The lower you go, the brighter the light emitted by the crystal.
At the end of the passage was a huge natural cave. Grayish-white crystal pillars grew from the ground all the way to the dome. More than thirty people were sealed in the crystal walls on both sides, and faint magic flowed along the transparent crystal threads to the center of the cave.
There hangs a crystal nearly two people tall.
It has no fixed shape, and its surface undulates constantly with the surrounding sounds. Cries, footsteps, wheels, and the clash of swords mingle together, and with each sound, a dark ring of patterns appears inside the crystal.
"That's it," Mira said.
Lin Yuan did not approach immediately.
The central crystal is connected to the entire cave. Hundreds of crystal veins extend in all directions, some of which entangle the missing person, while others penetrate deep into the stone pillars supporting the dome. Directly shattering the core could cause the rock layer above to collapse as well.
The crystal surface suddenly became still.
Two figures slowly rose from below.
The fake Lin Yuan wielded a crystal sword, while the fake Mira unfurled demonic wings behind her. Compared to the replicas above the canyon, their shapes were much clearer, even replicating the dust on their clothes and the tiny scratches on the spine of the Nameless Sword.
"Disconnect them from the core first," Lin Yuan said.
"You on the left, I on the right."
The two rushed out at the same time.
The real and fake " Nameless " swords collided in mid-air. The fake Lin Yuan did not use the initial simple straight thrust, but immediately used the sword path that had just cut him open. The crystal sword bypassed the head-on collision and cut towards Lin Yuan's wrist.
It brought all the actions it recorded along the way to this place.
Lin Yuan retreated continuously, his longsword always blocking in a fixed direction. With each collision, the fake Lin Yuan's movements became even more advanced, as if he had completely seen through his next strike.
On the other side, two dark red figures crashed into the cave wall.
The fake Mira possesses power similar to that of the Satan Soul, yet it still only knows how to repeat the same responses it has recorded. When Mira throws a punch, it blocks it; when Mira flaps her wings and takes to the air, it follows closely behind.
She deliberately flew along the edge of the cave, gradually leading the fake Mira away from the central crystal.
The gray-white light trailing behind the mannequin was stretched longer and longer.
When the distance exceeded that of the last crystal pillar, the right wing of the fake Mira suddenly flickered.
Mira immediately turned back.
Instead of throwing a punch, she folded her wings and swooped down from below, seizing the exposed crystalline line. Dark red magic exploded from her palm, severing the crystalline line instantly.
The fake Mira's body instantly lost its luster.
Mira dragged it and slammed it to the ground, its crystalline body shattering into pieces upon impact.
The central crystal emitted a sharp ringing sound.
The fake Lin Yuan quickened his pace, slashing his crystal sword in three directions in succession. Lin Yuan continued to parry as before, making his opponent base all their judgments on the same rhythm.
Before the fourth sword strike arrived, the fake Lin Yuan had already sealed off the right side.
Lin Yuan then changed his actions.
Without a predetermined direction or a complete sword move, Nameless waited until the crystal sword truly stopped before passing through the opponent's inside, where there was no way to turn back.
The sword severed the crystal threads behind the fake Lin Yuan.
The crystal sword, deprived of its core supply, shattered first, followed by the arm, chest, and legs. The fake Lin Yuan remained in a blocking stance, but in the blink of an eye, he turned into a pile of dust.
The two strongest clones disappeared, and the Crystal Mother stopped creating humanoid forms. The entire cave began to shake violently, and dense crystal spikes rose from the ground one after another, indiscriminately piercing the intruders and those trapped by them.
"Leave the left side to me!"
Mira spread her wings and stood in front of the crystal wall, grabbing the thick crystal pillar that was rising in front of her with both hands. The tip was only half a foot away from an unconscious guard when she forcefully twisted it to the side.
Lin Yuan rushed to the other side.
Black and silver magic enveloped " Nameless," forming only a very thin layer on the surface of the blade. He did not attack the Crystal Mother, but instead severed the crystal threads connecting the missing persons along the way. Each time the sword fell, it would cut open a small section of space where the crystal thread was located, preventing the vibration from being transmitted back into the crystal shell.
A row of crystals quickly dimmed.
The sound of rocks breaking came from above the cave.
Lin Yuan looked up, his spatial perception filling the entire underground cavern. There were numerous crystal veins, but only four natural stone pillars truly supported the dome. The Crystal Mother had wrapped her roots around them, and in her rampage, she was dragging them along with her as they collapsed.
" Mira, to the right rear of the core!"
Mira didn't turn around. She smashed the crystal spikes that were rushing towards the crowd with a punch, used the recoil to leap into the air, grabbed the outer layer of the Crystal Mother and twisted it sharply to the left.
The roots that were wrapped around the stone pillar were all straightened.
Lin Yuan stepped into the center.
Four streaks of black and silver sword light swept past one after another, precisely severing the roots connecting the stone pillars. The Crystal Mother lost contact with the canyon, its surface light suddenly went out, and its enormous body fell from mid-air.
Mira released her grip, then clenched her fist and charged forward.
Dark red magic pierced through the crystal head-on.
Dense cracks spread outward from the center. With a final crisp sound, the entire Crystal Mother shattered, but no fragments flew towards the crowd on either side— Lin Yuan was already standing in front, sword in hand, blocking all the flying crystal fragments.
The cave finally returned to silence.
The crystal shells on both sides cracked one after another, and the trapped people woke up one by one. The first rescue mage to open his eyes looked at the two people standing in the center, his expression still vigilant.
Are you real?
Mira released the Satan Soul and bent down to pick up the task sheet that was covered in dust.
This time it's for real.