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

141: Chapter 141: Dual-Line Advance and the Lament of the Source HeartThe heart of the underground forge had completely transformed into the Core of a destructive storm.

Dozens of edict Puppets with crimson eyes, like mad dogs scenting blood, ignored the constantly exploding energy conduits and splashing lava, fearlessly charging from all directions toward Nangong Xuan at the center of the lake platform. Their arms morphed into sharp energy blades, heavy shock hammers, and entangling energy nets, weaving together into an inescapable web of death.

And those three dark-gold edict sentinels were like three icy golden lightning bolts, arriving later yet striking first. Their massive energy blades tore through the chaotic energy currents, carrying a sharpness keen enough to sever the souls of Golden Core Cultivators, sealing off all of Nangong Xuan’s avenues of escape.

Facing this certain-kill situation, not a trace of fear showed in Nangong Xuan’s eyes, only absolute calm and stillness. The Nirvana Dao Rhyme surged within him in an unprecedented manner. His senses were heightened to their limit, and everything around him seemed to slow down—the sparks flying from explosions, the stiff trajectories of the Puppets’ assaults, the subtle arcs of the descending energy blades, and the minute nodes of each conflict and eruption between the two terrifying energies within the dark-red crystal beneath his feet... He moved.

His body did not retreat or block in a straight line. Instead, within a confined space, he performed a nearly twisted, paradoxical micro-shift. Like a fallen leaf drifting on turbulent waters, he always, at the last possible moment, evaded the deadliest attacks by a hair’s breadth.

An energy blade slashed down past the tip of his nose, gouging a deep scar into the platform floor; an energy net brushed against his back as it descended, missing and erupting in a shower of electric sparks; several metal claws tore through the afterimage he left behind... His footwork did not rely on speed, but on the Nirvana Dao Rhyme’s prediction and interference with ”trajectories” and ”endpoints.” With each dodge, his fingertips would release an imperceptible wisp of Impermanence Finger Force, not attacking the Puppets themselves, but precisely striking the nodes of their energy flow or the ”gaps” in the air where energy attacks conflicted and were at their weakest!

*Ssss—!*

The movements of the Puppets at the forefront abruptly hit an extremely subtle hitch and deviation. Their attack trajectories involuntarily shifted, even colliding with each other, causing a small patch of chaos.

And facing the three most threatening dark-gold sentinels, Nangong Xuan’s choice was even more astonishing. Instead of retreating, he Advanced, actually moving toward one of the descending massive energy blades! At the instant before being cleaved, his body twisted at an impossible angle. The Impermanence Finger Force was not aimed at the energy blade, but at the tiny gap between the sentinel’s energy Core and its arm—a gap where defense dropped to its lowest due to the momentary energy overload from its full-force attack!

Simultaneously, his footwork shifted, cleverly using the energy blade slashing from another sentinel as cover, forcing the attack path of the third sentinel to be blocked by its companion!

*Hum!*

The struck dark-gold sentinel’s arm violently trembled. The trajectory of its descending energy blade skewed, almost grazing Nangong Xuan’s body before heavily chopping into the platform floor, causing a violent tremor. Nangong Xuan, using the recoil force from the impact, slipped out like a swimming fish, instantly escaping the encirclement of the three!

His fighting style was no longer a direct clash of force, but an application of the Nirvana Dao Rhyme’s characteristics of ”all things returning to ruin” and ”annihilating existence” to the most extreme, minute level. He was performing a supremely intricate ”dismantling” and ”guiding,” dancing a perilous dance of death within the storm of destruction!

But the majority of his focus remained continuously directed, constantly channeling the Nirvana Dao Rhyme into the violently shaking dark-red crystal beneath his feet, engaging in a perilous, long-distance struggle with the will of the great edict!

The gray-black aura of impermanence within the crystal continuously spread, clashing wildly with the cold energy of order, causing the energy output to become increasingly chaotic and distorted. The paralysis of the entire Tian Yuan City was intensifying!

”System error... priority change... eliminate primary threat source...” The icy will of the great edict sounded again, carrying a trace of barely perceptible urgency. More Puppets were being mobilized from other areas. One could even sense an even more terrifying energy gathering from the direction of the Central Hub Tower!

Nangong Xuan’s pressure suddenly increased, but the light in his eyes grew sharper and brighter.

Mu Xue, Liu Li, it’s up to you now!

...Meanwhile, Su Muxue and Liu Li were ascending at their fastest speed along a massive, vertical transport conduit that had stopped operating due to the energy disruption.

The silver energy patterns that originally flowed along the conduit’s inner walls had dimmed. Only the emergency backup dark-red warning lights flickered slowly, illuminating their grave and urgent faces.

The violent explosions and energy fluctuations coming from below tightened Su Muxue’s heartstrings, but she forced herself to stay calm, focusing her Perception ahead. The Taiyin Star Power spread out like invisible tendrils, probing the passage ahead and any potential dangers.

