Chapter 0732 The Secret of the Star Core

Chapter 0732: The Secret of the Star Core

Xiao Xuanqin was somewhat worried. Although she could temporarily gain immense power, she was only at the Xuanwu Realm and could only take on a few Martial Kings.

Around the crystal mountain, there were already twenty or thirty Martial Kings. If anything unexpected happened, they would be completely overpowered.

"Will this really work?" Xiao Xuanqin asked anxiously.

"Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong!" Qin Yun reassured her. "Aunt Xiao, make sure to mask your aura so those Martial Kings from the immortal sects don’t recognize you."

"Wang Lianghao and those guys aren’t here either. As long as your aura isn’t detected, we’ll be fine!"

After some thought, Xiao Xuanqin also relayed their plan to Xiao Yuemei and the others through the communication conch.

Xiao Yuemei agreed and even reminded them to be careful.

Xiao Xuanqin remained worried because their strength was too weak. If they were all at the Martial King Realm, they wouldn’t have to fear anything.

Though many had witnessed Qin Yun’s possession of the Demon Star Overlord, the information had been kept secret and hadn’t spread. Thus, Xiao Xuanqin was unaware of it.

"Aunt Xiao, don’t be afraid. I have a trump card!" Qin Yun grinned. "Just stay here and watch. I’ll go over myself!"

"No, I’m coming with you!" Xiao Xuanqin refused to let Qin Yun go alone and immediately insisted.

At that moment, the group of Martial Kings was still swinging their weapons at the crystal mountain, trying to chip off even a fragment—but to no avail.

Xiao Xuanqin then received another message from Xiao Yuemei through the conch, instructing her on how to deceive them.

Only Xiao Xuanqin heard this; Qin Yun remained unaware.

Xiao Yuemei had said that Qin Yun would naturally play along when the time came.

Biting her lip, Xiao Xuanqin could only follow Xiao Yuemei’s instructions.

She suddenly realized that Qin Yun and Xiao Yuemei seemed like natural-born tricksters.

She also recalled how Qin Yun’s past self had often pulled off scams with great success, which eased her worries somewhat.

When Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin made their presence known, they immediately drew the attention of the Martial Kings.

A few Martial Kings shouted from afar, "Who are you? Stay where you are and don’t reach for any communication tools!"

Xiao Xuanqin was prepared and said, "We are disciples of the Proud Star Palace from Proud Star State. This is my husband."

Qin Yun was stunned and looked at her in disbelief.

Xiao Xuanqin merely smiled faintly at him—this was all part of Xiao Yuemei’s plan.

Qin Yun had a light disguise to appear as a weathered yet handsome middle-aged man. He laughed heartily and said, "Our sect’s leader observed the celestial signs and foresaw today’s events long ago, so he sent us to investigate!"

A Martial King from a distance shouted, "I’m from the Medicine Immortal Valley in Proud Star State, and I’ve never heard of any Proud Star Palace!"

"Our Proud Star Palace has long resided among the stars, detached from worldly affairs. We are but a small sect, so it’s natural that esteemed seniors like you haven’t heard of us!" Qin Yun replied with a smile.

At this point, Xiao Xuanqin led Qin Yun by the hand and walked forward.

"This kid isn’t even at the Profound Martial Realm—he’s only at the mid-to-late Spirit Martial Realm! That woman is at the Profound Martial Realm and so beautiful, yet she’s his wife? What a mismatch!" a Martial King muttered under his breath.

Hearing this, Xiao Xuanqin smiled faintly and said, "Because my husband possesses extraordinary abilities! He has a Star Martial Soul and has even mastered star-shattering power!"

Qin Yun said, "Our Proud Star Palace has been in the sky for many years, sustained by the energy of stellar crystal cores! These stellar core crystals are very difficult to cut, but with unique methods, it becomes much easier!"

The Martial Kings, seeing that Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin weren't particularly strong, weren't particularly wary of them, only making sure they didn't use the message conch to send messages.

"You can break this crystal mountain?"

The white-robed Martial King was skeptical, as even they, with their powerful weapons, couldn't leave a mark on the crystal mountain.

Xiao Xuanqin smiled faintly. "I can't, but my husband can."

Qin Yun pretended to be excited and eager, saying, "I can break it, but it will take some time! A stellar core crystal this enormous is a find that comes once in ten millennia! And who knows—it might even contain a Celestial Star Essence inside!"

"Esteemed elders, some among you hail from immortal sects. Surely you know that when an Immortal Essence is sealed, its aura doesn't leak out!"

These were all lies Qin Yun made up, with Ling Yuner providing some ideas.

Even the well-traveled Xiao Xuanqin was somewhat convinced.

Several Martial Kings from immortal sects suddenly grew excited and nodded repeatedly.

"Last time, the Immortal Essence sent from the Profound Domain was just a large white sphere, utterly lacking any aura—it's true!" one Martial King said.

"Young master, how does a Celestial Star Essence compare to a regular Immortal Essence?" another Martial King asked.

By now, they were starting to believe Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin were truly from the so-called Proud Star Palace.

"That's hard to say!" Qin Yun explained, "Our sect master once said that the most unique aspect of a Celestial Star Essence is its ability to nurture a Star Monarch Rune Soul! Beyond that, it can also release vast amounts of immortal energy imbued with Stellar Force!"

At the mention of the Star Monarch Rune Soul, the Martial Kings' eyes lit up with excitement!

The very reason they had come to the Shadowmoon Mountains was for the Star Monarch Rune Soul.

"Of course, this is just a legend! Even if there's nothing inside such a massive stellar core crystal, the energy within these crystals alone holds immense value!"

