The evil mine in the Blackstone Mountain Range fell silent again beneath the setting sun. The evil mist that had once filled it scattered in the wind, revealing purified evil iron ore strewn across the ground, its dull gray surfaces glinting in the evening light. Loran and his companions sat around their makeshift camp, the flickering firelight illuminating faces marked by both the exhaustion of victory and solemn concern for the future.
Lei Lin lay beside Loran, elven "life moss" applied to his injured fire wings. Its pale green glow slowly repaired the black marks left by evil power. Snow Spirit Qilin gently wrapped the wings in pearly white ice mist, infusing it with a small amount of light power to hasten the healing. "Your fire wings will recover completely in another three days, but this injury has weakened your flame origin somewhat. You'll need nourishment from the sacred spring for a while afterward."
Lei Lin whimpered softly and rubbed his head against Loran's palm, his golden-red eyes full of trust. The Icefield Wolf came over carrying a piece of roasted beast meat in its mouth and set it before Lei Lin, its tail swaying gently. After so many battles, the bond between this man, the two qilin, and the wolf had long since become unbreakable.
"Word has come from Fallen Maple Territory. The old steward has sent the last group of evil-seeded civilians to the Elven Forest, and Miss Liya's people are doing everything they can to treat them with the Tree of Life." Elder White put away the message delivered by the Radiant Ice Dove and spoke to Loran. "The Bronzebeard Dwarves have also begun reinforcing the Blackstone Mountain Range's defenses. They've forged a sacred ore barrier at the evil mine's entrance to prevent any remaining evil power from leaking out."
Loran nodded, his gaze settling on a black fragmentary scroll in the center of the camp. It had been found where the pope had fallen. Evil power had corroded its edges, leaving only scattered words and diagrams. "The pope must have carried this scroll on him. The writing looks like runes from the Evil Bone Plane. Miss Liya, can you decipher it?"
Liya came over and crouched beside the scroll, gently touching it with the emerald atop her green staff. Pale green light flowed through the emerald into the scroll, making the blurred writing somewhat clearer. "This is an Evil Bone Fragmentary Scroll. It records an ancient ritual from the Evil Bone Plane. Look here-" She pointed at a diagram on the scroll. "It depicts an altar with three crystals at its center. The runes beside them translate as 'Soul Crystal, Evil Core, Bone Heart.' It seems to be some kind of ritual for rapidly restoring strength."
"A Soul Crystal... could it be refined from living people's souls?" Chief Tongchui leaned closer, his brow furrowing at the diagram. "The dark dwarves once mentioned a Soul-Devouring Ritual in the Evil Bone Plane. The souls of a thousand living people can condense into a Soul Crystal and rapidly repair a damaged Evil Core. You severed the pope's Evil Core. He's bound to find somewhere to perform this ritual!"
Loran's heart sank. If the pope truly refined a Soul Crystal from living people, he would not only slaughter innocents but also regain his strength rapidly, perhaps even breaking through to a higher realm. "We must find the pope as soon as possible. We can't let him perform the ritual!" He stood and tightened his grip on his knight's sword. "Snow Spirit Qilin, can you expand the search with Radiant Ice Doves? Focus on the towns around the Blackstone Mountain Range, especially densely populated places. The pope needs living people, so he's bound to approach human settlements."
Snow Spirit Qilin nodded immediately and condensed ten Radiant Ice Doves in her palm. The doves spread their wings and flew in different directions, soon vanishing into the night. "The Radiant Ice Doves can sense fluctuations of evil power. As long as the pope is within a hundred li, they'll send word back."
Early the next morning, the first Radiant Ice Dove returned with news. Fluctuations of evil power had appeared in Graystone Town, south of the Blackstone Mountain Range. Three villagers' bodies had been discovered in the forest outside town, their souls extracted, leaving only hollow eye sockets.
"Signs of soul-devouring!" Liya's expression grew grave as she watched the images transmitted by the dove. "The pope must be near Graystone Town. He's already begun refining the Soul Crystal!"
Loran immediately gathered everyone. "Elder White, Miss Liya, come with me to Graystone Town. Chief Tongchui, sorry for the trouble, but please lead the dwarven warriors in guarding the Blackstone Mountain Range to prevent any other remnants of the Bone-Eroding Cult from seizing the chance to strike back. The Saint-level knights will accompany us and protect the townspeople."
