Chapter 0171: Heading to Star Peak

Chapter 0171: Heading to Star Peak

Qin Yun, seeing the stone wall crack, hurriedly put away the stone slabs of the Nine Yang Gathering Array and moved to Qiao Ruiwen's side.

"The final strike!" Qiao Ruiwen was exhilarated at that moment. She had been imprisoned in this place for over two hundred years and was finally about to see the light of day again.

Her palms trembled slightly from excitement, concentrating a powerful force, as she slowly pushed forward. When her hand touched the stone wall, a tremendous explosion erupted!

The underground palace also began to rumble, and many stone rooms collapsed suddenly.

The large stone room where they stood was no exception, with huge stone bricks falling continuously.

Qiao Ruiwen used her inner energy to form a protective shield, enveloping both herself and Qin Yun, and then struck the cracked wall again, blasting a large hole that led directly to the surface.

"We did it!" Unable to contain her excitement, Qiao Ruiwen laughed loudly, grabbed Qin Yun, and rushed out, instantly arriving at the surface.

"Grandma Qiao... there might be people from the Tian Qi Empire here. We need to be careful!" Qin Yun whispered, his alertness heightened.

While in the underground palace, Qiao Ruiwen had heard Qin Yun mention the Blue Spirit Star Palace. She knew that the palace housed many powerful martial practitioners who would surely covet her soul-refining techniques.

"We can't let anyone know we're out for now!" After the initial excitement, Qiao Ruiwen calmed down.

Qin Yun looked at the collapsed brick house, knowing that if anyone from the Tian Qi Empire arrived, they would immediately realize someone had broken through the barrier, making it impossible to hide.

"How can we cover this up? The collapse of the underground palace caused quite a commotion, and the surrounding area is still shaking violently. There are definitely patrols from the Tian Qi Empire nearby, and they'll be here soon," Qin Yun said, furrowing his brow as he looked around and extended his spiritual energy, ready to act if anyone approached.

Qiao Ruiwen's expression turned grave. "It seems we have no choice but to use the ancient forbidden technique of Ancestor Lan Xiao!"

"Forbidden technique? What's that?" Qin Yun asked in surprise.

"It can summon a meteorite... but using it will drain me significantly, and it will take some time to recover!" Qiao Ruiwen explained. "If they find out I escaped from the Tian Qi forbidden ground, they'll hunt me down... and it will be dangerous for you too."

Her lips moved slightly as she tightly gripped her staff, and powerful energy surged from her body, causing the wind around them to howl and the clouds to swirl!

Suddenly, a very oppressive aura appeared, and nearby trees snapped instantly.

Qin Yun looked up to see a massive meteorite descending.

"Ah..." Qiao Ruiwen cried out in pain, her energy becoming even more violent, and then she collapsed, completely drained.

Weakly, she said, "Quick... we need to leave this place!"

Qin Yun carried her on his back and, using the Fire Cloud Steps, ran as fast as he could through the air.

As he flew, he sensed a wave of scorching heat pressing down, and the broken trees below instantly ignited into a sea of fire.

Boom!

The meteorite landed, creating a wave of flames that surged like massive waves on a calm lake, engulfing the forests within a thousand miles.

Qin Yun leaped through the air, surrounded by the scorching heat, with molten lava and a sea of fire below, and thousand-meter-high mountains being leveled all around.

"This forbidden technique is terrifying, truly a natural disaster!" Qin Yun, carrying the unconscious Qiao Ruiwen, was deeply shocked as he leaped through the air, heading north.

...

Half an hour after Qin Yun left, a large group of people appeared in the sky above the Tian Qi forbidden ground, now covered in molten lava.

Du Gui frowned, watching the energy bursts rising from below, then looked at the people from the Heavenly Profound Martial Academy and sneered. "Are you satisfied now? Qin Yun is completely dead!"

Zhuochuan sighed. "Such a promising young Runes Master, gone just like that!"

Hou Xingfeng said, "I need to go and calm Xie Wufeng and the others... They almost caused a scene when they heard Qin Yun was thrown into the Tian Qi forbidden ground."

"This has nothing to do with us, don't look at us!" Guo Cheng said indifferently, though he was secretly pleased.

"It was your teachers from the Heavenly Profound Martial Academy who threw Qin Yun into the Tian Qi forbidden ground... Xiao Yuemei believes it's all your academy's fault. She's been missing for a while now, and there's likely to be some movement soon," Du Gui sneered.

"Teacher Du, let's go back!" Hou Xingfeng sighed and flew away.

Du Gui had a strong spiritual sense and was familiar with Qin Yun's energy, so he could detect a faint residual trace of Qin Yun's spiritual energy and followed it in a certain direction.

He had arrived here first and erased the trace of Qin Yun's spiritual energy, so the others who arrived later couldn't sense it.

He didn't mention this to Hou Xingfeng because he wasn't sure if Qin Yun was still alive. He would decide what to do later.

If Qin Yun had survived inside the Tian Qi forbidden ground with the Soul-Refining Maniac, he would surely be suspected of mastering soul-refining techniques!

