Chapter 1043

"Yunli! Stay close!" Han Wuxian let out a low roar, his eyes bursting with resolute light! The Azure Heaven Jade Sword Arm burst forth with brilliant azure‑gold light, the runes blazing like fire! He no longer hesitated, his body transforming into a gold‑and‑blue meteor that tore through the Returning to Void Power darkness, aiming straight for the core of the Star Sea Map deep within the vortex, entwined by countless black chains.

Yunli gritted her teeth, azure starlight shielding her body, she followed closely, though under the suppression of the Returning to Void Power, her strength appeared extraordinarily weak.

"Ants! Don't even think of getting close!" That mass of mental‑pollution shadow seemed to sense Han Wuxian's intent, letting out a malicious mental shriek! A vast, ink‑like contaminant shadow, ignoring spatial distance, instantly split off a tendril that engulfed Han Wuxian and Yunli.

This shadow contains the purest Returning to Void Power malice, able to directly contaminate the soul and erode the Dao Foundation.

"Watch out!" Yunli screamed, azure starlight exploding wildly in an attempt to resist, but before the power split off by the Returning to Void Power fiend, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, the starlight was instantly corrupted and eroded; she let out a muffled groan, black blood bleeding from her seven orifices, her soul wracked with agony, her body swaying on the verge of collapse.

Han Wuxian bore the brunt! The viscous malice‑shadow, like billions of poisonous needles, viciously pierced his sea of consciousness! The pain far exceeded physical torment! The azure starlight imprint left by the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden burst forth, desperately resisting, but under the full‑force corrosion of the transformed fiend, the light quickly dimmed.

What's worse, the power within his body—whether the Golden Yang Blazing Heaven Technique or the sword intent of the Azure Heaven Jade Sword Arm—became sluggish and chaotic under this pure malice contamination, even showing faint signs of being inversely eroded and losing control.

"Ugh!" Han Wuxian let out a painful howl, his charging form suddenly stuttered! The azure‑gold light of his arm‑sword flickered unstably, the runes twisting! He felt his will being Devoured by darkness, countless chaotic, mad thoughts sprouting in his mind.

"Corrosion of the Returning to Void Power, poison to the Dao Foundation!" came a harsh shout from the midst of the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden's battle with the two great fiends, "Use the power of resonance from the Star Axis shards! Guard your mind and spirit!"

Star Axis shards!

A flash of inspiration sparked in Han Wuxian's mind! Bearing the agony of his soul being torn apart, he frantically activated the weak resonance within his body established with the two Star Axis shards! A pure, vast, seemingly able to anchor the celestial heavens stellar power instantly permeated from his body, merging with the azure starlight of the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden's imprint.

Hum!

A layer of pale blue halo, flowing with the trajectories of the star map, instantly enveloped Han Wuxian's entire body! The viscous Returning to Void Power malice shadow, as if encountering its nemesis, emitted a sizzling sound, being swiftly repelled and purified by the halo.

"Go!" Han Wuxian seized this brief moment of clarity, blood‑light bursting from his eyes! He no longer looked after Yunli behind him, pouring all his strength into the Azure Heaven Jade Sword Arm! Crossing his arms before his chest, sword fingers together, he aimed at the not‑far‑off cluster of Returning to Void Power chains entwining the Star Sea Map core, and with all his might unleashed a fierce slash!

"Severing Realm Slash!"

Screech!!!

Two strands of azure‑gold sword light, condensed to the extreme and seeming able to cleave spacetime, tore through the viscous Returning to Void Power, bringing with them an unstoppable resolve, and fiercely slashed upon those writhing, tangled black chains!

A piercing cutting sound rang out! Sparks mixed with shattered black qi surged forth like a fountain!

The incredibly tough Returning to Void Power chains, under a full‑force strike of the Azure Heaven Jade Sword Arm that fused primordial sword intent, golden flame power, and stellar essence, were actually severed cleanly in several places! The confinement binding the Star Sea Map core revealed a temporary breach!

