81: Chapter 81 Reaching the Rift Valley to Find the Golden Tears, Encountering a Demoness and Falling into an Illusion

The brief conflict in the Ghost Howling Forest was like a small splash in the journey, quickly left behind by Ye Qing.

He continued flying northwest at full speed, spreading his Divine Sense along the way to avoid several dangerous areas clearly occupied by powerful Yao Beasts.

The rift valley marked on the map was located three hundred miles northwest of "Starfall Valley," situated exactly between the main vein of "Dragonfall Abyss" and the outer extension of the "Myriad Demon Forest," a position that could be described as delicate.

The Spiritual Qi here was chaotic, the terrain treacherous, and it was rarely visited by humans, so it was no wonder it could nurture such a miraculous item as "star tear gold."

Three days later, a strange and desolate mountain area came into view.

The earth was a strange dark red, covered with crisscrossing gullies and bottomless cracks. Not a blade of grass grew there; only a type of hard black rock called "Chi-Gang Rock" was exposed, reflecting a cold luster under the sunlight.

The air was filled with thin yet sharp metal-elemental Spiritual Qi, along with faint, imperceptible remnants of Star Power, causing a subtle stinging sensation on the skin.

This place had already entered the radiation zone of the outer "Dragonfall Abyss."

Ye Qing lowered his flight light and landed on the peak of a towering Chi-Gang Rock, taking out the Jade Slip map to carefully compare it.

"It should be just ahead... behind that ridge shaped like a crouching ox."

He restrained his aura and utilized "Void Step," his figure merging into the shadows of the rocks as he silently snuck toward the target area.

The closer he got to the rift valley, the clearer the Star Power in the air became, carrying a unique, icy, and tranquil charm that seemed capable of cleansing the restlessness within the Divine Soul.

After crossing the ox-shaped ridge, a huge rift in the earth suddenly appeared before his eyes.

The rift valley was about a hundred zhang wide, with steep, cliff-like walls on both sides that were bottomless. The valley was filled with pale blue cold mist, which sunlight could barely penetrate, leaving the light dim.

At the bottom of the valley, faint, flickering, ghostly blue lights twinkled like falling teardrops in the night sky, beautiful and mysterious.

This was the location of the "star tear gold" associated mineral vein described in the map, an anomaly where the star essence manifested externally.

Ye Qing did not go down immediately.

He first carefully probed the rift valley with his Divine Sense.

The cold mist in the valley could interfere with Divine Sense, feeling sluggish after penetrating a few dozen zhang. However, he could still vaguely sense that deep at the bottom of the valley, thick and pure star essence and metal-iron Qi were gathering, forming several distinct nodes of spiritual energy.

At the same time, he also captured several obscure life auras lurking in the cold mist and rock shadows, cold, eerie, and carrying a faint Demonic Qi.

"As expected, something is guarding it. Judging by the aura, it seems to be... 'Cold Crystal Scorpions'? And something else?"

Cold Crystal Scorpions were second-tier ice-attribute poisonous insects that loved to eat minerals containing star and ice essence, so their appearance here was not surprising.

But Ye Qing felt that among those auras, one was exceptionally obscure and elusive; it did not seem to be an insect, but a higher-level Yao Beast, or perhaps... carrying a trace of intelligent cunning?

"Interesting. It seems this star tear gold won't be so easy to take."

He was not in a hurry, first finding a hidden rock crevice on the edge of the rift valley to hide, setting up a simple early warning Restriction, then sitting cross-legged to adjust his breathing and recover from the exhaustion of traveling for days, while patiently observing.

Time passed bit by bit.

The cold mist in the valley flowed and changed slowly with the shift of the "sunlight." Those ghostly blue "teardrop" lights also flickered, as if breathing.

The lurking auras were basically fixed, only that most obscure aura would occasionally move its position extremely slightly, as if patrolling, or perhaps waiting.

"Very cautious indeed." Ye Qing's lips curled slightly. This Yao Beast guarding the mine had high intelligence.

Night fell.

The sky on the outskirts of the Dragonfall Abyss was already dim, and after nightfall, it became pitch black like ink. Only the ghostly blue "teardrop" lights in the rift valley became brighter and clearer, illuminating the bottom of the valley in a dreamlike, glowing blue.

Star Power also became active at night, with strands of pure star essence dissipating from the mineral vein at the bottom of the valley, merging into the cold mist and adding a touch of mystery.

Just at this moment, that most obscure aura moved.

