Dawn's faint light filtered through the gaps in the tent. Ning Xiaochuan slowly opened his eyes. His chest still ached dully, but it was much better than yesterday. Carefully turning his head, he saw that Su Linger was still asleep, her silver hair spread across the crude pillow like a pool of moonlight. The Sacred Spirit Dragon was curled in the hollow of her neck, its little belly rising and falling with each breath.
Ning Xiaochuan got up as quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb them. But the moment he moved, Su Linger opened her eyes.
"Morning." Her voice was still heavy with sleep, but a gentle curve had already formed at her lips.
The Sacred Spirit Dragon woke as well, giving a huge yawn that revealed two rows of tiny fangs. It shook its scales, spread its west wing, then affectionately rubbed its cheek against Ning Xiaochuan's.
"How do you feel?" Ning Xiaochuan asked softly.
Su Linger sat up and rolled her shoulders. "Much better than yesterday." She pulled up her sleeve, revealing the golden patterns on her arm. "These patterns seem to have faded a little."
Sure enough, Ning Xiaochuan noticed that the patterns on his own body were no longer so glaring. They had blended into his skin like some ancient totem. He tried to circulate his Sacred Source Power and was surprised to find the energy flowing far more smoothly than he had expected.
"I can use source energy now." He held out his palm, and a wisp of golden light slithered across it like a tiny snake.
Su Linger tried to summon her Profound Ice Power as well. A thread of icy blue aura spilled from her fingertips. "Me too, but..." She suddenly frowned. "The nature of the power seems to have changed."
Ning Xiaochuan leaned closer and saw fine Golden Threads mixed within that aura, extremely similar to the Sacred Source Power within him. Even stranger, the small puff of Dragon Breath the Sacred Spirit Dragon exhaled shared the same trait—gold and blue intertwined, with a hint of milky white.
"Our powers are seeping into each other." Ning Xiaochuan fell into thought. "It may be the result of the Primal Covenant being deeply activated."
Footsteps sounded outside the tent, followed by Star Radiance's voice. "Your Highness, are you awake?"
"Come in," Ning Xiaochuan answered.
Star Radiance lifted the tent flap, carrying a wooden tray with three steaming bowls of porridge and several small dishes of food. Seeing that all three of them could move freely, surprise flashed through the old man's eyes. "You recovered faster than expected!"
He placed the tray on a makeshift wooden table. "Eat something first, then... there's something you need to see."
Ning Xiaochuan heard something unusual in Star Radiance's tone. "What happened?"
"It's not bad news, but... it's very strange." Star Radiance hesitated. "I'll tell you after you finish eating."
Breakfast was far more plentiful than last night's. Rare medicinal herbs had been added to the porridge, giving it a fragrant, lingering sweetness. The Sacred Spirit Dragon had no interest in the porridge, but it devoured all the dried meat among the side dishes.
After breakfast, Star Radiance led the three of them out of the tent. The sight outside left Ning Xiaochuan dazed for a moment—dozens of tents and simple wooden huts had already been built around the ruins of the Sacred Source Tower. People moved busily back and forth in orderly streams. Farther away, craftsmen were clearing the ruins in preparation for rebuilding.
"So many people..." Su Linger said in surprise.
"They came from all over to help," Star Radiance explained. "Every part of the Sacred Source Land has sent craftsmen and supplies."
Sure enough, Ning Xiaochuan noticed that the crowd wore all sorts of different clothing. Some came from snow mountain tribes, some from desert city-states, and there were even several forest elves. When they saw Ning Xiaochuan and the others, they stopped their work and bowed respectfully, their eyes filled with reverence.
"Messengers of Light!" A little girl broke free from her mother's hand and ran over to offer the Sacred Spirit Dragon a small flower. Little One happily chirped, "Goo Chu," and rubbed its nose against the girl's cheek, making her giggle.
The warm scene made Ning Xiaochuan's heart soften. But Star Radiance soon guided them through the crowd to a heavily guarded tent.
"The patrol discovered this in the ruins last night." Star Radiance signaled for a guard to lift the tent flap. "We thought you should see it."
At the center of the tent stood a Stone Platform, upon which rested an irregular Black Crystal fragment about the size of a palm. Even from a distance, Ning Xiaochuan could sense the evil energy contained within it—exactly like the portal in Shadow Valley.
"A World Devourer crystal?" Su Linger took half a step back warily.
"Not entirely." Star Radiance shook his head. "Look here."
He pointed to the crystal's fractured surface, where a nearly invisible golden thread ran through it, extremely similar to the patterns on Ning Xiaochuan and the others.
