Chapter 142: The Sky‑Piercing Air, a Sword Among the Stars

A flickering, indistinct flash, vague and hazy, could be discerned as a cauldron‑shaped phantom. The other stood still at a corner, looking like a skull, and faded swiftly as it vanished.

"Although it's not quite what I originally expected, the result is still decent. The wild beast's lingering thought hasn't obtained the crystal furnace, so it definitely can't refine that broken hand for a while. Seal Sigil, I still have a chance!"

Lu Fan let out a slight sigh, then a flash, and the light curtain dispersed. Immediately, he swung both hands together, beginning to emit point blasts around his body.

The Star Wish Spell Power, which he had already refined the vast majority of using Dragon Origin Purple Qi, unexpectedly backfired under the star‑moon radiance. Forced to convert his true Qi, he relied on "Return Origin One Qi" to boost his Seal Dao cultivation.

Now that the tricky situation is out of the way, he is nevertheless in serious trouble himself.

Time passed until the full moon sank in the west and the starlight faded. Only then did the spell's power wane, and he finally, using his overwhelming spirit force, steadied the situation, beginning inch by inch to clear the silver glow of the spell seals from his body's acupoints.

He was completely immersed in his mind, ignoring everything external.

Unbeknownst to him, on the third day of the secret realm expedition, a demonic shadow rampaged, leaving the entire secret realm in panic.

Atop a towering tree, Zhan Xiao floated in midair, scanning the surroundings with a slightly solemn gaze. In his line of sight, faint fireworks drifted at the horizon, birds chirped, beasts ran amok, as if the beast tide of the previous two days had erupted again.

"This time is really odd! The beast tide erupted early, catching us off guard. The number of demon beasts in this secret realm has dropped, but their quality has risen a level; I fear many will suffer in the days ahead!"

He drew a slight breath and sighed softly, a hint of worry in his tone.

Beneath the dense canopy, on a thick branch, Wang Wu sat cross‑legged, eyes closed, his surrounding true Qi blazing. Hearing Zhan Xiao's words, he opened his eyes and snorted coldly:

"Doesn't this suit our intentions? The Dragon Tower Secret Realm is swarming with shrimp soldiers and crab generals; cutting some down would be fine, so they don't get in the way!"

Her voice was soft but seemed innately cold; through the thick canopy, Zhan Xiao shivered involuntarily and gave a wry smile. "The words are correct. But you must also know that the trials of the Dragon Tower Secret Realm test not only us outsiders but also the demon beasts here. I'm afraid that before the Dragon Tower, those beasts have become too powerful, and that would be troublesome!"

Wang Wu gave a cold smile, a curl at the corner of her mouth, paying no heed to Zhan Xiao's words. She flipped onto her back, lightly tapped her toe, leapt upward, hovering above the canopy, her gaze sweeping toward the distant flames.

"Those flames aren't ordinary fire; I have a vague feeling they're connected to Lu Fan. Let's go check together!"

As soon as she finished speaking, without waiting for Zhan Xiao's reply, she lightly stepped on the treetop, drifting like a celestial maiden of the nine heavens.

"Ah! Lu Fan is hard to deal with; meeting him now, I truly don't know how to handle it..."

Zhan Xiao sighed, no longer hesitating, and also sprang upward, firing a single point blast; the Mystic Soaring Cloud Sword shot out, he stepped on it and rode the sword away.

Although the two had only just entered the Fourth-Stage Tempered Bone Realm, their strength was remarkable, with solid early foundations and astonishing backgrounds. After roughly half an hour, they had already reached the sea of fire.

The lush primeval forest was gone; before them, blazing fireworks and scorching aura surged. The protective body Qi proved of little use as the hot air currents directly eroded them.

"This fire is intense; could it be the beast fire of some formidable fire‑type demon beast? With such power, even if it's not the Kaiyuan Realm Beast King, it's not far off!"

