Chapter 143: Star Ruins, Opening the Heaven Gate
The bronze giant gate roared deafeningly, like the roar of an ancient beast. The chaos bell's chime, like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, caused Lu Qingyang's Nascent Soul Avatar to tremble violently like a candle in a gale. The three-inch tall figure suddenly clutched the profound yellow dao lotus root that pierced his chest, and said with a chuckle, "Fairy Leng's Origin Spiritual Root is truly overbearing, like a fierce Flood Dragon. It seems to want to form a life-and-death pact with my Nascent Soul?"
"Such a nuisance!" Leng Yuehan roared in anger. Her wide sleeves fluttered, swirling like flowing clouds, and a powerful cold Qi surged from her. In an instant, the Han Yuan Dao Domain seemed to be compressed by an invisible force, rapidly collapsing into a ten-thousand-zhang-tall ice crystal vortex.
Within this ice crystal vortex, countless Ice Soul Swords whistled as they condensed, forming a massive Mystic Frost Star Chain. Each link shimmered with a cold light, and they clanged together, as if capable of freezing the entire Underworld River.
And on this icy surface, the illusion of the Star Ruins behind the bronze gate was reflected. It was a broken immortal palace, its walls shimmering with Chaos Mother Qi. Every wisp of Qi contained the shattered Dao Foundation of a Soul Transformation Cultivator, as if narrating its past glory and vicissitudes.
Just then, nine crimson-gold fox tails suddenly flashed in the Void Realm, dazzling like burning flames. Su Meiniang's Void Refining true body stepped out from the Void Realm, her steps sounding like the crisp shattering of space barriers.
The Burning Sky Silk in Su Meiniang's hand danced like a fire dragon, coiling around the Qingqiu rebirth monument, and fiercely striking the massive bronze gate. With a loud bang, the bronze gate trembled violently, its bronze rust flaking off to reveal the starry patterns within.
"Little Lord's mouth..." Su Meiniang sneered, a playful glint in her eyes, "It should be refined for eons with the Heavenly Fox Purifying Flame!"
As her words fell, the Heavenly Fire on the Burning Sky Silk poured down like a waterfall, instantly engulfing the Nine-Tailed Dharma Idol. Under the refinement of the Heavenly Fire, the Nine-Tailed Dharma Idol appeared even more majestic and mysterious. Its fox claws fiercely slashed at the door rings of the bronze gate, actually stirring up a sound of collapsing stars, as if the entire Universe would tremble because of it.
The Soul Devouring Sect Master's remnant soul flickered in and out of existence in the crack of the door. His Underworld Dharma Idol gradually materialized, and the Soul-Reaping Banner, formed from ghost fire, fluttered in the wind, as if narrating something.
"Do you all know about these Star Ruins..." The Soul Devouring Sect Master's voice echoed in the wind, carrying a hint of gloom and eeriness. However, just as his words were unfinished, the banner's surface suddenly underwent a change.
On the banner's surface, the originally black ghost fire suddenly began to sprout roots of the profound yellow dao lotus. These roots, as if alive, rapidly spread, each pattern devouring Leng Yuehan's Ice Soul Dao Rhyme.
Seeing this, Leng Yuehan's expression changed drastically. Her Ice Soul Dao Rhyme was almost entirely devoured by these strange roots in that instant.
"What is going on?" Leng Yuehan cried out in astonishment.
At this moment, Lu Qingyang's Nascent Soul also suddenly changed. His Nascent Soul abruptly disintegrated, transforming into a ball of Chaos mist. This mist quickly coiled around the rusty chains, tightly binding the Mystic Frost Star Chain.
"Fairy Leng, this Ice Soul Mystic Chain..." Lu Qingyang's voice came from the mist, with a hint of playfulness, "Would Mr. Lu make a good guide for this star-drawing rope?"
Before he finished speaking, the ball of Chaos mist suddenly condensed into an ancient bronze sword. This ancient sword shimmered with a cold light, incredibly sharp, as if it could cut through anything.