"This is..." Ning Xiaochuan leaned in for a closer look, then suddenly felt dizzy. The golden thread inside the crystal seemed to resonate with the Sacred Source Power in his body!
"Careful!" Star Radiance hurriedly supported him. "It reacts to Sacred Source Power."
Ning Xiaochuan steadied himself, astonished to discover that the golden thread within the crystal was faintly glowing, pulsing as though alive. Even stranger, the patterns on his body began flashing in sync.
"It's responding to you!" Su Linger grabbed his arm. "Something's wrong..."
The Sacred Spirit Dragon suddenly flew forward, curiously sniffed the crystal, then unexpectedly breathed out a small puff of Dragon Breath. Golden-blue flames enveloped the crystal, and the golden thread inside instantly became several times brighter!
"Stop!" Star Radiance hurriedly tried to stop it, but it was already too late.
The crystal shook violently. A beam of golden light shot from it and formed a blurry image at the top of the tent—an unfamiliar starry sky, countless stars arranged in a bizarre pattern. A deep voice echoed from the image:
"Primal... fallen... Void... Master..."
The image vanished as soon as the voice ended. The crystal dimmed as well, and the golden thread stopped glowing.
The tent fell deathly silent. Ning Xiaochuan and Su Linger looked at each other, both seeing shock and confusion in the other's eyes.
"What does that mean?" Su Linger broke the silence.
Star Radiance's expression was grave. "I'm not sure, but 'Primal fallen' may refer to the legend of the Primal Dragon's death."
"A legend?" Ning Xiaochuan pressed. "It didn't die naturally?"
The ancient tomes of the Sacred Origin Tribe recorded that the Primal Dragon had been killed by some kind of existence." Star Radiance lowered his voice. "An ancient evil known as the Void Master."
Ning Xiaochuan recalled the voice in his dream—This is only the beginning. Could it have been referring to this Void Master?
"Then this crystal..."
"It may be some sort of communication device," Star Radiance guessed. "Connected to the World Devourers and whatever stands behind them."
The Sacred Spirit Dragon suddenly chirped, "Goo Chu," and flew onto Ning Xiaochuan's shoulder, nervously clutching his collar. At the same time, Ning Xiaochuan felt an inexplicable palpitation, and the patterns on his body flashed once more.
"Someone's coming." He looked outside the tent alertly.
Sure enough, moments later, a guard ran over in a panic. "Report! There's an abnormality in the Teleportation Array to Open Source Continent!"
The three followed Star Radiance to the hastily built Teleportation Platform. The cross-continent Teleportation Array that had originally been located within the Sacred Source Tower had now been moved to an open area, maintained by twelve mages.
At the platform center, space was twisting. Someone was clearly teleporting over from the other end.
"Stay alert!" Star Radiance ordered, and the Guards immediately raised their weapons.
But Ning Xiaochuan raised a hand, signaling them to relax. "I sense a familiar aura."
Sure enough, when the teleportation was complete, Yun Yi appeared on the platform, looking utterly bedraggled. Her silver hair was disheveled, and her armor bore numerous wounds, yet her gaze remained sharp.
"Your Highness!" The moment she saw Ning Xiaochuan, she dropped to one knee. "Something happened on Open Source Continent!"
Ning Xiaochuan helped her up. "Take it slow. What happened?"
Yun Yi caught her breath. "Three days ago, the remnants of the Black Tide raided Tianyuan Sect! True Man Xuanyu was seriously injured, and Lei Lie and Mu Qing have gone missing!"
"What?!" Su Linger's face turned pale. "Master..."
"He's still alive, but his condition is not good." Yun Yi continued. "The leader of the attackers was Han Li. He... became different."
She took out a Memory Crystal and activated it, revealing an image. Han Li stood atop the ruins of Tianyuan Sect, his entire body covered in black crystal armor. His right eye had completely transformed into a black hole, while his left eye glimmered with a strange red light. Most unsettling of all, a crystal extremely similar to the one in the tent was embedded in his chest, only much larger.
"He calls himself the Eye of the Void." Yun Yi's voice trembled. "He said he would open the true Primal Gate."
Ning Xiaochuan's heart lurched—Void again! It perfectly matched the message that had come from the crystal.
"There's something even stranger." Yun Yi brought up another image. "Look at this."
The scene shifted to the skies above Qingyun City. Two moons hung abnormally close together, and one of them was actually changing color, gradually turning from silvery white to dark red!
"The blood-stained twin moon phenomenon has reappeared on Open Source Continent?" Star Radiance could hardly believe it. "That's impossible! The lunar phases of two worlds shouldn't be synchronized!"
"But it really happened," Yun Yi said firmly. "And Han Li announced that when both moons are completely stained with blood, the real game will begin."
