Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

106: Chapter 106: The Mortal Sword Asks the Way and the Star Core Devours EvilClang! Clang! Clang——!

The urgent sound of a gong and shrill cries pierced the deathly silent night of Black Stone Village like icy knives. Flames danced outside the window, illuminating the pale, terrified faces of Granny Zhang and Er Niu.

”Quick! The cellar! Hide in the cellar!” Er Niu’s voice trembled as he moved to carry Nangong Xuan on his back.

”There’s no time.” Nangong Xuan’s voice was unnervingly calm. He forced his weak body out of bed and peered through a crack in the window. Outside, dozens of figures riding mangy horses and brandishing torches and steel sabers were rampaging through the village. Cries, cruel laughter, and the sounds of doors being smashed mingled together. These so-called ’Mountain Rats’ wore ragged clothes, but each had a ferocious face, brimming with Evil Qi. They were clearly desperadoes who lived by the sword. The leaders among them had particularly fierce auras, even faintly touching the threshold of an Innate martial artist—already considered skilled fighters in this mundane land.

In his current state of being drained and exhausted, he might not even be able to defeat a strong man, let alone an Innate martial artist.

”Child! Don’t be stubborn! Those murderers have no humanity!” Granny Zhang was so anxious she was shedding tears, trying to pull him back.

Nangong Xuan gently pushed her hand away. His gaze fell on the thick, wrist-sized hardwood door bolt in the corner that Er Niu usually used to bar the door. He walked over, picked it up, and weighed it in his hand.

The wooden pole felt rough and heavy in his grasp, no different from scrap iron compared to the spiritual swords and Immortal Artifacts he once wielded. But the moment his five fingers closed around it, the profound Sword Intent deeply rooted in his Soul—unscathed even after his cultivation was completely destroyed—instinctively flowed into it!

*Hum...* It wasn’t an energy fluctuation, but the condensation of a pure ’presence’!

That ordinary hardwood door bolt in his hand seemed to shed its mundane form, becoming the vessel for an intangible sword! A Sword Intent, though not sharp, was exceptionally condensed and carried a resolute will to protect. It quietly emanated from him, filling the space.

Beside him, Er Niu instinctively took half a step back, looking at Nangong Xuan with shock and uncertainty. At this moment, this young man who was severely injured and at death’s door seemed to him incredibly tall and dangerous, like... like the silent yet deadly black stone cliffs of the back mountain.

”Granny, Brother Er Niu, guard the inside. Take care of her.” Nangong Xuan pointed at the unconscious Su Muxue and the iron lump she clutched tightly. His tone was calm, yet carried undeniable force. He took a deep breath of the cold, Spiritually Qi-thin air, pushed open the wooden door, and stepped into the courtyard, flickering with firelight and Chaos.

The night wind, carrying the smell of blood and smoke, rushed to meet him.

Several bandits ransacking the neighboring house and dragging away women immediately noticed this suddenly appearing young man—pale-faced, standing straight, holding a wooden pole.

”Hey! There’s another sickly ghost here who’s not afraid to die!” A bandit with a face full of brawn sneered, walking over with a blood-dripping steel saber. ”What? Trying to play the hero saving the beauty? Get lost!”

A flash of blade light, carrying a foul wind, sliced straight towards Nangong Xuan’s face! The Move was vicious and swift, clearly the work of an experienced killer.

On a normal day, Nangong Xuan could have turned such an attack to dust with a breath. But now, he could only rely on this broken mortal body and his remaining Sword Intent.

He did not block it head-on. Instead, his feet shifted slightly in a seemingly clumsy stagger—a remnant of his instinctual, thousand-times-refined footwork—narrowly evading the blade. Simultaneously, the wooden pole in his hand shot out like a striking snake. He did not aim for the bandit’s vital points, but with pinpoint accuracy, struck the tendons on the bandit’s saber-wielding wrist!

”Ah!” The bandit felt a sudden numbness and excruciating pain shoot through his wrist. The steel saber clattered to the ground. Before he could comprehend what happened, the wooden pole retracted like a ghost and then slammed hard against his temple!

*Thud!* A dull thump. The bandit didn’t even grunt before collapsing limply to the ground, knocked unconscious.

Clean and efficient, without a single wasted motion! Though devoid of spiritual power, guided by Sword Intent, his grasp of timing, application of force, and precision of angle had already transcended the realm of mundane martial arts!

