"So this is the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain; it truly does possess unfathomable power. However, you currently shouldn't possess the ability to activate your Profound Heavenly Floral Tree; could it be because of that pill you just took?" Lan Pu asked as a hint of amazement flashed through her eyes.
"Indeed, the pill I just took is able to stimulate my potential to a certain extent, thereby allowing me to release the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain again," Bao Hua replied in a calm voice.
"So what? In your current state, you'll only be able to unleash one or two more attacks with the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain at most before it falls apart!" Liu Ji said in a cold voice.
"Even a single attack will be enough; there's no way you'll be able to oppose Fellow Daoist Xie and Fellow Daoist Han after I severely wound you," Bao Hua said in a nonchalant manner.
"Quit bluffing, Sister Bao Hua! Do you really think I can't tell that you're already a spent force? If you really do unleash one final attack with this domain, not only will you exhaust all of your remaining magic power, the severity of your injuries will be exacerbated by severalfold; there's no way you'd be willing to do something like this. Don't forget that you're a member of our holy race; if you fall into the hands of that human brat in a completely powerless state, you know what's going to happen to you," Liu Ji said as a cold look flashed through her eyes.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained completely unchanged.
"I could say the same to you two. You've only sent a clone here, but don't forget that Lan Pu is here in her true body. If you force me to unleash this final attack, I'll be sure to direct its power toward Lan Pu, and there would at least be a 30% to 40% chance that you'll perish. Would you dare to make this gamble, Fellow Daoist Lan?" Bao Hua asked with a calm smile.
"Is that a threat?" Lan Pu asked as her expression darkened drastically.
"Perhaps so. How will you respond to it? Will you risk being killed and attack me alongside Liu Ji's clone or settle this matter peacefully?" Bao Hua continued.
A hesitant look appeared on Lan Pu's face upon hearing this.
Liu Ji's heart sank slightly at the sight of Lan Pu's expression, and she hurriedly interjected, "Don't tell me you're actually being fooled by Bao Hua's bluff, Sister Lan. Setting aside whether she even has the power to unleash an attack with the Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain, even if she were capable of this, you and I will definitely be able to handle the attack together."
"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 our 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.
