The three-headed demonic dragon that had been circling beneath the black-robed young man was nowhere to be seen above the pond mountain either.
It was impossible to tell whether it had perished in the shockwave of the self-detonation moments ago, or whether the black-robed young man had reclaimed it with a secret technique beforehand.
"Hmph. I never imagined that a mere Body Integration cultivator could emerge unscathed from that self-detonation. It seems I underestimated you after all. But everyone else here has already lost their lives, and you will be no exception. I'll take your head with my own hands." The black-robed young man glanced sideways at the wound on one side of his body, which was nearly fully healed, then cast a cold gaze at Han Li and spoke.
"If I'm not mistaken, the amount of true essence you expended in that self-detonation was far greater than mine. On top of that, with your physical body regenerating, the demonic Qi remaining in your body is probably less than a third of what it was before." Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly and replied with remarkable composure.
"And what if that's the case? Under my Black Demon Dagger, do you truly believe that you alone can still escape by sheer luck? Besides, the restrictions in this valley have already been broken. The demonic Qi I can absorb from the outside world now is incomparable to before." The black-robed young man's fury turned to laughter at these words. He swung the massive black sword in his hand in a fierce upward slash toward the open sky.
A piercing shriek split the air!
A sword beam over a hundred zhang long roared forth, black as the abyss, hurtling upward to sweep across the sky with menacing force.
Han Li's expression shifted slightly. His thoughts raced, and with a flash of golden light behind him, his golden body manifestation — three heads, six arms — materialized once more. His arms shifted as though he were about to assume some stance.
But at that exact moment, an enchantingly melodious woman's voice drifted down from the high sky nearby: "I never imagined that after all these years, Sovereign Yuan Yan would still speak with such bravado. I happen to be on this island as well — do you intend to cut me down too?"
No sooner had the words fallen than, even higher above where the black sword beam was sweeping, a mass of pink petals materialized and swirled together, condensing into a colossal pink blossom the size of an acre, spinning round and round in midair.
A rich, heady fragrance wafted outward, and countless pink runes poured forth from the center of the giant flower.
With a flash of dark light, the enormous sword beam was drawn straight into the blossom as if by some irresistible force.
The pink blossom flickered several times, then shrank from its colossal form down to just a few zhang in size.
The petals quivered gently, and a pulse of fluctuation arose from its core. A man and a woman emerged soundlessly.
One wore a white dress that billowed about her in an otherworldly fashion. The other was clad in sinister black armor with an ugly, grotesque face.
It was none other than Sacred Sovereign Baohua and Black Crocodile.
"You!"
The moment Sovereign Yuan Yan laid eyes on the white-robed woman, he blurted out in shock, unable to maintain his composure. A trace of fear flickered deep within his gaze.
"It seems Sovereign Yuan Yan hasn't forgotten me. But after all these years apart, your cultivation doesn't appear to have progressed much. I suppose you still haven't managed to cultivate that spirit herb you wanted." Sacred Sovereign Baohua's luminous eyes glittered as she addressed the black-robed young man with calm detachment.
Upon seeing Sacred Sovereign Baohua's sudden appearance, Han Li's expression changed. But after his eyes darted back and forth a few times, he lowered the arm he had slightly raised.
Ever since entering the Demon Realm, he had sensed — vaguely, in the back of his mind — that something had been watching their every move. But no matter how he probed with his spiritual eyes or his divine sense, he had never found anything. Patriarch Long and the others had been equally oblivious, so they had simply buried their suspicions.
Now, seeing this white-robed woman appear, everything suddenly clicked into place.
Sovereign Yuan Yan had no attention to spare for Han Li. His eyes were locked on the white-robed woman, his expression shifting through several shades before his face twisted into a grimace and he spoke: "Baohua. When did you arrive here? And you actually dared to enter the Holy Realm? I can't help but offer my — admiration."
"Why wouldn't I dare enter the Holy Realm? Are you afraid I might join forces with Liu Ji? I was already on this island before you arrived, and I watched this entire little drama unfold from beginning to end." Sacred Sovereign Baohua raised one jade-like hand to brush the dark hair resting on her shoulder and countered with perfect composure.
"So you're saying you lured these Spirit Realm cultivators here," the black-robed young man said, his gaze flickering.
"Lured is too strong a word. I merely went with the flow. I hadn't expected them to possess a pseudo-immortal puppet, nor that the Spirit King would send two slivers of divided soul to mingle among them. Looking at it now, it seems that step wasn't a mistake after all. You took quite a bit of damage at their hands." Baohua spoke with a calm, understated air.