"Should I go and take a look, Mistress Bao Hua?" Hei'e asked.
Bao Hua hesitated momentarily upon hearing this before shaking her head in response. "There's no need for that; it doesn't really matter to me what situation he's currently in. Seeing as I've obtained the spirit medicine I'm searching for, I'm going to leave the Devilish Origin Sea right away, then find a safe place to refine the medicine into a pill in order to recover my former powers."
"Alright, then let's leave this place right away. Both Master Yuan Yan and Master Nie Pan have already seen you here, so it would be dangerous to stay here any longer. Having said that, once you recover your former powers, you won't have to fear anyone," Hei'e said with an excited expression.
If this mistress of his could return to the height of her powers, his status as her most trusted subordinate would also be elevated significantly.
"Have you had a chance to do what I asked of you?" Bao Hua asked.
"Rest assured, Mistress; I've already planted a bloodline mark on that three-headed wyrm. I won't be able to sense its exact location through that mark, but I'll immediately be able to sense it if it comes within 500 kilometers of me," Hei'e immediately replied.
"Well done. That three-headed wyrm possesses the evil dragon bloodline just like you, and it's Yuan Yan's bonded devilish beast, so there's no way they'll be separated under normal circumstances. If Yuan Yan tries to unleash a sneak attack on me in the future, there's no way I won't be able to detect him," Bao Hua praised with a faint smile.
"Hehe, it's all thanks to the secret technique that you bestowed upon me, Mistress. Otherwise, there's no way I would've been able to fool Master Yuan Yan," Hei'e chuckled in response.
"This secret technique can only be used on beings with the same bloodline, and Yuan Yan's spiritual sense is restricted on the Bitter Spirit Island, so it's no surprise that he didn't notice anything. Alright, let's depart from this place now." Bao Hua made a hand seal as she spoke, and a pink floral tree projection appeared behind her before rapidly expanding in size.
In the blink of an eye, both of them were completely inundated by pink light.
Immediately thereafter, the giant floral tree projection disintegrated into specks of pink light, and Bao Hua and Hei'e were nowhere to be seen.
Thus, peace and quiet returned to the Bitter Spirit Island.
……
Seven days later, a pair of high-grade devilish beings arrived on the Bitter Spirit Island.
One of them was a man who appeared to be in his thirties wearing a suit of azure devilish armor, giving off a very imposing appearance.
He was accompanied by an elderly woman with wrinkly skin that was covered in liver spots, and she was holding a cane with a crane-head-shaped handle.
The two of them hovered in the air above the valley, inspecting their surroundings as if they were searching for something.
A short while later, the elderly woman harrumphed coldly as she pointed her cane downward, and a patch of ground down below suddenly collapsed to reveal a giant crater that was several tens of feet in diameter.
"So Bao Hua really did come here; I can sense her residual aura. We can't let her get away this time," the elderly woman said in a very unpleasant grating voice.
"You still haven't been able to set aside that grudge for all these years; no wonder your cultivation base hasn't improved in the slightest," the burly azure-armored man sighed.
The elderly woman immediately flared up with rage upon hearing this. "You make it sound so easy! If it weren't for that wretch, how would I have been struck in this old wrinkly body with no chance of ever reaching the Grand Ascension Stage? Have you forgotten about all those clones of yours that she destroyed?"
Contrary to the man's imposing appearance, he had a very calm demeanor, and he said, "What's the point in mentioning something like this? You're only spoiling your own mental state."
"Cut the crap! If you really had forgotten what she had done to you, why did you immediately rush over here after receiving news from Yuan Yan?" the elderly woman asked with resentment and skepticism in her eyes.
"I don't care if you believe me or not, but I've already cultivated my Weeping Blood Devilish Arts to the point of indifference, so I no longer feel any strong emotions. I decided to accompany you on this occasion as I'm interested in a treasure in Bao Hua's possession; only after obtaining that treasure will I have a chance to transcend my next tribulation," the azure-armored man replied in a calm manner.
A thought occurred to the elderly woman upon hearing this, and she asked, "Are you referring to her Lightningward Tag?"