The other bandits froze for a moment, then erupted in rage.

”Damn it! He’s a tough one! Attack together, chop him down!”

Three or four steel sabers slashed towards him simultaneously from different directions, sealing off all his escape routes.

Nangong Xuan’s eyes narrowed. The wooden pole in his hand swung, no longer simple jabs and thrusts, but tracing smooth, circular arcs as if weaving an intangible net of Sword Intent before him. His body moved with the pole, dodging and weaving within that confined space. Each time the pole collided with a saber, it produced a dull thud, skillfully deflecting the blade, borrowing force to redirect it, or guiding the attackers’ strikes to land on empty air or even interfere with each other!

He was like a small boat in a raging storm, seemingly on the verge of capsizing at any moment, yet always finding that sliver of opportunity at the last possible instant. In his hands, the wooden pole was sometimes like a coiling spirit snake, sometimes like a heavy hammer smashing down, sometimes like a sharp sword piercing through! Every strike resulted in a bandit screaming as his wrist shattered, knee shattered, or was directly knocked unconscious by a strike to an acupoint!

He did not kill, not out of mercy, but to conserve every bit of his stamina. With his cultivation destroyed, his physical endurance wouldn’t last long.

But to the ordinary bandits and to Granny Zhang and Er Niu watching fearfully from behind the window, this spectacle was nothing short of a miracle!

”This... this child...” Granny Zhang covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief.

However, the commotion here finally drew the attention of stronger individuals.

”Useless trash! Can’t even handle a sickly weakling!” A roar like thunderclap erupted.

An exceptionally tall, burly man with a full beard, wielding a giant axe the size of a door panel, pushed aside the Minions in front of him and strode over. With each step, the ground trembled slightly. His aura was fierce and savage—he was a true Innate realm martial artist! One of the leaders of these mountain bandits!

”Kid, you’re interesting! State your name! This grandpa’s axe doesn’t slay nameless ghosts!” The giant axe bandit leader licked his lips, a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes. He recognized the exquisiteness of Nangong Xuan’s Moves, but saw even more clearly his depleted vitality and blood—strong on the outside, weak within.

Nangong Xuan did not answer. He merely slowly adjusted his breathing and tightened his grip on the wooden pole. An Innate martial artist had abundant vitality and blood, immense strength, and could initially draw upon faint traces of heaven and earth Qi to empower themselves. For him in his current state, this was a nearly invincible foe.

”Seeking death!” Seeing Nangong Xuan remain silent, the giant axe leader roared. The giant axe, carrying a foul wind that tore through the air, swept towards Nangong Xuan’s waist with the force to split mountains and crack stones! Its power and speed far surpassed the previous rabble!

*Cannot block it head-on!*

Nangong Xuan’s pupils contracted. He pushed his Sword Intent to the limit, his body bending backward at an almost contorted angle. The axe’s blade passed so close it grazed the tip of his nose! The sharp wind force scraped painfully against his cheek.

However, the giant axe leader was extremely experienced in combat. Missing with his axe, he fluidly changed his Move. The axe handle shot out like a venomous dragon, slamming hard towards Nangong Xuan’s chest!

If this hit connected, given Nangong Xuan’s current physical condition, his chest bones would surely shatter!

*Nowhere to dodge!*

At this moment between life and death—

Inside the house, the iron lump that had been motionless and tightly clutched by Su Muxue seemed to be stimulated by the intense battle outside, the pervasive Evil Qi, the smell of blood, and... the faint heaven and earth Qi stirred by the giant axe leader. The Core trace of ’Return to Ruin’ true intent within it fluctuated slightly.

It wasn’t active devouring, but... a passive instinct of ’repulsion’ and ’purification’.

An intangible, formless, yet extremely faint field of annihilation, targeting ’malice’, ’Evil Qi’, and ’foul energy’, briefly expanded from the iron lump, its range limited to the small courtyard.

The giant axe leader was about to sneer when he suddenly felt the surging blood and Qi within his body violently stagnate, as if doused by something icy. The faint trace of heaven and earth Qi empowering his axe handle instantly became chaotic and dissipated! His movement inevitably displayed an extremely subtle hesitation and distortion!

*This slight hesitation!*

For an existence like Nangong Xuan, who had once stood at the Peak of the Sword Dao, it was enough!

The situation that should have been certain death was forcefully pried open by a sliver of opportunity!