Zhan Xiao's face showed apprehension; although he was confident in himself, he wasn't arrogant enough to challenge a Fifth‑Stage demon beast.

"No! There's something wrong with this fire!" Wang Wu's expression changed instantly as she recalled something; with a single hand swipe, a Formless Seal burst forth, materializing out of thin air and immediately turning into a wind wave that twisted outward.

Wind fuels fire, and wind can also control fire. This wind wave was formidable, instantly wrapping a flame that spiraled back. Yet at that moment, the flame underwent a flowing transformation, exuding a Strange Seal Formula.

The misty shadows were indistinct, but above them loomed an astonishing aura that devoured heaven and earth with boundless greed.

"Bang"

The seal burst open, the entire flame surged explosively, instantly turning into a vortex that, in a heartbeat, swallowed the surrounding wind wave and immediately transformed into a cluster of Demon Fire, hovering in midair.

Violent, desolate... an indescribable momentum radiated outward.

Wang Wu observed the scene without surprise, instead nodding. "As expected. During the preaching conference, Lu Fan had no right to invoke Qing Yi's Wind Wave Formation; all the mysteries lie within this cluster of Demon Fire!"

"What are you saying? Did Lu Fan create this fire?" Zhan Xiao was stunned; the Demon Fire gave him a very dangerous impression, involuntarily stirring a sense of dread!

"That's impossible? I've seen him wield that Furnace Mystic Treasure before, the seal fire's power was nowhere near this level."

All he could see was a sky full of wildfire; if such power truly existed, Lu Fan would be terrifying—this is simply impossible.

"Ha ha! Interesting!"

At that moment, a chilling laugh rang out, and amid the boundless fire wave, a massive hand swung down.

Wang Wu's expression changed, and instinctively she and the other leapt back, landing a hundred zhang away.

"Roar! Another Wild Fire True Seal. This place is truly a treasure; it won't be long before I can remotely summon the Primordial Source Power, seize that crystal furnace, and then settle the score with that stinky little Lu Fan!"

The massive hand burst out of the fire wave, emitting a strange howl; a narrow fissure suddenly split the palm, and a blood‑stained long tongue shot out, immediately devouring the Demon Fire.

Zhan Xiao was stunned, his face shocked. The gigantic palm before him was ethereal, not solid at all. Yet it could speak, and from its appearance it seemed deeply connected to the sea of fire before them.

"Do you know Lu Fan? What is your relationship with him?"

Wang Wu barked coldly, flicked her hand slightly; the two jade ice rings on her wrist shot out, swelling with the wind into three‑foot‑wide ice rings that she grasped.

"Gah gah! Little girl, your strength is impressive; forge me about ten Wild Fire True Seals, and I'll tell you!"

The giant palm split again; a blood‑soaked maw opened and closed, spewing a dozen flames that surged toward Wang Wu.

Wang Wu's elegant brows furrowed as the ice ring prepared to swing out; within the fire sea, a frantic scream rang out.

"Scatter quickly; these flames must not be touched lightly!"

Wang Wu heard that, her expression changed slightly; the voice was unmistakably that of Wang Yicai. If it were her usual temperament, she wouldn't have cared. But at this moment, she didn't even think, instantly twisting her body, using a fleeting footwork to slip away, evading the encircling flame array.

"Pa pa!"

The formidable flames collided, exploding into a burst, producing a dozen strange seals that turned into a swath of devouring force. Yet the surroundings were empty, with nothing to consume; it lasted only a moment before vanishing.

Wang Wu's expression changed as she suddenly realized something. These strange flames could devour cultivation energy; if she confronted them head‑on, all her killing techniques would likely be turned into nourishment, strengthening the fire's power.

"Ah!" The massive hand roared furiously to the sky, "Kill me with your breath, you four little stinky bugs, all die!"

"Bang!"

The sea of fire churned, a dazzling golden flame shot out, and immediately four staggered figures emerged, unmistakably Wang Yicai and his three companions.

