The Legend of the Princess' Counterattack

Chapter 851: A First Glimpse of the Cavernous Void: Shocking Changes in Seclusion

Deep within a cave shrouded in ice crystals, Yun Yao sat cross-legged at the center of her spiritual veins. The aura of the Refining Void Realm lingering around her was transforming into a chaotic hue at a visible speed. Cold sweat covered her forehead, and her spiritual sense, like thousands of fine needles, pierced the depths of her sea of consciousness—there, suspended a translucent Dao Foundation, the key to breaking through the Cave Void Realm.

"The first level of the Cave Void Realm, Sanxu, requires resonating one's foundation with the laws of heaven and earth..." Yun Yao silently recited the incantation the system had transmitted earlier. Suddenly, she noticed the ice ridges at the cave's ceiling begin to grow inversely, her slightly pale face reflected in the ice crystals. Three hundred years of training in the world of cultivation had long since shed the immaturity of her first arrival. Now, her eyebrows and eyes were filled with a calmness befitting her realm. Only the silver-blue tint in her hair remained, carrying a hint of the stubbornness of modern Earth.

"Click——"

A crisp sound shattered the silence, and Yun Yao's eyes snapped open. She saw the ice crystals within a three-foot radius around her shattering at an eerie rhythm, the shattered ice forming a blood-stained pattern in the air that spelled out the word "death." The system's mechanical voice suddenly became shrill: "Warning! The Canglan Secret Realm's protective array is 70% damaged, and excessive blood demonic energy has been detected!"

"Blood Demon Sect?" Yun Yao chanted a spell with her fingertips, and a star chart appeared on the cave floor. Seventeen blood-red points of light converged from all directions. When she discerned the aura fluctuations of the leading point, her pupils suddenly constricted—it was a sign of the "Blood Demon Sky Corpse," a fusion of the essence and blood of an ancient vicious corpse. And this aura clearly belonged to Liu Yan'er, who should have been annihilated three hundred years ago!

"Ayao, I'll hold them back." Chu Mochen's voice echoed from the cave entrance, his figure transforming into a streak of silver light as it passed before Yun Yao's eyes. The Ni Lin Blood Sword at his waist hummed and vibrated, the Candle Dragon pattern on its scabbard shone as bright as daylight, illuminating the cold and resolute look on his profile. Yun Yao reached out to stop him, but only caught a fragment of his shadow, the lingering scent of his dragon blood still lingering on her fingertips.

Outside the cave, the blood-red moonlight stained the Canglan Secret Realm like a Shura field. Liu Yan'er hovered in mid-air, her once beautiful face now covered in purple corpse spots. Black blood beads continuously flowed from her seven orifices, and each drop transformed into a piranha-like blood-killing corpse worm. Her eyes, mingled with jealousy and madness, venomously intertwined as she gazed at Chu Mochen. "Chu Mochen, you've been hiding in the secret realm for three hundred years just for that bitch? Look at me now—"

Before she finished speaking, a blood mist suddenly expanded around her, and behind her emerged the shadowy figure of a three-meter-tall corpse. It was none other than the "Blood River Corpse Ancestor," the Blood Demon Sect's treasured treasure from a thousand years ago. Chu Mochen frowned, realizing that Liu Yan'er's aura had reached the pinnacle of the Void Refining Realm. Even more terrifying, she clutched a bronze mirror engraved with a Soul-Regenerating Curse, its surface reflecting Yun Yao's birth date.

"Oh no! It's the Soul Jade Slip!" Yun Yao watched this scene from the star chart in the cave, her fingertips almost digging into her palm. In the world of cultivation, there's a forbidden technique that allows one to refine a Soul Jade Slip using a birthdate, granting the holder control over the target's three souls and seven spirits. She suddenly remembered the System Lord's thousand-year-old prophecy: "A Void Spirit will descend upon the world, disrupting the laws of Heaven." Could it be that Liu Yan'er truly has the support of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion?

"boom--"

Chu Mochen's Ni Lin Blood Sword split the Blood River Corpse Ancestor's claws, and the aftermath of the sword's energy tore a bottomless chasm into the ground. But Liu Yan'er let out a piercing laugh. Countless blood-colored chains flew out from the bronze mirror, piercing directly through his protective aura, leaving deep scars on his arms. Where the dragon blood dripped, the blood evil corpse insects hissed excitedly, their injuries worsening at a visible rate.