Liu Li was far more familiar with the structure here than Su Muxue. She pointed to a fork above: ”Take the left! This backup maintenance passage can bypass the guard barriers of Districts Three through Seven directly, reaching the peripheral energy well at the base of the Central Hub Tower!”

Their figures moved like lightning, speeding through the maze-like complex of pipes and passages. Thanks to the massive chaos created by Nangong Xuan, most of the automatic defensive Magical Artifacts had failed. The few sporadic stationary sentry Puppets were swiftly dealt with by Su Muxue, who froze their Cores with Taiyin Ice Soul Needles in the blink of an eye.

The closer they got to the Central Hub Tower, the heavier the cold, oppressive aura of order in the air became, like invisible shackles layering upon their bodies, attempting to restrain Qi circulation and mental agility. Even breathing became difficult.

”Hold on! This is the passive Domain effect of the Central Hub Tower. The closer to the Core, the stronger the suppression!” Liu Li gritted her teeth. Her cultivation was lower, and her face had already paled. She relied entirely on the faint, warm glow emitted by the fragment of the cihang origin heart in her embrace to envelop her body, barely resisting.

Su Muxue took a deep breath. Pure Taiyin Star Power circulated within her, freezing that sense of discomfort. She could feel the vibrations from the chaos star core in her embrace becoming increasingly clear—a complex mix of longing, vigilance, and faint sorrow. Lin Mo’s consciousness was struggling to penetrate the increasingly strong interference, trying to establish a connection with a certain presence.

Finally, after passing through a heavy bulkhead that required special access (Liu Li had forcibly broken the lock mechanism with a peculiar metal crowbar), the scene before them suddenly opened up.

They had burst into an immensely vast cylindrical space. This must be the ”energy well” Liu Li mentioned.

The walls of the space were entirely composed of that metallic-luster black stone, carved with incredibly complex, layered silver edict runes that extended upward, disappearing from view. These runes still glowed faintly, even with the energy interrupted, emitting a cold, soul-shaking oppressive might.

And at the center of the energy well, suspended a colossal ”tree” composed of pure energy! Or rather, it more closely resembled the ”veins” or ”root System” of a tree!

Countless thick and thin ”light tendrils,” woven from milky-white and silver-gray energy, extended from the runes on the surrounding walls, converging at the center, intertwining and fusing to form the ”roots” of this giant tree. The ”trunk” of the giant tree extended straight upward, disappearing into the endless darkness above the well’s mouth, its end unseen.

Among these ”light tendrils,” most displayed a cold silver-gray, emitting an absolute, orderly chill. But a small portion still stubbornly maintained a warm, milky-white luster, exuding an aura ofTolerance (tolerance) and nourishing vitality, sharing the same origin as the aura from the fragment in Liu Li’s hand. However, they were tightly entangled, suppressed, and even corrupted by those silver-gray energies.

This was the ”cihang origin heart” energy System, twisted and devoured by the great edict! That energy giant tree was the ”root” of the edict that maintained the entire Tian Yuan City’s operation!

And below the trunk of this energy giant tree, suspended a circular platform composed of pure white light. On the platform rested an object.

It was a severely damaged Magical Artifact, resembling a lotus throne carved from warm jade, with only about one-third of its original body remaining. Its entire form was a warm milky-white, but its surface was covered in web-like cracks. Within these cracks, silver-gray cold energy writhed like living things, constantly eroding it. It emitted a faint yet tenacious light, like a candle in the wind, still stubbornly resisting the assimilation and devouring by the endless silver-gray energy around it.

Without a word, Su Muxue and Liu Li instantly understood—that was the remaining Core body of the ”cihang origin heart”!

The chaos star core vibrated intensely at this moment. Lin Mo’s consciousness conveyed immense sorrow and urgency: ”Mother... Aunt Su... that’s it... it’s in pain... corrupted... being drained... almost... can’t hold on anymore...”

As if sensing the star Core’s approach and the fragment’s return, the damaged lotus throne Core suddenly brightened for an instant, emitting a faint, mournful hum like a sob. The surrounding milky-white light tendrils also brightened, attempting to struggle, but were tightly entangled and suppressed by more silver-gray tendrils.

Simultaneously, a cold, grand, slightly distorted will abruptly descended from above the energy giant tree, locking onto the two!

”Rebel of the Edict... heretics... carrying contamination source... attempting to touch forbidden Core... permission denied... execute highest-level purification!”

The edict runes on the walls of the energy well suddenly lit up with piercing silver light! Countless cold ”Edict Rays,” powerful enough to instantly annihilate the Divine Souls of Golden Core Cultivators, shot toward the two like a torrential downpour!

The true crisis had only just begun! And they had to reach that lamenting source heart Core!