Lei Lin's fiery wings swept past the clouds, and the outline of the Radiant Temple below gradually came into focus. The white complex standing atop the sacred mountain had lost its former holy radiance-the "radiant barrier" above the temple glowed a dull grayish purple, and the runes along its edges were riddled with gaps, as though eaten by insects. Occasionally, black-purple evil mist seeped through the cracks, condensing into tiny Soul-Devouring Insects in the air before the wind quickly scattered them.
"The barrier has been corroded." Liya reined in her Deer of Wind, her emerald eyes grave. "The temple's radiant power is the purest of all. Only the core evil power of the Rotting Soul Abyss could corrode its barrier. It seems the insider has already begun to act."
Just as Loran was about to approach, hurried hoofbeats suddenly rang out from the mountain path ahead. A knight in damaged radiant armor tumbled down the path. Black-purple slime covered the sacred runes on his armor, and his left arm was twisted out of shape. Insects could faintly be seen writhing beneath his skin; he had clearly been infested by Soul-Devouring Insects.
"Help... help me!" Seeing Loran's group, the knight struggled to reach out, his voice weak. "The temple... the temple has been taken! The high-ranking priests have been infested, and Elder White... is under house arrest in the Holy Spring Hall!"
Snow Spirit Qilin immediately breathed out pearly-white icy mist, temporarily freezing the evil power surrounding the knight. Liya dismounted, took out the Dew of Life, and carefully fed it into the knight's mouth with a wooden spoon. "Hold on! Tell us, who has taken control of the temple? How is the Holy Spring now?"
The knight swallowed the Dew of Life, and a trace of clarity flashed through his eyes. "It's... Priest Cyril! He said he wanted to 'purify' the temple, but he locked up everyone who opposed him. He even... poured black liquid into the Holy Spring. So many guards drank the spring water and turned into... monsters!"
"Priest Cyril?" Loran was shaken—Cyril was a high-ranking priest of the Radiant Temple, renowned for his gentleness and integrity. During the earlier evil bone crisis, he had even helped Elder White mobilize the Holy Spring's power. Could he actually be the Insect Clan's insider? This reversal instantly put Loran on guard. "Where is he now? Where exactly is the Holy Spring Hall?"
"In... the temple square. He's forcing the priests... to open the underground 'sealing chamber'!" The knight's voice suddenly turned hoarse, and the writhing beneath his skin grew more violent. "Hurry... inside the sealing chamber is... a 'Brood Nest Egg'! He wants to awaken... the Abyss Matriarch's vanguard..."
Before he could finish, the knight suddenly convulsed. Black-purple slime poured from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He curled into a ball and soon stopped moving-the Soul-Devouring Insects had completely devoured his soul. Liya reached for the artery in his neck and gently shook her head. "There's no saving him now. The insects burrowed into his heart."
Loran tightened his grip on his knight's sword, pure white light dancing along its blade. "We can't wait any longer! Cyril is going to open the sealing chamber. We have to stop him before he awakens the Brood Nest Egg! Lei Lin, carry Liya and me in from the air. Snow Spirit Qilin and Icefield Wolf, sneak along the mountain path and find Elder White first!"
Lei Lin immediately beat his fiery wings and flew toward the temple square. The closer they came to the temple, the denser the evil power in the air became. Black-purple slime streaked the once-pristine marble ground, spreading like vines and ultimately converging on the "radiant altar" in the center of the square. It should have been a place for offering worship to the Holy Spring, but dozens of temple guards coated in slime now surrounded it. Their eyes were vacant, their radiant spears glimmered with evil light, and they were advancing toward the imprisoned civilians.
"Stop!" Loran leaped down from the fiery wings. Pure white light swept from his knight's sword, severing one guard's spear. The guard showed no sign of pain and turned to grab Loran with his bare hands. Slime seeping from beneath his nails dripped onto the ground, instantly corroding small pits into it-this was a "puppet guard" deeply infested by Soul-Devouring Insects, long since stripped of independent awareness.
Liya immediately waved her staff. Emerald vines bound the limbs of three puppet guards, and the Dew of Life turned into a rain of light that fell over them. Jade-green light seeped into their bodies. After a few faint insect cries, several Soul-Devouring Insects crawled out of their ears, only to be burned to ashes by Lei Lin's flames the moment they hit the ground. Freed from the insects' control, the guards swayed, collapsed, and lost consciousness.
"These guards can still be saved!" Liya shouted. "Clear the insects from their bodies first, then stop Cyril!"
Snow Spirit Qilin and Icefield Wolf reached the square as well. The pale green light of the Life Crystal Core mingled with Snow Spirit Qilin's icy mist as it sprayed over the puppet guards, freezing the slime while temporarily suppressing the insects' activity. Icefield Wolf circled behind the guards and gently patted the backs of their necks with its paws-this was the "Awakening Pat" Loran had taught it. Combined with the icy mist, it could briefly restore the guards' awareness and make the subsequent cleansing easier.
