115: Blood Moon Soul Curse, Star Lake Death Battle

The night wind was like a blade, slicing through the sky.

Lin Fan pushed his Star Chasing Steps to the limit, his figure pulling a blurry afterimage through the night. The Meteor Star Ancient Domain was originally ten thousand miles away from the Lin Family; it would take an ordinary Condensing Essence Realm Martial Artist three days of traveling at full speed, but he only took six hours.

At dawn, the Lin Family's Star Palace was already visible in the distance.

The square in front of the palace was brightly lit. Second Elder Second Elder, Third Elder Fifth Elder, and Fifth Elder Lin Zhenyue were all present, their expressions solemn. Seeing Lin Fan's return, a flash of hope appeared in everyone's eyes, only to be covered by deeper worry.

"Second Uncle, the details." Lin Fan landed and got straight to the point.

Lin Canghai took a deep breath and said quickly, "Three days ago, news came from the Imperial Capital claiming that our Lin Family is colluding with the Dark Moon Divine Cult. The evidence is the Shadow Clan corpses we killed in the Ancient Domain."

"Corpses?" Lin Fan frowned.

"Someone secretly transported those corpses out and tampered with them, creating the illusion that our Lin Family was keeping the Shadow Clan in captivity." Lin Canghai's fists tightened. "Even more troublesome is that the Lin Family's unique 'star imprint' was found on those corpses; it's ironclad evidence."

Lin Fan's eyes turned cold.

The star imprint is an identity marker that only Core Disciples of the Lin Family possess. It is engraved deep within the Divine Soul using a special secret method, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to imitate. Only an internal mole could forge such an imprint.

"There is a traitor in the Family," he said slowly.

The crowd fell silent.

This was the possibility they least wanted to face, but the facts were right before them.

"What about Little Xue?" Lin Fan asked.

Third Elder Fifth Elder stepped forward and took out a shattered jade pendant. "This was found by the Star Moon Lake; it's Little Xue's personal jade pendant. There were signs of a struggle at the scene, as well as this—" He handed over a black dart with a crescent moon pattern engraved on it.

The Dark Moon Divine Cult.

Lin Fan took the dart and tightened his fingers; the dart snapped into two pieces in his palm.

"The guard team searched for a hundred miles around but found no trace," Fifth Elder Lin Zhenyue said in a heavy voice. "The Dark Moon Divine Cult is skilled at concealment. If they intend to hide, it will be very difficult to find them."

Lin Fan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, his eyes were cold and clear. "Second Uncle, how much longer can we stall the Supervision Department?"

"Two days at most," Lin Canghai gave a bitter smile. "Although Your Majesty does not fully believe the Third Prince, this matter involves the Dark Moon Divine Cult and must be investigated. The Supervision Department Head, the 'Iron-Faced Judge' Sima Yan, is personally leading the team. This man is impartial and selfless, and his cultivation has reached the Late Stage Divine Power Realm. We... cannot stop him."

Two days.

Lin Fan's mind raced.

Finding Lin Xue, investigating the traitor, and dealing with the Supervision Department... all three things had to be done simultaneously.

"Second Uncle, you are responsible for stabilizing the Family internally and screening all Core Disciples, especially those who can access the secret method for the star imprint."

"Third Elder, take men and continue searching around Star Moon Lake. Expand the range and focus on checking hidden places like caves and water grottoes."

"Fifth Elder, prepare to deal with the Supervision Department. Organize all accounts and personnel rosters. Hide what needs to be hidden and destroy what needs to be destroyed."

One command after another was given methodically, and the group left to carry them out.

Once everyone had dispersed, Lin Fan walked alone to the back of the palace and took out the shattered jade pendant.

Lin Xue's aura still lingered on the jade pendant, faint but clear. He activated the Circulating Heaven Star Formula and attached his Divine Sense to it, attempting to sense Lin Xue's location.

However, as soon as his Divine Sense touched the depths of the jade pendant, a cold resistance suddenly exploded!

Buzz! A layer of blood-colored lines appeared on the surface of the jade pendant, twisting into a blood-colored eye that stared back at Lin Fan's Divine Sense.

"Blood Moon Soul Curse!" Lin Fan's expression changed drastically.

This was the most vicious tracking curse of the Dark Moon Divine Cult. The victim's Divine Soul would be marked, allowing the caster to sense their location at any time. More terrifyingly, the caster could detonate the curse with a single thought, severely wounding or even destroying the victim's Divine Soul.

Lin Xue was still alive, but she had become a hostage.