Lu Qingyang waved his hand, and the ancient bronze sword struck the three Soul-Reaping Banners like lightning. With a "crack," the three Soul-Reaping Banners broke in response.
However, just as the ancient sword shattered the Soul-Reaping Banners, the Underworld ghost fire did not dissipate. Instead, it materialized in mid-air as an Incomplete Manual of the "Star Ruins Array Map."
This Incomplete Manual depicted various complex array patterns, the most striking of which was the "Greedy Wolf Devouring Heaven" array pattern. And this array pattern, combined with the gap in the copper coin, formed a wondrous Heavenly Mystery resonance.
"Presumptuous!" Leng Yuehan's eyebrows shot up, and she roared in anger. The Ice Soul mark between her eyebrows suddenly burst forth with streaks of annihilation Dao patterns, streaking across the Void Realm like lightning.
Wherever these Dao patterns passed, the Void Realm seemed to be torn apart, emitting bursts of roaring sounds. And half of the ghost fire, upon encountering these Dao patterns, instantly scattered like a sandpile blown apart by a hurricane.
However, just as Leng Yuehan thought she had successfully defeated these ghost fires, suddenly, from the lingering flames, a wisp of Chaos Qi overflowed. This wisp of Chaos Qi, like a venomous snake, quickly coiled around Leng Yuehan's wide-sleeved cloud patterns.
Leng Yuehan's heart jolted. She tried to break free from the shackles of this Chaos Qi, but found that this Chaos Qi possessed a strange devouring power, constantly eroding her Dao Rhyme.
"Oh no, this Ghost Dao is actually stealing my Dao Rhyme!" Leng Yuehan's expression changed, and she quickly unleashed her Taiyin Soul Slaughtering Wheel, intending to crush this Chaos Qi.
The Taiyin Soul Slaughtering Wheel spun rapidly in the air, emitting endless cold light, and fiercely collided with the Chaos Qi. In an instant, a heaven-shattering roar erupted in the Void Realm, as if the entire world would be torn apart by this power.
Under the impact of this powerful force, the Chaos Qi was finally defeated, but Leng Yuehan's wide-sleeved cloud patterns also suffered severe damage. A Zhou Tian Star Array of the Star Ruins relic actually condensed at the cuff.
At the same time, Su Meiniang was not idle. Her nine fox tails, like agile snakes, quickly coiled around the bronze giant gate.
The Soul Devouring Sect Master's Dharma Idol, like a ghost, conjured the Underworld Art. Nine white bone Dao platforms rose like bamboo shoots in the Star Ruins illusion. Each Dao platform was inlaid with Leng Yuehan's ruthlessly stripped Ice Soul Origin, as if narrating endless sorrow: "All your cultivation..." The Underworld bone claws at the top of the Dao platform, like the fangs of a demon, ruthlessly tore open the bronze rust on Lu Qingyang's Nascent Soul. And from within that rust, the star marrow of the chaos bell gushed forth, as if the mysteries of the Universe were unveiled at this moment: "...shall all become the heavenly ladder for this old man to ascend to Mahayana!"
Lu Qingyang's Nascent Soul Avatar suddenly reformed like a Phoenix Nirvana, and the rusty ancient sword, like a flash of lightning, shattered five Dao platforms with infinite might: "This old ghost certainly has a good plan..." The sword's edge then, like an agile snake, picked up the jade hairpin in Su Meiniang's hair. That jade hairpin, like a brilliant pearl, shone with captivating light in the darkness: "Even Su Jiejie's Qingqiu bone hairpin is carved into the array's core!" The falling copper coins from the sword tassel actually resonated with the divinatory symbols of the Star Ruins Array Map, as if a match made in heaven.
