Within the spherical space, the pale-faced Tai Yan was jolted awake by Qing Yue's shout. She quickly looked up and indeed saw a faint purple light flickering between Nie Kong's brows. Seeing this, the teary eyes of Tai Yan brightened, and a sliver of hope rekindled in her previously despairing heart.

Qing Yue urged, "Tai Yan, you must hold on. Even if you can't stop your power from flowing into Nie Kong, at least slow it down. Nie Kong's Heart Imprint is stirring; that means he's starting to wake up. Don't forget Xiang Xiang—we all must strive together. There is still hope."

"Mmm, I definitely won't let Brother come to harm," Tai Yan nodded heavily, as if having made some difficult decision. Her red lips suddenly pressed against Nie Kong's brow...

"..."

"The Heart Imprint is almost full!"

The Heart Imprint of the "Purple Luo Phantom Spirit Incense" throbbed with waves of agonizing pain, seemingly about to burst under the pressure of that immense power. Nie Kong, now at his wit's end, was once again flooded with a sense of utter helplessness.

Originally, Nie Kong had hoped to use the Heart Imprint to buy some time, perhaps allowing the little one to awaken sooner, but Xiang Xiang seemed to have sunk into a deep slumber, showing absolutely no reaction. However, even if the little one had woken, it would only have extended the delay by a little longer.

Perhaps he only had a few seconds or minutes left before the end!

The situation was irreversible. No matter how reluctant Nie Kong was to leave Hua Mei and the others, at this point, he could only let go of his struggle and quietly await the arrival of that moment.

"Bang!"

Like the shattering of the heavens and the collapsing of the earth, a violent, explosive roar finally sounded.

It's over!

It's finished!

Nie Kong's mind was vacant, free of thoughts, as if he had fallen into eternal darkness, sinking, sinking... Life seemed to drain away along with that power...

"Huh? The power is draining? No, wait!"

Nie Kong suddenly realized something was amiss. That loud blast hadn't shattered his consciousness; instead, he could sense the power flowing out.

In an instant, Nie Kong understood.

The explosion hadn't blown him to pieces but had blasted a huge fissure open at the Heart Imprint between his brows. Outside of his brow, however, a blood-red aperture had suddenly appeared. The power accumulated inside his brow instantly surged into that bloody hole as if finding an outlet.

"Is that Tai Yan's aura?"

Sensing slightly through the Heart Imprint, Nie Kong realized that Tai Yan was drawing the power back. The power from his brow flowed into Tai Yan's body, and the power from within Tai Yan permeated through the spiritual aperture, one entering and one exiting in an endless stream. A cycle seemed to have formed between Nie Kong and Tai Yan.

This cycle appeared relentless, but at least the immediate crisis was resolved.

He wouldn't die for the time being!

An ineffable joy surged from the depths of Nie Kong's soul.

However, the feeling of impending death was still vividly etched in his memory. In that mere instant, he felt as if he had experienced a cycle of life and death. This reincarnation was far more heart-stopping than the previous one, where he had suddenly died and his soul possessed another body, as that death had been entirely unexpected.

Just now, he knew death was imminent yet could only wait helplessly. Although the cycle of life and death had passed, Nie Kong still couldn't let down his guard.

That immense power continuously flowed through the spiritual aperture, through the meridians, bones, and into the Heart Imprint... returning to Tai Yan's body, and then being released from Tai Yan's body. If he couldn't find a way to interrupt this, the cycle would likely continue indefinitely, and neither he nor Tai Yan would find release.

Nie Kong frantically searched through the memories of the inheritance of the Panxing and Chixing star races. Solutions existed, but regrettably, with his current strength, he couldn't execute any of them.

If he had reached the Spiritual God Realm, or cultivated the "War God Star Seal" to the Eighth Nether Star, or brought his "Chixing Battle Body" to the Eighth Level, he could forcefully interrupt the inflow of Tai Yan's power. Of course, if he possessed such strength, this entire situation would never have occurred.

Time ticked by, second by second...

Nie Kong still couldn't find an effective method. The vast power continued to pour ceaselessly into the spiritual aperture before flowing out through his brow...

...

At the edge of the Spirit Sealing Marsh, the figures of Spirit Masters were gathering in increasing numbers—shoulder to shoulder, a throng of people, their clamor rising one after another.

"..."

"It's been two days since we last saw those two bandits. Do you think they might have left?"

"Impossible, right? Would they really abandon so many medicinal herbs? Though, it's hard to say. If no more herbs are emerging from the marsh, it's normal for them to leave."

"Hey, brother, didn't you say you weren't afraid of those two bandits? Why don't you go scout ahead..."

"Go? Go where? Did I say I wasn't afraid? Two Heavenly Spirit experts from the Spirit God Palace couldn't handle those two bandits. Me, a Spirit Transformation Master, going in to scout wouldn't even be enough to get stuck between their teeth."

"..."

Amidst the muttering, several daring latecomers finally couldn't resist the temptation and tentatively entered the "Spirit Sealing Marsh." Watching their figures, the gazes of the crowd at the marsh's edge couldn't help but reveal traces of pity mixed with mockery. Most of them had witnessed the earth-shattering battle two days prior; the flattened depression was still there. These fools dared to go in harvesting herbs—truly inviting trouble.

By evening, those few individuals had still not emerged. However, when some returned to the tavern in Luotian City, they were astonished to see those same people happily running out of the "Spirit Treasure Pavilion" across the street. Startled, they quickly intercepted them to ask what happened.

Those individuals knew the matter couldn't be hidden and could only relate the tale step by step.

Only then did everyone realize the truth: they had actually managed to harvest a large quantity of valuable herbs from the "Spirit Sealing Marsh." To avoid having their herbs stolen, they had specifically taken a detour back to Luotian City, sold the herbs, and each one earned over a million gold coins, with the highest earner reaching three million.

The most miraculous thing was that they hadn't encountered the green-robed bandit or his black eagle mount.

At once, envy and jealousy flushed the onlookers' eyes red, and this news spread like wildfire throughout Luotian City. The Spirit Masters who had been stewing in regret for days—the impatient and reckless ones—left Luotian City overnight, carrying torches and rushing into the Spirit Sealing Marsh.

The next morning, even more Spirit Masters poured out, and the vast, boundless marsh was dotted with their figures. By noon, several of the Spirit Masters who had set out the night before were approaching the central area of the "Spirit Sealing Marsh," where a three-meter-tall emerald-green stone stele stood.

The characters "Spirit Sealing" on the stele were clearly visible. But what shocked everyone wasn't the Spirit Sealing Stele itself, but the enormous black eagle perched atop it!

... ...RO