In the morning mist of Green Forest Town, the laughter of children could be heard. The traces of the Evil Bone from half a year ago had long been covered by the new grass. Under the old locust tree at the entrance of town, Loran was helping several children sharpen wooden swords— Icefield Wolf lay to the side, its golden tail sweeping the ground idly, occasionally nuzzling the wild fruit offered by the children with its nose, its eyes so gentle that they did not resemble a war beast that had once fought in the bloody abyss.
" Loran, do you think there really are fire-breathing bugs in the abyss?" The little girl with pigtails held up a wooden sword, her eyes full of curiosity. Loran smiled and nodded, a faint white light gathering at his fingertips, forming a small blade of light at the tip of the wooden sword. "Yes, there are, but we chased them all away. They won't come to bully everyone again."
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint purple light suddenly appeared on the distant horizon—it was in the direction of the Purification Temple! Loran's heart tightened. The light, which should have been a pure golden-purple, was now mixed with very faint black streaks, as if it had been contaminated by something. He immediately stood up and patted the Icefield Wolf's head. "Let's go, let's go check out the temple."
The Icefield Wolf tensed instantly, its golden eyes flashing with wariness, and followed Loran as they sped towards the Qilin Holy Land. The scenery along the way still carried a sense of peace and warmth: on the rivers of the Swamp Spirit Clan, A Ze was leading the Water Whisperer to guide the fish as they swam upstream, pale blue ripples spreading across the surface; at the edge of the Elven Forest, Liya crouched among the flowers, her " Illustrated Catalog of Plants " open on her lap, her fingertips lightly touching the petals, the runes on the pages recording the vitality data of the plants; from the direction of the Blackstone Mountain Range, the faint sounds of dwarves forging could be heard, and the "follow-up to the victory celebration" promised by the Chief Tongchui was still being prepared intermittently.
" A Ze! Liya! Go Purification Temple!" Loran shouted across the river. A Ze looked up and saw Loran's solemn expression. He immediately instructed the Water Whisperer to continue guiding the fish, while he himself condensed water elemental energy into a wave horse and galloped towards Loran. Liya also put away the catalog and summoned a flying carpet woven from vines, following closely behind.
When the three humans and the wolf arrived at the Purification Temple at the foot of Qilin Radiance Peak, Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin were already guarding the altar where the core was enshrined. On the altar, the originally pure Purification Core was tinged with faint black patterns, which slowly moved along the lines on the surface of the core, as if searching for a breakthrough. The Holy Spring rune array around the temple was much dimmer than usual, and a trace of blackish-purple liquid was seeping out of the Holy Spring Crystal at the array's eye.
"Half an hour ago, black patterns suddenly appeared on the core." Snow Spirit Qilin's ice talisman hovered beside the core, its shimmering white light attempting to suppress the black patterns, but only managing to temporarily halt them. "I sensed a faint fluctuation coming from the direction of the abyss, consistent with the aura of the Mistress when she fled—she is recovering, and attempting to corrupt the core!"
Liya immediately opened the " Illustrated Catalog of Plants," the pages automatically flipping to the chapter on the origin of the Evil Bone. Her fingertip traced the yellowed pages. "The atlas says, 'The worms that are the origin of the Evil Bone feed on the evil power of the abyss. Their remnants can parasitize the crevices of the Evil Bone, awakening upon encountering pure energy.' Although the Matriarch is severely injured, her Origin Worm may be hiding in the core rift of the Rotting Soul Abyss, currently remotely contaminating the core through threads of evil power!"
A Ze walked to the rune array, dipped his fingertip into the black liquid seeping from the Holy Spring Crystal, and sniffed it lightly. "This is ' Evil Bone Corrosive Liquid,' which can corrode pure energy. The energy of the rune array is being consumed by the corrosive liquid. If the core is completely contaminated, not only will the temple lose its purification ability, but the previously purified Evil Bone fragments may also awaken again!"
Loran reached out and lightly touched the core, a slight stinging sensation coming from his fingertips—the moment the three elemental powers made contact with the core, the black runes suddenly accelerated their movement, even attempting to seep into Loran's body along his fingertips! The Icefield Wolf immediately pounced forward, its Fallen Star Iron dagger slicing across Loran's fingertips. The dagger's Purification Power severed the evil force, and the black runes retreated back into the core.
"We can't wait any longer!" Lei Lin's fiery wings glowed with a golden-red light. "We must go to the core rift of the Rotting Soul Abyss and completely destroy the Mother's Origin Worm! Otherwise, she will continue to corrupt the core until she has enough power to open the Planar Gate again!"
"But the evil energy in the rift is too dense. If we rush in, we'll be ambushed by the Mistress's Origin Worm." Snow Spirit Qilin's icy mist enveloped the core, temporarily stabilizing the black patterns. "Moreover, the Purification Pool at Qilin Radiance Peak has recently shown abnormalities— the Qilin Heart Crystal at the bottom of the pool is shining much weaker than before, as if something has been absorbing its energy."
Following Snow Spirit Qilin's guidance, the group arrived at the Purification Pool. The shimmering white light in the water had indeed dimmed considerably, and faint black patterns appeared on the surface of the Qilin Heart Crystal at the bottom. Liya squatted by the pool, immersing the * Illustrated Catalog of Plants * in the water. The runes on the pages resonated with the water, revealing a blurry image: within the core rift of the Rotting Soul Abyss, the Matriarch's remains were curled up amidst a pile of Evil Bone. On her abdomen, a semi-transparent " Origin Worm " was attached to the Evil Bone, countless fine threads of evil energy extending from its mouth. One end of each thread connected to the Purification Core, the other to the Qilin Heart Crystal —she was simultaneously absorbing the pure energy of both the core and the crystal!
"I see!" A Ze exclaimed in sudden realization. "The Mistress's Origin Worm needs pure energy to recover, so she's been polluting the core while simultaneously absorbing the energy from the Qilin Heart Crystal. Once she absorbs enough energy, she can re-form her body, making her even more difficult to deal with than before!"
"We must stop her!" The voice of the Chief Tongchui came from outside the temple. He carried a newly forged Fallen Star Iron warhammer, followed by several dwarven craftsmen. "I received a message from Snow Spirit Qilin and rushed here with the ' Holy Iron Ingot ' that can purify evil energy! It's forged from Fallen Star Iron mixed with Holy Spring Crystal and can temporarily suppress the Evil Bone Corrosive Liquid!"
The Chief Tongchui embedded the Holy Iron Ingot into the eye of the rune array. The Holy Iron Ingot glowed with a golden-red light, instantly purifying the corrosive liquid seeping from the Holy Spring Crystal, and the light of the rune array was restored. Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin then injected the power of ice and fire into the Qilin Heart Crystal, and the clear white pool water became bright again, and the black patterns on the surface of the crystal gradually faded away.
"Now it's time to deal with the Matriarch's Origin Worm." Loran gripped his knight's sword, the power of the three elements slowly circulating within him. " Snow Spirit Qilin, you and Lei Lin stay at the temple to continue suppressing the black markings in the core and guarding the Purification Pool; Chief Tongchui, you take the craftsmen to reinforce the temple's defenses to prevent the Matriarch from sending other evil creatures to launch a sneak attack; I, Liya, A Ze, and the Icefield Wolf, will go to the core rift of the Rotting Soul Abyss to eliminate the Origin Worm!"
"I'll go with you!" Lei Lin immediately objected, his fire wings flapping. "The Mistress's Origin Worm are cunning; it's too dangerous for the four of you to go! Snow Spirit Qilin and I can take turns guarding the temple. I'll go to the abyss with you!"