The Emperor's Favorite: The Useless and Crazy Concubine Who Conquers the World

Seeing this, the fox spirit quickly spewed out fox fire, burning towards the rune array. The fox fire and the dark light of the rune array collided with each other, making a crackling sound.

With the help of the fox spirit, Lan Yunyan successfully removed the crystal stone. The rune array lost some of its power and its light gradually dimmed.

Lan Yunyan took the opportunity to carefully study the crystal stone and found that there were some tiny runes engraved on it. These runes were somewhat similar to those she had seen in the ancient books of Lingxu Valley.

"The runes on it seem to be a sealing technique. Could it be that the man in black robe wants to use this formation to unlock some kind of seal?" Lan Yunyan pondered.

She decided to take the crystal stone to find the elders of Lingxu Valley, perhaps they could know the secret.

Lan Yunyan and Linghu hurried back to the village and informed the elders of their discovery. Upon hearing this, the elders' faces turned grave. They sat together, carefully studying the runes on the crystal.

After some discussion, the elders came to the conclusion: this is indeed a sealing formation, and the man in black robes is most likely trying to unlock an ancient seal in the valley and release the more powerful evil power within.

And that sealed place hides an unknown dark history of Lingxu Valley.

"Legend has it that Lingxu Valley once sealed a demon. If it were released, the consequences would be disastrous." The Great Elder said worriedly.

Lan Yunyan's heart trembled. "Then we must find the seal before the black-robed man does and strengthen the seal."

So, under the guidance of the elders, Lan Yunyan led the fox spirit towards the sealed land. Along the way, they encountered various traps and monster attacks.

These monsters seemed to have been awakened in advance by the man in black robes, specifically to stop Lan Yunyan and the others from advancing.

While crossing a swamp, countless vines suddenly emerged from the mud and entangled themselves with Lan Yunyan and the others. The vines were covered with sharp thorns and flashed with green venom.

Lan Yunyan unleashed her Spirit Shadow Steps, nimbly weaving through the vines. Her Spirit Sword swung like the wind, severing any approaching vines. Meanwhile, the Spirit Fox unleashed its Foxfire, burning large tracts of vines to ash.

After finally crossing the swamp, they entered a cave, which was filled with thick fog and had extremely low visibility.

Lan Yunyan was walking cautiously when she suddenly heard a sharp cry.

A group of bats swooped down from the top of the cave, their eyes flashing red and black smoke spewing from their mouths.

Lan Yunyan and Linghu stood back to back, engaging in a fierce battle with the swarm of bats. Lan Yunyan infused her life force into the Lingxu Sword, which emanated a dazzling light, and each swing of the sword could slash large swarms of bats.

The fox spirit continuously spewed out fox fire to disperse the swarm of bats.

After a bitter battle, they finally broke out of the cave. Before them appeared an ancient stone gate, engraved with various runes and patterns. Lan Yunyan knew that the sealed place was behind the stone gate.

She stepped forward and inserted the crystal stone into a groove on the stone door. The stone door slowly opened, and a strong dark aura rushed towards her.

Lan Yunyan and Linghu walked into the stone gate without hesitation.

Inside was a huge cave, and in the center of the cave was a huge magic circle, which sealed a black figure. The figure was looming and exuding a terrifying aura.

"Is this the sealed demon?" Lan Yunyan was shocked.

At this moment, the laughter of the man in black robes suddenly rang out in the cave.

"Lan Yunyan, you are here after all. However, you have come at the right time to witness me unsealing this demon and letting it rule Lingxu Valley and even the whole world with me." The man in black robe slowly walked out from the shadows.

Lan Yunyan's eyes were firm: "Don't even think about it! I will never let you succeed."

The black-robed man sneered, "Just you? Do you think you can stop me a second time? Last time I was just careless, this time I'm fully prepared."

As he spoke, a black wand appeared in the hands of the black-robed man, with a huge dark gem embedded in the top. He waved the wand, muttering something, and the magic circle began to flicker.

Lan Yunyan knew the situation was critical. She exchanged glances with the fox spirit, then launched her attacks simultaneously. Lan Yunyan unleashed her Spiritual Void Demon-Breaking Sword, stabbing the black-robed figure. The fox spirit, in turn, unleashed a powerful stream of foxfire, striking directly at the magic circle.

The black-robed figure calmly waved his wand, blocking Lan Yunyan's sword. Simultaneously, he summoned a swarm of dark puppets, which pounced upon the fox spirit. The dark puppets were enormous, emanating a dark aura and possessing immense power.

The fox spirit fought with the dark puppets. Although it was flexible and adaptable, it gradually found it difficult to deal with so many dark puppets.

Lan Yunyan's battle with the black-robed figure had also reached a stalemate. The black-robed figure's magical power seemed even stronger than before, and every attack put Lan Yunyan under immense pressure.

Lan Yunyan was anxious. She knew this wasn't the way to go. She had to find a way to break the black-robed man's magical defenses while preventing the magic circle from unsealing. Suddenly, she had an idea.

She began to separate her life force from her soul power, injecting a portion into the Lingxu Sword to enhance its attack power, while the other portion transformed into a spiritual shield to protect herself. Then, she unleashed the ultimate realm of the Spirit Shadow Step, transforming her body into several phantoms, attacking the black-robed man from different directions.

The man in black robe was caught off guard by Lan Yunyan's sudden change, and there was a flaw in his defense.

Lan Yunyan seized the opportunity, and the Lingxu Sword successfully broke through the black-robed man's defense and stabbed into his chest.

The black-robed man quickly dodged to the side, but was still slashed on the arm by the Lingxu Sword. He roared angrily and waved his wand, causing the magic circle to unseal at a sudden speed.

Lan Yunyan ignored the black-robed figure and rushed towards the magic circle. She concentrated all her strength into her sword and slashed at the magic circle.

Just as the sword was about to touch the magic circle, a man in black robe appeared behind her and slapped her on the back.

Lan Yunyan was unable to dodge and was hit by the black-robed figure. She spat out blood, flew forward, and fell heavily in front of the magic circle.