Chapter 2178: Passage Mutation

A Work by Wang Yu

Synopsis: Volume Thirteen

Collect good books, publish original works

Volume Thirteen

Welcome

Upon hearing Han Li's words, Zhu Guo'er, despite her simple nature, understood the apprehension in his tone. She stuck out her tongue and asked no further questions.

"My decision to let Baohua go had another purpose," Han Li said calmly. "I didn't want to keep shielding her from calamity. Even though the Six Extremes and Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor retreated earlier, they will most likely return after preparing themselves. However, as long as Baohua, a formidable enemy to them, is alive, they won't be able to focus on us, even if they resent me for ruining their plans. And after her recent ordeal, Baohua will be even more cautious. It will be incredibly difficult for the Six Extremes and Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor to succeed against her again."

Zhu Guo'er's spirits lifted upon hearing this. "While these devil races are still preoccupied, it's naturally a great opportunity for us to return to the Spirit Realm immediately. Senior Han, you truly are far-sighted; Guo'er is full of admiration."

The Crab Daoist stood ramrod straight in a corner of the flying carriage, his face devoid of any expression. Naturally, he offered no opinions.

"Let's go," Han Li said again, his voice calm. "While I deduce that the Six Extremes and others will pursue Baohua, we must also guard against them suddenly changing their minds and coming after us instead." He then abruptly channeled the spiritual power within him, and a swirl of green light coiled up around his feet.

With a tremble, the flying carriage once again carried Han Li and his companions, streaking towards the edge of the dense forest.

At the same time, countless miles away from Han Li and his group, Baohua stood on an inconspicuous mountaintop. Her complexion had fully returned to normal, and her expression was calm and serene, showing no sign of serious injury.

Behind her stood the Black Crocodile, clad in black battle armor. His aura was somewhat weakened, and his face was unnaturally pale, yet he stood ramrod straight and motionless, like a stone pillar.

The two remained on the mountaintop for half an hour, showing no intention of leaving, as if they were waiting for something.

After another short while, a disturbance arose on the horizon. A swirling yellow wind swept wildly, rolling towards the mountaintop.

Seeing this, Baohua's expression subtly shifted.

The hazy yellow gale abruptly contracted, and a figure shrouded in yellow light indistinctly appeared above the mountaintop.

As soon as the yellow figure appeared, it immediately bowed deeply to Baohua in mid-air, speaking with profound trepidation: "Greetings, Lord Baohua! As soon as I received your message, I rushed here overnight, but I was still a day late and almost jeopardized your life. I deserve to die ten thousand times!"

Baohua's gaze swept over the figure, and she said calmly, "You are not to blame for this. I initially sought you out for another important matter, and I never expected to fall into the trap of the Six Extremes and Azure Waterfall. This time, I may need to stay at your residence to temporarily avoid their sharp edge. However, I haven't seen you for many years, and your cultivation has progressed significantly. You are only one step away from the Saint Ancestor realm."The figure in the yellow light slightly lowered its head and respectfully said, "If it weren't for your gracious acceptance back then, this subordinate would have long ago perished without a trace. How could I have reached my current realm? To be able to serve you again now is something I wholeheartedly desire. Even though the Six Extremes and Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor are cunning, they will never suspect me. After all, outwardly, I was one of the few Demon Venerables who consistently showed hostility towards you, and I've also maintained a good relationship with the Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor."

Baohua smiled faintly but decisively instructed, "It's best if you have such confidence. It seems I made the right decision summoning you. Very well. Let's head to your dwelling immediately. The Six Extremes and Azure Waterfall won't truly give up; they will certainly come looking for me again."

"Yes, my Lord!" the yellow figure replied. With a raise of one hand, it immediately released a medium-sized demonic boat. "Please come aboard this subordinate's demonic boat to rest for a while. Should we encounter anyone else on the way, this subordinate will handle them."

This treasure was as white as jade and exceptionally exquisite. On one side of the boat's hull, several eye-catching golden demonic characters were inscribed, subtly indicating the identity of the flying boat's owner.

Baohua glanced at the flying boat and nodded in satisfaction. With a movement of her jade-like feet, she and the Black Crocodile flew into the boat and entered the cabin, where they both closed their eyes and began to meditate.

Although some time had passed since the last major battle, both had suffered severe losses of vital energy. Naturally, they had to seize every moment to recuperate and recover.When the yellow figure also swayed onto the boat, the flying boat instantly whistled, transforming into a streak of white light that shot through the air, disappearing at the edge of the horizon after a few flashes.

Less than half a day later, a disturbance arose again above the small mountaintop. Five figures materialized from the void simultaneously.

Among them were the Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor and the youthful woman who was one of the Six Extremes' avatars.

Beside the woman in blue robes were two other women in their thirties. One wore a yellow robe, the other a red robe; their styles were similar, and their faces bore a striking seventy percent resemblance to the Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor.

