Chapter 46: The Seed of the Earth Vein, the Withered Moonlight, and the Elf

Liyana’s piercing psychic shriek pierced Lin Mo’s soul like a cold ice pick. The fragmented images transmitted—silver light shattering, thorns crumbling, a purple giant claw tearing through the last hope—sent Lin Mo plunging into an icy abyss.

“Liyana!” he roared, eyes splitting with rage. A storm of boundless fury, endless dread, and profound helplessness erupted in his chest like a volcano. The [Seed of Life] surged violently under the shock of his overwhelming emotions; deep within its core, the fragment of earth vein power flared wildly, emitting emerald light streaked with searing orange, bursting uncontrollably from his body and warping the surrounding air with heat!

“Boss! What’s wrong?!” Wrench, startled by the sudden violent aura radiating from Lin Mo, dodged the attacks of the remaining two [Obstacle Clearers] in panic, crying out.

The doctor’s projection hovered in midair, his eyes behind golden-rimmed glasses cold and amused, like a scientist watching an experiment struggle in its final moments. “Do you feel it, Lin Mo? This is the price of rejecting me. That elven priestess… is finished. Her world will become the nest of the Rotclaw. And you… can do nothing.”

“Shut up!” Lin Mo snapped his head up, eyes blazing red, fixed on the doctor’s projection, his voice hoarse as a wounded beast. “You… know nothing!”

“I understand power!” the doctor’s projection shouted, rising in fervor. “I understand how to control it! To wield it! Not like you, clinging to vague willpower and… emotional weakness! Give me the weapon! Join Black Scorpion, and you’ll gain the true strength to protect those you care for! Otherwise…” he paused, his virtual finger pointing downward at the gravely wounded Ai Li and Xiang Lingna guarding her, “they… will be next!”

A naked threat!

Lin Mo felt blood rush to his skull, burning to tear apart the cold projection before him. But his remaining sanity crushed the impulse. He knew rage solved nothing. Liyana was on the brink! Ai Li was dying! Lingna and Wrench needed protection! He had to stay calm!

At that moment, the thorn-node connection to the elven world deep in his consciousness did not fully shut down after Liyana’s devastation—instead, it sent forth an extremely faint yet unyielding psychic pulse! It was Liyana!

Her thoughts came in broken fragments, thick with dying weakness and agony, yet still carrying a heartbreaking tenderness and resolve:

“Lin Mo… don’t… care for me…”

“The Rotclaw… is too strong… my… mission… ends…”

“But… hope… remains…”

“Feel… the earth vein… seed…”

“Use… it… to protect… Ai Li…”

“Use… your… weapon… to sever… the roots… of corruption…”

With this final thought, an exquisitely pure yet infinitely sorrowful and withered force of natural origin surged through the thorn-channel, crossing dimensions, flooding into Lin Mo’s [Seed of Life]. This force was no attack—it was a… legacy. A sacrifice. A ritual of entrusting the last remnants of a world’s essence.

【WARNING! High-concentration “Withered World Origin” (Fragment of Elven Sorrow) detected! Contains potent natural power, but deeply corrupted! Forced absorption will cause severe erosion!】

【[Seed of Life] exhibits strong rejection response! Energy conflict intensifying!】

“Ugh—!” Lin Mo reeled as if struck by a hammer, his body trembling violently. The cold, decaying, despair-filled withered force surged in, clashing violently with the vibrant energy of his [Seed of Life]. His meridians felt pierced simultaneously by countless ice needles and red-hot irons! Pale purple vine-like patterns instantly surfaced on his skin. His mind flooded with visions of withered trees, cracked earth, and dying creatures screaming in despair.

Liyana was using her last ounce of strength to forcibly transmit the corrupted fragments of her world’s origin to him. This was her final gift—and her final curse. She hoped he could wield this power, but she underestimated the corrupting force of the tainted origin.

“Liyana… you…” Lin Mo groaned in agony, tears streaked with blood sliding from his eyes. He felt her unwavering will to protect—but this “gift” threatened to drag him into the abyss with her.

