Dongfang Wantang's slender fingers gently traced the surface of the bronze star chart, and the ancient celestial runes lit up one by one, emitting a faint blue glow. She closed her eyes and concentrated, uttering obscure incantations, her hair moving without wind.
Han Feng and Zhang Jingtian stepped back two steps, giving the astrologer room to cast his spell. The light on the star chart grew brighter and brighter, projecting a three-dimensional star map in front of Dongfang Wantang, with several stars shining particularly brightly.
"This is the Shangguan family's celestial position..." Zhang Jingtian explained softly, his eyes reflecting the shimmering starlight. "The art of divination is indeed unpredictable; it can even directly pinpoint the secret realm of a powerful family."
Han Feng did not respond, his entire attention focused on the star chart. The stellar power within him resonated subtly with the star chart, as if countless tiny electric currents were coursing through his meridians. This feeling was familiar—just like the stellar trajectories Zero had shown him when he was cultivating in the system space.
Dongfang Wantang's brows suddenly furrowed, and her fingers moved faster in forming hand seals. The star chart began to fluctuate violently, and the points of light representing the Shangguan family flickered erratically.
"Strange..." she muttered to herself, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "What's wrong with the trajectory of the Star Mirror..."
Before he finished speaking, the brightest star in the star chart—representing the core light of the star mirror—suddenly flickered twice like a candle flame in the wind, and then went out without warning.
"Huh?" Dongfang Wantang suddenly opened her eyes, and the star chart fell to the ground with a "clatter".
"What's wrong?" Han Feng stepped forward.
Zhang Jingtian's expression also changed: "The Star Mirror's aura has been severed?"
Dongfang Wantang picked up the astrolabe, her fingers trembling slightly: "The Shangguan family's astrolabe... its aura has completely vanished." She looked up at the two of them, her eyes filled with disbelief, "It's as if it never existed."
"This is impossible!" Zhang Jingtian snatched the star chart and examined it. "Even if it's hidden in the deepest secret realm of the family, or shrouded in the highest level of barrier, the star chart will still leave traces! Unless..." The old man's voice suddenly choked.
Stars seemed to dance in Han Feng's pupils, and an ominous premonition crept up his spine: "Unless what?"
"Unless it was taken away from Earth, it wouldn't be like this," Zhang Jingtian concluded gravely.
The room fell into a deathly silence. Dongfang Wantang's star chart trembled slightly on the floor, emitting a faint hum. Han Feng bent down to pick it up, and the moment he touched it, a bone-chilling coldness shot from his fingertips into his heart—it wasn't ordinary coldness, but an aura he had never encountered before, an aura that didn't belong to this world.
"No..." Han Feng abruptly flung aside the star chart. "The star compass hasn't disappeared; it's been forcibly obscured by some force." He raised his finger, a strange layer of frost forming on it, melting at a visible speed. "Something is interfering with the divination."
Zhang Jingtian grabbed Han Feng's wrist to examine it, his expression growing increasingly grim: "This is... extraterrestrial energy?" He suddenly looked up, "The Shangguan family might already be—"
Han Feng stared intently at the strange, melting frost, his eyes flashing with uncertain light: "I'm afraid it's true, as you said, that the Shangguan family has already..." He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.
"That old bastard Shangguan Ce!" Zhang Jingtian roared, slamming his hand on the coffee table. The solid wood surface instantly cracked with spiderweb-like patterns. "I'm going to find out what happened!"
The old man turned to rush out, his wide sleeves whipping up a gust of wind. Han Feng flashed forward, blocking the doorway: "Old Zhang, wait!"
"Get out of the way!" Zhang Jingtian's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "The three ancient martial arts families have guarded the Star Mirror for generations. If he dares to disobey their ancestral teachings, I will definitely—"
"What good will questioning him do?" Han Feng retorted, "What if the Shangguan family denies it outright? What if they've prepared an ambush?"
This series of questions calmed Zhang Jingtian down slightly, but his white beard still trembled with anger: "Then what do you think?"
Han Feng stepped aside, clearing half of the doorway for the old man to sit down: "The Star Mirrors are interconnected. Now that your Zhang family has handed the Star Mirror to me, the Shangguan family will surely have noticed." He walked to the window. "Their choice to conceal the Star Mirror at this time is clearly an attempt to lure me in."
Standing to the side, Dongfang Wantang was deeply impressed by Han Feng's meticulousness, and said, "Han Feng is right... I just sensed unusual fluctuations in the Shangguan family's secret realm, like... they're preparing something."
"So we must do the opposite." Han Feng turned around, his eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a successful scheme. "First, cripple their claws and teeth, then strike at their vitals."
Zhang Jingtian narrowed his eyes: "Tell me more."
"The Nangong family," Han Feng said, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet living room. "How much do you know about them?"
Zhang Jingtian and Dongfang Wantang exchanged a glance. The old man stroked his beard: "Just a humble ancient martial arts family. The current patriarch, Nangong Wentian, is a ruthless character, currently a powerful expert at the early stage of the Innate Realm." He paused, "Why are you suddenly asking this?"
Han Feng didn't answer immediately, but instead went to the liquor cabinet and poured three glasses of whiskey. The amber liquid swirled in the glasses, reflecting the cold light flashing in his eyes.
"Before I went to the Dongfang family," Han Feng handed the two wine glasses, "I helped the Liu family repel the Nangong family's suitors."
"That girl from the Liu family?" Zhang Jingtian took the wine glass, then suddenly looked upstairs with a realization, "The one upstairs?"
Han Feng nodded, a cold smile playing on his lips: "That day I severed Nangong Ao's arm, and Nangong Wentian wanted to kill me on the spot to silence me." He took a sip of his wine. "It was Dongfang Xun who appeared in time and defused the crisis."
Dongfang Wantang paused slightly in her wine glass: "Something like this happened? I thought it was just a normal conflict."
"I spoke with Dongfang Xun afterwards." Han Feng put down his wine glass, his fingertips tracing the rim. "He revealed a crucial piece of information to me—Mu Xiaoxiao got involved with the Shangguan family through the Nangong family."
"That's true." Dongfang Wantang nodded in confirmation. "The clues we found indicate that Mu Xiaoxiao first contacted the Nangong family, and was then introduced to Shangguan Ce by Nangong Wentian."
A glint of light flashed in Zhang Jingtian's eyes: "So you mean... the Nangong family and the Shangguan family have been colluding for a long time?"
"It's more than just collusion." Han Feng walked to the center of the living room, took out the information he had gathered about the Nangong family, and handed it to the two of them. "The Nangong family is very likely a springboard for Mu Xiaoxiao to infiltrate the ancient martial arts families." He pointed to the connection between the Nangong family and the Shangguan family, "And now, we need to remove this thorn in our side."
"A feint?" Zhang Jingtian pondered. "But the Shangguan family will definitely sense your actions, so it might be easy to be discovered."
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