"I'm a fairy, and you, Lucy Bai, as well as that woman—you're all just obstacles on my path!"
Grandmaster Phoenix Bai's voice was sharp and fierce.
Her tone was already laced with madness.
Fairy.
When Evan Lin heard that word, he shook his head, feeling a strange mix of emotions.
Back on the Immortal Martial Continent, there were plenty of so-called 'fairy-level' figures worshipped by the masses.
But in Evan's eyes, all of it was just empty nonsense.
This was the first time he'd seen someone shameless enough to call themselves a fairy.
"Then my mother..."
Lucy Bai wanted to say something more.
"Your mother did live longer because of me, but the only reason I let her live a few extra days was so I could try to strip the Woman Statue's sigil from her body."
Phoenix Bai's voice continued: "I went to great lengths, spent endless effort, all just to peel the Woman Statue's sigil out from her body."
"But in the end, I failed—the sigil ended up on you and your sister. Once your mother lost her value, keeping her alive was pointless, so I threw her into the woods for the beasts to eat."
Hearing Phoenix Bai's words, Lucy Bai's body trembled slightly.
Her heart was full of grief, and she clenched her fists tightly.
But right now, she seemed utterly powerless.
Peak of the Life-and-Death Mage Realm.
This is a realm she can only dream of reaching now.
Phoenix Bai spoke coldly.
Over there, the Devour-Spirit Grubs, like drifting layers of gauze, continued to gnaw away at the surrounding concealment array.
The darkness grew thinner, gradually revealing the interior of the Great Bronze Sarcophagus.
"No rush," she said.
Zhao Liuli shook her head, her voice calm and utterly unperturbed.
Yet her aura kept climbing, rising ever higher.
Layer upon layer of powerful aura radiated from her body.
Streams of spiritual qi gathered on her right hand, flowing together.
That spiritual qi, flowing like clear water, pooled at Zhao Liuli's right fingertip, radiating layers of translucent light.
Just that tiny glow made the interior of the Great Bronze Sarcophagus suddenly shine brilliantly.
With the appearance of the light, everything was illuminated.
Evan Lin looked around and finally noticed that the inner walls of the Great Bronze Sarcophagus were covered with mural after mural.
Those murals depicted many bizarre scenes.
Some showed alien beasts chained up, gazing at the sky and roaring in fury, while above them the heavens were gray and empty, with no sign of life.
Others showed a man climbing clouds toward heaven, rising step by step, only to be struck down by a titanic sword from above.
Still others showed clusters of trees where gigantic man-eating flowers grew, with a grotesque, unknown creature sitting cross-legged in the flower's heart.
All sorts of strange scenes seemed to display to everyone present a world completely different from this one.
Creak.
A faint, tiny sound could be heard.
It sounded like something being pushed open.
Evan Lin frowned and followed the sound, only to see a vast, empty plain.
That was the very path they had just walked in on.
Now, that area was fully illuminated.
And what was revealed under the glow of Zhao Liuli's fingertip was layer upon layer of bones.
There were countless bones.
Some were human, some were beast.
Some bones couldn't even be identified as any known species.
They lay there quietly, as if countless years had passed, yet in their silence they told the story of some ancient event that happened inside this Great Bronze Sarcophagus.
Just now, Evan and the others had walked right over these bones to get here.
Evan Lin looked around the bones, paying no mind to Phoenix Bai.
He was absolutely certain he'd just heard a creaking sound.
But aside from the silent bones lying there, not a single trace of life could be seen.
It all felt like an illusion, like hearing things.
"No rush?"
"Looks to me like you've completely run out of options!"
Phoenix Bai had no intention of turning back.
She stood there, driving the Spirit-Shattering Array, commanding the Devour-Spirit Grubs to surge forward.
All the Devour-Spirit Grubs inside the array were already in a frenzy.
They seemed to sense Zhao Liuli within the array, felt the powerful soul force pulsing from her, and the abundant spiritual qi on her right hand.
Every Devour-Spirit Grub began ravenously devouring the last barrier of the formation.
Just as all the darkness was about to fade away...
Standing there, Zhao Liuli extended one hand, her fingertip rapidly tracing patterns in midair.
She inscribed ancient runes one after another.
Those runes glowed, brimming with intense spiritual energy, and seemed on the verge of shattering at any moment.
"Aren't you the least bit curious?"
Zhao Liuli's hand never stopped, her tone calm and indifferent.
Her demeanor was truly serene, truly unremarkable.
To her, all of this seemed like nothing more than a perfectly ordinary affair.
Much of Evan Lin's calm, detached personality was influenced by Zhao Liuli.
"Curious about what?"
Phoenix Bai grew wary at those words, but quickly relaxed: "You're just a soul body about to be devoured by me—are you trying to mess with my mind?"