Chapter 932: The Dismembered Saint

"Saint, think about it. If Yu Fuli were truly the Yuqing Grandmaster, why hasn’t he been protecting the Yuqing holy land over the years? Could Xiao Nanfeng be deceiving us again?" Su Tianxin suggested.

"I saw Yu Fuli with my own eyes. How could he deceive me?" the Void Saint retorted.

"I have a hypothesis. What if Xiao Nanfeng colluded with the Yuqing Grandmaster to have him impersonate Yu Fuli and mimic Yu Fuli’s aura to scare us off?" Su Tianxin proposed.

"No one can mimic Yu Fuli’s aura," the Void Saint said gravely.

"What if they used an artifact imbued with Yu Fuli’s aura during his lifetime?" Su Tianxin countered.

The Void Saint frowned, deep in thought.

"My guess is that Xiao Nanfeng learned of my plan to involve you, Saint. Realizing he couldn’t win, he devised this scheme with the Yuqing Grandmaster to intimidate you. Otherwise, Yu Fuli would never have let us leave that day."

The Void Saint frowned. "That heart sword he used was real."

"No, it had to be fake. We were simply in too much of a panic to see through the ruse. Besides, I believe the Jade Purity Ancestor may have agreed to Xiao Nanfeng’s request on a whim. He won’t always be helping Xiao Nanfeng."

The Void Saint fell silent.

"Saint, Xiao Nanfeng is a trickster. You can't let him trick you!" Su Tianxin urged again.

The Void Saint frowned in mounting frustration. The idea that he had been frightened into distancing himself from the conflict between Dachi and Dazheng gnawed at him. Worse, the possibility of being duped into such a decision filled him with dread. If word spread, not only would he become a laughingstock among the saints, his own pride would also be irreparably damaged.

"Saint, your avatar must still be at Yongding. Why don't you investigate in secret?" Su Tianxin suggested.

"Hm?"

"I remember that you have a means of concealing yourself, Saint. No one will know that you are in Yongding. Should any formations obstruct your path, I can guide you."

"Very well," the Saint said coldly.

The Void Saint's avatar, which had just stepped out of Xiao Nanfeng's imperial study, abruptly stopped short. His body shimmered and vanished from sight. Though he appeared to have left the palace, he was actually still wandering about invisibly.

Using a secret technique on his eyes, the Void Saint saw countless faint blue lines in his vision that depicted the formations around the palace.

He projected what he saw to Su Tianxin.

"Such intricate formations!" Su Tianxin marveled. "Blue Lantern is truly talented.

"The palace is riddled with formations. Even concealed, I cannot move freely without detection," the Void Saint replied.

"No, Saint. Blue Lantern's formations draw power from his bronze compasses. This is an opportunity for us. Qingchan and I can infuse some cursed spiritual energy from our bronze compasses to you. Transmit it to your avatar through your Heartgate. With our guidance, you'll be able to bypass most of the formations," Su Tianxin explained.

"Oh?"

Su Tianxin and Su Qingchan began channeling energy from their bronze compasses. The Void Saint opened his Heartgate to transmit the energy to his avatar. A faint, imperceptible blue aura enveloped him, allowing him to move undetected through the palace.

Guided by Su Tianxin, the Void Saint’s avatar carefully avoided certain traps and walked freely through the palace.

Eventually, he arrived at a hall surrounded by an unusually dense array of formations.

"Saint, this hall is peculiar. The sheer number of formations here suggests it hides something extraordinary," Su Tianxin observed.

"I must enter," the Void Saint declared.

"These formations are too densely packed. Even with the bronze compasses, entering without triggering an alarm is impossible," Su Tianxin warned.

The Void Saint frowned. "Can these formations block heart force?"

"Heart force?" Su Tianxin asked, confused.

"The heavens imparted upon me a technique to transform into a specter. Even if I have to sacrifice my avatar, I intend to enter this hall and have a look within. Specters are formless and are composed solely of heart force. Will this formation block me?" the Void Saint asked.

Su Tianxin shook his head. "It shouldn't be able to. Blue Lantern hasn't cultivated his heart yet, and wouldn't have designed formations against it."

"Good," the Void Saint replied.

The Void Saint's avatar formed a seal. Heart force burst from his Heartgate, forcibly transforming his body.

His avatar groaned as he endured the excruciating process of the transformation.

