Chapter 48

The embryonic form of a dark gold battle blade, infused with Lin Mo’s full strength and Lyana’s inherited will to protect, plummeted like a meteor and slammed into the violently trembling, charred earth beneath his feet!

Plosch!

There was no earth-shattering roar. The blade sank as if piercing a vast, elastic mass of flesh, emitting a dull, muffled thud. The dark gold thorn runes blazing at the guard surged violently along the blade’s length and plunged into the ground!

Hum—!!!

An indescribable ripple erupted from the point of impact, spreading rapidly like water waves! This ripple was not destruction—it carried an ancient, resilient, unceasing will! It ignored the space-locking field deployed by the Doctor, piercing straight through and sinking deep into the earth vein!

A miracle occurred!

Deep within the earth vein’s fissure, the volatile orb of swirling orange-red and dark-purple energy, on the verge of explosion, suddenly stuttered under the impact of the thorn-marked protective will. The tendrils of wild, expanding dark-purple corruption were bound as if by invisible vines, their erosion instantly slowed!

Simultaneously, within a radius of dozens of meters centered on the blade’s point, countless fine cracks—glowing faintly with dark gold light—spilled across the blackened ground! These cracks were not the fractures of death, but resembled… the rapid growth of some vast root system beneath the soil!

Crack! Crack!

The ground heaved! Thick, pure-energy “roots,” forged like solidified lava entwined with thorned vines, burst forth in dark gold! These energy roots were not physical, yet radiated the heavy aura of the earth and a tenacious protective will—they moved as if alive, frantically driving into the depths of the fissure, targeting the restrained orange-red orb—the embryonic earth vein seed!

【Item: Unnamed Battle Blade (Embryonic Form) Activated Special Ability — ‘Thorn Root Domain’!】

【Effect: Using the blade as a medium, forcibly communicate with and channel earth vein energy to form an energy root domain. Within the domain, defense and life recovery are greatly enhanced, and earth-based abilities are significantly amplified. Additionally, attempt to ‘take root’ and stabilize the earth vein energy source (high risk).】

“What?!” The Doctor’s projection shrieked in disbelief! He could not comprehend how an unfinished weapon could generate such a domain—violating energy laws, bordering on divine miracle! It shattered his entire understanding!

“Stop those roots! Detonate the core!” The Doctor went utterly mad, waving his projection’s hands as the remaining space-locking field blazed brighter, attempting to crush the emerging dark gold roots!

Yet the thorn-marked will of Lyana’s protection seemed naturally penetrative to space fields! The dark gold roots ignored the blue grid of force, like dragons diving into water, surging eagerly into the fissure!

Hssss—!

Countless dark gold roots wrapped around the pulsing orange-red orb—like a mother embracing her child! Vast, thorn-marked earth vein energy flooded in! The orange glow flared violently, forcing the encircling dark-purple tendrils into retreat! The earth vein seed’s violent fluctuations calmed visibly, its energy becoming gentle and stable, beginning to resonate mysteriously with Lin Mo’s blade and his internal [Seed of Life]!

“No—!!!” The Doctor’s projection twisted and deformed, roaring in fury! His plan to detonate the earth vein core had been utterly shattered by these sudden thorn roots!

“Wrench! Lingna! Take Ellie behind the roots!” Lin Mo, sensing the earth vein seed had been preliminarily stabilized, shouted immediately. He maintained the blade’s thrust, continuously channeling power to sustain the ‘Thorn Root Domain,’ unable to act elsewhere.

Wrench snapped out of his daze and scrambled toward Lingna and Ellie. Lingna also strained to drag Ellie’s body toward the nearest dark gold energy root, thick as a coiled serpent, rising from the ground. These roots radiated warm heat and tenacious energy, forming a natural barrier.

Yet the Doctor’s madness exceeded all imagination!

“Initiate… backup protocol! Extract… core sample!” The Doctor’s projection’s eyes turned icy. He abandoned detonation and settled for second best—forcibly extracting a portion of the core energy from the root-wrapped earth vein seed!

