A sudden buzzing in my mind, and two thoughts exploded into my head.
Firstly, he would take advantage of the chaotic and violent energy of the "Shattered Star Road" in this place, and combine it with the dangerous move "Star Vortex Reverse Flow" from the incomplete cultivation technique, to take a risky gamble and seal the demonic energy in his heart.
If this succeeds, his control over chaotic energy will reach a new level.
If defeated, the demonic energy will backfire, severing all meridians and causing one's strength to plummet.
Secondly, it involves drawing evil energy into the body, allowing it to temporarily merge with one's own power, using poison to fight poison, and gaining a momentary burst of power to deal with the immediate trouble.
However, this method has endless consequences and is extremely difficult to eradicate. If one is not careful, one may be deeply corrupted and even undergo a drastic change in temperament.
The advantage is that it can temporarily boost combat power slightly, and also slightly enhance resistance to demonic energy.
"Chaos can seal away demons!"
The second thought had barely formed when Xiao Han decisively extinguished it.
"Drawing evil into the body?"
Xiao Han spat, thinking it was like lighting a lamp in a latrine—a death wish.
His gaze swept across the area and settled on a section of hissing, cracked pipe not far away.
The pipe was spewing out a highly unstable stream of colorful energy, and the surrounding metal walls were turning slightly red due to the dissipated energy.
"Tie Lan, do me a favor!" He lowered his voice, but his tone left no room for argument.
Tie Lan and the others had all lived on the edge of a knife, so they understood immediately upon hearing this.
The group quickly dispersed, surrounding Xiao Han in the center, their weapons drawn, and they warily scanned every inch of shadow around them.
Xiao Han took a deep breath, pushed off the ground with his feet, and shot forward like an arrow, heading straight for the bursting energy.
A violent, colorful torrent crashed down on me. My joints cracked and popped, and every inch of my flesh was being torn apart.
He let out a muffled groan, the metallic taste of blood rising in his throat, and blood seeping from his gums.
He pushed the remaining stellar power within his body to its limit using the Star Vortex Reverse Flow Technique, causing it to swirl wildly backward.
Deep within his dantian, the illusory image of the blue lotus trembled violently, wisps of pure energy escaping, struggling to protect his nearly shattered heart meridian.
The power of the stars spread out with difficulty, trying to gather and organize the violent energy, and then separated a portion to carefully wrap the restless demonic energy in the back of the heart, trying to completely isolate it from the outside world.
Every step was like walking on thin ice; the slightest misstep would mean certain death.
"Puff--"
He finally couldn't hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood, his mouth filled with the taste of rust.
The demonic energy in the back seemed to sense the danger and began to ram into the thin barrier formed by the pure lotus energy even more frantically.
"Stop it, you bastard!" Xiao Han squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.
The jade pendant between his brows suddenly became scalding hot, and a warm current surged out from it, forcefully suppressing the demon's last dying struggle.
Finally, just as his consciousness was about to fade, a few wisps of starlight trembled and outlined a seal around the demonic aura in his back, as faint as smoke, almost dissipating.
The chilling feeling that had been bothering my mind dissipated like the receding tide.
The previously raging energy had become much more docile under his control, and its flow trajectory had become clearer.
"Withdraw!"
Xiao Han hastily wiped the blood from his lips. His breathing was still erratic, but his spirits were high, and he exuded a sharp aura.
The team set off again.
Thanks to Xiao Han's control over the newly formed energy turbulence, the group stumbled and struggled, but finally managed to traverse most of the mechanical maze.
The place was piled high with rusted steel debris, and the air was filled with a strange smell of rust mixed with machine oil, making it a veritable scrap metal graveyard.
Finally, a sentry post appeared ahead, named Steel Jaw.
The massive alloy barriers, jagged and interlocking, completely blocked the way ahead.
On the alloy wall, tens of meters high, the dark muzzles of cannons gaped menacingly. Eerie blue arcs of electricity occasionally crawled across the wall, emitting crackling sounds that sent chills down one's spine.
