Chapter 2100: Bao Hua"s Arrival
The three-headed devilish toad projection that the black-robed young man had summoned had also disappeared, and it was unclear whether it had been destroyed during the explosion or withdrawn just in the nick of time.
The black-robed young man glanced at his own rapidly healing wounds, then cast a cold gaze toward Han Li. "Hmph, I didn"t think that a mere Body Integration Stage being would be able to survive that explosion; looks like I underestimated you. However, all of your companions are dead, and you"re going to be no exception; I"ll be taking your life in person!"
"If I"m not mistaken, you"ve expended far more energy than I have to survive that explosion. On top of that, you have to regenerate from your injuries, so you most likely possess less than a third of your original magic power," Han Li replied in a calm manner.
"So what? Do you really think you"ll be able to survive on your own against my Black Devil Dagger? On top of that, the restriction above this valley has already been destroyed, so I"m able to absorb much more devilish Qi from the outside world," the black-robed young man chuckled coldly as he suddenly slashed his giant black sword upward.
An inky-black sword projection that was over 1,000 feet in length immediately swept upward with unstoppable force, and Han Li"s heart jolted upon seeing this as he quickly made a hand seal, upon which the Provenance Golden Body appeared behind him again.
Immediately thereafter, he switched to a different hand seal as if he were about to do something, but right at this moment, a delightful female voice rang out nearby.
"You"re still just as conceited as ever, Fellow Yuan Yan. I"m currently also on this island; are you planning to kill me as well?"
As soon as the voice trailed off, a pink flower petal appeared in the air above the black sword projection, then transformed into a giant pink flower that was around an acre in size.
A rich floral aroma wafted through the air, and countless pink runes surged out of the huge flower.
The ma.s.sive sword projection was then drawn into the giant flower, which flashed erratically a few times before shrinking down to only several tens of feet in size.
The flower"s petals tremored slightly, and spatial fluctuations erupted at the center of the flower, following which a pair of humanoid figures emerged.
This was a stunning regal beauty in a white dress and a hideous burly black-armored man; they were none other than Sacred Ancestor Bao Hua and Hei"e!
"Bao Hua!" Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan exclaimed as his calm facade immediately cracked, and a hint of fear flashed through his eyes.
"Looks like you haven"t forgotten me. It"s been many years since we last met, yet your cultivation base hasn"t progressed in the slightest; I presume you"re still trying to nurture that spirit medicine," Sacred Ancestor Bao Hua said in a calm voice.
Han Li"s expression changed slightly at the sight of the Sacred Ancestor Bao Hua, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he decided to stop what he was doing and observe the unfolding situation.
Ever since he had entered the Elder Devil Realm, he had constantly felt like he and his companions were being watched. However, he was unable to detect anything with his spirit eyes and spiritual sense, and no one else had sensed anything, so he could only set the matter aside.
Now that Sacred Ancestor Bao Hua had suddenly appeared, everything made sense.
Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan stared intently at Sacred Ancestor Bao Hua, and after a long while, he finally said with a dark expression, "When did you come here? I must commend you for your courage in venturing into our holy realm."
"Why wouldn"t I dare to enter our holy realm? Do you think I"d be afraid that you and Liu Ji would join forces against me? I was already on the island before you arrived, and I was treated to quite a good show," Sacred Ancestor Bao Hua replied in a calm voice as she tucked a few strands of stray hair behind her ear.
"So you colluded with these Spirit Realm beings and came here with them," Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan concluded.
"I wouldn"t say "colluded"; I simply followed them here. However, even I didn"t think that they would have a Faux Immortal Puppet and two wisps of the Spirit Monarch"s soul; it appears I made the right decision to come here. I"m now in a prime position to capitalize on your injuries," Bao Hua said in an indifferent manner.
"Hmph, do you think I would"ve been wounded by that explosion if it weren"t for the fact that we"re on the Bitter Spirit Island? There"s no need to try and bluff me, Bao Hua. I personally planted that Nightmare Blood Curse on you all those years ago; even if with your true devil physique, there"s no way you could"ve returned to your full power. At the very most, you only possess 20% to 30% of your former powers. Besides, even if you"re at the height of your powers, you still wouldn"t be able to kill me," the black-robed young man harrumphed coldly.
