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

193: Chapter 193: Hidden Strength in the Secluded Valley and the Stirring of the Star CoreThe sensation of traveling through the Void Realm was both mysterious and terrifying, as if one’s very existence was being stretched, distorted, and thrown into the bizarre gaps between Laws. Nangong Xuan’s remaining consciousness clung desperately to that strange power generated by the resonance of the three keys, like grasping at a final life-saving straw, as he struggled to ferry the two people in his arms through the violent turbulence of the Void Realm.

He could feel that for every extra moment he maintained it, his Foundation was being scraped away as if by an invisible file, and his Divine Soul pulsed with needle-like pain. Inside his Dantian, the light from the three keys (fragments) that had just formed a triangular balance flickered violently and became extremely unstable; the power of the resonance was being rapidly consumed, and the backlash was already beginning to manifest.

He didn’t know how much time had passed; perhaps only a moment, or perhaps an eternity.

Thud!

A dull impact forcibly pulled Nangong Xuan’s nearly fading consciousness back.

The strange state of etherealization around his body receded like a tide, and a heavy sense of physicality returned, followed by intense pain and an indescribable sense of weakness that permeated every inch of his Physical Body and every wisp of his Divine Soul!

They were violently ”thrown” out of the Void Realm, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Nangong Xuan’s vision went black, and blood gushed from his nose and mouth as if it cost nothing. He struggled to check on Su Muxue and Zi Linger’s condition, but he didn’t even have the strength to lift a single finger. The Nirvana Sword Essence in his Dantian was completely depleted, and the light of the three keys (fragments) dimmed and fell into silence. The backlash was like a maggot on a bone, frantically destroying his Meridians. His consciousness was like a candle in the wind, quickly sinking into endless darkness. Before losing consciousness completely, the only thing he could do was instinctively curl his body, shielding Su Muxue and Zi Linger beneath him as much as possible... He didn’t know how much time passed.

A hint of cool, moist sensation dripped onto his cheek, slightly awakening Nangong Xuan’s sinking consciousness.

He struggled to open his eyelids, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. His vision remained blurred for a long time before finally beginning to focus.

The first thing that came into view was a gray sky, Cutting by the dense and peculiar branches and leaves of ancient black trees whose leaf edges shimmered with a faint metallic luster. The air was filled with a light mist, carrying a strange scent that mixed the fragrance of vegetation with the rust of minerals.

They seemed to be at the bottom of a deep, Secluded Valley.

He tried to move, but it triggered a tearing pain throughout his body, and he couldn’t help but let out a suppressed groan.

”Brother Xuan?! You’re awake?!” Su Muxue’s voice came from beside him, filled with a mix of surprise and joy, yet equally weak.

Nangong Xuan struggled to turn his head and saw Su Muxue half-kneeling beside him. Her beautiful face was devoid of color, and traces of blood remained on her lips. Her originally clear and beautiful eyes were filled with exhaustion and worry, but upon seeing him wake up, they instantly radiated a startling light. Her moon-white long dress was torn in many places and covered in dust and dark-red bloodstains; her aura was withered to the extreme, indicating she was also severely injured, though she seemed slightly better than him and could at least move.

On the other side, Zi Linger remained unconscious, lying on the ground with weak breathing. The emerald green light emitted by the key of living beings had become extremely dim, barely enveloping her like a firefly and slowly repairing her injuries, though the effect was minimal.

”Where... is this?” Nangong Xuan’s voice was as raspy as sandpaper.

”I don’t know,” Su Muxue shook her head gently, her movements cautious for fear of aggravating her injuries. ”We have been fallen here for half a day. I barely managed to scout the surroundings; the valley seems very deep, the vegetation is peculiar, and the Spiritual Qi... is very thin, but it contains a strange metallic particle. It has a slight corrosive effect on the Physical Body, but it also isolates external Divine Sense probes. Perhaps because of this, we are temporarily safe.”

