Chapter 116: Root Passage, Whispers Behind the Gate

The cold warning transmitted by the Emerald Heart fragment hung like a pall over the hearts of the group who had only just caught their breath. The Thorn Gate dangerous? The Wang Ting core throbbing? Annihilation drawing near?

Every word carried an ill omen.

"What does Uncle Suolin know?" Bronze Beard turned his gaze to the elven ranger who had just awakened, his breathing still weak. Under the protection of the purification barrier, the latter's mind had grown much clearer; his silver-grey eyes looked at the fragment in Xiang Lingna's palm, filled with complex, unspeakable emotions.

"... The fragment... is the outpost core... a part of its will..." Uncle Suolin's voice was hoarse but far more coherent, "... it sensed... from the direction of Wang Ting... a primal fluctuation... extremely violent... the power of the Rotclaw... is boiling... as if... summoning... or... welcoming something..."

He paused, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes: "... The Thorn Gate... connects to... an ancient... ley-line root passage... leading straight into the depths of the forest... near... the ruins of Moon-Tear Lake... there... is an important energy node on the outer perimeter of Wang Ting... if the Wang Ting core shifts abnormally... if the Rotclaw's power boils... that passage... has very likely already been... corrupted... or... trapped..."

A trap! The Doctor had used Uncle Suolin to locate the Sanctuary and failed; he had very likely anticipated that they would try to flee through the Thorn Gate! He had laid down a killing formation in advance at the passage's exit!

Bronze Beard's single eye narrowed, glinting with dangerous light. Passive defense was a dead end. The Thorn Gate had to be repaired, but how to open and probe it safely?

Wrench grabbed his creaking "Survival Arm," his bean-sized eyes darting: "A trap? We could send an 'eye' ahead to look! Like... make a little gadget that can burrow? Use Star-Grain Wood roots as an antenna to relay images?"

"Star-Grain Wood... roots..." Bronze Beard's heart stirred. The seedling Xiang Lingna had hastened into growth had already sent its roots probing into the cracks of the stone wall, showing powerful adaptability and a faint ability to sense and purify. If they could use the Star-Grain Wood roots as extended "feelers" to probe the Thorn passage...

"Xiang Lingna, can you still... hasten growth?" Bronze Beard looked at the girl, whose face was still somewhat pale.

Xiang Lingna looked at that small Star-Grain Wood seedling emanating a steady aura and nodded firmly: "I can try! It... really likes it here."

At Bronze Beard's signal, Xiang Lingna planted the remaining few Star-Grain Wood seeds on the light-moss ground near the entrance to the Thorn passage (that metal wall engraved with the emblem). Once more she began humming the Song of Nature; this time her intent was exploration, extension, perception.

Nurtured by the Life Altar and guided by Xiang Lingna's full effort, the few seeds swiftly broke through the soil and sprouted! The silvery-white shoots, like spirit-snakes, plunged without hesitation into that metal wall! What was even more astonishing was that when the tender shoots touched the elven emblem on the wall emitting a faint golden glow, the emblem's light brightened slightly, and the wall seemed to open its arms to the Star-Grain Wood roots!

The fine roots, like living things, followed the emblem's energy veins and silently seeped into the thick metal and rock, racing along the "root passage" that led to the Thorn Gate on the map!

Xiang Lingna closed her eyes, her small hands resting lightly on the few Star-Grain Wood seedlings. Her consciousness seemed to extend along the roots, traveling through the cold, dark underground filled with the crushing pressure of rock!

The conditions inside the root passage fed back hazily into Xiang Lingna's consciousness through the Star-Grain Wood's perception:

*The passage structure was ancient and sturdy, built of massive petrified wood bearing natural runes.

*The energy pathways were broken in many places, clogged with thick, grey, withered moss and crystals exuding a rotting stench.

*The closer to the surface, the stronger the stench of decay! On the rock walls of the passage, purplish-black vein-like tendrils, like tiny blood vessels, had even begun to writhe! That was the corrosion of the ley-line by corrupting energy!

*Not far from the surface exit (the Thorn Gate), Xiang Lingna's perception was blocked by a powerful, chaotic surge of energy turbulence! A severe collapse and energy pooling seemed to have occurred there! What made her heart clench even more was that, deep within the turbulence, there came a faint... vast, hungry writhing sensation! As if something was coiled there!

"Ahead... it's blocked... so dark... something very bad... is waiting..." Xiang Lingna's eyes flew open, her little face full of terror, pointing toward the passage, "Like... like a giant worm! So many... the smell of corruption!"

Bronze Beard's heart sank to the bottom. The Thorn passage was indeed severely blocked, polluted by the Rotclaw's power, and possibly even inhabited by some subterranean creature spawned by corrupting energy near the exit! Forcing a breakthrough would inevitably be a brutal fight, and the commotion would immediately expose their position!

"Can we... go around?" Bronze Beard looked at Uncle Suolin, pointing to a secondary root-vein on the Sanctuary's structural map in his mind—the main root-vein leading deeper toward the geothermal source.

Uncle Suolin thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "... The main root-vein... is more dangerous... close to... boiling lava... violent energy... and... there... is a... ley-line node... the Rotclaw... is very likely also... eyeing it..."

Both paths were strewn with thorns! Repair the Thorn passage and face unknown corrupted creatures and traps; delve deeper toward the more dangerous geothermal source and risk encountering even stronger corrupting power or energy turbulence.