The Mystic Frost Star Chain suddenly reversed time as if time were flowing backward. The Soul Transformation Peak Han Yuan Dao principles, like an insurmountable iceberg, solidified the hundred-li Star Ruins into a mystic ice realm: "Dare to speak nonsense again..." The chain links, like a meat grinder, crushed half of Lu Qingyang's Dharma Idol. At this moment, the glazed mirror surface, like a mirror, clearly reflected the scene of Su Meiniang's fox tail piercing the core of the Star Ruins. That fox tail, like a burning flame, was filled with endless power: "This palace will use this Nine Nether Mystic Ice to refine your damned Dao Foundation!" What was sealed within the ice was actually a Heaven Severing Sword embryo made of Chaos copper coins. That sword embryo was like a sleeping Dragon, awaiting the moment of Awakening.
"So this is the true appearance of the Star Ruins!" Su Meiniang's Void Refining true body manifested a ten-thousand-zhang Dharma Idol. The golden bell at the tip of her tail shattered the Underworld Void Realm: "This is actually the chaos bell's Dao forging pool!" The fragments of the golden bell condensed into a star-track compass, its needle pointing directly at the shattered immortal palace—nine bronze heavenly pillars rose from the surging Primordial Xuanhuang Qi Sea. The ancient characters "Greedy Wolf Devouring Heaven" inscribed on the pillars actually caused the Zhou Tian Star Array to shift.
Lu Qingyang, like an peerless master, hurled the rusty compass into the Mother Qi Sea like a meteor. Chaos Dao patterns instantly condensed in his seven orifices into an incredibly mighty Taotie Dharma Idol, as if to devour the entire Heaven and Earth: "Fellow Daoists, does this method of breaking the situation still enter your Dharma Eye?"
The star marrow that exploded on the sea surface was like a magnificent meteor shower, showering down and condensing into a rain of bronze coins. Each coin was like a gem inlaid with brilliant stars, shimmering with the mysterious light of the chaos bell's star dust. Where the coin rain fell, the Star Ruins relic, like a giant beast that had slept for a thousand years, suddenly opened its eyes, blooming with a Dao lotus of annihilation. What the lotus heart exhaled was Leng Yuehan's stripped Ice Soul Origin!
"Star Ruins open the Heaven Gate, Greedy Wolf devours the Universe!" The Soul Devouring Sect Master's Dharma Idol etherealized like a ghost. Underworld ghost fire, following the coin rain, burned fiercely, scorching the bronze pillars like fire dragons: "How can you know this Mother Qi..." However, the moment the flames touched the pillars, a huge bronze giant palm suddenly extended from the immortal palace relic, as if a giant from ancient times, carrying endless pressure: "It was originally refined by an Upper Realm mighty one who gouged out a star core!"
The Dao lotus of annihilation, tightly clutched by the giant palm, suddenly bloomed like ignited fireworks. Within the lotus heart, a prophetic illusion of Leng Yuehan's sword breaking through the Star Ruins appeared. Leng Yuehan's Dao body, like a brilliant star, erupted with three thousand streaks of annihilation Sword Qi. The Han Yuan Dao Domain and the lotus heart produced a strong Origin resonance, as if the most powerful forces in Heaven and Earth were echoing each other: "Break!"
The Taiyin Soul Slaughtering Wheel split into the Zhou Tian Star Array, shining like a brilliant galaxy. The bronze coin rain, illuminated by the starlight, surged like a torrent, coiling back into a majestic sword array. Each sword was entwined with the Burning Sky Fox Flame from the tip of Su Meiniang's tail. That flame, like a Phoenix Nirvana, revealed the secret of the Soul Devouring Sect Master's collapsing Dao Foundation within the fire.
Su Meiniang's nine tails bound Lu Qingyang's Nascent Soul, and space Dao principles tore through the Star Ruins illusion: "Little Lord's bronze fate..." The golden bell at the tip of her tail shattered the last two Dao platforms. The bell's tongue transformed into half of the heaven severing sword sheath. "It's actually of the same Origin as the Qingqiu Rebirth Pact!" When the sword sheath touched the copper coin sword array, the array's core revealed the Heavenly Mystery deep within the Star Ruins—thousands of bronze pillars were melting to forge a new Heaven Gate, and the door ring's star-track chains intertwined with the Zhou Tian Star Array on Leng Yuehan's cuff!