It was like a melting shadow, silently sliding out from a depression in the rock wall, slowly "flowing" toward the area beneath a "teardrop" where the ghostly blue light was strongest at the bottom of the valley.

Ye Qing's eyes narrowed slightly, his Divine Sense concentrating into a single line, quietly locking on.

By the ghostly blue light, he finally saw what that thing looked like.

It was not a Yao Beast, but a "person"!

A "woman" with a slender figure, wearing an almost transparent light blue gauze dress, barefoot, with skin as white as snow and almost transparent, and long hair like a waterfall cascading down to her ankles!

The woman's face was mostly covered by her cascading hair, revealing only a beautifully lined jaw and a pair of bloodless lips. She floated quietly beneath the largest "star teardrop," looking up, the pale blue light illuminating her almost illusory body; it was breathtakingly beautiful, yet carried a non-human, eerie, and icy quality.

She extended her slender, almost transparent fingers, gently touching the ghostly blue "teardrop."

The "teardrop" trembled slightly, and strands of pure star essence and tranquil Dao rhyme, as if attracted, slowly flowed into the woman's fingertips and into her body.

The woman let out an almost inaudible, satisfied sigh, and the aura around her seemed to solidify a little.

"A manifestation of star essence? Or... some kind of Essence Spirit or demon spirit that Cultivates by absorbing star essence?" Ye Qing felt a chill in his heart. To be able to take human form, it was at least at the third-tier (Golden Core) level, and its intelligence was not low. Judging by its posture of absorbing star essence, it was clearly using the star tear gold mineral vein here as a cultivation resource.

"No wonder there are Cold Crystal Scorpions guarding this place; they are likely driven by her. This 'demoness' is the real master."

Ye Qing quickly assessed the situation. The opponent's aura was elusive, making it difficult to accurately judge her Realm, but the feeling she gave him was much stronger than the False Core-level Green-Scaled Four-Winged Snake from before; she had likely already entered the third tier. Moreover, she occupied the geographical advantage and could control the cold mist and Star Power, making her difficult to deal with.

A direct confrontation might not yield any benefits and could potentially alert the enemy and destroy the mineral vein.

"Need to use wit."

He waited patiently, continuing to observe.

The "demoness" absorbed the star essence for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, then slowly withdrew her finger, her figure rippling like water waves, merging back into the shadows of the rock wall, her aura vanishing once again.

The valley returned to silence, with only the faint rustling sounds of Cold Crystal Scorpions crawling in the dark.

"It seems she cannot leave the shadows for long, or perhaps she needs to regularly 'feed' on star essence to maintain her form? Is the time she comes out fixed?"

Ye Qing noted this detail, and a plan gradually formed in his mind.

He quietly retreated, leaving the edge of the rift valley, and came to a hidden mountain hollow a few miles away.

First, he set up the "Lesser Heavenly Cycle Five Elements Earth Vein Array" and the "Small Heavenly Cycle Star Array," providing dual inner and outer protection and concealment.

Then, from his Cave Heaven World, he took out several Materials he had prepared in advance.

Three "star-sha thunder beads" obtained from the black market exchange.

Several unorthodox Talismans and Formation Plates capable of disrupting Spiritual Qi, creating illusions, or erupting with strong light and sound.

And a fragment of "disordered star stone" obtained from the Cuiping Mountain Secret Realm, which contained chaotic Star Power.

"You want to absorb? I'll let you absorb enough."

A curve appeared at the corner of Ye Qing's mouth, and he began to use these Materials as a foundation to set up a crude yet vicious "trap."

The core consisted of those three "star-sha thunder beads," which he embedded around the fragment of "disordered star stone" using a special technique, forming an unstable explosive core.

He surrounded it with Talismans that disrupted Spiritual Qi and illusion Formation Plates, disguising it as a "mutated" "star teardrop" with exceptionally rich star essence.

Finally, on the periphery of the trap, he used Void Power to outline several extremely hidden "Void Imprints" with "delayed trigger" and "aura marking" functions.

The trap was set; it looked just like a "large star teardrop mineral" that had accidentally rolled to the edge of the rift valley and was about to fall into the valley bottom, emitting an alluring, pure, yet slightly disordered star fluctuation.

"Done. Next, it's time to invite the guest into the urn."

Ye Qing carefully placed the trap on an inconspicuous steep slope at the edge of the rift valley, calculating the angle well; with just a gentle push, it would roll down to the valley bottom, landing just right near the spot where the "demoness" often absorbed essence.

Once set up, he retreated back into the Formation in the mountain hollow, restrained all his aura, and waited quietly.

