Chapter 127: The Divine Mists Decree and Stellar Secrets
Chapter 127: The Divine Mists Decree and Stellar Secrets
In an instant, Mu Yuan’s spiritual sense attached to his Water Restriction Escape Sword plunged like a falling feather into a vast, boundless sky. Countless stars spun endlessly around him, differing in color and size. Some lay impossibly far; others rushed terrifyingly near. Gazing in all directions revealed nothing but an expanse of emptiness. The faint glimmer of stars flashed one by one, stretching towards an infinite distance.
“This old fiend has a new trick!”
Mu Yuan’s heart jolted with alarm. All kinds of thunder and fire erupted in successive bursts. But Lin Fangjing and Monk Kongming’s spells were nowhere to be seen. It felt like he stood alone against the Five Yin Patriarch!
As thunder and fire exploded violently, stars all around shattered into booming Primordial Qi that surged toward him. Panic seized Mu Yuan. Desperately reversing his Magical Power, he unleashed the Earth Guardian Kirin Curse. Robust power surged forth. Thirteen Yellow Sand Crystal Pillars shot out, spinning rapidly to shield the Talisman Sword!
In the unfathomable distance, a series of explosions echoed. Then, wave after wave of power surged. Mu Yuan understood immediately: Fang Linjing and Kongming faced the same plight!
A dazzling wave of starlight surged back, engulfing Mu Yuan himself. Stars pressed in from all sides. They swelled from dust motes into masses nearly a hundred thousand li across, trailing arcs of light like irises as they crashed violently towards him!
Mu Yuan knew these stars were illusions conjured by the Five Yin Patriarch’s Magical Power, not actual, unstoppable celestial bodies. A real star bearing down? Even a Primordial Spirit expert might struggle! Let alone him!
Still, he didn’t dare underestimate them.
Trapped within the starry void, Mu Yuan instantly recalled the Water Restriction Escape Sword. Previously isolated, he could sense the Talisman Sword, but each effort to call it felt like wading through treacherous mud. Now, sharing the Five Yin Patriarch’s Magical Power domain made communication effortless!
The immense pressure radiating off the stars made Mu Yuan feel like he’d shatter any second. Crushing strength surged everywhere, making his bones creak painfully, his organs clench tight within him. His blood seemed to freeze instantly. His physical body halted; even his thoughts seemed ready to stop!
“This power… it feels like carving out a separate space, a brand-new ‘Dimension,’ splitting it free from the world. Astonishing! But achieving this? Even Primordial Spirit cultivation can’t manage it. It must be an ability granted by that fiend’s treasured artifact!”
Driven by sheer will, Mu Yuan channeled his Magical Power, concealing himself within the thirteen Yellow Sand Crystal Pillars. Crystal sand swirled, birthing clouds of yellow dust that formed a vast desert shield around him. Yet this desert shield crumbled at an alarming rate under the relentless pressure of the stars!
The Kirin birthed from the Earth Guardian Kirin Curse roared endlessly, hooves striking wildly. Its twin horns shone with brilliant light. The other four Great Curses also flashed dazzlingly, bolstering the Kirin Curse against the overwhelming stellar pressure!
Only by harnessing this combined power could Mu Yuan keep his thoughts sharp and his Magical Power circulating, resisting the starry void’s oppressive force threatening to halt mind and energy.
But the Five Yin Patriarch’s Magical Power was as deep as a raging sea! As vast as the sky! Like a prison! Truly mighty and unending. Mu Yuan fought with every ounce of strength. The immense desert shield of yellow sand shrank… until compressed to barely a foot! Yet the five Great Curses danced frantically, just managing to halt this surging assault!
Despite this temporary success, terror surged anew within Mu Yuan.
The Primordial Qi contained within these five Great Curses already surpassed his own reserves. Combined, pushing to the utter limit, they barely withstood the Five Yin Patriarch’s casual blow.
