"Since I have gifted this disc, there is naturally no reason for me to take it back!" Bao said with a radiant smile upon hearing this.
"With this item protecting me, and with Fellow Daoist Bao having also borrowed a HeavenMystic treasure of opposing affinity, I expect that even the Moth Mother's ferocity should be manageable. Very well — this old man will risk the journey." The plain-faced elder's eyes flickered several times before he agreed.
As for the woman in the black robe, she considered for a moment and then gave a nod.
"Brother Han, what about you!" Bao was delighted but had not forgotten the one she valued most. She turned her graceful head and asked directly.
"If all you Fellow Daoists are going, how could I possibly shrink back at the last moment?" Han Li tucked the item away, his expression betraying not the slightest hint of anything unusual.
With his current abilities, plus the protection of a supreme treasure like the Heavenmystic Spirit-Slaying Sword, he was confident he could hold his own even against a being like a True Immortal — so he had little fear of a Moth Mother whose vitality had been severely drained.
"Good, then I'll have the Seal Spirit send us all over right away. Over there, the two Fellow Daoists from the Nightmare Realm should be nearby as well. Once we link up with them, our chances will improve yet another notch." Bao chuckled lightly.
Without further hesitation, she formed a single-handed incantation gesture toward the gray mist.
In an instant, the mist churned and parted left and right, revealing a passage that opened straight through.
Bao's figure moved without the slightest delay, drifting inside.
The others quickly followed behind her.
Moments later, the group emerged from the passage into a burst of bright light, finding themselves in an open, empty expanse. Before them on the ground stood a gray-white teleportation formation.
A humming sound drifted from the surrounding void, as though someone were speaking certain words.
But Han Li and the others were all completely baffled — none could understand a thing. Only Bao gave a slight nod toward the air before her expression turned solemn, and she stepped into the formation with several measured strides.
The others exchanged various looks upon seeing this, but after a brief moment of hesitation, they each walked over as well.
The instant the woman in the black robe — the last to enter — set both feet onto the formation, a soft "pfft" sounded and the entire formation activated on its own.
A swirl of radiance flickered all around, and in the next moment, every person's figure blurred before they vanished into thin air.
At the same time, atop the blood-red altar deep within that mysterious stone forest, the pitch-black alms bowl that had been sitting perfectly still suddenly began to tremble, and a low, murmuring male voice rose from within: "So these people really do intend to deal with that Moth Mother. Heh heh — how utterly ignorant of death! With their meager strength, aren't they simply walking to their doom? But that boy cannot die just yet, it seems. I suppose I'll have to find a way to save his life first. *Sigh* — it seems there's no avoiding the use of that thing now…"
The man's voice carried a long, reluctant sigh, as though something he treasured above all else were being pried from his grasp against his will.
A crisp, metallic clinking echoed through the void.
Above the altar, a faint glow flickered and eight slender chains of pale silver materialized.
Each chain was anchored at one end to the rim of the alms bowl, while the other end stretched toward the top of one of the eight bronze pillars, disappearing directly into the ancient lamps mounted there.
A string of abstruse, unintelligible incantations emanated from the alms bowl, and the thin chain connecting to the sole remaining glowing lamp began to tremble ever so gently.
Countless rice-grain-sized golden runes suddenly blossomed across the surface of the ancient lamp and raced along the silver chain toward the altar, each one sinking into the black alms bowl and vanishing without a trace.
The faint black mist wreathing the surface of the bowl gradually grew denser, and from within it began to emanate a terrifyingly powerful aura that surged upward at an inconceivable rate.
…
"So this is where the Moth Mother dwells!" Han Li swept his gaze across his surroundings, an expression of extreme astonishment crossing his face.
He was not the only one. Bao and the other Mahayana-stage beings surveyed the scenery around them with equal looks of shock.
The group found themselves standing upon a vast, open ocean. As far as the eye could see in every direction stretched an endless expanse of pale blue water, with gusts of damp sea breeze sweeping past from time to time.
"This is no illusion! How is this possible — is there really such a place inside the underground palace?" The plain-faced elder furrowed his brow and addressed Bao.
"Of course not. The underground palace is only so large — how could it possibly contain a body of water this vast!" Bao shook her head in denial.
"Then where are we? Could we have been teleported straight out of the Land of the Primordial Seal?" The red-faced brawny man looked left and right for a moment before asking with some uncertainty.
"That should not be the case. Otherwise, our spiritual sense would not still be suppressed by the seal — we would not be limited to such a short detection range." The woman in the black robe spoke up sharply.
She had evidently already attempted to extend the power of her spiritual sense.