Chapter 32

The wreckage of the water purifier was like a massive wound, silently speaking of despair. In the depression, the last remaining purified water flowed across the blackened earth, seeping into the parched soil and into every parched heart. Xiang Lingna guarded the few newly sprouted pale gold “Starlight Moss” seedlings, her small face filled with worry—without purified water, these fragile lifeforms from another world would likely not survive.

Lin Mo sat cross-legged inside the shelter, the [Seed of Life] pressed against his chest, cool and warm with a faint pulse. He forced himself to calm down, focusing all his spirit on the new, dim symbol of thorns that had appeared on his land interface.

[Secondary Channel Node (Elven Sorrow): Energy Supply 0.1% (Natural Leakage / Seed of Life Resonance)]

[Status: Stable (Weak). Attempt mental linkage. Warning: Linking process may be corroded by the Withering Mist; require unwavering will.]

“Ali, Lingna, focus your minds—think of that forest, think of the withered trees and the silver light we saw!” Lin Mo said in a low voice. He didn’t know if this method would work, but it was the only hope.

Ali sat silently beside him, eyes closed, her icy face expressionless, yet Lin Mo felt an extremely refined, iron-cold willpower radiating from her. Lingna imitated her, her small hands clenched tight, her face tense as she strained to recall the fleeting glimpse of the withered world and the mysterious silver glow.

Lin Mo took a deep breath, his consciousness like a probe, gently touching the thorn symbol.

“Hum…”

As if passing through a layer of cold, viscous liquid, Lin Mo’s consciousness was instantly pulled into a bizarre, swirling channel! Around him, withered vines spun rapidly in spirals, violet mist coiling and corroding his spirit like a living thing, bringing waves of dizziness and decaying whispers, trying to assimilate him!

“Hold firm!” Lin Mo roared inwardly. The faint glow of the [Seed of Life] ignited deep within his consciousness, repelling the mist’s corrosion. He felt Ali’s iron will like an anchor, and Lingna’s pure spirit like a gentle breeze—faint yet steady, brushing against the mist, offering him support.

At the end of the channel, the scene suddenly sharpened!

Still that dead, withered forest! Giant ancient trees stood like twisted black skeletons, gnarled branches clawing toward a gray-purple sky. The ground was covered in thick, writhing carpets of gray-white fungus, exuding a cloying, rotten sweetness. Thick, solid-seeming violet “Withering Mist” flowed slowly between the dead branches, erasing every trace of green it touched.

Yet at the center of this despairing scene, the view was utterly different!

A colossal ancient tree, dozens of meters tall, its trunk thick beyond measure, stripped of all branches and leaves, stood black as charred coal. At a massive burl about ten meters above ground, a faint yet utterly pure silver light glowed like a solitary star in darkness—resolute and unyielding. The silver glow enveloped a few square meters around the burl, repelling the gray-white fungus, thinning the Withering Mist, and even nurturing a few tiny mosses with silver veins, stubbornly growing!

Upon the burl, a figure stood still.

She was a girl. Slender, wearing tattered, stained remnants of what had once been a pale moon-white priestess robe. Her long silver hair, flowing like moonlight, stood out sharply in the dimness, though its ends were stained with traces of withered purple. Her skin was pale, almost translucent; pointed ears peeked through her hair, covered in fine cracks. Most chilling were her eyes—eyes like the purest emerald, now clouded with an unshakable gray haze, filled with endless sorrow, exhaustion, and… a faint, candle-flame hope.

In her hand she held a crude staff, loosely bound from withered branches and vines, its tip embedded with a small shard of crystal emitting faint moonlight (Moonlight Jewel Fragment?). She closed her eyes, chanting an ancient, ethereal melody—hoarse and dry, yet carrying a soul-soothing power. As she sang, the shard on her staff and the silver light on the burl resonated faintly, struggling to maintain the small sanctuary against the surging Withering Mist.

It was Liyana! The elf priestess he had seen in the vision!

Lin Mo's consciousness fluctuation was instantly sensed by her! She snapped open her eyes, her gray-clouded emerald gaze piercing through space, instantly "seeing" Lin Mo's consciousness! Her eyes blazed with disbelief—and a flicker of faint elation!

“You… you heard me… friend… from another world?” A weary but clear mental voice, carrying the melodic cadence of Elvish, directly reached Lin Mo’s consciousness.

