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

120: Chapter 120: The Return of the Star Key and the First Appearance of the Dark SideOn the island in the center of the lake, the intense heat had not yet dissipated, but a strange silence permeated the air. The Earth Fire Eye still slowly flowed with lava, but the violent Stellar Power that could destroy heaven and earth had already calmed down. Only that crimson-gold mars key remained, quietly suspended, its light restrained yet still emitting a heart-palpitating, majestic energy.

Nangong Xuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid, scorching air, feeling the new sense of power brought by the slow rotation of the dark-gold nirvana golden core within his body. This was a completely different kind of strength, not a simple accumulation of spiritual energy, but derived from a deeper mastery of the Dao of ”Nirvana” and the Fusion with the Stellar Origin power. His Divine Sense became more vast and acute, even allowing him to vaguely capture the faint flow of earth veins deep beneath his feet and the strange resonance tracks of different star keys remaining in the air.

Su Muxue came to his side. Though her face was somewhat pale, her breathing was long and steady, and the grey-blue starlight imprint on her brow added a touch of mystery and depth. ”Senior Brother, are you alright?” she asked with concern, her gaze sweeping over his body, which had already recovered to its original state and even appeared tougher.

”I am fine; it was a blessing in disguise.” Nangong Xuan shook his head slightly, his gaze falling on her brow. ”Your Taiyin Immortal Body...”

”It seems... I’ve touched upon a certain Bottleneck, or rather, opened up new possibilities.” Su Muxue felt the Taiyin Origin within her, which was different from before—more inclusive and able to resonate directly with Stellar Power. She said softly, ”It’s all thanks to Senior Brother’s Nirvana Dao Rhyme guidance and the resonance with Lin Mo’s star core.”

After a brief exchange, the two of them simultaneously turned their gaze toward the mars key and the old man with the False Core slumped on the ground.

At this moment, Li Mubai, Senior Brother Liu, and the others had also dealt with the remaining Red Ghost Sect Cultivators and gathered around. Their gazes toward Nangong Xuan and Su Muxue were filled with awe and gratitude. If not for these two mysterious Seniors today, they would have long since been reduced to nothing.

”Senior, how should we deal with this scoundrel?” Li Mubai asked, pointing at the dying False Core old man.

Nangong Xuan walked up to the old man and looked down at him. The old man’s eyes were unfocused, his cultivation was nearly crippled, and his face held nothing but despair and resentment.

”Why are you searching for the star keys? And where is that ’Red Ghost Sect Master’?” Nangong Xuan’s voice was calm but carried an unquestionable authority, directly using his Divine Sense to pressure the man’s remaining spirit.

The old man’s body trembled. Under the pressure of the Nirvana Dao Rhyme, he couldn’t muster the slightest thought of resistance and confessed haltingly: ”The... Sect Master was heavily injured a hundred years ago, his Origin nearly dissipated. He is hidden... deep within the ’Blood Fiend Cave’... Only the most Yang and intense Stellar Origin power... can reshape his Blood Fiend Demon Body... so we were told... to find the ’Mars Crystal’...”

”Where is the Blood Fiend Cave?”

”I... I don’t know... Only the Sect Master’s confidants know the exact location... We all... receive instructions through Blood Communication Talismans...”

Nangong Xuan frowned slightly; it seemed this old man’s knowledge was limited. He asked again: ”Do you know of the ’nine luminaries star keys’? Do you know of the ’Guixu Star Origin’?”

The old man shook his head blankly: ”I only know... this object contains astonishing Starfire Power... which the Sect Master requires... everything else... I don’t know...”

Unable to extract more valuable information, Nangong Xuan said no more. He pointed a finger, and a wisp of Nirvana Dao Rhyme entered the old man’s brow, completely ending his life without letting him suffer much. He had no mercy for such evil Cultivators, but he also disdained torture.

After dealing with the old man, everyone’s attention focused on the mars key.

Having gone through the previous violence and subsequent purification, the star key was now as quiet as an ordinary crimson-gold crystal. However, everyone could clearly feel the terrifying power contained within it.

”Senior, this item...” Senior Brother Liu from the Vast Sea Pavilion spoke up, his tone inquisitive. Although they had also come for this item, they knew well that surviving today was a stroke of luck, and the treasure’s ownership was naturally for Nangong Xuan and Su Muxue to decide.

Nangong Xuan looked at Su Muxue. Understanding his intent, Su Muxue took out the chaos star core once again.

This time, without needing much guidance from her, the chaos star core spontaneously emitted a soft and longing vibration as soon as it appeared. The suspended mars key seemed to receive a summons and trembled slightly, turning into a stream of crimson-gold light that submissively flew toward the chaos star core, merging into it as easily as a traveler returning home.

The process was smoother than imagined.

The moment it fused with the mars key, the chaos star core shone brightly, its color becoming deeper as crimson-gold and dark-grey intertwined. The sliver of ”Guixu” intent within it seemed to grow significantly, transmitting a satisfied and more agile consciousness. Vaguely, a very faint sigh, as if one of relief, could be heard from deep within the star core, seemingly Lin Mo’s dormant consciousness responding to this harvest.

The light on the star core’s surface gradually subsided, but the aura it emitted was heavier and more mysterious than before. Nangong Xuan could feel that his connection with this star core had also deepened by a level, and he could even faintly mobilize a trace of Nirvana Stellar Power for his own use.

”It seems that collecting the star keys will not only find the path to the Guixu Star Origin but is also crucial for Senior Brother Lin Mo’s recovery,” Su Muxue said softly, stroking the warm star core.

Nangong Xuan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the messy battlefield and the still-dangerous environment. ”We shouldn’t stay here long. Let’s leave first.”

