Chapter 234

A rusted metal claw, screaming as it tore through the air like a guillotine blade, slammed down toward Xiang Lingna’s back! Shadow instantly swallowed her whole; the icy breath of death pierced her skin!

Can’t dodge! Impossible to dodge!

Xiang Lingna’s pupils shrank instantly; all thought froze in that moment, leaving only the primal terror of death.

Yet, the expected agony of shattering bones and flying flesh never came.

Just as the claw was about to touch her body—

Hum!

A low, yet piercing hum—not from the construct—but from the incomplete metal plate just now exposed beneath her! The intricate patterns etched onto the half-plate, once dull and lifeless, suddenly blazed with a soft but resolute milky-white light!

This light formed an invisible shield, instantly expanding to barely block the devastating blow!

Boom!!!

The claw struck the milky-white shield with a deafening crash! The shield rippled violently, fine cracks spreading across its surface—but held firm! The massive recoil sent the construct staggering backward a step, its rusted joints groaning under unbearable strain!

Xiang Lingna was thrown off-balance by the shockwave, her ears ringing, but she seized this fleeting chance! Her left hand gripped the edge of the glowing metal plate and yanked it violently free from the soil!

The plate felt warm in her grasp; its light flowed rapidly, as if alive. She didn’t fully recognize the ancient elven runes, but several core symbols stirred a strange familiarity—echoing the sense of order and protection she felt from the World Tree’s tender branch and the Thorn Mark!

This plate is the key! It can restrain this construct?

She had no time to think—immediately, she raised the milky-white glowing plate high, aiming it at the construct, which had just regained its stance and now seemed even more enraged!

Indeed!

The construct’s raised claw, poised to strike again, froze mid-air the instant it touched the milky light! Its entire body trembled violently; from within came a chaotic, grating noise—as if countless gears were locking and grinding against each other! Behind its black observation slits, something seemed forcibly activated, flickering faintly with a struggling, dim green glow!

That green light… faint, yet carrying an ancient aura, identical in origin to the milky light but severely twisted and corrupted!

The construct was plunged into massive confusion and internal conflict. It would lurch forward, claws snapping with aggression; then recoil backward as if pulled by invisible hands, emitting pained shrieks. The tiny green glow behind its slits flickered wildly, brightening and dimming unpredictably.

Xiang Lingna gripped the warm metal plate tightly, her heart pounding, not daring to relax. Slowly, she began to shift toward the white archway beside her.

The moment she moved, the construct’s aggression surged again—it spun toward her, claws swinging!

Xiang Lingna froze instantly, re-aiming the plate’s light at it. The construct sank back into chaos and struggle.

After several repetitions, she finally understood—the metal plate (or the authority it represented) could not fully control or shut down the construct, but it could severely disrupt it, forcing it into a state of conflicting directives! It seemed bound by a core command: “Prevent anyone from approaching the archway.” Yet deep within its core, a faint remnant of an ancient “Guardian” imprint still lingered—and this plate could activate that remnant, triggering its internal conflict!

Must rush through while it’s confused!

Seizing the moment when the construct staggered backward again, paralyzed by internal conflict and temporarily losing its attack posture, Xiang Lingna gritted her teeth, summoned every last ounce of strength, gripped the glowing plate in her left hand, and dragged her numb lower body in a frantic crawl toward the nearby white archway!

Fast! Fast! Fast!

The construct roared in furious, helpless rage, struggling to pursue—but the faint green glow and the plate’s light acted like unbreakable chains, binding its movements, forcing each step to sink as if through mud, slow and twisted!

Those few meters now felt like an abyss.

Finally, her left hand touched the cold, smooth surface of the white stone archway!

What now? The door was sealed! How to open it?

She frantically traced the door’s surface; it was covered in even more complex, arcane elven runes, with a recess at its center.

The shape of the recess…?

A sudden insight struck Xiang Lingna—she slammed the glowing metal plate into the recess!

Perfect fit!

The instant the plate locked into place—

The entire white archway shuddered violently! All its runes ignited one after another with soft milky-white light, as if infused with life! The glow surged, converging at the center, and a crisp, metallic *click* echoed!

The heavy stone door, untouched for millennia, groaned low and deep, slowly opening a narrow crack inward!

A breath of air—older, dust-laden, yet strangely pure and alive—rushed out from the gap!

Success! The door opened!

Xiang Lingna’s heart surged with joy!

She glanced back at the construct, still roaring and thrashing, trapped beyond the light’s barrier, and without hesitation, shoved her shoulder into the crack and rolled desperately inside!

