Morning light in Fallen Maple Territory always carried a caramel-colored warmth. Beneath the red city walls, young guards practiced swordsmanship with Loran, the whoosh of knight swords cutting through the air mingling with the calls of morning birds. Colored silk left over from last night's celebration lay scattered across the ground, swept by the wind against Lei Lin's fiery wings. It lay at the edge of the training ground, its golden-red flames reduced to gentle little flickers, letting several children lightly wind flower garlands around its wings.
"Brother Loran, am I doing this Light Slash right?" A little girl with horn-shaped pigtails raised her wooden sword and copied Loran's earlier movement, slashing at a wooden post. A faint layer of white light wrapped around the sword-the basic light magic Loran had taught the residents, useful both for self-defense and for purifying minor evil.
Loran smiled and nodded, reaching out to adjust her stance. "Keep your wrist steadier. Let the power of light flow along your arm, rather than gathering it all at the tip of the blade." A wisp of white light formed at his fingertip and flowed into the wooden sword. The girl's sword instantly lit up and struck the post squarely, actually leaving a shallow mark.
By the stream not far away, Snow Spirit Qilin was forming small ice cups out of pearly-white frost mist, filling them with the "morning dew honey tea" Liya had brought. The Icefield Wolf lay at its feet with a fishing rod in its mouth, the other end extending over the stream. Whenever the fishing line stirred, it immediately pricked up its ears, its golden eyes fixed on the water like a serious little hunter.
"Eldest son, the envoy from Green Forest Town has arrived. He's waiting in the front hall." Old Byrne approached with his wooden staff, flour still clinging to his cuffs. That morning, he had been working with the cooks to make the two qilins' favorite "lava bread," using wheat flour roasted by Lei Lin's fiery wings. Its sweet aroma could drift through half the territory's town.
Loran wiped the sweat from his forehead and reminded the guards to "practice your basic footwork more" before following Old Byrne toward the lord's manor. As they passed the garden, he saw Elder Aila sitting on a stone bench, holding a leaf that glowed pale green. Fine black markings covered it, as though something had eaten away at it.
"Elder Aila, what are you looking at?" Loran asked curiously.
Elder Aila handed him the leaf, her brow slightly furrowed. "Liya gathered this in the southern forest this morning. Look at these black markings-they're traces of Evil Erosion Spores, but they're stranger than the Evil Bone Spores we encountered before. They can attach themselves to plants and make vines extremely aggressive."
Loran formed a wisp of pure-white three-element power at his fingertip and gently swept it across the leaf. The black markings immediately shriveled at the white light's touch, but did not vanish completely. Instead, they contracted along the veins toward the center of the leaf, as though evading purification. "These spores have far stronger vitality than the Evil Bone Spores. Ordinary light magic can't cleanse them completely."
When the two entered the front hall, the envoy from Green Forest Town was pacing anxiously. He wore a coarse cloth tunic, his trouser cuffs were covered in mud, and several shallow scratches marked his face. At the sight of Loran, he immediately rushed over, his voice trembling with tears. "Lord Loran, please save Green Forest Town! Man-eating evil vines have grown in the forest outside our town. More than a dozen villagers have already been dragged away!"
"Don't panic. Tell me slowly." Loran had him sit down and handed him a cup of hot tea.
The envoy cradled the cup, his fingers still trembling. "About three days ago, black mist suddenly started rising from the ancient forest outside town. After the mist cleared, something was wrong with the vines. Green vines that used to be thin grew as thick as a wrist overnight, and they could move on their own. Whatever they wrapped around, they dragged underground. Yesterday, Blacksmith Wang went into the forest to cut firewood, and a vine caught his leg. He only escaped because his son desperately hacked it apart. But the places where it had constricted his leg have all turned black, and they're oozing pus!"
As he spoke, he rolled up his trouser leg. Sure enough, a dark-purple constriction mark circled his knee, its edges unnaturally red and swollen. Black markings could faintly be seen moving beneath his skin, exactly like those on the leaf in Elder Aila's hand.
"They're Evil Vine Spores." Elder Aila approached, and green light from her fingertip settled on the envoy's constriction mark. The black markings immediately stopped moving. "These spores can live inside plants, and they can also enter human bodies through wounds and control people's minds. Green Forest Town's ancient forest is the largest forest in the south. If the evil vines spread, every village and town in the south will suffer."
Loran's expression darkened. The Evil Bone crisis on the Extreme Cold Icefield had only just ended-why had another evil appeared? He looked out the window. Lei Lin seemed to sense his gravity; the flames on its wings flickered slightly as it looked toward the lord's manor.
"I'll go to Green Forest Town with you." Loran rose. "Uncle Byrne, I'll leave the town's guards in your care. I'll take Lei Lin, Snow Spirit Qilin, and the Icefield Wolf. Miss Liya knows plants well, so please ask her to come along too."
