Chapter 235

Intense pain.

A chilling burn and a strange numbness, like two warring venomous snakes, surged wildly up the veins of her right leg, biting at each other yet strangely achieving a terrifying balance, using her body as a battlefield. Lingna curled into a ball on the cold floor of the sanctuary, her consciousness bobbing in the tide of agony.

That mature, urgent, and worried female elf voice, like a lighthouse piercing the fog, briefly guided her before being drowned again by deeper pain.

“A vessel of contradiction… both hope and risk… be careful… ‘Hunger’… has been awakened… it is… marking…”

Marking? What marking? Was this dark red, living-like mark crawling up her leg the “Hunger”? Had it been awakened? Why? Because she entered the sanctuary? Or because of… this strange state within her?

On her left arm, the silver thorn mark glowed with a weak but tenacious light, stubbornly resisting the dark red mark’s erosion alongside the life energy of the emerald seed. Three forces intertwined and clashed within her, bringing pain sharp enough to tear her soul apart.

Must not faint! Absolutely not!

Lingna bit down hard on her lower lip; the metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth again, the searing pain jolting her to preserve her last shred of clarity. She struggled to lift her head, gazing at the floating, radiant emerald seed.

It was her only hope. That vast life energy was the dark red mark’s antithesis. If she could just get closer…

Using her still-movable left arm and the strength of her waist and abdomen, she dragged her completely numb left leg and her burning right leg, inch by inch, like a dying crawler, toward the seed at the platform’s center.

Every inch moved brought soul-deep agony and immense energy expenditure. Sweat, blood, and even tears forced out by pain mingled beneath her, leaving a wet trail.

The distance was slowly shortening.

The closer she got to the seed, the richer, warmer, purer, and more vital the energy became. The dark red mark, as if encountering its natural enemy, slowed its spread dramatically; even the burning pain lessened slightly, replaced by a deeper, soul-deep numbness… and a strange sensation of being watched?

As if a cold, greedy will were silently “observing” her through the mark, observing this sanctuary.

Lingna suppressed her unease and pressed forward. Finally, her trembling left hand touched the warm aura radiating from the seed.

Like a drought-stricken plant finally receiving rain! A pure, gentle life energy surged into her body through her fingertips, flooding instantly through every limb and organ! The searing pain vanished as if washed away by warm water—broken bones, torn muscles, depleted spirit all groaned with hunger and began healing at visible speed!

Even the dark red mark, under the cleansing flow of life energy, dimmed slightly, its spread completely halted.

It worked! It really worked!

Lingna nearly wept with joy. She greedily absorbed this gift of life, feeling like a withering plant revived by water—her consciousness sharpened, her strength returned a little.

She tried to sit up, drawing closer to the seed. The seed floated there, its glow soft, like a benevolent elder silently guarding and healing her.

But the reprieve was brief.

The moment her injuries eased and her mind relaxed slightly—

The dark red mark on her right leg violently writhed! As if enraged by the life energy’s stimulation, or sensing some distant call, it erupted with a completely different force—a ravenous, predatory suction!

No longer spreading outward to corrode—it now frenziedly, hungrily devoured the life energy surging into Lingna’s body!

“Ugh!” Lingna let out a muffled cry of agony!

The warmth she had just regained was instantly drained! Most of the life energy flooding in was forcibly seized and devoured by the strange mark! It was like a bottomless black hole clinging to her body!

Worse still, through this consumption, the mark’s color deepened visibly, becoming vivid as a blood-saturated leech, even swelling slightly and pulsing. The twisted symbol upon it grew clearer, more grotesque.

In contrast, the silver thorn mark and the World Tree’s energy, starved of life energy, instantly dimmed; the wounds that had just begun healing flared with fresh agony.

This mark… it’s using the seed’s energy to grow stronger!

Lingna’s heart froze in horror. She tried to sever her connection to the seed’s energy, but the healing sensation was like a drug—she couldn’t resist. Yet without absorbing energy, her injuries would rapidly worsen—she couldn’t last.

Trapped between two evils!

She felt like a pitiful filter—seed energy flowed through her, but the mark stole most of it, leaving only a negligible trickle to mend her ravaged body.

This can’t continue! She’d be completely drained, or the mark would grow beyond control!

She must find a way to purify or suppress it!

Purify? Liyana’s natural magic might work, but it’s too far to help now. Lin Mo’s primordial energy… perhaps it could?

Thinking of Lin Mo, Lingna instinctively focused her mind, trying to sense the faintest trace of primordial qi lingering in her body—residual from absorbing earth veins and the World Tree’s tender branch. It was too weak, nearly imperceptible normally.

She carefully guided this faint qi, mixing it with the small amount of life energy from the seed that had slipped past the mark, directing it toward the dark red mark on her right leg.

Like a stream trying to extinguish a mountain fire.

The effect was negligible. The dark red mark still greedily pulsed, devouring energy. But Lingna didn’t give up. She persisted, pouring all her willpower into it—the resilient, encompassing intent from Lin Mo, and her own desperate longing for life.

Time slipped away.

Just as she was about to exhaust her last strength, her consciousness beginning to blur—a miracle occurred.

