A phoenix cry rang out as a burst of multicolored radiance erupted from the shattered jade token, enveloping Bao within its glow.
Space rippled around her, and Bao's form blurred as she prepared to vanish into the void.
But just then, a cold yet tender voice drifted up from below, carried from a great distance: "Since you've already made it here, there's no need to rush off."
The words had barely fallen when the water surface below suddenly split apart, and a hazy phantom flickered into existence with a flash.
A deafening boom rang out. Bao's delicate frame shuddered violently as an unstoppable force struck her, shattering the layer of five-colored radiance that encased her body in an instant.
Her blurred figure was sent hurtling forty or fifty zhang through the air before she barely managed to stabilize herself and come to a stop. Her cheeks flushed an unnatural crimson, and she could not help but open her mouth to spit out a mouthful of bright red essence blood.
That single blow had immediately damaged her vital essence.
It was only because she was extraordinarily quick-witted that the instant the tremendous force reached her, she had poured every ounce of her Magical Power into her protective spiritual light. Otherwise, even if she had not perished on the spot, the consequences would have been far more than a mere mouthful of blood.
The others who witnessed this scene were naturally struck with alarm!
Han Li narrowed his gaze and spotted a small, dark figure standing where Bao had been moments before.
It was a girl who appeared no older than eleven or twelve. She was slowly retracting one small fist and surveying every Mahayana existence present with an expression that hovered somewhere between a smile and something else entirely.
The girl's skin was slightly dark, and she wore an utterly plain set of black form-fitting clothes. Her features were unremarkable, but both of her eyes were an ashen gray, as though she had been born blind. Set into the space between her brows, however, was a pitch-black crystalline stone that gleamed with an eerie luster. At first glance it seemed remarkably similar to the crystal left behind when the colossal insect in the sky had vanished, only far darker, as if it could swallow all light, and several times smaller in size.
It was this girl who had just sent Bao flying with a single punch.
The instant the girl's gaze swept toward Han Li, his heart lurched. A wave of bone-piercing chill shot up from the depths of his back, and he could not help but narrow his eyes slightly.
As for the other Mahayana cultivators, every one of them felt a deep jolt of dread as those gray eyes passed over them.
Though the girl had not declared her identity, the fact that she could appear in this void and send Bao — a former Holy Sovereign — flying with a single blow left little room for doubt. Nine times out of ten, this was none other than the true Moth Mother.
As for what that vanished giant insect had actually been, no one cared anymore. Every last person stared fixedly at the girl, not daring to let their attention waver for even an instant.
After all, the punch that had knocked Bao away — not a single person present, Han Li included, had been able to follow it clearly.
That alone spoke to the eerie speed and strangeness of the girl's movements.
The only person among them who showed no expression whatsoever was most likely the Daoist Crab.
Yet as he gazed blankly at the girl in the air, peals of thunder rumbled from within his body, and strand after strand of silver lightning arced forth of their own accord, forming a cloak of lightning that shrouded him beneath its protection.
"A true immortal puppet — how interesting. I never expected that after all these years, such a thing would still appear in the lower realm!" The girl's gaze swept past Han Li and the others before finally settling on the Daoist Crab. A flicker of interest crossed her face as she spoke.
"So you are the true Moth Mother." Bao finally managed to suppress the churning blood qi in her chest and addressed the girl in a slow, measured tone. Remarkably, her expression remained composed.
"Hmph. What do you mean, 'the true one'? What you destroyed just now was a shell I shed a hundred thousand years ago. It still had its uses, yet you went and ruined it. Now — how do you intend to compensate me?" The girl raised an eyebrow and let out a cold snort. Her voice was strikingly tender and childlike.
"A shell, you say? So your true body was hidden beneath the water all along. Quite the golden cicada shedding its skin! But what I find even more surprising is that you were able to directly break through the Grand Shift of the Phoenix Spirit Treasured Disc. That was the genuine power of the Heavenly Phoenix!" Bao's expression shifted before she let out a long sigh.
"The Phoenix Spirit Treasured Disc? That thing that contains a sliver of the Heavenly Phoenix's natural law? A mere dead object — even if it can manipulate a measure of spatial power, using it before me is simply laughable. I may never have fought the True Spirit Heavenly Phoenix itself, but of the strong ones from the Phoenix Clan, if I haven't devoured a dozen or so, I've certainly consumed seven or eight." The girl curled her lip, a look of undisguised disdain on her face.
These words sent a chill through the heart of the black-robed woman who had already been quietly gripping her own Phoenix Spirit Disc. Even knowing she should not fully believe what the other said, she did not dare make any rash move for the moment.
Han Li's heart sank slightly as well.
Yet not everyone believed her. One person, convinced he was far enough away and placing absolute faith in the Phoenix Spirit Disc's power, made his move.
It was the ruddy-faced brawly man. A strange light flashed in his eyes, and with a flick of his sleeve, a Phoenix Spirit Disc materialized in his palm — and instantly shattered.
The same five-colored radiance erupted, enveloping the man in its swirling embrace, while a wave of spatial fluctuation shimmered around him.
High in the air, the girl's small face hardened the moment she saw this. Her body stirred, and she transformed into a blurred black shadow that shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
The ruddy-faced man had long anticipated this. With a great shout, he swung the bone blade in his hand in a mighty slash.
A thunderous crash shook heaven and earth. A mountainous arc of bladed energy swept toward the oncoming black shadow and instantly tore it to countless fragments.