Hei'e let loose a furious roar as he swung his giant mace through the air, which instantly swelled to around 10 times its original size.
Countless mace projections emerged before transforming into a gust of black devilish wind that encompassed everything within an area of around an acre.
Resounding booms rang out as one mangled devilish body after another fell out of the black wind.
These horned devilish beings were quite powerful, but they were clearly no match for Hei'e and were quickly suffering casualties.
Even so, they displayed no intention of running away, and it was as if they knew no fear.
Hei'e was far more powerful than these devilish beings, but he seemed to have endured many fierce battles already. As a result, he didn't have much magic power left, and he was quickly beginning to struggle.
His attacks were still as ferocious as ever, but a sheen of sweat had begun to appear on his face.
After around a third of the surrounding devilish beings were slain, Hei'e's mace finally began to slow down, and he was unable to completely keep all of the oncoming attacks at bay as his body was struck by one ball of light after another.
These black balls of light were imbued with some type of power that allowed them to pass through Hei'e's suit of armor, almost rendering it completely redundant.
A string of explosions began to ring out from Hei'e's body as one ball of black light exploded after another.
Hei'e's body began to sway unsteadily amid the explosions, but he didn't even take so much as a single step backward as he continued to stand firmly in front of Bao Hua.
The powerful physical bodies of the Evil Dragon Race were impervious to the average flying sword, but his skin and flesh were being torn open with ease by the balls of black light.
Bao Hua's expression darkened even further upon seeing this, but strangely enough, she merely continued to stand behind Hei'e, displaying no intention of assisting him.
After a long while, the final horned devilish being was finally killed by Hei'e. However, Hei'e also seemed to have expended the last of his magic power, and his mace slipped out of his hands as his bloodstained body plummeted out of the sky.
Only then did Bao Hua heave a faint sigh as she swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of pink light that caught Hei'e before he could fall any further.
Several silver runes flashed within the light, and Hei'e's body immediately began to shrink as he transformed into a miniature crocodile that was only around an inch in length.
The crocodile's body was riddled with wounds, and it was completely unconscious.
The pink light swept the miniature crocodile into Bao Hua's sleeve, following which she raised her head, and said, "You two have been watching from the sidelines for quite a while; isn't it about time you showed yourselves?"
"Hmph, I knew we wouldn't be able to fool you. For this day, I've sacrificed all 500 of my devilish soldiers, but you also no longer have any allies by your side, so it was worth the sacrifice."
As soon as the voice trailed off, spatial fluctuations erupted in the distance, and an elderly woman and a burly man appeared.
The elderly woman wore a set of red robes, and she was appraising Bao Hua with eyes that were filled with intense resentment.
These two were the vastly renowned Sacred Ancestor Tian Qi and Sacred Ancestor He Yan.
Both of them possessed unfathomable powers and were adept in combination techniques. They were renowned in the Elder Devil Realm for how vicious and ruthless they were, and their reputations almost matched those of the three devilish patriarchs.
Even the average Sacred Ancestor would avoid facing them at all costs.
They had somehow been able to track down Bao Hua and Hei'e, and they immediately sent out a large number of subordinates to attack the duo.
Bao Hua could sense that these two were lurking nearby and didn't want to expose her own current weakened state, so she could only rely on Hei'e to face these enemies alone.
After a few rounds of fierce battles, Hei'e's magic power was finally completely exhausted, leaving Bao Hua to fend for herself.
The burly man, Tian Qi, cast his gaze toward Bao Hua, and said, "Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Bao Hua; you're still as beautiful and youthful as ever."
A hint of surprise appeared on Bao Hua's face as she appraised Tian Qi while completely ignoring the elderly woman. "Your disposition has changed a lot, Fellow Daoist Tian Qi; I must congratulate you for the clear progress you've made in your cultivation."
He Yan was furious upon seeing this, and she slammed her cane downward amid a resounding boom as she said in a fierce voice, "Bao Hua, we can see that you haven't fully recovered your powers, so there's no way you'll be a match for my senior martial brother and myself. If you kneel down and kowtow to us, perhaps we can grant you a swift and painless death."
