Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 175 New clues
The illusory figure sensed Gu Changzhou's attack. He sneered and quickly formed hand seals. Suddenly, a blood-red barrier surged out from the blood mist and blocked his way.

Gu Changzhou's "Starry Sky Rift Step" was extremely fast, and he arrived in front of the barrier in an instant. He unleashed the "Starry World Rift Slash", a huge sword aura containing powerful star power, with the momentum to tear through space, slashed towards the barrier.

The sword energy collided with the barrier, unleashing a dazzling light and a powerful impact.

The barrier cracked under the impact of the sword energy.

At the same time, Tong Lei's Flame Dragon broke through the obstruction of the blood-red tentacles and pounced towards the illusory figure.

The illusory figure frowned, realizing he had to divert some of his power to control the blood-red tentacles to entangle the flaming dragon.

The earth spikes controlled by Yuan Jingshan also struck the barrier, causing the cracks in the barrier to widen further.

Liu Sijun's purifying beam also struck the barrier, and the blood-red light on the barrier began to dim gradually.

With everyone's combined attack, the blood-red barrier finally shattered.

Gu Changzhou flashed through the shattered barrier and arrived in front of the illusory figure. The sword in his hand shone brightly as he unleashed "Star Return to One," a sword aura containing the power of the stars' origin, like a fallen star, piercing towards the illusory figure's chest.

The illusory figure was terrified. He tried to dodge, but it was too late.

The sword energy pierced straight through his chest, and the illusory figure let out a shrill scream. Its body began to turn transparent and gradually dissipated into the air.

As the illusory figure dissipated, the crimson tentacles instantly lost their power, turning into a bloody mist and vanishing.

Tong Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Looking at the scene before us, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. 'We've finally solved this problem.'"

Gu Changzhou: "We can't relax yet. The blood mist hasn't dissipated. We need to destroy the blood-red crystal as soon as possible and completely destroy the array's core."

The group nodded and quickly approached the blood-red crystal on the stone platform.

At this moment, the blood-red crystal seemed to sense the danger. Its light flickered even more intensely, and the evil power inside the crystal surged wildly, making a buzzing sound, as if it were making a final struggle.

Gu Changzhou was the first to arrive in front of the crystal. He channeled the power of the stars into his sword and unleashed "Star Shattering Crystal," attempting to shatter the crystal directly with the powerful force of the stars.

The sword, gleaming with starlight, struck the crystal with a crisp clang. A fine crack appeared on the crystal's surface, but it did not shatter completely.

Seeing this, Tong Lei swung his longsword and unleashed "Flaming Dragon Burning Crystal," a fiery dragon carrying intense heat that crashed fiercely into the crystal.

Flames enveloped the crystal, yet the crystal emitted a powerful counterforce, causing the flaming dragon to retreat slightly.

Yuan Jingshan formed a hand seal, and countless earth spikes rose from the ground, piercing towards the crystal.

The soil spikes struck the crystal, kicking up a cloud of dust, but only slightly widened the cracks in the crystal.

Liu Sijun knew the crystal's resilience. She activated the Taixu Mirror with all her might, and the mirror shone brightly. A beam of light containing purifying power shot towards the crystal.

When the beam of light came into contact with the crystal, it emitted a "sizzling" sound, and the blood-red light on the surface of the crystal seemed to be suppressed to some extent.

Gu Changzhou: "This crystal is too hard. We must launch our strongest attacks simultaneously to have any chance of destroying it."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded and channeled their spiritual energy, preparing to launch the final attack.

Tong Lei raised his longsword high above his head, his entire body surging with fiery spiritual power as he unleashed the "Flaming Dragon Annihilation Crystal-Splitting Slash." The fiery dragon power on the longsword condensed into a massive flaming blade, slashing towards the crystal with earth-shattering force. Yuan Jingshan gathered earth-elemental spiritual power in his hands, shouting, "Earth Spirit Explosion!" He thrust his hands forward, sending a huge sphere of earth flying towards the crystal. The moment it touched the crystal, the sphere exploded with a deafening roar, the powerful impact cracking the surrounding ground.

Gu Changzhou unleashed the power of the stars to its limit, unleashing boundless might as he slashed fiercely at the crystal.

Liu Sijun then maximized the purifying power of the Taixu Mirror, and a thick beam of purifying light shot out from the mirror, striking the crystal along with everyone's attacks.

"boom!"

There was a loud bang.

The powerful energies collided, producing a dazzling light and a strong shockwave.

Under the combined attack of everyone, the blood-red crystal finally succumbed and shattered completely with a "crack".

As the crystal shattered, a powerful current of air spread outwards from the stone platform, quickly dispelling the surrounding blood mist.

The light in the Burial Valley gradually brightened, and the oppressive atmosphere dissipated.

Everyone felt relieved as they watched the Burial Valley gradually return to normal.

Liu Sijun smiled and said, "We've finally succeeded. We've thwarted the conspiracy of the Blood Spirit Sect and the Mysterious Mystery Hall."

“That’s right,” Gu Changzhou said, his expression still grave. “But we can’t let our guard down. The Blood Spirit Sect and the Mysterious Hall must have other conspiracies.”

Tong Lei sheathed his longsword, his gaze resolute: "Whatever other schemes they may have, we'll thwart them one by one. We absolutely cannot let them harm the world."

Yuan Jingshan nodded in agreement.

Liu Sijun gently stroked the Taixu Mirror: "We were able to successfully destroy the array's core this time thanks to everyone's concerted efforts. Next, we need to be more careful in probing their next move."

Gu Changzhou looked at Tong Lei and Gao Kuo and said, "When you return to the central city, you must inform all the forces in the city about the situation in detail, so that they can strengthen their defenses and not be complacent. At the same time, gather the elites of Wuji Tower to prepare for possible counterattacks from the Blood Spirit Sect and Xuanji Hall."

Tong Lei and Gao Kuo clasped their hands in greeting and replied, "Rest assured, Master Gu, we will certainly not fail in our mission."

Liu Sijun added, "The Blood Spirit Sect and the Mysterious Hall are secretive in their actions. They might try to sabotage us in secret. When you get back, you should remind everyone not only to guard against open attacks, but also to be wary of all kinds of conspiracies and tricks."

Tong Lei nodded: "Miss Liu is absolutely right. We will certainly act with caution."

Gu Changzhou continued, "In addition, have the intelligence department intensify its investigation into the Blood Spirit Cult and the Mysterious Hall. Report to me immediately if they discover any trace of them or any new clues to their conspiracy."

Gao Kuo said, "Yes, we'll get started on the arrangements as soon as we get back."

Min Rui then spoke up: "I will also return to the palace to report this matter to His Majesty."

After making the arrangements, Tong Lei, Gao Kuo, Yuan Jingshan, and Min Rui used their movement techniques to speed towards the central city.

Gu Changzhou and Liu Sijun decided to take Yuan Jingshan and the other six Nascent Soul stage experts to stay in a town near the Burial Spirit Valley for a while. On the one hand, they wanted to replenish their spiritual energy and restore their physical strength, and on the other hand, they wanted to find out from the local residents if there were any other abnormal situations.

(End of this chapter)