The pink flames appeared to descend slowly, yet in a flash, they accurately landed on all the demonic beings below, including the winged man desperately trying to flee.
With a series of muffled *pops*, the demons burst into blinding crimson light the moment the pink flames touched them, instantly turning into wisps of green smoke that vanished without a trace.
In the blink of an eye, only the towering demonic shadow remained near the passage.
The demonic lord gazed at the crystalline flower tree high in the sky, his eyes first filled with disbelief before he immediately prostrated himself without hesitation.
“Greetings, Lady Baohua! To see you again in my lifetime, Ke Yun has no regrets left,” the demonic shadow said with overwhelming excitement.
“Ke Yun, it has been many years since we last met,” a soft sigh echoed from the void as ripples spread across the flower tree, revealing two figures—one in white and one in black.
They were none other than the Sacred Ancestor Baohua, clad in white palace robes, and the black-armored giant.
Baohua glanced down at the demonic shadow below, a faint trace of emotion flickering across her face.
“My lady, it truly is you! Many have claimed you perished, but I never believed it. With your divine abilities, no matter how dire the situation, you would surely have a means of survival,” the demonic shadow said, his doubts completely dispelled upon seeing the palace-robed woman in person.
“Indeed, though I survived the joint attack of those two, I was forcibly reduced by one cultivation realm and had to tear through space to escape to the Spirit Realm with a portion of my followers. Yet, you and the rest of the covert division have remained unharmed, which brings me some comfort. However, to be safe, I must inspect your consciousness,” Baohua said, narrowing her eyes at the demonic shadow.
“As you command, my lady! It is only right. Those two possess abilities not far inferior to yours in your prime. If they had secretly placed any restrictions on me, I would never have noticed,” the demonic shadow trembled slightly but agreed without hesitation.
“Good, as long as you understand. Rise for now.”
Baohua’s expression softened as she gracefully descended from the sky, her jade-like feet barely touching the ground. The black-armored giant followed closely behind without a word.
The crystalline flower tree high above flickered once before dissolving into a pink glow that merged into the woman’s body.
The demonic shadow stood up and remained respectfully still, his demonic aura receding to reveal his true form—a middle-aged man with a square face and a pair of dark curved horns.
Without wasting words, Baohua raised a slender finger and lightly tapped the man’s forehead the moment she stood before him.
With a soft *pfft*, a glistening thread shot from her fingertip and vanished into the man’s brow.
Baohua slowly closed her eyes.
The man’s face briefly twisted in pain before his gaze dulled, his expression turning vacant.
As the crystalline thread trembled faintly, the man remained in a daze.
Time passed slowly.
Suddenly, the palace-robed woman frowned slightly. The thread in her hand turned golden, emitting an eerie pulse that surged into the man’s skull.
The man groaned as faint trails of blood seeped from his nose and ears, only to dry up unnaturally. His face contorted, and from his ears and nose shot out several pea-sized gray specks of light that spiraled briefly before streaking toward the horizon.
“Stay!”
Baohua’s expression darkened as she flicked her fingers toward the fleeing specks.
Several identical crystalline threads shot forth, piercing the gray lights and retracting them into her sleeve.
But she wasn’t done yet. After scanning the man’s face, she spat out several pink specks that vanished into his brow without a sound.
Only then did the crystalline thread shatter into motes of white light and dissipate.
The man’s eyes flickered as awareness returned to them.
“My lady, I—”
“You were indeed implanted with a sinister restriction by them. But rest assured, it’s gone now. I’ve replaced it with a false one. Unless those two personally inspect you, they will never detect anything amiss,” Baohua said calmly.
“Thank you for saving me, my lady. Now I can be at ease. But why have you appeared here? Though no one here poses a threat to you, if word spreads, it could still be dangerous,” the demonic shadow said gratefully, though concern laced his voice.
“I have my reasons. First, tell me—did anyone enter the passage behind you?” Baohua’s gaze shifted toward the gray passage entrance, her expression complex.
“A group of outsiders did enter—half human, half spirit, all at least at the Body Integration stage. I dared not stop them,” the man replied honestly, though puzzled.
“Good. I have a task for you: conceal the fact that outsiders entered the passage. Delay the news from reaching the Sacred Realm as long as possible. Can you do this?” Baohua’s voice turned cold as she issued the order.
“Though it’s tricky, since the other overseer has been eliminated by you, I alone control this place. I can suppress the truth for about a year,” the man said confidently, though still confused.
“Good. Hei E, let’s go.”
With a satisfied nod, Baohua floated toward the passage entrance without another word.
The sudden movement startled both the man and the black-armored giant.
The former hesitated but ultimately bowed in silent farewell, while the latter clenched his teeth and followed.
Two more rumbles echoed from the passage before Baohua and Hei E vanished inside.
The demonic man stared blankly at the entrance for a long moment before scanning the empty void around him, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
After a brief pause, he suddenly threw back his head and let out a piercing roar—a sound so powerful it seemed to split the heavens.
Soon, shadows emerged from the dark clouds as squadrons of demons astride demonic beasts appeared.
The man wasted no time, his body wreathed in black mist as he strode forward to meet them.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the passage in the Demon Realm, Baohua and Hei E materialized silently within a gray glow, only to be immediately surrounded by furious demons.
Surveying the wounded low-to-mid-tier demons, Baohua merely said to Hei E, “Handle this,” before vanishing into thin air.
Left alone, Hei E scanned the encircling demons, finding none at the Body Integration stage. With a sinister grin, he unleashed a torrent of demonic energy that surged outward.
Half an hour later, atop an unnamed mountain tens of thousands of miles away, Hei E caught up to Baohua, who had already arrived. He stood silently at her side.
“Are you afraid that I’ve brought you back to the Sacred Realm?” Baohua asked emotionlessly, her gaze fixed on the dark, sprawling forest below.
“I dare not question your will, my lady. You must have your reasons,” Hei E replied nervously.
“Fear is natural. Even I am taking a great risk returning here—I may even perish. Tian Qi and He Yan have long been my enemies. If they discover my return, they will hunt me relentlessly. Though not Ancestors, their cultivation is nearly on par with my former self, and their abilities counter mine. In my current state, I might barely survive one of them, but against both, the odds are slim,” Baohua said, her eyes shifting back to Hei E.
“If you knew this, my lady, yet still chose to return, it must relate to your earlier divination,” Hei E ventured cautiously.
“Correct. But the divination was incomplete, leaving the prophecy fragmented. Even I could only decipher half of it. Yet, do you know what it foretold?” Baohua’s expression turned peculiar as she stared at Hei E.
“I know nothing of divination, my lady. Please enlighten me,” Hei E replied with a helpless smile.
“Perhaps it’s better you don’t know. Just understand this—until those ahead reach their destination, we must not disturb them or reveal ourselves. In fact, we may even need to aid them discreetly,” Baohua said, her silver eyes glinting, leaving Hei E stunned.
“As you command, my lady,” Hei E finally said, suppressing his confusion.
“You’ve served me well on this journey. Continue to do so, and even if you face bottlenecks in reaching the Mahayana stage, I will assist you once my strength is restored,” Baohua said solemnly, her gaze unwavering.
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