Chapter 191

The ancient court guardian’s massive frame staggered slightly from its severed arm, its skull burning with emerald soul-fire as it turned toward the enormous stone door at the end of the corridor, radiating pure green light. The gentle glow seemed to pierce its decaying consciousness, and its roar carried a hint of confusion and hesitation. Its remaining bone-tumor arm and root-like lower limbs writhed restlessly, as if the thing behind that door had awakened a primal fear buried deep within its ancient guardian instincts, long buried beneath decay.

“Hurry! To that door!” Zero’s electronic voice carried unprecedented urgency, “Pure energy… suppresses corrupted beings… This is… an opportunity!”

Ellie did not hesitate. She slung the unconscious Liyana over one shoulder and supported Xiang Lingna, whose right arm glowed with flickering crystal runes, using all her strength to sprint toward the stone door. Lingna gritted her teeth, enduring the searing pain tearing through her body and the lingering chaos echoing in her mind, matching Ellie’s steps.

Behind them, the ancient guardian’s confusion lasted only seconds. The doctor’s cold will struck like an invisible whip, lashing its chaotic soul-fire! [Destroy! The key!] The icy command instantly overrode its instinctive fear. It let out an even more furious silent roar, raising its remaining bone-tumor arm high, wielding the power to crush all before it, slamming down toward the fleeing trio! Though slowed by its missing limb, its reach was vast.

A gust of wind pressed against their backs! The shadow of death loomed once more!

“Lingna! The door!” Ellie barked, hurling Lingna and Liyana forward with all her strength, then whirling around, pouring her last reserves into the alloy shortblade in her hand, assuming a final, desperate defensive stance. She would buy Lingna time to open the door—at the cost of her own life.

Lingna was thrown face-first against the stone door. Seeing Ellie’s resolute back, the crushing arm about to fall, and Liyana’s pale face with its faintly furrowed brow, a torrent of despair, fury, and protective resolve surged within Lingna. Her right arm—the crystal extending to her shoulder, inscribed with dark purple runes—again sensed the overwhelming corrupted energy approaching, emitting a nearly ravenous hum.

But this time, Lingna did not choose to resist or devour. She stared at the thorned crescent emblem glowing with pure green light at the center of the door. A vague, ancestral thought—suddenly crystal clear—flashed in her mind: Resonance. This was the power of the Elven Court. The power of Sister Liyana. And also… the thorned order within her, wrapped in chaos.

“Sister Liyana! Help me!” Lingna cried out, a blood-choked scream. With all her remaining will—infused with the faint thorned order—and the newborn, yearning chaotic will within her right arm’s crystal, she slammed it violently against the thorned crescent emblem. At the same time, her left hand, smeared with blood—from her seven orifices and the wound on her shoulder—slammed onto the cold stone door.

Hum—!!!

A miracle occurred.

The instant Lingna’s will and her blood, mixed with chaotic power, touched the emblem, the faintly flickering emerald light erupted violently! Pure, vast, ancient life-energy surged like a awakened flood, instantly engulfing the entire corridor. The vine carvings on the door seemed to come alive, emerald radiance flowing across their surfaces.

Boom!

The guardian’s crushing arm halted mere centimeters from Ellie’s head. The vast, pure natural energy formed a flexible yet unbreakable barrier, holding the arm and its violent corrupted energy in place. Dark purple corruption clashed violently with emerald light, hissing as both annihilated each other.

Roar—!!!

The ancient guardian let out a pained bellow. Where its bone-tumor arm touched the natural barrier, it withered and carbonized as if doused in acid. The corrupted moss and animated roots composing its body shrank and withered under the pure light. For the first time, its massive frame began to retreat, its burning soul-fire filled with agony and primal terror.

Seizing the moment, the heavy stone door, bathed in flowing emerald light, creaked open slowly with the sound of ancient mechanisms—revealing a narrow gap. A richer, fresher air, smelling of a rain-drenched forest, poured forth, instantly purging the corridor’s corruption.

“Go!” Ellie reacted instantly, grabbing Lingna, who was still stunned, and hoisting Liyana, darting into the door like three shadows.

Boom!

The stone door slammed shut the instant they entered, sealing out the guardian’s furious roars and attacks. The thorned crescent emblem on the door dimmed, returning to a gentle, protective glow.

Inside, the scene was entirely different.

