The illusory demonic finger that was pointing towards Xiao Han's brow was slightly halted by the impact of the starlight!
The demon's will let out a shriek of shock and rage, clearly not expecting that this unremarkable piece of metal could unleash such a power that restrained it.
[Ding! The God-Level Choice System has been activated!]
[Option 1: Starfall Demon Suppression! At all costs, forcibly fuse the Star Iron Mother with your own essence blood, and combine it with the Stone Tablet Technique to initially suppress the curse seal. Reward: Curse seal activity reduced by 70% (lasts three months), obtain [Star Lord's Sigh] (one-time use, can release a Star Impact).]
[Option Two: Demonic Blood Sacrifice! Sever a portion of your soul's essence and offer it as a sacrifice to the demonic will in exchange for its temporary slumber. Rewards: The cursed mark will temporarily lie dormant (duration unknown), your soul will suffer permanent damage, and the demonic will will leave a "special mark" on you; the next time you meet, it might "affectionately" call you "sweetie."]
[Option 3: Call for outside help! Immediately crush the [Guardian Totem] (if available), or open the [Void Message Bottle] filled with unknowns to see if you'll get a divine teammate or a harbinger of doom. Reward: Unknown (System prompt: The thrill of opening blind boxes is worth it, and you might also "worth" a satisfying ending.)]
The system's cheeky notification sound, at this critical moment of life and death, strangely relaxed Xiao Han's tense nerves.
Sacrificing souls? Compromising with evil? Absolutely not! As for opening blind boxes... now is not the time to gamble on luck.
"I'll choose one!" Xiao Han gritted his teeth, practically squeezing out the three words from between them.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. With a thought, he forcibly extracted a drop of his life essence blood, which shimmered with chaotic blue light and the dark glow of eternal night, from his heart! As soon as this drop of essence blood appeared, it emitted a powerful life force and profound fluctuations of laws.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Han slammed this drop of his life essence blood onto the Star Iron Mother, which was already in close contact with the curse seal!
"Buzz--!"
The moment the Star Iron Mother came into contact with Xiao Han's life essence blood, it was as if a parched sponge had encountered sweet spring water, suddenly bursting forth with starlight several times stronger than before! The ancient and blurry runes on the surface of the Iron Mother, nourished by the essence blood, seemed to be given life, lighting up one after another and beginning to slowly rotate, creating a strange and intense pulling force with the evil demonic patterns on the curse mark on Xiao Han's ankle!
"Ahhh--!"
Unimaginable pain overwhelmed Xiao Han like a tidal wave!
He felt as if his soul was being pierced by countless red-hot steel needles, and his body was being torn apart alive! His bones were groaning, and his meridians were breaking! This pain far surpassed anything he had ever experienced before!
"Insects! How dare you resist! Crush me!"
The demonic will erupted in utter fury, and the illusory demonic shadow let out a deafening roar, becoming even more solid. The black demonic finger, which had been slightly hesitant, accelerated once more, and was about to strike Xiao Han's brow!
At this critical moment!
Deep within Xiao Han's dantian, the [World Tree Heart Fragment] that had been dormant for so long suddenly trembled! Immediately afterwards, a vast and boundless, extremely pure life force surged out like a river bursting its banks! This power resonated with the remaining vitality of the Guardian Sprout within his body, transforming into a warm, emerald-green current that instantly rushed towards the Star Iron Mother at his ankle!
With the blessing of this immense life force, the star runes on the Star Iron Mother shone brightly, transforming into chains of starlight that subtly suppressed the destructive aura emanating from the black demonic finger!
"Boom!"
A deep, thunderous thud suddenly came from Xiao Han's left ankle!
After absorbing Xiao Han's life essence and the life source of the World Tree, the piece of Star Iron Mother transformed into a blazing stream of light, carrying unparalleled power, and fiercely merged into the hideous black ring mark!
In an instant, starlight and black light intertwined, collided, and Obliteration!
Finally, a temporary seal composed of countless tiny star runes appeared on the surface of the original curse mark, like a solid net of stars, firmly imprisoning that evil and violent aura within!
"No--! I will return! You lowly creatures will ultimately become my food--!"
The solidified demonic shadow let out a roar filled with resentment and bitterness. Under the dazzling starlight, its form began to become illusory and eventually slowly dissipated.
The overwhelming black light emanating from the curse mark quickly dimmed, leaving only a faint glimmer of dark light that flickered under the suppression of the star runes.
"Thump!"
Xiao Han could no longer hold on. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, his clothes soaked with cold sweat. He was panting heavily, his face deathly pale, as if he had just been pulled out of the water.
But his dark eyes shone with an astonishing light at that moment, sparkling with the joy and determination of surviving a near-death experience.
He succeeded!
The "Primordial Demon Finger Soul-Splitting Curse Seal," which tormented him like a leech and could take his life at any moment, was finally suppressed temporarily! The terrifying sense of crisis that followed him like a shadow and made it hard for him to breathe was also greatly reduced.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have successfully completed the initial suppression of the "Primordial Demon Finger Soul-Splitting Curse Seal"! The seal's activity has been reduced by 70%, and the effect is expected to last for three months.]
[The reward [Star Lord's Sigh] has been sent to your system space. Please check it.]
[Friendly reminder: In three months, the cursed seal will enter a new active period, at which time the backlash will be even more intense. Please prepare in advance and strive to improve your strength, otherwise... hehe, you'll have to bear the consequences!]
The system notification sounded at just the right moment. Although it still had a slightly frivolous tone, it sounded like heavenly music to Xiao Han's ears at this moment.
Xiao Han let out a long sigh of relief, got up from the ground, and carefully put the rubbing of the stone tablet that recorded the Stellar Annihilation Method and the clues to the "Heaven-Piercing Tower" into his storage ring.
His gaze involuntarily drifted towards the distant East.
The "Heaven-Piercing Tower" mentioned on the stone tablet may be the key to him completely eliminating this time bomb and even allowing his strength to leap forward again!
He sat cross-legged, circulated the "Creation-Heaven-Penetrating Art" and the "Shadow Void Scripture," swallowed several healing pills, and began to rapidly recover his depleted spiritual power and energy.
Half an hour later, Xiao Han's condition had recovered to about 70-80%. Although he still felt weak deep in his soul, which was a side effect of forcibly expelling his life essence and enduring the impact of the demonic will, and needed time to recover, he was at least able to move freely.
He stood up, preparing to leave the Falling Star Lake and find a path to the "Heaven-Piercing Tower".
However, at that moment, his expression suddenly changed!
Both the [Void-Piercing Divine Eyes] and the Eternal Night Void Emperor Martial Soul issued warning signals simultaneously!
He sensed several powerful and malevolent auras rapidly approaching Falling Star Lake from different directions at an extremely fast speed!
One of the auras was cold and bloodthirsty, carrying a familiar brutality and resentment... It was none other than Xue Tu, the Blood Fiend Hall leader who had been frightened away by the terrifying monsters in that scorched wasteland and escaped by sheer luck!
This guy not only didn't die under the claws of the demonic beast, but it seems he brought even stronger helpers, coming for revenge!
Moreover, besides Xue Tu, there were several other auras that were in no way weaker than his, and two of them even seemed to have reached the late stage or even the peak of the Martial Emperor Realm!
Xiao Han's face instantly darkened.