One night passed without incident.

The next day at "noon," the light was slightly brighter.

The cold mist in the valley was slightly thinner.

That obscure aura indeed "flowed" out from the shadows again, drifting toward the usual spot.

Just as she was hovering beneath that largest "teardrop," extending her fingertip, the moment before she was about to touch it—

In the mountain hollow, Ye Qing's mind stirred slightly, activating one of the "Void Imprints" on the periphery of the trap.

Bang.

A slight muffled sound was exceptionally clear in the silent rift valley.

That disguised "large teardrop mineral" rolled down from the edge of the steep slope, bringing with it a rumbling sound, and smashed into the cold mist at the bottom of the valley, landing just right in a shallow pit ten zhang away from the "demoness."

The pure yet disordered star fluctuations "emitted" from the surface of the mineral instantly spread out.

The "demoness" paused, her cascading hair slightly lifting, as if "looking" toward the mineral that had rolled down.

She was silent for a moment, appearing somewhat puzzled, but the "rich star essence" emitted by the mineral clearly had a fatal attraction to her.

Her figure was elusive, as if weightless, and she slowly "flowed" toward the mineral.

Ten zhang... five zhang... three zhang...

She extended her transparent fingers, tentatively touching the surface of the mineral.

At the very moment her fingertip touched it!

A sudden change occurred!

The disguise on the surface of the mineral instantly faded, revealing the extremely unstable explosive core inside and the surrounding Talismans and Formation Plates!

The "demoness" figure shook violently, as if realizing something was wrong, and hurriedly tried to retreat.

However, it was too late.

In the mountain hollow, Ye Qing did not hesitate to detonate the core's "star-sha thunder beads" and all the Talismans and Formation Plates!

Boom! Boom, boom, boom!!!

The deafening explosion roared at the bottom of the rift valley!

Three "star-sha thunder beads," equivalent to the full-power strike of an Early Stage Golden Core, exploded simultaneously, and the violent Star Evil Qi and metal-iron fragments, mixed with disordered Star Power, blinding strong light, sharp noise, and chaotic Spiritual Qi turbulence, instantly completely engulfed the area where the "demoness" was!

The shockwave of the explosion tore the cold mist at the bottom of the valley into shreds, the cliffs on both sides shook violently, and countless rocks rolled down.

Several Cold Crystal Scorpions lurking in the dark were ground into powder by the aftermath before they could even let out a scream.

"Screech—!!!"

A miserable, sharp hiss, filled with pain and fury, came from the center of the explosion!

Immediately after, a pale blue, slightly illusory figure, surrounded by chaotic Star Power and Evil Qi, with its aura plummeting, shot up from the explosion's dust like a wounded beast!

It was none other than that "Demoness"!

Her pale blue gauze dress was now tattered, revealing her nearly transparent body beneath. Fine cracks had appeared all over, with dark blue "blood" seeping out. Her aura was weak and chaotic; she had clearly suffered significant injuries. Her originally smooth long hair was also stained with Evil Qi, dancing wildly.

She hovered in mid-air, her crimson eyes (previously hidden by her hair) staring fixedly in the direction of the explosion, filled with resentment and madness. Where was even a trace of her previous serene and eerie demeanor?

"Human Race... ant... you are courting death!!"

A hoarse, sharp voice, like metal grinding against metal, erupted from her mouth, carrying monstrous killing intent.

She spread her arms, and the remaining cold mist and scattered Star Power in the valley gathered frantically towards her, condensing behind her into a twisted, eerie Domain made of ice crystals and starlight. Within the Domain, countless hideous ice crystal scorpion shadows vaguely emerged, emitting silent shrieks.

"Oh? You can speak, it seems your intelligence is indeed quite high. However, this Domain... it doesn't seem very stable." Ye Qing's voice, carrying a hint of mockery, drifted faintly from the direction of the mountain col.

He had already revealed himself, standing in mid-air outside the Formation, his green robes fluttering, his expression calm as he looked at the enraged "Demoness" as if watching a cornered beast baring its fangs and claws.

"A mere Golden Core Early Stage... daring to ambush me! I will drain your essence, blood, and Divine Soul, leaving you to sink into eternal damnation!!" The Demoness shrieked sharply. Her Domain expanded violently, and countless ice crystal scorpion shadows surged towards Ye Qing like a tidal wave, overwhelming the sky. Wherever they passed, the air froze, starlight twisted, carrying bone-chilling cold and the power to erode the Divine Soul.