Yun Yao was terrified. At this crucial moment in her Void Realm breakthrough, she could clearly sense every fluctuation of spiritual energy in the outside world. Suddenly, a golden light flashed across the system interface, and the "Heavenly Dao Retracement" icon, which had never been illuminated before, began to flicker. This was a hidden function unlocked after she became a Chaos Dao Foundation holder. It allowed her to rewind three minutes of battle footage to identify enemy weaknesses.

"Let's go all out!" Yun Yao gritted her teeth and probed her consciousness into the flashback. She saw that every time Liu Yan'er activated the bronze mirror, a faint, obscure rune flashed between her eyebrows. She immediately recognized it as the "Soul Mark" unique to the Tiandao Pavilion, indicating that Liu Yan'er had already sacrificed her soul to the Tiandao Pavilion in exchange for this Blood Demon Heavenly Corpse.

Outside the cave, Chu Mochen's clothes were soaked with blood, and the candle dragon pattern on the Nilin Blood Sword had also become dim. Liu Yan'er took the opportunity to press the bronze mirror to his chest, grinning and saying, "As long as I suck out your dragon blood, that bitch will be nothing but an empty shell—"

"stop!"

Yun Yao's voice suddenly echoed from above. She burst forth, enveloped in a shroud of chaotic spiritual energy, her fingertips condensing into a hollow finger that pointed directly at the soul mark between Liu Yan'er's eyebrows. Liu Yan'er was caught off guard, and the bronze mirror clanged to the ground. A charred finger hole appeared on her chest, and the Bloody Evil Sky Corpse's body began to disintegrate.

"You...how could you possibly break through!" Liu Yan'er stared in horror at the black and white aura swirling around Yun Yao. It was the hallmark of a Chaos Dao foundation, and even more so, the symbol of "going against the will of Heaven" as prophesied by the Tiandao Pavilion. She desperately called for help from the black-robed figure behind her, only to discover he had retreated ten miles away.

"Trying to escape?" Yun Yao raised her hand and clenched it. The ice crystals within the cave suddenly transformed into thousands of ice arrows, blocking all escape routes for the black-robed man. Only then did she see his face clearly—he was a pale, middle-aged man with the same soul rune engraved on his forehead as the bronze mirror. In his arms, he clutched half a jade slip that exuded the aura of the Heavenly Dao.

"Master Xu Lingshi, I am only following orders..." Seeing that his retreat was blocked, the black-robed man suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, "The Tiandao Pavilion has long known that you are in the Canglan Secret Realm. Liu Yan'er is just a discarded pawn. The real killer move is—"

Before he could finish his words, his eyes suddenly lashed out, and golden blood gushed from all seven orifices. Yun Yao, alarmed, immediately used the Space Folding Technique to push Chu Mochen away. The next moment, a devastating spiritual energy storm erupted from the black-robed figure's location. It was the Tiandao Pavilion's "Mutual Destruction Curse."

After the storm, Yun Yao looked at the half-remaining jade slip on the ground. Inscribed on it were the eight ancient characters: "When the Void Spirit descends upon the world, it will surely destroy the Heavenly Dao." The System Lord remained silent for a moment before speaking in a slightly hoarse voice, "It seems we don't have much time. The Heavenly Dao Pavilion has already begun implementing the 'Void Annihilation Plan.'"

Chu Mochen struggled to stand up, a wry smile curling up the corners of his dragon-blood-stained lips. "I should have thought of this long ago. How could a small character like Liu Yan'er chase us here? It turns out that we fell into the trap of the Tiandao Pavilion when we obtained the Soul Jade Slip in the Fallen Star Canyon."

Yun Yao remained silent, her gaze fixed on the remains of Liu Yan'er in the distance. The concubine who had once been capable of scheming within the palace had now become a pawn of the Tiandao Pavilion. Her eyes, before her death, reflected resentment and jealousy. She suddenly recalled the time when Liu Yan'er had poisoned her tea upon her arrival in the world of cultivation. Back then, she was just a bullied "foolish princess." Who could have imagined that three hundred years later, the two of them would find themselves locked in a life-or-death struggle in this very situation?

