In Zhu Xian, people start to rise from plundering entries

He wanted to say "scarce chances," or even "certain death," but seeing Su Han's near-collapse, he couldn't bring himself to say the rest. He understood the price of "Heavenly Blade of Ice" better than Su Han; it was sacrificing one's life, cultivation, and even soul to the divine sword in exchange for a fleeting moment of glory and a forbidden strike of absolute zero. Lu Xueqi's ability to withstand the furious attack of a Golden Core Perfection level Star Spirit Guardian head-on, while simultaneously freezing a large number of pursuers, was already a miracle within a miracle. But the price of miracles is usually the complete annihilation of the caster.

"No...she's not dead..." Su Han suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with an almost manic obsession, mixed with bloodshot eyes and tears. "She promised me! She said 'trust me'! She won't die! She can't die!"

He struggled to get up, but due to the violent backlash from the star seed in his dantian and the severe depletion of his life essence, he fell heavily to the ground again. Forcibly activating the remaining power of the altar had already severed his meridians and brought his dantian to the brink of collapse. At this moment, he was not much stronger than an ordinary person.

"Su Han! Calm down!" Elder Mu grabbed him and channeled a stream of pure, gentle spiritual energy into his body, barely protecting his heart meridian, but powerless against his riddled dantian and shattered meridians. "If you rush back now, you'll be throwing your life away! Not only will you fail to save Xue Qi, but this bottle of Star Origin Essence, and even her final sacrifice, will be wasted!"

“Star Origin Marrow…” Su Han’s gaze was fixed on the jade bottle in Elder Mu’s hand, his eyes flashing with a terrifying light. “That’s it! Star Origin Marrow! It can rebuild one’s foundation and bring the dead back to life! Elder Mu, quick! Use the Star Origin Marrow to save me! As long as I can recover even a sliver of my strength, I can go back and save her!”

"Nonsense!" Elder Mu shouted sternly, "Although Star Origin Marrow is a rare treasure of heaven and earth, its main function is to refine star power, reshape star veins, and enhance the potential of star cultivators! It is not a true medicine for bringing the dead back to life! Moreover, your current body cannot withstand even the slightest bit of the power of Star Origin Marrow. Forcing its use will only cause you to explode and die!"

Elder Mu's words were like ice water poured over his head, but the madness in Su Han's eyes did not subside; instead, it transformed into a terrifying calmness. He stopped struggling, staring intently at the direction of the core palace, and said, word by word, "She's not dead. I can feel it. There's... there's some kind of connection between us. On the altar, when I received the inheritance, the star seed resonated slightly with the icy star power within her body... though weak, it... wasn't broken."

Elder Mu was taken aback by Su Han's words. He carefully sensed the surroundings, but found nothing. The core palace was far away and isolated by layers of stellar energy barriers; even with his Golden Core stage divine sense, he couldn't penetrate it. However, looking at Su Han's almost obsessive gaze, a faint glimmer of hope rose in his heart. Could it be… that Xue Qi possessed some secret he didn't even know about? Perhaps the mysterious Tianya Sword, or her own unique physique…

"Even if... even if she has a sliver of hope, imprisoned in that core palace, guarded by three late-stage Golden Core Star Beasts and surrounded by thousands of other Star Beasts..." Elder Mu's voice was heavy, "how can we possibly save her?"

Su Han closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced himself to suppress all his turbulent emotions. He knew that impulsiveness and despair wouldn't save Lu Xueqi. He had to stay calm and find a glimmer of hope.

"Elder Mu, I need time." Su Han's voice became hoarse and cold, as if he had become a different person. "The shortest possible time. I need to heal, I need to become stronger. I will use every means possible."

He looked at the Star Origin Essence in Elder Mu's hand: "This bottle of Star Origin Essence was obtained by my senior sister at the cost of her life. It must be used wisely. But not on me now. Elder, your cultivation is higher and your understanding of star power is deeper. Could you use this to set up a stronger concealment array here, or even... a reverse array that can briefly teleport back to the edge of the core area? Even if it can only teleport one person, even if there is only one chance?"

Elder Mu was deeply shocked by the unwavering determination in Su Han's eyes. This young man's resolve far exceeded his expectations. Even in such a desperate situation, he could still calmly strategize.

“Reverse teleportation… Difficult! As difficult as ascending to heaven!” Elder Mu frowned deeply. “This place is more than a hundred miles away from the core palace, and there is natural stellar force interference. The Star-Guiding Pearl is destroyed, and with only this bottle of Star Origin Essence… unless… unless we can find a weak point in the spatial node, there might be a slight possibility. But as for the concealment formation, I can try my best. Using the pure stellar power of the Star Origin Essence, combined with the natural shielding effect of the coral reefs here, we might be able to deceive the star beasts for several days.” “Several days…” Su Han’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. “That’s enough. Please set up the formation immediately, Elder. I need to go into seclusion in this concealment formation to heal my injuries and break through to a higher realm!”

"You..." Elder Mu looked at Su Han's broken body, hesitating to speak. Breaking through to a higher realm? At this moment, attempting to break through was tantamount to suicide. But he saw an undeniable will in Su Han's eyes, a resolute determination to risk everything and live on the brink of death.

"Alright!" Elder Mu gritted his teeth. "I will do my best to buy you time! But remember, if things don't work out... preserving your life is the greatest respect you can show to Xueqi for her sacrifice!"

Su Han didn't answer, but slowly closed his eyes and began circulating his tattered cultivation technique, trying to draw even the slightest bit of spiritual energy from the world. Only one thought remained in his mind, etched deeply like a brand:
"Senior sister, wait for me. Whether you are alive or dead, whether you are in heaven or hell, I will bring you back."

The core palace, at the base of the altar.

Where the giant hand of starlight struck, a huge crater was formed. The jade ground was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and the center was charred black, still retaining violent fluctuations of starlight power.

The humanoid star spirit hovered in mid-air, its golden eyes coldly sweeping across the area below. It had absolute confidence in its attack; that single palm strike was enough to obliterate any Golden Core cultivator, body and soul. But for some reason, it felt… something was missing. The human female cultivator radiating extreme chill—her “presence” didn’t seem to have completely vanished.

The giant lion star beast and the black tortoise star beast hovered around, growling softly, seemingly confirming something. Thousands of low-level star beasts stirred restlessly in the distance, not daring to approach this area that still reeked of terrifying cold.

At the edge of the deep pit, deep within an inconspicuous crack.

A faint, almost imperceptible icy blue light was stubbornly flickering.

Lu Xueqi did not "die".

Just before the giant hand of starlight was about to strike, she pushed "Tianya Ice Extreme" to its unprecedented limit. It wasn't a simple burning of her life essence, but a deeper sacrifice—she poured everything she had, including her physical body, cultivation level, and even a portion of her divine soul, into the ultimate chill of the Tianya Sword. (End of Chapter)