"You"re right. Not only did I fall prey to Liu Ji"s sinister ploy, I was afflicted by your Nightmare Blood Curse as well, and I had to sacrifice most of my magic power to repress my injuries, but do you really think I would"ve appeared here without anything up my sleeve?" Bao Hua asked in a calm voice.
"Even if you have some kind of trump card that can potentially kill me, don"t forget that the Nightmare Arts I"m cultivating allows me to attain seven drops of soul blood. Even if this main soul were to be destroyed, one of the other drops of soul blood would automatically transform into my main soul, so your efforts will still be futile," Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan said as a vicious look appeared in his eyes.
However, despite what he was saying, it was clear that he was extremely wary of Bao Hua.
"It would indeed be impossible for me to kill all of your drops of soul blood, but losing your main soul would be a significant setback for you; what chance do you think you"ll have of successfully transcending your next tribulation?" Bao Hua asked with a faint smile.
"If I"m unable to transcend my next tribulation because of you, I"ll make sure to bring you down with me! If worse comes to worst, I"ll just descend into the Spirit Realm with my true body and hunt you down to all corners of the realm!" the black-robed young man roared as his composure began to crack.
"Descend into the Spirit Realm with your true body? You sure make it sound simple; aren"t you afraid that those old monsters of the Spirit Realm would join forces to destroy you? If it were that easy to descend into the Spirit Realm with our true bodies, I would"ve done so long ago," Bao Hua said with a derisive look in her eyes.
"I"m afraid you"re mistaken there, Bao Hua; just because you were unable to accomplish this back when you were one of the three patriarchs doesn"t mean that the current patriarchs are bound by the same restrictions," Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan chuckled coldly in response.
Bao Hu"s expression darkened slightly upon hearing this. "Oh? So the three of you really have been up to something during all these years. In any case, that doesn"t matter to me; I didn"t enter our holy realm on this occasion for you anyway. At the root of the matter, Liu Ji is the only one that I have a vendetta against; you"re just an accomplice at most. If I were in your shoes, I would"ve done the exact same thing, so prior to killing Liu Ji, I have no intention of facing you."
Sacred Ancestor Yuan Yan"s heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but he still maintained a cold expression as he asked, "Are you being serious?"
"At my peak, my powers were superior to yours, but in my current state, killing you would expend too heavy a price, and it would be extremely detrimental to my recovery. I can swear a vow right here that I won"t challenge you until I fully recover my magic power," Bao Hua replied.
"If that"s the case, then why did you come here? Don"t tell me you came here just to see me in this pitiful state," Sacred Ancestor asked in a perplexed manner.
"If you didn"t have that Black Devil Dagger, then perhaps I would consider changing my plans, but for now, I"m here for him," Bao Hua said as he pointed a finger toward Han Li.
Han Li was listening intently to the conversation between the two devilish patriarchs, and his expression immediately changed drastically upon seeing Bao Hua point at him.
The golden body behind him instantly appeared in front of him, and Han Li also raised a hand before spreading his fingers.
The Provenance Golden Body shuddered as its chest suddenly began to cave in, and a fist-sized hole was punched into its body amid a flash of white light. An invisible attack had pierced right through it and was hurtling directly toward Han Li!
Han Li immediately let loose a low roar as dark green light suddenly erupted from his arm, and he met the oncoming attack with his outstretched hand.
An earth-shattering boom rang out, and a burst of violent energy fluctuations erupted in front of Han Li before surging forth in all directions. At the same time, gusts of fierce green winds were swept up in the surrounding area, and Bao Hua"s brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.
She had used 80% of her current power in that attack, which was infinitely approaching the power of a Grand Ascension Stage attack, yet Han Li had managed to withstand it head-on, and that was quite a surprise to her.
In her eyes, Han Li did indeed possess some powerful treasures and abilities, but he should"ve already exhausted all of those resources to withstand the explosion of the Faux Immortal Puppet, so she had thought that her attack would be able to kill him with ease.
However, as a former member of the three devilish patriarchs, this naturally wasn"t the extent of her abilities. All of a sudden, she flipped a hand over, and a translucent pink flower slowly emerged over her palm.
She then cast her gaze toward Han Li and prepared to toss the flower toward him, but in the next instant, she suddenly froze on the spot as her expression changed drastically.
At this point, the gusts of fierce green winds had dissipated, thereby revealing Han Li with his hand still outstretched. However, in that outstretched hand was a sword projection that was expanding and shrinking erratically.