Moreover, the thirteen Yellow Sand Crystal Pillars were even mightier! Crafted by True Lord Shuiyun as a defensive Immortal Array for his residence, the Primordial Qi they held far exceeded that of the Five Great Curses. Slowly refined by the Earth Guardian Kirin Curse, these pillars were only now beginning to show subtle applications.
Right now, it remained a contest of raw power. The pressure within the starry void, despite its vastness like the abyss, was straightforward and unwavering. If such ferocious strength ever combined with agility… Mu Yuan might as well stop resisting!
“A Grotto-heaven Treasure carves a space outside the physical world, boasting its own distinct ‘Dimension’ and ‘Flow of Time’ – defining ‘Where’ and ‘When’. This starry sky before me? While existing as a separate ‘Dimension,’ it lacks ‘Time.’ It relies on the world. Either the Five Yin Patriarch’s Magical Power proves insufficient… or that artifact hasn’t yet ascended to the Grotto-heaven level!”
This realization injected a surge of confidence. Moments ago, witnessing this independent ‘Dimension’ had stunned Mu Yuan. Trapped inside a true Grotto-heaven Treasure? Life itself would leave his control. But facing an incomplete Grotto-heaven? He could fight!
Even if this demonic fiend wielded terrifying power!
“How ironic! I meant to conceal my cultivation. Yet here I am, shattering seal after seal!” Mu Yuan inwardly mocked himself. The Great Art of Yin-Yang Soul Shackling and Qi Sealing finally shattered. Fierce Zhenqi exploded forth instantly! The Primordial Five-Colored Mirage Light took the lead, bursting with radiant splendor! It merged seamlessly with the Five Great Curses!
Releasing his full Magical Power, Mu Yuan’s Zhenqi became robust beyond measure — three times more potent than before!
Back when the Clear Water True Qi ignited his heavenly tribulation, much of it had been refined into different energies. Now unleashed, five colors — Green, Black, Yellow, Red, Purple — soared skyward. Protecting him, the desert shield surged outward two feet, swelling to a whole ten feet!
“Heehee, these three show promise!” The Five Yin Patriarch’s eerie voice echoed through the starry void. Suddenly, starlight flared violently, so intense it seared the senses and minds! Dozens of stars shot forward like bolts from a crossbow! The Primordial Five-Colored Mirage Light shielding Mu Yuan began to creak ominously, as if ready to shatter! A fresh wave of panic struck him!
“A pity this damaged Primordial Spirit! Else, three insignificant juniors like you wouldn’t dare strut! I’d reduce you to ash in the blink of an eye!”
The Five Yin Patriarch’s withered frame suddenly materialized atop a drifting star. He gazed down. Three distinct balls of light rolled and tumbled below: One multicolored! One blazing purple! And a smaller sphere shimmering in seven colors, hanging suspended like a bright lamp!
“Impressive Divine Abilities indeed! First, I claim the Soul Pearl! Then… I’ll comb through your minds!”
With this plan resolved, the Five Yin Patriarch prepared to target Mu Yuan first. Seizing the Soul Pearl would provide a conduit. He could then scour the minds of all three. Their memories would be stripped bare! Any secret spells or techniques extracted!
After all, mind-flaying arts? Not every sect possesses them!
But the Soul Pearl offered just such power! It swallowed others’ Spiritual Sense, amplifying its holder! It vividly displayed the memories and entire lives of those devoured!
A power like Mu Yuan’s current Light Great Curse could also infect Spiritual Sense. But what it extracted remained fragments — merely surface thoughts flashing through someone’s mind in a fleeting moment. It couldn’t expose everything! Couldn’t dredge up how many weeds grew over their ancestors’ graves!
Just then! A roar! A Thunder Dragon materialized, tearing horizontally through the void! Instantly it blasted a clear passage through the Five Yin Patriarch’s star-filled domain! Thunder surged! Its brilliance violently suppressed the starlight in a heartbeat!
“The Divine Mists Decree!”
