," Bao Hua said with a faint smile.
"Yes, Mistress! Please come and rest on this flying treasure of mine; I'll take care of anyone we encounter along the way," the yellow figure replied as he raised a hand to release a medium-sized flying boat.
The boat was as pristine white as jade and was extremely intricately crafted. The identity of the boat's owner was also depicted through several extremely eye-catching golden devilish characters on one side of the boat.
Bao Hua took a glance at the flying boat before giving a pleased nod, then flew into the cabin on the boat with Hei'e, upon which both of them began to meditate.
Even though some time had passed since their last battle, both of them were severely taxed and injured, so they naturally had to make use of all the time they possibly could to rest and recover.
The yellow figure also flew onto the boat, following which it flew away as a streak of white light, vanishing into the distance after just a few flashes.
......
Less than half a day later, spatial fluctuations erupted atop the same hill, and five people emerged out of thin air, two of which were none other than Lan Pu and the Liu Ji clone.
The two people beside Lan Pu bore a strong resemblance to her, and both of them were wearing robes of the same style, although one was red while the other was yellow.
Behind Liu Ji stood a short dwarf-like man in a set of daoist robes. He had a long goatee that was around half a foot in length, and a red wooden sword strapped to his back.
As soon as the five of them emerged, Lan Pu swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a ball of white light, within which was a small white leopard.
The leopard quickly flew around the mountain peak, sniffing around with its nose before flying back to Lan Pu and uttering a string of cries.
"So Bao Hua really was here. On top of that, there was someone else with her aside from that black crocodile," Lan Pu said in a solemn voice as she stowed the small leopard away.
"There was someone else? Could it be that the human brat came back to meet Bao Hua?" Liu Ji asked as her expression darkened slightly.
"It's not him; my Spirit Detection Leopard would've been able to identify his aura. Whoever it was, they used some type of secret technique to conceal their aura, but my Spirit Detection Leopard was still able to sense a faint residual aura that's somewhat familiar, so it should be someone I've met before," Lan Pu replied.
"Someone you've seen before? That means they're most likely one of Bao Hua's past allies from our holy realm. In that case, it'll be quite troublesome to track her down," the short daoist priest standing behind Liu Ji said in a concerned manner.
Due to his short stature and long goatee, his appearance was rather comical, but everyone took him very seriously, and Lan Pu replied in an earnest manner, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Fu; Bao Hua activated her Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain earlier, so she would've been taxed even further, and there's no way she'd be able to recover her powers in the near future. As long as she hasn't left our holy realm, it's not a matter of concern that she's hidden herself somewhere. She must currently be in hiding with the new person who's appeared, and the fact that her ally was able to arrive here so quickly indicates that they're most likely a high-grade devilish being in the nearby area; I should be able to track them down with an exhaustive search."
"Indeed, Sister Lan. Fellow Daoist Fu is my most trusted subordinate, and his powers are no lesser than those of this clone of mine. On top of that, you've brought along two of your most powerful clones as well, so there's no way Bao Hua will be able to escape from us again. This time, we have to make sure to hunt her down no matter what. Who do you plan on investigating first, Sister Lan? This is an extremely important matter, so I'd rather employ a guilty until proven innocent system rather than risk letting the culprit run free," Liu Ji said as a cold look appeared in her eyes.
"We'll naturally have to start with those who've had some ties to Bao Hua in the past; they'll be the prime suspects," Lan Pu immediately replied, having clearly already considered this subject.
"I'll have to trouble you to deploy more of your subordinates to temporarily shut down the teleportation formations in the important cities in this nearby area. Without any teleportation formations available, even if Bao Hua were to try and escape, she wouldn't be able to get very far," Liu Ji suggested.
"That's a good idea; I'll have it arranged right away. I have some connections with all of those who are in power in the nearby cities, and they should heed my call. Of course, if you were to apply pressure to them as a devilish matriarch, they would be even more inclined to follow our instructions," Lan Pu replied.
"That's not an issue; I'll enclose my own message with the messages that you'll be sending out to those cities," Liu Ji immediately agreed.
"Alright, then let's set everything into motion right away. There's a devilish lord residing near this area who's a very prominent suspect; we'll begin our investigation with him. Hopefully, we'll find Bao Hua in his cave abode," Lan Pu said as a frosty tone crept into her voice.
After that, she swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of blue light, and all five of them vanished on the spot.
......
Half a year passed by in the blink of an eye.
On an undulating mountain range situated in a secluded region of the Elder Devil Realm, there was a mountain that was surrounded by walls that were over 1,000 feet tall.
This was a stronghold that spanned an area in excess of five kilometers, and resembled a small city.
Standing atop the walls were groups of armed patrols, and judging from the lights of different colors flashing around the stronghold, it was clear that many formations and restrictions had been set up within it.
High up above the stronghold was a vast expanse of black devilish clouds, from within which astonishing energy fluctuations were being released.
Zhu Guo'er was situated on a small mountain close to 100 kilometers away, staring into a copper mirror before her in a stunned manner. "Has there been some type of mistake, Senior Han? Didn't you say that this node would only be loosely guarded?"
The image on the surface of the copper mirror depicted none other than the giant stronghold, as well as the area around it.
Chapter 2145: Forced Entry
Han Li was also appraising the copper mirror, and he said, "That is indeed rather strange. According to the Long Family patriarch, this passageway shouldn't be one that's heavily guarded. Either he was lying from the very beginning or something happened to make
the devilish beings take this place more seriously. If you ask me, I believe the latter to be more likely."
"How are you so sure, Senior Han?" Zhu Guo'er asked in a curious manner.
Meanwhile, Daoist Xie was standing off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back. Even from such a long distance away, he was casting an intrigued gaze toward the stronghold as if it were situated right before his eyes.
"It's quite simple; the walls around the stronghold are very tall, but judging from the state of the bricks, they were only constructed within the past 20 years, by which time we had already entered the Elder Devil Realm, so this shouldn't be a trap laid by the Long Family patriarch," Han Li replied.
"I see, I didn't notice that. In that case, should we search for another passageway?" Zhu Guo'er asked in a concerned manner.
"There's no need for that. Even the nearest spatial passageway to this one is several months away, and many mishaps could happen during that time. Generally speaking, even these massive strongholds will only be guarded by several devilish lords at most, and that won't be enough to stop us. The only matter of concern is the formations set up near the stronghold. If we were to be delayed by them, then it wouldn't be very easy to escape," Han Li said with furrowed brows.
Back when he had first entered the Elder Devil Realm, he had nine other Body Integration Stage beings with him, which was why they had been able to eradicate the restrictions in an instant to force their way into the passageway. However, he was now the only one left, and this stronghold was far more massive than the one they had infiltrated in the past, so the formations set up here naturally had to be more powerful as well.
The concern on Zhu Guo'er's face became even more pronounced upon hearing this, but she naturally didn't have any good ideas, either.
Right at this moment, Daoist Xie suddenly said, "If you think these formations are rather troublesome, I have a secret technique that can help you instantly eradicate all of them."
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1232