"Big talk."

Ye Qing neither dodged nor retreated, his mind stirring slightly.

"zhou tian star formation flags, rise!"

Thirty-six palm-sized Star Formation Flags flew out from his sleeves, expanding in the wind and instantly setting up the "Small Heavenly Cycle Star Array". Starlight filled the air, shrouding a hundred zhang around him.

The Formation Flags circulated, interweaving starlight into a solid Star light barrier that blocked all the surging ice crystal scorpion shadows. As they clashed and eroded each other, they emitted sizzling sounds.

At the same time, Ye Qing raised his right hand and grasped the air.

"sword, come."

Inside his Dantian, the main Hunxu sword emitted a joyful tremor, breaking out of his body along with twelve light swords, transforming into thirteen streams of pale silver light that hovered before him. The sword light flickered, locking onto the Demoness.

"Your Star Power is used quite flashily. Unfortunately, it is messy and impure, all show and no substance." Ye Qing commented, then pointed with his fingers together.

"Let me show you what true Star sword Dao is."

"Hunxu Zhou Tian, Star Flow!"

The main sword "Hunxu" blazed with light, and the twelve light swords suddenly scattered. Instead of attacking directly, they flew along mysterious trajectories, instantly setting up a simple "Star Flow sword Domain" composed of sword light in the hundred zhang of Void Realm around the Demoness.

Within the sword Domain, the Void Realm twisted slightly, and Sword Intent filled the air. Countless hair-thin, pale silver Sword Qi generated out of thin air, like dust in a galaxy, flowing slowly, yet containing terrifying power of cutting and annihilation.

The Demoness's pupils constricted. She felt the surrounding space becoming viscous, and her own condensed Ice and Star Domain was actually being faintly suppressed and eroded by this eerie sword Domain!

Those flowing pale silver Sword Qi, though seemingly slow, made her feel a fatal threat.

"Impossible! You are only at Golden Core Early Stage..." She was shocked and furious, frantically driving her Domain. Countless ice crystal scorpion shadows rushed one after another towards the edge of the sword Domain, attempting to tear open a gap.

However, as soon as the ice crystal scorpion shadows touched those pale silver Sword Qi, they instantly melted like snowflakes meeting boiling water, unable to stir up even a ripple.

"It is time to end this." Ye Qing's voice turned cold, and his sword fingers changed.

"Star Flow, Twist."

Within the sword Domain, the countless slowly flowing pale silver Sword Qi suddenly accelerated! Like a galaxy stirred by an invisible force, they transformed into a violent vortex of Sword Qi, sweeping towards the Demoness in the center!

Wherever the Sword Qi passed, faint silver traces were left in the Void Realm, lingering for a long time.

The Demoness let out a desperate shriek, pouring all her remaining power into her Domain, transforming it into a thick Ice and Star light shield, blocking in front of her.

Chi chi chi chi—! A dense, rain-like sound of cutting rang out.

The Ice and Star light shield was like fragile glass; under the scouring of the torrent of Sword Qi, it was quickly covered in cracks and then shattered with a boom!

The remaining Sword Qi, its momentum undiminished, instantly pierced through the Demoness's illusory body.

"Ah—!!!" The extremely shrill scream came to an abrupt halt.

The Demoness's body, like a shattered ice sculpture, was instantly covered in countless crisscrossing sword marks, and then with a "bang", it completely exploded, turning into sky-filling pale blue light spots and ice crystal debris, scattering everywhere.

A pale blue crystal core, the size of a fist, crystal clear throughout, with a small rotating nebula seemingly sealed inside, fell from the light spots.

This was the "star core", or rather, the "Yao core" of this "Demoness"!

Ye Qing raised his hand and summoned the star core into his palm. It felt cold to the touch, containing pure star source essence and a unique "serene" and "icy" Dao rhyme. Its quality was extremely high, far exceeding a False Core level Yao core.

"A Star Spirit? Or some kind of mutated ice-attribute Star Beast? Whatever, it's mine now anyway."

He satisfiedly put away the star core, and collected the remaining strands of pale blue source essence containing star essence left after the Demoness exploded, sending them all into the Cave Heaven World. Only then did he remove the sword Formation and Formation Flags.

At the bottom of the rift valley, because of the fierce battle and explosion just now, it was a mess, and the cold mist had thinned out a lot, but the radiance of those dark blue "star tear droplets" was still flickering.

The biggest threat had been eliminated, and the remaining Cold Crystal Scorpions were not worth worrying about.

