Chapter 122

"Nalan Qiu Sha, young master, I certainly didn't misjudge you. After you refine this spiritual milk power, I'm sure your inner Yin Xuan Qi will become even more condensed. Wait for me, young master! I will surely obtain you, and with that Yin Xuan Qi, I will help condense the Myriad Spirit Dao Body!"

His ghost-faced mask showed no expression, but his eyes were full of excitement. As his words fell, he slapped the void with one hand, supreme force erupted, pushing and rolling outward.

The earth shook and mountains trembled; heavenly star stones fell in profusion, sand and soil burst forth, and shattered stone shot out.

"Hahaha——"

The ghost-faced man laughed loudly to the heavens, seeming very pleased; his whole body turned into a black shadow, he darted out of the cave and sank into the secret passage.

Underground, in the earth-yellow mysterious space, Ye Lu Fan clearly saw this scene, his brow furrowed, as if pondering something.

But the Nalan maiden in his arms had a flushed complexion, twisting her body, utterly ignoring him, she clenched her silver teeth, glared, and pressed both hands firmly against Lu Fan's chest.

Only after the upper cave regained calm did Lu Fan come to his senses, his gaze fixed on the woman's eyes in his arms, and he chuckled:

"Really sorry, things were urgent, I was doing it for your own good!"

He seemed to want to let go, but he hadn't expected this place to be so narrow, making it impossible; he forced an awkward smile and said, "That ghost-faced man must be the Wan Li you mentioned, right? A single soul thought is this strong—could he also be a talisman cultivator?"

It's not that this ghost-faced man is stronger than all the experts of the Mingyue Empire; rather, the current situation is something Lu Fan cannot handle.

Back then, Lei Di and Zuo Lao were definitely much stronger than the ghost-faced man. However, Lu Fan had support to rely on and a form to depend on. Now if he were to fight alone, not to mention killing Lei Di, just a flick of the opponent's finger would leave him unable to even keep his shirt on—this is a gap in realm, hard to overcome.

The Nalan maiden stared coldly at Lu Fan without answering. She was both ashamed and angry, utterly disregarding the ghost-faced man; all she wanted now was to crush Lu Fan's bones and scatter his ashes to vent her present shame.

Lu Fan shook his head, not caring, and casually asked, "You're Nalan Qiu Sha, right? What a nice name—I, Lu Fan, have noted it! I still have some matters, so I'll take my leave for now—until another day—"

He hadn't even gotten the word "see" out when his expression changed—he saw the brows of Nalan Qiu Sha in his arms sink, and a surge of resentful qi burst forth.

"You humiliated me today and still want to just walk away? Dream on!"

Although Nalan Qiu Sha's dantian had been sealed by Lu Fan, suddenly her aura surged. Though she was only a fourth-stage talisman cultivator, this eruption was utterly overbearing—even an ordinary Martial King could not avoid it.

The two hands pressed against Lu Fan's chest suddenly trembled, releasing a staggering force. Lu Fan felt as if a great mountain—or the entire heavenly constellations—pressed on his chest, and his strength instantly dissipated.

The surrounding earthly qi also scattered, and under that astonishing force's push, Lu Fan was bodily driven back three zhang through solid rock; the shattered stone fissures roamed over ten zhang in all directions.

"Uwaa—" With a sound, Lu Fan spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The earthly mystic treasure he tightly gripped in his hand gave him support at the critical moment, barely withstanding this blow.

On the cave floor, a large pit had appeared, with Lu Fan lying in it. Above the pit, Nalan Qiu Sha stood aloft, her face cold, her hand forming a seal, and surging angry qi.

"Lu Fan, my mentor originally thought highly of you, and I had no intention of being your enemy. I never expected you to seek your own death, committing such a grave offense against me. Today, death may be spared, but you cannot escape punishment!"

"Star Wish, seal the sigil!"

She hardly wasted words, waving one hand; the scattered heavenly star stones on the ground all rose up. After her seal was cast, they actually burst open, and the accumulated stellar radiance, like a liquid flow, surged to envelop Lu Fan's whole body.

