"That's not necessarily true!" Fang Daolong suddenly sneered, propping up the sky with one hand. A sky-obscuring rune instantly appeared.
"By Imperial Decree!"
The massive rune descended from the sky. All the yansha's heads lifted, their wails temporarily ceasing, their gazes turning grave.
It could sense the power of this rune! A power that could suppress it.
However… this was far from enough!
"Die! Die!…"
All the yansha's heads roared. The muscles in their arms writhed, and sharp bone spurs pierced through flesh and blood. Then, they clapped their arms together, and the growing bone spurs merged seamlessly, forming a massive bone shield.
Just then, the colossal rune in the sky finally descended, making contact with the bone shield.
"Boom—!"
The rune emitted a dazzling light, and a shockwave sent Nannan and Fang Daolong flying. The yansha was also violently slammed into the cloud cocoon!
Immediately after, the rune enveloped the cloud cocoon, sealing the rift torn by the yansha once more. The entire cloud cocoon began to writhe and struggle frantically.
Nannan steadied herself, extending strands of hair to catch the temporarily weakened Fang Daolong and gently placed him on the ground.
Fang Ming quickly ran over, arriving beside Fang Daolong and asking, "Is it done?"
Fang Daolong looked up at the cloud cocoon. "We're still far from done."
He hadn't obtained the煞心 (sha xin) yet, so how could it be considered done?
"It can still come out?" Fang Ming looked at the cloud cocoon in surprise. It looked quite sturdy.
Fang Mu also descended at this time, standing behind Fang Ming, her gaze filled with a hint of nostalgia.
"Fang Ming…" Fang Mu called out softly.
Fang Ming turned his head upon hearing the voice behind him, facing a familiar yet strange face.
"Mom?" Fang Ming called out tentatively.
So much time had passed that he had almost forgotten what his mother looked like.
But strangely, he felt no sense of familial connection towards the mother before him. What was going on?
"There's no time for sentimentality. Let's deal with this yansha first," Fang Daolong interrupted their reunion and leaped onto the cloud cocoon, plunging his rune sword into it.
"Ah!" The yansha shrieked, struggling even more wildly. The resistance that had dissipated from the mine increased again.
"Wife, continue to stabilize the rune. Absolutely do not let it break free," Fang Daolong shouted.
Fang Mu gave Fang Ming an apologetic look before flying back into the air to maintain the operation of all the runes.
"Fang Ming, what do we do now?" Nannan came to Fang Ming's side and asked.
Fang Ming pondered for a moment. "Let's just wait here. The mine is restarting. There's no point in us going anywhere else."
"Okay, Fang Ming," Nannan nodded with a smile, hugging Fang Ming's arm and watching Fang Daolong's actions with him.
It was just that Nannan was now in the second stage…
"Um… Nannan…" Fang Ming hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Nannan turned and asked.
What else could be wrong? Fang Ming couldn't possibly say that her chest was too close to him, could he?
"Nothing, nothing," Fang Ming said helplessly, forced to silently endure the softness.
On the other side, Fang Daolong was forcefully slicing open the cloud cocoon, searching for the煞心 within. Arms extended continuously to stop him, but it was all in vain.
The yansha could only watch helplessly as the sharp sword in Fang Daolong's hand drew closer and closer to its heart. It couldn't break free at all.
Finally, with another swing of the sword, a fist-sized green heart appeared in Fang Daolong's sight, emitting dense resentment.
"Found it!" Fang Daolong exclaimed in delight.
He reached out to grab the heart, and the yansha, sensing a life-or-death crisis, struggled with even greater force, but it was useless.
The runes sealed on the cloud cocoon were drawn by Fang Daolong at a certain cost, and their power was more than enough to suppress even a xushou.
Closer and closer, Fang Daolong's excitement grew, while the yansha's panic intensified.
Finally, Fang Daolong's right hand grasped the green heart. The entire mine world instantly froze—including Fang Daolong, the yansha, and even Nannan.
Only Fang Ming could still move normally.
"What's happening?" Fang Ming asked, bewildered.
"It's because of me, of course," Chang Sheng's cheerful voice rang out from behind. Fang Ming quickly turned around.
"What do you mean?" Fang Ming frowned at him.
At this point, he no longer fully trusted Chang Sheng and harbored some suspicion.
"I've merely paused your time. You are now in relative time," Chang Sheng chuckled.
"As for why I did this, it's naturally to speak with you about something."
"What is it?" Fang Ming asked gravely.
"Disrupt Fang Daolong's plan and destroy the 煞心!" Chang Sheng said with a half-smile.
"煞心?" Fang Ming was confused. "What is that?"
Chang Sheng pouted. "It's the heart inside that little guy overhead."
"This little guy has special abilities. As long as Fang Daolong obtains the 煞心, he can use the rune to replicate its abilities and then continue his plan," Chang Sheng said with a smile, as if discussing something trivial.
"Why should I help you?" Fang Ming said sternly. "You've kept too many things from me; I can't trust you."
