Shocking Secrets of the Celestial Realm

Chapter 112 Star Maze

Qin Feng, Jasmine, Lin Qing, Ye Lan, Su Yao, and Elder Xuanfeng, carrying the unwavering belief in confronting the powerful demon Qingtian, stepped into the mysterious valley. As soon as they entered, a thick mist enveloped them, and the surroundings were filled with a mysterious and ancient aura, as if they had stepped into a world forgotten by time.

"Everyone be careful, everything here seems strange." Qin Feng frowned, warily surveying his surroundings, his hands slightly raised, ready to open a spatial rift at any moment to deal with any emergencies.

"Hmm, I sense a powerful energy fluctuation, as if guiding us to somewhere." Ye Lan closed her eyes, focusing on the flow of natural elements. Her hair swayed gently in the breeze, and she seemed to blend into the surrounding nature.

As everyone cautiously moved forward, suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and the scene before them instantly changed. Qin Feng found himself in a familiar yet terrifying scene—his childhood home, where the brutal murder of his parents by dark forces was being reenacted. Blood stained the ground, and his parents' screams echoed in his ears, engulfing him like a tidal wave of pain and self-reproach.

"No!" Qin Feng roared in agony, his hands clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms, blood trickling down between his fingers. But just as he was about to be overwhelmed by despair, a vision suddenly flashed through his mind: the world was about to be destroyed as the Sky-Supporting Heaven was about to be born. "I cannot dwell on the past; I have a more important mission," Qin Feng gritted his teeth, silently repeating to himself. With his powerful willpower, his eyes gradually hardened, and he finally broke free from this terrifying illusion.

Meanwhile, Jasmine was also trapped in a nightmare. She saw her family being slaughtered by a group of mysterious men in black robes, and the cries of her loved ones broke her heart. Just as she was overwhelmed with grief, she seemed to hear the cries of her companions. "This isn't real, I can't be fooled by illusions." Jasmine suddenly opened her eyes, a resolute glint in them, and successfully broke free from the illusion's grasp.

Lin Qing stood in an empty square, surrounded by countless people who mocked him. His swordsmanship had stagnated; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break through the bottleneck. The harsh laughter had deeply wounded his pride. Just as he felt utterly frustrated, the scene of his initial journey into cultivation flashed through his mind. At that time, his heart was filled with love and pursuit of swordsmanship, without any distractions. "I cannot forget my original intention." Lin Qing took a deep breath, and his state of mind instantly changed. His eyes became clear and firm, and the illusory mockery vanished.

Ye Lan found herself in a deathly silent world, all natural elements vanished without a trace, and she could no longer feel the breath of nature. Fear and despair overwhelmed her; she screamed desperately, but received no response. But just as she was about to give up, she remembered the moments she had lived in harmony with nature, and those beautiful memories rekindled her hope. "I believe nature will not abandon me," Ye Lan closed her eyes and focused her senses. Finally, a faint trace of natural elements answered her call, and she successfully emerged from the illusion.

Su Yao witnessed the Qingyun Sect being shrouded in the dark power of the Demon Realm. Her former fellow disciples fell one by one before her eyes. She fought back with all her might, only to find her strength utterly insignificant. Just as she felt despair, the Qingyun Sect's rules and the mission she bore surfaced in her mind. "I am a disciple of the Qingyun Sect; I cannot back down." Su Yao's eyes hardened, and a powerful force of conviction emanated from her, instantly shattering the illusion.

Elder Xuanfeng stood atop a solitary mountain, watching those he had failed to protect in his youth vanish before his eyes, regret and self-reproach haunting him. But he knew that dwelling on the past wouldn't change anything; only by looking forward could he bring hope to the world. "The past is past. I will use my present strength to protect the future." A hint of relief flickered in Elder Xuanfeng's eyes as he gently waved his hand, and the illusion dissipated.

When everyone reunited, their faces showed exhaustion, but their eyes were filled with determination. "It seems this is the test of the 'Dreamland,' but thankfully we all made it through," Qin Feng said with relief, looking at everyone.

"Yes, this test was even more difficult than we imagined, but it also strengthened our resolve," Jasmine said with a smile, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

After a short rest, the group continued their journey and soon arrived at the entrance to the "Starry Maze." As soon as they stepped inside, a powerful stellar force rushed towards them, blurring their vision and causing the starlight to flicker erratically, as if it were about to engulf them at any moment.

"This Starry Maze truly lives up to its reputation. Everyone must be careful." Elder Xuanfeng looked around warily, his whisk trembling slightly, ready to deal with any potential dangers at any moment.

Just then, a deafening roar resounded, and a guardian beast resembling a giant dragon slowly emerged from the starlight. Its body was surrounded by dazzling starlight, each scale shimmering with mysterious runes, and its eyes, like two enormous stars, radiated a powerful aura of intimidation.

"Is this the guardian beast that protects the Starry Sky Labyrinth? It looks incredibly powerful." Lin Qing gripped his longsword tightly, the blade trembling slightly as he exerted all his strength to resist the powerful pressure from the guardian beast.

Qin Feng launched the first attack, rapidly forming hand seals to open a massive spatial rift, attempting to suck the guardian beast into it. However, as the spatial rift approached the guardian beast, it was repelled by a powerful stellar force, forcing Qin Feng to retreat several steps.

"The star power of this guardian beast is so strong that even the spatial rift cannot harm it," Qin Feng said in surprise, a hint of solemnity in his eyes.

