Chapter 186: Shadows Slip In; The Moon Priestess Imprisoned

The annihilation pressure radiating from the Rotclaw Furnace pressed down on Xiang Lingna's heart like a slab of solid lead. The concentration of corruption energy in the air was terrifyingly high; even with the protection of Chaos power, her skin prickled with searing pain and a corrosive ache. The dark-purple crystal on her right arm greedily absorbed the ambient corruption energy, emitting a faint hum as its structure grew denser, even forming a prototype energy-thruster vent along the outer side of her forearm.

"Analyzing… outer furnace defenses…" Zero's core console hovered behind Xiang Lingna, streams of data cascading across its screen. "Energy barrier… multiple overlapping layers… intensity… S-class… physical defense… hybrid alloy and activated bone plating… thickness unknown…"

"Biological patrols… density… extremely high… aerial… ground… no blind spots… conventional infiltration… success rate… below 0.1%…"

"Detected… periodic… energy transmission fluctuation… northeast side… Energy Pipeline 7… every 37 minutes… window of… 3.8 seconds… maintenance interval… barrier strength… drops 72%…"

The only gap! Xiang Lingna's spirit lifted. 3.8 seconds! A window that would vanish in the blink of an eye! She had to pass through the barrier, enter the pipeline, and not alert any guards within that fleeting span!

"Path planning… generated…" Zero's projection pointed to the northeast side of the furnace. There, an energy pipeline thicker than the rest, its surface sheathed in heavy bone plating and dark-purple runes, snaked out from the mountainside like a great python and connected into the furnace's base. At the pipeline's root, a sealing gate of rotating bone wheels was slowly opening, revealing a yawning interior from which several maintenance robots, mechanical-spider-like, were crawling out.

Now!

Xiang Lingna drew a deep breath, driving the Chaos power within her to its peak, the faint halo flowing across her body forcibly suppressed. Like a leopard melting into shadow, she used the jagged rocks and corrupted shrubs as cover, racing toward the gate of Pipeline 7 at astonishing speed! Zero's console followed close behind, its hover altitude pressed to the lowest.

Fifty meters to the gate! Thirty! The heavy footfalls of patrolling Rotclaw heavy-armor warriors thudded from the side! Ten meters! The gate was slowly closing!

"Now! Go!" Zero's electronic voice cracked like a starting pistol!

Xiang Lingna's figure exploded into top speed in an instant! The crystal on her right arm suddenly blasted out a brief jet of dark-purple energy, acting like a thruster to give her the final burst of sprinting momentum! In the last fraction of a second before the gate sealed shut, she shot into the cold, dark depths of the pipeline like an arrow leaving the bowstring, Zero's console in tow, threading the needle by a hair's breadth!

The heavy bone-wheel gate slammed shut behind her with a thunderous boom! Cutting off the outside world's corrupted air and light completely.

The interior of the pipeline was pitch black; only the faint dark-purple runes flowing along the walls provided a meager light source. The air was stifling and oppressive, thick with the smell of metallic rust and a… faint, nauseatingly sweet, fishy scent (elven blood?). Beneath her feet lay a cold metal grate, the depths below unfathomable, carrying the low hum of energy flowing.

"Barrier… breached… interior… preliminary scan…" Zero's voice carried a hint of "relief." "Pipeline… leads to… furnace… lower level… circulation filtration zone… Sister Ai Li's signal… last position… adjacent area…"

She had made it in! Xiang Lingna leaned against the cold pipe wall, gasping violently, her heart pounding without pause. The sprint and energy burst just now had cost her dearly. But there was no time to rest. Sister Ai Li's signal was nearby!

They carefully advanced along the narrow maintenance corridor inside the pipeline. The walls were lined with thick energy conduits and cooling systems, emitting a constant hum. The deeper they went, the stronger that sweet, fishy scent became, mingled with a… very faint fluctuation of natural aura carrying pain and tenacity.

