"I was wondering why you hadn't made any progress after all these years; turns out you never truly recovered from the injuries you sustained in your battle with me. Now that all six of your clones have been slain by me and you're trapped in my Profound Heavenly Spirit Domain, there's no way you can get out this predicament." Bao Hua's voice rang out from the area enshrouded within the flower petal projections.

However, she received no response aside from the incessant rumbling within the vast expanse of white mist.

"You chose to sacrifice your six clones rather than flee from here; you must be waiting for Nie Pan and Yuan Yan, right?" Bao Hua said as a mocking sneer appeared on her face.

"So what if I am? After I took over your position as one of the three patriarchs, Nie Pan and Yuan Yan both agreed to ensure my safety to the best of their abilities. Don't forget that I'm one of the three patriarchs now. I knew that you would take advantage of this opportunity to take revenge on me, so I've already informed those two of what you're planning." A furious female voice finally rang out in response from within the mist.

"Nie Pan and Yuan Yan may have promised to protect you from my revenge, but they'll have to be able to get to you first," Bao Hua said with a smile.

"What do you mean that? Are you saying that you've recruited allies as well? Who would dare to oppose Yuan Yan and Nie Pan in our holy realm? Could it be that you recruited those powerful beings from foreign realms? How did you convince them to make enemies of Yuan Yan and Nie Pan for your sake?" A hint of fear finally crept into Liu Ji's voice.

"I did indeed have to pay quite a heavy price to recruit those two allies. One of them possesses powers that are about on par with Nie Pan and Yuan Yan, while the other is most likely even more powerful than them, so you're going to be disappointed if you're waiting for reinforcements," Bao Hua chuckled.

Liu Ji quickly calmed down, then said in a skeptical manner, "Hmph, one of them has to be Old Man Copper Crow; there's no doubt about that, but who's the other one? Which one of those foreign beings could possess superior powers to us patriarchs? You're not bluffing, are you?"

"You'll know soon enough whether I'm bluffing or not. After all, Yuan Yan and Nie Pan aren't that far away from where we are right now; perhaps they'll be able to come and save you given enough time, but you'll have to be able to last that long first," Bao Hua replied in a cold voice.

Liu Ji harrumphed coldly in response before falling silent once again.

She knew that regardless of whether Bao Hua was telling the truth, she wouldn't be able to win in this war of words, so she chose to remain silent.

A cold smile appeared on Bao Hua's face, and she suddenly said something that made Liu Ji's heart completely sink.

"Are you counting on the final trump card that you have up your sleeve? Do you think that you'll be able to make a comeback even if I kill you here?"

"What do you mean by that?" Liu Ji was finally unable to keep her cool any longer.

"I'm referring to the seventh clone that you've never revealed to anyone. You've always been very careful in hiding that seventh clone and never told anyone about it, but don't forget that there are no absolute secrets in this world," Bao Hua said with a smile.

"I don't believe that you actually know something; you must've heard some rumor somewhere and are trying to bluff me again!" To Liu Ji's credit, she managed to remain calm even after her great secret was exposed.

"You're planning to revive yourself with that seventh clone if you die here, right? Even though it's only a clone, it won't be difficult for it to cultivate to your former level with your memories intact. Perhaps many years in the future, I'll fall prey to another nasty plot from you. Come to think of it, it's about time your seventh clone is hunted down," Bao Hua chuckled.

"What? You managed to find the hiding place of that clone? That's impossible! Who did you send to hunt it down?" A hint of alarm and fury crept into Liu Ji's voice upon hearing this.

"Haven't you noticed that Hei'e isn't here?" Bao Hua asked in an unhurried manner.

Liu Ji's heart immediately eased upon hearing this. "Hei'e? You think a mere Body Integration Stage junior like him can break through the restrictions I set up?"

"Hei'e would indeed struggle to break through your restrictions on his own, but what if he's carrying a Profound Heavenly Treasure that just so happens to suppress your restrictions?" Bao Hua mused.

Liu Ji's expression completely darkened upon hearing this. "You dared to lend him a Profound Heavenly Treasure? Aren't you afraid that he'll take the treasure and run?"

