The moment the exploration vessel entered the Evil Bone Canyon, a biting, malevolent wind carrying rubble rushed towards them. The rock walls on both sides of the canyon were densely covered with twisted Evil Bone —some were the vertebrae of giant Abyss Worm, some were fragments of the carapace of Soul-Corroding Flying Insects, and even human skeletons with remnants of armor could be seen. All the Evil Bone gleamed with a blackish-purple evil light, forming eerie patterns on the rock walls, like a giant net devouring life.
" Holy Spring Crystal Warning! Large amount of Evil Energy reaction a hundred feet ahead!" Snow Spirit Qilin's ice talisman hovered in the center of the bridge, its white light projecting an image from the depths of the canyon: hundreds of Miasma Evil Puppet were climbing along the rock wall. Their bodies were larger than those encountered before, thick black miasma swirling between fragments of Evil Bone, and some even had bony wings with barbs, allowing them to fly at low altitudes in the canyon.
" Chief Tongchui! Aim the steam cannons at the Bone-Winged Puppet! Prioritize taking out the flying ones!" As soon as Loran finished speaking, the six steam cannons on both sides of the ship simultaneously charged, the golden light of the Holy Spring Crystal flowing into the cannon barrels. Iron bullets imbued with Purification Power roared out, accurately striking the foremost Bone-Winged Puppet. "Boom!" The instant the iron bullets exploded, golden-blue light enveloped the golems. Their bone wings disintegrated under the Purification Power, and the golems lost their balance, crashing against the rock wall and shattering into pieces.
More puppets surged from the depths of the canyon. Some landed on the deck, their giant fists formed from Evil Bone slamming into the ship's runes, instantly causing black patterns to appear on the deck. Others lunged at the Nature Navigation Sail at the stern, their bone blades slicing through the Evil-Resisting Vine, causing black liquid to seep from the cuts and the vines to wither rapidly. " Water Whisperer! Set Water Ripple Barrier!" A Ze leaped to the edge of the deck, and pale blue water elements condensed into a semi-transparent barrier around the ship. The puppets crashed into the barrier, their Evil Bone instantly enveloped in water patterns, emitting hissing white smoke.
Liya crouched beside the navigation sail, the " Illustrated Catalog of Plants " glowing with a vibrant green light. Her fingertips traced the pages, and the withered Evil-Resisting Vine rapidly regenerated. The newly grown vines were thicker and stronger, covered in tiny thorns, binding the lunging golem and securing it firmly to the sail ropes. " Loran! The golem is absorbing the Evil Energy from the canyon walls! If we drag this out any longer, there will be more and more!"
Loran nodded, gripping the Purification Core clone tightly. The power of the three elements spread throughout the ship via the bridge runes, and pale white, pale gold, and emerald green light condensed into a ring on the deck. " Lei Lin, Snow Spirit Qilin! Follow me to the canyon entrance! Destroy the puppet's energy source! A Ze, Liya, you hold the warship! Chief Tongchui, cover us with the steam cannons!"
Lei Lin's fiery wings unfurled instantly, golden-red flames carrying Loran and Snow Spirit Qilin towards the canyon entrance. The Icefield Wolf followed closely behind, its Fallen Star Iron dagger gleaming coldly, its golden form nimbly weaving through the evil wind, biting the neck of a Bone-Winged Puppet, the dagger piercing its core, causing the puppet to instantly disintegrate.
At the entrance to the canyon, on a massive platform of Evil Bone, were embedded three dark red " Evil Energy Crystal "—the very energy source for the puppets. Black miasma swirled around the crystals, constantly channeling energy into the surrounding fragments of Evil Bone. "Those are the three crystals!" Snow Spirit Qilin's icy mist condensed into ice shards, piercing the leftmost crystal. The ice shards pierced through the black miasma, and the moment they struck the crystal, the black patterns on its surface began to fade, and the surrounding puppets noticeably slowed their movements.
Just then, the rock walls on both sides of the canyon suddenly trembled violently, and two huge rocks crashed down. From the rubble, two ten-meter-tall " Evil Energy Guardian " slowly rose—their bodies were carved from single pieces of Evil Bone, their surfaces covered in dark purple Evil Energy armor. In their left hands they held Evil Bone shields, and in their right hands they gripped Evil Bone axes, the blades gleaming with a dark red light. Their heads were skulls inlaid with Evil Energy Crystal, and eerie green flames flickered in their eye sockets.
"Finally out!" Lei Lin flapped his fiery wings, and golden-red flames transformed into pillars of fire, piercing straight for the head of the guard on the left. The moment the pillar of fire struck the Evil Energy Crystal, the guard actually raised his giant shield. The flames were blocked by the shield and absorbed by the Evil Energy, making the fel patterns on the shield's surface even brighter. "Physical attacks and single-elemental forces are useless against them!"
Snow Spirit Qilin's icy mist froze the legs of the guard on the right, but the guard shattered the mist with a light stomp, and the giant axe swept towards Snow Spirit Qilin. Loran immediately leaped into the air, condensing the power of the three elements into a purifying light blade to block the giant axe. The moment the light blade collided with the axe blade, Evil Energy spread along the light blade, and black patterns instantly appeared on Loran's arm. Fortunately, the Icefield Wolf pounced in time, and the dagger severed the Evil Energy threads, and the black patterns slowly faded away.
"Look at their chests!" Liya's voice came through the communication talisman, "The Illustrated Catalog of Plants shows that the core of the guardian is in the Evil Bone Crystal in its chest, requiring Three-Element Resonance to shatter! Lei Lin's flames, Snow Spirit Qilin's icy mist, and Loran's Purification Power —all three must strike the crystal core simultaneously to break through its defenses!"
Loran immediately adjusted the tactics. " Lei Lin, you draw the left guard's attention and attack its giant shield with fire; Snow Spirit Qilin, you go around behind the right guard and freeze its joints with ice mist; the Icefield Wolf and I will look for an opportunity to attack their chest cores simultaneously!"
Lei Lin immediately charged towards the left guard, his fire wings condensing into fire whips that ensnared the guard's giant axe. Flames spread along the axe handle, attempting to seep into the guard's body. The guard roared, hurling his giant shield at Lei Lin Lei Lin nimbly dodged. The fire whips then wrapped around the guard's legs, tripping him to the ground. Snow Spirit Qilin seized the opportunity to circle behind the right guard, his icy mist condensing into ice chains that bound the guard's arms. The Purification Power of the ice chains slowed the guard's movements.
"Now!" Loran leaped into the air, the pale purple light of the Purification Core clone condensing into a spear of light in his hand. The Icefield Wolf followed closely behind, its dagger gleaming coldly. The two charged towards the chests of the two guards simultaneously, the spear and dagger piercing the Evil Bone Crystal. The pale purple light intertwined with golden-red and shimmering white light, and the power of the Three-Element Resonance resonated instantly, causing the guards' Evil Energy to crumble inch by inch. The Evil Bone Crystal on their chests shattered, the eerie green flames extinguished, and their bodies crashed to the ground, turning into a pile of Evil Bone fragments.
Destroying the guards, Loran immediately rushed towards the Evil Bone Platform. His three elemental light blades severed the black miasma binding the Evil Energy Crystal crystals, and pale purple light was injected into the crystals. The three crystals shattered simultaneously, and the surrounding Miasma Evil Puppet, deprived of their energy source, turned into ashes. The evil winds in the canyon gradually subsided, and the Evil Bone patterns on the rock walls also lost their luster.