Chapter 199: Stardust Resonance, Shadow of the Devouring Realm

The smoke from the wrench's self-detonation had not yet dispersed, and the chaos brought by the annihilation shockwave erupting from Priestess Liyana's body was still ongoing. Xiang Lingna struggled to lean against the cold wall, her right arm crystal transmitting tearing, excruciating pain from forcibly resisting the shock, her mouth full of the taste of rust. Sister Ai Li broke free from the mechanical sentinels' entanglement amid the chaos, flashed back to the chamber's gate, her icy eyes swept over Priestess Liyana's rapidly deteriorating state and the enemies swarming in from outside, her expression Heavy and Solemn as iron.

"Xiang Lingna! Suppress Priestess Liyana's energy! The crystal… is backlashing on her!" Sister Ai Li's voice carried an unquestionable urgency. Priestess Liyana's eruption not only harmed the enemy, but was accelerating her own suicide! The annihilation spores suppressed within her body, under the Doctor's will's remote stimulation and the killing intent just triggered, were madly counter-attacking!

Xiang Lingna endured the severe pain and threw herself to Priestess Liyana's side. Looking at Priestess Liyana's ashen complexion and the frantically pulsing dark purple crystal, Xiang Lingna's heart felt as if cut by a knife. She extended her intact left hand, wanting to touch Priestess Liyana, but was forced back by the cold annihilation aura emanating from the crystal. Her right arm crystal hummed, the chaotic power within filled with longing for this same-source annihilation energy, but Xiang Lingna knew that once devoured, it would only stimulate the crystal to even more frantically drain Priestess Liyana's life force!

What to do?!

Just as Xiang Lingna was at her wits' end, the faint stardust core on Lin Mo's chest pulsed once more, extremely faintly! This time, the pulse was no longer unconscious, but carried a trace of clear, anxiety-filled意念 fluctuation, like the call of a dying candle in the wind, transmitting directly into Xiang Lingna's mind:

【Xiang Lingna… guide… my light… inject… seedling… stabilize… her… order…】

Brother Lin Mo! He's awake? No, it's an extremely faint consciousness transmitting information! Guide his stardust light… inject it into the seedling? Stabilize Sister Priestess Liyana's order?

Xiang Lingna understood instantly! The root of Priestess Liyana's out-of-control state was the annihilation spores' destruction of the order of life! Lin Mo's stardust power contained order and hope, and that seedling symbiotic with the stardust crystal was the very embodiment of order! Perhaps, it could become a bridge to stabilize the order within Priestess Liyana!

Without the slightest hesitation! Xiang Lingna immediately concentrated her spirit, attempting to communicate with that faint stardust core of Lin Mo's. Miraculously, when the emerald veins in her right arm crystal lit up, the resonance with Lin Mo's stardust core became exceptionally clear! She carefully guided that faint yet resilient stardust light, like leading a wisp of clear breeze, directing it toward the emerald soil in the center of the chamber, injecting it into the root of the seedling that appeared somewhat weary.

Hum!

The seedling's leaves trembled lightly the instant the stardust light was injected! The emerald radiance became vibrant once more! The thorn crescent patterns on the leaves flowed, emitting a gentle yet firm order fluctuation! This fluctuation rippled outward like water waves, gently enveloping Priestess Liyana's body.

A miracle occurred!

The wildly writhing dark purple patterns within Priestess Liyana's body, under the illumination of the order radiance emitted by the seedling, like ice and snow under sunlight, rapidly melted and retreated! The purple light pulsing from the dark purple crystals on her forehead and chest was also suppressed, dimming, the speed of draining life force visibly slowing! Priestess Liyana's pain-twisted expression gradually calmed, her rapid breathing becoming steady and long.

It works! Xiang Lingna's heart surged with wild joy! Brother Lin Mo's method was correct!

However, the external crisis had not been resolved! The corrupted army had already broken through Sister Ai Li and Zero's temporary blocking line, charging to the outside of the core hall's gate! Heavily armored corrupted orcs, mechanical sentinels, biochemical spiders spewing corrosive slime… cold weapons and blood-red compound eyes locked onto everyone in the chamber!

"Gate… defense… about to be breached!" Zero's alarm sounded.

Sister Ai Li guarded the narrow gate entrance, like the final reef. Her alloy short blade had already rolled its edge, several wounds deep enough to see bone added to her body, the black of shadow erosion spreading at the wound edges, but her gaze remained sharp as a blade. Zero's control console hovered behind her, its remaining energy weapons continuously firing, precisely sniping at enemies attempting to approach, but the firepower was a drop in the bucket.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy crashing sounds continuously battered against the thick alloy gate! The gate trembled violently, the sealing strips at the edges beginning to deform and burst! It could withstand at most a few more impacts!