Everyone swiftly prepared their equipment and rode their radiant warhorses toward Graystone Town. It was a small town of only a few hundred people who made their living mining ordinary ore. Most were elderly people, women, and children, utterly incapable of resisting the pope's attack. When Loran's party reached the outskirts, they saw black-red evil power coiling around the wooden sign at the entrance, with a faint smell of blood hanging in the air.
"The townspeople should still be inside. The evil power hasn't spread into town, which means the pope hasn't had time to attack yet." Snow Spirit Qilin stopped, sending pearly white ice doves into town to scout. "He may be hiding in an abandoned mine outside town. It's secluded and suitable for performing the ritual."
Sure enough, a short while later, the doves sent word back. Dense fluctuations of evil power came from an abandoned mine west of town. Deep inside, the outline of a black altar was faintly visible. The pope sat beside it, with two surviving black-robed members of the Bone-Eroding Cult standing nearby. More than ten bound villagers lay on the ground.
"Move!" Loran commanded in a low voice, leading everyone quietly toward the mine. There were no guards at the entrance. Clearly, the pope had considered its secluded location safe enough and had not expected them to arrive so quickly.
Once they entered the mine, the evil power grew denser. It had stained the ore in the walls black-red, and several villagers' bodies lay scattered across the ground, their souls long since extracted. Loran tightened his grip on his knight's sword, quietly circulating the Power of the Three-Element Source within his body to keep the evil power from affecting his mind.
The altar deep within the mine had already been completed. Built from piled black bones, it held a slowly condensing black-red crystal-a Soul Crystal. Dozens of faint soul phantoms coiled around it, letting out piercing shrieks. The pope sat before the altar, the gap in the Evil Core in his chest glowing black-red as he absorbed the power radiating from the Soul Crystal.
"I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly." Hearing their footsteps, the pope slowly opened his eyes, his scarlet gaze full of mockery. "But it doesn't matter. The Soul Crystal is already thirty percent condensed. That's enough to restore some of my strength-more than enough to deal with ants like you!"
He swept his hand out, and the two black-robed figures immediately charged at Loran. Their bone staves swung, sending countless black vines bursting from the ground to entangle the group. "Saint-Level Slash!" The Saint-level knight commander charged first, his radiant blade unleashing a pale golden arc that instantly severed the vines and cleaved the black-robed figures in half as well.
The pope paid them no heed. He stood and pointed his bone staff at Loran. "First you destroyed my battle armor, and now you've come to disrupt my ritual. Loran Kane, today I'll scatter your soul!" Evil power surged around him. Though weaker than at his previous peak, it had still reached the Early Saint Level. Black-red evil power condensed into a bone sword in his hand, thrusting straight at Loran.
Loran immediately channeled his three elemental powers. His knight's sword shone with gold, silver, and pale golden light as it collided with the bone sword. Clang! The metallic impact echoed through the mine. Loran's arm went numb. The pope had recovered more strength than he had imagined.
"Snow Spirit Qilin, trap him with the Ice Prison Formation!" Loran shouted. Snow Spirit Qilin immediately breathed out pearly white frost, and a pale blue ice-crystal cage rose from the ground to imprison the pope. But the pope sneered and swung his bone sword, severing the ice crystals with evil power. He leaped out of the cage and ran deeper into the mine. "Trying to trap me? It won't be that easy! There's another surprise waiting for you here!"
Loran hurried after him, only to hear a tremendous rumble behind him. A massive boulder sealed the mine entrance, while dozens of Evil Bone Puppets suddenly emerged from the walls on either side. Clutching bone sabers, they lunged at the Saint-level knights and Liya.
"It's a trap!" Loran turned and saw that the knights and Liya were already caught up fighting the puppets, unable to break away. The pope's laughter came from deeper inside. "Those puppets were refined from the bones of Graystone Town's villagers. If you dare destroy them, you'll be destroying the villagers' remains! Hahaha!"
Loran's pupils contracted sharply. Seeing familiar scraps of clothing on the puppets, he felt anger surge within him. The pope had actually used the dead villagers' bones to refine puppets. He was utterly deranged! "Don't damage the puppets' bones! Purify the evil souls inside with light power!" he shouted to Liya.