"Looks like you're here for revenge for what happened all those years ago. Are you here for the same objective, Tian Qi?" Bao Hua asked in a calm manner.
"My next tribulation isn't far away, and I require a treasure of yours." Tian Qi's reply was very straightforward.
A hint of enlightenment appeared in Bao Hua's eyes upon hearing this. "Are you referring to my Lighningward Tag?"
"Indeed. With that treasure, there's a good chance that I'll be able to transcend my next tribulation, so I'm hoping you'll hand it over to me." The tone of Tian Qi's voice remained completely unchanged, but a cold look had appeared in his eyes.
"I'm not completely opposed to handing over my Lightningward Tag to you, but it's one of the most important treasures in my possession, so I can't just give it to you for no reason. How about this? If you can take one attack from me, I'll lend you the tag for 10,000 years; what do you think?" Bao Hua asked with a relaxed smile.
"You want me to take an attack from you?" Tian Qi's pupils abruptly contracted upon hearing this.
The resentment and hatred in He Yan's eyes had also been completely replaced by bewilderment.
The two devils couldn't help but wonder if Bao Hua had actually already recovered her powers and had simply goaded them into appearing before her.
Thus, both of them fell into silent contemplation.
"Are you scared, Fellow Daoist Tian Qi?" Bao Hua chuckled.
A series of thoughts quickly flashed through Tian Qi's mind before he finally made a decision. "Alright, let me see what type of new ability you've cultivated that you're drawing so much confidence from."
He Yan hesitated momentarily, then nodded reluctantly as she said, "Be careful, Senior Martial Brother; I'll keep a lookout for you."
Tian Qi nodded in response before stepping forward, covering a distance of over 100 feet with a single stride.
He then clasped his hands behind his back and stood still on the spot, waiting for Bao Hua to unleash her attack.
A peculiar smile appeared on Bao Hua's face as she raised a hand in a nonchalant manner, then opened her mouth to expel a pink ball of light.
The ball of light appeared to be quite ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, one would discover that it was comprised of countless pink runes, each of which was the size of a grain of rice. The ball of light hovered over the palm of her hand, and she gently pointed at it with her other hand, upon which it suddenly exploded.
Countless runes began to surge through the surrounding area like pink flower petals, creating a beautiful sight to behold.
Right at this moment, a burst of green light flashed through the epicenter of the explosion, following which a small green seedling appeared over the palm of her hand.
The seedling then rapidly grew into a small tree that was around half a foot tall, and it was continuing to grow at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, a large green tree had appeared over Bao Hua's hand and her entire body was encompassed beneath it.
The roots of the tree had already fused as one with Bao Hua's palm, and it seemed to be drawing magic power from her body.
The calm and steadfast Tian Qi's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he exclaimed, "That's the Profound Heavenly Sacred Tree! How have you fused with that treasure? Could it be that you've already recovered your powers and mastered that ability?"
He Yan's expression had also become very strained upon seeing this.
"You'll know the answer to those questions after you take this attack from me! Profound Heavenly Floral Domain!"
Bao Hua let loose a low cry, and the large green tree over her palm suddenly blurred as specks of pink light appeared all over its branches. In the next instant, all of these specks of light transformed into pink flower buds.
Bao Hua then began to chant something in her delightful voice, and the flower buds slowly blossomed as a rich floral scent filled the entire space.
On top of that, the entire tree had rapidly turned pink as the pink flowers blossomed on its branches.
Countless pink flower projections had appeared in the air, forming a sea of pink within a radius of over 10,000 feet; it was as if an independent realm had been created. "She really has mastered the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain! Run!" Tian Qi yelled in an alarmed voice as he immediately flew back as a streak of crimson light.
He Yan had also reacted very quickly as she swept her cane through the air, creating a white spatial rift that she instantly flew into.
The two of them had instantly fled the scene.
"Don't you think it's too late to be trying to get away now?" Bao Hua said in a completely emotionless voice as she reached out to pick a huge pink flower from the floral tree, then tossed it forward in an unhurried manner.