Hum!

The blue glow of the space-locking field instantly shifted—from confinement to… cutting! Countless fine, high-frequency blue energy threads materialized, like laser scalpels, precisely slicing into the fissure, severing the dark gold roots entwining the orange orb, targeting its core!

Slish! Slish!

The resilient dark gold roots were effortlessly severed and dissolved under the space-cutting threads—like hot knives through butter! The Doctor’s space technology possessed terrifying analytical and destructive power over energy structures!

“Damn it!” Lin Mo’s spirit trembled violently! Maintaining the root domain already consumed immense energy; now, under forced destruction, the backlash made his throat taste blood—he spat crimson! He desperately pushed his blade and [Seed of Life], summoning more roots to fill the gaps, but repair could not match the speed of the space-cutting threads’ destruction!

The blue space-cutting net was mere inches from the orange orb’s core!

At this critical moment!

“Cough… cough…” A weak cough came from behind the dark gold root barrier. Ellie had reopened her eyes—her gaze still unfocused, but her right hand gripped tightly another shorter fragment of corrupted wooden spike! She seemed, by some combat instinct, to sense the space-cutting threads!

With her last ounce of strength, she flung the spike toward the densest cluster of space-cutting threads!

This time, there was no attraction from corrupted earth vein energy. The spike’s flight remained feeble.

But a miracle occurred again!

As the corrupted spike entered the network of space-cutting threads, the withering energy within it—the primal essence of the Rotclaw—triggered a violent, unpredictable annihilation reaction with the Doctor’s controlled space energy!

Sizz—BOOM!!!

Like cold water dropped into scalding oil, the space-cutting threads struck by the spike twisted, snapped, and went haywire! A chain reaction erupted! The entire precise blue network flickered violently, then collapsed into a shower of blue light shards!

“Puff!” The Doctor’s projection shuddered violently, flickering nearly transparent—clearly, the forced collapse of the space-cutting network inflicted massive backlash even upon his remote projection!

“Now!” Lin Mo’s spirit surged! Ignoring the agony of backlash, he seized this once-in-a-lifetime opening and pushed his [Seed of Life] and blade to their absolute limits!

“Hold… STILL!!!”

BOOM!

Countless dark gold roots, as if obeying a command, wildly coiled and enveloped the orange orb! The thorn-marked power fully merged! The orange glow suddenly contracted and solidified—the orb shrank, hardened, and became a sphere roughly the size of a fist, perfectly round, like molten glass, its interior swirling with orange-lava veins—a [Earth Vein Heart]!

【Item: Small Earth Vein Heart (Stabilized State)】

【Status: Preliminarily bound by ‘Thorn Root Domain,’ energy stable (high purity, earth/fire attributes)】

【Can be absorbed to strengthen domain core / lord’s self / special structures. Can slowly release energy to nourish the domain.】

Success! The earth vein core had been stabilized and materialized!

Yet, just as Lin Mo’s heart swelled with triumph, preparing to withdraw his blade and root domain—

Sudden change!

At the core of the newly formed, steadily glowing orange Earth Vein Heart, a deep, abyss-like dark purple spot—like a hidden tumor—suddenly flared! It was the ultimate mark of the Rotclaw, transmitted by Lyana, from the corrupted world’s primal essence! It had not been fully purified by the roots—only temporarily suppressed!

Now, at the instant of the core’s completion, this dark purple spot erupted! An exquisitely pure, utterly decayed, and insatiable withering force—like black lightning—ripped through the surrounding orange-lava veins, becoming a streak of dark purple light that shot toward the depression’s edge, toward the Doctor’s projection!

It sought… to escape! To find a new host—or… return to its origin!

And the Doctor’s nearly transparent projection, upon seeing this dark purple streak, exploded with an incomprehensible mix of horror and ecstatic triumph! He recognized the nature of this power!

“Corruption… primal essence?!!”