Lu Fan's face turned pale with shock; he braced one hand on the ground, just as he leapt up he immediately fell down, crashing into the ground.

That stellar radiance had already entwined his body like vines, pulling him in and leaving no escape.

Under my star-wish curse seal, you have no hope of escaping!

Nalan Qiu Sha gave a cold smile, slightly pleased, but more so mocking.

The starlight fluid flowed together and instantly enveloped Lu Fan. Even more astonishing, the starlight followed his pores and meridians, drilling into his body.

Strange silver inscriptions appeared on Lu Fan's body surface, flickering like stars.

At that moment, Lu Fan felt a dazed haze, as if his whole being were adrift in a cosmic river of stars. His eyes filled with glittering starlight, radiant streams rolled over his body, and in that haze he unconsciously felt a sense of submission.

Just like that instant, he came to. His gaze sank, scanning his whole body.

The silver inscriptions imprinted on his body were like shackles, layer upon layer of restraint; even moving a finger was impossible. He could see with his eyes and hear with his ears, but his true qi and even his mental power could not be moved at all.

The radiant flow around him turned into a sky-full of stars, pressing down on him. It was like an ancient seal—endless radiance, inexhaustible power, the seal unceasing.

At that moment he did not panic, but a hint of regret arose; he slightly regretted having underestimated Nalan Qiu Sha.

At the palace banquet that day, Nalan Qiu Sha entered his eyes with a single word of spellcraft. He paid it no heed, and indeed it was trivial—such a minor spellcraft was utterly insignificant.

Yet within this secret formation, it was precisely the spellcraft he had ignored that bound him. Drawing on the power of the Heaven Star Stones here, the spellcraft unleashed terrifying might, using the power of the heavenly stars to subdue the enemy and win.

This shares the same origin as his past astonishing means—suppressing martial sovereigns, borrowing strength to transform shape, a divine ability that turns weakness into victory.

"I should have realized earlier—upon entering this secret formation, I ought to have been on guard!"

He let out a soft sigh, then his gaze hardened, looking past the radiant flow toward Nalan Qiu Sha.

Nalan Qiu Sha was confident in her methods; seeing Lu Fan trapped, she no longer paid him any heed—or perhaps she simply had no mind to attend to him, standing before the already ruined spirit pool, head bowed as she chanted.

This place originally had a secret formation for cover and protection, but under the ghost-faced man's palm strike it fell into disarray, the formation's restrictions utterly chaotic. The four walls' Heaven Star Stones collapsed, and the secret formation likewise could not help but crumble and open.

Yet this pool of spirit liquid, under Nalan Qiu Sha's light chant, gradually gave rise to rosy clouds, and wondrous lights of indescribable power appeared. Faintly, a round light-shadow manifested in the void.

Lu Fan saw this scene, his heart and spirit shaken, his pupils constricted, and he involuntarily focused his gaze.

That light-shadow gradually became clear: it was a spherical device, with rings of tracks crisscrossing all around. Faintly there were grooves, as if something should reside within them. At the center where the tracks encircled lay a patch of deep black, profound and distant, moreover bearing a startling throb, hidden yet unreleased.

"Celestial Armillary, appear!"

Like an oriole's song, her jade hand tapped, and the device instantly flickered to life, a suction force bursting forth; the residual starlight of the surrounding Heaven Star Stones surged inward, condensing into countless points of light on each groove.

As the tracks turned, the whole sheet of light points began to flow slowly. In an instant, it was as if the heavenly stars were turning, and an unfathomable wave burst forth from the dark center.

That wave suddenly condensed, taking along the starlight points on the tracks, forming a faint phantom bent at the waist—an elderly old man.

"Little Sha, how could you deploy the Celestial Armillary so quickly? Does your sister have news?"

The old man gazed at Nalan Qiu Sha with a kind face, his eyes slightly deep, as if pondering something.

"Grandfather!" Nalan Qiu Sha immediately knelt, her face full of excitement, yet she failed to notice Lu Fan in the pit behind her, his eyes wide with shock.

