"We agreed that we'll no longer have any ties after I lent you my assistance on that occasion, so why are you bringing that up now? Are you trying to threaten me?" Lan Pu asked with a dark expression.
"Don't make it sound so bad; I wouldn't do that to you, Sister Lan. Contrary to what you might think, I really did come here for your sake. Bao Hua has returned to our holy realm, and she recently endured a battle against Tian Qi and He Yan," Liu JI replied.
"Bao Hua has returned and she was able to battle Tian Qi and He Yan? Is that true? Does that mean she's recovered her powers?" Lan Pu's face immediately paled upon hearing this, clearly indicating that she was very wary of Bao Hua.
"I'm not sure if she's recovered her powers, but from what I've heard, she met Yuan Yan at the Devilish Origin Sea, then destroyed the physical bodies of Tian Qi and He Yan during their battle. I sent someone to enquire Tian Qi and He Yan about the situation, and they informed me that she's already managed to cultivate the legendary Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain using the Profound Heavenly Floral Tree," Liu Ji replied with a solemn expression.
"She's mastered the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain? Isn't that an ability that only true immortals can attain? How did she manage to cultivate it?" Lan Pu exclaimed.
"Bao Hua once discussed this with me back when we were on friendly terms. According to her, she once obtained an incomplete cultivation art for the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain that had most likely descended into our holy realm by chance during ancient times. At the time, she told me that it would perhaps be able to complement her Profound Heavenly Floral Tree, but never did I think that she would actually be able to attain a complete Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain. According to Tian Qi and He Yan, she's only attained a Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain of the lowest caliber, but it definitely is a complete domain," Liu Ji sighed in a concerned manner.
Lan Pu seemed to know Bao Hua very well, and after a moment of contemplation, she analyzed, "Hold on, if she's already recovered her powers and attained a Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain, why did she go into hiding? With her personality, she would already be actively hunting you down to recover her position of matriarch. She's most likely only recovered a portion of her power, and she must've incurred some damage during her battle against Tian Qi and He Yan as well."
"Hehe, it seems that great minds think alike, Sister Lan. This gives us even more reason to track her down and kill her while she's still vulnerable. Otherwise, if she recovers to her full power, you and I will both be on her hitlist. If we manage to kill her, you can have all of her other treasures; I only want the Profound Heavenly Floral Tree and the cultivation art for the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain. According to my knowledge, Bao Hua has a treasure that's extremely useful for transcending tribulations," Liu Ji said.
"Hmph, if Bao Hua hasn't recovered her powers yet, why are you including me in this? Why don't you just hunt her down with your clones instead? Don't tell me you're doing this out of the kindness of your heart!" Lan Pu harrumphed coldly in response.
"If I could do this alone, then I wouldn't have come to find you. As I'm sure you're aware, the true bodies of us three patriarchs are all busy dealing with the major tribulation of our realm. I do indeed have six clones, but one of them was recently killed by Bao Hua, and the new clone is currently cultivating in seclusion, so I won't be able to use it for at least a century. Two of my clones are currently overseeing the battle in the Spirit Realm, and among my remaining three clones, one of them is a trump card of mine that I won't reveal to anyone unless it's absolutely necessary, and another one is looking after my cave abode, while the final one is speaking to you right now.
"On top of that, I've heard that Bao Hua was last sighted near the Blue Waterfall Lake, and you're by far the most powerful being in this area. If you're willing to deploy your forces to search for her, we'll be able to find her in no time," Bao Hua explained.
Lan Pu was silent for a long while, but was unable to resist the temptation of Liu Ji's offer in the end, and she gritted her teeth as she said, "I see. In that case, I really am obligated to help you. As long as Bao Hua really is residing nearby, I'll definitely be able to find her. However, in addition to all her other treasures, I want a copy of cultivation art of the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain as well."
Liu Ji was ecstatic to hear this, and she immediately agreed, "That's not an issue!"
"Alright, I'll go back and mobilize my forces to track down Bao Hua. By the way, it seems that something rather peculiar has just taken place here; could it have something to do with Bao Hua?" Lan Pu suddenly asked as she cast her gaze over the severely ravaged surrounding area.
"I don't think so. It seems that a battle has recently concluded here, and judging from the residual auras, it seems that the battle took place between someone and a devilish beast. You arrived here before I did; did you manage to discover anything?" Liu Ji asked as she made a grabbing motion toward a certain direction.
One of the gemstones that had previously been embedded in the Magnetic Light Beast's body emerged from the soil and flew into her grasp, upon which she gave it a brief inspection.
"Whoever was here had already left by the time I got here; perhaps it was some powerful late Body Integration Stage being who just so happened to be passing by. We're currently in the season where Bloodtooth Rice is being harvested, so it's no surprise to see powerful devilish lords in the area," Lan Pu replied.
"Perhaps so. Speaking of Bloodtooth Rice, you've restricted the amount that can be sold to normal devilish beings, yet you're selling large amounts to the major powers for astronomical prices in secret; I must say, I'm very impressed by your ploy, Sister Lan," Liu Ji chuckled.
"I have no choice but to do this. The amount of Bloodtooth Rice that's produced really isn't enough to satisfy everyone's needs, and I don't want to offend too many powers, so I can only resort to this to maintain a certain level of stability," Lan Pu replied in a nonchalant manner.
"This is definitely a wise course of action. Otherwise, you'll be making a lot of enemies for yourself if you didn't regulate the sales of Bloodtooth Rice, but doing things this way keeps all sides relatively happy. By the way, I have two disciples who just so happen to require Bloodtooth Rice to strengthen their bodies; would you be able to sell me some as well?" Liu Ji asked with a smile.
"You can have some free of charge," Lan Pu replied in a display of generosity.
Liu Ji was ecstatic to hear this, and she hurriedly said, "You have my thanks, Sister Lan. Alright, let's split up for now. I've also brought along some trusted subordinates with me, and they'll be able to help out in the search for Bao Hua as well."
Lan Pu had no objections to this, so she replied, "Alright, I'll be returning to Blue Waterfall City then."
After that, she flew away as a ball of blue light, leaving Liu Ji on her own.
After Lan Pu had completely disappeared into the distance, Liu Ji's smile faded, and she looked down at the gemstone in her hand with a cold expression. Her brows then furrowed slightly as if she had identified something, but couldn't decide what she wanted to do.
However, it didn't take her long to make a decision, and she crushed the gemstone into powder as she murmured to herself with a cold smile, "Seeing as Five Elemental Yin Yang True Light has appeared, I certainly can't just let it slip; looks like I'll have to hunt down the person who obtained this true light as well."
After that, she flew back onto her flying boat, and countless runes surged out of the flying treasure before it flew away toward another direction.
……
Meanwhile, Han Li was already on his way back to Blue Waterfall City, and he was appraising the first green rock that he had obtained with a faint smile on his face.
As a safety precaution, he had flown around in a huge circle before returning to the city from another direction.
After a short while, Han Li stowed the green rock away amid a flash of spiritual light, and it was replaced by a piece of Foreign Devilish Metal.
The smile on his face became even more pronounced at the sight of this piece of metal.
This was one of the pieces of Foreign Devilish Metal that the azure ape puppets had mined, and not only was there no less Foreign Devilish Metal than what he had obtained from Wu You, close to half of them contained mysterious crystalline beads, a discovery that naturally made Han Li extremely excited.
With such a large number of those crystalline beads, they would be able to save him over 1,000 years of arduous cultivation!
