After the ice melted, Evan Yang and Gavin White appeared outside, both looking at the woman holding the staff. The woman asked in shock, "What attribute is your power?"
"Of course it's fire attribute," Evan Yang replied.
"Fire? Then let's see if your fire is stronger or my water!" the woman said. Suddenly, hailstones fell from the staff in her hand, striking Evan Yang directly as she shouted, "Falling Ice!"
"Falling Ice? That depends on whether it can really fall," Evan Yang snorted coldly. He stretched out his hand, and a ball of Sacred Flame appeared, instantly evaporating the falling ice.
Such powerful flames— the woman was shocked. "What kind of flame is that?" she asked.
"A flame you wouldn't recognize," Evan Yang said.
Realizing Evan Yang wasn't someone she could easily drive away, the woman said directly, "Fine, you can come in, but don't disturb my cultivation. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."
With that, the woman turned around, returned to her original spot, and closed her eyes. Evan Yang and Gavin White exchanged glances, surprised that she had simply stopped trying to drive them away.
"Isn't this woman strange?" Gavin White asked curiously.
"She is a bit odd. Just now she was aggressive, but now that she realizes she can't defeat me, she draws a line instead," Evan Yang said, puzzled.
"So what do we do now?" Gavin White looked at Evan Yang curiously.
"Since she doesn't seem malicious, let's not disturb her either. Start searching for that person's soul, see if there's any trace left here. If you find anything, let me know," Evan Yang said.
Gavin White nodded, and together with Evan Yang, released their Divine Sense to search the area.
The place was full of all kinds of grasses, many of them precious. Evan Yang wondered why such strange grasses could grow here, but couldn't figure it out.
After Evan Yang and Gavin White had searched for a while, the woman opened her eyes and frowned, "I told you not to disturb me."
"We're just looking for someone, not trying to bother you. Don't be so sensitive," Evan Yang replied.
"Looking for someone? Who? Maybe I can help you," the woman said.
"Are you sure you want to help me?" Evan Yang asked, unable to believe it.
"That's right. Go ahead, but only one chance—I'll help you find the person you're looking for, then you must leave immediately. Deal?" the woman said.
"Alright, if you can help us find the person, we'll leave right away," Evan Yang replied immediately.
"Alright, send me the image of that person," the woman said to Evan Yang. Evan transmitted the image of the person they were searching for to her.
After studying it, the woman said, "Got it."
She began searching with Evan Yang and Gavin White, but used a strange method. Sitting where she was, she took out a flying insect. Its wings buzzed as, under her guidance, it darted wildly over the grassland.
"What is she doing?" Gavin White asked curiously.
"Not sure. Maybe that's her way of searching," Evan Yang replied.
Eventually, the insect stopped, circling several times over a patch of grass. The woman stood up and said, "Found it."
Hearing that she found it so quickly, Evan Yang and Gavin White were overjoyed and hurried after her to the spot. Sure enough, they saw the missing soul fragment entangled on a stalk of grass.
Gavin White asked, "How do we take him away?"
"Let me see," Evan Yang said, preparing to pluck the grass with his hand. The woman saw this and exclaimed, "Are you crazy? If you do that, you'll be absorbed too."
Evan Yang froze, withdrawing his hand. "Oh."
"Don't pretend to understand when you don't," the woman said with a glare. She took out a bottle, covered the grass with it, then carefully dug up the root and placed the whole thing inside to keep it alive.
Watching her actions, Evan Yang and Gavin White felt that this woman wasn't bad. If she were malicious, she could've waited for Evan to touch the grass and then attacked him to achieve her original aim.
"Here. Just open this bottle in front of the body where the soul should return, and the fragment will float out on its own," the woman said, handing the bottle to Evan Yang.
Evan Yang took the bottle and said gratefully, "Thank you."
"No need. I just don't want you disturbing me. You can leave now," the woman said.
Evan Yang and Gavin White had no choice but to say goodbye and leave. After descending the stairway, Gavin White asked, "She doesn't seem bad by nature, so why does she have to speak so coldly?"
"I don't know, maybe it's just her personality. Now that she wants to cultivate, let's not interfere either. Let's go," Evan Yang said.
"Mm," Gavin White nodded, then followed Evan Yang to leave. They had just taken off when they saw a streak of light slice through the air, diving to the base of the stairway, followed by a human figure rushing up the steps.
"What was that?" Gavin White asked curiously.
"Maybe it's her friend. Let's keep going," Evan Yang said.
Gavin White nodded, preparing to leave. But after Evan Yang had walked a few steps, his curiosity got the better of him—he wanted to hear what they were saying, so he kept Thousand-Mile Echo active.
