Chapter 2171: Conspiracy

"You and I agreed long ago that once I helped you, there would be no further connection between us. Are you bringing this up now to threaten me?" the woman in blue robes asked darkly.

"Threaten? That's too harsh. How could I use such base methods against you, Sister Lan? I came here mainly to give you a heads-up: Baohua has returned to the Sacred Realm and had a major confrontation with those two old geezers, Tianqi and Heyan," Liu Ji said calmly.

"Baohua is back? Is that true?! A fight with Tianqi and Heyan? Has she recovered her past cultivation?" The woman, clearly Ancestor Lanpo in human form, was extremely wary of Baohua, and her face instantly turned pale upon hearing this.

"Whether she has recovered her cultivation, I can't say for sure. However, upon her return to the Sacred Realm, she not only brazenly met with Yuanyan in the Demonic Abyss, but also severely damaged the physical bodies of Tianqi and Heyan during their conflict, before completely vanishing. Later, I sent special envoys to question Tianqi and Heyan, and it seems Baohua has cultivated the legendary Profound Heaven Spirit Domain with the help of the Profound Heaven Flower Tree," the young woman replied seriously after a slight pause for thought.

"The Profound Heaven Spirit Domain! Isn't that a great divine ability that only true immortals from the upper realm can possess? How could Baohua have cultivated it?!" The woman in blue robes exclaimed, losing her voice.

"About that... when Baohua and I were close, I did hear her talk about it. According to her, she once obtained a fragmented secret manual on cultivating the Profound Heaven Spirit Domain, which was probably passed down from the upper realm to our world during ancient times. At the time, she mentioned having some insights into this technique and believed that if she could harness the power of the Profound Heaven Flower Tree, she might achieve something. But I never imagined that her 'achievement' would be truly cultivating the Profound Heaven Spirit Domain to completion. Although, according to Tianqi and Heyan's descriptions, it's still at the lowest tier, it is indeed a complete Spirit Domain," Liu Ji sighed, her tone becoming unusually grave.

"No, that's not right. If she truly recovered her magical power and cultivated the Profound Heaven Spirit Domain, why would she hide? Given her temperament and current divine abilities, it would be normal for her to openly attack your dwelling and reclaim the Ancestor's position. She must have only recovered part of her cultivation and also suffered severe injuries in her fight with Tianqi and Heyan. Otherwise, she wouldn't be like this!" Ancestor Lanpo, who seemed to know Baohua very well, said with certainty after a moment of wavering expression.

"Hehe, so you think the same, Sister; your thoughts align perfectly with mine. That's why we should seize this opportunity to find her quickly and eliminate her completely. Otherwise, once Baohua truly recovers her cultivation, you won't be able to stay out of it either. As for the 'good deal' I mentioned, it's no empty promise: if we can eliminate Baohua, most of her treasures will go to you, Sister, while I only want the Profound Heaven Flower Tree and the secret art for cultivating the Profound Heaven Spirit Domain. From what I know, Baohua possesses many treasures that are extremely helpful for transcending tribulations. If you acquire them, passing the subsequent major Heavenly Tribulations will be absolutely no problem," Liu Ji finally slowly revealed the purpose of her visit.

"Hmph, you're being so 'kind'! If Baohua hasn't recovered her cultivation, why do you need to involve me? Couldn't your several avatars simply encircle and eliminate her with ease if they attacked simultaneously?" The woman in blue robes snorted coldly, seemingly unmoved.

"If I could truly accomplish that, I wouldn't have come to you, Sister. You should know that our three Ancestral bodies are currently fully occupied with the great demonic tribulation and cannot spare any avatars. Although I have six avatars, one was personally destroyed by Baohua not long ago. A new avatar is currently in seclusion for cultivation and won't be usable for at least a hundred years. Two others are overseeing the large-scale military conflicts in the Human Realm and cannot come here. Of the remaining three, one is my reserved trump card and will never appear before others under any circumstances. I also need one to guard my dwelling, leaving only this one to come to you for help, Sister. Furthermore, the information I received indicates that Baohua's last known whereabouts are near Lanpo Lake, and among the major areas nearby, whose influence can compare to yours, Sister? As long as you are willing to mobilize your subordinate forces, finding Baohua will only be a matter of time," Liu Ji explained.

"Since you are preoccupied with the great tribulation and cannot spare an avatar, given that point, I truly cannot stand idly by. If Baohua is indeed hiding in this vicinity, I certainly have ways to find her. However, besides the conditions we discussed earlier, I must also have a copy of the secret art for refining the Profound Heaven Spirit Domain." The woman in blue robes said with a resolute bite of her lip, her thoughts racing quickly before she finally succumbed to the temptation of Liu Ji's promise of eliminating future troubles and many other benefits.

"Agreed, no problem. As you say, Sister." Liu Ji was overjoyed at this and readily agreed without hesitation.