She paused, a flash of lingering fear in her eyes: ”Brother Xuan, you’re too badly injured; your Sword Essence is depleted, your Meridians are severely damaged, and there is still a strong residual backlash... If you hadn’t, at the last moment...”

”It’s fine... I won’t die,” Nangong Xuan interrupted her, taking a deep breath and trying to summon a bit of strength, which only caused his Meridians to throb with pain, instantly soaking his forehead with cold sweat. He inspected himself internally; the situation was worse than imagined. His Nirvana Sword Intent had nearly dissipated, and the three keys (fragments) were as silent as ordinary iron. The aftereffects of the forced resonance had nearly shaken his Dao Foundation.

But fortunately, they were still alive and had temporarily escaped their pursuers.

”First, recover... a bit of strength.” Nangong Xuan struggled to take out a few of the best healing Medicinal Pills, swallowing two himself and having Su Muxue help Zi Linger take one. As the pills dissolved, a weak warm current temporarily suppressed some of the pain, but for such heavy injuries, it was merely a drop in the bucket.

Su Muxue carefully helped him up, leaning him against a cold black stone, then sat cross-legged beside him, doing her best to circulate her nearly dry Taiyin Star Power to absorb the thin and strange Spiritual Qi in the valley to slowly heal her injuries.

The valley fell into a dead silence, broken only by the occasional sound of water dripping from the rock walls and the omnipresent, subtle sound of metallic erosion.

Time passed slowly.

Night fell, and the light in the valley grew even dimmer as the mist thickened, and the erosion from the metallic particles seemed to strengthen slightly.

Suddenly—

Buzz... an extremely faint yet clearly audible hum broke the silence.

The source was within Su Muxue’s embrace!

The previously dormant chaos star core surfaced with profound dark-gold runes on its surface once again, slowly lighting up. It actually began to autonomously and slowly absorb the thin Spiritual Qi in the valley that contained metallic particles!

Even more surprising was that after it absorbed the energy, what it fed back was no longer Chaos currents, but wisps of extremely pure, gentle, and strange energy containing a hint of vitality and sharpness. Like the first light of dawn, it slowly merged into Su Muxue and Nangong Xuan’s bodies.

Although this energy was faint, it possessed a high-grade essence that could bypass their severely damaged Meridians to directly nourish their Physical Body and Divine Soul, while also countering the omnipresent sense of metallic erosion! The effect was far better than their own absorption of that strange Spiritual Qi!

”This is...” Su Muxue looked down at the star Core in surprise.

Nangong Xuan also felt this subtle yet crucial change, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. That was it—the star Core had devoured a massive amount of Metallic Malice Death Qi and ancient battlefield resentment in the Fallen Star Slope Core. Although those powers brought endless trouble, they also contained the most fundamental Metal Element Law fragments and immense energy. Now, stimulated by the special environment of this Secluded Valley, it was actually instinctively ”digesting” and ”transforming” those powers, feeding back an essence that was easy to absorb?

This was undoubtedly timely help!

With the infusion of this pure energy, Nangong Xuan felt his pain lessen slightly, and his withering Dantian seemed to sprout a tiny bit of weak vitality. Su Muxue’s complexion also improved noticeably.

However, misfortune often lurks within good fortune.

Just as the star Core was silently converting energy to nourish the two—

Deep in the valley, in an area shrouded in thick mist.

A ”corpse” that had been leaning against the black rock wall for an unknown number of years, covered in thick dust and metallic rust, suddenly had two faint dark-gold lights ignite within its hollow eye sockets, extremely similar to the runes on the surface of the star Core!

The fingers of that ”corpse” twitched extremely slightly, almost imperceptibly.

The dust covering its body rustled as it fell.

A cold, deathly, yet slightly inquisitive faint intent, like a venomous snake awakening from an eternal slumber, quietly locked onto the direction where the star Core’s energy was coming from.