The others naturally had no objections. Led by Li Mubai and Senior Brother Liu, they quickly returned the way they came. Although the path back was still scorching and difficult, it was much smoother without the harassment of the Red Ghost Sect.

Along the way, while Nangong Xuan regulated his breathing to consolidate his new Realm, he also sent a strand of Divine Sense into the ancient Skin Scroll Star Map obtained from Lu Cheng, as well as the vague sensations brought by the mars key that had just merged into the star core.

Of the several points marked on the skin scroll, the sensation for one point became exceptionally clear after the Fusion of the mars key. That direction pointed northwest, giving off a feeling of heaviness, endurance, and endless life.

”The next target seems to be... a star key with ’prison suppressing’ or ’Houtu’ attributes?” Nangong Xuan had a faint guess in his heart.

When they finally stepped out of the Molten Path and returned to a relatively normal world, they all felt as if a lifetime had passed.

In a safe valley, the group stopped to rest and reorganize.

Li Mubai, Zhou Chen, and Zhao Jing had collected enough fire cloud grass. After thanking Nangong Xuan and Su Muxue profusely, they took their leave, eager to return to their Sect to heal their master. Senior Brother Liu and his companion from the Vast Sea Pavilion had also gathered several other types of fire-attribute spiritual materials and likewise departed with great gratitude.

Before parting, Senior Brother Liu hesitated for a moment but still said to Nangong Xuan, ”Senior Nangong, I seem to have seen records in my Sect’s ancient books similar to your unique core crystal. It was just a few words, mentioning ’When the star core returns to silence and the keys are reunited, only then shall the path to the starry firmament appear.’ I am of shallow learning and do not understand its meaning, but it may be related to the path you seek. If you have any needs in the future, Senior, you can come to the Vast Sea Pavilion to find me, Liu Yunfeng.” He left behind a communication Jade Slip.

Nangong accepted the Jade Slip, his heart stirred. ”When the star core returns to silence and the keys are reunited...” This seemed to confirm that their path was correct.

After seeing everyone off, only Nangong Xuan and Su Muxue remained in the valley.

Su Muxue was carefully checking the changes in the chaos star core when suddenly, the imprint on her brow lit up slightly. Through her deep connection with the star core, she captured an extremely obscure and intermittent wave of intent. This wave did not come from Lin Mo, but... from an extremely ancient imprint remaining deep within the newly merged mars key!

”Senior Brother!” Su Muxue’s expression changed slightly as she handed the star core to Nangong Xuan. ”Feel this...”

Nangong Xuan took the star core and sank his Divine Sense into it, soon capturing that faint but unsettling residual imprint. The information contained in that imprint was very fragmented, yet it carried a cold, evil will that looked down upon all living beings, along with several repeated keywords:

”...Monitoring... coordinates... anchoring...” ”...’the dark side’... awakening... hunger...” ”...Error... escape... must... reclaim...” ”...Guixu... Gate... must not... be opened...”

These fragmented pieces of information faintly corresponded with certain ominous premonitions in the memory fragments of Elder Star-Trace and Lin Mo’s star core!

”’the dark side’... ’reclaim’... ’coordinates’...” Nangong Xuan slowly opened his eyes, a cold light flickering in them. ”It seems these nine luminaries star keys are not simple Legacy tokens. They seem to... also be related to a terrifying existence known as ’the dark side,’ perhaps even being coordinates ’deployed’ by it to ’monitor’ our world? And collecting the star keys to open the Ancient Starry Path is, in ’their’ eyes, an ’error’ that needs to be ’reclaimed’?”

This deduction was hair-raising!

Su Muxue’s expression also became solemn. ”So, our process of searching for the star keys is likely also step-by-step alerting that so-called ’dark side’?”

”I’m afraid so.” Nangong Xuan looked toward the northwest, where the sensation of the next star key lay. ”But things having come to this, we have no choice. Only by gathering the star keys as quickly as possible, opening the Ancient Starry Path, and reaching the Guixu Star Origin can we truly understand the truth and find a way to deal with it. Otherwise, once ’the dark side’ fully awakens or completes its ’reclamation’...”

The consequences would be unthinkable.

They were not only burdened with the responsibility of saving Lin Mo, repairing themselves, and exploring ancient secrets, but they might have also unintentionally been drawn into a massive whirlpool concerning the survival of the entire world!

The pressure was heavier than ever before.

But the eyes of both became increasingly determined.

Feeling the power of the nirvana golden core within him and the resonance from the two star keys in the star core, Nangong Xuan said in a deep voice, ”Let’s go. To the northwest. The next star key must be obtained as soon as possible.”

He had a premonition that their actions had to be even faster.

Just as the two were preparing to move, Nangong Xuan suddenly felt something and abruptly looked up toward the southeastern sky.

Almost simultaneously, Su Muxue also noticed something and looked over with a frown.

In the distant southeastern sky, in the originally clear heavens, an extremely fine, almost imperceptible black crack flashed and vanished! Within that crack, there seemed to be a cold, indifferent, and lifeless giant eye that briefly opened and cast a ”glance” in their direction!

Though it was just a fleeting, hallucination-like sight, Nangong Xuan and Su Muxue both felt a chill rise from their spines, and their Divine Souls trembled!

That was not a spiritual energy fluctuation, nor was it a spatial crack, but a... higher-level ”gaze” that inspired instinctive fear!

Has ”it”... already noticed?

Was it because they had fused two star keys in succession?

The two looked at each other in silence, both seeing the solemnity and urgency in the other’s eyes.

Without any more hesitation, Nangong Xuan and Su Muxue turned into two streaks of light and sped toward the northwest at their maximum speed.

Behind them, at the place where that eerie black crack had vanished, space rippled slightly as if nothing had ever happened.