Chapter 630
Fu Shaoping stood on the reef, looking at the isolated island in the distance, which was shrouded in mist. The island was flat, with a circular lake in the center. The lake water was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the clouds in the sky. There were several ancient banyan trees on the shore, with aerial roots hanging down like curtains, swaying gently in the wind.
"Let's do it here." He turned around and said to Nangong Wan.
The golden thread on Nangong Wan's fingertips trembled slightly, as if she was detecting the aura on the island. After a moment, she nodded slightly: "The ground veins are stable. Although the spiritual energy is not strong, it is pure and suitable for recuperation."
They stepped onto the beach, the soft sand making a slight rustling sound under their feet. Fu Shaoping bent down and scooped up a handful of sea water, a faint silver light emanating from his palms - this was the only spiritual power he could mobilize in the Chaos Star Sea, to detect the water quality.
"There is no evil spirit, and no trace of the Star Lord." He breathed a sigh of relief.
Nangong Wan walked to a banyan tree, gently stroked the trunk with her fingertips, and the golden thread quietly penetrated the bark and probed down along the roots. After a moment, she retracted the golden thread and said, "The ground veins of this island are very special. It seems that there were monks living in seclusion here, but it has been abandoned for many years."
Fu Shaoping nodded: "It's just right, we can temporarily avoid Xingjun's pursuit."
They chose a flat spot by the lake, with their backs against the mountain wall and their faces facing the lake. Fu Shaoping took out a few broken array plates from his storage bag and pieced them together into a simple protective array. Nangong Wan used gold thread to weave a net and covered the periphery of the array to prevent the Star Lord from detecting it.
"This is the only way for now." Fu Shaoping wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the thatched cottage in front of him. The roof was covered with palm leaves and the walls were built with bamboo and wood. It was simple but exuded a sense of tranquility.
Nangong Wan sat by the lake, looking at the calm water, and suddenly said: "Fu Shaoping, you said... Can the Star Lord really not find this place?"
Fu Shaoping was silent for a moment, then walked over to sit beside her. "The star tracks in Chaos Star Sea are chaotic, and even the Star Lord cannot easily deduce our location. Moreover, the veins of this island seem to have some properties that conceal the secrets of heaven."
Nangong Wan looked down at the back of her hand. The bruise had faded a lot, but was still faintly visible. She whispered, "But we can't hide forever."
Fu Shaoping held her hand and said, "We'll think of a solution after you recover from your injuries."
In the early morning, Fu Shaoping would practice swordplay by the lake, the blade cutting through the morning mist, making a clear sound. Nangong Wan would sit under a banyan tree, with golden threads flowing through his fingertips, repairing the damaged meridians bit by bit.
Occasionally, they would walk along the coastline together, picking up shells and conchs washed up by the tide. Nangong Wan discovered that the shells here had strange patterns, some of which even had traces of natural talismans.
"This island may have once been the cave residence of an ancient cultivator." She said thoughtfully.
Fu Shaoping nodded: "When we have recovered enough, we can try to investigate."
At night, they sat in front of the thatched cottage and looked at the starry sky. The stars in the Chaos Star Sea had chaotic trajectories, but they also looked particularly bright.
"Fu Shaoping." Nangong Wan suddenly spoke.
"Um?"
"If... I mean if, we really can't escape this disaster, will you regret it?"
Fu Shaoping turned to look at her, his lips slightly raised: "What do you regret? Do you regret running away here with you?"
Nangong Wan did not answer, but just looked at him quietly.
Fu Shaoping put his arm around her shoulders and said with a smile: "I, Fu Shaoping, have done many things in my life, but the only thing I have never regretted is being with you."
Nangong Wan leaned lightly on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
The night wind blew across the lake, creating tiny ripples. The sound of the tide in the distance could be heard faintly, like some ancient whisper.
This island became their temporary home.
Before the morning mist dissipated, Nangong Wan was already standing in front of the lake in the center of the island.
She raised her fingertips lightly, and the golden thread flowed out from her sleeves, diving into the lake like a spirit snake, drawing intricate lines on the water surface. The lake water trembled slightly, and fine ripples appeared, as if responding to her spiritual power.
Fu Shaoping stood not far away, looking at her back without disturbing her.
Nangong Wan closed his eyes and concentrated, the golden thread spread along the bottom of the lake, touching the core of the island's earth veins. In an instant, the earth energy of the entire island was affected, and a faint green light lit up at the bottom of the lake, like a sleeping dragon being awakened.
"rise!"
She shouted softly, and the golden thread suddenly stretched straight, and the lake surface instantly condensed into a huge array. The array patterns crisscrossed and matched the Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams, and each pattern flowed with a light golden spiritual light.
Fu Shaoping felt the ground shaking under his feet, and the reefs at the four corners of the island suddenly emerged from the water, with ancient runes on the surface. Those were naturally formed formation stones, which were forcibly activated by Nangong Wan using the golden thread as a guide.
Nangong Wan bit his fingertip, and a drop of blood fell into the center of the formation.