Before long, the avatar quickly morphed into a monstrous, black-skinned creature with horns that radiated a sinister aura.

Still cloaked in invisibility, the specter moved toward the hall, dissolving into black fog to slip past the formations undetected.

He entered the hall, only to find himself... among the stars. Outer space and the void surrounded him.

"What? Stars? Is this a hidden realm or an illusory realm?" the saint's avatar exclaimed.

Xiao Nanfeng's main body was currently meditating within the hall. He was trying to glean insight from his Realm of the Nine Heavens, and familiarizing himself with the orbits of the stars.

Suddenly, he detected some sort of intrusion into his realm.

He frowned. "Senior, is this a test from you?"

"It is not I. It seems as if a specter has entered your domain."

"A specter?"

"An entity formed of heart force. Some powerful cultivator is likely probing your domain. Be cautious," the Superior warned.

Then, he fell silent.

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. Who would do such a thing?

Regardless of who it was, the intruder wouldn't leave unscathed.

"Cage of Starlight," Xiao Nanfeng murmured.

Within the Realm of the Nine Heavens, countless stars emitted beams of light that converged around the specter, imprisoning it within a luminous cage.

"What is this?" the heart specter roared.

Its fist slammed against the barrier, causing cracks to form—but before it could break free, Xiao Nanfeng made his move.

"Starblades, strike!" Xiao Nanfeng intoned.

Blades of starlight manifested by the thousands as they slashed toward the specter.

"What?!" the specter roared.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Though it managed to shatter the majority of the blades, there were simply too many. In an instant, the blades tore into its body and carved away chunks of flesh.

The specter screamed as its torn flesh disintegrated into wisps of black smoke, the Void Saint's heart force.

The specter tried to reclaim the heart force, only for a mysterious suction from deep within the stars to wrest it all away.

"What? What happened to my heart force? Why can't I sense it anymore?!"

The golden sapling within Xiao Nanfeng's heart, sensing the scattered heart force, had naturally seized it all.

This was Xiao Nanfeng's Realm of the Nine Heavens; his golden sapling could sense everything within.

"Damn it, what's going on?" the specter roared.

Unfortunately, its shout was futile. Even more starblades shot toward him, millions of them surging toward them in a flurry.

"No!" the specter screamed.

Its body was quickly whittled down, and its heart force greedily absorbed by the golden sapling. Despite its strength, it was completely unable to break through the barrier of starlight.

"Impossible. Break!" the specter roared.

Even more heart force surged into the specter via its Heartgate, forcefully strengthening it. It struck at the barrier again and again, but just as it was about to shatter the barrier, the starblades would attack, and the barrier would regenerate.

No matter what the specter did, it couldn't seem to free itself. More and more blades struck its body, cutting deeper into its form.

Its attempts to replenish itself with fresh heart energy failed to outpace the relentless attacks of the starblades.

It was trapped in relentless torment and pain. It didn't even know whom it was facing. At this rate, even if it consumed all its heart force, it would never make it out.

"No! Wait!" the specter cried out.

Its cries were lost to the void.

"Damn it! Explode!" the specter finally shouted.

The specter self-destructed in a final, futile attempt to escape, unable to bear the pain any longer. The Void Saint would rather give up on his avatar than suffer the torment of the starblades.

The explosion caused the barrier of starlight to shatter, but that was it. The golden sapling absorbed all the remaining heart force that had constituted the specter.

Then, the starblades gradually vanished.

Xiao Nanfeng raised his head to the stars thoughtfully.

Back in Dachi's capital, The Void Saint’s true body shuddered violently. The terrifying silence he had experienced chilled him to the core. It felt like a warning from Yu Fuli himself.

"Saint, what happened?" Su Tianxin asked urgently.

"Enough! I will not involve myself in your feud with Xiao Nanfeng any further. Do not come to me again," the Void Saint declared abruptly.

"Was it the Yuqing Grandmaster? Or Yu Fuli?" Su Tianxin pressed.

"I don’t know. I didn’t see the enemy, and I don’t want to," the Void Saint replied, visibly shaken.

"But—" Su Tianxin protested.

"Tang, we’re leaving!" the Void Saint commanded without hesitation.

"Yes, Your Eminence!" Tang stepped forward immediately, noticing the Void Saint’s frightened demeanor. Without another word, they departed, leaving Su Tianxin fuming in frustration.