"Now!" the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden, engaged in fierce combat with the fiends in the distance, flashed a sharp light in her eyes, as if she had been waiting for this moment!

Only saw her bluntly block a molten rock heavy punch from the Star‑Skeleton Giant, her moon‑white long robe torn at one corner, a trace of pale gold blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her body flying backward using the recoil, while she formed with both hands an inscrutable, profoundly mysterious seal!

"Star Sea Map! Return!"

Hum!!!

The dim light point at the core of the Star Sea Map, whose chains had been severed and whose confinement now showed a breach, as if summoned by the supreme authority, suddenly burst forth with unprecedented radiance! A vast, ancient power, seeming able to sovereign over all heavenly stars, erupted with a thunderous boom!

The remaining Returning to Void Power chains wrapped around it groaned under the strain, breaking inch by inch! The core of the Star Sea Map transformed into a stream of dim light, ignoring spatial distance, instantly piercing through the gap Han Wuxian had slashed, and shot straight toward the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden!

"Roar!!!" The three‑headed Returning to Void Power fiends unleashed an earth‑shaking roar filled with shock, anger, and unwillingness! They abandoned their attacks and madly lunged toward the dim stream of light flying toward the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden!

Annihilating black mist, molten rock giant hands, and mental‑pollution frenzy all erupted simultaneously, attempting to intercept!

However!

The Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden curled the corner of her mouth into a cold arc. She seemed to have anticipated this; the moment the Star Sea Map core flew in, she had already silently laid before her a shifting, endless mystic star formation composed of countless minute starlight runes!

"All transformations returning to the Void? Just this! Using this formation as a guide, the core as a key… open!"

She gave a low shout, and her hand seal abruptly changed!

The incoming dim light point of the Star Sea Map core, like a swallow returning to its nest, instantly plunged into the center of the star formation before her!

Boom!!!

The entire space at the edge of the Returning to Void Power's eye, like a tranquil lake into which a massive stone has been thrown, violently shuddered!

Boom!!!

The entire space at the edge of the Returning to Void Power's eye, like a tranquil lake into which a massive stone has been thrown, violently shuddered!

When that dim light point, containing the ultimate secret of the cosmos' stars, was completely fused into the center of the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden's mystic star formation before her, an indescribable, terrifying power, seeming able to cleave heaven and earth, instantly erupted with the formation as its center!

Hum!

A blinding azure‑blue light instantly devoured everything around! The light was not scorching; instead it carried an extreme cold and profundity that seemed to freeze spacetime! Those three paths lunging toward the Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden, the Nascent Soul‑level Returning to Void Power fiends.

The Star‑Skeleton Giant, the Myriad Serpent Amalgam, and the mental‑pollution shadow, as if striking an invisible wall forged of absolute law!

"Roar!!!"

The Star‑Skeleton Giant's molten rock arm smashed hard against the azure‑blue light barrier, erupting with a tremendous sound that shattered the void, yet only stirred ripples of violent energy, unable to advance even an inch! The molten rock on its arm instantly solidified and shattered.

The Myriad Serpent Amalgam's expelled annihilating black mist, upon encountering its nemesis, emitted a sizzling sound and was swiftly purified and dispersed by the azure‑blue light! That mass of mental‑pollution shadow was even more like a lump of ice thrown into boiling oil, letting out a silent, shrill shriek; its vast shadowy body twisted violently and faded, being forcibly repelled and dissolved by the azure‑blue light.

The Blue Lotus Immortal Maiden stood at the center of the star formation, her moon‑white long robe fluttering in the azure‑blue halo, her face beneath the gauze showing neither joy nor sorrow; only her eyes, which harbored galaxies, now mirrored the workings of the entire universe, coldly and indifferently overlooking the futile struggling of the fiends. Her hand seals continually shifted, the star formation before her rapidly spinning and expanding, countless mystic stellar symbols within it arising, fading, and flowing, radiating supreme dignity.