Chapter 137: Awakening in the Abyss of Corruption

Lin Mo's consciousness drifted up and down in the darkness.

Cold and searing heat warred inside his body. The Corrupted Claw Mark on his right arm writhed like a living thing; dark-purple energy, like a venomous snake, crept upward along his blood vessels, leaving behind a bone-chilling cold and a tearing pain wherever it passed. But amid this chaotic erosion, a faint power carrying a dusty, stardust-like sheen stubbornly held its ground in his chest, answering from afar another warm breath of life from the jade fragment, and together they withstood the flood of annihilation.

He felt himself hurled into an endless void, then in a single instant slammed down hard.

The bone-piercing cold was the first to wake his sense of touch. Beneath him was a slick, sticky sensation, like rotting moss and cold silt. A thick, gaggingly sweet, cloying stench of decay, mingled with the reek of water, forced its way brutally into his nostrils, choking him until he nearly suffocated.

He snapped his eyes open.

What met his gaze was a field of twisted light and shadow. There was no sky—only layer upon layer of dark-purple and ink-green vines and giant leaves, interwoven together, blocking out almost all the light. Only a few mottled, wan phosphorescent gleams remained, emanating from flowers shaped grotesquely like skulls, casting the surroundings into a ghostly realm.

He was lying on a mudflat at the edge of an ink-green river. The river water was viscous, flowing so slowly it was nearly still; its color was deep, with no visible bottom. The opposite bank was the same twisted rock face, coated in slippery moss, stretching upward and vanishing into that oppressive forest.

Where was this?

Fragments of memory surged in—the Glimmer Camp, the elves' hostility, Xiang Lingna's crying, Aila raising her crystal staff, the loss of control over the energy within him, that violently torn-open, chaotic Thorn Gate…

Lingna! Wrench! Lei En!

He tried to sit up sharply, but a violent wave of dizziness and weakness instantly felled him. A piercing sting shot through his right arm. He looked down, and his heart clenched.

The Corrupted Claw Mark was more striking than before; the dark-purple patterns had already spread past his elbow, pulsing like living veins beneath his skin. A cold, violent, destruction-hungry will kept surging up from deep within the mark, trying to erode his mind.

"Ugh…" he groaned, his left hand clamping down hard on his right arm, fingernails nearly digging into the flesh. Fight it! He had to fight it!

He tried to mobilize that faint stardust power. His awareness sank into his body. That energy core, which had once shown a hint of vitality from fusing different origins, was now surrounded and eroded by vast swathes of dark-purple Corruption energy—only a single dusty speck of light at its center still flickered stubbornly, like a candle in the wind.

Reach it! Guide it!

Lin Mo gathered every ounce of his focus, imagining himself becoming a hand reaching toward that speck of stardust. The process was unimaginably difficult. The power of corruption kept interfering; cold whispers echoed through his mind, tempting him to give up resistance and merge into this eternal stillness and destruction.

"Home… Lingna…" he bit down, his lips splitting, a thin line of blood seeping out. In his mind flashed Lingna's resolute eyes as she threw herself onto him; Sister Ai Li's back as she fought beside him in the wasteland; Priestess Liyana's gentle healing light; Glorna's ferocious war cry; Zero's calm analysis… and all those people who had followed him, building homes across the various territories.

He could not fall! He still had people he had to protect! Promises he had to keep!

"Get… out of me!" he roared inwardly.

That speck of stardust light seemed to sense his unyielding will and pulsed sharply! A thread of faint but pure order-power was stirred, mingled with a wisp of warm breath left behind by the jade fragment; like a trickling stream, it began to scour backward against the corruption patterns on his right arm.

Sizzle, sizzle—

As if cold water had been dropped into hot oil, the dark-purple patterns shrank and wavered slightly upon meeting this mingled force. The agony intensified, but Lin Mo could feel the rate of erosion slowing! It couldn't be eradicated, but at least it was being held in check for now!

He gasped for breath, cold sweat soaking through his tattered clothes. Just this one simple act of resistance had nearly drained every ounce of his mental strength. He leaned against the cold rock wall and surveyed his surroundings weakly.

He was the only one there.

Lingna was gone. Wrench was gone. Lei En was gone too.

Had they been teleported to different places? Or… had something gone wrong while passing through that unstable gate?

A deeper chill rose in his heart, worse than the cold in his body. That girl Lingna, so small, the back of her hand still eroded… Wrench with only one arm left… Lei En, skilled as he was, but in this completely unfamiliar hellish place…

He had to find them!

He tried to contact the "Myriad Worlds Sandbox" system in his mind. His awareness reached out, but what came back was a blur of static and noise. The system interface flickered in and out, as if under heavy interference. The function for anchoring Myriad World fragments was dim and lifeless; the origin channel couldn't be established either; even the most basic talent appraisal and blueprint retrieval had become intermittent.

"Is it the energy turbulence of this world fragment itself? Or is it the Doctor's mark interfering?" Lin Mo's heart grew heavy. Stripped of most of the system's aid, he was like an old tiger with its fangs pulled—his situation even more dangerous.

