Yet the bearded man, a renowned fused cultivator with years of experience, immediately sensed his own strangeness as soon as the unusual emotions arose. He promptly bit down hard on his tongue, spitting out a stream of pure blood. With that surge of strength, his consciousness stabilized, though his gaze upon the white-robed woman was now filled with terror, as though viewing a venomous scorpion. "The power of a Great Stage cultivator—you are the Sacred Ancestor of the Magian race!" Though his inner strength had been significantly weakened, his awareness remained unshaken. Yet upon meeting the white-robed woman, he was profoundly affected. This was no ordinary feat for a fused cultivator. He instantly recalled the very entity the magian realm most dreaded. "Sacred Ancestor—perhaps that's as good a title as it gets. I have several questions for you. If you cooperate fully, I will ensure your death is painless, and you will still have the chance of reincarnation. Should you refuse, however, I shall resort to special methods that will leave you utterly dispersed—your spirit and essence completely vanished." "The white-robed woman was naturally the Holy Ancestor of Baohua who had been accompanying Han Li and the others all along. Now, she gently inquired of the man with flowing hair. "Since I have come under the care of the senior, Lin has little to insist upon. Please go ahead and ask whatever you wish," said the Lin family cultivator, whose face had shifted between gloom and hope several times before finally breaking into a wry smile. "You're quite thoughtful. Now, release your spirit essence." The Baohua Ancestor smiled slightly—her smile so bright that for a moment, the blossoms around her seemed to dim—then raised a jade finger and pointed it sharply at the man within the flowering tree. "Pffft!" A pink spiritual glow burst forth, then shimmered and transformed into a luminous, unusual bloom, which instantly merged into the man's forehead. The man's face paled dramatically. After a brief hesitation, he sighed deeply and finally gave up resisting, allowing his spirit essence to unfold. At this moment, he could only hope that this Magian Holy Ancestor would uphold her dignity and not reveal anything that might jeopardize his chances of reincarnation. At that very moment, the man's eyes went wide, his gaze dimming, and several strange, rose-colored magical patterns appeared on his forehead, pulsing with an eerie luminescence that flickered on and off. The bulky, unattractive man beside him watched the disheveled man's condition and merely smiled coldly. After a full cup of tea's worth of time, the white-robed woman raised her brows slightly, then gently pressed her fingers together with a refined, effortless gesture. The originally restrained rose-hued floral glow suddenly expanded, transforming into clusters of rose-colored flames that swiftly consumed the man's body, reducing him to ashes. Only a single beam of white light remained untouched, rising with a final, mournful cry and vanishing in a flash at a height of over a hundred paces. The Buddha-Flower Sage paid all this no attention, merely continued to press her palms forward and extended them, then reached out into the air with a gesture. "Whoosh!" A single, rare rose-colored flower drifted out of the flames, soared toward the white-robed woman, and finally settled slowly into her hands before fading away. A young woman with a white robe displayed several identical pink magical patterns on her face. As her eyes shimmered with a radiant glow, she closed her eyes. During the pulsing of the patterns, her expression remained unchanged, as if she had turned into a frozen sculpture. Meanwhile, the tall man in black armor stepped forward and stood beside her, respectfully hands folded. Half an hour later, her eyelids fluttered, and she opened her eyes once more, revealing a pair of dark, star-like gaze. "Master Baohua, have you obtained any useful information?" the man in black armor asked cautiously. "I have gathered some—though not much. Nevertheless, I now understand their intentions upon entering the Sacred Realm. It seems they aim to secure the Spirit-Quenching Pool and the Pure-Spirit Lotus. That's truly unexpected!" Master Baohua said thoughtfully. "The Spirit-Quenching Pool and the Pure-Spirit Lotus? What are these things, and why would they risk so greatly for them?" the man in black armor asked in wonder. "Indeed, only about ten people in the entire Sacred Realm know of these two treasures." Even some of the Holy Ancestors are unaware of this. You wouldn't be surprised at all," the woman replied calmly. "Then, what exactly is so remarkable about these two items that has drawn such eager pursuit from these spiritual realm cultivators? Surely it must