"I’ve got it," Ye Yanran suddenly stopped and said with joy.
Ye Yanran formed another hand formation, casting a web of faint light and shadow that spread out before her.
The Deep Sleep Barrier. This barrier was not entirely unfamiliar to Mu Hanyan. Last time, Ye Yanran had intended to use it against her, but Mu Hanyan, forewarned by the Star Illusion Thousand Machine, was well-prepared. Not only did she resist it, but she also punched Ye Yanran into a pig-headed mess.
This time, the range of the Deep Sleep Barrier was noticeably smaller. Mu Hanyan could clearly see the flickering light patterns forming a light shield over two feet wide, enveloping the Exotic Beast Egg and her palm at the center.
The smaller the barrier’s range, presumably, the greater its effect—much like how a Swordsman’s Qi becomes more powerful the more it is concentrated.
However, forming the barrier, evidently, was as draining and strenuous as concentrating Qi. Because the execution of the hand formations by Ye Yanran significantly slowed, her expression became unusually serious, her focus intensely sharpened.
After exerting herself to establish the final barrier, Ye Yanran sighed with relief, reaching once more to pry the Exotic Beast Egg away, but alas, it remained firm as if grown onto Mu Hanyan’s hand, immovable.
"Why is this happening?" Ye Yanran furrowed her brows, turning her gaze to Mu Hanyan.
So much time had passed; Mu Hanyan’s face no longer held any color, pale as if painted on a wall, her extreme exhaustion making it difficult even to keep her eyes open.
"Don’t sleep, please don’t fall asleep; just hold on a little longer," Ye Yanran became even more anxious and frantic, shaking Mu Hanyan forcefully.
Mu Hanyan struggled to open her eyes; she also knew that once she lost consciousness and ceased her Cultivation Technique, her life force would spill out like a flood bursting through a dam. By then, even if she used every last bit of her strength, it would be impossible to stop.
But the speed at which her life force faded was accelerating, and she genuinely felt unable to hang on much longer.
Just then, a warmth flickered in her chest; a warm current flowed directly into her Heart Meridian, replenishing a bit of her vitality and spirit.
It was the Star Illusion Thousand Machine—Mu Hanyan realized. She had examined the inside of that Star Plate and hadn’t found any remarkable power within. Where did this warm current originate?
"Don’t speculate needlessly, my situation is somewhat similar to Tian Lie’s; this Star Disk might as well be considered a Life-bound Disk, and what I’m doing is nothing more than clinging to life," Mu Hanyan didn’t need to guess anymore, as Qianji directly provided the answer.
So that was it. Mu Hanyan actually had entertained such a notion but dared not be certain; upon hearing Qianji’s words, she knew her guess was correct.
However, as similar as it was to Tian Lie, it was actually different. After all, Tian Lie, in the end, was just a lingering thought before death. Even the words she had spoken when she passed the test were part of that thought; whereas Qianji was a complete soul, no different from a living person aside from lacking a physical body.
From this, it seemed that Qianji was evidently incomparable to Tian Lie. One could only wonder how formidable he must have been to have preserved his entire soul.
To think that she had been in the company of such a powerful being all this time! Mu Hanyan couldn’t help but marvel.
"Perhaps the former me was even stronger than you imagine, but now my strength is pitifully weak. If you don’t hurry up, even with my life on the line, I won’t be able to save you," came the voice of Qianji in her mind.
Mu Hanyan quickly pulled together her spirits and started her Cultivation Technique once again. After all, Qianji was just a soul and couldn’t have too much power, unlikely able to hold on for very long.