Perhaps her persistence had an effect. Perhaps the seed’s energy was inherently purifying. Or perhaps the mark, having consumed too much pure life energy, underwent some change she couldn’t comprehend…

The pulsing frequency of the dark red mark decreased—imperceptibly… just a fraction. At its core, the brightest, most monstrous point… seemed to… fade slightly? As if a single drop of clear water had been poured into it.

Simultaneously, a fragmented, blurred, agonizing vision flashed violently into her mind:

…Endless darkness… twisted roots… dark red moss spreading like a tide… an elf clad in a tattered priest’s robe, his arm entirely consumed by dark red, staring in horror at his hand—then plunging it into his own chest, tearing out a still-beating core of energy stained with a sliver of dark red… he let out a silent roar, hurling the core violently to the ground, triggering a massive explosion… in the light, a tiny emerald speck was flung away…

The vision ended abruptly.

Lingna gasped, drenched in cold sweat.

That… was a memory fragment trapped in the mark? That elf… was he trying to stop himself from being fully consumed? That emerald speck… was it this seed?

This mark… isn’t just a tool for marking and devouring. It also holds memories of past tragedy… and some desperate resistance?

This revelation filled Lingna with complex emotions. This evil mark might have originated as a victim too.

Just as her thoughts churned, an even more unexpected change occurred.

The emerald seed, which had been quietly floating and supplying energy, seemed to sense the mark’s subtle shift and the memory fragment flashing in Lingna’s mind. It suddenly trembled slightly.

A purer stream of life energy, tinged with a faint sharpness, detached itself—not flooding her body, but precisely, slowly flowing toward her left hand resting on the ground, toward the dim silver thorn mark on her left arm!

Hum—

The thorn mark awoke from its slumber, blazing instantly! Its silver light no longer weak, but solid, sharp, like a blade re-tempered!

This energy did not enter Lingna’s body. Instead, using her left hand as a conduit, it flowed and traced across the ground before her like a rune being drawn.

In an instant, a complex, exquisite small array, composed of pure life energy and silver thorn radiance, materialized on the ground! Its center directly targeted her right leg’s dark red mark!

The moment the array formed, a gentle yet powerfully binding and purifying light rose—like a transparent dome—precisely enveloping the dark red mark!

Hss—!

The dark red mark, as if thrown into a furnace, instantly emitted thin wisps of black smoke, emitting a sound of purification! Its pulsing halted abruptly; its ravenous suction was forcibly severed. The mark visibly dimmed and calmed—though still present, its active, greedy malice was temporarily sealed and suppressed!

The devouring stopped!

Lingna froze, then surged with elation!

The seed… it’s helping me? Does it have some awareness? Or is this a preset protective mechanism?

The agony and numbness in her leg greatly lessened. Though the mark remained, it no longer posed an immediate threat. Vast amounts of life energy now flowed unimpeded into her body, rapidly healing her wounds.

Broken bones knit together; internal pain vanished; even her numb left leg began to tingle faintly. Strength slowly returned.

She greedily absorbed the energy, savoring the return of vitality, nearly drowning in it.

But soon, she noticed something odd.

The floating emerald seed, after releasing that special energy to activate the thorn array, seemed to dim by an imperceptible degree. Though still potent, Lingna keenly sensed it had… consumed its own essence.

This array came at a cost.

Moreover, the array’s glow was slowly fading—this purification and suppression was not permanent. The dark red mark merely lay dormant, not eradicated.

She must find a permanent solution soon—or leave this place. She couldn’t rely indefinitely on the seed’s energy.

Her injuries were mostly healed; though still weak, she could now move. Lingna struggled to her feet, surveying the small sanctuary.

Aside from the central seed and the array on the ground, it was empty. No other exits. No other clues.

“Beneath the Hall of Echoes…” she recalled the recording from the ancient terminal and the elf elder’s final words.

The sanctuary lay beneath the Hall of Echoes. Then where was the Hall itself? Beyond the white archway at the entrance was the Root Chamber—nothing like a “hall.”

Could it be…

Her gaze fell to the floor beneath her.

The platform’s surface, save for the palm-shaped depression and the pattern, seemed seamless. She stomped hard—no reaction.

She looked again at the seed. Its floating position aligned precisely with the pattern below.

After a moment’s hesitation, she extended her left hand and pressed it once more onto the palm-shaped depression.

This time, with her injuries healed, her energy replenished, and the seed’s seemingly approving gaze—when her hand touched it—

Hum!

The entire platform shuddered slightly! The complex pattern beneath her feet blazed with soft light!

Instantly, the ground directly beneath the seed silently slid open, revealing a circular downward passage, just wide enough for one person. An ancient, desolate aura, as if steeped in countless ages, rose from below.

Inside the passage, spiral stairs descended into endless darkness. Along both walls, self-luminous crystals emitted a faint but steady glow.

The entrance to the Hall of Echoes had been here all along!

Lingna stepped to the edge, peering down. The stairs spiraled endlessly. From the desolate air came a faint, continuous whisper—like countless fragmented voices mingled together.

Was that the Echo?

What lay below? More answers? Or greater danger?

She glanced back at the dark red mark, still temporarily suppressed by the thorn array, then at the seed, its glow dimmed further from opening the passage.

There was no turning back.

She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, feeling the restored strength and lingering threat within, and stepped resolutely onto the spiraling stairs below.

Each step felt like stepping into a tunnel of time.

And the whispering, fragmented voices in the air grew clearer with every descent…