Chapter 146: Core Choice, Lin Mo Awakens

The cry from the deepest part of Xiang Lingna's soul, like the final roar of a dying beast, carrying endless grief and resolve, violently shattered the erosion of the Doctor's cold will! The jadeite shard, as if sensing its master's will to protect that surpassed all limits, erupted with an unprecedented emerald divine light, as if it could purify the entire world!

Boom—!!!

The emerald radiance, like an exploding star, instantly overwhelmed the dark-purple annihilation energy rampaging on the arm! That pure power of life and purification, carrying Xiang Lingna's bone-deep worry and will to protect Lin Mo, not only violently forced back and dispersed the corrupting energy the Doctor had channeled from afar, but even followed the brand's connection, transforming into a spiritual counter-current that surged upward and slammed hard into the source of the Doctor's will!

On the distant Rotclaw Furnace altar, the Doctor's energy projection hovering beside Lin Mo shuddered violently! The dark-purple energy composing its body fluctuated sharply, and the energy tentacle connected to Lin Mo's forehead showed a hint of instability. The vortex of the projection's "face" seemed to ripple, emitting a thought-syllable tinged with surprise and annoyance.

Although this counterattack was like an ant trying to shake a tree, unable to truly harm the Doctor, that momentary interference and the impact of that pure protective will were like a stone thrown into dead water—within the depths of the furnace, in that figure bound by chains with a sunken consciousness, it stirred up an almost imperceptible ripple…

Inside the Thorn Corridor node, after unleashing that blow beyond her limits, Xiang Lingna felt as if all her strength had been drained; her body collapsed weakly forward. The light of the jadeite shard instantly dimmed, becoming like a candle guttering in the wind. Her consciousness, like a kite with a broken string, swiftly sank toward the abyss of darkness.

Yet, in the direction she fell, it was precisely that dark-purple mire she had pierced with her light spear—where the corrupting energy was briefly suppressed and the inner core was exposed!

Plop!

Xiang Lingna's body fell weakly into the viscous, icy mire! The cold corrupting energy instantly enveloped her!

"Key…merge…core!" The thought transmitted from afar by the Rot-Pastor chieftain was filled with wild joy! He immediately intensified his spiritual control over the corrupted node! The mire churned violently, wrapping around Xiang Lingna's body like a living thing, madly trying to drag her into the depths of the core to completely merge with the corrupted node!

However, a sudden change occurred!

The instant Xiang Lingna's body touched the core of the mire, the icy claw-mark brand on her right arm resonated violently with the pure corrupting origin energy deep within the mire! At the same time, the jadeite shard pressed against her chest, though its light was dim, the pure life origin it contained—originating from the Wang Ting core—along with the lingering natural affinity within Xiang Lingna herself and the unyielding protective will deep in her soul, underwent an incredible fusion in this desperate situation!

Hum—!!!

A chaotic and peculiar suction force erupted from within Xiang Lingna's body! No longer rejection, but…devouring! Like a dried sponge meeting water!

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!

The churning dark-purple mire, as if finding an outlet, the pure corrupting origin energy no longer tried to erode Xiang Lingna; instead, it madly surged into the claw-mark brand on her right arm! The brand instantly became a greedy vortex, madly drawing energy from the mire!

"No—! Stop!" The terrified thought of the Rot-Pastor chieftain came through! He felt his control over the node plummeting! The energy of the node's core was being madly drained by the brand on Xiang Lingna's arm!

Xiang Lingna, unconscious, let out a pained moan. Vast amounts of pure corrupting energy surged in, violently clashing with the lingering jadeite life force and protective will within her! Her body became an even more terrifying battlefield! The dark-purple root-like patterns beneath her skin, like living venomous dragons, spread and twisted madly, instantly crawling over her neck and even eroding toward her cheeks! The emerald light, meanwhile, stubbornly resisted at the position of her heart, forming a small orb of light, desperately shielding her core consciousness from being devoured by corruption!

The entire corrupted node withered and dried up at a speed visible to the naked eye! The mire rapidly became thin and solidified! Those few long-withered plants completely turned to flying ash! The purified thorny vines in the node region, as if granted a chance to catch their breath, saw their flowing silver-white halo clearly strengthen, beginning to spontaneously repair the eroded wounds!

Unconsciously, Xiang Lingna had, through the "channel" of the Doctor's brand, turned the tables and madly drawn the core energy of the corrupted node! But this was no different from drinking poison to quench thirst! Her body was enduring an unimaginable energy impact and corrupting erosion, on the verge of collapse at any moment, or…being completely transformed into an even more terrifying source of corruption!

And deep within the distant Rotclaw Furnace altar.

Lin Mo, bound by countless annihilation chains, hovered above the boiling dark-purple energy liquid. His consciousness had long sunk under the endless pain and the Doctor's erosion. Yet, at the very moment Xiang Lingna madly drew the corrupted node's energy, her body teetering on the brink of collapse, and her soul let out a desperate wail—

Hum!

The stardust crystal on Lin Mo's chest, faint to the point of nearly extinguishing, without any warning, erupted with a single point of extremely faint yet unusually pure milky-white starlight! This point of starlight did not originate from his own power, but rather…crossed through space, pierced through the Doctor's blockade, and clearly sensed the life origin aura within Xiang Lingna's body that was protecting her core consciousness—originating from the jadeite shard and the Wang Ting core! As well as…the cry from the depths of her soul, transcending life and death, that she had let out to protect him!

"Ling…na…"

A dry, hoarse voice, as if from beneath ten-thousand-year-old black ice, was squeezed out from between Lin Mo's tightly closed lips with extreme faintness.

Deep within his eyes, occupied by dark-purple chaos, that single point of stardust white light, like a candle guttering in the wind, suddenly pulsed! A thread of faint yet infinitely clear consciousness, like a volcano dormant for ten thousand years, began to painfully…awaken, at the very bottom of his soul!