Chapter 105: The Altar

Muffled pounding echoed through Shi Shizhong; Tong Xu was drenched in sweat, every swing of the twisted wrench slamming into the ground tugging at his wounds, each jolt plunging his vision into darkness—but he clenched his teeth, like a machine unaware of fatigue. The hard, milky-white stone floor finally cracked under the violent impact of the special alloy plate.

"Open… for me!" he growled, jamming a jagged edge of thornsteel energy conduit into the fissure and using his body as a lever to pry with all his strength!

Crack!

A slab of stone, the size of a washbasin, was pried loose! A scorching current mixed with a faint sulfur scent surged upward! Orange-red light streamed from the opening, illuminating Tong Xu's face, streaked with blood and sweat.

Success! Beneath the opening churned thick, dark-red magma—some ten meters below, the surging geothermal energy blasted against his face!

"Ha… cough… cough!" Tong Xu laughed in excitement, but the motion tore open his chest wounds, triggering violent coughing. He quickly secured the removed micro-energy conversion core to a larger special alloy plate with insulated metal wire, then carefully lowered it into the hole, suspending it above the magma pool. The intense heat turned the plate red in seconds; the core's indicator lights flashed wildly, greedily absorbing the vast geothermal energy.

He connected several thornsteel energy conduits to the output terminals of the conversion core, then brutally pressed the other ends against the dim energy slots on the base of the Life Altar!

Hum—

The instant the last conduit touched the slot, the entire Life Altar shuddered violently! The floating emerald orb erupted in blinding, unprecedented radiance! Shi Shizhong was lit as bright as daylight! The elf runes on the altar base flared to life like flowing water, surging upward from the slots, coiling around the thornsteel conduits as if undergoing some form of authentication.

Vast life energy surged like a dam breaking, racing furiously through the thornsteel conduits into the altar! The emerald orb swelled rapidly, its vitality so dense it nearly solidified into mist. The glowing crystals on the walls and the luminescent moss on the floor seemed nourished, their light instantly brightening several-fold!

"It worked!" Tong Xu's heart surged with joy. This torrent of energy would surely heal Xiang Lingna!

He struggled to lunge beside the altar, trying to draw Xiang Lingna closer to the orb's core.

But sudden change erupted!

At the very peak of the emerald orb's energy, Lin Mo, lying beside Xiang Lingna, stiffened violently.

The suppressed Corrupted Claw Mark on his right arm—like a shark scenting blood—exploded in a blinding, blinding dark-purple demonic glow! A force far purer, far greedier, brimming with destructive desire, burst forth like a beast breaking its chains!

This force's target was not attack—but consumption!

Dark-purple energy surged like countless twisted venomous snakes, instantly wrapping around the Life Altar's core! The emerald life energy, as if facing its natural predator, was violently pulled, torn, and devoured! The once-brilliant orb dimmed and shrank visibly before the eyes; the elf runes on the altar base flickered wildly, emitting agonized cries under unbearable strain.

"No!" Tong Xu's eyes bulged with rage. He understood instantly! The Corrupted Claw Mark had sensed the altar's pure, immense life energy and perceived it as the most tempting feast—it sought to devour the altar, fully restoring and even strengthening itself!

The emerald orb writhed under the dark-purple energy, but the Corrupted Claw Mark's power was uncannily adept—seemingly innate to suppress life energy, its consumption rate was terrifying! The orb's glow rapidly faded to gray.

Worse still, some of the dark-purple energy, like greedy tentacles, surged along the life energy's connection toward Xiang Lingna, right beside the altar! The emerald glow at the tip of the withered branch clutched in her arms flared wildly, forming a fragile shield that desperately resisted the malicious erosion!

"Xiang Lingna!" Tong Xu's heart shattered. He tried to rush forward—but his body, weakened by agony and the prior exertion, collapsed heavily to the ground.

Lin Mo's body convulsed violently; beneath his charred skin, dark-purple vein-like patterns rose and writhed like living things. Beneath his clenched eyelids, his eyeballs spun wildly, as if enduring unimaginable torment. The blue light of the Anchor of Order flashed frantically within the Stardust Crystal—but could not halt the Mark's plundering of the Life Altar.

The altar's cry grew fainter; the emerald orb shrank to the size of a fist, its glow dim as a candle in the wind. The emerald glow in Xiang Lingna's branch flickered precariously; her brows were tightly furrowed, as if even in unconsciousness she felt immense pain and threat.

Tong Xu lay sprawled on the ground, watching helplessly. Had he himself opened Pandora's Box? Had his prized "Root Furnace" merely served as a gift to the Corrupted Claw Mark, hastening his companions' demise?

Just as the emerald orb was about to be extinguished, and the dark-purple tentacles were about to pierce the branch's shield and touch Xiang Lingna—

Hum!

The withered tip of the branch clutched in Xiang Lingna's arms—the faintest glimmer of emerald—flared like a final dying breath, exploding violently!

Not light—but an intangible, utterly pure will of life! Like a mother's final cry, resolute in protection, it slammed into the dark-purple energy coiling the orb!

Hiss—

Like hot oil poured on snow! The pure, corrupting force was abruptly halted by this sudden, primordial will from the World Tree's source—the devouring momentum was forcibly broken!

Simultaneously, deep within Lin Mo's soul, the blue light of the Anchor of Order, bolstered by the Stardust Crystal, erupted with unprecedented power! Seizing the fleeting opening created by the branch's final sacrifice, it struck back fiercely, suppressing the restless Corrupted Claw Mark once more!

The dark-purple demonic light receded like a tide, retreating into Lin Mo's right arm, reforming into a pulsing mark now partially covered by blue-white Stardust and the last sliver of emerald.

The Life Altar's orb was saved—but its glow dimmed several-fold, its size reduced, as if severely wounded. The runes on its base flickered erratically. The branch in Xiang Lingna's arms lost all luster, turning gray and lifeless; only a charred scar remained where the tip had exploded.

Shi Shizhong fell into deathly silence. Only the churning of the magma in the geothermal opening and Tong Xu's Rough and Heavy, desperate breaths broke the stillness.

He struggled to crawl toward Xiang Lingna and Lin Mo. Xiang Lingna remained unconscious, her face pale as translucent paper. Lin Mo's convulsions ceased, but his breath grew even fainter; the glow of the Stardust Crystal on his chest dimmed considerably.

Hope, it seemed, had once again grown dim, as if extinguished with the branch's final burst. And the Corrupted Claw Mark's menace and greed far exceeded their worst fears. Would they survive the next counterattack?

Tong Xu's gaze fell upon the altar base—the several thornsteel conduits still connected, flickering with unstable energy. The Root Furnace still operated; geothermal energy still flowed. But the altar was half-destroyed.