The Eldest Daughter Returns with Power

Chapter 167 The Seven Stars Return to Their Positions

On the bronze altar in the cellar of the Third Prince's residence, the originally calm surface suddenly began to tremble violently, followed by a burst of dazzling blood-red light.

The blood-red light shot straight into the sky like a red lightning bolt, illuminating the entire cellar in a crimson glow.

Gongsun Ruotang's illusory figure stood before the altar, her snow-white hair dancing wildly in the powerful shockwave, as if it had lost control.

Her eyes were empty and lifeless, only the golden star mark between her eyebrows stood out brightly in the blood-red light.

Si Yunchen stood not far away, watching helplessly as the bronze dagger pierced Si Yunyuan's heart.

His heart tightened suddenly, and an indescribable fear surged into his heart.

Just then, he suddenly noticed that the star mark between the girl's eyebrows was exactly the same as the pattern on the crystal coffin on the Ice Abyss Altar!

"Ruo Tang!" Si Yunchen cried out in alarm. He reached out to stop Gongsun Ruo Tang, but his fingertips passed through the girl's transparent body as if passing through air without any hindrance.

Gongsun Ruotang seemed completely unaware of Si Yunchen's presence. Her gaze remained blankly fixed on the void. Suddenly, the dagger in her hand seemed to lose its weight, transforming into a streak of light that pierced straight into her heart.

As the dagger pierced through, the twin lotus tattoo on Si Yunyuan's chest seemed to be shattered by some force, instantly turning into countless tiny ice crystals that shot towards the nine dragon pillars on the altar like a rain of arrows.

With a crisp "crack," the bronze beads held in the mouths of the dragon heads on the nine dragon pillars burst open one after another, and a dead infant wrapped in the amniotic sac rolled out of each bead.

The skin of these dead infants had an eerie bluish-black color, as if it had been stained by something.

These stillborn infants, as soon as they were born, seemed to be given life and grew rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into nine black-robed figures who looked exactly like Si Yunyuan.

These men in black robes all had blood-red star patterns lit up on their foreheads, and they chanted in unison a difficult-to-understand incantation.

Just then, the sword in Si Yunchen's hand seemed to be suddenly pulled by some powerful force, and began to tremble violently.

The star map on the hilt of the sword, which had been dull and lifeless, began to shimmer with a faint light, creating a strange echo with the bloodstain on Gongsun Ruotang's brow.

Si Yunchen's heart skipped a beat, and a sentence from the fragment of the Luo Shu flashed through his mind: "The seven stars return to their positions, and the secrets of heaven are reversed." He stared wide-eyed at the scene before him in disbelief, a strong premonition rising in his heart.

"So... you're the seventh key to the formation!" Si Yunyuan's voice suddenly rang in his ears, tinged with madness and despair.

Si Yunyuan was vomiting black blood. Under his shattered mask, half of his face, which looked remarkably like Ling Feng's, was revealed, and it was ferocious and twisted.

"Back then, Father Emperor used ten of us princes to form a pact with the Western Turks. Nine of us were your scapegoats!" Si Yunyuan's laughter echoed in the air, filled with grief, indignation, and resentment.

Inside the Glazed Palace

Without hesitation, Tang Yulu raised the dagger and slashed it fiercely at her wrist.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing onto the star chart, creating a bizarre and bloody scene.

As the seventh drop of blood fell precisely into the "Kaiyang" star position, a miracle occurred.

Suddenly, a dazzling golden light shot out from Gongsun Ruotang's forehead, like a golden sun rising slowly in mid-air.

The golden light quickly condensed into a huge illusion, which was clearly displayed before everyone's eyes—it was actually the scene of the Western Region Ice Abyss!

Tang Yulu stared wide-eyed at the scene in the illusion.

She saw a young man struggling to climb the collapsing ice wall.

His body was covered in ice and snow, and he was tightly holding an Ice Soul Snow Lotus in his arms. The snow lotus had grown patterns like a human face, as if it had come to life.

What terrified Tang Yulu even more was that the faces of the icy infant corpses emerging from the crystal coffins gradually overlapped with those of the palace servants charred in the fire at the Imperial Archives. This bizarre scene almost made Tang Yulu's heart stop beating.