He forcibly twisted his body. The wooden pole in his hand was no longer for blocking or attacking. Like a sword finger, it struck with pinpoint accuracy at the precise point of force application on the axe handle that had deviated slightly!

This single point condensed his entire mental focus and ultimate control over force at this moment!

*Ting!*

A faint, yet clear, unusual sound!

That thick axe handle was actually struck by this single point of force, causing it to veer slightly off course! It slid past Nangong Xuan’s ribs, drawing a line of blood. The pain was searing, but it was not a fatal wound!

Simultaneously, borrowing the force from that point, Nangong Xuan’s body floated backward like a willow catkin, temporarily leaving the combat circle. His face grew paler, and he breathed heavily.

The giant axe leader was stunned for a moment. He looked at the axe in his hand, then at Nangong Xuan who had only suffered a light injury. A look of shock and uncertainty appeared on his face. That moment just now felt very strange; had his own power suddenly malfunctioned?

”Damn it! Weird!” He shook his head, attributing it to a momentary lapse. His anger flared even hotter, and he raised the giant axe again.

But after that moment, Nangong Xuan understood in his heart—it was Lin Mo! It was Lin Mo’s post-Nirvana star Core, influencing the battle in a way he couldn’t comprehend! It couldn’t directly grant power, but it could ’purify’ and ’interfere’ with the opponent’s energy and state!

The hope was slim, but it wasn’t completely nonexistent!

He took a deep breath, suppressing his injuries. His eyes became even more focused and sharp as he once again assumed a fighting stance.

However, just as the giant axe leader prepared to charge again and the other bandits began to close in—

In the center of the village, the ancient well that had been sealed by a giant black stone suddenly, without any warning... trembled!

*Thump!*

A dull sound, as if from the extreme depths of the earth, clearly reached everyone’s ears!

Immediately after, from the cracks in the stone sealing the well, wisps of ink-black... dark energy began to seep out!

This dark energy was not miasma, nor Devilish Qi. It was something more ancient, more deathly, carrying endless resentment and a chilling aura! The moment it appeared, the temperature of the entire village plummeted. The inert Spiritual Qi in the air grew even more stagnant. The light of all the torches dimmed sharply, as if about to be devoured by the dark energy!

”Arghhh!”

The bandits closest to the ancient well, slightly touched by the dark energy, immediately let out agonizing screams. Their bodies visibly withered and shriveled at a rapid pace, turning into skin-and-bone mummies in the blink of an eye, with two points of ghostly green flame igniting in their eye sockets!

The horrifying turn of events stunned everyone!

Even the giant axe leader halted in terror, looking fearfully towards the direction of the ancient well.

”The well... the Well Demon! The Well Demon is out!” A villager screamed in despair.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!* The ancient well’s tremors grew faster. More and more dark energy surged from the cracks, spreading outwards like a living thing, devouring all life force!

The bandits’ looting came to a complete halt as they were plunged into immense panic. They seemed to have heard of the terror of this well.

Nangong Xuan’s heart also shook violently. He stared intently at the surging dark energy, sensing from it an extremely ominous ’deathly stillness’ and ’resentment’ that felt even more fundamental and ancient than the soul-eroding miasma!

This well was definitely not a benevolent place!

And right at this moment, his shoulder seemed to twitch slightly (an illusion; Lin Mo was still in Su Muxue’s hand), but something in his embrace suddenly became scalding hot—it was the already dimmed world key fragment he had obtained at the bottom of the lake!

It was actually having a strong reaction to the dark energy surging from the ancient well! It emitted a buzzing lament, its surface shimmering with faint, anxious azure starlight!

Simultaneously, inside the house, the iron lump in Su Muxue’s hand also reacted to the spreading deathly dark energy. It was no longer passively emitting a faint field. It trembled slightly, the chaotic colors on its surface flowing faintly, revealing a kind of... longing, as if it had encountered a ’kindred spirit’ or perhaps ’prey’?

The ancient well anomaly, the world key’s warning, the star Core’s agitation.

The crisis at hand seemed to be developing in a direction that was even more bizarre and uncontrollable.

Nangong Xuan tightened his grip on the wooden pole. He looked at the panicked bandits, at the terrifying dark energy continuously surging forth and devouring life, and felt the scalding heat of the world key in his embrace and the longing emanating from the star Core inside the house.

He realized that the true danger might have only just begun.

And the key to escaping this predicament might lie within that bizarre ancient well.