Chapter 348: What Is This?

Unlike the cold fury he displayed when confronting the giant beast before, this time Xiao You's roar was filled with a… almost instinctive disgust and an extreme‑danger warning!

In its pair of star‑sapphire eyes, the silvery‑blue light was replaced by an even deeper, even more chilling dark‑silver hue, as if the eternal cold starry sky had encountered filth that must be utterly purified!

On its tiny body, the galaxy‑like patterns spun and flared wildly at an unprecedented speed.

No longer the concentrated strike against a single target, but like an imminent supernova, emitting indiscriminate, annihilating brilliance aimed at every "heterogeneous" existence!

Buzz—!

Xiao You's four claws suddenly kicked the ground, not to pounce on the monster in the fissure, but to hover instantly in mid‑air.

A dazzling dark‑silver radiance erupted around it, the light forming a tangible field that brazenly collided with the evil, murky force field spreading from the spatial fissure.

Zzzla!

Like a red‑hot branding iron plunged into ice water.

Two utterly opposite, fundamentally opposing forces clashed violently, emitting a grinding, teeth‑aching erosion sound.

Xiao You's dark‑silver radiance carried a pure, cold power of the stellar law that seemed able to erase every "non‑order" existence.

And the dark‑red corruption surging from the fissure was filled with chaos, madness, distortion, a fallen will seeking to pollute and assimilate everything!

The two forces wildly annihilated, eroded, and countered each other!

The entire Stone Chamber quivered violently, the dark‑gold patterns on the rock wall seemed activated by the clash of the two terrifying forces, flickering uneasily.

The silvery‑white protective formation wavered on the brink of collapse, its light dimming sharply!

"Jie!!!"

The twisted entity in the fissure seemed utterly enraged by Xiao You's power, letting out an even sharper, ear‑piercing howl.

The two maliciously‑coagulated tendrils suddenly accelerated, ignoring the mutual annihilation of forces, stubbornly reaching for the center of the formation!

It seemed to have judged that Xiao You's power, though restraining it, still lacked enough total force to completely block it!

Xiao You hovered in the air, the dark‑silver radiance on its body being fiercely drained in the clash with the corrupt field, the light thinning at a visibly rapid pace.

It emitted a low, strained whimper, clearly battling the entire field emanating from the fissure; for this newly‑born juvenile, the burden was immense!

It needs time! It needs energy!

It needs… more power to completely suppress and even seal this fissure!

"Energy..." Lin Yifan watched it all, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.

He saw Xiao You's struggle, saw Ling Ling writhing in pain within the formation, saw the evil tendrils about to breach Xiao You's radiance!

Something must be done!

His gaze swept the Stone Chamber abruptly! The dark‑gold patterns on the rock wall… a kindred force…

A mad thought surged again!

"Xiao You! Catch it!" Lin Yifan let out a hoarse roar, using all his will to drive the dormant dark‑gold vines on his right arm!

Buzz!

The dark‑gold vines lit up again, responding to his will, but this time, not a savage attack, but… extraction and transmission!

Lin Yifan forcefully pressed his right arm against the stone wall beside him, which was covered in dark‑gold patterns.

He no longer tried to suppress the vines' devouring instinct; instead, he actively guided them, using himself as a bridge, crazily drawing the ancient, dense energy hidden within the stone wall that shares the vines' origin!

"Ugh—ahhh!" Unimaginable agony surged again.

The energy within the stone wall was far more ferocious and far more obscure than the spirit crystal.

His right arm instantly split open, blood gushing, as if it would completely disintegrate in the next second.

But he gritted his teeth and stubbornly withstood the onslaught of that energy.

He channeled the complex energy flow—drawn from the vines, initially transmuted by his right arm, mingling his own qi and blood with the faint white light of the Dawnbreak Sword—through the cold spiritual link, recklessly and without reservation, toward the hovering Xiao You.

This was not an attack, but… a supply! A desperate, all‑or‑nothing support.

Xiao You, still struggling against the corrupt field, jolted violently.

What came through the spiritual link was no longer a simple thought, but a surging torrent infused with Lin Yifan's indomitable will and kindred power.

This power did not perfectly match its stellar origin, even a bit discordant, yet the trace of dark‑gold cocoon's kindred aura and Lin Yifan's resolute, all‑or‑nothing will became the best catalyst and supplement.

The once‑dim dark‑silver radiance on Xiao You surged explosively, like a fire pit doused with fuel.

Zzzla!

The dark‑silver radiance instantly overpowered the murky dark‑red field, like scorching sunlight dispersing thick fog, forcing the evil aura from the fissure to retreat step by step.

The two protruding malicious tendrils, as if scorched by raging fire, hissed, spewing thick black smoke, and snapped back sharply near the fissure.

"Jie‑ao!" The twisted entity in the fissure let out a painful, enraged howl.

Xiao You seized the chance, its deep star‑sapphire eyes snapping to lock onto the spatial fissure.

It opened its mouth, no longer spitting a beam, but emitting an ancient, solemn syllable.

Buzz!

A more intricate, more profound three‑dimensional rune composed of countless tiny dark‑silver star sparks instantly coalesced before Xiao You.

The rune brimmed with suppression, confinement, and purification, bearing the ancient stellar law's power, slowly rotating like a miniature stellar dial.

Go!

Xiao You thrust its claw sharply, the dark‑silver stellar rune blazing into a streak of light, instantly imprinting onto the spatial fissure flowing with dark‑red glow.

Crack… a sound like glass shattering rang out.

The ever‑expanding, twisted spatial fissure, as if branded with a red‑hot seal, had its edge‑flowing dark‑red light instantly solidify and dim!

The fissure itself began to contract and seal at a visibly rapid pace!

The howl of the twisted entity within the fissure grew even more mournful and resentful, it frantically battered the closing fissure and the suppressing stellar rune, trying to break through again, but all was futile.

The stellar rune stood as solid as a mountain, emitting pure, annihilating starlight, mercilessly purifying all the overflowed filth.

Finally, after a howl of extreme resentment, as if from the abyss's end, the spatial fissure vanished completely. The dark‑silver stellar rune likewise faded slowly into the air.

The suffocating evil will and frantic mutterings inside the Stone Chamber receded like a tide.

Plop.

Xiao You fell from midair, the glow of the star‑river pattern on its body dimming to the extreme, its breath becoming very weak, clearly the sealing strike just now had consumed most of its power and may even have tapped some primal source.

It lay on the ground, its tiny body gently rising and falling, the Star‑Nebula eye half‑closed, looking utterly exhausted.

Lin Yifan also collapsed to the ground as if drained, his right arm a blur of flesh and blood, the excruciating pain and over‑exertion of power blackening his vision, nearly causing him to faint to death.

But he forced himself to retain the last thread of clarity, looking toward the center of the formation.

The silvery‑white protective formation gradually steadied; its light, though not as bright as at first, still persisted with tenacity.

Within the formation, the gentle halo emitted by Moon‑Radiance Crystallizing Grass once again enveloped Ling Ling.

Without the interference of external evil aura, Ling Ling's breathing became steady and long, the rune imprint on her forehead steadily radiating a moon‑white glow, the shattered internal organs and depleted primal source being rapidly repaired, and even her aura continued to rise slowly yet steadily!

Safe… for now.

Lin Yifan let out a long, blood‑scented sigh, his spirit relaxing, and the boundless darkness devoured his consciousness.

Just before he completely blacked out, he seemed to sense that the dark‑gold pattern on the stone wall, tinged by the fresh blood flowing over his right arm, flickered ever so faintly…