"Since we've settled it. I'll return and immediately summon my various avatars and mobilize all the forces under my command. Oh, by the way, the situation here seems a bit strange. Could it be related to Baohua?" Ancestor Lanpo nodded, then suddenly swept her gaze across the messy ground below, asking what seemed like a casual question.

"It shouldn't be. Although the fighting here had already concluded by the time we arrived from afar, judging by the lingering aura and the mining cave below, it seems a demonic beast emerged from underground and fought with someone. What's a bit strange, though, is that from the fluctuations sensed earlier, both parties' cultivations should have only been at the Integration Stage, with not much difference between them. Yet, how was this beast slain so quickly? Sister, since you arrived first, did you discover anything?" The young woman said, her eyes flashing, as she casually grabbed at the air with a slender hand.

With a "whoosh"!

A remnant magnetic-light beast crystal from underground suddenly burst forth, captured by the young woman's palm, and she casually swept her spiritual sense over it.

"By the time I arrived, that person had already left. Perhaps a powerful late-Integration Stage cultivator happened to pass by and dealt with the beast as a matter of convenience! It's currently the Bloodtooth Rice harvest season, so it's not unusual for some powerful Demon Venerables to visit Lanpo City." The woman replied after a brief thought.

"Perhaps. Speaking of Bloodtooth Rice, Sister, while you openly limit its supply to ordinary demons, you secretly instruct your subordinates to sell large quantities to other forces in exchange for astronomical amounts of other resources. This approach is truly ingenious," the young woman chuckled.

"I have no other choice. On one hand, Bloodtooth Rice indeed has limited yield and cannot satisfy everyone's needs. On the other hand, I don't want to offend too many major powers, so this is the only way I can barely maintain the stability of Lanpo Lake." The woman in blue robes replied, appearing unconcerned.

"Your approach, Sister, is indeed wise. Otherwise, if you only released the openly declared amount of Bloodtooth Rice, other Ancestors, even if they didn't speak up, would only grow increasingly dissatisfied with you. Now that there's a channel to secretly acquire a certain amount, there naturally won't be much resentment. Oh, by the way, two of my disciples happen to need some Bloodtooth to strengthen their physical bodies. Would you consider selling me a batch as well?" The young woman said with a slight shift of her eyes and a light chuckle.

"Since you ask, I'll simply give you some." The woman in blue robes said, waving a hand, speaking with unusual generosity.

"Then I thank you, Sister. Let's proceed separately now. This time, I've also brought a contingent of capable subordinates; they are waiting in the nearby area for my orders," Liu Ji said joyfully upon hearing this, speaking quickly.

"Alright, then I'll return to Lanpo City first." The woman in blue robes said plainly, showing no sign of opposition.

Then, a flash of light on her body, and she transformed into a ball of blue light, tearing through the air as she departed.

A moment later, only the young woman remained alone on the spot.

After witnessing the blue light sphere finally vanish completely into the distant horizon, Liu Ji's avatar's former smile faded, her face becoming expressionless. She then coldly swept her gaze over the crystal shard in her hand, her brows furrowing slightly. It seemed she had discerned something, yet there were still matters she couldn't decide upon.

However, after just a few breaths, Liu Ji's avatar suddenly let out a cold laugh. Rubbing her hands together, she turned the crystal shard into powder, murmuring to herself:

"The Grand Yin-Yang Five Elements True Light has actually appeared! If I didn't have more important matters to attend to, I would never let the person who obtained this True Light get away so easily. For now, it's best to avoid further complications."

As soon as she finished speaking, the woman stamped her foot, and a golden mist instantly enveloped her, as she flashed back onto the golden ship.

A moment later, countless runes surged from the surface of the treasure. After a slight tremor, the golden ship transformed into a golden rainbow and shot off in another direction.

At the same time, Han Li was already on his way back to Lanpo City, continuously toying with the first green stone he had obtained, a faint smile on his face.

To be on the safe side, he did not return by the original route but deliberately took a long detour, intending to re-enter the city from a different direction.

After toying with it for a short while, Han Li slightly flicked his wrist. A spiritual light flashed in his hand, and the green stone instantly vanished.

In its place, a black and white ore appeared in his hand: a piece of Ethereal Demon Gold.

Seeing this item, the smile on his face deepened slightly.

This Ethereal Demon Gold was precisely what the Green Ape Puppet had mined from the sub-mine. Not only was its quantity not less than what he had acquired from the Wuyou group, but the special Ethereal Demon Gold containing crystal beads actually accounted for a significant portion of it.

After Han Li carefully inspected all the Ethereal Demon Gold with his spiritual sense, his excitement was imaginable.

With such a large amount of special Ethereal Demon Gold, as long as he could refine away the Earth Fiend Yin Qi contained within, it would be enough to allow his cultivation to instantly break through to near the peak of the late Integration Stage, saving him thousands of years or even more of arduous cultivation!