Chang Sheng shrugged helplessly. "Believe it or not. I just want to tell you one thing: your father's plan involves the woman beside you."
"Since he's determined to seize the 煞心, he will definitely make a move against this woman. And I must also remind you."
"This 煞心 can help a creature continuously strengthen itself through death, cycling infinitely until the body can no longer withstand the power within!"
"Do you understand what I mean?" Chang Sheng asked with a knowing smile. "Guess how many times your father will kill this woman over and over?"
Fang Ming clenched his fists, saying nothing.
"Oh, still not acting?" Chang Sheng walked up to Fang Ming and said sinisterly, "I forgot to remind you, Nannan's abilities are very special. The more her emotions spiral out of control, the more her power increases. Think about how your father will make each of her deaths more efficient? Heh heh heh."
After speaking, Chang Sheng's figure disappeared before Fang Ming, and everything around them resumed movement.
"Finally got the 煞心!" Fang Daolong laughed heartily, holding the green heart emanating white mist in his hand.
The yansha, having lost its heart, struggled less and less, soon losing all movement. The entire cloud cocoon began to dissipate into resentment.
Fang Ming stood below, staring at Fang Daolong. He didn't know if Chang Sheng was telling the truth, but it was clear that obtaining this heart was definitely part of his father's plan!
This meant that Fang Daolong hadn't given up on his plan against Chang Sheng!
As for the content of the plan, it was self-evident, it must be related to Nannan.
If Chang Sheng was telling the truth, then Fang Daolong absolutely could not be allowed to continue his plan! Nannan absolutely could not be subjected to such malicious torment.
"I'm sorry," Fang Ming murmured, then his body rapidly transformed into the yansha form.
"Boom!" Fang Ming pushed off the ground and leaped up, charging towards Fang Daolong.
Fang Daolong heard the commotion and turned his gaze towards the sound, seeing a massive, ferocious xushou lunging at him.
"Fang Ming?" Fang Daolong exclaimed in surprise. It was the first time he had seen Fang Ming in this form.
"What are you doing?" Fang Daolong roared.
"Dad, give me the heart!" Fang Ming said, extending a massive claw towards Fang Daolong.
"What do you want it for?" Fang Daolong asked, confused, dodging Fang Ming's attack.
Fang Ming's attack missed, and knowing he couldn't snatch the heart from Fang Daolong's grasp with his own strength, he quickly instructed Nannan, "Nannan, snatch the heart! If you can't get it, destroy it!"
"You dare!" Fang Daolong exclaimed in rage.
But Nannan didn't listen to Fang Daolong; she only followed Fang Ming's orders.
With a wave of her hand, a hundred-meter-long blood python crawled out of the void and appeared beneath Nannan, lifting her up.
"Hand it over!" Nannan shouted coldly. Her gaze sharpened, and Fang Daolong felt his blood boiling, as if it were about to burst out of his body.
"Tricks!" Fang Daolong sneered, drawing a few runes and pressing them onto his body, instantly calming his blood.
"Fang Ming, what exactly do you want?!" Fang Daolong turned and glared at Fang Ming, completely unable to fathom why Fang Ming would attack him.
"Dad, please give me the 煞心," Fang Ming said, extending a hand with a pleading look.
He wished so badly that his father would abandon his plan, that their family could live happily together.
"Impossible!" Fang Daolong refused Fang Ming's plea without a second thought. Wanting the 煞心… No!
Fang Daolong suddenly realized, how did Fang Ming know about the 煞心?
He only knew about the existence of the 煞心 from an ancient text. Not all yansha possessed it; only those whose abilities reached a certain level would condense it.
"How do you know about the 煞心?" Fang Daolong asked, frowning.
"You don't need to know. Just give me the 煞心, or destroy it now!" Fang Ming said.
"Chang Sheng told you?" Fang Daolong sneered. "You still believe that guy? How credible is what he says?"
Fang Ming looked at his father with disappointment. He had never felt his father could be so cold-blooded.
Chang Sheng might have his own agenda, but his father was definitely hiding something from him!
"Yes, he told me," Fang Ming said calmly, looking at Fang Daolong. "But you still intend to target Nannan, don't you?"
Fang Daolong fell silent after hearing this.
Fang Ming understood the answer and let out a bitter laugh, steeling his heart.
"Nannan, snatch the 煞心! No matter the cost!"
Nannan immediately attacked again, an ice sword appearing in her hand. She directed the blood python to carry her as she lunged at Fang Daolong.
"Overestimating yourself!" Fang Daolong knew his intentions could no longer be concealed, so he acted directly.
He wouldn't hurt Fang Ming, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hurt Nannan.
To him, Fang Ming's survival was enough. Losing Nannan would merely be losing a close friend, and he would forget her in time.
"Wife, suppress her!"
Fang Mu emerged from the shadows, joining Fang Daolong to attack Nannan. Both of their powers were at the You Sha level. Together, they faced Nannan at the Ming Sha stage with extreme caution.