"Ayao, your Dao foundation..." Chu Mochen suddenly noticed the Dao foundation projection on Yun Yao's chest. The originally translucent Dao foundation had now condensed into chaotic lines, the mark of the Void Realm's Sanxu Stage. But deep within the lines, a faint trace of golden chains could be seen, as if it had been forcibly sealed.

The System Master suddenly spoke, "The Heavenly Dao Retracing just now consumed a large amount of essence. Although Yun Yao has broken through to the Void Realm, her Dao Foundation has been shackled by the Mutual Destruction Curse. However..." Its voice suddenly took on a hint of excitement, "The black-robed man's blood sacrifice before his death accidentally activated the hidden properties of the Chaos Dao Foundation - now you can briefly sense the fluctuations of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion's horoscope!"

Yun Yao closed her eyes, her consciousness cautiously reaching for the life disk in the void. Instantly, countless images flooded her mind: the Heavenly Dao Pavilion Master sneering as he sat atop a shattered Heavenly Dao gear, cracks appearing in the sky of modern Earth, and Chu Mochen lying in a pool of blood, the Ni Lin Blood Sword piercing his chest...

"Enough!" Yun Yao's eyes snapped open, cold sweat soaking her back. That last scene was too real, so real it made her heart palpitate. Chu Mochen worriedly supported her, only to find her fingertips unconsciously digging into his palm. Blood dripped onto the Chaos Dao Foundation, causing the golden chain to begin to loosen.

"It's time for us to leave the Canglan Secret Realm." Yun Yao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging blood and qi. "Since the Tiandao Pavilion has already attacked us, it means they are afraid that we will break through to the Dongxu Realm. And Liu Yan'er's appearance is just to test our cards."

Chu Mochen nodded, his eyes sweeping across the mess on the ground: "Where to go next?"

Yun Yao gazed at the starry sky beyond the secret realm. Countless points of light twinkled there, each representing a small world. She suddenly remembered what the System Master had said: cultivators at the Void Realm could peer into the Heavenly Dao Fate Plate, while those at higher realms could touch the threshold of the Three Thousand Divine Realms. At this moment, deep within her Dao foundation, the golden chain, though painful, felt like a key, beckoning her to uncover the secrets of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.

"Let's go to the Fallen Star Canyon," Yun Yao suddenly said. "That's where we obtained the Soul Jade Slip and discovered the stone tablet about my life. Now that my Chaos Dao Foundation can sense the Heavenly Dao Pavilion's horoscope, perhaps the key to unlocking everything lies there."

Chu Mochen had no objection. He simply placed the Nilin Blood Sword across his shoulder. Dragon blood dripped down the blade, creating blood-red plum blossoms in the snow. "No matter where you go, I'll be with you."

After packing up and preparing to leave, Yun Yao suddenly caught sight of the bronze mirror emitting a faint glow beside Liu Yan'er's remains. She hesitated for a moment, then placed the mirror in her storage ring. Perhaps this mirror, engraved with her birth date, could become crucial evidence in her future fight against the Tiandao Pavilion.

The ice crystals of the Canglan Secret Realm gradually melted under the blood-red moonlight. Yun Yao looked back and saw that the cave they had come from had mostly collapsed, just like their past in the cultivation world, which was gradually being overshadowed by a new crisis. The system's voice sounded again, this time with a hint of solemnity: "Detection: The Tiandao Pavilion has issued a hunting order. Every step forward could be a trap."

Yun Yao curled her lips into a cold smile, and her fingertips gently stroked the Chaos Dao Base on her chest. "A trap? Then let them see that the princess who was bullied back then is no longer a soft persimmon that can be easily manipulated. Tiandao Pavilion wants to destroy me? First ask my Chaos Dao Base if it agrees."

Before she finished her words, she and Chu Mochen transformed into two streaks of light, streaking across the night sky and hurtling towards the Falling Star Canyon. Behind them, in the ruins of the Canglan Secret Realm, Liu Yan'er's blood beads suddenly coalesced into a line of small characters: "When the Void Spirit appears, Zhu Yin will perish." Then, they were blown away by the night wind, as if they had never appeared...

(End of Chapter 851)