"Why are you being so cold, Fellow Daoist Han? We've met on multiple occasions, so we're already acquaintances, are we not? I came to see you because I want to make another deal with you; are you interested?" Bao Hua asked with a smile.

"Another deal? Sure, go ahead," Han Li prompted in a calm manner.

Bao Hua took a glance at Daoist Xie and Silvermoon, then suggested, "How about we speak in private?"

"Alright," Han Li agreed, then turned and said something to Silvermoon and Daoist Xie in a low voice before flying with Bao Hua toward a certain direction.

Moments later, Bao Hua and Han Li were situated on a small sand dune with only around 50 feet separating the two of them.

Bao Hua gently pointed her finger into the air a few times, and several pink threads instantly shot forth before vanishing in a flash.

The entire area around the sand dune was instantly enshrouded under an invisible restriction.

"Alright, let's hear what you have to say," Han Li prompted.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Fellow Daoist Han? I obtained some rare Sandalwood Fruits not too long ago; why don't we sample them together? Please take a seat," Bao Hua said with a smile, then swept a sleeve toward the ground, upon which countless grains of sand rose up before manifesting two stone chairs and a stone table that was several tens of feet in length.

A burst of pink light swept forth, and a pair of purple spirit fruits, a flagon of spirit wine, and two translucent jade cups appeared on the table.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the spirit fruits on the table, and his expression changed ever so slightly.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he took a seat on one of the stone chairs.

Bao Hua sat down across from him, and only after they had sampled the spirit fruits and spirit wine did Bao Hua finally cut to the chase.

"The deal I want to make with you is very simple: I want you to keep someone occupied at a set time in the near future so I can do something that I've been plotting for a very long time."

"Don't you think you should be more specific, Fellow Daoist Bao Hua? Someone that even you're wary of must be very powerful," Han Li said with a faint smile.

"Indeed. Truth be told, even I don't want to face that person directly in battle. However, I'm only asking you to stall them for a while, not to engage in a battle of life and death; I'm sure that's not too difficult. If you can do this for me, I'll owe you a massive favor, and if you have any use for me in the future, I definitely won't refuse. What do you think, Brother Han?" Bao Hua asked.

"A favor from you is naturally quite tempting, but you have to tell me who it is that you're referring to," Han Li replied.

"This is not actually someone that you're unfamiliar with. It's..." Bao Hua's voice trailed off there, and she communicated the name of the target to Han Li through voice transmission.

Han Li's brows immediately furrowed as he said, "Are you making a joke? How can a rookie Grand Ascension Stage being like me possibly complete such a difficult task?"

"Don't be so quick to refuse me, Brother Han; why don't you take a look at this first?" Bao Hua said with a smile before raising a hand to release a ball of white light, which reached Han Li in a flash; it was a palm-sized jade vial.

Han Li caught the vial before inspecting it through narrowed eyes, and instead of immediately opening the vial, he asked, "What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Bao Hua?"

"In addition to a favor, I'll also offer this in exchange for your assistance," Bao Hua replied.

Han Li gave a cold harrumph as he opened the vial and inspected its contents with his spiritual sense, upon which his expression immediately changed drastically.

"This is a Divine Glue Pill!"

A hint of surprise also flashed through Bao Hua's eyes. "You're certainly quite knowledgeable, Fellow Daoist Han; I didn't think you'd be able to recognize this pill right away."

"This is one of very few types of pills that can nourish even a Grand Ascension Stage being's soul, and it's particularly effective for those who have only recently reached the Grand Ascension Stage. The refinement method for this pill had already gone missing a long time ago; how did you manage to obtain this?" Han Li asked.

"I came across it by chance in the cave abode of an ancient cultivator. At the time, I obtained seven of these pills in total, but after so many years, only one remains. Is this enough to show you my sincerity, Fellow Daoist Han?" Bao Hua asked.

"It looks like you're determined to recruit me. Do you really think I'll be able to stall that person? Aren't you worried that your plan will fail due to a failure on my part?" Han Li asked.