"Dark Moon Divine Cult..." The killing intent in Lin Fan's eyes almost solidified into substance.

He suppressed his anger and continued to sense. Although the Blood Moon Soul Curse blocked most of the connection, the Eternal Indestructible Body's sensitivity to the Power of the Stars allowed him to catch a very faint clue—there were abnormal star fluctuations at the bottom of Star Moon Lake.

"The bottom of the lake?" Lin Fan no longer hesitated, his body turning into a streak of light as he sped toward Star Moon Lake.

Star Moon Lake is located in the southeast of the Meteor Star Ancient Domain, named because the lake surface reflects the stars and moon at night. The lake is vast, spanning a hundred miles, and its waters are bottomless. It is said that there are ancient ruins at the bottom, but this has never been confirmed.

Half an hour later, Lin Fan arrived at the lakeside.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and the lake was shrouded in a layer of mist, its silence masking something eerie. The signs of struggle on the shore had been cleared, but the residual blood evil qi could still be felt.

Lin Fan activated his Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils and scanned the lake surface.

In the vision of his pupil technique, the scene beneath the lake gradually became clear—deep in the water, about a hundred zhang down, there was an area where the Power of the Stars was exceptionally dense and there were fluctuations from a Formation.

"She really is at the bottom of the lake." Without hesitation, he leaped into the water.

The lake water was bone-chillingly cold, but the moment it touched him, his Eternal Indestructible Body operated automatically, covering his entire body in a jade-like luster that insulated him from the cold. He dove down like a fish at extreme speed.

The further down he went, the darker the light became and the greater the pressure.

For an ordinary Condensing Essence Realm Martial Artist, diving thirty zhang was the limit. But Lin Fan's Physical Body was powerful, and a hundred-zhang depth was nothing to him. His Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils remained clear in the darkness, and he soon saw his target.

At the bottom of the lake was an ancient altar. The altar was built of massive black stones in a hexagonal shape, with a stone pillar standing on each side, covered in Blood-colored Runes. In the center of the altar, Lin Xue was tied to a stone pillar, unconscious. She was surrounded by a layer of blood-colored light shield with flowing blood moon patterns—the manifestation of the Blood Moon Soul Curse. Six figures stood around the altar.

They all wore black robes and bronze masks—the Dark Moon Divine Cult! The leader was none other than Shadow Three. The starlight erosion on his shoulder had been suppressed, and his aura had recovered to seventy percent. He was currently standing at the edge of the altar, holding a Blood-colored Crystal that resonated with the altar, drawing in the undercurrents of the lake bottom.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Lin Fan." Shadow Three looked up, his eyes beneath the mask locking onto Lin Fan through the water.

Lin Fan landed in front of the altar, his gaze sweeping over the six people.

Aside from Shadow Three, the other five were all at the Condensing Origin Fifth Layer, standing in positions that corresponded to a Formation. They were clearly well-prepared.

"Release my sister," Lin Fan said coldly.

"I can," Shadow Three replied with unexpected straightforwardness. "Exchange her for the star god token and your life."

"Do you think that's possible?"

"Then there's nothing to talk about." Shadow Three shrugged. "However, I can tell you that this 'Blood Moon Altar' is a century-old arrangement of my cult. Once activated, it can draw upon the Earth Vein Evil Qi at the lake bottom to turn everything within a hundred miles into a dead zone. And your sister is the sacrifice."

He paused, his voice carrying a teasing tone. "Of course, you can try to rescue her by force now. But the Blood Moon Soul Curse is already linked to the altar. If you touch a single hair on her head, the curse will detonate. A Condensing Essence Realm Divine Soul cannot withstand the explosion of a Blood Moon Soul Curse."

Lin Fan's eyes were calm; he did not lash out immediately.

He was observing.

The flow of the altar's runes, the positions of the six people, the curse nodes on Lin Xue—his Delusion-Breaking Divine Pupils operated at full power, taking in every detail.

After ten breaths, he moved.

But he didn't rush toward Lin Xue. Instead, he took three steps to the left and threw a punch at a stone pillar at the edge of the altar.

This punch seemed to have no pattern, but it made Shadow Three's expression change drastically. "Stop him!"

The two assassins on the left and right immediately attacked, their blade lights like blood as they slashed at Lin Fan's back.

Lin Fan did not dodge or avoid them, his Eternal Indestructible Body tanking the two blades as his punch's momentum remained undiminished.

Boom! The stone pillar exploded, and the Blood-colored Runes on it instantly dimmed. The operation of the entire altar came to a momentary halt, and the blood-colored light shield on Lin Xue also fluctuated slightly.