She steadied her mind, then spoke in a firm voice: "Xiang'er has news—just recently the Wan Ling Old Monster used ghost-divination arcane art to pinpoint Xiang'er's whereabouts. Although I don't know the exact details, as long as I follow the person in charge of Wan Ling Hall, I will surely find Xiang'er!"

Upon hearing this, the old man's face showed little joy, instead he spoke solemnly: "Wan Ling Hall is one of the hegemons of the Dragon Elephant Dynasty; its true strength surpasses any one of the Four Dragon Elephant Sects. Whatever your plans, you must be extremely cautious—without absolute certainty, even if Xiang'er stands before you, you must never reveal yourself!"

He let out a slight sigh, saying: "Grandfather has already lost Xiang'er; we cannot lose you too!"

Nalan Qiu Sha nodded, then turned her head slightly, glanced at Ye Fei, gritted her teeth, and added: "Grandfather, more than ten years ago you divined the fate of the Bright Moon Kingdom, speaking of that person—now they have appeared."

As those words just sounded, the old man seemed to realize, his gaze shifting toward Lu Fan's direction.

The starlight radiance, impossible to block his gaze; it seemed he would soon see Lu Fan's true appearance.

At that very moment, a flame rose without warning from Lu Fan's sleeve, only a trace, seeming insignificant. Yet it was like ancient divine fire—in an instant it ignited that starlight fluid.

The warm, gentle starlight instantly surged into scorching heat. The raging flames swallowed the radiance, turning it into a blazing, searing liquid, utterly violent.

Lu Fan's figure was suddenly covered up.

"How is this possible? How did he break free from my curse seal suppression?"

Nalan Qiu Sha wore an expression of utter disbelief, her face both anxious and angry. She had originally planned to torment Lu Fan to the brink of death to vent her hatred, but now it seems unlikely to go as she wished.

The old man also looked astonished, turning his head to ask: "Is he the person you mentioned? He looks somewhat familiar!"

At that moment, amidst the sea of fire, a hearty laugh rang out: "Hahaha, old man, I see you're getting on in years; crossing layer after layer of void is quite a strain, so I'll just send you back!"

In the sea of fire, Lu Fan gave a proud smile, flicked his sleeve, and shot a single finger forward; a flame at his side, carrying a stellar stream, shot out.

"Bold!"

Nalan Qiu Sha immediately gave a cold shout, lightly opening her vermilion lips, and the Star Curse Technique was unleashed once more. The starlight light cluster that had originally been obedient to her command, at this moment, refused to obey.

Her Star Curse Technique went out of control!

"Hehe, your cultivation is too weak; you originally relied on the Heavenly Star Stone Radiance to barely cast the Star Curse Technique. But now, this radiance obeys my commands—you simply cannot use it!"

As Lu Fan's light laugh rang out, the surging fire flow in midair instantly burst and turned into stellar fire, as if teleporting, it shot straight onto the Celestial Vault Instrument.

In a swirl, the countless starlight within the wheel's groove were sucked in. Almost simultaneously, the old man's phantom dissipated in an instant, leaving only a voice.

"Young man, don't be impulsive, Xiao Sha won't hurt..."

Amidst that voice, Lu Fan stepped on the fire wave and walked out slowly. His gaze fixed on the Celestial Vault Instrument shrouded in stellar fire, his eyes deep and silent with solemnity.

Only then did Nalan Qiu Sha react, her face changing drastically, not even bothering with Lu Fan here; she immediately gestured with both hands toward the Celestial Vault Wheel. Yet beneath the stellar fire, she could not move it at all, and even felt faintly that the soul imprint within this treasure was gradually fading.

"Damn it! Stop this at once, or I'll make you wish you were dead!"

She suddenly panicked, actually using such childish words to threaten Lu Fan. Lu Fan, however, seemed oblivious, merely focusing his gaze on the Celestial Vault Instrument within the stellar fire. To Nalan Qiu Sha's eyes, this only fueled her thunderous rage.

"Since you seek death, I shall grant it!"

"Star Wish, Curse Kill!"