Behind the youthful woman stood a short, dwarfish man. Dressed in Daoist attire, he had a half-foot-long beard on his chin and carried a jujube-red wooden sword on his back.

As soon as the five figures appeared, the Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor immediately flicked her sleeve. A flash of white light erupted from within, and a white shadow shot out, transforming into a small, completely white mink after a single flash.The mink quickly circled the mountaintop, wiggled its nose a few times, then flashed back to the blue-robed woman's front, suddenly emitting several peculiar cries.

"Baohua indeed lingered here," the Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor said in a deep voice, retrieving the mink. "And it seems there was a third person, in addition to that Black Crocodile."

"Another person?" The youthful woman paused, her face clouding over. "Could it be that human boy, who only pretended to part ways with Baohua and then secretly returned?"

"No," the Azure Waterfall Saint Ancestor replied with a cold laugh. "If it were his aura, the Spirit-Capturing Mink would have recognized it immediately. The new person must have used some secret art to conceal most of their aura, but they underestimated the power of my Spirit Mink. The mink could still detect a familiar trace in the residual aura, indicating it's someone I've seen before."

The speaker was the dwarfish Daoist standing behind the youthful woman. "Someone Senior Azure Waterfall has seen? Does that mean this person is also from our Devil World, likely one of Baohua's hidden old allies? If so, this could be troublesome."

Although he was short, his habit of stroking his long beard and shaking his head made him appear somewhat comical. Yet, none of the others showed any amusement. The blue-robed woman replied quite seriously:"Fellow Daoist Fu, there's no need to worry. Although Baohua reactivated the Profound Heaven Spirit Domain earlier, it severely depleted her vital energy. She absolutely cannot recover her magic power in a short period. As long as she doesn't immediately break through the barrier and leave the Sacred Realm, even if she hides for a while, she's nothing to fear. They must now be hidden by this newly appeared individual. The fact that this person appeared here so quickly is no coincidence; they are most likely a high-level devil race member residing nearby. We just need to check them one by one, and we will find them eventually."

A flicker of hatred crossed the youthful woman's eyes as she said, "Sister Azure's words are logical. Fellow Daoist Fu is my most capable subordinate, and his divine abilities are nearly on par with my own avatars. Furthermore, you, Sister, have also summoned your two great avatars. Even if there are any further surprises, Baohua will never escape our grasp. This time, no matter what, we must make her completely vanish from this world. Sister Azure, who do you plan to investigate first? If necessary, we might have to err on the side of caution and kill a hundred to avoid letting even one slip away."

"Naturally, we'll start with those who originally had some connection to Baohua; their suspicion is the highest," the blue-robed woman replied without hesitation, clearly having already considered this.

The youthful woman's eyes flickered as she suggested, "Sister Azure, I'd also trouble you to dispatch more personnel to temporarily close the teleportation arrays in the nearby important cities. Without teleportation formations, Baohua won't be able to get far, even if she tries to take a desperate risk."

"That method is feasible; I'll issue the orders immediately," the blue-robed woman said calmly. "The controllers of the nearby cities have some connections with me and should listen to my words. Of course, if we add your identity as a Primordial Ancestor to the pressure, they will naturally be even less inclined to disobey."

"No problem, I will add my voice to yours when you instruct the lords of the nearby cities," the youthful woman readily agreed.

"Good. Without further delay, let's act immediately," the blue-robed woman said, her tone changing to one of cold determination, as she was unwilling to waste any more time. "Near Copper Gong Mountain, not far from here, resides a highly suspicious Demon Venerable. We'll start our investigation with him. Hopefully, Baohua and her group are indeed hidden within his dwelling."

She then flicked her wide sleeve, and a sweep of blue mist passed over them. The figures strangely vanished into thin air.

Time passed, and half a year flashed by.

In a region of continuous yellow loess hills in the Devil World, bordering a desolate wasteland, a massive fortress with walls a hundred zhang high stood towering, surrounded by a vast expanse of hills.

This colossal fortress covered an area of ten li, resembling a small town.On its high walls, fully armored patrol guards could be faintly seen in groups. Around the fortress, various colored lights shimmered in the void, clearly indicating the presence of countless magic formations and restrictions.Even higher in the sky, a vast expanse of dark demonic clouds hung motionless, though occasional astounding fluctuations emanated from within.

Behind a small hill, a hundred li away from the fortress, Zhu Guo'er was looking at a bronze mirror in front of her, saying with some astonishment, "Senior Han, could there be a mistake? Is this really the inter-realm passage you mentioned, the one with lax defenses and few devil race guards?"

The bronze mirror shimmered with various lights, clearly reflecting the scenes around the massive fortress, which rapidly shifted and flickered.

Welcome