Chapter 0733 Dark Moon Palace

Chapter 0733: Lunar Crypt Palace

Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin also resurfaced from the depths.

Once the power of the banner array was exhausted, the glow shrouding the crystal mountain winked out.

The Martial Kings observing from afar immediately grew excited.

But their excitement quickly turned into fury.

Because the crystal mountain had disappeared!

They couldn’t see Qin Yun or Xiao Xuanqin either.

"That scheming couple! We’ve been tricked by them!"

"Those two bastards! We must capture them and make them pay dearly!"

"Everyone, split up and search! They couldn’t have gone far!"

"Fan out—now!"

"Give us back our message conches first! How else are we supposed to stay in contact?" one Martial King demanded.

"If you idiots hadn’t barred Emperor Wu from coming, the crystal mountain wouldn’t have been stolen!"

"Exactly!"

Many Martial Kings began complaining, furious over their colossal loss.

The Martial Kings from the celestial sects were already enraged, and now, with so many blaming them, their fury boiled over.

"All of you, shut up!" the white-robed elder bellowed.

...

Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin, giddy with triumph, dashed through the shadowed woods.

"How’s that for a thrill, Aunt Xiao?" Qin Yun teased with a grin.

"Hmph! Your past life self dragged me into messes like this!" Xiao Xuanqin chided lightly, though for some reason, she found it thrilling.

"I’m no expert—Yuemei coached me!" Qin Yun laughed.

"That girl Yuemei… She knew about this too? A little troublemaker, just like you taught her in your past life!" Xiao Xuanqin huffed.

Recalling how she had pretended to be Qin Yun’s wife earlier, a peculiar warmth flickered in her chest.

Soon, they linked up with Yuemei’s group.

"Brother, what exactly was inside that crystal mountain? Was it really that so-called Star-Source of the Immortals?" Xiao Yuemei rushed over, latching onto his arm, bouncing like a rabbit.

"Total bluff! I still don’t know for sure myself!" Qin Yun chuckled. Well, not *entirely* a lie—Ling Yuner had told him about it.

So, it might very well have been the fabled Star-Source of the Immortals.

"Brother, I feel like I’m seeing your past self again—lying through your teeth!" Xiao Yuemei tweaked Qin Yun’s handsome face and giggled. "Have you awakened your past memories?"

"Enough of that!" Xiao Xuanqin scolded sharply.

Like Bingxing, she hoped Qin Yun wouldn’t regain his memories.

Because they both hated Qin Yun’s past life, yet had developed special feelings for who he was now.

Soon after, Shui Tianzi and Zi Qingcheng also giggled as they playfully poked at Qin Yun’s face.

Qin Yun didn’t understand what was so appealing about his face.

Xiao Xuanqin felt a pang of jealousy, as she also wanted to touch Qin Yun’s handsome face but was too embarrassed.

Zi Qingcheng and Shui Tianzi had always been close to Qin Yun, so even hanging all over him was no big deal.

But Xiao Xuanqin was different—she had once hated Qin Yun’s guts.

Moreover, given her personality, she wouldn’t dare to make such obvious moves on him so boldly.

"It’s not the right place to bring out the crystal mountain yet!" Xiao Xuanqin said. "Let’s wait until we leave the Darkmoon Mountain Range!"

"That thing probably isn’t useful to us! Brother, you can keep it for yourself!" Xiao Yuemei laughed. "But Auntie helped you with the job, so you should repay her by helping her with her forging or whatever!"

"No problem!" Qin Yun chuckled.

"Little Brother Yun, you have to help me refine artifacts too! I did promise to be yours, didn’t I?"

Shui Tianzi flirtatiously draped herself over Qin Yun, resting her head on his shoulder. If Zi Qingcheng hadn’t pulled her away, she might have kissed his cheek.

"Alright, alright, everyone gets a turn! But you have to promise to assist me in refining artifacts too!" Qin Yun grinned, secretly sneaking a quick squeeze of Shui Tianzi’s thigh.

"Of course!" Shui Tianzi purred.

Zi Qingcheng said, "Xuanqin, things are getting dicey further in. How about this—you and Qin Yun go in, while the three of us stay outside as backup."

Xiao Xuanqin nodded. "I was thinking the same thing! We’ll contact you immediately if anything happens. You three head to Chaos Moon City and wait for us!"

Xiao Yuemei had wanted to tag along at first, but she realized this was a chance for Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin to be alone, allowing them to understand each other better and further resolve their conflicts.

Though she sensed Xiao Xuanqin’s attitude toward Qin Yun had changed significantly—and in a somewhat strange way—she didn’t understand the feelings Xiao Xuanqin felt about him.

"Alright, we’ll head out first! Those Celestial Kings will definitely be hunting you everywhere, so be careful!" Xiao Yuemei warned.

And so, Zi Qingcheng, Shui Tianzi, and Xiao Yuemei headed off to Chaos Moon City.

Qin Yun watched them leave with some reluctance, as he really wanted to pinch Zi Qingcheng’s adorable, dumpling cheeks.

"Hmph, same as your old self—always conning pretty girls into doing hard labor for you, refining artifacts and whatnot!" Xiao Xuanqin threw Qin Yun a dirty look.

"Aunt Xiao, didn’t you say you wouldn’t bring up my past life? What if it triggers my memories?" Qin Yun said.

"Fine, I’ll try not to mention it from now on!" Xiao Xuanqin was actually concerned.

