Chapter 43

Cold decay spread like a bone-deep plague through Lin Mo’s meridians. The withering will from deep within the crack of the Moonlight Crystal, projecting the malice of the Rot Claws, greedily eroded the life energy of the [Seed of Life], seeking to assimilate and corrupt this body brimming with potential.

Lin Mo felt his vision darken in waves; countless twisted, rotting tree shadows danced wildly in his consciousness, whispering of eternal decay. He clung to his spirit, drawing forth the blazing core deep within the [Seed of Life]—fused with the energy of Fire-Grain Steel—and unleashed it as a searing torrent, slamming into the invading withering will!

Hss—

Like cold water poured into hot oil! The life-fire, emerald tinged with orange-red, clashed violently with the chilling violet energy of decay, annihilating each other. Agony surged through Lin Mo’s body; his throat tightened, and a trickle of blood seeped from his lips. But the effect was clear! The withering will let out a silent shriek, like a venomous snake burned by a branding iron, recoiling violently back into the depths of the Moonlight Crystal, retreating to nestle within the violet stains of the crack—for now.

“Cough… cough…” Lin Mo wracked with violent coughs, his body trembling as if drained of all strength, sweat soaking his tattered clothes. The withering corruption had been temporarily suppressed and driven back, but the cost was immense; the [Seed of Life]’s energy reserves plummeted instantly to 30%, and its core now seemed veiled by an inescapable gloom, its flow sluggish and strained.

“Boss!” Wrench rushed to support him.

“Lin Mo brother! Sister Ali…!” Lingna pointed at Ali, voice trembling with tears. In the moment Lin Mo’s energy had spiraled out of control, the violet miasma nearly cleared from Ali’s wound had surged back—purple tendrils, like creeping vines, now faintly emerged around the wound, identical to the mark on Liyana’s wrist! Her body temperature rose again, her breathing grew ragged, and she sank deeper into unconsciousness.

Lin Mo looked at Ali’s condition, then at the lifeless crystal lurking with malice, his gaze heavy with gravity. Conventional life-energy healing could not eradicate this corruption rooted in the Rot Claws’ origin—it might even be exploited, drawing fire upon himself! He needed a stronger purifying force… or… weaken the Rot Claws at its source.

“Wrench,” Lin Mo’s voice was hoarse but resolute, “how much Fire-Grain Steel did you find? Exact location?”

Wrench blinked, then pointed to the fissure still radiating residual heat deep in the depression: “Right beside that crack! The geothermal fire pushed up a whole patch—exposed! Old Wrench dug around a bit—there’s definitely more ore beneath! Top quality, no doubt!”

A flash of brilliance lit Lin Mo’s eyes. The pure fire energy within Fire-Grain Steel could effectively replenish the [Seed of Life], and the ore itself was an ideal material for forging divine weapons. More importantly—that fissure! If it could spew geothermal fire, its depths must harbor even purer, more violent geopulse heat!

A bold, insane plan took shape in his mind.

“Lingna, guard Ali. Wipe her forehead with clean cloth soaked in water to cool her—don’t touch the wound! Wrench!” Lin Mo turned to the green-skinned goblin, “Grab every tool you can use—come with me. We’re going to… build a furnace!”

“A furnace?” Wrench’s bean-sized eyes widened. “Boss, we don’t even have a decent pot…”

“Use that fissure!” Lin Mo pointed to the geopulse crack. “Make the geothermal fire our furnace. Use the Fire-Grain Steel as the anvil. We’re not forging a pot—we’re forging a weapon to fight decay, to sever corruption!”

He needed a weapon! A weapon capable of channeling the [Seed of Life]’s purifying power, to cleave through the withering mist, even to wound beings like the Rot Claws! The material? Fire-Grain Steel forged by geothermal fire. And the catalyst… Lin Mo’s gaze returned to the Moonlight Crystal. Perhaps… a touch of “blessing” from the Elven world was needed.

He forced himself to his feet, walked to Ali’s side, and picked up the cold, silent crystal. Focusing his last reserves of spirit, he reached into the deep recesses of his consciousness, toward the stable Thorn Passage node.

“Liyana…” Lin Mo’s thought carried weariness and urgency, “Ali brought back the crystal… but it’s been corrupted… Ali is badly wounded—the corruption has invaded her body… Conventional life energy can’t purge it… I need help… I need… the true essence of natural and lunar purification…”

He transmitted everything: Ali’s condition, the crack and corruption in the crystal, and his plan to forge Fire-Grain Steel using geothermal fire. Only Liyana, the Moon Priestess, could possibly understand and guide such a higher-order purifying force.

In the Withered Forest, atop the World Tree’s ruins.

Liyana’s state was worse than Lin Mo imagined. To sustain the Thorn Throne’s descent onto the Wasteland, she had nearly exhausted her remaining Moon God power. The purple stains on her silver hair had spread to her shoulders; the vine mark on her wrist had darkened to deep purple, like a tightening shackle. The silver purified ground beneath her feet had shrunk to barely accommodate her, its glow dimmed.

Lin Mo’s message tore at her heart. Ali’s wound, the crystal’s corruption—both were born from saving her and her dying world!

“The Rot Claw’s curse…” Liyana gasped weakly, sensing the same ancient, vile decay emanating from the Moonlight Crystal on the other end—older, more malicious than what she bore. Conventional purification was useless.

She looked at the shattered fragment of the Moonlight Jewel atop her withered staff. Then at the swirling, increasingly active withering mist around her—a mist seemingly emboldened by the crystal’s damage. A similarly reckless idea stirred within her.