"Rest assured, eldest son. I'll be here in Fallen Maple Territory." Old Byrne nodded and took a cloth bundle from a drawer. Inside were several bottles of soul-warming potion and purification powder. "Green Forest Town is damp. The evil vines must fear fire and light. Have Lei Lin prepare plenty of fire spells."
An hour later, Loran's party was ready to depart. Liya carried a vine basket full of herbs on her back and held a yellowed Illustrated Catalog of Plants—an ancient book in which the Elf Clan recorded the continent's unusual plants. Perhaps it would reveal the evil vines' weakness. Lei Lin spread its fiery wings, just large enough to carry Loran and Liya, while Snow Spirit Qilin and the Icefield Wolf traveled alongside them on the ground. Pearly-white frost mist formed thin ice beneath their feet, considerably speeding their journey.
Green Forest Town lay a hundred li south of Fallen Maple Territory, with dense forests all along the route. The closer they came, the damper the air became, carrying a faint, elusive smell of decay. When they saw the ancient forest outside town, they all stopped involuntarily. The canopy that should have been emerald green now gleamed dark purple. Vines coiled around tree trunks like black snakes, and the fallen leaves on the ground had been pierced by the evil vines' rootlets, reduced to dark-brown fragments.
"Lord Loran! You've finally come!" The mayor of Green Forest Town was already waiting at the entrance, followed by more than a dozen villagers holding axes, every face filled with fear. "The evil vines attacked the town gate again last night. Luckily, we burned them and kept them out, but we're almost out of firewood."
Loran walked over to the gate and examined the severed lengths of evil vine left on the ground. They were still writhing, and dark-purple sap dripped from them, instantly raising white smoke from the paving stones. He lifted one piece with his knight sword and infused it with pure-white light from his fingertip. Its writhing slowed but did not stop. Instead, tiny rootlets sprouted from the cut end, trying to coil around the blade.
"These evil vines regenerate far too quickly." Liya opened the Illustrated Catalog of Plants, tracing the words on the page with her fingertip. "Look here-it describes a Soul-Devouring Vine, a fusion of evil beings and plants from ancient times. It grows by devouring living creatures' souls and prefers to inhabit forests with ancient ruins, because those ruins contain many remnant souls."
"Are there ruins in Green Forest Town's ancient forest?" Loran asked the mayor.
The mayor paused, then nodded. "Yes, yes! Deep in the forest are the Old Elven Ruins. They say the Elf Clan lived there several hundred years ago, but somehow the place was abandoned. The townspeople usually don't dare go near it. They say there are 'tree spirits' inside."
Snow Spirit Qilin's ears suddenly twitched. Pearly-white frost mist formed an ice mirror before it, reflecting a scene deep in the ancient forest: a stone archway half-buried in the earth, surrounded by the thickest evil vines. Their roots were embedded in the archway's cracks, and dark-purple sap seeped through them. The ancient runes on its surface were gradually being corroded, losing their luster.
"The source of the evil vines is inside the ruins," Snow Spirit Qilin said, its voice carrying a hint of gravity. "Those are the Elf Clan's guardian runes. They can suppress evil, but now they're almost completely corroded. If the evil vines destroy them entirely, they may awaken something sleeping inside the ruins."
Loran tightened his grip on his knight sword and looked at his companions. "First, we'll clear the evil vines outside town and protect the villagers. Then we'll go to the ruins to find their source. Lei Lin, burn the vines' rootlets, but be careful not to burn ordinary trees. Liya, protect the villagers with nature power, and see whether you can find a plant that counters the evil vines. Snow Spirit Qilin, you and the Icefield Wolf will keep watch and prevent surprise attacks."
Everyone answered together. Lei Lin spread its fiery wings, and golden-red flames became countless small fireballs that landed precisely on the evil vines' rootlets. The vines gave sizzling screams as the flames touched them. Their dark-purple sap evaporated in the fire, leaving charred marks behind. Liya waved her staff, and emerald-green vines emerged from the ground, wrapping around the evil vines' main stems. Nature power flowed through them, gradually slowing the evil vines' writhing.
The Icefield Wolf lay at Loran's feet, its golden eyes watching the depths of the ancient forest warily. Suddenly, it growled toward the forest. A thick evil vine burst out of the ground, stabbing straight toward Loran's back. It was twice as thick as the previous vines, and black thorns covered its surface, gleaming with a venomous green light.
"Watch out!" Snow Spirit Qilin immediately breathed out frost mist, freezing the evil vine in midair. Loran turned and swung his sword, bringing down a pure-white blade of origin light. The vine was severed in two, and the sap splashing from the cut ends actually corroded small pits in the ground.
"That's a rootlet of the Vine King!" Liya's expression changed. "That means the evil vines in the ruins have already produced a Vine King. It can control all the evil vines. Unless we destroy it quickly, they'll keep multiplying!"
