Chapter 135: Doubtful Alliance, Anomaly at the Furnace

The icy bone arrowhead flickered with a venomous, ghostly green light, locked dead-on at Xiang Lingna's brow. The elven ranger's gaze was like a solid icicle, brimming with vigilance, disgust, and a barely perceptible… fear—and the source of that fear was clearly the Corrupted Claw Mark pulsing on Lin Mo's right arm.

"Corrupted ones! How dare you set foot in the last pure land!" The elven ranger's voice trembled slightly with rage and tension, the bowstring drawn even tighter. "Speak! Who are you? Was the fall of Wang Ting connected to you? The aura of the corrupted claw on this monster… are you the claws of the Hand of Annihilation?!" He clearly knew of the Doctor's existence.

Wrench was scared out of his wits, throwing up both hands (including the wrecked mechanical arm): "Don't! Don't shoot! We're on the same side! On the same side, brother! We're not monsters! We escaped from below! Below! Below Wang Ting! The Doctor… that purple-skinned monster! He captured our boss… ah no, this boss here, Lin Mo! He's a victim! We're rescuing him!" The goblin babbled incoherently, pointing at Lin Mo, then at the terrifying dark-purple pillar of light in the direction of Wang Ting.

Xiang Lingna fought the urge to cut off the energy transfer, keeping the flow of light from the emerald shard in her hand steady. She could feel that the moment she stopped, the corruption inside Lin Mo would backlash instantly. She stared straight into the elf's icy eyes, her voice hoarse yet clear: "We are not enemies! I am Xiang Lingna, student of Priestess Liyana! He is Lin Mo—he was corroded by the corrupted claw fighting the Doctor! Uncle Suolin of the Grey Leaf Watch sacrificed himself so we could escape with this!" She tilted the emerald shard in her hand slightly; the pure life aura and emerald light flowing over it were the most convincing proof at this moment. "Uncle Suolin's last words were 'Guard the new sprout'! The light from this star-veined wood is what we're using to suppress the corruption inside him! If we stop, the corruption will devour him at once, and might… draw something even more terrifying!"

"Priestess Liyana? Suolin Grey Leaf?" The elven ranger's eyes flickered violently at those two names, and a crack appeared in his icy hostility. He examined the shard in Xiang Lingna's hand closely—the aura on it was indeed of the same source as Wang Ting's core, pure and ancient. He looked at Lin Mo again; though corroded by corruption, the faint glow of the stardust crystal and the life-light of the emerald shard were indeed struggling against it, not feeding it.

"Lord Suolin… he…" The elf's voice sank low, heavy with immense grief.

"He burned himself away to cover us…" Xiang Lingna's tears slid down again.

Just then, the roars from deep within the fog grew clearer and more numerous! More crimson eyes were closing in! Clearly, the earlier battle and the sustained light had drawn more corrupted predators from the forest!

The elven ranger's face changed; he had clearly sensed an even greater threat approaching. He glanced at the flow of light Xiang Lingna was maintaining and the temporarily suppressed purple glow on Lin Mo's arm, then at the remaining star-veined wood by the pool, and a flash of resolve crossed his eyes.

"Put out your light! Follow me! Now!" he growled low, swiftly slinging his bow, moving with agile speed to Lin Mo's side, and together with Wrench, without a word of argument, hoisted the unconscious Lin Mo up. "If you want to live, shut up and keep up! 'Glimmer Camp' is nearby! There's a barrier there!"

Xiang Lingna cut off the energy transfer at once. The instant the flow of light vanished, the Corrupted Claw Mark on Lin Mo's right arm flared violently, the purple light surging as if about to break free of its suppression! Xiang Lingna quickly pressed the emerald shard hard against Lin Mo's chest, and the shard's glow barely held the situation steady. She dared not delay, following close behind the elf and Wrench as they plunged into the thick fog.

The elven ranger knew this area unusually well, able to weave through quickly even in the thick fog. He led the three of them in a winding path between the twisted trees and rotting roots, avoiding several zones radiating dangerous auras. A few minutes later, ahead in the thick fog, an area shrouded in faint light vaguely appeared!

That light was pale green, forming an inverted-bowl-shaped barrier, covering a small area that barely enclosed several dozen twisted but relatively "healthy" star-veined trees and a few crude tree-houses built against them. The barrier's light rippled constantly under the fog's corrosion, looking as if it might collapse at any moment. Inside the barrier, a few equally exhausted, heavily wounded elven figures could be vaguely seen, gripping crude weapons and watching warily.

"Aila! Open the gate! It's me! Lei En!" the elven ranger growled toward the barrier.