"I tampered with the Profound Heavenly Treasure prior to lending it to Hei'e, so I'm not worried at all. Alright, I've already done you a great favor by chatting with you and letting you live for so long. Now then, it's time to send you on your way," Bao Hua said in a cold voice.

The pink flower petals that were drifting slowly through the white mist suddenly began to accelerate drastically, and all of them quickly expanded while becoming as sharp as flying swords.

The white mist within the valley was swept up into a frenzy by the countless pink flower petals, and a string of earth-shattering booms rang out.

All of a sudden, all of the flower petals and mist within a radius of around half a kilometer disintegrated into nothingness.

A long while later, after all of the light and energy fluctuations had faded, only a single lonesome figure remained in the air above the valley, and she heaved a faint sigh before vanishing into thin air.

......

On the summit of a giant mountain, Han Li and Yuan Yan were chatting like a pair of good friends.

As expected of one of the three devilish patriarchs, some of Yuan Yan's cultivation insights were very eye-opening even to Han Li.

As for Yuan Yan, he remained completely expressionless, but the intrigue in his eyes clearly indicated that he was also very interested to hear what Han Li had to say.

Han Li was in the midst of talking about a secret technique when his voice abruptly cut off, and he cast his gaze toward a certain direction.

He then rose to his feet with a smile, and said, "Looks like Fellow Daoist Bao Hua has exacted her revenge. In that case, I won't take up any more of your time, Brother Yuan."

After that, he immediately flew away as a streak of azure light before Yuan Yan even had a chance to respond.

Yuan Yan could only look on as Han Li departed with a resigned look on his face.

Shortly thereafter, Han Li landed on the summit of a small mountain not far away, where Silvermoon was waiting for him with an anxious expression.

Standing beside her were an elderly man and a handsome young man with shoulder-length silver hair; they were none other than Mo Jianli and Patriarch Ao Xiao.

Both of them smiled as Han Li arrived before them, and Silvermoon immediately approached him with an elated expression.

......

Three months later, a white flying boat with countless runes inscribed on its surface was flying at an incredible speed over the vastly renowned Blue Waterfall Lake, completely disregarding the massive flight restriction that encompassed the entire lake.

The devilish beings traversing over the surface of the lake down below were all quite stunned to see this, and after briefly pondering the situation, all of them put on reverent expressions, and some of them even knelt down and kowtowed on their boats.

Only Sacred Ancestors would dare to disregard the flight restriction in such a blatant manner, and all of the normal devilish beings down below were greatly honored and also very nervous to be in such close proximity to a powerful being of such caliber.

The one on the flying boat was none other than Han Li, who had reached this region after using the teleportation formations in around a dozen devilish cities.

His objective for this trip was Violet Spirit.

He had promised her that if once he attained the ability to free her from Liu Ji's control, he would help her regain a human body and return to the Spirit Realm.

Now that Liu Ji had already fallen by Bao Hua's hands and there was no one in the entire Elder Devil Realm that could pose a threat to him, he was naturally going to fulfill his promise and take Violet Spirit with him.

As for Sacred Ancestor Lan Pu, she was one of the people who had been trapped in the ancient seal, so she had definitely already heard about Han Li's exploits.

As such, even though she was aware that he was a human, she naturally wasn't going to try and oppose him.

In what seemed like nothing more than the blink of an eye, the white flying boat arrived at the edge of the giant island that Blue Waterfall City was situated on, then descended toward a lush forest that was enshrouded under a layer of white light.

Several restrictions in the form of white light barriers were instantly forced open by Han Li's enormous spiritual sense, and his flying boat quickly passed through, following which all of the restrictions immediately returned to their original state.

Below the light barriers stood a huge pagoda that was several levels tall, and above the pagoda's front entrance was a plaque that had the words "Vast Origin House" in shimmering ancient characters.

At the same time, a young woman who was lazily reading a book in a secret chamber on the fourth floor suddenly stood up from her chair with an alarmed expression.

She then quickly made a series of hand seals, upon which an elated look surfaced in her eyes.

"Young Mistress, someone's forced their way through our restrictions!" A flustered female voice rang out from below the stairwell.

"It's alright, Aunt Zhu; we're being visited by a very esteemed guest," the young woman replied with an excited smile.