"How did you end up here?"

Zhan Xiao's expression shifted slightly; he had no real ties with Wang Yicai's siblings, but Li Qingshan and Nie Xing were his rivals. The four's disheveled state suggested they had already allied, and with Wang Wu's involvement, they were foes rather than friends.

"Enough talk! If you want to live, come over quickly and transfer your true Qi to Brother Li, or else just die!"

Nie Xing gave him a cold glance; as soon as he spoke, he stepped behind Li Qingshan, delivering a sudden palm that drove massive true Qi into Li Qingshan's acupoints. The Wang Yicai and Wang Ruolan siblings on the other side acted in the same manner.

Only then did Wang Wu and Zhan Xiao notice Li Qingshan's arrival; a pale golden aura enveloped him, and he cradled a Haori Sun Jade Plate, his aura radiant like a blazing sun in the sky, blinding to the eye.

"Beast, die!"

Li Qingshan roared, golden flames around him flowed like liquid, surging into the Haori Sun Jade Plate, forging a golden fire stream that shot out, striking the bizarre massive hand to suppress it.

"Hmph! The same trick again, no new moves!"

The demonic giant hand let out a cold snort, seeming disdainful, yet it did not dare to be careless. Its five fingers twitched, then suddenly slapped, and a gigantic seal imprint inexplicably materialized. Purple light swirled, and a light‑shadow seal imprint shot out.

"Bang!"

The golden flame stream collided with the light‑shadow seal imprint at one point; flame and shadow tangled, roaring and trembling, giving an inch of ground, and it astonishingly lasted for the length of a tea‑break before finally dissipating.

Wang Wu was startled; even with the combined strength of Li Qingshan and three others, they were blocked by that seal imprint's single strike. What kind of mysterious treasure is this, so powerful?

"Huff huff—"

This strike clearly also drained a considerable amount of the monster hand's Qi; its palm opened once more, and it was actually panting heavily.

"Your Qi kills me! If my primordial source Qi weren't trapped in that crystal furnace, a single thought of mine could turn you all into flying ash; I would never let you little insects run so rampant!"

While speaking, it twitched its middle finger slightly, retrieved the seal imprint, then gradually shrank it, turning it into a seal‑shaped ring that it slipped onto.

"What kind of monster is this guy! How can it be so powerful?"

Zhan Xiao, seeing this, could no longer hold back and shouted.

However, no one in the crowd answered; only the monster hand spun around, a blood‑stained tongue protruding from its palm, licking slightly, then let out a chilling long howl—"Gaga! I'll take you for a cut first, patch you up, and don't disappoint me!"

"Bang bang"

Before the words finished, the monster hand flipped, slapping the void, and already reached Zhan Xiao's head, crashing down with a roar.

"Dodge, don't be reckless!"

Wang Yicai's voice sounded again, but Zhan Xiao was not Wang Wu, and this monster hand was too formidable; if he simply retreated, he would likely be unable to escape. It would be better to fight here, perhaps finding another chance at survival.

"Qi soaring across the heavens, Star Sword!"

Without a second thought, he hurled the Lingyun Sword from his hand, it hovered above his head, and instantly his surrounding true Qi swirled outward, surging within.

In almost an instant, the Lingyun Sword surged tenfold and shot straight toward the giant hand.

"Psshh" a light sound rang, contrary to Zhan Xiao's expectation, the Lingyun Sword pierced the monster hand directly, without expending any Qi.

He was slightly stunned, bewildered, then his face brightened with joy; with a single hand move, he astonishingly retrieved the Lingyun Sword, flinging it dozens of times at the monster hand in mid‑air. It instantly turned into a tattered light‑shadow palm imprint that was about to disintegrate.

"Comfortable! Truly comfortable! If each of you could obediently give me power like this, it wouldn't be long before I could condense myself out of thin air and manifest!"