Ning Xiaochuan and Su Linger exchanged a look. Both saw resolve in the other's eyes.
"We have to go back," Ning Xiaochuan said gravely.
Star Radiance wanted to object. "Your Highness, your body has not fully recovered..."
"There's no time." Ning Xiaochuan interrupted him. "If Han Li is truly connected to that Void Master, the consequences will be unimaginable."
He looked at Su Linger and the Sacred Spirit Dragon. "You can stay here and continue recovering..."
"Don't be stupid." Su Linger shot him a look. "We're in this together."
The Sacred Spirit Dragon also protested with a chirp of "Goo Chu," flapping all four tiny wings at once to show that it had fully recovered.
Knowing he could not persuade them, Star Radiance could only sigh. "At least wait until tomorrow to leave. Make preparations today."
Ning Xiaochuan nodded in agreement. They did need more intelligence and equipment. Especially that strange crystal—perhaps they could still uncover more information from it.
Night fell. Ning Xiaochuan sat alone in the research tent, ancient tomes provided by Star Radiance spread before him. The Sacred Spirit Dragon was curled up nearby, dozing, while Su Linger had gone to help prepare supplies for their departure tomorrow.
The contents recorded in the ancient tomes were deeply unsettling. The Void Master was an existence even older than the World Devourers. It had lurked on the dark side of the universe even before the Primal Dragon was born. It possessed no fixed form and instead fed on all kinds of "concepts"—lies, betrayal, despair... The Sacred Origin Tribe called it the "cancer of all things."
Most horrifying of all, the ancient tomes stated that the Void Master could not be destroyed through conventional means, because it was itself the embodiment of "nothingness." Even when the Primal Dragon sacrificed itself, it had only managed to seal it temporarily.
"So the World Devourers are merely puppets..." Ning Xiaochuan muttered. "The real enemy is it."
Just as he was thinking, a sudden commotion erupted outside the tent. Ning Xiaochuan rose alertly. The Sacred Spirit Dragon woke at once as well, its scales standing on end.
"Your Highness!" A guard rushed in frantically. "The crystal... it suddenly..."
Ning Xiaochuan rushed out before he could finish. A crowd had already gathered outside the tent holding the crystal, with Star Radiance and Su Linger among them.
"What happened?" Ning Xiaochuan pushed his way to the front.
Inside the tent, the Black Crystal was floating in midair and shaking violently. The golden thread across its surface throbbed like blood vessels, forming a blurry pattern—a map of some sort.
"It's a map of Open Source Continent!" Su Linger recognized it. "Look, that's where Tianyuan Sect is!"
Sure enough, the outline traced by the Golden Threads was extremely similar to Open Source Continent. Even more unsettling, a red dot was flashing on the map, located precisely at...
"Qingyun City." Ning Xiaochuan's voice tightened. "My hometown."
The crystal suddenly released a piercing shriek, then exploded! Fragments shot out like raindrops. Fortunately, Star Radiance threw up a protective shield in time, and no one was hurt.
When the last fragment fell to the ground, the tent returned to silence. But the unease in Ning Xiaochuan's heart only grew stronger—what was in Qingyun City? Why would Han Li, or rather the Void Master, be interested in that place?
"Change of plans." He turned to Star Radiance. "We leave immediately."
Star Radiance did not object this time. "I'll prepare the fastest Cloud Wing Beast."
An hour later, Ning Xiaochuan, Su Linger, and the Sacred Spirit Dragon were ready to depart. Besides the necessary equipment, Star Radiance gave each of them a specially made talisman.
"They're made from crystallized Sacred Source Spring water," he explained. "They can provide extra protection in a critical moment."
Ning Xiaochuan accepted them solemnly. "The Sacred Source Land is in your hands."
"Rest assured." Star Radiance nodded. "We'll speed up the reconstruction and be ready for word from you at any time."
Yun Yi stepped forward. "I'm coming with you. I've been active on Open Source Continent for a long time, so I know the situation there."
Ning Xiaochuan hesitated for a moment, but seeing the determination in her eyes, he eventually nodded.
Four people and one dragon stepped onto the Teleportation Platform. The mages began chanting, and space gradually twisted. At the final moment before the teleportation activated, Ning Xiaochuan suddenly heard that familiar voice echo in his mind once more:
"Come find me... Son of Sacred Source... at the Land of Origin..."
A flash of intense light filled his vision. When he opened his eyes again, he was beneath the skies of Open Source Continent. Ning Xiaochuan took a deep breath, and the familiar scent of grass and trees rushed toward him.
He was home. But what awaited them would be a battle even more perilous than the one in the Sacred Source Land...
Before you continue