"You are me and I am you—there is nothing to call hardship. Since you have now emerged, I can merge back with you." Fairy Blood Soul spoke a few words with a light, indifferent tone.
Fairy Ice Soul nodded and said nothing more. She formed a single-handed seal, and her body abruptly blazed with blood-red radiance, growing increasingly blurred.
At the same instant, Fairy Blood Soul moved, similarly transforming into a ball of blood light that shot forward.
With a flicker, it vanished into Fairy Ice Soul's body without a trace.
Fairy Ice Soul immediately doubled over, a trace of pain crossing her face, while the blood-red glow on her body blazed fiercely. Dense threads of blood suddenly burst from her skin, dissolving into blood mist that dissipated into the void.
After a full quarter-hour, the pain on Fairy Ice Soul's face gradually faded, and she straightened her slender frame once more.
Though her appearance and expression were identical to before, her bearing had undergone a subtle, almost imperceptible shift.
"So Brother Han has such great renown in the clan, and had so many dealings with my Blood Spirit clone as well. And it is all thanks to your protection, Fellow Daoist—without it, she never could have entered this place safely." Fairy Ice Soul smiled gracefully at Han Li and spoke slowly.
"You've already digested all the clone's memories?" Han Li glanced at the woman and asked with a smile.
"If only it were that simple. I've sealed away most of the memories for now and only absorbed a small portion—the most important part." Fairy Ice Soul answered with a bitter smile.
"That was a wise decision, Fellow Daoist. Now that you've reclaimed your clone, there's nothing left for us in the Heavenly Cauldron Palace, so let us leave together. No one would expect the palace to close early—amid the chaos, we can slip away safely." Han Li nodded, then gestured with one hand toward the void beside him. A flash of golden light appeared, and a tiny golden figure materialized for an instant before vanishing into his sleeve.
It was the Gold Devouring Beetle King.
Almost simultaneously, Daoist Crab said nothing further. He simply formed a one-handed seal, and with a crack of thunder, transformed into a bolt of lightning that shot toward Han Li.
With a peal of thunder, it vanished into Han Li's body without a trace.
"Very well. I'll begin the technique now." Seeing this, Fairy Ice Soul agreed at once.
She opened her mouth and spat out a blood-red jade tablet, then pointed one finger toward the void. Waves of restrictive ripples emanated from its surface.
…
Above the Ten Thousand Moon Mountain Range, a massive formation had completely encircled the giant gate formed by the Heavenly Cauldron Palace's entrance. Disciples and followers clad in the attire of the Blood Bone Sect flickered in and out of visibility at various points throughout the formation.
At the formation's center, two Blood Bone Sect Mahayana cultivators sat cross-legged together, quietly meditating with their eyes closed.
Without warning, the colossal gate—still shimmering with gold and silver runes—emitted a deep, resonant hum, and waves of energy rolled outward from its surface.
"What's happening? Could the Heavenly Cauldron Palace be closing early? According to past records, it shouldn't be time yet." The two Blood Bone Sect Mahayana cultivators were startled and opened their eyes simultaneously. The deep-eyed elder even blurted out in alarm.
"Perhaps someone truly obtained Immortal Heavenly Cauldron's legacy treasures, causing this change." The short, stocky, and remarkably ugly woman sprang to her feet, her gaze flickering shrewdly.
"Regardless, let's activate the formation first. We can't let anyone escape in the confusion." The deep-eyed elder's pupils narrowed, but he spoke decisively.
"A sound suggestion. Best to take precautions." The short, ugly woman did not object and nodded emphatically in agreement.
At their command, the Blood Bone Sect disciples concealed throughout the formation immediately activated their array tools.
Instantly, the entire formation blazed to life. Brilliant threads of radiant light shot forth from the void, rapidly intertwining into an enormous net that blanketed the entire sky.
The whole area was sheltered beneath it.
The moment the net took shape, waves of alarming metallic killing intent rolled off its surface, as though countless armies lay hidden within.
The two Blood Bone Sect Mahayana cultivators rose to their feet as well, staring unblinkingly at the massive gate before them.
**BOOM!** An earth-shattering explosion rang out.
After a moment of violent distortion and blurring, the giant gate burst apart. Simultaneously, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged and scattered, and that extraordinarily long, milky-white spatial crack slowly sealed itself shut.
*Pfft. Pfft.* Two sounds.
Where the gate had vanished, ripples stirred once more. Two light formations materialized out of thin air, and from each emerged a group of people.
One group numbered thirty or forty, surrounding a brooding man in brocade robes.
These people had just broken through to a certain area at the palace's center and were about to scour it for treasures when the light formation had forcibly expelled them from the Heavenly Cauldron Palace.
This naturally left the brooding man deeply frustrated, and his expression was none too pleasant.
The other group consisted of five young men who all bore exactly the same face.
They were none other than the Five Blood Unity.
"Is it them?" The deep-eyed elder recognized the two groups and his expression shifted, revealing a trace of surprise.