Ever since the appearance of the Blue Spirit Star Palace, meteorites had occasionally fallen, though none as large as this one, so people considered it a coincidence.

Those who harbored deep resentment toward Qin Yun believed this was an act of heaven to eliminate both Qin Yun and the Soul-Refining Maniac.

Onlookers who were sympathetic to Qin Yun secretly thought that if it weren't for offending some deity, who else would put him through such ordeals...

...

After flying through the air for a whole day, Qin Yun, carrying Qiao Ruiwen, began to feel tired and landed on a large tree to rest.

Seeing how weak Qiao Ruiwen was, he worriedly whispered, "Grandma Qiao, how are you?"

Qiao Ruiwen opened her eyes slightly and smiled. "I'm fine, my child. I'm just very happy to see you again! I just need some time to rest and recover."

"Xiao Yun, you should go to the Star Peak by yourself! It's inconvenient to carry me, and I won't recover so quickly."

"No, I absolutely can't leave you behind," Qin Yun firmly refused.

Seeing how much he cared for her, Qiao Ruiwen felt warm inside and smiled kindly. "Find a tall mountain, dig a deep cave, and place me inside. Seal the cave after you leave, and I'll be able to rest safely inside."

"Behave and listen to Grandma! It wasn't easy for you to bring me to the Soul-Luring Star Peak. You must obtain the Star Martial Soul within these two or three months, and then go and reclaim your princess."

"Grandma, what about you?" Qin Yun was deeply attached to this kind-hearted old woman.

Qiao Ruiwen said, "If I recover well, I will head to Wuhuang... Back in Tian Qi, all my enemies are gone, and there's nothing left for me there. I believe in you; you will be able to overcome the numerous difficulties on your own."

Qin Yun could only carry Qiao Ruiwen and fly towards a relatively high peak, where he carved out a deep cave.

He placed the Nine Yang Spirit-Gathering Array inside, which would allow Qiao Ruiwen to absorb spiritual energy more quickly, and then gave her a storage artifact filled with various delicious foods.

Qiao Ruiwen said, "Good child, if anyone suspects that you possess the Soul Refinement Technique and you really can't keep it hidden anymore, tell them that the Soul Refinement Technique was created by Lan Xiao Wu Wang, originally called 'The Secret Canon of Soul Control.' The people of Blue Spirit Star Palace are certainly familiar with it, and they will come to assist you. Based on your description of Blue Spirit Star Palace, the Eastern Palace should have inherited the spirit of Lan Xiao Wu Wang."

"You should strive to become a disciple of the Eastern Palace in Blue Spirit Star Palace and learn the martial arts of Lan Xiao Wu Wang."

Qin Yun nodded hurriedly. He had already comprehended the powerful Star Sun Spirit Canon, which allowed his spirit to transform into a star, giving him formidable mental power, so he had great respect for Lan Xiao Wu Wang.

Finally, Qiao Ruiwen told him many things about the Soul-Luring Star Peak, making him understand the process of soul-luring.

With great reluctance, Qin Yun bid farewell to Qiao Ruiwen, sealed the cave, and emerged to the ground, running northward.

He traveled from the western side of the Cloud Dragon Mountains to the north, a long and dangerous journey, unsure if he would make it to the engagement ceremony in time.

At night, Qin Yun hovered high in the air, gazing at a star in the north, which was the Northern Star.

The Northern Star appeared slightly blue and was the brightest star in the northern sky, easy to spot.

"I hope the Soul-Luring Star Peak will truly grant me a heaven-bestowed martial soul." Qin Yun landed and moved through the forest in the night.

Now inside the Cloud Dragon Mountains, he had to be extremely cautious to avoid attacks from vicious beasts. Encountering fast eighth or ninth rank beasts would be a disaster.

"I wonder how Yuemei is doing. After I was thrown into the Tian Qi forbidden area, she must be very worried about me and furious about the situation!" Qin Yun secretly worried that Xiao Yuemei might do something extreme.

In front of him, Xiao Yuemei was often mischievous and playful, but she was straightforward and could be terrifying when ruthless.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

In the quiet night forest, a series of crisp barks suddenly echoed.

Qin Yun immediately stopped, released his mental power to investigate, and used his technique to clear the surrounding scent, then hid in the dense leaves of a large tree.

Not far away, a pair of green eyes appeared, belonging to a large black dog the size of a cow, with a big man riding on its back, slowly approaching.

Soon after, two more dogs with glowing green eyes appeared, each carrying a person, sniffing the ground as they walked.

"Was it your dog that barked? Did you find anything?" one of the men asked.

"Your dogs were nearby too, did they find anything?" the other man replied, "Maybe my dog is just overly sensitive!"

"It's better to be cautious. We're guarding the top-grade spirit iron ore mine, and we've mined so much, it's a critical moment!"

"The Western Palace is really something. Hundreds of slaves have died, and they still haven't sent more slaves. We've mined so much spirit iron ore, and they haven't sent anyone to collect it. It's just sitting there taking up space, and we have to guard it very carefully."

Overhearing their conversation, Qin Yun was secretly shocked. There was top-grade spirit iron ore here!