Chapter 198: Duel Land

"This should be able to send us to the core area of the altar," he analyzed, simultaneously reaching out to touch the stone pillar.

A peculiar energy fluctuation immediately spread from the contact point, the light of the stone pillar intensified suddenly, and the surrounding air began to twist and deform.

"Dier, hold on to me!" Luo En instructed, and the little Sea Sea Siren immediately grabbed his sleeve tightly.

The next moment, a strong blue light enveloped the two, and the scenery around them began to twist rapidly.

Their bodies were pulled by an invisible force, flying toward an unknown destination.

Meanwhile, in another area of the Bloodline Altar, Trish was struggling on the verge of life and death.

The Swamp Assembler's attacks were becoming more and more fierce, and every collision made the vine barrier she constructed sway precariously.

Worse, this terrifying creature seemed capable of absorbing the vines it destroyed, making itself even more powerful.

"Damn it... can't hold on much longer at this rate," Trish gritted her teeth, sweat already soaking the inner lining of her robe.

Although her Forest Elf bloodline gave her an advantage in plant manipulation, most of the plants in this environment had already been polluted by Abyssal power.

They were slow to respond to her commands, and every summoning consumed a large amount of mental power.

In desperation, Trish decided to take a risk and try a new method.

"If they have already been polluted by the Abyss, then perhaps..."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and changed her summoning method.

No longer trying to resist the Abyssal power in those plants, but attempting to resonate with it, borrowing rather than repelling that abnormal energy.

To her surprise, those originally sluggish swamp plants suddenly became abnormally active!

Countless vines with purple-black light emerged from the depths of the swamp, ten times more than before.

"So that's it... these Abyssal plants are more sensitive to specific summoning methods!"

Trish's eyes lit up, and a glimmer of hope surged in her heart.

She immediately adjusted her strategy; her mental power no longer simply commanded those plants, but merged into them like flowing water, guiding them to act according to her will.

The Swamp Assembler seemed to sense the threat and let out a roar of rage, accelerating toward Trish.

But every step of it was hindered by countless newborn vines; those vines were not only astonishing in number but also exceptionally tough, even capable of regenerating rapidly after being destroyed.

"This regenerative ability... completely unlike ordinary plants!"

Trish was surprised to find that these swamp plants had astonishing vitality, making her natural spell effects enhanced several times over.

Taking this opportunity, Trish quickly took a bottle of emerald green potion from her storage bag and drank it without hesitation.

This was a bloodline excitation potion specially prepared for her by Instructor Corinna, which could significantly enhance her affinity for natural elements in a short time.

The effect of the medicine was almost immediate—the Forest Elf bloodline power in her body was instantly activated, a layer of light green halo appeared around her, and tiny leaf-vein-like patterns appeared on the surface of her skin.

Trish adapted to her surging power while being surprised at the peculiar connection formed between herself and these Abyssal plants.

She could feel the existence of every plant in the swamp, as if they had all become extensions of her body, under her control.

"Now!" Trish drew a complex symbol on her chest with both hands and chanted a spell.

Countless thick vines gathered from all directions of the swamp, binding the Swamp Assembler completely like a giant net.

No matter how it struggled or roared, it could not break free from this cage woven from Abyssal plants.

Trish did not waste this opportunity and sprinted toward the stone tablet.

At the same time, she keenly noticed some special plants in the swamp, as well as tissue fragments dropped during the Swamp Assembler's struggle.

"These materials... they emit unusual energy fluctuations."

Trish stopped, quickly used an isolation container to collect a few seeds of swamp plants, and a small piece of Swamp Assembler tissue.

These seeds emitted a faint purple light in her hand; whenever she injected a trace of mental power into her fingertips, they would immediately respond, forming a miniature energy circuit.

"As a spellcasting medium, the effect should be quite astonishing."

Trish carefully put these materials away and continued to sprint toward the stone tablet.

When her hand finally touched the surface of the stone tablet, an indescribable sense of relief surged in her heart.

The stone tablet immediately lit up with dazzling light, enveloping her within it.

In the process of teleportation, Trish felt those newly collected materials in her pocket, and she had already begun to conceive how to apply them to her spell system.

"Perhaps Luo En would be interested in these materials."

She thought: "With his kind of material identification ability, he should be able to better utilize the value of these Abyssal materials."

In the canyon area, Holt's situation was even more dangerous.

