142: Chapter 142 Xing Yaoyan, Long Time No See

The moment before the barrier completely shattered, Xing Yaoyan immediately used "Mist Form" and "Swap," appearing directly inside a certain dilapidated house.

Before leaving, she happened to see the little girl who had come to ask her and Qian Mo for help earlier, and she also saw the woman standing beside her with her arm in a bandage; she looked to be in decent health.

This should be her mother... It seems that fellow Qian Mo actually has some skill...

Through the gaps in the damaged house, she saw the warm sunlight spilling once again onto this land that had been disconnected from the outside world for dozens of minutes.

"Heh... I'll leave the rest to you all. I need to find a chance to slip away quickly..."

With this thought, Xing Yaoyan activated the Star Swallowing Art again, using an old trick she hadn't used in a long time—Stealth Mode, activate!

She crouched low, preparing to take a back path to slip away quietly. But just as she stepped out of the house and was about to enter the sunlight of the outside world...

*Buzz~*

Her head felt as if it had been struck by a heavy club, and a sharp pain flared up.

"This familiar feeling..."

"Roar! Roar! Roar..."

At the same time, the miserable cries of Star Beasts rose one after another from the direction where she had originally been fighting.

The last bit of hope in her heart shattered completely. Clutching her head with one hand, she staggered backward rapidly, retreating into the shadows of the broken house.

*Thud!*

Her back slammed heavily against the wall, and she slowly slid down it, finally slumping onto the floor.

"Damn! It's the 'Star Soul Ritual'..."

Xing Yaoyan cursed inwardly, lamenting her truly rotten luck.

While chatting with Sun Wu in the Kingdom of Myriad Demons earlier, she had learned that this so-called "Star Soul Ritual" was a superweapon targeting Star Beasts that Leng You had secretly researched, and she was "lucky" enough to be the subject of its first practical application.

She hadn't expected this thing to reach Kyoto so quickly, and that it would actually be put into use.

As her body grew weaker, her wolf ears and tail, which had been hidden, slowly began to reveal themselves.

Seeing this, Xing Yaoyan gritted her teeth and, enduring the physical discomfort, suddenly pulled a large black cloth from her storage space and draped it over her head, wrapping herself tightly to hide all her wolf tribe characteristics.

At the same time, she was struggling to maintain the circulation of Power Of Will required for her "Stealth" state.

This was a necessary measure to avoid being discovered by the people from the Security Bureau.

"Tch... so unlucky..."

When she decided to intervene in this matter, she had already made full preparations:

Planning an escape route, leaving marks for Swap teleportation, avoiding surveillance...

But plans really can't keep up with changes; despite all her calculations, she never expected the Security Bureau would choose to use the "Star Soul Ritual" as their final trump card.

"Isn't Kyoto full of talented and extraordinary people? Wouldn't it be better if you came to kill us yourselves? Why must you use this thing! What a bunch of useless fellows..."

Xing Yaoyan grumbled to herself.

If anyone from the Security Bureau heard this, they would certainly step forward to argue:

This "Star Soul Ritual" is like a targeted therapy drug that kills tumor cells; it is only effective against Star Beasts. The Enforcers are like white blood cells; while white blood cells might damage normal cells while clearing pathogens, the "Star Soul Ritual" has no such issue.

Therefore, wouldn't one be a fool not to use such a good tool...

Under the shadow of the black cloth, the golden light in the girl's eyes flickered on and off, and her forehead was covered in pea-sized beads of sweat.

She held her head in both hands, her delicate body trembling slightly as she desperately resisted the immense pain in her head, her tail trailing weakly on the ground.

An unknown amount of time passed.

"Ha... ha... I... I held on..."

Xing Yaoyan panted heavily.

The pain had reached its peak, but she was still a long way from fainting.

Although she looked miserable right now, she had indeed withstood the impact of the "Star Soul Ritual."

"It seems this thing isn't so Heaven-Defying that it perfectly counters Star Beasts of all ranks; as long as the Star Beast's strength is a bit higher, it can still hold out..."

However, although her consciousness was relatively clear, most of the Power Of Will in her body had been affected by the "Star Soul Ritual," and her entire Spirit Sea had dimmed significantly because of it.

Right now, she struggled even to stand up, and she still had to maintain her "Stealth," let alone try to escape.

"Now I can only wait for my body to recover before making further plans."

Even though the plan had hit a snag, Xing Yaoyan was still quite confident in her escape.

On one hand, her current location was very far from where the previous battle took place, nearly across the entire Amusement Park.

She had also scouted beforehand; this place had no human hiding spots, and almost all the Star Beasts were at the location she was previously at, which meant this area would receive very little attention in the short term, perhaps even none at all.

Even if she was seriously injured, there was plenty of time for her to recover and then depart leisurely.

"Go home..."

"Go home..."

...

Deep and distant voices came from afar. Xing Yaoyan knew this was the traditional final rite of the Star Beasts.

Sorry, my strength is currently failing me, so I cannot be your Navigator... Moreover, your Star Souls were already incomplete...

Xing Yaoyan sighed inwardly, then lowered her head, sinking her consciousness into her Spirit Sea.

"Little Chaos, do you remember? You were just like them back then..."

Inside the Spirit Sea, Xing Yaoyan's illusory Soul figure was teasing Little Chaos.

"Navigator... are you okay..."

Little Chaos didn't respond to her words, instead showing concern for her condition first.

"Hahaha... I'm fine. This time is much better than the last..."

"Navigator! You've gone through this once before?!"

On the other side, Xiao Dao chimed in, its tone revealing deep surprise and even a bit of disbelief.

"That's right... I almost met my end back then..."

Since she was bored anyway, Xing Yaoyan decided to tell Xiao Dao about the various events she had experienced before it joined...

She had wanted to do this for a long time, but she always forgot because there were too many things going on.

"You have no idea... when Little Chaos saw that I was about to be controlled, the whole beast was practically in tears..."

"Navigator, if you keep this up, I'm going to ignore you!"

"Sorry, sorry, next time for sure!"

"Navigator... you've worked hard..."

Time slowly passed amidst the banter of the three beasts.

Xing Yaoyan could already feel the weakness in her body rapidly receding.

Come on, soon I'll be able to...

Suddenly, her long wolf ears twitched slightly.

*Tap, tap, tap...*

Crisp footsteps approached from afar and finally stopped on the other side of the wall she was leaning against.

Xing Yaoyan's heart inevitably sank bit by bit.

One second, two seconds...

No other sounds came.

Phew... it seems she probably didn't disc—

Suddenly, Xing Yaoyan felt the light in the room grow dimmer.

A familiar voice rang out in the space almost at the same moment she noticed the anomaly.

"Xing Yaoyan, long time no see..."