All he could rely on now was this body of his, eroded by corruption, and that precarious wisp of origin power.

After resting a moment and recovering a sliver of strength, Lin Mo struggled to his feet. His body was still weak; the numbness and stabbing pain in his right arm constantly reminded him the danger was real. He had to leave this open riverbank—it was too conspicuous; heaven knew what might be drawn over.

He chose to move upstream along the riverbank. The downstream direction gave him an even more uneasy feeling, while upstream might bring him closer to the source of the teleportation? He wasn't sure, but at least it was a direction.

The mud beneath his feet was slick and sticky; every step was brutally hard. The surrounding forest was terrifyingly silent—only the occasional rustle of some unknown creature and the distant, muffled roars made it all the more eerie. Those phosphorescent skull-flowers turned slightly as he passed, as if watching him in silence.

He stayed on high alert, his left hand clenched into a fist, ready to unleash that pitiful wisp of origin power at any moment. After walking for roughly ten-odd minutes, a relatively dry area formed by the tangled roots of a giant black tree appeared ahead. In the gaps between the roots grew some dark-purple, mushroom-like fungi, emanating a faint energy fluctuation from the same source as the Corruption Mark.

Lin Mo stopped and observed carefully. These fungi made him instinctively recoil, yet the energy contained within them faintly drew the mark on his right arm.

Danger? Or… opportunity?

He hesitated, then ultimately did not rashly make contact. His condition was too poor right now; any extra surge of energy could shatter the fragile balance within him.

He skirted that fungal patch and pressed on. Just then, the Corrupted Claw Mark on his right arm suddenly flared with heat, without any warning!

Not the cold of erosion from before, but a burning… drawn to something, resonating!

"What's going on?" Lin Mo stopped short, warily scanning his surroundings.

Hiss, hiss—

From the dense, thorn-covered thicket on his left came a teeth-grinding scraping sound. Immediately after, two grotesque creatures slowly emerged.

They resembled leopards but were larger; their fur was a dull purple, covered in twisted black markings. Their eyes were entirely black, without pupils—pure malice. Their mouths gaped open, revealing jagged, saw-like fangs dripping with dark-green corrosive saliva. Most striking were their claws: jet-black and gleaming, wreathed in an aura of annihilation from the same source as the Corrupted Claw Mark.

Corrupted Predators!

Lin Mo's heart sank to the bottom. These two monsters' auras were strong—far beyond the radiation beasts of the wasteland. And clearly, they had been drawn over by the mark on his arm!

"Roar!" One of the monsters let out a low growl, kicked off with its hind legs, and became a bolt of purple lightning pouncing at Lin Mo! Shockingly fast!

He couldn't dodge!

Lin Mo's pupils contracted. At this life-or-death moment, his survival instinct overwhelmed everything! His left fist shot out violently; the wisp of stardust power and the lingering breath of life within him were squeezed to the limit, mingled with his own unyielding will, condensing onto his fist as it met the monster's claws!

Boom!

A muffled crash! Lin Mo felt a tremendous force hit him; his whole body staggered back several steps, his left fist numb, the bones in his arm feeling as if they would split apart. The monster was also knocked back, the annihilation aura wreathing its claws dimming somewhat, as it let out an angry hiss.

Such terrifying strength! A head-on clash was absolutely out of the question!

The other monster also pounced silently from the side, its claws aiming straight for his neck!

Lin Mo ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding it. The foul wind grazed his scalp; a few strands of hair were singed by the corrosive saliva. He顺势 grabbed a sharp-edged black rock from the ground and gripped it tightly.

The two monsters flanked him, one on each side, their black eyes locked onto him, filled with greed and the desire to destroy.

Lin Mo leaned against a twisted great tree, gasping violently. The mark on his right arm, stirred by the proximity of beings from the same source, grew more active; the sense of erosion intensified, interfering with his mind. His left fist ached; his stamina was hugely depleted. The situation was dire.

Was he going to die here, just after escaping the Glimmer Camp?

No! Absolutely not!

He recalled the desperate straits against the Bloodclaw Reavers in the wasteland world; the bitter struggle against the Witherwood Guardians in the elven forest. Every time, he had survived!

His gaze swept over the two monsters, his mind racing. They had been drawn by the Corruption Mark, and their movements seemed to rely more on instinct—their coordination wasn't exactly subtle…

Got it!

When the monster in the lead pounced again, Lin Mo didn't take it head-on. Instead, he leaped sharply to the rear-side, as if intending to flee toward the river. The move drew the attention of the other monster, which immediately moved to flank him.

Now!

Lin Mo twisted his body forcefully mid-air, channeling all his strength into his left arm. The sharp stone in his hand flew like a javelin, hurled viciously at the monster flanking from behind! The target wasn't its body, but those pitch-black eyes!

Thwack!

The stone struck true! The monster let out a piercing wail. Dark green blood spurted from its eye socket as it writhed in agony on the ground.

Seeing this, the monster that had missed its earlier pounce charged even more ferociously at Lin Mo's back!

Lin Mo's old strength was spent, new strength had yet to be born—he was about to be torn apart by those claws!