The Bone Worm's drill-like mouthparts rotated and slammed into the Earth Elemental Colossus, making a harsh metallic friction sound.

The colossus's right arm was completely severed in this attack, and gravel and mud splashed everywhere.

Even so, Holt remained calm, continuously injecting mental power, letting the colossus continue to fight.

"This power... simply cheating," he whispered through gritted teeth, his expression already tinged with despair.

The Bone Worm's combat power far exceeded his expectations.

That drill attack that could easily crush all matter had caused such huge damage to the Earth Elemental Colossus, which was known for its sturdiness.

Most despairing was that the Bone Worm's speed was completely disproportionate to its size.

Its mobility on the ground and underground was astonishing, making it difficult for Holt's colossus to capture its trajectory.

"This kind of enemy, advanced apprentices can hardly confront..."

Holt even began to feel that he might die here today: "Just like the manticore in the gladiatorial contest, but now it's just me alone..."

At this time, the colossus was already dilapidated:

The right arm was completely lost, the left leg below the knee was severely damaged, and there was a large hole in the chest, with the energy core faintly visible.

And the Bone Worm seemed to have just warmed up its body, constantly letting out deafening roars, circling the altar, looking for the next opportunity to attack.

"Must die at this rate..." Holt quickly thought of a countermeasure.

Confronting the Bone Worm head-on was clearly unwise; he needed to find another way.

Carefully observing the environment around the altar, Holt noticed that the seven stone pillars seemed to form some kind of energy array.

Whenever the Bone Worm approached a stone pillar, that red crystal would glow slightly.

"These stone pillars... might be some kind of defensive mechanism!" Holt had a flash of inspiration.

He ordered the colossus to grab a huge rock and throw it at the nearest stone pillar with all its strength.

After the red crystal on top of the stone pillar was hit, it immediately erupted with a dazzling red light, shooting directly at the Bone Worm.

The Bone Worm let out a painful shriek, its body bouncing up violently, clearly having been injured.

"Sure enough!" Holt's eyes lit up, and he immediately changed tactics.

He no longer let the colossus confront the Bone Worm directly, but directed it to attack the crystals on top of the remaining six stone pillars.

The Bone Worm seemed to have realized Holt's intention and frantically charged toward the colossus, trying to stop it.

A race against time began—the colossus dragged its damaged body, dodging the Bone Worm's attacks while trying hard to trigger the remaining stone pillars;

While the Bone Worm pursued at all costs, trying to destroy it completely before the colossus completed the task.

Holt was fully focused, continuously injecting mental power into the colossus, even though this would make him bear a huge mental burden.

When the sixth stone pillar was activated, the Bone Worm was already close at hand, its malicious giant mouth almost swallowing the colossus's head.

At the critical moment, the colossus used its last bit of strength and lunged at the last stone pillar.

"Boom!"

The colossus and the Bone Worm collided with the stone pillar together; while the red crystal was activated, the colossus was also completely destroyed, turning into countless gravel and scattering all over the ground.

However, as all seven stone pillars were activated, the entire altar began to emit a dazzling red light.

The seven beams of light converged in the center, forming a huge energy vortex.

The Bone Worm was shocked by the sudden light, letting out a painful hiss, its body twitching uncontrollably.

And Holt took this opportunity to quickly rush to the central platform, simultaneously beckoning to quickly recover the colossus's core.

The destruction of the colossus would only consume a large amount of his magic power; as long as the energy core fused with the "Heart of Earth," the runner-up prize of the gladiatorial contest, was not broken, he would have a chance to reconstruct the colossus again.

And the moment Holt's feet stepped onto the central platform, a powerful energy fluctuation immediately wrapped him, and the surrounding scenery began to twist and deform.

At the last moment before being teleported away, he looked back at the huge worm that was constantly writhing, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart:

"To succeed is really a fluke. Among the people of the Black Fog School, except for me and Trish, others are probably difficult to break through the guardians of this level alone..."

But then, Holt remembered the potionist Luo En who had shown astonishing strength in the gladiatorial contest.

"Perhaps... Luo En will be more relaxed than me."

With this vague thought, Holt's figure disappeared completely in the dazzling light, flying toward the unknown core area of the altar...

………………

Trish was the first to arrive in the core area of the Bloodline Altar.

When the dazzling light dissipated, the scene before her made her slightly stunned—the environment here was completely different from the peripheral areas.