In the center of the outpost stands a massive energy cannon with a muzzle three meters thick, its rough lines radiating a chilling energy fluctuation.
"That's the Destroyer main cannon from the Steel Jaw! Goodness, if that thing fires one shot, it could flatten this hill!" Tie Lan said in a low voice, her voice filled with horror.
She added, "My original plan was to send a few people to cause some trouble and draw their fire away, while our main force sneaks in from the weaker points on the flank. But that's too risky; we could all be wiped out there."
Xiao Han squinted as he examined the heavily guarded sentry post.
Feint attack?
There aren't enough of them to be used as practice targets.
"Tie Lan, I have an idea, maybe something a bit more daring," Xiao Han suddenly said.
"I'll sneak over there alone, make a big commotion, and conveniently disable that main gun."
"Once that big guy stops firing, you can take the opportunity to attack."
"Are you crazy?!" Tie Lan almost jumped up. "Going to take that thing apart by yourself?"
Without another word, Xiao Han vanished in a flash, reappearing several meters away, landing as lightly as a leaf.
This move left even seasoned veterans like Tie Lan speechless with admiration; this kid had been hiding his true abilities well!
"Alright, you little rascal! You've got guts!" Tie Lan slapped his thigh, his voice rising, "Let's do it! We're waiting for your move!"
Xiao Han made a hand gesture.
He crouched down, using the mechanical wreckage as cover, and disappeared in a few flashes.
He stealthily crept to the edge of the sentry post, deftly dodging several beams of light that swept past.
He took out the discarded energy core and some metal pieces that Tie Lan had given him from his storage ring. The few pages of miscellaneous notes on weapon crafting he had flipped through in the Martial Skills Pavilion years ago, along with his rudimentary understanding of energy runes, were now proving useful. His hands moved quickly, and soon, a palm-sized object took shape, its surface engraved with some crooked patterns. He called it a "Dark Energy Explosive Talisman." It wouldn't kill anyone, but it could detonate the energy core, and creating a chain reaction shouldn't be a problem.
With a few leaps, he was already close to the bottom of the Destroyer's main cannon.
The energy hub at the bottom of the cannon was covered by thick armor, but with his newly acquired perception, he could clearly see the energy flow inside the armor and which point was the most vulnerable.
He held his breath as he affixed the specially made "Dark Energy Explosive Talisman" to an inconspicuous node on the outer shell of the nexus.
At the back of the group, a tall, thin man who was usually quiet and had a sallow complexion quietly took two steps back and tapped his fingers rapidly on a metal plate at his waist.
This guy had been tricked by the Steel Jaws before, barely escaping with his life, but cowardice and fear were etched into his bones.
With the outpost so close at hand, the familiar sense of oppression nearly drove him to the brink of collapse. He even considered secretly tipping off "Steel Jaw" and sacrificing his comrade's life for his own survival.
They thought they were getting away with these little tricks unnoticed, but little did they know that Xiao Han saw right through them.
Xiao Han remained motionless, only a thin wisp of dark light flicked from his fingertips.
It struck the traitor precisely on the back of the neck.
The tall, thin man's body stiffened, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed limply to the ground, unconscious.
"Hmph, trash." Xiao Han sneered inwardly and ignored him.
With a thought, he detonated the "Dark Energy Explosive Talisman"!
"Boom--!"
A deep, yet extremely penetrating explosion rang out!
Immediately afterwards, the core energy hub of the "Destroyer" main cannon exploded in a blinding burst of fire.
The raging energy turbulence instantly spiraled out of control, triggering a violent chain of explosions!
Flames shot skyward, and thick smoke billowed!
The main gun barrel broke in the middle, and huge metal components flew out in all directions.
The entire outpost was instantly engulfed in flames and chaos!
Alarms blared, screams filled the air, and the clanging of metal rang out in a cacophony!