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

197: Chapter 197: A Journey North and the Extraordinary Talent of the Star CoreLeaving the cave where they had been hiding, Nangong Xuan and the other two did not immediately fly north in a high-profile manner. The Jin Jue Sect’s pursuit order was like an invisible giant net, spreading from Fallen Star Slope as its center toward the entire Land of the Far West and even further. From time to time, various streaks of light from escape techniques streaked across the sky, and Divine Sense scans swept over the mountains and rivers like a comb. Many of these auras carried the sharp Golden Baleful Qi unique to the Jin Jue Sect, and some were clearly Loose Cultivators or Cultivators from other Sects who had moved upon hearing the news, attempting to claim the bounty.

The three had not yet recovered from their injuries, especially Nangong Xuan. The aftereffects of forcibly triggering the resonance of the three keys and the star core’s devouring remained, making it truly unsuitable for him to engage in combat. They could only rely on Su Muxue’s keen Perception of Qi and Zi Linger’s faint ability to communicate with plants to avoid crowded and conspicuous places as much as possible, choosing desolate paths, traveling by night and resting by day, cautiously making a circuitous advance toward the north.

The journey was far more difficult than imagined.

The Land of the Far West was already barren, and the further north they went, the thinner and more chaotic the Spiritual Qi became. Although the Golden Baleful Qi permeating the environment was not as intense as at Fallen Star Slope, it was omnipresent, subtly eroding the Physical Body and Divine Soul. They had to constantly circulate their power to resist it, which was a great burden for the three injured people. If not for the chaos star core continuously converting and feeding back that gentle and strange energy, their injuries might not only have failed to improve but would have steadily worsened.

This land seemed to have experienced ancient battles; huge cracks, shattered mountains and rivers, and massive remains half-buried by wind and sand were frequently seen on the ground, somewhat similar to the sights at Fallen Star Slope, though to a lesser degree. The air was filled with desolation and deathly stillness. Occasionally, they encountered small villages or settlements where the local customs were mostly fierce and closed-off, and the people were full of vigilance toward strangers.

They did not dare enter any towns for supplies, relying entirely on Zi Linger activating the key of living beings to barely extract moisture and meager Spiritual Qi from some drought-resistant strange plants, as well as the limited stock already in Nangong Xuan’s storage ring.

However, amidst the hardships and difficulties, it was not all bad news.

After several days of cautious trekking and breath regulation, under the stable foundation brought by the initial balance of the three keys and the continuous energy feedback from the chaos star core, Nangong Xuan’s injuries finally stabilized and began to slowly improve. His depleted Sword Essence became full again, and because of several instances of extreme exertion and the baptism of the ancient remains’ residual power, it became even more pure and condensed than before. His comprehension of the Nirvana Sword Intent also deepened. He faintly felt that he had touched the barrier of the Golden Core Stage, and only awaited an opportunity to perhaps attempt to charge toward the Nascent Soul Dao. But this thought only flashed by; with danger lurking everywhere now, it was by no means a good time for secluded Breakthrough.

Su Muxue and Zi Linger’s injuries recovered faster, as Taiyin Star Power and Life Force inherently had unique advantages in healing. The two women’s strength had basically recovered to about eighty percent of their peak.

The greatest change came from the chaos star core.

Perhaps because it had devoured the residual power of the ancient remains and part of the energy from the Golden Brilliance Incarnation, the dark gold patterns on the surface of the star core became increasingly complex and profound, as if containing some universal principles. It was no longer merely passively converting and feeding back energy; it began to show some new, strange abilities.

One day, the three were hiding in a heavily weathered giant rock crevice to avoid the harsh midday sun and the frequent Divine Sense scans passing overhead. Nangong Xuan was closing his eyes to regulate his breath, Su Muxue was carefully wiping her moon wheel, and faint green light danced at Zi Linger’s fingertips as she communicated with a stubbornly growing thorn grass deep in the rock crack, trying to obtain information about the surrounding area.

Suddenly, the chaos star core, which had been quietly floating beside Su Muxue, emitted a faint light on its own once again. This time, it was not absorbing energy but emitting a circle of extremely weak, almost invisible ripples. These ripples swept over the three of them, instantly making their auras extremely obscure, as if they had completely merged with the surrounding gray-brown rocks.

Almost at the same time, a powerful Divine Sense swept over the crevice but did not linger at all, heading straight into the distance.

“This is... concealment?” Su Muxue’s beautiful eyes lit up, and she looked at the star core in surprise. This concealment was not like the previous Dark Bead’s distortion of light and isolation of aura; it was more like a more sophisticated ability to temporarily blur the ’concept’ of one’s own existence, and the effect was excellent!

