The instant the intertwined gold and purple sword light struck the blackish-purple abyssal core, the lava canyon of the Rotting Soul Abyss fell deathly silent-the next second, a devastating energy storm erupted with a thunderous roar! Blackish-purple evil power spread like a tsunami. Wherever it passed, lava froze instantly, then exploded, every evil bone on the rock walls turned to ash, and even the miasma overhead was torn open by a transparent rift.
"Hold on!" The Snow Spirit Qilin leaped toward Loran, unleashing all its luminous white ice mist to form a translucent "ice dome" around them both. But the impact of the evil power far exceeded expectations. Cracks instantly covered the dome, and pale blue source blood seeped from the corner of the Snow Spirit Qilin's mouth-the price of forcibly overdrawing its ice qilin power.
"Wrap the ice dome in nature's power!" Liya's voice trembled as she pressed the Illustrated Catalog of Plants firmly against the warship's deck. The last strand of emerald-green vines surged from its pages, wrapping around the ice dome like a spiderweb. Life force seeped into the cracks, barely slowing the dome's collapse. Meanwhile, A Ze led the Water Whisperers into a circular formation. A pale blue water-element barrier spread from the warship's edges, keeping the energy storm outside the cabin, but blackish-purple evil markings spread across the water shield at a speed visible to the naked eye, and several Water Whisperers instantly turned pale.
Enduring the searing pain in his wings, Lei Lin transformed his golden-red flames into a pillar of fire that shot skyward from the warship's energy channel-the flames collided with the storm of evil power, actually forming a brief "ice-and-fire buffer zone." "Loran! Destroy the energy source now! We can't hold off the storm much longer!" Lei Lin's roar pierced the thunderous din. The wounds on his fiery wings tore open again, and black evil blood dripped onto the deck, where Liya's vines purified it in time.
Protected by the ice dome, Loran still held his knight's sword, which shone with gold and purple light. He looked down at the Evil Bone Energy Source-the impact of the core's explosion had completely ruptured the joints between its evil bones. Pale purple purification light poured wildly into the cracks, tangling with the evil power inside. The Matriarch's tentacles were still lashing the energy source frantically, trying to stop its collapse, but their tips had begun turning black, clearly from the backlash of the core's explosion.
"Icefield Wolf! Come down with me!" Loran leaped out of the ice dome, and the Purification Core's pale purple light automatically formed a protective shield around him. The Icefield Wolf followed close behind, its fallen star iron dagger gleaming coldly. It clamped its jaws around the hem of Loran's clothes and hurtled toward the energy source with the momentum. At the sight, the Matriarch sent her last three giant tentacles toward them. The dark green venom on their barbs was almost solid as they thrust straight at Loran's shield!
"Steam cannons, fire at the tentacles with full power!" The chief gunner roared and pressed the firing button. All the remaining energy in the six steam cannons erupted, launching golden-blue iron cannonballs infused with the Holy Spring's purification power precisely into the tentacles' bases-boom! The tentacles snapped off at the impact, spraying black evil blood that raised clouds of white smoke as it fell into the lava. The Matriarch let out an agonized shriek. The eggs on her insect abdomen burst one after another, and dark green fluid dripped down her scales. She was clearly gravely wounded.
Loran seized the opening to land atop the energy source and pressed the Purification Core firmly against its largest crack-"Three-Element Source, return entirely to the origin!" Loran's roar shook the canyon. Pale white, pale gold, and emerald-green light burst from his body, merging completely with the Purification Core's pale purple glow and pouring through the cracks into the depths of the energy source.
"No-! My legion! My continent!" Despair filled the Matriarch's roar as she frantically rammed her giant head against the energy source, trying to knock Loran off. But the purification power had already permeated the energy source completely. The evil bones began turning into crystalline powder at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the evil-bone chains wrapped around the energy source snapped apart inch by inch. The Planar Gate's dark green light rapidly dimmed. The abyssal creatures beyond it howled in despair as the gradually closing gate forcibly sucked them back.
The Icefield Wolf lunged beside the Matriarch's head and drove its fallen star iron dagger hard into a gap between her scales-the dagger's purification power spread through the wound, instantly freezing her movements. Loran seized the chance and slashed down again with his knight's sword. Gold and purple light pierced straight into the heart of the energy source-crack! The energy source disintegrated completely, turning into crystalline powder that filled the air before scattering across the lava canyon, enveloped in purification light.
The Planar Gate's dark green light went out completely. The gate cracked like a shattered mirror before finally dissolving into a wisp of black smoke. Deprived of its energy support, the Matriarch's insect abdomen rapidly shriveled, and her giant head drooped limply, leaving only a few broken tentacles twitching faintly. "I won't... lose like this..." The Matriarch's voice was barely a thread. Her body suddenly transformed into a streak of blackish-purple light and shot toward a hidden fissure deep in the canyon-the entrance to the core of the Rotting Soul Abyss, and her last escape route.
"Don't let her get away!" Lei Lin wanted to give chase, but the Snow Spirit Qilin held him back. "She's already gravely wounded. She won't be able to stir up trouble again anytime soon! Besides, the evil power inside that fissure is too dense. Going in would be dangerous! First, let's confirm whether the Planar Gate has closed completely!"
Loran nodded and raised the Purification Core-its pale purple light had become incomparably pure, spreading throughout the canyon. Wherever it passed, the blackish-purple miasma rapidly dispersed, the frozen lava began to cool, and the remaining Evil Bone Crystal powder on the rock walls turned into fertile soil beneath the light. A few tender green blades of grass even quietly poked their heads out of the soil-the first trace of life born in the Rotting Soul Abyss.
Everyone boarded the warship and finally breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the canyon below gradually return to calm. Lei Lin leaned against the ship's railing while the Snow Spirit Qilin carefully treated the wounds on his wings with ice mist. Pale blue source power seeped into the wounds, gradually purifying the black evil blood into bright red. Liya put away the Illustrated Catalog of Plants. A pale golden rune had appeared on its pages-the mark of the Purification Core. Clearly, the catalog had also absorbed some of the purification power and grown stronger.