Just then, Ling Feng in the illusion suddenly raised his head, his blood-stained lips trembled slightly, and he uttered a string of Western Turkic words.

Although Tang Yulu couldn't understand what he was saying, she could sense the seriousness of the matter from his expression and tone.

"The Seven Star Soul Locking Formation is actually a life-exchanging array, and each bronze swaddling cloth is..." Before Ling Feng could finish speaking, a huge ice spike pierced through his right shoulder like lightning.

Upon seeing this, Tang Yulu felt a pang of anxiety. Without thinking twice, she thrust a silver needle into the "Yaoguang" position on the astrolabe.

"Tianxuan shifts position, Po Jun occupies the sky!" Tang Yulu shouted sharply.

Western Ice Abyss

Ling Feng's fingers dug tightly into the ice cracks, his fingertips were worn raw, revealing the white bones beneath, but he still did not let go, because he knew that if he did, he would fall into the bottomless ice abyss.

Suddenly, the snow lotus in his arms seemed to sense his despair and miraculously bloomed. The petals were as white as snow, and the stamens emitted a faint fragrance, as if conveying some kind of power to him.

Just then, a mysterious, ethereal girl appeared before him. Her figure was as illusory as smoke, yet incredibly real. The girl's face was blurry, but Ling Feng could feel her gaze fixed on him.

The girl's ethereal figure slowly extended her hands, catching Ling Feng's falling body. Her voice echoed in Ling Feng's ears: "Remember, it wasn't just the prince who was switched twenty-seven years ago..."

Ling Feng's eyes widened, trying to make out the girl's face, but all he saw was a blur. Before he could ask any questions, a priest's frenzied roar came from below: "Long live the Wolf Lord!"

Ling Feng looked down and saw the surviving Western Turkic wolf guards standing on the altar, their faces filled with resolute expressions. They collectively committed suicide by cutting their own throats with their swords, their blood gushing out like a spring and flowing down the ice crevice.

Surprisingly, the blood did not seep into the ice, but instead gathered on the altar to form a huge pattern—the clan emblem of the Gongsun family of the Duke of Zhenguo!

Ling Feng stared in astonishment at this scene, a sense of foreboding rising within him. At that moment, the girl's illusory figure began to fade, and her voice rang in Ling Feng's ears once more: "Run! The blood pact is complete, the Holy Maiden is about to..."

However, before she could finish speaking, the entire ice abyss was suddenly torn apart by an invisible giant hand and collapsed with a crash.

Ling Feng was thrown into the air by the powerful shockwave, his body tumbling through the air amidst deafening roars and the sound of ice shattering. Before he was engulfed by the shockwave, he caught a last glimpse of the saintess in the crystal coffin.

The cellar of the Third Prince's residence

The nine Si Yunyuan simultaneously formed hand seals, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if they had practiced hundreds of times. With their actions, the bronze altar slowly rose, and a powerful force surged forth from it.

Surprisingly, the Seven Star Array, which was originally static, began to shimmer with a faint light under the influence of the bronze altar, as if it had been awakened.

At the same time, a sudden burst of golden light erupted from Gongsun Ruotang's body, enveloping her in a layer of golden radiance. This light was exceptionally dazzling, making it impossible to look directly at her. However, within this light, Gongsun Ruotang's full head of white hair turned to ash inch by inch, as if burned away by this power.

"No!" Si Yunchen cried out anxiously. Without hesitation, he leaped towards the center of the formation, trying to stop it from happening. However, he was still a step too slow.

Gongsun Ruotang's body gradually blurred in the golden light, eventually transforming into a stream of light that shot into the bronze altar like a meteor. As she disappeared, the nine dragon pillars shattered, turning into countless fragments scattered across the ground.

Just then, a thick mist of blood erupted from the altar, like a red fountain. This mist filled the entire space, blurring visibility.

Hidden within this blood mist lies a truth sealed for twenty-seven years. Years ago, beneath the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden, ten princes wrapped in bronze swaddling clothes were uttering faint cries. These princes had tender faces, clearly only recently born.