It appeared to be a vast circular stone chamber, its high dome studded with countless natural crystals emitting soft light, like stars in a night sky. At the chamber’s center stood a dry, circular pool carved from pure white jade. In its center, instead of a fountain, lay the withered remains of a colossal tree—its blackened, twisted trunk and gnarled, broken roots covered in thick dust, yet miraculously untouched by any trace of corruption.

Most striking of all, at the base of the withered tree, stood a half-person-tall, translucent emerald crystal, silently radiating a soft, steady pure light—the very source of the power that had erupted moments ago. The light rippled like water, enveloping the entire chamber, forming an absolute barrier against external corruption. The air was thick with pure life-energy, soothing the exhaustion and pain in Lingna and Ellie’s bodies.

“Pure… primordial crystal… same origin as the Sacred Tree…” Zero’s scanning beam settled on the emerald crystal, “Energy level… extremely high… it is… the core… maintaining this place’s immunity to corruption…”

Safe? Temporarily free from the doctor’s pursuit and corruption? Lingna’s taut nerves eased slightly—then exhaustion and pain crashed over her like a wave. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed to the ground. Ellie carefully laid Liyana down on the soft moss-covered floor and swiftly checked her condition.

Liyana remained unconscious, but in this pure natural environment, her pallor had slightly improved, her breathing steadied a little. Yet the dark purple crystals on her forehead and chest continued to pulse—and under the stimulation of pure energy, they glowed with stronger resistance, like poisonous tumors embedded in jade, steadily draining her remaining life force.

“Crystals… resisting… natural energy…” Zero analyzed, “Must… remove… quickly… otherwise… Liyana… will be… completely drained…”

Remove them? How? Those crystals were entwined with Liyana’s life essence—forcible removal would be catastrophic! Lingna stared at Liyana’s pained expression, her heart like a knife wound. Her gaze drifted unconsciously to her mutated right arm. The dark purple runes there seemed dimmer under the pure natural light, yet the crystal’s inner hunger for annihilation energy remained. Images flashed in her mind: devouring the guardian’s energy, blocking the colossus’s attack… A dangerously tempting thought emerged: If she could devour the guardian’s energy, could she… devour these crystals too?

As Lingna wrestled internally, Ellie pondered her options, and Zero attempted to analyze the crystal’s structure—

Hum!

The dome’s “starfield,” composed of glowing crystals, suddenly flared violently! The soft light turned chaotic, blinding! Then, a cold, vast, utterly commanding will struck their minds like an invisible hammer. The chamber’s pure natural energy dimmed, its glow dimming under pressure.

【Found you, little rodents. And… my key.】

The doctor’s will! Could he penetrate this barrier of pure natural energy?!

Lingna, Ellie, and Zero looked up in horror!

At the dome’s center, the densest cluster of glowing crystals twisted and converged, gradually forming a massive, indistinct silhouette of pure light—a pale humanoid seated upon a throne! Though blurred, the cold, superior gaze, the feeling of piercing straight through the soul, sent Lingna’s blood freezing. The doctor’s will had manifested here—in this form!

His “gaze” swept over frail Lingna, over alert Ellie, then settled on the unconscious Liyana—especially the dark purple crystals on her forehead.

【Moon Priestess… a perfect vessel. The fusion of annihilation spores… proceeds smoothly.】 The cold will carried a hint of satisfied amusement, 【As for you, key… your growth exceeds my expectations. The chaotic power… in your hands, blooms with such… fascinating radiance.】

His “gaze” finally fixed on Lingna’s right arm—the crystal extending to her shoulder, inscribed with dark purple runes.

【But the game ends now. Surrender the key. Hand over the vessel. Otherwise…】 The doctor’s will-projection raised a hand, pointing at the emerald primordial crystal at the chamber’s center, 【I will destroy this last ‘seed,’ and turn this final sanctuary into your eternal tomb.】

As he spoke, an invisible, terrifying annihilation pressure began to coalesce, locking onto the emerald primordial crystal—the core sustaining the chamber’s pure domain. The natural energy within the chamber surged violently, crying out in distress.

The fleeting moment of respite vanished, replaced by deeper despair. The doctor’s primordial will-projection had arrived, threatening to destroy the last Elven “seed.” Lingna stared at her mutated arm, at unconscious Liyana, at the crystal—the last symbol of hope. The doctor’s cold gaze, tangible as iron, pinned her in place.

Surrender? Or destroy? How could she choose? And within her crystal arm, under the pressure of the doctor’s will and the pure energy of the primordial crystal, the chaotic power stirred again—restless, roaring—as if craving… to devour everything?