The moment the blood drop touched the lake, the entire formation started to work! Golden light shot up into the sky, turning into a translucent barrier that enveloped the entire island. Star-like runes flowed on the barrier, and the trajectory of the Big Dipper could be vaguely seen.
Fu Shaoping's pupils shrank slightly - she actually used the Star God's mark in reverse, using the star power as a guide to build a mountain protection formation!
The wind stopped and the waves subsided.
The sea water around the island suddenly became as calm as a mirror, without even a ripple. When birds in the sky approached the barrier, they would unconsciously fly around it, as if the island had "disappeared" from the world.
Nangong Wan slowly stopped, her face slightly pale. Fu Shaoping quickly stepped forward and held her shoulders: "If you forcefully mobilize your star power, your injuries will get worse."
She shook her head slightly, her eyes calm, "This formation can at least stop the Star Lord for three months."
Fu Shaoping was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Three months... is enough."
Nangong Wan pointed to the center of the lake: "The core of the formation is at the bottom of the lake, connected to the earth veins. Unless the Star Lord comes in person, no one can break it." After a pause, she continued: "But this formation has another feature - if the Star Lord really breaks in by force, the formation will self-destruct and at the same time detonate the earth veins of the entire island."
Fu Shaoping raised his eyebrows: "Die together?"
Nangong Wan looked at him, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes: "If it really comes to that, we can at least drag him down with us into the Chaos Star Sea."
Fu Shaoping laughed and held her hand tightly: "Okay! Then we will enjoy this paradise for the next three months."
As night falls, the barrier of the mountain protection array reflects the starlight, covering the island like a veil.
Fu Shaoping was sitting by the lake when he suddenly discovered that the stars reflected in the lake were completely different from the trajectories of the real starry sky.
The night was as dark as ink, and the sea breeze suddenly stopped. The entire island fell into an eerie silence, and even the chirping of insects and birds disappeared. Fu Shaoping suddenly opened his eyes, and the broken knife in his hand hummed and trembled, and a layer of cold silver light appeared on the blade. He turned over and his eyes swept towards the dark sea surface like lightning, where a suffocating sense of oppression was slowly approaching.
Nangong Wan had already stood by the lake, with the golden thread on her fingertips moving like a spirit snake, sensing the movement of the mountain protection formation. Her pupils suddenly contracted, and outside the formation barrier, a huge shadow in the deep sea was rising at an alarming speed.
The sea surface exploded, and a huge monster broke out of the water, raising huge waves dozens of feet high. It was a giant beast shaped like a dragon, covered with dark blue scales, each as big as a shield, with a metallic cold light on the edges. Its head was hideous, with a spiral horn on its forehead, and its scarlet vertical pupils were like two blood moons, fixed on the two people on the island.
Fu Shaoping's face suddenly changed, and he recognized that this was the ancient relic of the Star Devouring Viper from the depths of the Chaos Star Sea. The giant beast opened its bloody mouth, and a distorted illusion of the starry sky appeared in the depths of its throat. Nangong Wan shouted to remind it that it was devouring spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy of the entire island was drawn away like a tide, and the golden light barrier of the mountain protection formation trembled violently.
Fu Shaoping pointed his toes, his body was as fast as lightning, and the broken sword ignited with silver flames and slashed the throat of the giant beast. The blade slashed on the scales and splashed dazzling sparks. The scales were harder than black iron. The long tail of the Star-Swallowing Viper swept across, setting off a violent wave of air that pushed Fu Shaoping back several feet.
The giant beast's horn suddenly lit up, and the runes were mimicking the trajectory of the spiritual patterns of the mountain protection formation. Nangong Wan's face turned pale, realizing that the beast had intelligence. She formed seals with both hands, and the golden thread shot towards the Star Devouring Viper like a rainstorm, but was corroded and broken by the starlight liquid that seeped out of the gaps between the scales.
Fu Shaoping's eyes became fierce, and he bit his tongue and sprayed his blood on the broken knife. The ancient lines hidden inside the blade suddenly awakened, and the silver flames surged and turned into a roaring silver dragon phantom. Nangong Wan understood, and the golden threads on his fingertips frantically intertwined into a giant net covering the sky to suppress the giant beast's actions.
While the Star Devouring Viper was restrained, Fu Shaoping's figure was as fast as lightning, and the silver dragon blade flashed through the air, piercing the only scale growing inversely on the neck of the giant beast. The moment the blade entered the flesh, star-like blood spurted out. The giant beast let out a deafening roar, and its long tail slapped the sea surface crazily, and the entire island was shaking.
Nangong Wan's seven orifices were bleeding, and he suddenly put his hands together to activate the power of the earth veins. The ancient runes on the four corners of the island lit up at the same time, turning into four chains that entangled the limbs of the giant beast. Fu Shaoping leaped up, and the silver dragon sword light poured like the Milky Way, penetrating into the giant beast's skull along the cracks of the reverse scales.
The roar of the Star-Swallowing Viper shattered all the reefs within a hundred feet radius. Its eyeballs exploded one after another, and finally smashed heavily on the sea surface, causing a huge blood wave.