There was no suffocating swamp, no twisted and deformed creatures, and even the oppressive feeling unique to the Abyss had eased a lot.

Instead, it was a misty, open plain, with the ground covered in rough gravel.

A slight dampness permeated the air, but there was no longer that nauseating foul odor.

"Here... almost no traces of the Abyss can be seen." Trish looked around, her brow slightly furrowed.

From the terrain, this area was circular, and the ground tilted slightly toward the center.

The overall feeling was like an arena carefully designed, specifically prepared for some kind of duel or ritual.

"It's as if someone deliberately purified this area, specifically creating a combat venue."

Her gaze passed through the fog, trying to capture more details, but the thick fog blocked her vision, and she could only see a range of dozens of meters around her.

"Must first confirm my safety, and then wait for others to arrive."

Trish took a deep breath, took a small cloth bag from her storage bag, and gently untied the knot.

Inside the bag was a special spore plant, light green in color, glowing slightly in her palm.

This was one of the special plants she had begun to intentionally cultivate after her Forest Elf bloodline awakened—Perception Spores.

They could spread with the wind and transmit information about the surrounding environment back to their owner.

"Go, my little spies."

Trish blew lightly, and those spores drifted away like tiny snowflakes, disappearing into the surrounding fog.

A moment later, she closed her eyes, her mental power established a connection with those spores, and began to receive the information they transmitted back.

Through this method, she could roughly "see" the terrain and objects within a radius of hundreds of meters.

Although not clear enough, it was enough to provide basic alert functions.

"No traces of hostile creatures... at least not now."

She breathed a sigh of relief, then fell into thought.

"The experience in the swamp area... the way those Abyssal plants responded to me was completely different from usual."

Recalling the encounter in the swamp, Trish still felt a trace of incredulity.

When she changed her summoning method, no longer repelling the Abyssal power in those plants, but attempting to resonate with that power, a miracle happened.

"The vitality of those vines... is simply beyond imagination. They are not only astonishing in number but also have extremely strong toughness and regenerative ability."

It was this special connection that allowed her to trap the Swamp Assembler and buy time for herself to head to the control point.

"This might be related to my Forest Elf bloodline; perhaps there is some connection between Abyssal plant life and natural elements that we have not yet understood?"

This discovery excited Trish.

This was also the reason why she decided to take the risk of collecting those swamp plant seeds.

They might contain secrets that could further enhance her natural spells.

Just as she was immersed in her thoughts, a new piece of information transmitted back by the spores caught her attention.

"Someone is coming!"

The girl immediately tensed up, her mental power spreading rapidly, trying to confirm the identity of the newcomer.

A few seconds later, she breathed a sigh of relief—the familiar mental fluctuation was exactly Luo En's.

But vigilance kept her from appearing immediately.

After all, in this special environment, anything could be an illusion or a trap.

She stood behind a huge rock to prevent herself from being caught off guard if the other party had malicious intent.

"Trish!" Luo En had also recognized her through mental exploration, but he did not approach rashly either.

In this environment, anything could be an illusion or a trap.

Trish clearly had the same concerns.

She stood in place, carefully examining Luo En and Dier, her eyes full of scrutiny.

"Luo En? Are you real?"

Trish's voice carried a trace of hesitation and vigilance.

Luo En did not answer immediately, but took out a specially made emblem from his arms.

This was specially issued by the school before leaving, with anti-counterfeiting engravings set by Hayek and Mo De, which were almost impossible to forge—or rather, the cost of forging was far beyond its value.

In addition, this emblem could also teleport the user out of the Bloodline Altar; of course, using it meant automatically giving up this trial.

"We agreed to meet here and form a team to face the challenges together."

Luo En said calmly, displaying the emblem in his palm; the runes on it lit up after coming into contact with his mental power, forming a unique energy ripple.

Trish's expression relaxed, and she took out an identical emblem from the inside of her robe.

When the two emblems sensed each other, they emitted a faint resonance light respectively.

Trish finally confirmed Luo En's identity, a look of relief appearing on her face: "It really is you, sorry, I had to be careful, this place is too strange."

"It's okay, I thought the same," Luo En nodded, looking around:

"Although this place looks much 'more normal' than the peripheral areas, the more so, the more vigilant we must be."

The little Sea Sea Siren Dier saw that it was a friendly party, and also breathed a sigh of relief, the water elements in her hands slowly dissipating:

"Phew, scared me to death! I thought we were going to fight again."