“Lin Mo…” Liyana’s thought carried finality, “I will… channel… the primordial glyph… of the Moon God’s purification… imprint it… into the Natural Will… and send it to you…”

“Using the staff as the conduit… the remaining purified ground as the source… connect… to the fading glow… of the Emerald Dream… You must… at the critical moment of forging… fuse this will… into the steel…”

“But… this process… will greatly weaken… my defense… against the Rot Claw… the window… is short…”

Liyana began chanting a guttural, ancient incantation, as if born at the dawn of the world. The shattered Moonlight Jewel fragment glowed with faint but pure light; the silver purified ground beneath her trembled violently, strands of the purest silver radiance drawn into her fingertips. With her finger as brush, her life and faith as ink, she painstakingly traced a complex silver glyph in the air—composed of countless vines, crescent moons, and star patterns! Each stroke drained her further; her face paled, the purple in her hair deepened.

When the final stroke was complete, the glyph—imbued with the true essence of lunar purification—hung suspended in the air, radiating pure, solemn energy. Liyana swayed, barely standing. She bit her tongue, spitting a drop of silver blood infused with life essence onto the glyph!

Hum!

The glyph blazed brilliantly—then surged into a concentrated silver beam, piercing space, traveling along the stable Thorn Passage, crossing dimensions, and instantly injecting into the Moonlight Crystal in Lin Mo’s hands!

The crystal shuddered violently! From within its cracks, the lurking violet stains shrieked—like a creature confronted by its bane—flailing in resistance! But the silver beam tore through, forcibly imprinting the glyph’s shadow into the crystal’s core! It could not eradicate the corruption, but it temporarily suppressed it—and granted the crystal a sliver of authority to guide purification.

“Hurry… forge…” Liyana transmitted her final thought, her body slumping against the World Tree’s ruin, the silver purified ground beneath her dimmed to near darkness. At the very moment she collapsed, a roar of ravenous fury erupted from deep within the withering mist—the Rot Claw sensed the weakening of the guardian, and drew closer!

In the Wasteland depression.

The Moonlight Crystal in Lin Mo’s hands had grown warm; a pure silver light flickered faintly at its core, as if responding to his call. He felt the complex, powerful glyph of purification Liyana had sent—and the immense cost she had paid, the danger she now faced!

Time was running out!

“Wrench! Begin!” Lin Mo roared, fire burning in his eyes. He clutched the crystal and charged toward the geopulse fissure with Wrench.

Beside the fissure lay dozens of dark red Fire-Grain Steel raw ores. Wrench had already swung his crude pickaxe and crowbar, frantically prying loose rocks from the fissure’s edge, uncovering more high-quality ore.

Lin Mo selected the largest ore—half a man’s height—with the brightest orange-red veins. He directed Wrench to construct a crude “suspended platform” above the narrow upper rim of the fissure, using found metal supports and heat-resistant stone. The target ore was placed upon it, directly above the dark red geothermal magma flowing deep below.

“Boss… will this even work? That rock’s damn hard!” Wrench stared at the churning magma below, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Doesn’t matter if it works—we do it!” Lin Mo took a deep breath, pressed the Moonlight Crystal tightly against his chest, feeling the purification glyph within. He stepped to the fissure’s edge, placed both hands on the scorching rock, closed his eyes, and plunged his entire spirit into the [Seed of Life], communing with the core fused with the geopulse fragment!

“Geothermal fire… heed my command!” Lin Mo roared inwardly! The [Seed of Life]’s power surged wildly, infused with affinity and control over geopulse energy, like a fuse plunged into the fissure’s depths!

Boom—

As if a slumbering volcano had awakened! The magma deep within the fissure erupted violently! A thicker, fiercer crimson flame, as if guided by an invisible hand, roared from the fissure, licking and engulfing the massive Fire-Grain Steel ore upon the suspended platform!

The unbearable heat warped the air instantly! The dark red ore glowed red-hot, softened, and began to melt before their eyes. Orange-red molten metal dripped like lava, caught and held aloft by the hotter magma below, forming a churning, blazing metal pool beneath the platform.

“My Wrench the Great…” Wrench gaped, his bean-sized eyes glowing red in the firelight. This was nothing short of a miracle!

Lin Mo bore immense spiritual pressure and energy drain; sweat barely formed before it vaporized. He maintained the geothermal control with iron will, while focusing every ounce of his intent on the Moonlight Crystal in his chest.

“Liyana… the true essence of purification… merge with the steel!”

He guided the silver glyph’s shadow from the crystal, peeling it free, transforming it into a pure, cold, silver stream infused with lunar and natural essence—like the final brushstroke—shooting into the churning, boiling crimson metal pool below!

Hss—!!!

Like a searing iron plunged into ice water! The crimson pool erupted in blinding light! The silver stream fused, clashed, and refined violently with the wild geothermal fire and the pure essence of Fire-Grain Steel. The entire pool churned and roared as if alive! An indescribable aura—blending the fury of earth, the purity of moonlight, and the vitality of nature—spread through the air!

Lin Mo’s face turned deathly pale, his body trembling on the verge of collapse. Merging these two opposing forces nearly drained his soul. But his eyes burned with anticipation—he could feel it: something beyond mortal iron was being born… in the crucible of geothermal fire and lunar refinement!

Then—a new change! The violet stain, temporarily suppressed within the crystal’s core, seemed drawn by the potent life and purification aura of the molten pool. It broke free from part of the glyph’s restraint, becoming a venomous stream of purple-black light, lashing toward the pool! It sought to corrupt the weapon being forged!

“No!” Lin Mo’s eyes bulged with rage—he roared—but he had no strength left to stop it.