Nangong Xuan also opened his eyes, a look of astonishment flashing through them. He sensed carefully and found that these ripples seemed related to the dark gold patterns on the surface of the star core, containing an extremely profound fragment of Law involving space and the essence of existence.

“It seems that devouring that energy not only replenished it but also allowed it to awaken some new instincts,” Nangong Xuan mused. “This might be a benefit brought by that ancient remains Senior’s power of the same origin.”

Two more days passed. While they were traveling at night, attempting to cross an open Gobi desert, they unexpectedly encountered a small team of three Golden Core Cultivators. Their clothing was mixed, clearly bounty hunters who had come upon hearing the news. Discovering the trio’s tracks, they immediately surrounded them with greed in their eyes.

“Halt! Are you the wanted criminals from the Jin Jue Sect? Surrender peacefully, lest...”

Before the words finished, a cold light flashed in Nangong Xuan’s eyes. He was prepared to strike forcefully and resolve the battle quickly to avoid attracting stronger enemies.

However, the chaos star core in his arms was one step faster than him! As if stimulated by the opponent’s hostility and energy fluctuations, the surface of the star core flashed with brilliance, and an invisible suction was suddenly generated!

The three Golden Core Cultivators only felt their internal Spiritual Qi stagnate, as if their circulating mantras were suddenly interfered with and pulled by something. Although it returned to normal in an instant, the Spells they were halfway through casting were abruptly interrupted. Their blood and Qi surged violently, revealing a massive opening!

“What the hell is that?!” The three were pale with shock.

In the instant they were dazed—

“Die!”

How could Nangong Xuan miss this perfect opportunity? Sword light appeared like cold lightning, and the Nirvana Sword Intent swept through without mercy!

Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

The three Golden Core Cultivators didn’t even manage to fully activate their protective Magical Artifacts before their heart vessels were instantly shredded by the sharp Sword Gang amidst astonishment and fear, and they fell dead!

From the star core’s movement to the death of the three, the entire process took only the blink of an eye!

Su Muxue and Zi Linger hadn’t even had time to act before the battle was already over.

“Just now... the star core interfered with their magic power circulation?” Zi Linger looked at the star core, which had returned to calm, her small face full of disbelief.

Nangong Xuan quickly cleaned up the battlefield, incinerating the corpses and erasing the traces, his brow slightly furrowed: “Yes, it seems to be some kind of interference with energy operation or even... a precursor to plundering. It seems its reaction to hostility is becoming more and more sensitive, and its awakened abilities are starting to lean toward actual combat.”

This discovery made the three both happy and worried. Happy because the stronger the star core’s ability, the greater their power for self-preservation; worried because this ability seemed related to devouring and plundering, and they didn’t know what impact it would have on Lin Mo in the long run. Lin Mo’s consciousness remained immersed in a deep sleep, unresponsive to external changes, only occasionally revealing a slight ripple of comfort and satisfaction when the star core fed back energy.

With the star core’s newly awakened concealment and interference abilities, their subsequent journey became relatively safer. Although they still didn’t dare to be careless, they at least had more confidence and means of response when dealing with ordinary searches and encounters.

Traveling day and night, exposed to the elements.

Half a month later, they finally approached the northern edge of the Land of the Far West. The terrain here began to change, no longer purely barren Gobi, but starting to show some low, cold-resistant vegetation. The Golden Baleful Qi in the air gradually thinned, replaced by a faint water vapor with a salty, fishy smell.

On the distant horizon, a faint, flickering azure water light could even be seen.

“Are we almost there? The North Nether Sea...” Su Muxue looked into the distance and said softly. The fatigue from continuous traveling seemed slightly diluted by that patch of blue.

However, Nangong Xuan’s expression became increasingly solemn. He stopped, knelt down, and touched some almost imperceptible strange marks on the ground—those were not naturally formed gullies, but more like scratches left by some giant creature crawling. Besides the salty water vapor, the air was also mixed with an extremely faint but deeply unsettling cold evil energy.

“Something is wrong.” He stood up, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings. “It’s too quiet around here. And these marks... they don’t look like ordinary sea beasts.”

Zi Linger also sensed for a moment, her face turning slightly pale: “The surrounding plants are all terrified. They are transmitting a sense of... despair from being polluted and devoured.”

Just then, the phantom star key and sharp metal star key within Nangong Xuan’s Dantian both vibrated slightly. The blue light representing the water star key increased its flashing frequency, but the light was not bright; instead, it revealed a... murky dimness?

At the same time, the chaos star core in Su Muxue’s arms also emitted a warning hum for the first time. The dark gold patterns on its surface flickered unsteadily, transmitting a complex emotion mixed with desire, vigilance, and disgust.

It was as if the North Nether Sea they were about to reach was not a safe haven of hope, but an unknown abyss hiding even greater dangers!