Chapter 114

Cold killing intent pierced like tangible needles into Tong Xu's back. The corruption energy erupting from Uncle Suolin blazed like a lighthouse in the night, precisely guiding the Doctor to the sanctuary's location! The Thorns Barrier was under violent, invisible assault from the Void!

"Stabilize the energy!" Tong Xu's roar exploded within the Shi Shizhong, drowning out the barrier's straining hum. His single eye burned crimson as he poured all his will into the stump's connection, frantically channeling the surging geothermal torrent from the Root Furnace into the core node of the Thorns Barrier. The aquamarine runes on the altar base spun like whirlwinds, blindingly bright; the pale green halo of thorn-light flickered wildly, straining against the invisible tearing.

Each impact struck Tong Xu's soul like a sledgehammer. The crystallized conduits at his stump connection sent searing, tearing pain—fine cracks were already spreading! He felt the barrier's energy draining rapidly; the Doctor's method was cruel and efficient, using homologous corruption as a medium to execute precise "Corruption Resonance!"

"Wrench! Disrupt it! Use any method you can think of!" Tong Xu's voice squeezed through clenched teeth, sweat and blood dripping from his brow.

Wrench had been paralyzed with terror; only now, at the command, did he snap awake. "Disrupt? Yes! Disrupt!" His beady eyes darted wildly—he stared at his own grotesque "Survival Arm," then at the energy pipes still flowing from the Purification Nexus. "Energy! Chaotic energy!"

The goblin's madness became a lifeline. He shrieked, dragging his injured arm to the Purification Nexus and jamming his metallic spike-tipped conduit into a secondary energy pipe glowing with steady blue light!

Zzzzzt—

Blinding sparks erupted! A chaotic, unfiltered torrent of raw geothermal energy surged into the Purification Nexus's rune array! The entire device shrieked in protest; the blue light flickered erratically, the water sounds in the Shi Shizhong became ragged, and a faint scent of scorching sulfur now mingled with the flow. This chaotic energy surge struck like a stone dropped into still water—immediately disrupting the sanctuary's once-stable, harmonious energy field!

Hum—

The Thorns Barrier's vibration abruptly stuttered! The invisible, precise force tearing at the barrier lost its target—suddenly scattered and disoriented! The pressure on the barrier plummeted!

"It worked!" Wrench cried in delight.

"Not enough!" Tong Xu felt the Doctor's will like a cold venomous snake—merely distracted for an instant, it was already adjusting its frequency, trying to re-lock! The barrier's hum intensified again!

Uncle Suolin slumped beside the altar, watching it all, his silver-gray eyes filled with pain and a flicker of resolve. "... Corruption Claw... is key... and chain..." he rasped, then raised his still-functional hand and tore savagely at the grotesque wound on his own back!

"What are you doing!" Xiang Lingna cried out.

Pfft! Dark purple pus burst forth again as Uncle Suolin forced it out himself. He convulsed in agony, but the dead gray haze in his eyes dissolved under the pain, replaced by a sliver of clarity. "Pain... can briefly... sever... the resonance link... buy... time..." he gasped, sweat the size of beans rolling down his pale face.

Tong Xu instantly understood Uncle Suolin's intent: self-mutilation—using extreme pain to stimulate his will, briefly suppressing the Corruption Claw's activity within him, thereby weakening the Doctor's "signal source!"

"Xiang Lingna! Light Moss! Maximum dose! Press it onto his wound!"

Xiang Lingna, tears in her eyes, seized handfuls of the brightest green, life-energy-saturated Light Moss, ignoring the creeping decay, and slammed it onto Uncle Suolin's oozing wound. Sizzling sounds rose with Uncle Suolin's stifled screams—emerald green fiercely battling dark purple!

Uncle Suolin's self-mutilation and Xiang Lingna's reckless infusion of life energy acted like a powerful interference wave! The pressure on the Thorns Barrier dropped sharply again! The barrier's flickering stabilized!

"Wrench! Keep generating localized energy chaos! Don't let the field stabilize!" Tong Xu ordered, while focusing all his remaining energy to reinforce the barrier's weakest nodes.

Wrench instantly became a "Chaos Generator," jabbing his spike-tipped conduit into the Purification pipes here, tapping glowing crystals on the walls there, even attempting to divert a trickle of geothermal energy into the Light Moss patch Xiang Lingna was nurturing—triggering harmless but disruptive ripples of chaotic energy.

The Shi Shizhong's trembling finally ceased. Though the Thorns Barrier's glow had dimmed considerably, it held firm, completely sealing out the invisible probing and tearing. The sensation of narrowly escaping death left everyone utterly drained.

Uncle Suolin collapsed completely; his wound, suppressed by the Light Moss, no longer oozed pus, but his breath grew fainter, each inhale a rasping, bellows-like wheeze. Xiang Lingna lay slumped on the moss, her face ashen with exhaustion. Wrench also collapsed, his "Survival Arm" emitting ominous creaks from repeated brutal use at the joints.

Tong Xu leaned against the cold stone wall; crystalline cracks in his stump connection throbbed with pain, reminding him of his recent exertion and risk. He stared at the temporarily stabilized barrier—no relief stirred in his heart. The Doctor's first probe had failed, but the next attack would be fiercer, deadlier. As long as the "key" inside Uncle Suolin remained unremoved, the sanctuary would forever lie exposed to the gun's muzzle.

His gaze fell on the emerald-green shard of the Heart of Jade beside Uncle Suolin—the shattered core fragment Uncle Suolin had dragged out at great cost, and the symbol of Priestess Liyana's former power.

"Fragment... near the altar... perhaps..." Uncle Suolin's words before unconsciousness echoed in Tong Xu's mind.

He struggled to his feet, picked up the shard emitting faint but pure life waves, and walked to the Life Altar. As the shard neared the altar's emerald light sphere, it resonated instantly—the glow brightened slightly.

A thought took shape in Tong Xu's mind: use this shard, combined with Xiang Lingna's natural affinity, to construct a smaller but far stronger "Purification Barrier" within the sanctuary—specifically to suppress the Corruption Claw's pollution within Uncle Suolin! Sever the Doctor's "key!"

But this required far finer control, deeper understanding of elven runes, and... could Xiang Lingna's power endure it?

He looked at the exhausted Xiang Lingna, then at the unconscious Uncle Suolin and the shard. No choice—must try.

"Xiang Lingna, rest. Then, we need you... and the power of this shard." Tong Xu's voice was low and Heavy and Solemn.