Loran charged toward the radiant altar. Atop it, Priest Cyril held up a staff set with a Black Crystal and sneered at Elder White, who was bound in the center of the altar. "White, you're too stubborn! The power of the Rotting Soul Abyss is the true 'light.' As long as we sacrifice the Holy Spring and awaken the Brood Nest Egg, we can become servants of the Abyss Matriarch and gain eternal life!"
Elder White was bound to a stone pillar with ropes of light. His radiant robes were covered in blood, yet he still glared at Cyril. "You traitor! The temple's thousand years of guardianship must not be ruined by your hands! Loran and the others will come to stop you!"
"Loran?" Cyril scoffed and turned toward the charging Loran, his eyes filled with disdain. "This fourth-tier human? Oh, no, he's fifth-tier now-what a pity. Before the power of the abyss, even the greatest talent is nothing but an ant!"
He swung his black staff, and the ground around the altar suddenly split open. More than a dozen Rotting Bone Worms crawled out of the cracks. These worms were thicker and sturdier than the earlier Soul-Devouring Insects, with hard bone armor covering their bodies. Their mouthparts sprayed black-purple corrosive liquid that sent white smoke rising from the marble wherever it landed.
"Three-Element Purification Wall!" Loran immediately gathered pure white light into a wall before him. The corrosive liquid hissed as it struck the light wall but failed to penetrate it. Lei Lin seized the opportunity to beat his fiery wings. Golden-red flames became fiery serpents that coiled around several Rotting Bone Worms. Infused with the Life Crystal Core's light, the flames actually burned through their bone armor, making the worms shriek in agony.
"Impossible! How can your flames break abyssal bone armor?" Cyril's expression changed for the first time. He violently plunged his black staff into the altar. "Since you're so eager to die, you can all become sacrifices for the Brood Nest Egg!"
The ground at the center of the altar suddenly sank, revealing a black-purple opening. Abyssal runes similar to those in the Old Elven Ruins were carved around it. Evil power denser than any they had encountered before surged out. At the bottom, they could faintly see a black insect egg the size of a basketball, its surface pulsing with faint red light. It was the "Brood Nest Egg" the knight had mentioned.
"That's the Abyss Matriarch's vanguard egg!" Liya rushed over, her voice trembling. "The Illustrated Catalog of Plants recorded it. Once an egg like this hatches, it produces a 'Soul-Devouring Mother Insect' that can control every member of the Insect Clan within a hundred li and open a temporary passage to the Rotting Soul Abyss!"
Elder White struggled and shouted, "The Holy Spring is directly beneath the sealing chamber! Cyril has already polluted half the spring with abyssal slime. If he uses its power to nourish the egg, it will all be over!"
Loran's heart sank, and he immediately adjusted their tactics. "Liya, purify the polluted Holy Spring and stop its power from flowing into the egg. Snow Spirit Qilin, freeze the opening with icy mist to delay the hatching. Lei Lin, take on Cyril with me! Icefield Wolf, protect the civilians and wounded guards!"
Everyone immediately moved. Liya rushed down the stone steps beside the altar toward the Holy Spring Hall, emerald vines spreading behind her to sweep away the small Soul-Devouring Insects along the way. Snow Spirit Qilin unleashed a torrent of icy mist, freezing the evil power around the opening and instantly dimming the egg's red glow. Meanwhile, Icefield Wolf led several guards who had regained consciousness in escorting the civilians to safety outside the temple.
Loran gripped his knight's sword and charged at Cyril. Cyril swung his black staff, and countless evil bone spears thrust out of the ground. Loran severed them one after another with his three-element light blade, only to discover that the broken spears turned into Soul-Devouring Insects and lunged at him—the staff was actually forged from abyssal insect shells and evil bones, allowing it to summon members of the Insect Clan continuously.
"Your three-element power is impressive, but how long can you last?" Cyril laughed wildly. His priestly robes split open, exposing skin covered in black markings. "I've already received the Abyss Matriarch's blessing. Once the egg hatches, I'll become a true 'abyssal priest,' and all of you will become food for the insects!"
He suddenly charged at Lei Lin, the black light from his staff stabbing straight toward Lei Lin's fiery wings-he knew the two qilins were Loran's weakness and wanted to eliminate Lei Lin first. Loran immediately chased after him. The pure white light of his knight's sword condensed into a spear of light and shot toward Cyril's back.
Cyril was forced to turn and block. The light spear grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep wound. Yet no blood flowed from it. Instead, black-purple slime welled up, and several tiny Soul-Devouring Insects crawled out of the slime and quickly repaired the wound-the abyssal blessing had given him extremely powerful regenerative abilities.
"It's useless! You can't kill me!" Cyril grinned savagely as the black light of his staff surged. "Abyssal Power: Soul-Devouring Formation!"