If Qin Yun truly went back to being that jerk of his past life, it would crush her.

After all, she had only just made peace with her feelings. If Qin Yun awakened his past memories, all that would come rushing back, leaving her confused and distressed.

...

The night gradually passed, and the dawn light of the Nine Suns illuminated the perilous Darkmoon Mountain Range.

Hand in hand, Qin Yun and Xiao Xuanqin turned invisible and pressed deeper into the mountains.

They had only encountered the Martial King here, but deeper inside, there were Martial Emperors and Half-Immortals!

"Aunt Xiao, those guys are really persistent about the Star Monarch Rune Soul!" Qin Yun suddenly sensed a trace of residual Martial Emperor aura and sent a voice transmission.

"Yang Shiyue's Star Monarch Rune Soul might have been meant for you!" Xiao Xuanqin said, her heart filled with doubt.

Because she knew that Yang Shiyue had awakened memories of her past life.

She also knew there was a blood feud between Yang Shiyue and Qin Yun, yet now Yang Shiyue was helping Qin Yun so much.

Not to mention Bingxing, Xiao Yuemei, and Xiao Yuelan—who should have hated Qin Yun—yet now they all aided him, with Xiao Yuelan even becoming his wife, their bond exceptionally strong.

"Aunt Xiao, in your past life, did you ever hear of an immortal maiden named Yao Fang? She was extremely powerful!" Qin Yun suddenly asked.

They stood atop a high mountain, gazing at the mountain range ahead, sensing a powerful Star Beast aura, trying to pinpoint its direction.

Xiao Xuanqin frowned slightly as she searched her past-life memories. After a moment, she shook her head. "I've never heard of her! Judging by the name, it's a woman. Honestly, you've crossed many women, but I know most of them!"

Qin Yun remembered Bingxing mentioning that in his past life, he had gathered a group of beautiful immortal maidens to serve as his laborers. Xiao Xuanqin was likely one of them.

If even someone as formidable as Bingxing was among them, he suspected Xiao Xuanqin might be too, which would explain why she knew the women who held grudges against his past self.

"Why are you asking about this Yao Fang?" Xiao Xuanqin inquired.

Qin Yun gave a vague explanation of Yao Fang's situation, only mentioning that she had appeared in his dreams.

"This might just be a nightmare! In your past life, you were indeed the Martial King, but you wouldn't have dared provoke the Demon Immortal Emperor. Even indirectly harming others—you couldn’t have gone that far, or the Demon Immortal Emperor would have scattered your soul to the winds, leaving you no chance for reincarnation!" Xiao Xuanqin shook her head.

Qin Yun was now certain that Yao Fang was just a fabricated identity.

"Perhaps Shiyue knows Yao Fang! Because in the later years, I wasn’t very clear about your affairs," Xiao Xuanqin said. "We just need to find her."

"Aunt Xiao, can you use the Blue Moon to locate Sister Yang?" Qin Yun asked.

"Of course! You don’t know this, but we all came from the Moonfrost Palace. There’s a special secret technique that allows us to communicate via lunar energy—but only women can practice it!" Xiao Xuanqin explained.

Qin Yun asked again, "I remember Sister Bingxing mentioned that the Darkmoon Mountain Range is the Moonfrost Palace’s territory. Did Sister Bingxing also come from the Moonfrost Palace?"

"Many years ago, our Moonfrost Palace was destroyed when a frostbound star collided with it. Fortunately, the Palace Lord and a group of elders reacted swiftly, so there were no casualties. Many years later, that frozen star cracked open, revealing an infant girl—who became Bingxing!" Xiao Xuanqin said.

Qin Yun was inwardly shocked—Bingxing had been born this way.

"I told you, Sister Bingxing is a Stellar Spirit Fairy! But this is still quite mysterious," Ling Yuner remarked.

"The moon is often struck by stars of all sizes, which we of the Moonfrost Palace purposely harvest—mainly because stars carry resources. But Bingxing’s appearance was an accident," Xiao Xuanqin said. "This is all according to the elders."

The star that had descended upon the Darkmoon Mountain Range earlier was clearly Yang Shiyue’s doing.

"Shiyue must be hiding in a subterranean palace here. That’s how she could control the star’s descent," Xiao Xuanqin frowned. "I heard she was injured. Maybe that crystal mountain is meant to heal her."

"A subterranean palace? That should be easy to find," Qin Yun said.

"Not easy at all. It could be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of meters deep underground. How would you locate it?" Xiao Xuanqin shook her head.

"There’s a pack of Star Beasts over there. Let’s check it out first. If my guess is right, those Star Beasts were also deliberately called down by Yang Shiyue," Xiao Xuanqin’s expression grew serious. "Could she be planning to use them for some kind of sacrifice?"

"What kind of sacrifice?" Qin Yun’s brows furrowed, suddenly worried.

"I don’t know. The subterranean palace hidden here is no mere mortal structure—it’s always been shrouded in mystery. If Shiyue found it, she might have stumbled upon forbidden knowledge," Xiao Xuanqin said.

"Sister Yang originally came to the Spirit Barrens with me, but after the red moon appeared, she immediately parted ways with me," Qin Yun said.

"As the ancient oracles foretold, the appearance of a red moon signifies the birth of the Star Monarch Rune Soul," Xiao Xuanqin recalled. "It seems Shiyue is truly embroiled in arcane machinations."