Seeing her injured and fleeing, he must've thought she was an easy target. Just as she expected, the remnant soul believed her act and rushed into her sea of consciousness without hesitation.
"Well now, I can't believe a little girl like you actually tricked me!" He was furious. If not for his desperate hunger to seize a body, how could he have fallen for such a trap? Her talent was simply too tempting. "But so what if you tricked me in here? You'll only end up digging your own grave!"
He barked with false bravado, but his eyes never left the Red Lotus Karma Fire. That flame looked ominous, and deep down it terrified him.
Song Wanníng didn't bother arguing. A cold gleam flickered in her eyes.
With a turn of her body, a bolt of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder split the air inside her sea of consciousness, summoned straight from the thunder seed in her dantian.
The remnant soul, who'd still been trying to force his way out, instantly broke down when he saw it. "No! Don't— Little girl, let me go! I can help you!
I'll never covet your body again, just spare me this once! I don't just know about the Bodhi Tree, I know the locations of countless treasures! Believe me, I can give them all to you!"
Panic swallowed his voice. Lightning was the bane of souls, and the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder was his absolute nemesis. He begged and shouted, desperate to cling to life.
But she had no interest in anything he promised.
Boom!
A deafening blast echoed through her sea of consciousness as the thunder lashed down. The remnant soul screamed, fleeing like a beaten dog. The arrogance he'd shown before had vanished, leaving only terror. But the divine thunder struck him squarely, and there was no escape.
"Ahhh!"
His shrill wail reverberated through the sea of consciousness. He tried to flee, clawing at the edges, but the Red Lotus Karma Fire barred every path. The instant it touched him, pain exploded through his soul, worse than death itself. For the first time, he cried from sheer despair. He never thought he'd end up like this.
Both the Red Lotus Karma Fire and the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder were his mortal enemies, impossible to withstand. He thought of all the decades he'd schemed, all for this chance to seize a body, only to pick the wrong host and throw himself into a dead end.
If he'd known, he would've fled the moment he laid eyes on her.
Boom!
Another thunderbolt crashed down, engulfing him completely. He let out one last hopeless scream, then scattered into ashes, erased from existence.
The moment he perished, the Wordless Heavenly Tome dropped to the ground, ownerless.
Song Wanníng opened her eyes, her sea of consciousness already clear again. The corner of her lips curved up. She bent down, picked up the Wordless Heavenly Tome, and studied it carefully. Its pages were blank, but touching it was like dipping her hands into flowing water.
Smooth, cool, constantly shifting.
The sensation was strange and mesmerizing.
Her curiosity deepened, but with the Bodhi Tree still ahead, she didn't dare linger. If something else happened, she might lose her chance.
She put the Wordless Heavenly Tome away and looked up. The Bodhi Fruit hanging above was still immature, far from ripening.
It'd be best to take the entire Bodhi Tree.
"Sister, this Bodhi Tree has its own barrier. It won't be easy to move," Long Ling whispered near her neck, eyes fixed eagerly on the tree.
"Exactly. And this Bodhi Tree must've developed intelligence, that's why it created the illusion of a lake," Xiao Jin chimed in.
Once a spiritual treasure gained intelligence, brute force never worked. Its consent was required.
Song Wanníng fell silent.
To ask the Bodhi Tree to abandon its birthplace for some unknown land… that was far from realistic.
If it were her, she wouldn't agree either.
She needed to offer something irresistible.
She sifted through ideas, when suddenly the unlucky ghost in her internal world spoke up.
"Master, why not try placing the Bodhi Tree inside here?"
He stood in the corner of the internal world, his eyes bright and full of hope. His cultivation had skyrocketed, and the once despairing ghost now brimmed with vitality. For ghosts, the Bodhi Tree was a natural nemesis. But he still wished for her internal world to grow stronger, even if it meant staying far away from the tree.
"Yes, I can try the internal world."
A light flashed in Song Wanníng's eyes.
If anything could tempt the Bodhi Tree, it was that.
She walked slowly up to it, gazing at the rippling Dao patterns.
"Bodhi Tree, I have a newborn world within me. It's filled with chaos energy and newly formed lands. If you're willing to enter, you'll be the oldest and most mysterious tree in that realm.
Perhaps you'll even reach godhood or immortality." Her words were plain, but her vision of the future carried weight.
As she spoke, the Bodhi Tree trembled gently, showing a response.
Song Wanníng smiled faintly and pressed on.
"In my internal world, I promise I'll never harm you. I'll give you the best environment to grow. You won't have to worry about outsiders disturbing you. You can cultivate in peace.
If you don't believe me, send your spirit inside. If you're not satisfied, I'll leave immediately."
She coaxed patiently, and finally, a tiny head poked out from the crown of the Bodhi Tree. It looked like a plump little child, with limbs round like lotus roots. Its big, clear eyes were full of innocent curiosity as it peeked at her.
Her eyes lit up at the sight of the chubby little baby.
Long Ling squealed with delight, "So cute! I love it!"
"Cough."
Song Wanníng cleared her throat, signaling her to quiet down before they scared it away.
She softened her expression into a warm smile.
"Little one, why don't you come take a look? I won't lie to you."
For some reason, staring into its pure eyes made her feel like a kidnapper trying to lure a child away. She forced herself to smile more gently, waving her hand invitingly.
The little baby shrank back behind the leaves, but curiosity filled its gaze. It wavered, clearly tempted to see if her world really held the chaos energy she spoke of.