Watching the dark-purple vines constantly swaying deep in the ancient forest, Loran knew they could wait no longer. He instructed the mayor, "We'll go to the ruins to find the Vine King. Guard the gate and don't let the evil vines in. If you're in danger, light the signal flare I give you. We'll come back immediately."
The mayor took the flare and nodded firmly. "Lord Loran, please be careful!"
Lei Lin carried Loran and Liya while Snow Spirit Qilin and the Icefield Wolf cleared the way ahead, and the party headed toward the Old Elven Ruins deep in the ancient forest. Dark-purple evil vines thrashed wildly around them, their thorns slicing through the air, only to be blocked one after another by Lei Lin's flames and Snow Spirit Qilin's frost mist.
As they approached the stone archway, a heavy stench of rotting souls struck them. Only a few elven runes still flickered at the top. Below them, the evil vine's main stem was as thick as a bucket, its roots buried deep beneath the ruins. More than a dozen black shadows coiled around the stem-the souls of villagers the vines had devoured, letting out faint wails.
"The Vine King's core is inside the main stem." Liya pointed at a swelling in its middle that glowed dark purple. "But there are too many evil vines around it. We need to find a way to get close."
Loran took a deep breath, and pure-white light shone around him. He raised his knight sword, gathering the origin power of Three-Element Unification along its edge to form a blade of light several meters long. "I'll draw the evil vines' attention. Use the opening to locate the core. Lei Lin, burn through the surrounding rootlets. Snow Spirit Qilin, freeze the main stem with your frost mist. Don't let it move!"
Golden-red flames and pearly-white frost mist erupted together. The flames made the evil vines' rootlets curl up, while the frost mist froze the main stem in place. Loran leaped up, slashing his light blade at the evil vine's branches. Countless severed vines fell to the ground, only to sprout new rootlets moments later.
Just then, the evil vine's main stem suddenly shook violently. A slit opened in the swelling at its center, and a dark-purple beam shot toward Loran. It was the Vine King's evil soul attack, filled with countless remnant souls of devoured villagers. Anyone struck would have their mind consumed by those souls' resentment.
"Loran, watch out for the remnant souls!" Snow Spirit Qilin immediately breathed out frost mist, forming an ice shield before him. The beam struck the shield, instantly covering it in cracks. The wails of countless remnant souls seeped through the fissures. Loran's head swam, and his knight sword nearly slipped from his hand.
Seeing this, Liya immediately took a pale-purple flower from her vine basket. As its petals opened, it released a fresh fragrance. "This is a Spirit-Calming Flower. It can dispel the resentment of remnant souls!" She crushed its petals and scattered them into the air. The wind carried their fragrance to Loran, and the dizziness in his head immediately vanished.
"Now!" Loran tightened his grip on his knight sword again, forming another blade of origin light. This time, the Spirit-Calming Flower's fragrance merged into it as he thrust straight at the swelling containing the Vine King's core.
"Szzzt!" The light blade pierced the swelling, and dark-purple sap gushed out. The Vine King let out a deafening scream. The surrounding evil vines instantly lost their vitality and began to wither. The elven runes atop the stone archway lit up again, and pale-green light spread along the cracks, purifying the evil vines' remaining sap on the ground.
Loran landed and watched the gradually withering vines, along with the villagers' souls drifting from the Vine King's core, glowing white. Freed from the evil power's restraints, those souls slowly floated toward Green Forest Town, as though searching for their bodies.
"Can the souls go back?" Loran asked Liya.
Liya nodded, her eyes full of relief. "As long as their bodies are still there, nature power and light power combined can return their souls to their proper places. Luckily, we arrived in time. The Vine King hadn't fully digested them."
Snow Spirit Qilin walked up to the stone archway, gently brushing its runes with pearly-white frost mist. "These are the Elf Clan's life runes. They nourish the forest and suppress evil. Someone must have deliberately damaged them earlier, giving the Evil Vine Spores their opening."
Loran crouched and examined the black powder remaining in the cracks. It resembled the Evil Bone powder the pope had used before, but carried an additional trace of unfamiliar evil energy. He dabbed a little onto his fingertip and swept pure-white light over it. Instead of being purified, the powder turned into a tiny black insect and burrowed into the soil.
"This isn't from the Evil Bone Plane." Elder Aila's voice suddenly came from behind them. She had arrived at some point, holding a withered leaf she had found in the ruins. "Look at the markings on this leaf. They're traces of the Abyss Insect Race. They come from the Rotting Soul Abyss, somewhere even more dangerous than the Evil Bone Plane, and feed on the life essence of worlds."
Loran's heart sank. The Evil Bone crisis had only just passed, and now traces of the Rotting Soul Abyss had appeared. Could there be an even greater conspiracy behind all this? He looked into the depths beyond the stone archway. It was pitch-black, as though a pair of eyes were watching them from the shadows with cold malice.