Chapter 28: 27. Heart of the Island

27. Heart of the Island

Before the two of them lay a vast, enormous underground cavern, perhaps reaching several hundred meters in diameter.

The dome and walls of the cavern were covered in fluorescent stones; because they were densely packed together, with the gaps between them filled with various colored crystals and quartz, they were almost fused into one, decorating the entire cavern into a glazed dome flowing with seven-colored rainbow light.

Surrounding them were some flat-topped hills about ten meters high, covered in vertical stripes formed after magma cooled—a common spectacle in the world at the heart of the island, commonly known as "Devil's Towers."

Between the ground and the dome, massive stalagmites and stalactites stood and hung respectively, also covered in magnificent crystals; over the long passage of time, they had grown and connected to become narrow, towering stone pillars in the middle, supporting the glazed canopy like pillars of heaven—a truly breathtaking sight.

The cavern was filled with magic so dense it made breathing difficult, guided there by a large amount of Earth Elemental Spirits; this magic had accumulated over time, forging everything before their eyes.

All Hearts of the Island similar to the one before them were the ultimate manifestation of the influence exerted by Earth Elemental Spirits upon this material world.

Li Ang had been to other island-heart worlds before; in terms of scenery alone, they might have been even more magnificent than the scene before him.

Therefore, the "ultimate" world Li Ang spoke of did not refer to the scenery of the earth's core, but the Titan Serpent coiled within this spectacular view.

Its body might have reached several hundred meters in length, and its head alone, lying silently on the ground, was taller than those Devil's Towers.

It was already dead.

If its head were not facing the direction from which the two had entered, Li Ang might have mistaken it for part of the island-heart landscape as well.

Its giant scales were like neatly arranged glazed tiles embedded in a solid rock wall; that rock wall was its body, which seemed eternal, coiled and laid out like a majestic rocky mountain.

A body like this, even among all the Kings of the Islands, was a top-tier existence.

If that couple hadn't finished it off, once it moved with full force, the entire Status Island would be as fragile as rotten soil before it; just by burrowing and coiling its body, it could easily crush the entire island into dust in the clouds.

That head facing the two was beautiful beyond words; besides the glazed snake scales, its face had several differently colored bands that wound around its head, eventually converging behind its eyes, looking at first glance like a veil or a crown.

But its beauty and majesty were all destroyed by the sword mark in the center of its head; it could be seen that a sword had once pierced directly into its brain, thoroughly finishing it off.

The power of this sword not only shattered the scales and gems around the mark but also blasted a hole behind its hill-like head, and the blood that had sprayed out from the hole had long since solidified.

The giant snake's blood was like flowing gold; it had once flowed in all directions, covering rocks and gems, reaching almost every corner of this island-heart world, and finally congealing into that golden-looking plating.

Only then did Li Ang realize that all the substances reflecting light along the way came from this giant snake capable of destroying islands.

Its body had several other deep wounds that reached the bone, and the bones visible from the wounds had the texture of granite.

It did not possess muscles; the substance filling its body, which had rolled out in all directions along with the golden blood from the wounds, consisted of various top-tier gems.

Rose quartz, rubies, and sapphires were mixed with rutile, shining with six-rayed starlight.

Around the granite bones, chrysoberyl was often visible; whether it was polished by the marvelous hand of nature, the smooth arcs reflected bright bands of light—these were precious cat's-eye stones.

In the solidified golden substance, octahedral diamonds were displayed in groups; red, green, orange, and purple became common individuals here, while pale yellow and transparent ones required careful searching.

Not to mention various quartz and fluorite wrapped in silver half-bodies, with peridot, topaz, tourmaline, and beryl rolling everywhere.

Their brilliant light, and they themselves, were the afterglow of the earth's creation. In this long, solidified river of gold, the ultimate dreams of people were lodged.

Li Ang turned his head to look at Zoe and waved his hand in front of her, but she had no reaction at all.

She looked truly foolish now.

Even he was shocked, whether by this "Star Soul" giant serpent, the wealth contained within its body, or the little wild cat who had never seen the wonders of this world and had been placed in the middle of her favorite colored stones.

Letting her digest it slowly, Li Ang drew the Wind-Breath Sword from her waist and came before the snake's head.

Once truly close, the surface of the giant creature became clear; it was like coming to a mountain wall, only a mountain wall inlaid with crystals and gems.

But the aura of the giant beast seemed to still linger here, and Li Ang found it hard to calm his heart, so he had to take a few deep breaths and began to climb, grabbing and stepping on the uneven surface of the snake's head.

Reaching the top of the head and walking to the sword mark, Li Ang saw that in the middle of the wide sword mark generated by the burst of immense power, the part that actually pierced through was only half a palm wide.

He inserted the Wind-Breath Sword inside, and it fit almost perfectly.

As expected.

He had guessed as much when he saw the wound.

Although Zoe's dad claimed to be a legendary swordsman in his notes, could a Tier 10 legend, even using a treasure, cause such destruction to such a giant beast? Li Ang, who knew legendary powerhouses, was not quite sure about this.

Combining this with the information provided by the system—that it once contained a storm capable of swallowing sky islands, and after an overloaded release, it lost most of its power and was falling into a deep sleep—Li Ang speculated that he had exhausted most of the original spirituality of the Wind-Breath Sword while slaying this giant snake.

Only when standing on the snake's head could he see the scene that had been hidden by its body before.

Starting from the fatal wound that had burst open behind the snake's head, a cone-shaped area extended across the ground of the island-heart cavern, widening from near to far; within this area, everything had been destroyed, leaving only deep wind patterns left behind by the sweeping storm.

"This is really a sacrifice."

Li Ang sighed as he looked at the smooth and beautiful blade of the Wind-Breath Sword.

Treasures, crafted using materials that construct the world and the purest energy, were each unique and were the dream weapons of the people.

But thinking that her dad did it for his child, perhaps it was not strange at all.

"What sacrifice?"

Zoe also climbed onto the snake's head; she jumped between the sharp scales and came to Li Ang's side.

She also saw that mark of destruction, and Li Ang handed the Wind-Breath Sword to her: "Your dad did this."

"Ah? This..." The young girl wanted to say something, but the desire to speak was covered by the sluggishness of digesting information.

She needed to slow down, but Li Ang began his pre-battle preparations.

This giant snake had been reborn; it certainly didn't have its original size, but it must be lurking nearby—he would not forget this.

He squatted down and picked out gems from the solidified golden blood.

He chose some turquoise and malachite; in a situation where corundum and diamonds were everywhere, these two had become rare goods instead.

Although Earth Elemental Spirits would condense various gems when interfering with the material world, they preferred to reside in these slightly greenish minerals and gems, so primitive tribes using ancient witchcraft also favored them, using them to make decorations and magical artifacts.

Shaman Spell—Elemental Summoning!

Li Ang channeled his magic through the Shaman's path to the surroundings, and the dense Earth Elemental Spirits immediately responded; drifting rock ash and soil flew up from the ground, gathered around Li Ang, and began to construct a quadrupedal beast form.