The instant half her body slipped through, another change erupted!

Perhaps the archway’s opening triggered a deeper mechanism—or perhaps the construct’s internal conflict reached its breaking point—

The construct let out a deafening roar, a fusion of mechanical noise and a tortured soul’s scream! The faint green glow behind its slits exploded in a final burst, momentarily overpowering its violent attack command!

It did not attack. Instead, it raised its intact metal arm and made a bizarre, almost throwing motion!

A thick, finger-width strand of dark red, pulsing like a vein, shot violently from a seam in its arm, tracing a strange arc, striking precisely at Xiang Lingna as she rolled through the door!

Xiang Lingna had no time to react—she felt a sudden chill on her right calf, then searing, agonizing pain as if branded by a red-hot iron!

“Ah!” She cried out sharply, tumbling fully into the chamber.

Simultaneously, the heavy white stone door behind her slammed shut as if alive, sealing away the construct’s furious roars and all danger!

Boom!!!

The heavy echo reverberated through the enclosed space, lingering long after.

Safe…?

Xiang Lingna collapsed onto the cold floor, gasping, every bone in her body feeling shattered. The pain in her right calf was sharp and clear. She struggled to lift herself, looking down.

Her pant leg was torn open; on her skin lay a distinct, dark red mark, shaped like a grotesque centipede! The skin around it rapidly swelled, turned black, and began spreading upward along her veins, bringing waves of burning and numbness!

That was what the construct had fired at her! What was it? A tracker? Or… something more vile?!

Panic instantly drowned her fleeting safety and triumph.

She tried wiping the mark with her fingers—the skin beneath was scorching hot, and numbness surged faster!

Must… find the “Sanctuary” as soon as possible!

She forced herself to calm down, lifting her head to survey her surroundings.

It appeared to be a short, downward staircase, its end shrouded in soft, warm white light. The glow was pure and sacred, carrying an aura that soothed and stirred her remaining World Tree energy.

The walls on either side were mirror-smooth, neither metal nor stone, smooth and fine to the touch, carved with exquisitely intricate murals depicting elves cultivating plants, living in harmony with nature, and… worshipping a colossal, radiant tree.

That tree… felt identical to the World Tree’s tender branch! Did the elven civilization worship the World Tree?

She had no time to study the murals. Dragging her numb, worsening right leg and her completely paralyzed left leg, she painfully descended.

At the staircase’s end stood a circular platform. In its center floated a fist-sized seed, emerald green, translucent, its interior swirling with liquid light.

The seed radiated immense, pure life energy, its gentle glow illuminating the entire small chamber. Merely gazing at it, Xiang Lingna felt her pain lessen slightly; the spread of the dark red mark on her calf slowed a fraction!

Beneath the seed, on the platform’s floor, was carved a pattern identical to the recess on the door. Beside it were two smaller, hand-shaped depressions.

This… was the “Sanctuary”? This seed… was the “seed” meant to be protected?

Xiang Lingna struggled to the platform’s center, nearing the floating seed. The closer she got, the denser the comforting life energy became.

She stared at the pattern and hand depressions on the ground, then at her empty right shoulder.

The key requires “Twin Light”…

Twin Light… what did that mean?

She tried pressing her lone left hand into one of the hand depressions.

No reaction.

So it won’t work?

Perhaps… “Twin Light” means two different energies? Or… two people?

But she was alone!

As despair gripped her, her gaze caught the seed’s glow. Under its emerald radiance, the dark red mark on her calf grew sharper—and its shape subtly twisted into a bizarre, yet strangely familiar symbol…

Simultaneously, the silver Thorn Mark on her left arm—long faded—suddenly warmed, stirred by the seed’s life energy and the dark red mark, flickering faintly with struggling silver light!

Left and right, silver and red—two utterly different energy marks activated simultaneously on her body, creating a strange conflict and resonance!

Intense pain and a peculiar swelling sensation surged through her—her body felt as if it would tear apart!

Xiang Lingna groaned in agony, her consciousness beginning to blur.

In the instant before losing consciousness, she seemed to see the floating emerald seed—disturbed by her bizarre “twin” conflict—its glow destabilizing, its internal light accelerating, subtly shifting toward her…

And at the same time, a gentle yet urgent voice, distinct from the earlier girl’s, mature and elven, resonated directly within her mind:

“Vessel of contradiction… both hope and risk… beware… ‘Hunger’… has been awakened… it is… marking…”