"To be honest, prior to this meeting, I had intended to approach someone else for this role. However, even though that fellow daoist is quite powerful, there's less than a 50% chance that he'd actually be able to stall that person. In contrast, you're a completely different story! Even prior to reaching the Grand Ascension Stage, you could already contend with Grand Ascension Stage beings. Now that you've reached the Grand Ascension Stage yourself, you've undoubtedly become even more powerful. In a serious battle, perhaps even I won't be a match for you. This plan is of the utmost importance to me, so if I'm going to find an ally, I have to find the most reliable one. Even if it costs me a little extra, I'm willing to pay the price," Bao Hua said with a faint smile.

"Seeing as you think so highly of me, it would be unbecoming of me to continue to refuse. Alright, I can help you just this once, but aside from this pill and the favor you promised me, I have another condition. If you can agree to that condition as well, I guarantee that I'll be able to stall that person for a day and a night so you have enough time to do what you want to do," Han Li replied.

Bao Hua's smile faded, and a serious look appeared on her face upon hearing this. "Oh? Go ahead, Fellow Daoist Han."

"If you're ever in a position where you're ruling over the Elder Devil Realm again, I want you to promise that your realm will never invade our Spirit Realm for as long as you live," Han Li said.

"That's out of the question! Don't you think that's going too far, Fellow Daoist Han?" Bao Hua was rather displeased to hear this.

"I don't know what your exact plan is, but seeing as you're willing to pay such a heavy price, this must be an extremely rare opportunity for you. On top of that, I don't think there's anyone else in the Elder Devil Realm that can help you. Who else will you turn to? Old Man Copper Crow? Setting aside whether he'd be willing to take the risk, the price you'll have to pay for his services will definitely be significantly higher than what you promised me. After all, not everyone would be willing to make such a powerful enemy for themselves so easily," Han Li replied in a calm manner.

"Hmph, aren't you afraid of turning that person against you?" Bao Hua asked in a cold voice.

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to, Fellow Daoist Bao Hua? That person is already an enemy of mine, so what does it matter if our relationship deteriorates even further?" Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile.

Bao Hua was silent for a long while before finally conceding, "That's true, but I definitely can't promise you that I'll cancel the sacred sacrifice during the merging of our two realms. All I can guarantee is that for as long as I live, none of my brethren will encroach upon the territory of your human race during future sacred sacrifices."

"You'll have to include the demon race as well. Our human race has always shared close ties with the demon race; if the demon race were to be attacked, our human race can't just stand by and watch," Han Li said.

"Alright, I can agree to this condition if it's only limited to the human and demon races," Bao Hua agreed.

"Good. I'll be taking this pill; let's swear our inner demon vows, then discuss the specific details of the plan," Han Li said with a smile.

Bao Hua naturally had no objections to this.

Around two hours later, Han Li's trio departed, then landed on a sand dune on the edge of the desert around half a day later.

......

10 days later, tens of thousands of high-grade devilish beings had gathered above the earthen city, all of whom were at the Spatial Tempering Stage or above.

Han Li and all of the other Grand Ascension Stage beings were also among these devilish beings, as well as hundreds of giant devilish arks that were hovering in mid-air..

A short while later, a command was issued, and the tens of thousands of devilish beings surged toward a certain direction with the flying arks.

......

Three months later, countless armored devilish warriors had filled an entire barren valley, and the sound of rumbling war drums erupted into the heavens.

Millions of devilish warriors had gathered here, and they were either standing on flying treasures or atop clouds of devilish Qi.

At the center of this devilish army was a giant devilish ark that resembled a small island, and Han Li and the other Grand Ascension Stage beings were gathered in a hall on the ark, listening to an address from Bao Hua.

"I'll split the armored warriors outside into several groups to attack the area around the original sealed site, attracting as much of the insect swarms as possible. After that, we'll make a direct charge for the original sealed site under the protection of these tens of thousands of elite warriors. Once we enter the original sealed site, we'll be able to make use of the restrictions in there to temporarily keep out the stemborers, and after that, we'll be able to enact our plan."