Her injuries were still unhealed, and she couldn't even defeat Mira Xuan alone—now with Damien Chi added to the mix, she stood no chance at all. For a moment, Lila Li felt a fresh wave of despair rise in her heart, but thinking of her senior brother's tragic death, she refused to give in.
Seeing Lila Li biting her lip, her stunning face tinged with stubbornness, Ian Song spoke up: "Saintess, if you trust me, I can help you!"
"How do you plan to help me?" Lila Li stared intently at Ian Song, a flicker of hope appearing in her heart.
"I know a teleportation art that lets me move freely within a thousand-li radius. I can use it to help you..."
"Enough!"
Before Ian Song could finish, Lila Li cut him off coldly: "Do you take me for a three-year-old? Freely teleporting within a thousand li is a fusion-stage expert's ability. You're only at late Nascent Soul—how could you possibly know it? Tell me, who are you really, and what is your real purpose in approaching me?"
He was offering genuine help, yet she rebuffed him with suspicion.
Ian Song was no saint, nor was he so cheap as to beg to help someone. Since she didn't trust him, he just smiled faintly: "Since the Saintess doesn't believe me, I have nothing more to say. By the way, Mira Xuan marked you with Golden Cicada Gu saliva, so she can track you with the insect. That's all—farewell."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian Song vanished into thin air.
Stunned by Ian Song's sudden disappearance, Lila Li quickly split her consciousness into four strands and scanned the area within ten li, but found no trace of him. For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder: "Does he really know a teleportation art? But isn't teleportation supposed to be an ability only fusion-stage experts possess?"
But now was not the time to worry about such things.
Recalling Ian Song's warning about the Golden Cicada Gu saliva, Lila Li immediately covered her whole body with zhenyuan to prevent any aura from leaking out. She found a hidden cave, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and then continued deeper into the island.
Less than half a quarter-hour after she left, Damien Chi and Mira Xuan arrived at the spot where Lila Li and Ian Song had met.
Seeing the Golden Cicada Gu stop in place, Mira Xuan's expression darkened; she realized Lila Li had most likely discovered her tampering.
"What's going on, junior sister? Why isn't the Golden Cicada Gu chasing anymore?"
"She already realized I tampered with her body!"
"So what should we do now?"
Mira Xuan thought for a moment: "She'll definitely head deeper into the island since she's injured. Let's split up and chase her. Also, hurry and send word to the Toba siblings so they can help encircle that woman!"
In the depths of Myriad Spirits Island, at the center of the valley still shrouded in nine-colored spiritual mist, lay the Spirit-Liquid Pool.
At this moment, the massive golden egg standing in the Spirit-Liquid Pool was already covered in cracks.
"Huff... inhale!"
"Huff... inhale!"
At the same time, powerful, rhythmic breaths echoed from inside the golden egg. With each breath, the spiritual energy within the Spirit-Liquid Pool grew noticeably thinner.
Half an hour later, a sharp crack sounded as a fissure on the golden egg suddenly widened and a beam of golden light leaked out, shooting straight toward the top of the valley.
At the same time, the breathing grew heavier and heavier.
As time slowly passed, another cracking sound rang out—the fissure expanded again, letting more and more golden light spill through, as if it was about to break through the nine-colored mist and soar into the sky.
"Crack!"
The next moment, a tender pink claw suddenly forced its way out through the crack in the eggshell.
Boom!
As the pink claw squeezed out of the eggshell, a pillar of golden light shot upward, instantly piercing through the nine-colored spiritual mist above the valley and reaching the sky.
"Whoa, a golden light shooting into the sky—could it be the birth of a supreme treasure?"
A Golden Core cultivator searching for spirit beasts on the island happened to look up and saw the golden pillar of light piercing the heavens. Delighted, he couldn't help but rush full speed in that direction.
At the same time—
"Senior brother, look! What's that?" a female cultivator cried, pointing at the golden pillar soaring into the sky.
"Golden light shooting skyward—there must be a supreme treasure being born! Let's go!"
The senior brother grabbed his junior sister's hand and sped off in that direction.
"Elder Yara, look! There's golden light in the sky!" Leah Ling exclaimed in surprise, pointing upward.
"There really is!" Lacey Ling looked up too, unable to hide her amazement.
Yara Snow also looked up. When she saw the golden light piercing the sky, she was slightly shocked: "Golden light shooting into the heavens—I'm afraid a supreme treasure is about to be born!"
"A supreme treasure? Elder, should we go see it?" Lacey Ling asked eagerly, her eyes shining. Leah Ling beside her was just as excited.
Lacey Ling was tempted to agree, but she knew that if the three of them could see the golden light, so could everyone else. Even if a supreme treasure really was appearing, they wouldn't be able to claim it. What's more, the birth of a treasure always brought brutal fighting. With their current cultivation, if they joined in and got caught in the crossfire, it would mean certain doom!
So she shook her head. "We can't go!"
Hearing Yara Snow refuse, both Lacey Ling and Leah Ling looked disappointed.
Elsewhere, Lena Ling and Shayne Snow also saw the golden pillar, but after a brief thought, they restrained their impulses and continued searching for spirit beasts.
Lila Li dashed through a forest, and as she emerged she saw the golden light soaring into the sky.
After a moment's thought, her face lit up with joy and she muttered to herself, "A golden light piercing the heavens—this must mean the Spirit Beast King is about to be born! If I can subdue the Spirit Beast King, with it at my side, even Fletcher Toba and his sister, or Damien Chi and Mira Xuan, wouldn't dare make a move against me on Myriad Spirits Island!"
With this in mind, her spirits soared and she rushed full speed toward the source of the golden light.
Damien Chi, Mira Xuan, and the Fletcher siblings, who were splitting up to hunt Lila Li, also noticed the golden pillar.
They had come to Myriad Spirits Island for the Spirit Beast King, so when they saw the golden light, they recognized it as the sign of the king's birth. As long as they reached the source, they'd find the Spirit Beast King.
With that thought, they lost interest in chasing Lila Li and all headed toward the golden light.
Ian Song, who had been searching for the Spirit Beast King, saw the golden light and immediately realized the king was most likely there. With a flicker, he teleported straight to a spot near the golden glow.
Standing before the valley, Ian Song frowned slightly. He noticed the entire valley was shrouded in nine-colored spiritual mist, which, though it appeared ordinary, was actually an extremely formidable Innate Grand Array.
An Innate Grand Array is a formation naturally formed by heaven and earth.
Even with his formation skills, Ian Song wasn't confident he could safely pass through the Innate Grand Array to enter the valley.
"Should I risk it and give it a try?"
Honestly, he was only curious about the Spirit Beast King and didn't absolutely need to claim it. If he got trapped in the Innate Grand Array, the loss would be huge.
Just then, a streak of cyan light shot over and condensed into the form of Lila Li.
"Saintess, we meet again!" Ian Song greeted her with a smile.
"So it's Daoist Song!"
Lila Li nodded to him in greeting.