Liya reacted immediately, waving her green staff. Nature power and light power intertwined into a pale green rain of light that fell over the puppets. The light seeped into their bones, and the evil souls inside let out agonized screams. The puppets gradually slowed. The Saint-level knights seized the chance to flick the bone sabers from their hands with their blades, avoiding damage to the bones.
Loran continued his pursuit into the mine, with Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin close behind. At its end lay a spacious stone chamber. An enormous map was carved into the wall at the center of the chamber, marked with several red dots. One marked the Blackstone Mountain Range; another lay at the northernmost tip of the continent, in the Extreme Cold Icefield. Beside it were the large words "Evil Bone Altar."
"The Evil Bone Altar in the Extreme Cold Icefield..." Looking at the map, Loran suddenly recalled an account in an ancient text. It was the oldest junction connecting the Evil Bone Plane to the continent and concealed the Evil Bone Plane's Bone Heart. If the pope found it, he could not only recover his strength completely but also open a permanent Evil Bone Passage!
Several intact sheets of the Evil Bone Fragmentary Scroll lay scattered across the chamber floor. They recorded the Evil Bone Altar's location and the ritual to activate it in detail. A line on the final page read, "In three days, the Bone Heart will awaken. When Soul Crystal, Evil Core, and Bone Heart gather, I shall become the Lord of Evil Bones!"
"In three days..." Loran clenched his fists and turned to the two qilin. "We must notify Elder White and Liya immediately. We need to reach the Extreme Cold Icefield within three days and stop the pope from obtaining the Bone Heart!"
Just then, a hidden door on the other side of the chamber suddenly opened, and the pope's voice rang out. "Want to know the Evil Bone Altar's secrets? Then come find me in the Extreme Cold Icefield! I'll be waiting there to sacrifice your souls to my Bone Heart!"
The hidden door slowly closed. By the time Loran rushed over, it was too late; he could only watch it seal shut. He turned and left the chamber. By then, the Saint-level knights and Liya had finished dealing with the Evil Bone Puppets and were comforting the rescued villagers.
"The pope escaped. He's heading to the Extreme Cold Icefield to find the Bone Heart at the Evil Bone Altar." Loran handed the scroll and map to Elder White. "The Bone Heart will awaken in three days. If he obtains it, the consequences will be unthinkable."
Elder White studied the map, his expression grave. "The Extreme Cold Icefield is covered in ice and snow year-round and thick with evil power. Icefield Evil Beasts guard it, too. It's more dangerous than the Blackstone Mountain Range. We need to gather more reinforcements as quickly as possible. The Elf Clan's nature power can resist the icefield's cold, and the Bronzebeard Dwarves' sacred ore can suppress the Bone Heart's evil power. Neither is dispensable."
Liya nodded. "I'll immediately send a Radiant Ice Dove back to the Elven Forest and ask the chief to dispatch the entire Nature Guard. You'll also need to persuade Chief Tongchui to bring the dwarven smiths along. They can forge evil-breaking weapons on the icefield as needed."
Loran drew a deep breath and looked north, toward the Extreme Cold Icefield. Darkness shrouded that direction, as though it concealed countless dangers. Yet he did not falter in the slightest. Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin came to his side, the radiance of ice and fire intertwining around him, granting him endless strength.
"In three days, we'll meet in the Extreme Cold Icefield." Loran tightened his grip on his knight's sword, determination flashing in his eyes. "This time, we must finish the pope for good and crush the Evil Bone Plane's plot!"
That night, the group returned to the Blackstone Mountain Range with the rescued villagers. Upon hearing the news, Chief Tongchui agreed without hesitation to bring every dwarven warrior and smith along. The Elf Clan's reinforcements arrived early the next morning. Even their chief came in person, bringing core sap from the Tree of Life, which could sustain nature power in extreme cold.
The righteous forces from across the continent gathered once more. This time, they would travel to the most dangerous Extreme Cold Icefield to face their final showdown with the pope. The company galloped north, the dust raised by their horses' hooves forming a long trail beneath the morning sun, like a ray of hope cutting through the gloom over the continent.
Deep within the Extreme Cold Icefield, a black altar buried beneath ice and snow was slowly awakening. Beneath the ice at its center, a crystal glowing black-red pulsed-the Bone Heart, the source of the Lord of Evil Bones' power. The pope stood before the altar, watching the gradually awakening Bone Heart as a crazed smile curled his lips. "Loran Kane, I'll be waiting before the Bone Heart for you to come to your death."