"He saw through the Formation nodes!" Shadow Three shouted sharply. "Change the Formation, trap and kill him!"

The six of them moved simultaneously, their positions shifting as the Formation's power surged. The undercurrents at the lake bottom transformed into six Water Dragons, strangling from different directions. The Water Dragons contained Earth Vein Evil Qi and were extremely corrosive, eroding even the rocks at the lake bottom into pits wherever they passed.

"Starlight Protection!" The star pagoda appeared above Lin Fan's head, casting down a starlight light screen that kept the Water Dragons out. At the same time, his figure was like lightning as he moved around the edge of the altar, shattering a stone pillar with every punch he threw.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Three stone pillars were shattered in succession.

The altar's operation was now completely chaotic, and the blood-colored light shield vibrated violently. A look of ruthlessness flashed in Shadow Three's eyes as he slammed the Blood-colored Crystal in his hand into the center of the altar.

"Since you want to seek death, then let's die together! Blood Moon Sacrifice, activate!" The crystal exploded, turning into a towering blood light.

The entire altar lit up with a blinding blood-colored glow as the Earth Vein Evil Qi was frantically extracted and poured into the altar. In the center of the altar, a Blood-colored Light Pillar soared into the sky, piercing straight through the lake surface.

The Blood Moon Soul Curse on Lin Xue was triggered and began to contract violently, intending to completely crush her Divine Soul.

"Little Xue!" Lin Fan's eyes nearly burst.

He no longer held back, and the star god token flew out from between his eyebrows, hovering above his head.

"In the name of the Star God, command the stars!" The token radiated brilliant light, drawing down a sky full of starlight that penetrated the lake water and poured into the bottom. The starlight collided with the blood light, triggering a terrifying shockwave that shook the entire lake floor.

Taking advantage of this, Lin Fan rushed into the center of the altar, severed the chains binding Lin Xue with a single sword strike, and took her into his arms. But the Blood Moon Soul Curse was not dispelled; instead, it contracted even faster due to the stimulus.

Lin Xue's brow furrowed, her face showing a look of pain as her aura rapidly weakened.

"The curse core is on Shadow Three!" Lin Fan realized instantly.

He looked up at Shadow Three at the edge of the altar.

Shadow Three was currently pushing the altar with all his might, his face contorted. "It's useless! Once the Blood Moon Soul Curse is activated, she will surely die unless I actively dispel it! Lin Fan, hand over the star god token, and I will spare her life!"

Lin Fan did not answer.

He held Lin Xue with his left hand and made a grasping motion in the air with his right.

The Star Sword Intent Seed vibrated within his Divine Soul, and a Starlight Longsword condensed in his palm.

This time, the longsword was no longer brilliant but as restrained as an abyss. The galaxy within the blade seemed to have frozen, emitting a chill that could freeze time and space.

"This strike is for my sister."

Lin Fan thrust his sword. There was no world-shaking momentum, only a thread of starlight as thin as a hair that pierced through the blood light, water, and Formation, arriving in an instant.

Shadow Three tried to dodge, but he found that the surrounding space seemed to have been frozen, and his movements were a hundred times slower.

Puchi! The starlight entered through his brow and exited through the back of his head.

The blood color in Shadow Three's eyes quickly faded, replaced by confusion and disbelief. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out. At his brow, there was a tiny blood hole with no blood flowing out because the wound had been completely purified by the starlight.

Thud.

Shadow Three collapsed, having breathed his last.

With his death, the Blood Moon Altar lost control, and the blood light began to dissipate. The Blood Moon Soul Curse on Lin Xue also loosened, its contraction speed slowing down.

Lin Fan immediately pressed his hand to Lin Xue's forehead, channeling the Origin power of his Eternal Indestructible Body into her to protect her Divine Soul while simultaneously wrapping the curse in the Power of the Stars to temporarily Seal it.

After doing this, his face was as pale as paper.

Continuously activating the Star Sword Intent and using his Origin power had cost him an immense amount of energy.

Meanwhile, the remaining five Dark Moon Divine Cult assassins had recovered from their shock, their eyes boiling with killing intent.

"Avenge Lord Shadow Three!"

The five of them closed in.

Lin Fan shielded Lin Xue behind him and took a deep breath, the golden light rising in his eyes once more.

The battle was not yet over.

Above the lake's surface, the morning sun was just rising. But deep at the bottom of the lake, the blood light and starlight were still in a fierce collision.