Black-purple evil power formed an array around Loran. Countless phantoms of remnant souls appeared within it, shrieking miserably as they tried to erode his mind. Loran's head swam, and his knight's sword nearly slipped from his hand-this was the first time since breaking through to the fifth tier that he had encountered an evil art capable of directly attacking his mind.
"Loran! Use the Life Crystal Core's power to protect your heart meridians!" Snow Spirit Qilin's voice rang out. It immediately adjusted its icy mist, channeling a wisp of the Life Crystal Core's pale green light into Loran's body. The light traveled along his meridians, instantly dispelling the remnant souls' influence, and clarity returned to his eyes.
"Thanks!" Loran leaped into the air. The pure white light of his knight's sword fused with the Life Crystal Core's pale green glow, forming a "Twin Purification Blade" that slashed toward Cyril's staff. This time, the staff failed to block the light blade. Instead, it was cleaved in two, and the Black Crystal fell to the ground, where the blade's light instantly purified it into powder.
Without his staff, Cyril turned deathly pale. He staggered backward, then suddenly rushed toward the opening in the altar, intending to nourish the egg with his own body. "Even if I die, I'll awaken the mother insect! You'll all die with me!"
"Not a chance!" Lei Lin suddenly breathed a stream of golden flame. It coiled precisely around Cyril's ankles, holding him in place. Loran seized the opportunity to rush forward and drive the Twin Purification Blade into Cyril's chest. Pure white light instantly purified the abyssal power and Soul-Devouring Insects within him.
Cyril let out a piercing scream. His body gradually melted, finally turning to black ash and leaving behind only a ring engraved with abyssal runes-the token used to control the egg. Loran picked up the ring, immediately rushed to the opening, and threw it inside while channeling his three-element power and the Life Crystal Core's light into it.
The instant the ring touched the egg, brilliant white light erupted. The evil power at the opening was instantly dispersed, and the egg's red glow went out completely as it fell dormant once more. Snow Spirit Qilin took the opportunity to seal the opening entirely with icy mist, then reinforced it with radiant runes to prevent the egg from awakening again.
At that moment, Liya ran out of the Holy Spring Hall, a tired but relieved smile on her face. "The Holy Spring's contamination is under control! I used the Dew of Life and nature's power to temporarily purify the polluted portion, but completely removing the abyssal slime will require sap from the Elf Clan's Tree of Life and the core power of the temple's Holy Spring. Elder Aila and Elder White will have to work together."
Loran untied Elder White's ropes of light. Rubbing his wrists, which had turned purple from their bindings, Elder White said gratefully, "Thank you. If you'd come even a moment later, the temple really would have become an entrance to the abyss. But Cyril was only a pawn. The 'Abyss Matriarch' he spoke of before his death is the true threat-the temple's ancient texts record that the matriarch of the Rotting Soul Abyss awakens once every thousand years. She must devour an entire continent's souls to descend fully, and we may very well be in her awakening cycle right now."
Loran was shaken. Only then did he understand that the earlier evil bone crisis and the Insect Clan invasion had merely been preludes to the Abyss Matriarch's descent. He looked at the frozen opening, then toward the distant Holy Spring Hall, and suddenly realized that what they faced was not a localized war, but an "abyssal defense war" that would determine the survival of the entire continent.
Just then, Snow Spirit Qilin's ice talisman suddenly began flashing violently. In addition to the earlier white light pointing toward the Eastern Sea of Clouds, a new black light appeared, pointing south toward the "Swamp of the Dead." It was a danger signal stronger than the temple crisis. Clearly, another Insect Clan nest was awakening in the south.
"It looks like we have no time to rest." Loran tightened his grip on his knight's sword, determination flashing in his eyes. "First, we clear out the remaining members of the Insect Clan in the temple and purify the Holy Spring. Then we head south to the Swamp of the Dead. As long as the Insect Clan is still threatening the continent, we can't stop moving."
Elder White nodded and immediately gathered the surviving priests to begin clearing the remaining evil power from the temple. Liya sent a message to the Elven Forest using a Radiant Ice Dove, asking Elder Aila to bring Tree of Life sap as quickly as possible. Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin patrolled around the temple to ensure no Soul-Devouring Insects escaped their notice. Icefield Wolf lay at Loran's feet, its golden eyes watching their surroundings warily, as though guarding the hard-won peace.
Sunlight gradually pierced the dark clouds above the sacred mountain, once again falling upon the Radiant Temple's white buildings. But Loran knew this peace was only temporary-the shadow of the Rotting Soul Abyss had yet to fade. The southern swamp, the eastern sea of clouds, the egg beneath the temple, and the Abyss Matriarch soon to awaken-countless crises awaited them.
This war spanning the continent had only just entered its most difficult stage. And they would become the last line of defense protecting this land.