Zen saw that the woman was protected inside an invisible enchanted barrier. The huge heads moved along the edge of the barrier, trying to chomp at her.
They scrambled almost desperately, trying to devour the woman, but the barrier stopped them from doing so.
The woman was stoic and emotionless, closing her eyes slightly, so Zen could barely make out whether she had the pupils of a snake.
But this didn't matter. The woman had a striking resemblance to Dorothy.
Just as Zen was about to withdraw his consciousness, the woman's eyes suddenly popped open. Her golden pupils revealed a trace of confusion mixed with wonder.
Logically speaking, creatures of the fourth-grade world shouldn't have been able to sense the aura of the Illusory Vision, since the consciousness transmitted in this way was a very small wisp and was activated in the Soul Extreme Form.
The Evil God was an exception, only because he had also grasped the power of the Deep Space.
As for this woman, she was a snake spirit. Among the Four Spirits Sect, the snake spirits had the most acute perception.
Upon sensing the faint disturbance, she immediately could tell that someone was there, despite it being extremely difficult to detect where it was exactly.
"Is someone spying on me again?" she wondered aloud. "If yes, then that would be good news for me...
Things shouldn't go the way my father says they should go," she continued, a trace of anger in her voice. "He said that he can control the overall situation of the chaos, but I bet he must have been met with opposition. Am I right?"
Narrowing her hatred-filled eyes, she shouted, "If you are someone who opposes him, please-- stop at nothing to kill my father!"
Her voice rang throughout the space, and Zen could tangibly feel her anger.
While she might've been the daughter of the Snake Spirit King, she had grown up in the Human Spirit Sect. All of her skills were taught by the human spirits of the Bold Conjecture House. The only thing that Cornelius had ever given her was the Evil Bead that hovered above her, which had been his wedding gift to her.
No matter how she viewed it, it was a great honor for her to receive a Holy Item from her father.
It had even made her siblings seethe with jealousy.
That was the only time she ever felt some semblance of affection from her father.
Unfortunately, she later realized that the Evil Bead was not a gift at all, but a weapon in disguise. It was hidden within her body, which was all part of Cornelius's grand plan.
When the four sects fought fiercely in the chaos, her father had demanded her to fight by his side.
She had refused to submit, even if it meant she had to die.
From the moment Kincaid was killed, she viewed her father as a horrendous enemy.
While she was painfully aware that she personally would never be able to exact her revenge, she still wished she'd live to see the day her father would regret his actions.
Zen felt the strong hatred emanating from her, but he couldn't communicate with her through the Illusory Vision. The only thing he could do was listen, then silently retract his consciousness.
Upon deactivating the Soul Extreme Form, Zen's replica closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Simultaneously, on the jadeite platform, Zen slowly opened his eyes.
Dorothy, Kincaid, and Hilario had been waiting anxiously by his side. When they saw him wake up, they all gazed at him inquisitively.
"I found her," said Zen, clearly reading their expressions.
Dorothy, Kincaid, and Hilario silently rejoiced at this news.
"How is Itzel? Is she okay?" Kincaid asked, his tone tinged with worry.
"She looks unharmed, but she bears a strong hatred for the Snake Spirit King," Zen answered. He then recounted what he had just witnessed.
When he was finished, Kincaid lowered his gaze and his eyes dimmed. After a while, he finally asked, "Can we save her?"
"Of course!"
Zen replied enthusiastically.
Two hours later...
The primitive land, which had been moving consistently in the chaos, suddenly changed course and headed straight into the depths of the chaos.
Simultaneously, in the Source World...
The Evil God was ordering people to build a new palace.
What they had built so far resembled a huge, black pyramid. It was somewhat bleak in appearance; there seemed to be nothing special about it.
When the palace was finally completed, his will suddenly reverberated throughout the entire Source World, like a pulse in the earth.
He invited all the powerful warriors in the Source World to come to visit him in his newly built palace.
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