"As long as a star doesn't fall, it has an extremely long lifespan! And an ancient stellar core crystal like this contains life-prolonging energy!" Qin Yun said.

Extending their lifespans was something these Martial Kings deeply desired!

Xiao Xuanqin clutched Qin Yun's hand tightly, as they were now close to the crystal mountain, surrounded by Martial Kings, making her nervous.

But Qin Yun remained composed and cheerful.

"Let me take a look first!" Qin Yun placed his hand on the crystal mountain, channeling his spiritual energy to sense what was inside.

Xiao Xuanqin did the same.

"Qin Yun, there's something inside!" Xiao Xuanqin quickly discovered and sent him a mental message.

"What is it?" Qin Yun also sensed it but didn't know what the object was.

"I don’t know! We should handle these men first!" Xiao Xuanqin quickly transmitted back. "They're starting to doubt us!"

Ling Yuner swiftly controlled the Mingyang Dao Core to release energy, focusing it beneath Qin Yun's fingernails.

Qin Yun raked his fingers forcefully, leaving deep scratches on the crystal mountain, drawing astonished gasps from the Martial Kings.

Xiao Xuanqin couldn't help but feel surprised, wondering how Qin Yun had managed it.

The Martial Kings who had doubted him moments before were now convinced.

"There's something inside, and it's not simple!" Qin Yun said with a solemn expression. "Seniors, if you peel off this outer layer, you should be able to see what's inside as well!"

As soon as he finished speaking, over a dozen Martial Kings sprang into action, tearing off most of the pale outer layer covering the crystal mountain.

Inside the transparent crystal mountain was a giant orb, several meters wide!

"This thing looks just like a sealed Immortal Essence!" one Martial King gasped.

The Martial Kings instantly erupted into chaos.

They also recalled Qin Yun's earlier words—about the so-called Celestial Immortal Essence and the possibility of a Star Monarch Rune Soul.

"Young man, roughly how long will it take for you to break open this crystal mountain?" the white-robed elder asked, now fully trusting of Qin Yun's abilities.

After all, they had used tremendous force and even attacked the crystal mountain with Dao weapons, yet failed to leave a single mark.

But Qin Yun had easily left gouges on the smooth crystal with just a light scratch—clearly possessing the power to shatter the mountain.

While scratching the crystal earlier, Qin Yun had also sensed the immense energy stored within—a vast and potent Stellar Force.

He thought that if the Demon Star Overlord were to devour this crystal mountain, his strength would undoubtedly ascend to another level.

"I'll need at least an hour to prepare the array!" Qin Yun took out some formation flags and said, "Once my formation is triggered, it will cause the crystal mountain to crack. Then, with everyone working together, we can shatter it completely."

"After it's done, just give us five thousand pounds of the star core crystal as payment—that's all we ask."

Five thousand pounds of crystal was a small price to them, and the Martial Kings quickly agreed, eager to break open the mountain as soon as possible.

Xiao Xuanqin still had no idea what Qin Yun was planning, but she had no choice but to follow his lead.

Though nervous, she also found the situation thrilling.

Qin Yun passed her some formation flags.

Then, he and Xiao Xuanqin began placing the flags on the ground about ten meters away from the crystal mountain, while the Martial Kings kept a close eye.

They weren’t worried about Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin pulling any tricks—after all, at just the Mysterious Martial and Spiritual Martial Realms, they were no threat to so many Martial Kings.

"Qin Yun, once the flag formation is set up, what’s next?"

Xiao Xuanqin whispered telepathically, hoping for some reassurance.

"Once the formation is ready, I’ll store the entire crystal mountain in my spatial artifact!" Qin Yun replied with a smile.

"What? Do you have a spatial artifact that big?" Xiao Xuanqin was flabbergasted.

"I do!"

The first bead of Qin Yun’s Nine Sun Divine Pendant had a vast inner dimension, which expanded as his cultivation advanced.

The second and third beads were the same, their spaces gradually growing larger.

However, the third bead was currently taken over by the mysterious Yao Fang.

Qin Yun planned to ask Xiao Xuanqin about Yao Fang after this was over.

Before they knew it, an hour had passed, and the flag formation was complete.

The flags were blank, devoid of spirit engravings.

The group of Martial Kings didn't ask further, as they all believed those were no ordinary flags.

After Qin Yun finished setting up, he stood inside the flag formation with Xiao Xuanqin and shouted, "Respected seniors, please protect us and prevent anyone from disrupting the process!"

As soon as Qin Yun spoke, the flag formation activated.

A vast expanse of red light emerged, instantly enveloping the entire crystal mountain.

Xiao Xuanqin was also extremely tense—those outside could no longer see what was happening inside.

Qin Yun pressed his hand against the crystal mountain and frowned. "Aunt Xiao, my mental energy isn’t strong enough to store it in my Spatial Treasure. This thing is no ordinary object!"

Ling Yuner also poured all her mental energy into it, yet there was still no movement.

"Let me help you!"

Xiao Xuanqin placed her hand on Qin Yun’s back, pouring a surge of potent soul energy, instantly supercharging his mental energy.

Then, the space around the crystal mountain began warping dramatically before shrinking under the spatial power of the storage treasure!

The crystal mountain finally vanished, leaving Xiao Xuanqin ecstatic with relief.

"Let’s go!"

Qin Yun grabbed Xiao Xuanqin’s hand and activated the Piercing Mystic Art, plunging deep underground to escape.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Xiao Yuemei and the others also retreated.

The flag formation kept functioning, emitting red light that cloaked the crystal mountain.

The Martial Kings watched with bated breath...