Loran immediately gathered the power of all three elements, forming a cradle of light beneath the core. He carefully lifted it and moved toward the dock. The Icefield Wolf followed close behind, its golden claws leaving shallow marks on the ground as it watched their surroundings warily-faint cracking sounds came from beneath the ruined capital's ice, as though something were breaking out of the ground.
"Watch your step!" the Icefield Wolf suddenly growled, springing toward Loran's side. The ice split open in an instant, and an arm covered in blackish-purple scales burst out of the ground. Sharp bone claws tipped the arm, reaching straight for the Evil Bone Core! "It's an Evil Bone Abyss Guard! The Matriarch summoned it!" Snow Spirit Qilin shouted, turning icy mist into ice blades that slashed at the guard's arm.
The ice blades struck the guard's arm but left only a shallow mark-the evil bone beneath its scales was exceptionally hard and gleamed with the black light of abyssal evil power. More guards emerged from beneath the ice. They resembled humans in build but had no facial features. Small Evil Bone Crystals were embedded in their chests, and they held evil bone spears whose tips could spray blackish-purple evil mist.
"These guards feed on the core's evil power! Don't let them near it!" Elder White waved his Holy Spring crystal, turning pale golden light into arrows that shot toward the crystals in the guards' chests. The instant a crystal was struck, the guard's movements slowed. Lei Lin seized the opening to breathe out a pillar of fire. Golden-red flames burned through its scales, and purifying light seeped into its evil bone. The guard crashed to the ground and turned to black ash.
Yet more guards kept pouring out from beneath the ice. A few even moved toward the dock, clearly intending to destroy the warship. "Liya! A Ze! How are things on your end?" Loran shouted as he slashed at the guards with blades of three-element light.
"Three guards charged over! We can hold them off!" Liya's voice came from the direction of the dock, followed by the rustling of entwining nature vines. "Get the core over here quickly! The sealing chamber is ready!"
Loran gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin cleared the way ahead, their combined ice-and-fire technique forming a net of ice and fire that trapped the guards blocking their path; the Icefield Wolf circled behind the guards and smashed the crystals in their chests with its golden claws. Elder White brought up the rear, the Holy Spring's power continually purifying any evil mist that slipped through and clearing obstacles for everyone.
When they finally reached the dock, Chief Tongchui had already opened the sealing chamber's door. The interior was lined with velvet soaked in sap from the Tree of Life, and the runes on its walls glimmered faintly. "Hurry, put the core inside!" Chief Tongchui shouted, holding Fallen Star Iron chains. "Once the core enters the chamber, its runes will activate automatically and form a fourfold seal!"
Loran carefully placed the core inside the sealing chamber. As its door slowly closed, pale gold, emerald green, pale blue, and lustrous white light surged from the runes on its walls, completely enveloping the core. The guards beneath the ice seemed to lose their target. Their movements gradually slowed until they collapsed to the ground and turned to black ash-they had indeed been sustained by the core's evil power.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Loran kept staring at the sealing chamber, his expression still grave. "While we were moving it just now, I could feel something moving inside the core. It seemed like fragments of the Matriarch's consciousness, constantly trying to break free of the seal."
Elder Aila walked over to the chamber, brushing nature power from fingertips across its wall. "That's right. These fragments are very tenacious. Ordinary purifying power can't remove them. Only the ancient purifying power of the Qilin Holy Land can strip them away completely. I also discovered that the fragments are directing the core's fluctuations toward the Rotting Soul Abyss. If we encounter interference in the sea of clouds, the core is very likely to veer off course."
Elder White nodded and handed Loran a new Holy Spring crystal. "This is the temple's last Holy Spring Core Crystal. Embed it in the sealing chamber, and it can temporarily suppress the fragments' fluctuations. Elder Aila and I will remain in the ruined capital to clear out the remaining Evil Bone forces and monitor activity in the direction of the abyss. If anything unusual happens, we'll notify you immediately by ice pigeon."
Loran took the crystal and fitted it into the recess in the sealing chamber. The moment the crystal lit up, the chamber's light grew steadier, and the core's fluctuations vanished completely. He looked toward Snow Spirit Qilin. The white light on the ice talisman pointing toward the Eastern Sea of Clouds had become clear. The route marked by a thin pale golden line crossed the sea of clouds, and the rune for the Qilin Holy Land at its end grew increasingly distinct-except that midway along the route lay an area labeled "Sea of Clouds Storm Belt." The light there was dark gray, clearly indicating danger.
"The Sea of Clouds Storm Belt is the only way to reach the holy land," Snow Spirit Qilin explained. "The 'chaotic air currents' within the storm belt can disrupt energy fluctuations. If anything unusual happens with the core in there, the consequences would be unthinkable. I also sense the Insect Clan's 'Rotting Soul Flying Insect Swarm' hiding in the storm belt. They're very likely lying in ambush there."
"No matter how many dangers there are, we have to get through," Loran said, tightening his grip on his knight's sword, his gaze resolute. "We leave now. While the core is still stable, we'll cross the storm belt as quickly as possible and reach the Qilin Holy Land!"
Chief Tongchui immediately returned to the wheelhouse. The warship's energy core slot lit up, and Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin poured in ice and fire power. The warship's light shield spread out once more, and the Water Speaker increased the output of water elements. The ship slowly left the dock, then sped toward the Eastern Sea of Clouds.
Elder White and Elder Aila stood on the dock, waving goodbye. The ice of the ruined capital rippled in the warship's wake. Morning light spilled over the warship, making the Fallen Star Iron of its hull shine brilliantly-this warship, which embodied the painstaking efforts of all the races, carried the Evil Bone Core and the continent's hope toward the unknown sea of clouds.
Aboard the warship, Loran stood at the bow, watching the sea of clouds draw ever closer. In the distance, the clouds joined into a white curtain, its edges tinged with faint golden light, while a dark gray storm belt lay hidden in its depths. The Icefield Wolf lay at his feet, its golden eyes fixed in the direction of the storm belt; Liya opened the Illustrated Catalog of Plants, trying to find records about the storm belt; A Ze and the Water Speaker checked the water-element barrier to ensure the warship could sail steadily through the sea of clouds.
Loran touched the water-patterned bone whistle at his waist, then glanced at the sealing chamber on the lowest deck-he knew that the coming voyage through the sea of clouds would be their most difficult journey yet. The Abyss Matriarch's consciousness fragments, the storm belt's chaotic air currents, the Insect Clan's ambush, and the unknown Qilin Holy Land-countless challenges awaited them.
But as long as he had these companions fighting by his side and the conviction to protect the continent, he would not back down.
The warship's light shield gleamed gold at the edge of the sea of clouds, and a "journey of purification" across that sea officially began.