Chapter 115: Emerald Barrier, Star Grain Sprouts

After a brief respite, the air inside the sanctuary grew tense. Uncle Suolin lay at the edge of the altar's radiance, his breathing faint, but the dormant Rotclaw contamination within him was like a slumbering volcano, liable to erupt again at any moment and become the fuse that the Doctor would use to destroy the sanctuary.

Copperbeard's plan was simple and dangerous: using the Emerald Heart shard beside Uncle Suolin as the core, Xiang Lingna's natural affinity as the guide, and the Life Altar energy as the source, to construct a miniature but powerful purification field directly around Uncle Suolin's body, firmly suppressing and isolating the Rotclaw contamination!

"Little girl, are you scared?" Copperbeard squatted in front of Xiang Lingna, his single eye fixed on her large eyes, which were still somewhat shaken.

Xiang Lingna looked at the unconscious Uncle Suolin and the terrible wound on his body, then at the Emerald shard radiating a familiar, warm aura. A flicker of hesitation crossed her little face, immediately replaced by resolve. "I'm not scared! Uncle Copperbeard, what can I do?"

"Hold the shard, move close to him. Close your eyes, don't think about anything, only think of... the clearest spring water in the forest, the warmest sunlight, the healthiest trees... pass this feeling through the shard to him." Copperbeard described the concept of "pure life energy" in language Xiang Lingna could understand. He picked up a rune carving knife and a jar of crystal dust, his gaze sweeping sharply over the ground around Uncle Suolin.

Wrench nervously assisted at the side, ready with the emergency "Survival Arm" sharp conduit and a few spare pieces of Glowmoss.

Xiang Lingna took a deep breath and carefully picked up the green Emerald Heart shard. It felt warm and smooth in her hands, and a familiar, reassuring breath of life flowed into her body, dispelling some of her fatigue. She walked to Uncle Suolin's side, knelt down, gently placed the shard on his chest near his heart, then extended her small hand and covered it over the shard.

She closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling slightly. Her small mouth parted slightly, and that tuneless song full of natural rhythm rose softly once more. This time, the song was no longer merely to hasten the growth of Glowmoss, but was filled with the intent to soothe, purify, and protect. She imagined the shimmering surface of Moon Shadow Lake, sunlight filtering through the new leaves of ancient trees casting dappled light, the pure green radiance blooming in Priestess Liyana's hands...

Hum!

Following Xiang Lingna's song and intent, the Emerald Heart shard beneath her palm suddenly blazed to life! Soft yet resilient emerald light rippled outward like water waves, instantly enveloping Uncle Suolin's entire body! Wherever the light reached, the faintly visible dark purple vein patterns beneath his skin rapidly receded as if burned away! His tightly furrowed brow eased slightly as well!

"Now!" Copperbeard barked low, his gaze sharp as a hawk's! The rune carving knife in his hand, dipped in crystal dust, flew across the ground around Uncle Suolin's body like the steadiest master sculptor!

Emerald halos flowed from the knife's tip, and the crystal dust, like melted stardust, traced intricate, mysterious elven runes full of life's rhythm onto the milky-white stone floor with the blade's path! These runes were not isolated; each one that fell resonated with the purification field Xiang Lingna radiated through the shard, and connected faintly with the Life Altar's energy!

Copperbeard's movements were swift as lightning, yet incomparably precise. The dwarf's instinctive grasp of structure and energy, combined with the cold guidance of the elven runes, brought him to a strange balance at this moment. Sweat soaked his tattered clothes, and a dull, aching sting came from the cracks at his crystallized severed arm, but he was utterly oblivious, his entire mind immersed in constructing the rune array.

Wrench watched dumbfounded, his bean-sized eyes fixed intently on every rune trajectory Copperbeard carved, muttering unconsciously: "Node coupling... energy resonance... life frequency lock... genius! Boss, you're a rune genius!"

Soon, a miniature purification array composed of dozens of tiny elven runes, like a wreath of thorns, took shape on the ground around Uncle Suolin's body! When the last rune fell, Copperbeard drove the carving knife fiercely into the center of the array!

Hum—!

The entire rune array instantly erupted with dazzling emerald radiance! This light merged perfectly with the light waves Xiang Lingna radiated through the shard, forming a solid light barrier that completely enveloped Uncle Suolin! On the surface of the barrier, patterns of entwining thorns could be faintly seen flowing endlessly!