In that hairsbreadth moment, he made a bold move! He didn't try to dodge or block. Instead, he suddenly swung his right arm—the one bearing the Corrupted Claw Mark—up to meet the monster's claws!

Come on! Let's see if your claws are harder, or if this damned mark is more sinister!

The monster's claws raked viciously into Lin Mo's right arm!

The expected scene of broken bone and severed limb did not appear. The dark purple Corrupted Claw Mark erupted with blinding light. A surge of pure, icy annihilation energy burst forth on its own, instantly counter-attacking!

"Aaaargh—!" The monster let out a wail even more miserable than its companion's. The instant its claws touched the mark, it was as if they had met their nemesis. The annihilation aura on them was devoured madly by the mark, and the claws themselves began to turn ashen and rot! It tried to recoil in terror, but that suction held it fast!

Lin Mo was stunned too, then a wave of wild joy! This mark… not only can it be eroded, but it can also devour energy of the same origin in return?

He immediately tried to guide that wisp of stardust power within him. While the mark was busy devouring external energy and temporarily had no leisure to fully erode his insides, he strengthened his control over his right arm. A grayish sheen flowed along his meridians. Though it couldn't dispel the mark, it did weaken that cold, violent intent by a thread.

Within a few breaths, the monster's front claw crumbled entirely to ash. It wailed as it broke free and fled limping into the depths of the forest without looking back. The blinded monster also struggled to its feet and staggered off in the direction of the sound.

The crisis was temporarily resolved.

Lin Mo slumped to the ground, gasping for breath, his heart still pounding with lingering fear. He looked at his right arm. After devouring part of the monster's energy, the Corrupted Claw Mark seemed to have darkened a shade, but that restless, gnawing sense of erosion had actually eased somewhat.

Fortune and misfortune lean on each other. This mark is both a death warrant and, at times, a means of survival? But he knew well—this was absolutely drinking poison to quench thirst. The more corrupted energy it devoured, the stronger the mark became, and the greater the risk of it ultimately taking full control of him.

He had to find a way to suppress or purify it as soon as possible!

He rested a while, recovered some stamina, and continued upstream. After the battle just now, he was even more cautious, doing his best to avoid those areas of abnormal energy.

After walking for who knows how long, the sky (if that twisted canopy could be called a sky) seemed to grow dimmer, and the phosphorescence became more conspicuous. He felt exhausted and hungry; the stabbing pain in his right arm and the weakness within his body kept tormenting his nerves.

Just as he was about to give out, the faint sound of water striking rocks came from ahead. His spirit lifted, and he quickened his pace.

Rounding a patch of massive black rocks jutting from the ground like ribs, the sight before him made him pause slightly.

This was a small river bend. The current here grew somewhat swifter, crashing against a few protruding black reefs and sending up murky spray. On one side of the bank, the rock face curved inward, forming a natural, not-too-deep shallow cave. What caught Lin Mo's eye, though, were several clear, smaller footprints at the cave's entrance, and beside them on the rock, an arrow symbol clumsily arranged out of loose stones, crooked but unmistakable, pointing into the cave.

These footprints… they're Xiang Lingna's!

Lin Mo's heart leapt. She's still alive! She stopped here! That arrow is a marker she left!

Hope, like a torch in the darkness, instantly dispelled part of his exhaustion and despair. Without hesitation, he walked straight toward the shallow cave.

The cave wasn't large, and the light was dim. In a corner, some withered leaves of unknown origin were spread out—clearly someone had rested here. In the air, there seemed to linger a wisp of an extremely faint scent belonging to Xiang Lingna, a blend of grass and earth, and… a weaker trace of the warm energy fluctuation unique to a jade fragment.

She had been here, used the fragment to treat herself! And she hadn't left long ago!

Lin Mo crouched down and examined carefully. Besides the footprints, he also found on the ground a few drops of dried blood tinged with an ominous ashen hue—blood corroded by corruption!

Her situation was not good!

He had to find her as soon as possible!

Lin Mo stood up, his gaze sweeping sharply outside the cave. Where would Xiang Lingna have gone? Continuing upstream along the bank? Or into that more dangerous forest?

He drew a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Don't panic. Xiang Lingna is clever—she left the arrow for a reason; she must be trying to point to something.

He walked out of the shallow cave and carefully observed the riverbank and the forest's edge. Soon, upstream, in a patch of trampled ferns that gave off a foul, fishy stench, he found half a blurred footprint, pointing into the depths of the forest.

The forest was more dangerous, but perhaps she had a reason she had to enter? Looking for food? Or… sensing something?

Lin Mo no longer hesitated; he decided to enter the forest to track her. No matter what, he had to find her.

However, just as he was about to step into that dark, twisted woodland, the Corrupted Claw Mark on his right arm stirred again! This time, it was no longer burning, but a… cold tremor of being locked onto by a higher-tier existence!

He jerked his head up, looking into the depths of the forest.

Beyond those layered shadows and phosphorescence, it was as though a pair of invisible eyes, brimming with malice and scrutiny, had just swept across him.

The Doctor's will? Or the will of this corrupted forest itself—