“Liyana? I’m Lin Mo! From the Wasteland!” Lin Mo immediately replied, sending goodwill and urgency through his mental voice, “We saw your plea! But our channel’s energy is insufficient—we can’t open it yet! And we have a dire problem: the source of purified water has been destroyed by enemies!”

Lin Mo swiftly transmitted images of Hope Outpost: the ruined water purifier, the dry land, the anxious Lingna and Ali, and the few newly sprouted [Starlight Moss] seedlings.

Liyana received the images; her sorrow deepened. She looked down at her tiny sanctuary, then at the boundless withering and despair around her.

“Purified water… the source of life…” Liyana’s mental voice carried understanding and shared despair, “My world… is also parched… the Withering Mist… is corroding… the last spring…” She projected an image: deep within the withered forest, in a narrow crevice choked by colossal corrupted roots, a few thin streams of murky purple water seeped painfully—this was the forest’s last water source, now being poisoned!

“But… hope… still exists…” Liyana’s gaze fixed on the silver light on the burl and the few silver mosses, her mental voice radiating resilience, “My power… comes from the Moon Goddess… and this… last remnant of the World Tree… it can faintly… purify…”

Slowly, she raised her wooden staff. The shard on its tip glowed faintly. With extreme care, she withdrew from her robes a tiny “bowl” folded from a giant leaf, containing a minuscule amount of murky purple water. She suspended her staff above the bowl, focused her spirit, and chanted a more arduous incantation.

The staff shard and the burl’s silver light flashed simultaneously. A pure, gentle moonlight glow enveloped the leaf bowl. Within it, the murky purple water visibly cleared into transparency! Though only a small amount, that pure, glowing water in the withered world was like a miracle!

“I… have limited power… only… one portion… per day…” Liyana, after completing this, grew even paler, her body swaying slightly—she had expended tremendous energy.

Looking at the bowl of clear water, then at Liyana’s frail form and the surging Withering Mist around her, a bold idea formed in Lin Mo’s mind.

“Liyana! Let’s make a trade!” Lin Mo’s mental voice carried urgency and pleading, “Send me the purified water through our channel node—even just a drop! I’ll use it to save lives, grow crops. In exchange, I’ll feed back the life energy from my land—through the [Seed of Life]—to you, helping you sustain this sanctuary… and perhaps… even purify your water source!”

Lin Mo projected images of his potato field’s vibrant green life and the faint glow of the [Seed of Life].

Liyana studied the images Lin Mo sent, then looked at the precious water in her bowl. The gray haze in her emerald eyes finally brightened with a sliver of hope! She could sense the tenacious, resilient life energy from his land—echoing faintly with her own natural power!

“Life… exchanging life… a covenant… of nature…” Liyana’s mental voice carried an ancient rhythm; she nodded solemnly, “I agree… friend… from another world… Lin Mo.”

Carefully, she lifted the leaf bowl, focused her mind, and guided the precious purified water within it, slowly pouring it into the faint, fragile channel node they had established—on the verge of collapse.

On Lin Mo’s side, inside the shelter, the [Seed of Life] on his chest blazed emerald green! Before him, the air shimmered slightly, and a few drops of crystal-clear water, exuding a faint natural fragrance, condensed out of nowhere like morning dew, dripping into the broken bowl he had prepared.

Success! A purified water trade across realms!

Though only a few drops, it meant hope! It meant two worlds on the brink of extinction had forged a bridge of mutual aid in despair!

Lin Mo immediately carefully dripped the precious alien purified water onto the few [Starlight Moss] seedlings guarded by Lingna.

The moment the seedlings touched the water, their pale gold leaves unfurled sharply, their faint natural aura noticeably strengthening! The [Seed of Life] at the core of his land pulsed more powerfully—Energy Reserve: 9.5%!

Simultaneously, Lin Mo clearly felt a faint yet pure stream of life energy—drawn from the potato field’s life cycle and the [Seed of Life]—flowing steadily through the mental link, returning to the elf world, feeding into Liyana’s tiny silver sanctuary.

On Liyana’s weary face, for the first time, a faint smile emerged—like the first thaw of ice. Beneath her feet, the silver moss seemed to unfurl slightly.

Yet, just as this cross-dimensional link of hope was established, from behind Liyana, within the Withering Mist, a pair of enormous, murky, yellow eyes—filled with greed and malice—slowly opened in the shadows, silently locking onto the solitary silver light atop the burl.