Chapter 160: Stardust Gleam, Rotclaw Ember

Icy mud seeped through the charred body, draining away what little warmth remained. Xiang Lingna's consciousness drifted in boundless darkness and cold, like a drowning person; only the faint emerald glow at the position of her heart and the milky-white stardust halo emanating from her identity tag were like two slender ropes, barely keeping her from sinking completely.

The searing pain had gone numb; her body no longer felt like her own. Only at the remnant of her right arm where the brand sat — that bone-deep, clinging cold sting, and the lingering shards of will from the Doctor, brimming with fury and disbelief — still reminded her of what had just happened.

She... seemed to have succeeded? That terrifying root nodule... was destroyed?

Her faint consciousness struggled to turn. She tried desperately to open her eyes, but her eyelids were heavier than a thousand pounds. She could only hazily "sense" her surroundings — a deathly stillness, with only the gurgle of mud flowing, and the unsettling groans of metal structures under immense pressure somewhere in the distance. The air reeked of burnt char, a strange scent left behind after the corrupted matter had been purified, and... a wisp of extremely pure yet utterly chaotic residual energy fluctuation.

That fluctuation... came from the center of the root nodule's remains?

Xiang Lingna's consciousness tried to extend toward it to investigate, but it triggered a tearing, excruciating pain that nearly made her faint again. Her body and soul were pushed to their absolute limit. The only thing keeping this sliver of consciousness from perishing was the stardust halo from the identity tag and the stubborn green glow at the core of the emerald shard.

Stardust... halo...

Xiang Lingna's consciousness focused on the identity tag. This faint, milky-white light carried a strange warmth and sense of order, like a firefly in the dark; it not only guarded the core of her consciousness, but seemed to be slowly, ever so faintly, neutralizing the residual chaotic energy and corrupting aura that had invaded her body.

This feeling... so familiar... so reassuring... it's just like... having Brother Lin Mo by my side...

Is it really the power of the stardust crystal? How could it be on this identity tag? Is Brother Lin Mo protecting her through some means? Or does this identity tag itself contain a power sharing the same origin as the stardust crystal? Old-world technology... and stardust...

Countless questions surged up, but her weakened consciousness could not sustain deeper inquiry. The only thing she could do now was greedily draw in the faint warmth brought by this stardust halo, clinging to this spark of life, like a hibernating insect.

Time passed in the deathly stillness. She didn't know how long — perhaps minutes, perhaps hours.

"Cough... cough, cough..." A weak, pained coughing sound came from not far away.

It's Wrench!

Xiang Lingna's spirit jolted! He's still alive!

"Water... so cold..." Wrench's feeble voice came in broken fragments. He had been swept by the mud to the base of a wall, half his body soaking in the icy mud and water; the horrific wound on his back was being soaked by the muck, making his condition even worse.

Xiang Lingna was frantic with worry, yet couldn't even move a single finger. She could only desperately concentrate her spirit, trying to guide the stardust halo from the identity tag, or the emerald glow at her heart, to help Wrench.

But the power was too faint. The stardust halo was like a candle in the wind, barely able to cover herself, unable to extend outward. The emerald glow was even worse — only a single point at its core remained, barely able to look after itself.

Despair welled up again. Was Wrench going to die from his severe wounds and the icy mud, after they had finally destroyed the root nodule...?

Just then!

Hum—

The emerald glow at Xiang Lingna's heart, as if sensing her intense anxiety and her will to protect Wrench, and as if stimulated by the identity tag's stardust halo, gave an extremely faint pulse! A strand of emerald light, thinner than a hair, as if possessed of life, poked out from the core of the glow and, with great difficulty, slowly extended in the direction of Wrench!

Although the light dimmed and scattered after only a few dozen centimeters, utterly unable to reach Wrench, this tiny change gave Xiang Lingna hope! Her will could guide this power! Though it was faint now, as long as she could recover even a little...

Recover... power...

Xiang Lingna's consciousness laboriously turned toward the dark purple crystal at the center of the root nodule's remains, which emanated chaotic residual fluctuations. There lay the highly concentrated Rotclaw essence after the root nodule's collapse, along with the remnants of the chaotic energy she herself had unleashed. This power was brimming with destruction, but also... immensely vast!

An extremely bold, almost suicidal thought slithered into Xiang Lingna's mind like a venomous snake: Absorb it! Just like at the Thorn Corridor node, use the brand as a "channel" to forcibly absorb the energy from this Rotclaw ember! Use the enemy's power to restore herself and save Wrench!

The thought made her very soul tremble. The last time she had absorbed corrupted energy at the corridor node, she had nearly lost control completely and become a puppet of the Rotclaw. Now her condition was a hundred times worse than then, the energy of this ember was even purer and more violent, and the Doctor's will had just been grievously wounded — its lingering fury and vigilance would surely be even greater!

This was no different from dancing on a steel wire over a ten-thousand-fathom abyss, with a boiling oil cauldron beneath one's feet!

But... looking at Wrench's figure, convulsing in agony in the icy mud... thinking of Ling's interrupted distress signal... thinking of Brother Lin Mo still suffering within the Rotclaw furnace... thinking of Sister Ai Li's blood feud and the world-ending threat of the "Sower"...

She had no choice!

Xiang Lingna's consciousness, like a spark about to go out, blazed with a final, all-or-nothing radiance! She hesitated no longer, and channeled every last shred of her spiritual power into an invisible "tentacle" that, with utmost care yet absolute resolve, reached toward the dark purple Rotclaw ember lying quietly in the filth!

"Give me... power!!!"