" The Obsession Dust needs 'empathy' to dissolve," Loran suddenly spoke. She walked to the mother tree and gently placed her hand on its trunk—the Spirit Core Symbiosis allowed her to sense the mother tree's pain: the helplessness of watching its companions wither for thousands of years, the grievance of guarding Kongnuo, and the yearning for the revival of the spiritual veins. Lei Lin immediately went to her side, his palm touching hers, and the Golden Crystal Power flowed into the mother tree through her fingertips. The spiritual energy of the two intertwined within the tree trunk, like a pair of gentle hands, softly brushing away the Obsession Dust.
A wondrous thing happened: the grayish-green Obsession Dust gradually became transparent under the power of the two people's spiritual energy, turning into wisps of smoke that merged into the branches of the mother tree; tiny, tender green buds sprouted from the previously withered branches, their tips glowing with a pale golden light, echoing the light of the Star-Track Token. The elder's gaze softened, his vine-leaf sleeves fell down, and the surrounding shadows of trees slowly dissipated.
Just as the spiritual vein was about to be repaired, the mother tree suddenly trembled violently—a crack appeared in the contract pattern on the tree trunk, and black, turbid energy seeped out from the crack. It was thinner than the turbid energy in the Far North Ice Cavern, but it carried a stronger "corrosive power," turning the tips of new buds black as soon as it touched them. "The turbid energy in the crack has leaked out prematurely!" the elder exclaimed. Her spiritual core power flowed along the branches into the mother tree, but it could only barely stop the spread of the turbid energy. "The core of the second contract is 'spiritual vein resonance.' Someone needs to enter the mother tree and connect the contract pattern with the Star-Track Token to completely stabilize the crack!"
Entering the Mother Tree meant traversing the deepest part of the Illusion Forest, the " Obsession Core Zone "—where the illusions amplify the most terrifying memories, and a single misstep could trap one inside. A Mu immediately raised his New Sprout Sword: "Damn it! I want to make up for the mistake we made in the Flamelight Cave last time!" A Ya nodded in agreement. "I'll go with you; the Symbiotic Fiber will help stabilize your psionic energy."
Loran shook her head, gripping Lei Lin's hand tightly. " Spirit Core Symbiosis allows us to share spiritual energy, making us more resistant to illusions. Moreover, the Star-Track Token requires the energy of a key to activate; I must go." Lei Lin didn't hesitate, his golden eyes filled with determination. "I'll go with you. No matter what illusions lie inside, we'll face them together."
The elder handed Loran a green-glowing " Guiding Vine ": "This vine will guide you to the core of the contract rune. If you encounter danger, crush it, and I will use my spiritual energy to temporarily resist the illusion." Loran took the Guiding Vine and walked side by side with Lei Lin into the tree hollow of the mother tree—the interior of the hollow was like a winding tunnel, the walls covered with fine light patterns. With each step, the light patterns would reflect a memory: the tension Loran felt when she first used the key, the unease Lei Lin felt when she transformed, and the warm moment when the two shared the spirit core in the Far North Ice Cavern.
Reaching the end of the tunnel, a small space appeared before her, with the "core" of the second contract suspended in the center—a cracked green crystal, its surrounding light patterns being gradually devoured by turbid energy. Just as Loran was about to raise the Star-Track Token, the surrounding light patterns suddenly surged, revealing the illusion that terrified her most: Lei Lin was entangled by turbid energy, the power of the spirit core gradually dissipated, and the golden crystal fell to the ground, turning into fragments; she tried to rush over, but was blocked by an invisible barrier, and the blue light of the key grew weaker and weaker.
" Loran! Don't believe it!" Lei Lin quickly grasped her hand, the Golden Crystal Power flowing through the Spirit Core Symbiosis. "This is an illusion, our spiritual cores are still connected, I won't leave you!" His voice was like a ray of light, piercing through the illusion— Loran snapped back to reality, finding her fingertips trembling as they approached the pattern core, while a warm power emanated from Lei Lin's palm, tightly intertwining with her spiritual energy.
Loran took a deep breath and simultaneously affixed the Star-Track Token and the Origin Key to the core of the pattern. Pale gold and blue light spread along the cracks in the core, and the turbid energy gradually dissipated like ice and snow encountering sunlight. The contract pattern lit up again, connecting with the spiritual veins of the mother tree, and the ancient trees outside the tree hole rustled softly, as if they were cheering.
When the two emerged from the tree hollow, they were greeted by a vibrant scene: the branches of the Ancient Mother Tree were covered in pale purple "contract flowers," the surrounding Illusion Forest had returned to its original verdant green, and the crisp chirping of birds echoed among the leaves; the elder sat on a branch of the mother tree, the darkness in her eyes fading, leaving only pure green. "The misunderstanding of a thousand years ago has finally been resolved." She plucked a " Contract Crystal " gleaming with green light from a branch and handed it to Loran, "This is the proof of the second contract. The Star-Track Token will now guide you to the location of the third contract— the Tidal Altar in the Eastern Region, where the guardian is the ' Tidal Lady,' who controls the sea's spiritual veins."
A Shi quickly marked the location of the Tidal Altar in his crystal rune logbook, the pen tip leaving a pale green trail as it traced the page. "According to the ancient sealing inscriptions, the crack in the Tidal Altar is on the seabed, and repairing it might be more difficult than the previous two." A Mu gripped the New Sprout Sword, its Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern gleaming with a bright orange light. "Difficulty is nothing to fear. This time we have the Spirit Core Symbiosis of Loran and Lei Lin, and with everyone working together, we can definitely solve it."
That night, the group set up camp Ancient Mother Tree. The fragrance of the Contract Flower filled the air, refreshing everyone. Lei Lin transformed back into his wolf form and curled up on Loran's lap, his spirit core pulsating in sync with Loran's psionic energy, like a gentle melody. A Ya wove a new psionic net with Symbiotic Fiber, the threads adorned with petals of the Contract Flower, which would better resist illusions. A Shi, meanwhile, was studying the Star-Track Token, discovering that the patterns on the token were clearer than before, and the outline of the Tidal Altar could be vaguely seen.
Loran stroked Lei Lin's fur, looking at the Contract Crystal and Star-Track Token in his hand, and suddenly understood: the true meaning of the second contract was not to repair the spiritual veins, but to resolve obsessions—the misunderstanding from a thousand years ago, the Tree Spirit Elder's wariness, and the unease in the hearts of the team members were all slowly dissipating in mutual trust and understanding. Just like the new branches sprouting from the Ancient Mother Tree, trust also needs time to grow into a towering tree.
Moonlight filtered through the branches of the ancient trees, casting dappled patterns of light on the tents. For the first time, the path of the Youth Camp's protection shifted from "solving the crisis" to "resolving obsessions." They knew that the Tidal Altar in the Eastern Region might be waiting for not only a third contract, but also a more complex test of trust—but as long as Loran and Lei Lin's spirit cores remained tightly connected and the team members trusted each other, there was no obstacle they could not overcome.
The Star-Track Token glowed with a pale golden light in Loran's palm, pointing towards the distant Eastern Region. There, the sound of the tides had begun to echo in the wind, as if calling for a new guardian of the covenant, and also for a new journey of trust and redemption.