Uncle Suolin's body trembled violently, and he let out an utterly comfortable sigh! The last trace of ashen aura lingering on his skin was completely dispelled, and the edges of his wounds took on an extremely faint pink hue signifying new life! The Rotclaw contamination within him, suppressed by this dual purification field, was as if shackled with heavy chains and fell into a deep silence! That rotten resonance serving as a "key" had vanished completely!

"It worked!" Wrench cheered.

Xiang Lingna also breathed a sigh of relief. Her little face was paler from the expenditure of power, but looking at Uncle Suolin, enveloped in pure green light with his breathing steadied, she showed a gratified smile.

Copperbeard pulled out the rune carving knife, exhaled a long breath, and sat back against the wall, gasping violently. He looked at the miniature purification array operating on its own on the ground, then at the Emerald shard with flowing light beneath Xiang Lingna's palm, and felt somewhat reassured. Though this "Emerald Barrier" had an extremely small range, acting only on Uncle Suolin alone, its intensity was extremely high, enough to temporarily sever the Doctor's "key."

The crisis was temporarily resolved, but the cost was not small. Xiang Lingna's expenditure was enormous, the load on Copperbeard's crystallized severed arm was excessive, and the cracks seemed to have spread a little further. More importantly, the Star Grain Wood seeds Uncle Suolin had brought still lay quietly on the ground.

"Xiang Lingna, try them." Copperbeard pointed at the few spindle-shaped seeds radiating faint silver light. Star Grain Wood could stabilize soil and purify; it was the hope Uncle Suolin had risked his life to bring out, and one of the key materials for them to repair the Thorn Path and return to the surface.

Xiang Lingna nodded and picked up one seed. It felt slightly cool in her hand, carrying a strange pulse. She placed it on the Glowmoss ground outside the purification array, near the stone chamber wall. Her small hand covered it, and she began humming that song of nature once more; this time, her intent was to take root, to grow, to be steadfast.

Soft life energy flowed into the seed. Under the combined effect of Xiang Lingna's song and the rich vitality of the Glowmoss ground, that Star Grain Wood seed visibly changed!

Pop!

The seed's shell split open, and a silver-white, slender yet exceptionally resilient sprout broke through the soil! At the top of the sprout, two tender leaves with faint star-grain patterns along their edges slowly unfurled! A faint yet exceptionally clear aura of steadiness and purification radiated from this small seedling!

Even more wondrous, the seedling's roots, like silver threads, silently probed into the tiny crevices of the stone wall. Wherever they touched, some extremely minute, nearly imperceptible ashen moss (corrupted residue?) in the wall's crevices rapidly withered and vanished! The stone wall itself seemed to have become slightly denser and sturdier!

"What powerful purification and soil-stabilizing ability!" Wrench exclaimed in awe.

Copperbeard's single eye lit up as well. This Star Grain Wood seedling could not only accelerate the growth of Glowmoss (providing food and light), but also strengthen the sanctuary's structure and purify minute corrupted residues! If planted in large quantities at the broken sections of the Thorn Path...

Hope, like this Star Grain seedling breaking through the soil, sprouted tenaciously once more after the crisis.

However, just as Xiang Lingna was happily looking at the seedling and preparing to try the second seed—

The Emerald Heart shard beneath her palm flickered violently without warning! An extremely faint shard of intent, carrying a cold warning, pierced into Xiang Lingna's mind like an ice spike:

【... Wang Ting... core... pulsing...】

【... Annihilation... approaching...】

【... Thorn... Gate... danger...】

Xiang Lingna's little face went deathly pale in an instant, her song cut short, her body swayed, and she nearly fell.

"Xiang Lingna?!" Copperbeard and Wrench cried out simultaneously.

Xiang Lingna looked at Copperbeard in terror, her small hand pointing at the shard on the ground that had returned to calm, her voice trembling: "The shard... spoke! It said... the Wang Ting core is moving... something very bad is approaching... the Thorn Gate... danger!"

Copperbeard's heart sank sharply. A warning transmitted by the Emerald Heart shard? The lingering consciousness of the outpost core Uncle Suolin belonged to? Or... something even more ancient?

The Thorn Gate... the sole hope leading to the surface, why would it be dangerous? The Doctor's threat had yet to be lifted, and the shadow of the Withered Wang Ting loomed once more. Their action to repair the passage seemed to be stepping into an even deeper trap?