A flicker of shock crossed Five Yin Patriarch’s face! Mastering the profound, the body shaped from the Demon Refining Gourd instantly unleashed a force capable of tearing space itself! It slammed shut the gap ripped open by the Thunder Dragon!
Yet the Thunder Dragon proved impossibly potent! Crushing stars relentlessly! It blasted a path directly to Mu Yuan! Lin Fangjing flashed into view, bringing Kongming to land right beside Mu Yuan!
The moment the Thunder Dragon manifested, its terrifying aura had stunned Mu Yuan. As the two landed, Mu Yuan spotted it: Hovering above Lin Fangjing’s head floated a jade slip! Only four fingers wide and nine inches long. It bore no inscribed runes or spells. Inside swirled only a single thread of Purple Qi interlaced with crackling lightning! That devastating Thunder Dragon? Unleashed by this very slip!
“Before descending the mountain, our Sect Leader bestowed this upon me. The Divine Mists Decree True Talisman! The Sect’s Seven Great Elders forged it, modeled after our supreme treasure, the Divine Mists Decree itself! A pity — single use only. Every disciple who attains Elixir Formation receives one. I thought I’d never need it… until now!”
Seeing both Mu Yuan and Kongming staring in bewilderment and shock at the talisman above her head, Lin Fangjing immediately explained!
Shenxiao Dao boasts ancient heritage! Renowned across the world for its Heavenly Thunder Methods! And the Divine Mists Decree? Stands among the sect’s mightiest treasured artifacts!
Commanding thunder! Hunting demons! Ruling over Ninth Heaven Thunder! Shattering anything without fail!
The true Divine Mists Decree? Mu Yuan had never beheld it. Even Lin Fangjing hadn’t witnessed it! But the sheer might displayed by this imitation True Talisman spoke volumes about the artifact’s true power!
“So… the Divine Mists Decree! A pity… merely a counterfeit. Else, even I, Patriarch… would be helpless!” Five Yin Patriarch’s shock subsided fast. He discerned the talisman’s nature. Brilliant light erupted from both hands! The starry void churned anew! Hundreds of stars linked into a stream! Star light swelled like a vast sea! It morphed into a blinding Light Dragon! It lunged forward, coiling around the Thunder Dragon unleashed by the True Talisman!
Concerning pure depth of Magical Power? Probably few under heaven rivaled the Five Yin Patriarch!
For countless years, the Demon Refining Gourd had consumed Demon Beasts! Their vast Primordial Qi could be converted by the Patriarch! True, he couldn’t channel it all at once. But his reserves ran unfathomably deep! He feared neither being cut off from Primordial Qi nor Magical Power duels!
The Star Dragon and Thunder Dragon! Two diametrically opposed forces! They writhed and wrestled mid-air! Wherever their colossal forms swept, stars crumbled to dust! Fierce, untamed energy rampaged through the void! Space itself, crafted through the Demon Refining Gourd’s power by the Five Yin Patriarch, trembled precariously!
“Hmph!”
Five Yin Patriarch snorted coldly! His entire body abruptly dissolved into a swirling mass of mist and starlight! It blanketed the Void instantly! The trembling space steadied once more!
Long ago, he’d served as an Elder of the Star Sect! But two centuries prior, the Star Sect committed treason! Conspiring with the Demonic Sect, they attacked Mount Shu! Most Elders perished or suffered grievous injuries! Only he and Star Extreme Master escaped… though gravely wounded. By chance, he obtained the ancient supreme treasure — The Demon Refining Gourd! Only then did he dare venture forth again!
This technique unleashed now? The Star Sect’s most legendary formation! The Cosmic Starry Sky Great Array! Channeled single-handedly through the Demon Refining Gourd! Its true might was inevitably reduced… yet formidable enough!
The two draconic forces grappled savagely. Five Yin Patriarch cared not about attrition! But the radiance of the jade slip hovering above Lin Fangjing steadily dimmed!
For it remained only a True Talisman! Expending its stored power… permanently diminishing it. Unlike the Patriarch’s formation, endlessly refueled by the Demon Refining Gourd!