Ye Qing's figure drifted to the bottom of the valley, arriving beneath the largest "star tear droplet".

There, on the rock wall, were embedded pieces of strange metal as thin as cicada wings, deep blue throughout, crystal clear, with liquid seemingly flowing inside, emitting rich star essence and a calming Dao rhyme. It was exactly "star tear gold"!

Judging by the scale, it was a patch the size of a washbasin, with varying thickness, but the quality was excellent.

"Not bad, it was worth all my preparations."

Ye Qing took out a specially made jade shovel and began to carefully mine it.

The texture of star tear gold is peculiar and extremely brittle; it needs to be peeled off with gentle mana and specific techniques, otherwise, it is easily damaged.

It took him two full hours to mine all the exposed star tear gold on the rock wall, as well as what was contained in the nearby rocks, obtaining twelve palm-sized thin sheets and over twenty thumb-sized fragments, a bountiful harvest.

He put everything into specially prepared jade boxes and sent them into the Cave Heaven World.

He searched carefully at the bottom of the rift valley again, finding a few small associated mineral deposits, mining out some star tear gold fragments of slightly lower quality, as well as a few pieces of "Cold Star Iron" Ore containing Star Power, and collected them all.

Only after confirming there were no omissions did he leave the rift valley and return to the Formation in the mountain col.

First, process the spoils of war.

The star core and source essence transformed from that "Demoness", upon entering the Cave Heaven World, immediately caused a strong resonance with the star core. It was quickly drawn to the side of the core, rotating slowly, releasing pure star source essence and the unique "serene and icy" Dao rhyme, nourishing and supplementing the star rules of the Cave Heaven World.

The "night sky" of the Cave Heaven World seemed to become clearer and more serene because of this, and a certain star representing "Taiyin" or "Cold Silence" shone significantly brighter.

The star tear gold was placed on the Floating Landmass, alongside the moonlight star seed and the earth vein array core mushroom. The calming Dao rhyme it emitted made the spiritual plants in the entire Floating Landmass area appear more vibrant and full of spirituality.

The edge of the Cave Heaven World, due to this high-quality "nutrient" supplement, slowly expanded outward again by several tens of zhang, and the overall area now exceeded eleven hundred zhang.

The feedback of Chaos star energy was even purer and more vast, pushing his Golden Core Early Stage cultivation steadily towards the Middle Stage.

"A full harvest."

Ye Qing felt refreshed. He took some star source liquid, adjusted his breath to recover, and at the same time reviewed this battle.

"That 'Demoness' had strength around the Golden Core Middle Stage, but her intelligence was quite high; she was good at using the environment and could manipulate Star and ice power. If we had fought head-on, it would have taken some effort. Weakening her with traps and then killing her with the thunderous sword Formation was the best choice. The Hunxu Zhou Tian Star Sword Formation is indeed formidable; the 'Star Flow sword Domain' integrates trapping and killing, and is very effective against Cultivators of the same or slightly higher rank. The defensive capability of the zhou tian star formation flags is also trustworthy."

"The star tear gold has been obtained, and the goal of this trip has been achieved. However... things seem to be getting livelier over at Dragonfall Abyss and Starfall Valley. Next, should I continue searching for resources in the surrounding area, or..."

He pondered, his gaze involuntarily looking towards the southeast, where the main vein of "Dragonfall Abyss" and "Starfall Valley" were located.

The clues to the star source crystal, the secret of the ancient teleportation array, the power struggle between several major forces... it was like an invisible giant net, covering that mysterious and dangerous land.

"My strength is still not enough. At least, I need to reach the Golden Core Middle Stage, or even the Late Stage, to be qualified to go into that truly muddy water and fish."

He made up his mind, no longer aiming too high.

"First, find a place to go into seclusion for a period of time, thoroughly digest and absorb the star tear gold and star core, improve my cultivation, and nurture my Magic Treasure. Afterward, I will look for other Opportunities in the outer area of Dragonfall Abyss to continue accumulating."

Safety first, develop steadily.

He put away the Formation, identified the direction, and quietly escaped towards the "Chi-Yan Mountain Area", another relatively safe location marked on the map that might produce special spiritual items.

Inside his body, the eleven hundred zhang Cave Heaven World was filled with the brilliance of stars and the moon. The newly obtained star tear gold thin sheets gleamed with a dark blue luster, and together with the star core, they continued to release pure Star Dao rhyme, pushing the development and growth of the Small World.

Ye Qing's travels and looting continued to move forward steadily, amidst repeated planning and harvests.