Xiang Lingna looked at the densely packed enemies outside, at Sister Ai Li struggling to hold on, at Priestess Liyana and Lin Mo who had just stabilized, then at the stardust crystal and seedling in the chamber still emitting radiance but whose light seemed to have dimmed by another fraction… a resolute thought arose — she must buy time for the seedling! Buy a slim chance of survival for Brother Lin Mo and Sister Priestess Liyana!

She abruptly stood, her right arm crystal once again lighting up with intertwined dark purple and emerald light! She no longer held fast in the chamber, but strode toward the gate!

"Xiang Lingna! Come back!" Sister Ai Li shouted sharply.

"Zero! Coordinate with me!" Xiang Lingna did not look back, her voice carrying the resolve of burning her boats! She charged to Sister Ai Li's side, her right arm raised high, the chaotic power within the crystal madly converging!

"Cover her!" Zero instantly understood Xiang Lingna's intent, the control console firing at full power, dark blue beams raining down on the few heavily armored corrupted orcs charging at the forefront, temporarily suppressing their charging momentum!

"Get… out of my way!" Xiang Lingna let out a deafening roar! The chaotic energy converged to the extreme, no longer firing beams, but transforming into a semicircular, condensed, substantial-like chaotic energy shockwave, with her at the center, violently pushing outward toward the corrupted army surging in from outside the gate!

Rumble rumble rumble——!!!

Like an invisible tsunami erupting! The violent chaotic energy, mixed with the converted annihilation properties, violently crashed into the enemy ranks! The corrupted orcs in the front line, like being swept into a meat grinder, were instantly torn apart and carbonized! The mechanical sentinels' energy shields flickered violently, then shattered, their metal casings twisted and deformed! The slime spewed by the biochemical spiders was instantly vaporized!

The narrow passage entrance was instantly cleared of a large swath! Severed limbs and metal fragments flew everywhere! Xiang Lingna's all-out strike had temporarily curbed the enemy's charge!

But the price was enormous! Xiang Lingna's right arm crystal emitted an overburdened groan, fine cracks appearing on its surface! Her body swayed, she dropped to one knee, gasping heavily, her strength nearly drained!

"Xiang Lingna!" Sister Ai Li caught her in one grasp.

Just then, another change occurred!

An indescribable, billions of times more terrifying cold will than any previous pressure, like a world-destroying cold tide, instantly descended! The entire space of the Prism Hub fragment seemed frozen, solidified! Time seemed to stop flowing!

All the lights in the hall instantly went out! Zero's control console light flickered violently, emitting an overload alarm! Sister Ai Li and Xiang Lingna, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand at their throats, could not even breathe! The remaining corrupted creatures outside all froze in place, trembling!

A massive phantom composed of pure darkness and dark purple energy, whose full form could not be glimpsed, like rising from the deepest hell, slowly appeared outside the dome of the core hall! At the phantom's center, two purple light points like cold stars slowly opened, emotionlessly "gazing" at the ant-like people below.

The Doctor's main body's will projection! Far more powerful by countless times than in the elven ruins! He… had descended personally!

【The farce… should end.】 The cold意念, like a law of the universe, was directly branded into the depths of everyone's soul.

Following his will, a dark purple energy giant hand composed of pure annihilation energy, covering the entire dome of the core hall, too immense to describe, slowly condensed into shape! The giant hand slowly pressed down, and where it passed, space emitted an overburdened groan, torn open with countless tiny black cracks!

Destruction! Absolute, irresistible destruction! Before this force, Xiang Lingna's previous eruption was like firefly light to the bright moon!

In Xiang Lingna and Sister Ai Li's eyes, complete despair appeared for the first time. Even Zero's data stream fell into brief stagnation.

However, at the very instant this catastrophic disaster descended!

Lin Mo, who had been lying quietly in the corner, guarded by the seedling's order radiance, the faint stardust core on his chest suddenly erupted with unprecedented, like a final flash before death, dazzling light! The light pierced through the chamber, even piercing through the Doctor's terrifying will pressure!

An even fainter, yet carrying the意念 fluctuation of piercing through all truth, like a final cry, transmitted into Xiang Lingna, Sister Ai Li, and Zero's consciousness:

【Careful… that is not a projection… is… the Devouring Realm's throat's… juvenile… avatar! Its target… is not us… is… the stardust crystal… and… the seedling! They… are… the key… to repairing… the spatial cracks… and also… the nourishment… for the Devouring Realm's throat's… growth!】

The Devouring Realm's throat?! Isn't that the final calamity that only appears in the final chapter of Volume Ten? The Doctor actually carried its juvenile avatar?! And the stardust crystal and seedling… are actually the key to repairing the spatial cracks? And also the nourishment the Devouring Realm's throat craves?!

This heaven-shaking information, like a final thunderclap, exploded in the abyss of despair!