“Hahahaha! Feel it? The taste of decay!” the doctor’s projection sneered shrilly. “The elf’s dying struggle only speeds up your demise! What a foolish sacrifice! Now, give me the weapon!” He commanded again, his virtual arm extending to grasp the hovering blade prototype.

“Get lost!” Lin Mo gritted his teeth against the agony of clashing energies within him, snapped his head up, and his eyes blazed with terrifying light. He no longer suppressed the incoming withered origin—he forcibly guided it, merging it with the wild power of his [Seed of Life], channeling it all into the Moonlight Crystal on his chest!

This crystal, riddled with cracks, inscribed with purification runes, and corrupted by the Rotclaw, became the perfect vessel.

Hum—

The Moonlight Crystal erupted in an unprecedented, chaotic, blinding radiance! Pure silver, venomous purple, emerald life, withered yellow, and Lin Mo’s own furious earthfire energy—opposing forces clashed and churned wildly within the crystal!

Crack! Crack-crack!

The cracks on the crystal’s surface widened and spread instantly. The entire crystal trembled violently, as if about to shatter!

What is Lin Mo doing? Self-destruction?

The doctor’s projection froze, his electronic eyes flickering with confusion and caution.

Just as the crystal neared its breaking point—

Lin Mo summoned every ounce of strength and hurled the chaotic, sun-like crystal down with all his might—aiming straight for the still-warm fissure in the earth beneath him!

“By my name! Earth Vein Seed—awaken!!”

BOOM—!!!!!

The instant the crystal struck the ground, it detonated like an energy bomb. Chaotic light exploded outward in a ring, sweeping across the entire depression.

The blackened earth rolled like waves. The earth vein fissure, battered by the chaotic energy, opened and expanded like a living thing. Deep within, instead of crimson magma, a deep, heavy, orange-red glow surged forth—like the heartbeat of the earth itself. A force far purer, far vaster, pulsing with the primal will of the land, erupted like a slumbering ancient beast awakened!

【DETECTED: “Small Earth Vein Heart” (prototype) forcibly activated by high-energy impact! Energy level: HIGH HAZARD! Status: EXTREMELY UNSTABLE!】

【WARNING! This energy source contains dimensional fragment origin properties. Forced guidance may trigger uncontrollable spatial effects!】

The entire depression shook violently. Wrench and Lingna were thrown back by the shockwave. The two remaining [Obstacle Clearers] were thrown off-balance, their electronic systems blaring chaotic alarms. The doctor’s projection flickered wildly, growing blurry under the violent energy surge.

“You… madman!” the doctor’s projection shrieked, distorted with rage. He felt the terrifying, uncontrollable power of the awakened earth origin—this was beyond his calculations!

Lin Mo stood at the edge of the earth vein fissure, wind whipping his bloodstained clothes. His face was as pale as a ghost, his body trembling, the purple vine patterns on his skin glowing eerily under the orange-red light. But his eyes burned with mad fire, fixed on the pulsing orange-red orb deep within the fissure—the prototype of the Earth Vein Seed!

He had gambled Liyana’s gift—or curse—his Moonlight Crystal, and forcibly awakened the deeper earth vein power beneath this wasteland. He would use this wrath of the earth to fight his present despair!

Yet, the instant this primal earth force was forcibly awakened, another change occurred!

Beside the pulsing orange-red orb deep in the fissure, a thread of extremely fine yet abyss-deep violet energy surfaced like a leech drawn by blood, greedily wrapping itself around the newborn Earth Vein Seed. This violet energy radiated the same withered aura as the Rotclaw’s—but far purer, far older.

The corrupted world origin Liyana passed on, in activating the Earth Vein Seed, had also imprinted a trace of the Rotclaw’s own origin… onto this newborn earth vein!

In the direction of the Withered Forest, Liyana’s final faint psychic link vanished completely. The giant claw that had shattered the silver light and reached for the falling elven priestess froze mid-motion—its cloudy yellow eyes turned toward the wasteland, sensing something, and let out a low roar of fury and greed.