Chapter 54: The Emerald's Echo, the Thorn's Barrier, and the Annihilation's Reflection

"Take root… in the earth… life… protection… thorns… this is… the Boundary…"

"Use the heart as guide… use the blade as key… open… the Emerald Gate…"

The ancient will, transmitted through the resonance between the Purifying Water Bottle shard and the "Vein Arbiter," exploded in Lin Mo's mind like the tolling of a great bell! There was no time to think about the will's source—the giant claw phantom of the Rot Claw tearing through space was already within striking distance! The withering aura, like tangible poisonous miasma, corroded the thorn roots and ate away at the orange-red radiance emanating from the Heart of the Vein!

"Heart of Thorns—Domain Barrier!" Lin Mo, inspired by a flash of insight, poured all his will, all his strength, and his unwavering belief in protecting this newborn land entrusted to him by Priestess Liyana into the war-blade in his hands!

Hum—!!!

The "Vein Arbiter" let out an unprecedented roar! On the blade, the orange-red earthfire patterns, the emerald life-light threads, the dark-gold thorn runes, and a wisp of newborn, pure green hue originating from Xiang Lingna's Purifying Water Bottle shard—four colors of light wove and spun madly together! The thorn runes at the guard broke free from the blade, transforming into a massive thorn emblem composed of four-colored energy, hovering above the hollow!

At the same time, at the edge of the hollow, the green moss that Xiang Lingna had inadvertently stirred into growth, along with the extremely faint traces of life aura lingering in the more distant scorched earth, seemed to answer a supreme summons, turning into scattered specks of emerald light that, like a hundred streams returning to the sea, flowed into the massive thorn emblem!

The power of the entire "Thorn Root Domain" was thoroughly activated! All the dark-gold energy roots bursting from the ground were no longer simple energy constructs—their surfaces were instantly covered by a flowing, emerald-clear energy network! The roots grew wildly, intertwining and spreading, no longer confined to the center of the hollow, but like a living emerald thorn forest, instantly covering the entire edge of the hollow and forming an emerald thorn barrier over a dozen meters high and immensely thick! On the barrier's surface, the massive four-colored thorn emblem slowly rotated, exuding an aura of solemnity and sanctity!

The giant claw phantom of the Rot Claw tearing through space, carrying the momentum to destroy everything, slammed viciously into this newborn emerald thorn barrier!

Boom—!!!

There was no expected crushing collapse! Only a muffled, heart-stopping impact! The emerald thorn barrier trembled violently, the emerald energy network on its surface rippling like water, countless tiny thorn spikes shattered and vaporized under the claw's force! But the barrier's main body—those dark-gold roots covered by the emerald network—displayed astonishing resilience! Like ancient divine trees rooted in the earth, they were inexhaustible; wherever they broke, new roots immediately coiled and grew, coated in emerald luster! The four-colored thorn emblem on the barrier erupted with brilliant light, forming a powerful purifying force field that madly wore away the withering aura carried by the giant claw!

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!

The dense withering poisonous miasma clashed violently with the emerald purifying force field and was annihilated, emitting a piercing screech! The Rot Claw's giant claw phantom was firmly blocked! It was even scorched by the purifying force field, sending up plumes of black smoke! It let out a soundless roar filled with fury and astonishment, madly increasing its power; the spatial rift was torn wider, more withering aura poured in, but the emerald thorn barrier, like an impassable chasm, did not budge!

"We blocked it! By the Wrench Lord's Forge! We really blocked it!" Wrench was so excited he was babbling incoherently.

"So… so amazing…" Xiang Lingna stared at the barrier as if it were a miracle, her little mouth slightly agape.

Copperbeard gripped his forging hammer, a fierce light blazing in his sharp hawk-like eyes: "Emerald thorns… a barrier of life… this is the true way of protection! Priestess Liyana didn't misjudge her man!"

Lin Mo leaned on his war-blade, gasping violently. Maintaining this "Domain Barrier" consumed a tremendous amount, but his heart was filled with an indescribable excitement! He had gambled correctly! Using the Heart of the Vein as the source, the Arbiter's Blade as the key, the life-essence aura stirred by Xiang Lingna as the guide, and combined with Priestess Liyana's will of thorns, he had finally constructed this ultimate barrier to protect the territory!

However, the Rot Claw's terror far exceeded imagination! It seemed utterly enraged; from deep within the spatial rift came an even deeper, more savage roar! The blocked giant claw phantom abruptly withdrew, and then two, three… a full five terrifying giant claw phantoms covered in rotting bark and crystal clusters, like demonic claws reaching out from hell, carrying even more tremendous withering power, clawed viciously at the emerald thorn barrier!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Five consecutive devastating impacts! The entire emerald thorn barrier shook violently, the emerald network on its surface dimming and shattering in large patches! The dark-gold roots covering it groaned under the unbearable load, the sound of snapping endless! The light of the four-colored thorn emblem on the barrier rapidly dimmed! The tremendous impact force even penetrated the barrier, shaking the hollow until sand and stones flew, and the vein fissures wobbled!

"Puh!" Lin Mo suffered the backlash and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood! The power maintaining the barrier plummeted! The energy reserves of the 【Seed of Life】 plummeted wildly! The pulse of the Heart of the Vein also became disordered!

"Hold on, boss!" Wrench was hopping with anxiety.

"Lin Mo!" Sister Ai Li struggled to stand, silver light flickering in her eyes, attempting to mobilize the newly calmed lunar essence within her to help, but it triggered a bout of severe pain and energy disorder.