"No choice." Bronze Beard's voice was ironclad, his single eye fixed on the direction of the Thorn passage, "We must... break through!" Sitting and waiting for death was a dead end; taking the initiative still left a slim chance of survival. The Thorn passage was the nearest exit, and the only way back to the forest to find Priestess Liyana and any other possible survivors!

"Wrench! Rune chisel! Crystal dust! Xiang Lingna, guide the roots, mark the weakest, easiest clogging points to clear!" Bronze Beard issued the order, struggling to his feet, his massive right hand gripping the rune chisel tightly, the crystallized conduit on his severed arm glinting with a light of absolute resolve. He would use the Star-Grain Wood roots as his guide and elven runes as his weapon to force open this thorny path!

Wrench went all in as well, grabbing a canister of crystal dust with his "Survival Arm": "Boss! I'll be your assistant! Blow apart those rotten rocks blocking the way!"

Xiang Lingna took a deep breath, her small hands once more pressing onto the Star-Grain Wood seedlings, focusing her spirit to guide Bronze Beard and Wrench toward the nodes of energy pooling and structural weakness within the passage.

The three arrived before that metal wall engraved with the emblem. Bronze Beard pressed his palm against the emblem, channeling energy. The wall slid inward silently, revealing the narrow corridor that sloped downward toward the Thorn passage. A thicker smell, mixed with rock dust and the stench of decay, rushed at them.

Bronze Beard stepped first into the dark corridor, the rune chisel in his hand lighting up with a faint emerald halo, like a lighthouse in the darkness. Wrench followed closely behind; Xiang Lingna stayed at the entrance, eyes tightly shut, her small hands pressed on the Star-Grain Wood, serving as a "human radar."

"Left... three meters... a crack in the rock... energy pooling point... it's hollow behind..." Xiang Lingna's intent came through via the Star-Grain Wood roots.

Bronze Beard immediately moved to the designated spot, dipped the rune chisel in crystal dust, and precisely and swiftly carved an elven rune meaning "dredge" and "disintegrate"!

Hum! The rune lit up, and emerald energy bored into the rock crevices like a drill bit!

Boom! A small chunk of rock blocking the path, covered in withered grey moss, shattered and collapsed on cue, revealing a relatively clear stretch of passage behind it!

"Good! Next point!" Bronze Beard's spirit lifted.

Under Xiang Lingna's precise guidance and Wrench's "dust blasting" assistance (stuffing dust into cracks then triggering it with energy), the three pushed forward through the clogged Thorn passage with difficulty but real progress. The Star-Grain Wood roots, like an advance party under Xiang Lingna's guidance, not only scouted the way but continuously secreted faint purifying substances that neutralized the pervasive stench of decay, easing the pressure on Bronze Beard and Wrench considerably.

After an unknown span of time, after clearing yet another massive clog formed of rotting plant roots mixed with crystals, the space ahead suddenly opened up! The passage widened, and at its end, a massive ancient gate, woven and entwined with countless thick thorns, appeared before the three of them!

The Thorn Gate!

The gate was covered in thick dust and withered grey moss, many places already dried and broken, but the main structure remained intact. At the center of the door was a huge thorn-tree motif similar to the Sanctuary's entrance emblem, only far more complex, with a deep-green crystal the size of a human head embedded at its core—long since dim, lifeless, and covered in cracks (the Gate Core).

"This is it!" Wrench growled excitedly.

Yet the faces of Bronze Beard and Xiang Lingna changed at the same instant!

Xiang Lingna recoiled in terror, pointing at the Thorn Gate: "That... bad thing... is right behind the gate! So many! It... it's awake!"

Almost simultaneously with Xiang Lingna's warning—

Growl... roar...

A low, hair-raising bellow, mixed with countless agonized shrieks and greedy chewing sounds, faintly came through the thick Thorn Gate! The withered thorns on the door seemed stimulated by something and trembled slightly! Deep within the cracked deep-green crystal at the gate's core, an extremely faint, ominous streak of dark-purple light actually flickered past!

What made Bronze Beard's soul shudder even more was that, at the instant Xiang Lingna warned and the monster behind the gate roared, the crystallized conduit at his severed arm's junction, without any warning, sent a spike of searing pain as if it would tear his soul apart! A terrifying will—cold, chaotic, brimming with destructive desire—crashed brutally against his consciousness like a bursting flood, flowing along the elven energy coursing through the crystallized conduit! The source of this will... was unmistakably from behind the gate!

This feeling was somewhat similar to the Doctor's will when Uncle Suolin had erupted into corruption, but far more primal, more savage, filled with pure, ravenous hunger! It was absolutely not the Doctor!

What exactly was coiled behind the Thorn Gate? Why could it strike directly at his will through the Sanctuary's energy connection?

Bronze Beard groaned, his head splitting with pain, his vision going black in waves, the rune chisel in his hand nearly slipping from his grip! He gritted his teeth hard, holding on only through dwarven iron will to keep from collapsing on the spot!

"Boss!" Wrench cried out.

"Uncle Bronze Beard!" Xiang Lingna was terrified as well.

The Thorn Gate was right before them, but what waited behind it was by no means the light of freedom—only deeper darkness and unimaginable horror! That unknown monster seemed to share some eerie connection with the Sanctuary's energy, even with the very origin of the Rotclaw!

Repair the great gate? Or retreat immediately? Bronze Beard faced the most grueling, most dangerous choice since his transmigration! The searing pain from the crystallized conduit on his severed arm and that terrifying assault on his will clung to him like a bone-burrowing maggot, reminding him of the horror lurking behind the gate. And behind him, the Doctor's shadow had never truly been far away.