The barrier's light rippled, opening a gap just wide enough for one person. Lei En led Xiang Lingna and the others through swiftly. The gap closed at once.

Once inside the barrier, Xiang Lingna finally exhaled in relief. The air here still carried a rotting scent, but far thinner than outside, and she could even catch a faint whiff of grass and wood. Exhaustion crashed over her like a tide.

"Lei En! Who are they?" A tall, gaunt-faced but sharp-eyed female elf (Aila) immediately came forward, a short staff inlaid with a dim crystal gripped tightly in her hand. Her gaze, too, locked onto the Corrupted Claw Mark on Lin Mo's arm in an instant; her face changed drastically, and the short staff pointed straight at Lin Mo: "Corrupted one?! Lei En, have you lost your mind? How dare you bring something like that in here!"

"Hold, Aila!" Lei En stepped in front of Lin Mo, explaining rapidly: "They're not claws! Lord Suolin sent them out at the cost of his life! This is Xiang Lingna, student of Priestess Liyana! She has a shard of Wang Ting's core in her hand! Lord Suolin's last words were 'Guard the new sprout'! They're using the shard and the star-veined wood's light to suppress the corruption on this human! The corrupted-claw beasts outside have been drawn here—if they die out there and the corruption goes out of control, it will only draw the gaze of the Hand of Annihilation!"

"Lord Suolin… Priestess Liyana…" At those two names, immense grief and respect surfaced in the eyes of Aila and the other elves who had gathered around. Aila's gaze fell on the emerald shard in Xiang Lingna's hand; feeling that familiar, pure aura, and seeing the faint stardust-crystal glow on Lin Mo's chest, her grip on the short staff loosened slightly, but the wariness in her eyes did not lessen one bit.

"The shard… is real." Aila's voice was low. "But suppressing corruption? Under the true gaze of the Hand of Annihilation? That cannot last! The Corrupted Claw Mark inside him is a direct brand from the Hand of Annihilation! It's like a beacon! The Doctor could pinpoint this place at any moment!" Her words put all the elves on edge, weapons once more aimed at Lin Mo.

Xiang Lingna grew desperate: "Please! Just give us a little more time! The shard's power combined with the barrier and the star-veined wood here might temporarily shield the mark's fluctuations! Brother Lin Mo is… resisting down there! I can feel it! He needs time!" She pressed the shard to Lin Mo's chest; the emerald light blazed as she struggled to suppress the purple glow of the Corrupted Claw Mark, which had grown active again from the change of environment.

Just then, the entire "Glimmer Camp" shuddered violently!

Rumble rumble—!!!

A terrifying boom, muffled to the extreme, as if from the deepest heart of the earth, rang out! Accompanying the boom was a violent, convulsion-like tremor of the ground beneath their feet! At the camp's edge, several star-veined trees supporting the barrier let out pained groans, and the pale-green barrier light flickered violently, dimming by a large margin in an instant!

"What's happening?!" Lei En and Aila went deathly pale.

The emerald shard in Xiang Lingna's hand also jolted violently! A wave of even purer, more overbearing, terrifying energy—filled with a twisted sense of destruction and rebirth—swept in like an invisible tsunami from the direction of the rift (where Wang Ting lay)! That force swept across the camp, and the barrier let out a wail of overburden! The stardust crystal on Lin Mo's chest, as if stimulated, burst out with one last flare of resisting light, while the Corrupted Claw Mark on his right arm—that dark-purple glow—was like a shot of stimulant, surging wildly! In an instant it broke through the emerald shard's suppression; the purple light covered his entire right arm and spread madly toward his chest! Countless dark-purple root-like patterns surfaced beneath his skin, writhing like living things!

Lin Mo's body convulsed violently, a hoarse, agonized hiss escaping his throat! A chaotic, violent pressure, saturated with the aura of annihilation, radiated uncontrollably from him!

"Not good! The Annihilation Ritual! The Hand of Annihilation is activating the Final Furnace! He's stimulating the ley lines of the whole forest! And the brand inside him too!" Aila cried out in despair. "We can't hold it back! The corruption is about to erupt! He'll destroy the camp! Quick! Restrain him! Or… kill him!" The elves' weapons instantly aimed at the Lin Mo on the verge of losing control, killing intent filling the air!

Deep in the rift, the Doctor's Annihilation Ritual had clearly entered a critical stage, and Lin Mo, as the "vessel," had become the first and most direct "resonance point" this ritual triggered on the surface! Glimmer Camp, this last refuge, was in imminent danger! Xiang Lingna clung tightly to Lin Mo, watching the wildly spreading purple light, her heart sinking into an abyss. The Doctor's shadow had never truly left.