"Detected… high concentration… life energy… residue… mixed with… corruption energy…" Zero analyzed. "Source… ahead… turn right… isolation chamber…"

Xiang Lingna's heart clenched. She silently crept to the junction Zero had indicated and peeked around. What lay before her was a massive chamber partitioned off by a transparent energy barrier. The sight within made Xiang Lingna's eyes split with rage in an instant!

Inside the chamber was no instrument, but a colossal "cultivation vat" formed of writhing, dark-purple root tendrils! Countless fine tendrils pierced into a figure suspended in a viscous, dark-green liquid! That figure's silver hair hung loose, pointed ears drooping weakly, originally emerald-green eyes tightly shut, her complexion a sickly gray-green—it was Priestess Liyana!

Her tattered priestess robes had been stripped away, leaving only the simplest of cloth covering her. Her exposed skin was covered in fine, dark-purple patterns like parasitic vines. What enraged Xiang Lingna most was that several dark-purple crystals, pulsing ceaselessly, had been implanted into Priestess Liyana's forehead, heart, and the joints of her limbs! Energy conduits extended from the crystals, connecting to a massive energy-collection apparatus above the chamber! The Doctor was using her as a living energy source to drain!

Beside the "cultivation vat," several humanoid figures (androids?) in pale uniforms, expressionless, were operating instruments. The screens displayed complex data: 【Subject: Moon Priestess (High-tier)】 【Annihilation Spores (X- Abyss - Type III) Implantation Progress: 67%】 【Energy Drain Efficiency: Steadily Increasing】 【Will Resistance Intensity: High (continuously suppressed)】…

Annihilation Spores! Implantation progress at 67%! The Doctor wasn't just draining Priestess Liyana's power—he intended to transform her into a corrupted creature?!

Xiang Lingna's fist clenched instantly; the crystal on her right arm radiated a bone-chilling cold, and Chaos power surged wildly within her, nearly bursting from her body! She was going to charge in! Smash those damned machines! Rescue Sister Liyana!

"Stay calm!" Zero's icy electronic voice rang in Xiang Lingna's mind like an alarm bell. "Detected… high-energy… containment field… inside chamber… guards… stealth units… four… energy signature… A-class…"

"Sister Ai Li's signal… faint… but present… location… directly above you… ventilation duct…"

Above? Xiang Lingna forcefully suppressed her boiling killing intent and looked up. In the shadows of the thick, crisscrossing ventilation ducts overhead, a figure in a black, skin-tight combat suit, nearly fused with the surroundings, clung to the duct wall like a gecko! Her face was covered by a multi-function visor; in her hand she gripped an alloy dagger wreathed in faint electric current. Her cold gaze, through the visor, was locked dead onto Priestess Liyana's figure in the chamber below, and those pale humanoids operating the equipment.

It was Sister Ai Li! She really was here! And she had already located Priestess Liyana!

Sister Ai Li had clearly also detected Xiang Lingna and Zero's presence. Her visor swiveled slightly, sweeping past the pipe opening where Xiang Lingna was hiding. A flash of extremely faint surprise crossed her cold eyes, quickly turning into deeper wariness and a trace of… indescribable complexity. She raised one finger to her lips in a hush gesture, pointed with the other hand at the guards below, then at herself, and finally at an inconspicuous maintenance-corridor entrance on the side of the chamber.

The plan spoke for itself—she would handle the guards and break the containment field, while Xiang Lingna would charge in to rescue the captive!

Looking at Sister Ai Li's gaze—calm to the extreme, yet carrying the lone-wolf resolve of one who would not turn back—Xiang Lingna's fury was forcibly pressed down, transforming into icy battle intent. She gave an extremely slight nod in Sister Ai Li's direction.

The operation to rescue Sister Liyana was about to unfold, right here in the hellish core of the Rotclaw Furnace! And the Doctor's will, like an invisible great net, still shrouded this land of death.