The long-haired man was, after all, a Body Integration cultivator who had been famous for many years. The moment those strange emotions arose within him, he immediately noticed something was wrong and bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of essence blood.
In the next instant, the surge of pain helped restore his mind to normal. But when he looked at the white-robed woman, his gaze was filled with the terror of one staring at a venomous scorpion.
"Mahayana-level power—you're a Sacred Ancestor of the devil race!"
Though the long-haired man's magical power had been severely depleted, his spiritual sense remained as formidable as ever. Yet after a single encounter with the white-robed woman, she had affected him to this degree.
This was absolutely not something a Body Integration cultivator could accomplish. He instantly connected it to the last being he ever wanted to meet in the Devil Realm.
"A Sacred Ancestor? I suppose that's fair enough. I have some questions for you. If you cooperate honestly, I'll let you die without any pain and give you a chance at reincarnation. If you refuse, I'll have to resort to certain special methods that will scatter your soul into nothingness for good." The white-robed woman was none other than Sacred Ancestor Bao, who had been trailing behind Han Li and the others all along. She spoke to the long-haired man in a calm, indifferent tone.
"Since I've fallen into your hands, Senior, there's nothing I can hold on to. Please, ask your questions." The Lin family cultivator's expression shifted between dark and light for quite a while before he finally let out a bitter laugh and spoke.
"You're much more sensible than most. Now, open your Primordial Spirit." Sacred Ancestor Bao smiled faintly—that fleeting smile made the man's face drain of color—but she immediately raised a jade-like finger and pointed it at the man within the tree.
A soft "pfft" sounded.
A ball of pink spiritual light shot out, and in a single flicker, it transformed into a hazy, ethereal flower that sank into the long-haired man's forehead.
The man's face changed drastically. After a brief moment of hesitation, he still let out a long sigh and abandoned his resistance, opening his Primordial Spirit completely.
At this point, all he could do was gamble that this devil Sacred Ancestor would maintain her dignity and keep her word, granting him at least a sliver of hope for reincarnation.
In the next moment, the man's eyes glazed over, his gaze becoming dull and lifeless. Several strange pink devil runes appeared on his forehead, flickering alternately between light and dark with an eerie glow.
The ugly, hulking man standing nearby watched the long-haired man's current state, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
A full quarter of an hour later, the white-robed woman's dark eyebrows lifted slightly, and one hand formed a seal with effortless grace.
The pink spiritual radiance binding the long-haired man suddenly surged, and amid a string of soft crackling sounds, it transformed into wads of pink flame that reduced his body to ash in the blink of an eye.
Only a single speck of white light remained unharmed within the flames. It let out a final, mournful cry before shooting skyward and vanishing in a flash at a hundred-odd zhang above.
Sacred Ancestor Bao paid all of this no mind. She simply extended her seal-forming hand forward and made a grabbing motion in midair.
A soft whoosh!
A pink ethereal flower drifted out of the flames, heading straight for the white-robed woman. It lazily settled into her palm and then vanished in a flicker.
Several identical pink devil runes surfaced on the white-robed woman's face. Her dark, crystalline eyes shimmered for a moment, and then she closed them.
With the devil runes flickering, her expression was utterly blank, as though she had turned into an ice sculpture.
The black-armored giant, meanwhile, walked over to her side and stood there obediently with his hands clasped.
Half an hour later, the woman's eyelids stirred, and she opened her beautiful eyes once more, revealing a pair of eyes as dark and bright as stars.
"Lady Bao, did you obtain any useful information?" the black-armored man asked cautiously.
"I did! Not a great deal, but I've finally learned what they're after in the Sacred Realm. They've come for the Spirit Cleansing Pool and the Spirit Purification Lotus—now that truly was an unexpected discovery." Sacred Ancestor Bao spoke in a thoughtful tone.
"The Spirit Cleansing Pool? The Spirit Purification Lotus? What are those things, that they'd take such enormous risks to obtain them?" The black-armored giant grew puzzled.
"Fewer than ten people in the entire Sacred Realm know of these two items. Even some of the other Sacred Ancestors are completely unaware of them. It's perfectly natural that you wouldn't know," the woman replied with perfect calm.
"Then what exactly is so remarkable about these two things that Spirit Realm cultivators are so eager for them? They must be extraordinary." The black-armored giant's eyes darted about as he asked with a hint of curiosity.
"You needn't concern yourself with this matter. Though these two things are exceedingly mysterious to people of the Spirit Realm, for us of the Sacred Race they are harmful and offer no benefit whatsoever." As though she could see through the giant's thoughts, Sacred Ancestor Bao replied in a flat tone.
"If they're of no use to the Sacred Race, then this one has no further interest in them." The giant flashed a broad grin and scratched the back of his head.
At this point, Sacred Ancestor Bao dropped the subject entirely. Instead, her gaze sharpened as she spoke in a cool voice: "Now that I know their purpose here, I have a fairly clear idea of where they're headed. There's no need for us to follow them into the Phantom Howling Desert any longer. We can simply go directly to their destination and wait for them there. Originally, after taking care of this matter in the Sacred Realm, I intended to look up a few old friends. It seems now I can move that schedule forward." Sacred Ancestor Bao raised her head and gazed at the sky, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
"Wherever Lady Bao wishes to go, this subordinate will follow to the death without hesitation," the black-armored giant declared loudly without a moment's thought.
A trace of satisfaction appeared on Sacred Ancestor Bao's face, but she suddenly seemed to recall something and issued an additional command: "That human girl—she's still useful to me. Take her along with us when we set out. Don't take her life just yet!"