The holy warship broke through the final layer of black-purple clouds, and the full expanse of the Rotting Soul Abyss finally unfolded before them-a chasm of churning lava lay below, its rock walls studded with writhing evil bones. Black-purple miasma gushed from the cracks, twisting into columns that shot into the sky; at the far end of the chasm, a hundred-meter-wide "Planar Gate" had begun to take shape. An eerie green glow shone within it, and countless abyssal creatures' limbs could faintly be seen surging behind it. Around the gate, dozens of gigantic abyssal tentacles coiled around evil bone chains, continuously pouring energy into it.
"That's the Matriarch's Planar Gate!" Snow Spirit Qilin's ice talisman flashed violently, its pearly white light pointing straight at the gate's core. "There's an 'evil bone energy source' at the base. Destroy it, and the gate will temporarily close! But the Matriarch must have stationed heavy forces there!"
Before the words had faded, a tremendous metallic screech suddenly rang out from the miasma to the warship's right-an "abyssal rotten-bone flagship," three times larger than the previous rotten-bone ship, burst out of the fog. Its hull had been fashioned from a single mass of abyssal black stone, and raised evil bone spikes covered its deck, each impaled with half-melted metal fragments. A basketball-sized "Abyssal Evil Crystal" was embedded at the mast's peak, surrounded by three small Soul-Corroding Flying Insects Nests. Flying insects poured continuously from the nests, forming a dense black swarm around the flagship; a gigantic evil bone main cannon stood at the bow, its muzzle aimed straight at the holy warship as black-purple energy rapidly gathered.
"It's the Matriarch's flagship! She's been waiting here for us all along!" A Ze's voice was grave as he immediately led the Water Whisperers toward the steam cannon positions. "Water Whisperers, get ready! Amplify the cannons with the Holy Spring Crystals. We can't let it fire!"
Ten Water Whisperers pressed their palms against the steam cannons' energy slots at once. Pale blue water elements resonated with the Holy Spring Crystals at the muzzles, and the crystals instantly blazed with dazzling golden light. A layer of interwoven gold-and-blue purification light coated the iron cannonballs. "Fire!" At the command of the chief gunner Chief Tongchui had left behind, six steam cannons roared simultaneously, sending iron cannonballs whistling straight toward the flagship's evil bone main cannon.
Boom! The instant the iron cannonballs struck the main cannon's muzzle, black-purple energy collided violently with purification light. A crack was blasted into the barrel, and black-purple energy leaked through it, exploding into a skyful of evil mist. But the flagship did not retreat. Dozens of evil bone cannon barrels suddenly sprang from both sides of its hull, firing lesser black-purple energy shells at the warship as thickly as a downpour.
"Reinforce the light shield!" Lei Lin beat his fiery wings, merging golden-red flames into the warship's light shield, which instantly grew three times thicker; Snow Spirit Qilin breathed out icy mist, forming a layer of ice armor outside the shield. Energy shells hammered the ice armor with an unending series of cracks. Though riddled with fractures, it firmly held off the encroaching evil power. Liya seized the chance to wave her staff. Emerald vines spread along the light shield's patterns, the life force within them rapidly repairing the cracks in the ice armor. "The light shield can withstand ten volleys at most! We have to find the flagship's weakness as soon as possible!"
Loran leaped to the top of the warship's mast and raised his knight's sword, pouring the power of three elements into its blade. The light shining from its edge pierced the insect cloud and illuminated the flagship's deck-hidden among the evil bone spikes at its center was a faint black line, its far end connected to the Abyssal Evil Crystal at the mast's peak. It was clearly the flagship's energy transmission pathway. "I found its weakness! The flagship gets its energy from the evil crystal, and that line is the transmission channel! Cut it, and the crystal's energy won't reach the weapons!"
"I'll cut the line!" Icefield Wolf suddenly leaped up, its golden figure streaking through the insect cloud. It carried the Fallen Star Iron dagger Chief Tongchui had given it in its mouth, the blade gleaming coldly in the miasma-this dagger could pierce abyssal creatures' defenses, making it just right for dealing with the evil bone line. But just as it approached the flagship's deck, hundreds of evil bone flying insects suddenly poured out of the nests, spraying black-purple slime from their mouthparts as they lunged straight at Icefield Wolf.
"Snow Spirit Qilin, cover it!" Loran shouted. Snow Spirit Qilin immediately breathed out a stream of icy mist, which formed a transparent ice dome around Icefield Wolf. The slime froze the instant it landed on the dome, and Icefield Wolf shook its body to shatter it. At the same time, Lei Lin's fiery wings condensed into dozens of fire arrows that shot toward the nests. The arrows pierced their shells, and golden-red flames erupted within. The Flying Insect Matriarch was burned to ashes in an instant. Deprived of reinforcements, the insect cloud was soon cleared away by the steam cannons.
Icefield Wolf seized the opportunity to land on the flagship's deck and drove the Fallen Star Iron dagger hard into the evil bone line-the dagger's cold light clashed with the line's evil power, and black smoke instantly rose from it as the energy transmission abruptly stopped. The Abyssal Evil Crystal atop the mast dimmed sharply. The flagship's evil bone cannon barrels stopped gathering energy, and even its hull began to tilt slightly.
"Now! Lord Loran, attack the evil crystal!" the chief gunner shouted excitedly. Loran responded at once, taking the Holy Spring Core Crystal from inside his clothes and pressing it against his knight's sword-the crystal's golden light intertwined with the power of three elements and the core's pale violet light, forming a Three Saints Purification Spear. Its tip shone gold, violet, and green as it shot straight toward the Abyssal Evil Crystal on the flagship's mast with world-destroying force.
"No-!" A furious female voice rang out from the direction of the Planar Gate. It was the Abyss Matriarch! Her voice carried abyssal evil power, making the warship's light shield ripple. Several tentacles suddenly burst out from beneath the flagship's deck, attempting to coil around Loran's body. But Icefield Wolf was ready. It severed one tentacle with its dagger while ramming its body into the mast beneath the evil crystal. The mast shook violently, shifting the crystal's position.
Loran seized that fleeting opportunity and drove the purification spear deep into the evil crystal-the crystal gave a piercing crack, fractures spreading across its surface. Black-purple energy surged wildly from them, only to be swallowed instantly by the purification light. The moment the evil crystal shattered completely, the flagship's hull began to disintegrate. Black stone and evil bones tumbled into the lava chasm below, leaving only a few burning masts, which were soon engulfed by the miasma.
With the flagship dealt with, everyone was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when a gigantic "evil mist vortex" suddenly swirled up in the direction of the Planar Gate. An eerie green glow shone within it, and countless tiny evil bone fragments spun through the vortex, forming an impenetrable barrier directly between the warship and the Planar Gate. More terrifying still, faint whispers drifted from within the vortex. Those voices carried a beguiling power, and as they reached everyone's ears, they actually stirred despair in their hearts. Even Lei Lin's fiery wings began to tremble slightly.