be no ordinary matter," the black-armored man blinked several times, asking with a touch of curiosity. "You needn't worry about this too much. Though these two items are profoundly mysterious to the spiritual realm cultivators, they are actually of no benefit to us Holy Clan members." It seemed as though he had read the thoughts in the man's mind, the Holy Ancestor replied gently. "If they are of no use to our clan, then I have little interest in them," the man said, spreading his arms and rubbing his back of his head. At this moment, the Holy Ancestor did not further elaborate on the matter, but instead, her gaze flickered slightly, and she said softly, "Since I now understand their purpose for this journey, I have a good idea of where they intend to go." From now on, we need no longer follow them into the Phantasm Desert—we can simply wait at their destination when the time comes. I originally came back to the Sacred Realm with the intention of completing this matter and then meeting a few old friends. Now, it seems, we may be able to make an earlier visit. The Holy Ancestor raised her head and gazed upward, her eyes flashing with a sudden change of expression. "No matter where the Holy One goes, I shall surely die to follow." The black-armored man spoke without hesitation. The Holy Ancestor smiled slightly, satisfied, but then suddenly remembered something else and added, "There's another young human girl who still holds value to me. When you go, take her with you and see that she is not harmed." "Understood!" The man was slightly surprised but quickly bowed and responded. The white-clad woman nodded, then turned her gaze toward the city of Phantasm Night, studying it for a moment before a strange smile appeared on her face. Then, with a swift motion, she swept one sleeve forward. At once, clusters of pink petals spiraled upward, spinning as they rose, and coalesced into a towering column of wind, from within which resonant gusts and thunderclaps echoed. The black-armored man, witnessing this, raised one hand without hesitation, reaching into the air toward a nearby soil pit, then forcefully stamped his feet on the ground. With a sudden shift in posture, he shot forward like a launched arrow, vanishing into the wind column. Following the sound of a deep thud from the pit, a slender, youthful figure leapt out and swiftly disappeared into the column as well—none other than Zhu Guo'er, her face filled with alarm. The wind column roared and then burst apart, its pink light scattering into fragments. Where once stood the three, there was now not a trace. One wore a long green robe, while the other was an elderly scholar dressed in the traditional Confucian attire—none other than Han Li and the venerable sage of the Ling race. Both sat calmly upon the eight-legged magical lizard, silent and motionless, as though each were waiting for something to happen. They had both been pre-arranged by the elder of the Long family to remain stationed here, specifically to escort and assist the others involved in the mission. These two magnificent lizards, of course, were the ones Han Li had received from the Bai family. With the two Magi Lords not present at Zhao's household, how could a mere seal stand against our combined efforts? This journey has yielded eight Magi Lizards. Besides allowing one member to take one each, we can also reserve one eight-limbed Magi Lizard as a backup!" The young lady in the feathered robe smiled brightly as she spoke, clearly indicating that her earlier actions had been effortless. Long and Bai had already escaped the two Zhao family魔尊. Suddenly, a clear, resonant voice of the Long family elder rang out from the sky. As the space rippled, the smiling Long family elder and a beam of pale, ethereal light materialized simultaneously. "I see Bai has also arrived. Where are the two Zhao family魔尊 now?" Han Li raised an eyebrow, his eyes brightening with interest. "Han friend need not worry! They have been led into our carefully pre-arranged magical array. With no chance of escape within a day or two," replied the pale light figure, Bai Qi, calmly and simply. "Excellent! Since everyone has arrived, let us summon all eight-legged magical lizards and set off immediately!" The Thousand Autumn Princess expressed her great delight. "Exactly what I had in mind!" The feather-draped young lady from the Ye family enthusiastically agreed. Others naturally had no objections either. With a single gesture from the young woman in the feathered robe and the Saintess Chiankou, a host of magical lizards burst forth. The elders of the Long family and others promptly leapt onto the beasts, and the group immediately took off toward the Shanyao Desert, vanishing completely into the gray, swirling sand within a short while.