At dawn, the sea water still had a faint red hue. Nangong Wan sat slumped by the lake, holding a half-broken horn in his hand and panting, "This is not a naturally born sea beast. The runes on the horn are the work of the Star Lord lineage." Fu Shaoping wiped the newly born Star Blade and suddenly found that in the deep sea reflection of the blade, there were more scarlet light spots slowly approaching.
This Star Devouring Viper possesses three terrifying bloodline spiritual arts: Star Devouring, which devours spiritual energy; Star Eclipse, which analyzes formations; and Scaled Starlight, which corrodes magical instruments. After Fu Shaoping's Broken Blade awakens, it reveals the Silver Dragon Soul, which has additional damage to star-power creatures. Nangong Wan's golden thread is originally a soul-binding thread, which can extract the enemy's blood and feed it back to itself. The ancient runes in the island's veins have a suppressive effect on the power of the Star Lord, suggesting that this place was once an enemy of the Star Lord.
The scarlet light spots in the deep sea indicate that the Star Lord has sent more sea beasts to search for the two. Nangong Wan is too skilled in controlling the star power, suggesting that she may have a connection with the Star Lord. Broken Blade's silver dragon soul is hostile to the Star Lord, suggesting that Fu Shaoping's master may have an old grudge with the Star Lord.
In the early morning light, the sea breeze blew across the island, carrying a faint smell of blood.
Fu Shaoping stuck the broken knife into the sand and leaned over to examine the corpse of the Star Devouring Viper. The scales of the giant beast glowed with a cold blue light in the sun. Even though it was dead, it still exuded a frightening pressure. He reached out and pressed on a scale. It felt as cold as black iron, and the edge was sharp enough to cut a finger.
“This scale…” He pulled hard, but it didn’t budge at all. “It’s tougher than I thought.”
Nangong Wan walked slowly, her face still pale. She gathered a strand of golden thread on her fingertips and moved along the gaps between the scales to explore: "The complete scales can be refined into at least three sets of protective armor. If it is handed over to a master refiner, it may be possible to forge a protective gear that can withstand the attack of the Star Lord."
She bent down and picked up the broken horn. Sticky star-shaped liquid was flowing from the broken surface, corroding small charred pits in the sand.
"It has indeed been tampered with." Nangong Wan's eyes were slightly cold, "The inside of the horn is engraved with tracking runes of the Star Lord lineage. This Star Devouring Viper has been artificially modified."
Fu Shaoping took a closer look and found that the rune patterns were surprisingly similar to some structures of the mountain protection formation: "Is it imitating your formation?"
"Not exactly." Nangong Wan put the unicorn fragment into the storage bag, "These runes are closer to 'spying' than 'copying'. It seems that Mingxingjun has not been able to completely crack my method."
When the beast's head was cut open, a fist-sized crystal rolled out. Inside the crystal was a seal of distorted starlight, sometimes condensing into a dipper shape, and sometimes scattering into starry dots all over the sky.
"Star core crystal!" Fu Shaoping grabbed the crystal that was about to fly away, "This beast actually has the source of star power in its body!"
Nangong Wan suddenly held his wrist and said, "Don't touch it directly." She unfolded a piece of ice silk handkerchief to wrap the crystal. "Unrefined star cores will corrode the meridians of cultivators. Have you forgotten the old monster in the Nascent Soul stage who went astray in the East China Sea three years ago?"
Fu Shaoping let go of his hand with a wry smile, only to see the crystal rushing left and right in the silk handkerchief, making a sharp sound like a baby crying.
When cleaning the sea beast's abdomen, a pile of undigested debris poured out. Half of the bronze compass suddenly flew up automatically and hung in front of Nangong Wan, humming and trembling.
"This is..." Her pupils shrank suddenly, "The fragment of the astronomical instrument from the Xingyun Pavilion!"
Fu Shaoping whistled: "It seems that this beast has devoured the monks of Xingyun Pavilion. Do you think it could be——"
"The patroller who disappeared three years ago." Nangong Wan stroked the incomplete "Xuan" mark on the compass, "They really sent people to look for us."
At noon, the two finished the inventory by the lake.
Twelve complete reverse scales, three barrels of star blood, half a unicorn horn, star core crystals, and several fragments of magical instruments that seemed to be from other cultivators. Fu Shaoping was sorting the scales when he suddenly discovered that on the back of the smallest scale, there was a strange totem the size of a grain of rice engraved - nine stars surrounding a vertical pupil.
"Nangong, look at this." He held up the scales, "Does it look like the 'Star Eye Mark' mentioned in ancient books?"
Nangong Wan's hand trembled slightly as she took the scale: "The mark of the nine inspectors under the Star Lord..." She suddenly raised her head and looked at the sea, "If this sea beast is the eyes and ears of the inspector, then the other sea beasts are likely to be-"
Before he finished speaking, a series of thunderous explosions were heard in the distance. On the horizon, more than ten water columns shot up into the sky. (End of this chapter)