"You recognize me?" Han Li found this somewhat puzzling.
In the Scattered Star Seas, he had known several female cultivators, but among those at Nascent Soul stage or above, apart from Ling Yuling, there didn't seem to be a second one.
"You're Han Li, aren't you? I saw you once back in the Void Heaven Palace. Later I heard it was you who obtained the Void Heaven Cauldron. I never expected that not only did you escape those old monsters' pursuit, but your cultivation has advanced so remarkably since then." The female Nascent Soul spoke after a long pause, her voice carrying an odd tone.
"You… you're Madam Wen?" The moment the other party mentioned the Void Heaven Palace, coupled with that faintly familiar voice, a spark of recognition flashed through Han Li's mind, and he identified the person — though not entirely certain.
"I didn't expect that you would still remember this old woman." The female cultivator's Nascent Soul let out a long sigh.
Hearing the other party openly admit it, Han Li's face was full of astonishment!
This female cultivator's Nascent Soul was none other than the Madam Wen he had glimpsed once in the entrance hall when he had ventured into the Void Heaven Palace all those years ago. Although her cultivation had not been low at the time, she had only entered the Void Heaven Palace to gather a few types of spirit herbs and had withdrawn of her own accord midway through.
But because she seemed to have some close connection to Six Dao, he had remembered her very clearly.
"If I'm not mistaken, Madam, you were Six Dao's dual cultivation partner?" Han Li asked, a mix of surprise and suspicion in his voice.
"Dual cultivation partner? Have you ever seen someone imprison their own partner's Nascent Soul inside a treasure? But — Fellow Daoist Han! Was that old villain Six Dao truly destroyed by you?" Madam Wen let out a hum filled with deep resentment, her tone still tinged with doubt.
Hearing Madam Wen's words, Han Li smiled faintly. Without another word, he extended one hand and pointed lightly toward a certain spot.
Madam Wen's Nascent Soul paused in surprise, then turned to look where he indicated.
Only then did she notice that not far away, a massive block of violet-tinged ice was suspended in midair, and frozen within it were the mangled remains of a corpse — none other than the half-body left behind by Six Dao Supreme.
At the same time, the green spectral hand that had been tightly gripping the Nascent Soul flickered wildly several times, then vanished into thin air.
Madam Wen's Nascent Soul was temporarily freed.
Han Li's brow furrowed slightly. Although he didn't know the specifics of what had happened to turn Six Dao and this Madam Wen against each other, he had no interest in hearing the full story. He immediately turned his thoughts to how he should deal with her.
The Nascent Soul's bitter laughter finally gradually subsided. Then her gaze swept over to him, and upon noticing his contemplative expression, she spoke directly:
"No need for Fellow Daoist Han to trouble himself. I have been imprisoned inside that treasure for far too long — my Nascent Soul has long since grown feeble beyond recovery. There is no way for me to seize a Body and be reborn. I must disperse my own Nascent Soul immediately if there is to be any chance of entering the cycle of reincarnation. Fellow Daoist Han has avenged my great enmity, and this old woman is eternally grateful. But with your present abilities, I have nothing with which to repay you. I can only hope that in my next life, I may return the kindness."
As soon as these words left the Nascent Soul's lips, she suddenly raised one hand and struck the crown of her own head.
A blinding burst of crimson light erupted, shrouding the Nascent Soul from head to toe. Then, within that red radiance, the Nascent Soul shattered inch by inch, until it vanished completely before Han Li's very eyes.
Han Li stared, momentarily stunned!
He hadn't expected Madam Wen to be so resolute in temperament — after barely exchanging a few sentences with him, she had destroyed herself of her own accord. It seemed she had absolutely no desire to reveal what had transpired to bring her to such a fate.
But without needing to guess, one could well imagine that there must have been some deeply shameful secret between the two. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended herself so decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
Though somewhat vexed, it was just as well she had done so. Otherwise, how to deal with her would have been quite the headache.
Han Li shook his head and let out a soft sigh, then raised his hand to draw the small green bottle back into his grasp and stow it in his storage pouch.
Next, a streak of golden lightning struck the violet ice block, and the entire mass shattered to pieces. The old demon's mangled remains dissolved into motes of faintly glowing light and vanished along with the ice shards.
As for the storage pouch the old demon had left behind, Han Li naturally accepted it without any ceremony.
A brief sweep of his spiritual sense inside revealed a few remaining treasures, but given his standards now, none of them particularly caught his eye. What did pique his interest were several demonic cultivation manuals left within. However, after a cursory glance, the one he cared about most — the Six Extremes True Devil Art — was not among them.
Having taken care of all this, Han Li waved to the humanoid puppet, and the two of them headed straight toward the bone banner in the distance. The other "Han Li" flickered once and eerily vanished into the air once more.
Over at the bone banner, the five ghost heads had already devoured the three skulls clean, and now they had moved on to the banner itself, having consumed roughly seven or eight tenths of it.
Han Li arrived on the scene, took in the sight, and shook his head without a word.
The bone banner did have quite a notable origin, but its malevolent aura was far too heavy — it wasn't particularly suited to him. So even though he had noticed the Five Devils' actions from the very beginning, he had made no effort whatsoever to stop them.
After a short while, the Five Devils finally gnawed the entire bone banner down to nothing. Then the five ghost heads let out a chorus of eerie wails that sounded almost like joyful howling, while the demonic energy surrounding them intensified by another measure.