Copperbeard let out an angry roar and slammed his forging hammer hard into the ground! "Damn it! We need stronger power to support the barrier!"

Stronger power? Where else could it come from?! Lin Mo's heart was frantic with anxiety. The Rot Claw launching attacks across planes was already this terrifying; once the barrier shattered, the territory would instantly become a dead land!

Just at this precarious moment, the Purifying Water Bottle shard on Xiang Lingna's chest lit up again! This time, the green light was no longer angry, but carried a sense of… guidance? Her small hand unconsciously pointed toward the center of the hollow, at the "Starlight Moss" nurtured within the root domain, cared for by her, which had absorbed the otherworldly purified water! At this moment, under the glow of the emerald barrier and the pulse of the Heart of the Vein, the golden veins on the leaves of that pale-gold plant were radiating an unprecedented light, faintly pointing toward… a specific spot deep within the vein fissure!

At the same time, the "Vein Arbiter" in Lin Mo's hands also transmitted a strange pulse; the sword tip uncontrollably shifted slightly, pointing toward what Xiang Lingna indicated—on the side wall deep within the vein fissure, near the Heart of the Vein, an unremarkable rock emitting faint green undulations!

"There… there's something!" Xiang Lingna's voice carried a note of certainty.

No hesitation! Lin Mo forcibly diverted a wisp of power, controlling a thorn root covered in emerald network to slither like a spirit snake into the fissure, precisely coiling around that rock!

Crack!

The rock was easily crushed by the root! An irregular crystal, about the size of a palm, emerald green and seemingly translucent, with liquid-like life radiance flowing within, was exposed in the orange-red light of the vein!

【Item: Heart of Emerald Fragment (Faint)】

【Status: Long-nurtured by vein energy, contains pure life essence】

【Effect: Can greatly amplify life/nature-type ability effects, can slowly purify withering contamination, can serve as a high-grade energy core (requires a vessel).】

The Heart of Emerald! The natural sacred relic that Priestess Liyana had mentioned, existing within the Emerald Glade! Though it was only a tiny fragment, carried here by an earthfire eruption at some unknown time and buried deep within the vein, it was now sensed together by Xiang Lingna and the war-blade in this desperate situation!

"That's it!" Copperbeard's eyes lit up!

Lin Mo immediately commanded the thorn roots to roll this emerald fragment, which radiated a tremendous aura of life, out of the fissure! The moment the fragment was exposed to the air, the immense life force instantly spread outward like sweet rain falling upon scorched earth! The crumbling emerald thorn barrier seemed to receive the most powerful reinforcement; the dimming emerald network instantly regained its luster, becoming even more brilliant! Broken roots regenerated wildly! The four-colored thorn emblem on the barrier blazed brightly, and the purifying force field surged several times over!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Rot Claw's subsequent attacks struck the barrier again, but it was like hitting an iron wall! Emerald light blazed, purifying power surged, and the withering aura on the giant claw phantoms was scorched and peeled away in large swathes! Even the spatial rift, under the impact of this powerful life and purifying force, began slowly… to heal!

The Rot Claw let out an even more furious yet slightly unwilling roar! The five giant claw phantoms became ethereal and unstable under the barrier's intense light! It seemed to realize that, attacking across planes, it could not destroy this barrier—fused with the power of the vein, thorns, lunar essence, and the Heart of Emerald fragment—in a short time! If it continued, its will projection might even be severely wounded or purified!

A howl brimming with endless venom and greed pierced through space; the five giant claw phantoms abruptly withdrew into the spatial rift! The dense withering aura receded like a tide, and the torn spatial rift, under the illumination of the emerald light, rapidly healed and vanished!

The Rot Claw… had retreated!

The hollow fell deathly silent, leaving only the slowly flowing light of the emerald thorn barrier and the rough and heavy gasps of the survivors.

"We won… we… held it…" Wrench collapsed onto the ground in a heap.

Xiang Lingna looked at the flowing emerald light on the barrier, then at the Purifying Water Bottle shard in her hand that had lost its luster, her little face filled with exhaustion and relief.

Sister Ai Li clutched her chest, feeling the lunar essence within her soothed by the emerald aura, and looked at Lin Mo and the barrier with a complicated gaze.

Copperbeard walked to Lin Mo's side, patted his shoulder, and said with unprecedented solemnity: "Kid, well done! Priestess Liyana's sacrifice… was worth it! This barrier… this fragment… is hope!"

Lin Mo leaned on his war-blade, looking at the warm Heart of Emerald fragment in his hand, feeling the solid sense of protection emanating from the barrier, and gazing toward the direction of the healed spatial rift. The Rot Claw's retreat was only temporary; it would never give up. And the Doctor's "Seed of Annihilation" hung over them like a sword.

He raised the Heart of Emerald fragment high; the emerald light illuminated his resolute face: "Heart of Thorns, never falls!"

However, just as everyone was immersed in the afterglow of victory, no one noticed that in the darkest corner of the ruins at the edge of the hollow, a twisted shadow squirmed silently like a living thing. Within the shadow, two extremely tiny "eyes" flickering with cold, inorganic red light were silently recording the light of the emerald barrier, the pulse of the Heart of the Vein, and the emerald fragment in Lin Mo's hand. A wisp of data stream, faint to the extreme and carrying an absolute sense of reason and calculation, like a ghost, penetrated the emerald thorn barrier's powerful life and purifying force field, and quietly vanished into the depths of the wasteland...

The Doctor's "eyes" had never left.