Chapter 177: Heart of the Holy Tree, Chaotic Sprout

Cold, viscous darkness, reeking of annihilation, pressed down like the heaviest coffin lid over the entire New Moon Forest. The lingering aftertaste of the Doctor's world-ending declaration still echoed deep within the soul, bringing not only fear but a suffocating sensation rooted in the instinct of life itself. Under the absolute suppression of the darkness, the radiance of the Moonshadow Holy Tree flickered violently like a candle in the wind; the falling silver light curtain grew thin and dim, while the defensive runes at the forest's edge sputtered, emitting groans of being overwhelmed.

After a brief pause, the frenzy of the corrupted creatures erupted into even more mad roars. Like beasts whipped by a lash, they charged the tree-root walls with reckless disregard for death! The massive arms of the animated ancient tree remains crashed down with destructive force; every impact made the walls tremble violently, and the tough, ancient roots snapped with a sound that grated on the teeth!

"Hold the line! For the forest! For the Moon Goddess!" The elven commanders' shouts were so faint amidst the earth-shattering cries of battle. The rain of arrows grew even sparser; the vines summoned by the druids were forcibly torn apart by the surging tide of corruption. Casualties were rising sharply.

At the center of the binding formation, the chaotic cocoon of light surrounding Xiang Lingna, under the dual stimulation of the intense stardust radiance exploding from the identity tag and the terrifying pressure from outside, rolled and expanded violently like a living thing thrown into boiling water! Three-colored halos (dark purple, emerald green, milky white) spun and clashed wildly; sharp energy prisms protruded from the cocoon's surface, striking the silver chains of the binding formation with force! The chains emitted a piercing wail as fine cracks spread rapidly!

"Suppress it! We must suppress her!" High Priestess Tyrande spat blood from the corner of her mouth, forcibly pouring more natural power into the Holy Tree's roots in an attempt to stabilize the formation. Li Yana's moonlight power also transformed into ribbons of light that wrapped around the light cocoon, resonating with the emerald thorn-order within and striving to soothe it. But inside the cocoon, the dark purple annihilation energy ignited by the stardust radiance, resonating with the Doctor's will, was like a horse gone off the reins, its ferocity far exceeding what came before!

"Girl... Protect!" The wrench's cold electronic voice rang out again. The protection command activated by the stardust radiance held extremely high priority, completely ignoring the constraints of the binding formation. His intact mechanical left arm suddenly broke free from part of the light chains; the energy barrel recharged, and a deep blue light locked onto an animated ancient tree remains outside the city wall that was attempting to cross over!

Whoosh—!

The condensed energy beam struck the joint of the ancient tree remains with force, exploding into a cloud of dark green, viscous fluid! The ancient tree remains let out a earth-shattering roar; its movement paused, but it did not fall. Instead, enraged, its single giant eye locked onto the direction of the wrench!

The wrench's attack drew fire, but it also exposed the location of the formation! Several Corrupted Claw Gnashers broke through the arrow blockade and howled as they lunged toward the formation!

Just at this critical moment!

Hum—!!!

Inside the light cocoon surrounding Xiang Lingna, the point of stardust radiance belonging to Lin Mo, ignited by the stardust glow, seemed driven to the brink of despair. It suddenly contracted inward, then erupted with an unprecedented, pure will of purification! This will was no longer simple protection; it carried a strange characteristic of "organizing," "harmonizing," and "embracing"!

Under the dominance of this will, the three clashing colors of light underwent a strange change! The dark purple annihilation energy no longer mindlessly charged but was forcibly "swept along" by the stardust light, like a tamed wild fire, flowing along some mysterious trajectory; the emerald thorn-order was no longer merely defensive but actively fused with the stardust light, forming a layer of flexible "veins" to guide the swept-along annihilation energy; while Xiang Lingna's own tenacious will to live and her unique chaotic nature became the "adhesive" and "catalyst" for the fusion!

The chaotic light cocoon no longer expanded; instead, it collapsed inward! The swirling three-colored lights no longer clashed but, guided by the stardust will, formed an extremely brief yet infinitely harmonious chaotic light flow, like a galaxy vortex! The core of this light flow was precisely the location of Xiang Lingna's heart!

In the instant the light cocoon collapsed, a faint yet clear consciousness wave belonging to Xiang Lingna, like a newly sprouted seedling, pierced through the chaotic wrapping and transmitted clearly, carrying endless pain and a hint of instinctive longing:

【Holy Tree... Root... Core... Enter...】

This thought was faint but exceptionally persistent, like the last straw grasped by a drowning person!

Li Yana and Tyrande both caught this thought! The two exchanged glances, seeing shock and resolve in each other's eyes! Xiang Lingna's consciousness was fighting for survival! She needed to enter the Holy Tree core? This was too crazy! The Holy Tree core was the forest's final foundation, utterly pure; any foreign force, especially such chaotic power, entering it could cause unpredictable disasters!

But looking at the crumbling walls outside, feeling the Doctor's darkness pressure that was as substantial as a physical object, and seeing the strange yet brief harmonious light flow within Xiang Lingna's cocoon... they had no choice!

"Mentor!" Li Yana looked at Tyrande, her eyes filled with the resolve of burning boats.

A flash of pain crossed High Priestess Tyrande's aged face, then hardened into determination. He suddenly drove his wooden staff into the ground, placed both hands on the Holy Tree's roots, and began chanting ancient and obscure incantations, his voice heavy with sacrifice: "In the name of the Moon Goddess, Spirit of the Holy Tree, hear this plea! Open the heart, accept... this chaotic seed!"

As he chanted, at the base of the Moonshadow Holy Tree's massive, semi-crystallized main trunk, a region flowing with dense moonlight radiance slowly bloomed like a petal, revealing a dim passage deep into the tree's heart, large enough for only one person to pass! An aura of life and order, pure to the extreme, emanated from within, instantly dispelling the surrounding corruption!

"Li Yana! Take her in! Quickly!" Tyrande's voice was hoarse; maintaining the open passage consumed great energy, and his figure bent even further.

Li Yana hesitated not at all! She waved her staff; moonlight power wrapped around the cocoon, which had collapsed to half a person's height yet still swirled with chaotic light flow. Simultaneously, she herself transformed into a streak of emerald light, scooping up the cocoon and, like an arrow leaving the bow, shot toward the opened Holy Tree core passage!

"Stop her!" Deep in the forest, the Doctor's cold thought carried a hint of shock and anger! A Corrupted Claw Guard, an elite unit lurking in the shadows of the wall, exceptionally large in size with carapace covered in dark purple runes, suddenly leaped up and lunged at Li Yana's back, bringing a stench with it!

"Your opponent is me! Iron lump!" The wrench's cold electronic voice rang out! He completely ignored the corrupted gnashers lunging at him. His intact mechanical left arm twisted at an incredible angle; the energy barrel in his palm overloaded to its limit, erupting with blinding deep blue light. An energy beam, several times thicker than before, struck first and hit the elite guard's back armor with force!

Boom!!!

The violent explosion made the elite guard's massive body stumble; its back armor shattered, and dark green fluid sprayed wildly! Although it failed to kill, it successfully intercepted the creature!

The wrench paid a price for this! The sharp claws of several corrupted gnashers tore open the armor plating on his back; corrosive saliva splashed onto the exposed energy conduits and biological tissue, hissing! The wrench let out a painful metallic roar; his electronic eyes flashed wildly, yet he still locked onto other threats attempting to approach the passage!

Seizing this precious moment, Li Yana, carrying Xiang Lingna's light cocoon, vanished into the passage of the Holy Tree core, which radiated pure light!

The passage closed instantly behind her!