Seeing this, Lin Qing unleashed his strongest sword technique, "Blood Shadow Raging Tide Sword." His figure moved like a black lightning bolt, swiftly charging towards the guardian beast. His longsword unleashed a series of sharp sword energies, imbued with rich blood energy, slashing towards the beast's body. However, the sword energy dimmed considerably upon contact with the guardian beast's stellar power, leaving only a few shallow marks on its scales.

"How could this be? My sword energy can't even do much damage to it." Lin Qing was shocked. He couldn't believe that his hard-earned swordsmanship had such little effect on the guardian beast.

Ye Lan was not to be outdone. She waved her jade flute, summoning the elements of nature. Water transformed into water dragons, fire coalesced into a burning phoenix, wind formed sharp blades, and earth became a sturdy shield, all attacking the guardian beast. However, the guardian beast merely flapped its wings, and a powerful stellar force repelled all of Ye Lan's elemental magic.

"This guardian beast is too powerful, what should we do?" Ye Lan said anxiously, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

Just when everyone was in despair, Jasmine suddenly activated her microscopic energy perception, delving into the microscopic world of stellar power. She carefully observed how the guardian beast's power operated and finally discovered an astonishing secret—the guardian beast's power was closely connected to the trajectory of the stars.

"Don't attack blindly, everyone! Watch out for the movement of the stars!" Jasmine shouted, her voice echoing through the star maze.

Upon hearing this, everyone stopped their attacks and began to carefully observe the movement of the stars. Su Yao's eyes were fixed on the stars in the sky. She discovered that the frequency of the stars' flashing seemed to follow a certain pattern. Whenever the frequency of the stars' flashing increased, the power of the guardian beast would also increase.

"I've discovered it! When the stars twinkle faster, the guardian beast's power increases. We need to attack when the frequency slows down," Su Yao said excitedly.

Elder Xuanfeng closed his eyes and focused on sensing the flow of stellar energy. He discovered that the stellar energy formed a huge cycle around the guardian beast, and the point of this cycle was precisely the guardian beast's weakness.

"I understand. The direction of the flow of stellar power is the key to our attack. We must attack in the direction of its power flow." Elder Xuanfeng opened his eyes, a hint of excitement in them.

Based on Su Yao and Elder Xuanfeng's findings, the group began to adjust their attack rhythm. Taking advantage of a brief gap in the power of the stars, Qin Feng used a spatial rift to trap the guardian beast for a moment. His hands quickly formed hand seals, and the spatial rift instantly opened beneath the guardian beast's feet, the powerful suction causing the beast's body to pause slightly.

"Now!" Lin Qing shouted, drawing upon the flow of stellar energy to concentrate all his vital energy into his longsword, unleashing the strongest move of the "Blood Shadow Raging Wave Sword." Countless sword energies, glowing with crimson light, followed the flow of stellar energy, slashing towards the guardian beast's weak point.

Ye Lan also followed the power of the stars and drew upon the natural elements, fusing water, fire, wind, and earth together to form a powerful torrent of energy. This torrent of energy resonated with the power of the stars and surged towards the guardian beast.

Under the combined attack of everyone, the guardian beast finally showed signs of fatigue. Wounds appeared on its body, and its stellar power began to become unstable.

"Everyone, give it your all! We'll defeat it soon!" Qin Feng shouted, increasing the suction force of the spatial rift in an attempt to draw the guardian beast's star power into it.

Everyone used all their skills. Jasmine condensed microscopic energy into tiny energy bullets and shot them at the guardian beast's weak points; Su Yao threw out her most powerful talisman, which exploded in the air, releasing powerful energy; Elder Xuanfeng unleashed the ultimate move of the Purple Cloud Divine Art, a purple light enveloping the guardian beast and weakening its power.

Finally, with everyone's concerted efforts, the guardian beast let out a painful roar, its body slowly collapsed, turning into countless starlight that dissipated into the air.

"We did it!" Lin Qing shouted excitedly, his face beaming with the joy of victory.

"Yes, we finally defeated the guardian beast," Ye Lan said excitedly, tears welling up in her eyes.

Before they could even celebrate, the group continued deeper into the star labyrinth. Along the way, they encountered countless star puzzles and spatial distortion traps. Some puzzles required them to solve based on the arrangement of the stars, while others teleported them to different dimensions, leaving them disoriented.

But the group did not give up. With their wisdom and courage, they solved the puzzles and avoided the traps time and time again. Qin Feng used the power of spatial rifts to help them traverse some dangerous spaces; Lin Qing used his swordsmanship to sever some of the star chains that blocked their progress; Ye Lan manipulated natural elements to create a safe path for them; Jasmine activated her microscopic energy perception to help them discover many hidden clues; and Su Yao and Elder Xuanfeng provided valuable advice based on their rich experience.

After a difficult search, the group finally found the entrance to the third trial. At the entrance, a mysterious light flickered, as if beckoning them.

"Finally found it. This is the entrance to the third trial." Qin Feng looked at the light before him, his heart filled with anticipation.

"We don't know what this third test will be, we must be careful." Jasmine clenched her fists tightly, a hint of tension in her eyes.

The group took a deep breath and slowly walked towards the entrance. They knew that the third trial would be the final and most difficult hurdle in obtaining the Starstone. But they were fearless, for they possessed unwavering faith and the power of unity. Whatever awaited them, they would forge ahead until they successfully obtained the Starstone, confronted the Skybreaker, and saved the world.