"That's right, Bao Hua was able to transcend many tribulations with that treasure. As for Bao Hua herself, that's something I'm no longer interested in," the azure-armored man replied.
"Alright, I'll believe you just this once. According to Yuan Yan, that wretch still hasn't recovered her powers, so as long as we can find her, it shouldn't be an issue to capture her. When that time comes, I'm going to make her regret ever crossing me," the elderly woman said in a resentful manner.
"Alright, then I'll take her treasures while you can have her. I'll send a message to the nearest branch of the Beast Lord Palace to keep an eye on all of the teleportation formations in this area; there's no way she'll be able to get away from us," the azure-armored man said.
The elderly woman was ecstatic to hear this, and he immediately gave an affirmative response.
"By the way, I'm not sure if you noticed this, but that old crab seems to have gone missing from the sea of lightning. That Faux Immortal Puppet is almost as powerful as a patriarch, so it can't be ignored. Do you think its disappearance may have had something to do with Bao Hua?" the azure-armored man asked.
The elderly woman considered this for a moment before shaking her head in response. "That is indeed rather strange. The Faux Immortal Puppet has been in our holy realm even before we had been born, and it's never left this sea of lightning; it is indeed rather unsettling that it's suddenly disappeared. However, I'm not convinced that that wretch has the ability to take it away. Otherwise, she would've already captured it back when she was at the height of her powers, and she wouldn't have been reduced to such a sorry state."
"There was a Body Integration Stage human cultivator mentioned in Yuan Yan's Immortal Vanquishing Order; could it have something to do with that human brat?" the azure-armored man mused.
"Perhaps, but that has nothing to do with us as long as he doesn't interfere with our hunt for Bao Hua. The reward offered by Yuan Yan is nothing special, so we don't need to pay any heed to this matter," the elderly woman said.
The azure-armored man was still feeling rather uneasy, but he nodded in response. "That's true, our priority is to find Bao Hua, so it's best not to be distracted by other matters."
Thus, the two of them flew away as a pair of streaks of light.
……
An azure wooden boat was traveling in a stable manner over a turbulent sea.
At the front of the boat stood an azure-robed young man with his hands clasped behind his back, peering into the distant ocean.
This was none other than Han Li, who had already arrived at the edge of the Devilish Origin Sea.
With the large number of pills at his disposal, he had recovered from most of his injuries. However, he had been forced to use his Second Nirvana Transformation and Profound Heavenly Spiritslash Sword, as well as to withstand two of the golden crab's attacks, so he wouldn't be able to recover to his peak without at least half a year of rest and recuperation.
Thankfully, this wasn't an issue as he had the golden crab by his side, so he wouldn't have to fear anyone aside from the devilish patriarchs.
However, after obtaining this Faux Immortal Puppet, he had changed his mind about leaving the Elder Devil Realm right away.
He had only been able to enter the Elder Devil Realm by taking advantage of the devilish tribulation. Once the devilish tribulation concluded, it would be very difficult for him to enter the Elder Devil Realm again even if he were to progress to the Grand Ascension Stage.
As such, after some extensive consideration, he decided to stay in the Elder Devil Realm to obtain some treasures of interest before departing.
The treasures in question were naturally none other than Bloodtooth Rice, and the crystalline beads within the mysterious pieces of Foreign Devilish Metal.
One of those two things could enhance his physical constitution while the other could rapidly bolster his magic power, so they were both extremely valuable to him.
On top of that, according to the information that he had gathered, both of those things could be found in the same place.
"Blue Waterfall Lake!" Han Li murmured to himself as a hint of yearning appeared in his eyes.
After a brief moment of consideration, he flipped a hand over to release a mature Gold Devouring Beetle. However, the beetle was curled up into a ball and lying on his hand in a completely lifeless manner.
What was even more peculiar was that silver cracks had appeared all over its body, as if it could completely shatter at any moment.
Han Li appraised the beetle with furrowed brows and a contemplative look in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Daoist Xie was seated with his legs crossed in the large cabin of the boat, and his eyes were tightly shut in an expressionless manner.
Not far away from him sat a gorgeous yellow-robed young woman who also appeared to be meditating, but she was occasionally stealing glances at the young man with a faint flush on her face.
