"Have you changed your mind yet? Why go to all this trouble, fleeing for over a month over a single spirit flower? That Heavenly Blossom is of little use to you in your current state. Hand it over, and I'll spare your life. What do you say?" The white-robed woman spoke lightly, her words turning Lei Yunzi's face ashen.
"Hmph! The Heavenly Blossom is an exceedingly rare spirit treasure. Even if I can't use it now, there will come a day when I need it. You want Lei to hand it over for nothing? Don't even think about it!" Lei Yunzi snorted coldly and rejected her without the slightest hesitation.
"Looks like you really are rather confident in your Lightning Escape technique." The woman showed no anger, maintaining a placid expression instead.
"Heh heh, if you truly had the ability to capture me, how could Lei have managed to flee for over a month?" Lei Yunzi sneered, apparently casting aside his wariness of the woman in one fell swoop.
"How dare you speak to Lady Baoshu in such a manner!" The ugly-faced, black-robed giant bellowed at Lei Yunzi, his expression savage and twisted.
"A lackey riding on another's authority! Do you believe it — if we fought one on one, I'd take your life within minutes!" Lei Yunzi's face darkened, and he delivered the retort in an ice-cold voice.
The ugly giant flushed with rage, snarled, and raised both fists to charge — but at that moment, the white-robed woman waved a hand and calmly stopped him.
"Hei E, enough. You only recently took human form. You are indeed no match for this fellow daoist."
"Lady Baoshu, he—" The giant reluctantly lowered his fists but still wore an expression of unwillingness.
"Is there something you wish to say against my words?" Baoshu's delicate brows twitched faintly, and she spoke in a light, detached tone.
"I wouldn't dare. This subordinate merely misspoke a moment ago." Hei E started in alarm and hurried to explain.
Baoshu let her gaze linger on the giant's face for a few moments, paused briefly, and then remarked blandly, "See that it doesn't happen again."
Hei E felt relieved and hastened to agree.
Han Li watched the entire exchange unfold from the side, his expression grave. His eyes, however, fixed on the black-robed giant with a flash of suspicion.
He had never seen this giant before in his life, yet the malevolent aura the man radiated stirred a strange sense of familiarity, as though he had once sensed it from afar, at some forgotten time.
He naturally felt puzzled by this.
But now was hardly the time for such considerations. What mattered was how to escape alongside Lei Yunzi.
On that front, Han Li — who understood the intricacies of Lei Yunzi's Lightning Formation — was not truly all that worried.
With Lei Yunzi's abilities, so long as he was prepared beforehand, teleporting them both away would be the work of a single thought. Even if the woman before them was truly a Mahayona cultivator, she shouldn't be able to stop him.
Otherwise, Lei Yunzi would not have had the nerve to face this unfathomably powerful foe with such composure.
While Han Li's mind was turning over various thoughts, the colossal woman across from them addressed Lei Yunzi once more.
"This Lightning Formation technique — it's your own creation, isn't it? Truly remarkable. But it can only be wielded to its full potential by someone who possesses the Five Thunder Physique. That is what emboldened you to refuse me outright just now, isn't it?"
"So what if it is?" Lei Yunzi replied with a dark expression, secretly wondering what the woman was driving at.
"Actually, your Lightning Formation teleportation works by seamlessly fusing the power of space with the power of lightning, which is how it can transport you tens of thousands of li in an instant. But merging those two forces into one is no simple matter. You must have drawn upon some secret art to manage your research by chance." Baoshu spoke in her same unhurried, light tone.
Lei Yunzi's expression shifted slightly, but beyond staring coldly at the woman, he said nothing.
The white-robed woman let out a soft laugh and continued: "As it happens, the divine abilities I cultivate also incorporate both lightning and spatial power. I have studied the underlying laws of these two forces quite thoroughly."
"What are you getting at?" Lei Yunzi's face changed, and he could not help but press the question.
"You should have noticed by now that the interval between my catches is growing shorter and shorter. Perhaps in just a few more rounds, I'll have deciphered the laws governing your Lightning Formation — at which point this technique will simply cease to function in my presence. I've also already branded you with my mark. Unless you can teleport over ten million li in a single jump, your capture is only a matter of time. What I said just now was simply because I'd rather not waste any more effort. Consider it the last chance I'm offering you. Otherwise — I happen to have a treasure on hand that still needs a few Soul Integration-stage souls to serve as its core spirits. Once you decline this opportunity and I eventually catch you, you will naturally become one of them." The woman's eyes shimmered as she spoke, her voice soft and unhurried.
Lei Yunzi's face turned pale once more upon hearing these words, his expression shifting between several shades for a long while.
The white-robed woman did not press him further. Instead, her gaze drifted and finally settled on Han Li.
Her eyes were clear as water, yet Han Li felt a chill pass over his entire body, as though every part of him had been laid bare beneath her gaze.
This could only happen when the other party's spiritual sense was vastly superior to his own.
Han Li's heart lurched. Before he could think further, both the Profound Spirit Arts and the Soul Refinement Art within him activated simultaneously, spreading his spiritual sense across every inch of his body.
The eerie sensation of being seen through was barely forced out by sheer effort.
But in that brief moment, Han Li felt cold sweat drenching his back, his heart pounding with shock.