Trish's gaze fell on Dier, somewhat curious:

"It is said that only the champion of the Bloody Gladiatorial Contest is qualified to bring an assistant into the Bloodline Altar; it seems you really used this privilege."

"Indeed," Luo En nodded slightly: "With Dier here, it will be much easier to handle some dangerous situations. How is your situation? What did you encounter?"

Trish pondered slightly and briefly informed him of her experience in the swamp area.

When she mentioned how the vines polluted by the Abyss counterattacked the Swamp Assembler under her guidance, a flash of surprise crossed Luo En's eyes.

"You mean, the plants originally polluted by the Abyss not only didn't repel you under your guidance, but became abnormally obedient?" Luo En asked thoughtfully.

"Yes," Trish nodded, excitement flashing in her eyes:

"At first I was also very surprised. Generally speaking, Abyssal-polluted creatures will repel normal elemental power, but when I tried not to resist, but to form some kind of resonance with that power, the situation was completely different."

She took a small glass bottle from her storage bag, inside which were a few seeds emitting purple light:

"These are seeds collected from those vines; I believe they are of great value for studying the relationship between the Abyss and natural elements."

Luo En's gaze was immediately attracted by those seeds.

Such special samples from the Abyss were undoubtedly of high value for his current research.

He took out a few bottles of recovery potions and a bottle of "Mental Shield" in exchange, trading for the seeds in Trish's hand, as well as that piece of living tissue from the "Swamp Assembler."

"I also encountered some interesting situations on my side."

Luo En briefly described his experience in the "Activated Ruins" and the twisted battlefield, specifically mentioning the black giant formed after the fusion of many Shadow Nightmares.

But the specific combat details were just mentioned in one sentence, only saying that he and Dier worked together to hold it off, and then quickly entered the control point.

Just as the two were exchanging information, Trish's spores transmitted new information back.

"Someone else is coming." She immediately became vigilant, but then relaxed: "It's Holt."

Before long, Holt's figure appeared in the fog.

He was already thin, and now he looked even more exhausted, but his eyes remained alert.

Seeing Luo En and Trish, and after verifying each other's identities, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally found you," Holt walked closer, his voice tinged with fatigue: "This area is weird; I once thought I was lost."

The three briefly exchanged their information.

Holt described in detail his fierce battle with the Bone Worm in the canyon, and how he cleverly used the energy array formed by the stone pillars to repel the enemy.

"These are the crystallized bones and worm molts I collected from there,"

Holt took out two sealed containers: "Unfortunately, my Earth Elemental Colossus was severely damaged in the battle, and only the core was preserved."

Luo En took the containers, observed them for a moment, and then his eyes lit up:

"These crystallized bones are of extraordinary value. They not only have extremely strong structural stability but can also resonate with elemental energy."

He turned his gaze to Holt: "If used to repair your Earth Elemental Colossus, not only can it be rapidly reshaped, but it might also significantly enhance its defense and flexibility."

Holt heard this, his face showing surprise: "Really? That's great!"

He pondered for a moment and made a decision:

"As a token of gratitude, let's split these materials three-seven. After all, in this environment, helping each other can increase the chance of survival."

Then, he handed about one-third of the crystallized bones and worm molts to Luo En:

"Your identification ability is indeed impressive."

Luo En carefully put away these precious materials, thanking him calmly on the surface, but already calculating in his heart.

"If these Abyssal creature tissues are absorbed by the substitute puppet, perhaps it can further enhance its ability."

His gaze swept over the two companions, and he suddenly realized a problem: "We are all here, what about the other two sequence members?"

Holt shook his head: "Didn't see them; perhaps they chose other paths, or... failed to break through the blockade of the peripheral areas."

Trish's expression was grave: "Perhaps we should wait for a while? After all, there is strength in numbers."

"We can't wait any longer," Luo En pointed to the fog in the distance: "Look over there, the fog is changing."

Indeed, the fog in the distance was slowly receding, and the outline of a huge building was vaguely visible.

"This should be the core of the Bloodline Altar,"

Luo En speculated: "Since the fog is starting to recede, it means the trial has entered the next stage, we must move forward."

The three looked at each other, nodded tacitly, and walked toward the looming building together.

As they approached, the fog became thinner, and the outline of the building became clearer.

It was a giant enclosure in the shape of an arena, made entirely of a translucent dark red crystal.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 199 =====