"I've finally found you. Hand over the Spirit Prison Evil Orb!" the voice demanded of the woman standing there.
The woman was shocked to see the man arrive, then snorted coldly, "I didn't expect you to find this place."
"Originally I couldn't, but just now you released a bit of your aura, and I was able to track you down," the man sneered.
"I only used a tiny bit, and you still detected it. Looks like your tracking abilities are getting stronger," the woman said with a frown.
"That's right. So you'd better hand it over, and I'll report to the Evil King and ask him to spare you," the man said.
"Dream on. No one is taking it today. Since you've found me, I'll just destroy you," the woman snorted coldly.
"Destroy me? Keep dreaming," the man scoffed. The two began a fierce battle; the woman was clearly outmatched, retreating step by step, suffering multiple wounds, and even losing her treasure, which was kicked aside. She lay on the ground, while the man stood over her and sneered, "No wonder you came here—turns out you wanted to refine the orb. Too bad your plan failed, and I found you. Tough luck. Hand over the orb now."
"I'd rather die than hand it over," the woman snorted coldly.
"Then I'll kill you and take it from your body," the man said, extending his right hand and slowly walking toward her. Just as he was about to strike, a ball of flame streaked from the sky and hit his right hand directly.
The man's right hand was instantly scorched. He hurriedly retreated to the side and shouted toward where the flame had come from, "Who are you!?"
"Me," came the reply. A man and a woman appeared—it was none other than Evan Yang and Gavin White. If the woman hadn't helped Evan Yang earlier, he wouldn't have returned now.
The woman was shocked to see Evan Yang and Gavin White return, but her expression also showed gratitude toward Evan Yang.
Seeing the looks exchanged between the woman and Evan Yang, the man realized there was a connection and sneered, "What, you want to save her?"
"That's right. Let her go, and you should get lost before I get angry," Evan Yang said.
"Ridiculous. You? Angry? Do you even know who I am?" the man laughed loudly at Evan Yang's words.
"Oh? I'd like to hear about your background. Go ahead, tell me," Evan Yang said.
"I am Mason Gu, head of the Four Great Evil Souls under Evil King Darren Duan," the man declared, confident his title would shock Evan Yang. But Evan Yang only asked curiously, "Who's Evil King Darren Duan? And what are the Four Great Evil Souls?"
The woman's lips curled into a smile at Evan Yang's questions, and Gavin White also chuckled. Mason Gu, furious, shouted, "Kid, you really don't know?"
"Nope. Is there a rule that says I have to know you?" Evan Yang retorted.
"Damn it, you're dead!" Mason Gu said angrily, spinning toward Evan Yang and launching an attack. Evan Yang didn't hesitate, immediately unleashing Soul Battle Will. With its amplification, all his abilities were greatly enhanced. Facing Mason Gu's charge, Evan Yang spread his hands, and a powerful wind surged forth, forming a massive vortex that blasted out from in front of him.
The vortex sent Mason Gu flying. The woman lying nearby was shocked, never expecting Evan Yang to have such hidden techniques. She had worried whether Evan Yang could withstand the head of the Evil Souls, but now she felt reassured.
Mason Gu was sent flying, skidding across the ground before struggling to his feet. He shouted angrily, "Damn it, you've angered me—you're finished!"
Mason Gu then dispersed into countless wisps of smoke, vanishing from sight and spreading throughout the area. Evan Yang couldn't tell which smoke was Mason Gu, but the woman warned, "Careful! Don't attack the smoke. You must trap it instead."
Hearing her advice, Evan Yang didn't hesitate. He gestured with his hands and muttered a chant, causing a huge ice chamber to form around the smoke, trapping it within blocks of ice.
The woman was stunned—just what kind of abilities did Evan Yang possess, to so quickly counter the head Evil Soul's ultimate technique? Mason Gu reformed his body and shouted angrily, "Kid, you'd better let me out!"
"Why should I listen to you?" Evan Yang said with a laugh.
"If you don't, you'll suffer the same fate as her—offending Evil King Darren Duan. The consequences will be dire," Mason Gu warned.
"I've been threatened many times in my life, and none of them worked. Today is no different—your threats mean nothing to me, because you're not escaping," Evan Yang replied.
"You think I'm not escaping? Let me tell you—one of my avatars just left, and soon it'll spread the news. You're all doomed," Mason Gu snorted coldly.
"Is that so? Who says so?" The woman struggled to her feet, pointing to a stalk of grass nearby. When everyone looked, they understood.
A portion of Mason Gu's soul was trapped on the grass—meaning his avatar hadn't truly escaped, but had been absorbed by a plant.