Chapter 101: Turbulent Drift, the Sorrow of Being Scattered

Chaos! Absolute chaos!

The instant she stepped through the Thorn Gate, Xiang Lingna felt her body being torn and twisted by an irresistible, colossal force! It was no longer the smooth passage through the origin channel from before, but rather like being swept into a violent cosmic storm! What lay before her eyes was no longer a clear scene, but countless shattered beams of light flickering and spinning wildly—burning white flames of stardust, filthy purple light of corruption, vibrant emerald green, deathly still and icy dark purple… all manner of extreme, contradictory energies of color interweaving, colliding, annihilating one another, forming a bizarre, dizzying, nauseating vortex of chaos!

In her ears were the shrieks of tearing space and meaningless roars of energy! Her body felt as though it was about to be broken down into its most basic particles! Xiang Lingna gripped desperately at the hem of the unconscious Lin Mo's clothes, while her other hand clutched tightly the emerald shard that was trembling violently, its light flickering on and off. The shard became the only relatively stable anchor in this chaos, emanating a resilient emerald halo that barely shielded a small area around her. She could sense Wrench not far away, letting out terrified screams, and could also make out the blurry outline of Lei En carrying Lin Mo's heavy figure.

"Hold on! Don't let go!" Lei En's roar shattered into pieces within the turbulent flow. His elven agility and strength seemed so insignificant before the spatial turbulence; he could only rely on instinct to grip Lin Mo's shoulders tightly, trying to stabilize his own stance.

However, this Thorn Gate, forcibly torn open by the chaotic energy within Lin Mo's body, was far less stable than the one opened by the burning origin at the core of Wang Ting. The chaotic energy composing the passage was already in an extremely unstable state of counter-impact, and the terrifying will of the Doctor's final descent was like a spark thrown into a powder keg, completely detonating the fragile balance of the passage!

Boom—!!!

A "turbulence lightning bolt" composed of pure annihilation energy, black as ink, split open the chaotic light and shadow without any warning, lashing viciously at the area where everyone was!

"Ah—!" Wrench took the brunt of it! His twisted, scrapped mechanical arm was grazed by the black lightning, and instantly erupted with blinding electric sparks! The gears, conduits, and energy core within let out a wail of being overwhelmed under the erosion of annihilation energy, then exploded with a thunderous crash! Shattered metal parts and scorching energy fragments flew and splattered in all directions! Wrench screamed miserably, was sent flying by the shockwave of the explosion, and vanished in an instant into the depths of the violently spinning chaotic light and shadow; only his desolate, trailing scream still echoed!

"Wrench!" Xiang Lingna's heart sank sharply, her desperate cry swallowed by the turbulence.

Misfortunes never come alone! The aftershock of that annihilation lightning slammed viciously into Lin Mo, whom Lei En was carrying! Lin Mo's body jolted violently, and the Corrupted Claw Mark on his right arm erupted with blinding purple light, as if resonating with that power of annihilation! Lei En was Like Struck by Weight, his arm numb with pain, and could no longer hold onto Lin Mo Heavy body!

Lin Mo, like a puppet with its strings cut, was instantly swept away by the chaotic turbulence, his figure flashing and vanishing amidst the shattered light and shadow!

"No—!" Xiang Lingna's eyes nearly split with rage. She tried recklessly to chase after him, but was wrapped up by an even stronger vortex of turbulence and spun helplessly off in another direction! She only managed to catch the instant Lin Mo disappeared, and saw the stardust crystal on her chest seem to light up with a thread of extremely faint resistance-light tinged with ashy impurities, before it too was swallowed by the chaos.

Lei En watched helplessly as Lin Mo was swept away, and saw Xiang Lingna wrapped up by the vortex. The elven ranger's eyes were filled with helplessness and fury. He tried to steady himself to go rescue her, but the violent turbulence was like countless giant hands, shoving him fiercely toward a direction completely different from both Xiang Lingna and Lin Mo!

They were scattered! Under the impact of the spatial turbulence triggered by the Doctor, this newly assembled, battered little team was instantly torn apart and thrown into unknown, possibly entirely different, branching currents of fate!

Xiang Lingna was wrapped up by the chaotic energy turbulence, the world spinning around her. The light of the emerald shard became extremely dim under the violent impact, barely able to shield only herself. She felt herself falling and tumbling through endless chaos; the concepts of time and space became blurred. Fear, sorrow, worry for Lin Mo and Wrench—these nearly drowned her. She gripped the shard tightly, as if clutching the last straw of life, with only one thought left in her heart: survive! Find them!

She did not know how long it had been—perhaps only an instant, perhaps an eternity. The chaotic light and shadow wrapping around her suddenly cleared! That tearing, colossal force vanished, replaced by the sudden weightlessness of freefall!

Plop!

Icy liquid instantly enveloped her entire body! The bone-piercing chill made her shiver, jolting her considerably awake! She struggled to float to the surface, coughing violently, spitting out the cold water she had choked on.

What lay before her eyes was no longer chaotic light and shadow, but a… gloomy forest. The Sky Covered in Thickness by heavy, rolling dark-green cloud layers, letting through a dim, pallid glimmer; she could not tell whether it was dawn or dusk. The air was thick with a heavy scent, a mixture of rotting plants and some strange, fishy-sweet odor, so oppressive it made it hard to breathe. What she had fallen into was a river with a gentle current but a deep, somber color; the water presented an eerie dark green.

On both banks of the river was an even more grotesque forest. The trees were no longer simply withered, but displayed a twisted "vitality." The trunks were gnarled and coiled, covered in thick, dark-green moss and vines that seemed to writhe slowly like living things; many of the vines also bloomed with eerie phosphorescent flowers shaped like skulls. From deep within the forest came faintly the low, malicious roars and rustling, scuttling sounds of crawling.

This was not the Withered Forest! Although the environment was equally decayed and oppressive, the aura was utterly different! There was none of the pure death and decay of the Withering Mist; instead there was a… savage, twisted, sickly vitality?

Xiang Lingna swam with all her might toward the nearest bank, crawling wet onto the cold, slippery rocks of the shore. She was chilled to the bone, exhausted to death; the ashen, numb feeling of corruption-eroded skin on the back of her hand still remained, and showed a faint tendency to spread. The first thing she did was look at her hand—the emerald shard was still there! Its warm, smooth touch conveyed a thread of faint warmth and reassurance. She then anxiously looked around—the dark-green river water flowed slowly, the silent forest was like a giant maw waiting to devour its prey, and there was no trace of Lin Mo, Wrench, or Lei En anywhere.

She was all alone. Bearing the corrosion of the Corrupted Claw left by her heavily wounded, unconscious brother Lin Mo, bearing the shard that Uncle Suolin had guarded with his life, bearing endless worry for Uncle Copperbeard and Wrench, she was stranded alone in this unknown and dangerous corrupted land.

A gust of yin cold wind, heavy with moisture, blew past, stirring up dark-green ripples on the river's surface. Deep in the forest, those eerie phosphorescent flowers seemed to sense something, all turning in unison toward the direction where Xiang Lingna was; the hollow "skulls" at their centers seemed to be silently staring at this uninvited guest. A chill of being peered at by countless eyes instantly crawled up Xiang Lingna's spine. She hugged her arms tight, curling up on the cold rock; the light of the emerald shard, in this gloomy environment, appeared so faint and lonely.