The ice crystal palace was even more magnificent inside than they had imagined-the towering dome was studded with glowing ice crystals that refracted rainbow light; the floor was translucent ice, with crimson, flaming magma flowing beneath it. The mingled aura of ice and fire washed over them, yet strangely, neither interfered with the other. But the sinister energy at the center of the hall utterly ruined this sacred scene.
Snow Spirit Qilin lay curled on an ice crystal platform in the center of the hall. Its snow-white fur had lost its luster and taken on a faint grayish-black hue. Black bone chains bound its limbs, twisted runes carved into their surfaces. Each time a rune lit up, a wisp of sinister energy seeped into its body through its scales. Snow Spirit Qilin's golden, slit-pupiled eyes were half-open, its breathing weak, yet it still gritted its teeth and resisted. Pale blue frost spilled from its nose, holding the sinister energy at bay.
An old man in a black robe stood beside the ice crystal platform-serpentine patterns were embroidered on his robe, and beneath his hood was a gaunt face with skin as wrinkled as old bark. He held a bone staff set with a snake-shaped skull. This was the Bone Serpent Priest of the Bone-Eroding Cult. He tapped the ice crystal platform lightly with his staff, a greedy smile on his lips. "Snow Spirit Qilin, stop struggling. Your blood essence will let me break through to the Saint-level. This is your honor."
"Stop!" Loran's furious roar rang through the palace. He charged forward with his knight's sword in hand, but the oppressive aura of the Peak of the Fourth Rank made his heart sink-the Bone Serpent Priest's aura was far stronger than that of the black-robed man under Evil Spirit Possession. He had probably already reached the threshold of Saint-level.
The Bone Serpent Priest turned, his cloudy eyes sweeping over Loran and Lei Lin. When he saw Lei Lin, a flash of delighted surprise crossed his eyes. "To think there's a fire qilin here as well! The blood essence of two qilin will be enough to take me straight into Saint-level! Heaven truly favors me!"
He swung his bone staff sharply. Two black rays shot from the snake skull's eye sockets straight at Loran. Lei Lin leaped up, spreading its flaming wings into a barrier. Crimson flames collided with the rays with a corrosive hiss. "Loran, save Snow Spirit Qilin! I'll hold him off!"
Loran nodded, dodged another attack from the Bone Serpent Priest, and rushed toward the ice crystal platform. But as he approached, a black wall of light suddenly rose around it. Serpentine phantoms crawled across the wall, opening their mouths to spew highly poisonous black mist. Loran slashed at the wall, but the sword light of his third-tier Dou Qi left only a shallow mark.
"Useless! This is the Evil Bone Barrier. Without Saint-level power, you can't possibly break it!" The Bone Serpent Priest sneered and pointed his staff at Lei Lin. "I'll deal with you first, little fire qilin!"
Three black bone serpents emerged from the staff, their fang-filled mouths gaping as they lunged to coil around Lei Lin. Lei Lin spread its flaming wings and fired flame projectiles like rain, but they could only stall the bone serpents' attacks for a moment. Even after the flames scorched their bodies, the bone serpents rapidly repaired themselves with sinister energy. They soon closed in on Lei Lin, and one coiled around its flaming wing. Sinister energy seeped through the wing's surface, and Lei Lin let out a pained cry.
"Lei Lin!" Frantic with worry, Loran slashed at the wall of light again, but it remained utterly unmoved. Seeing Lei Lin in danger, Snow Spirit Qilin's eyes flashed with resolve. It suddenly mustered the last of the strength in its body. Pale blue frost surged, briefly forcing back the sinister energy on the bone chains, and it gave a long, resonant cry toward Lei Lin.
Just then, the contract mark on Lei Lin's forehead suddenly lit up. Crimson light traveled through the air and joined the pale blue light on Snow Spirit Qilin's forehead. The two lights intertwined into a two-colored ribbon in midair, containing an ancient and powerful force that instantly spread throughout the palace. The ice surface of the crystal platform began to tremble, and the magma below grew more active. Ice and fire elements surged wildly toward Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin.
"Qilin Resonance!" The Bone Serpent Priest's expression finally changed. "Impossible! After a thousand years, how could two qilin resonate again?"
The power of the resonance not only nourished Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin but also surged toward Loran-the ice and fire elements within him instantly seethed. Under the impact of this power, the barriers holding his Dou Qi and magic at the third-tier peak began to shake violently. Loran could feel the magic core in his dantian and the Dou Qi in his meridians merging in an entirely new way. A sense of smoothness unlike anything he had experienced spread through his body.
"This is... a chance to break through!" Loran tightened his grip on his knight's sword and devoted all his attention to merging his powers. He no longer deliberately distinguished between Dou Qi and magic, allowing the two powers to circulate within him. Golden and crimson light spread along his blood vessels before finally gathering in his chest.
Seeing this, the Bone Serpent Priest's eyes flashed with ruthlessness. "I won't let you break through!" He bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of black blood onto his bone staff. The snake-shaped skull instantly opened its eyes and let out a piercing shriek. An enormous black serpent phantom burst from the staff. It had nine heads, each spewing a different kind of sinister energy, and lunged toward Loran.
"Loran, watch out!" Lei Lin broke free of the bone serpent's coils and tried to rush over to protect Loran, only to be blocked by another black wall of light. Snow Spirit Qilin struggled anxiously as well, the clash between its frost and the sinister energy growing fiercer.
Loran opened his eyes, golden and crimson light flashing within them. He could feel that his power had broken through the third-tier barrier. A fourth-tier aura erupted from his body-his Dou Qi had become more condensed, and his magic core had grown larger. Most importantly, the two powers could now merge perfectly in an instant, without the slightest resistance.
"The fourth tier... I've finally broken through!" Loran raised his knight's sword. Fourth-tier Dou Qi and fire magic surged along the blade together, golden and crimson light swelling into a two-meter-long, two-colored sword radiance. He leaped toward the nine-headed serpent phantom. "Ice and Fire: Evil-Breaking Slash!"
The sword radiance cleaved through the air with the combined power of ice and fire, striking the nine-headed serpent phantom's heads in an instant. The sinister phantom let out a shrill scream as the ice and fire within the sword radiance burned and froze it, and it soon dissipated into the air. The backlash sent the Bone Serpent Priest staggering backward. Black blood trickled from his mouth, and his eyes filled with disbelief. "The fourth tier... you actually broke through at a time like this!"
Loran gave him no chance to catch his breath. With his knight's sword in hand, he charged at the Evil Bone Barrier again. His combined fourth-tier Dou Qi and magic were many times stronger than they had been at the third tier. He poured all his power into the blade and slashed fiercely at the wall of light. "Break!"
With a crack, a fissure appeared in the Evil Bone Barrier. It spread rapidly, and soon the barrier shattered completely. Loran rushed to the ice crystal platform and severed the bone chains binding Snow Spirit Qilin. The instant the chains broke, the sinister energy lost its vessel and was dispersed by Snow Spirit Qilin's frost.
Finally freed, Snow Spirit Qilin rose weakly to its feet and nodded at Loran, then exchanged a glance with Lei Lin. The two qilin cried out again, and the power of their resonance erupted once more-this time, it no longer merely nourished them but formed a two-colored pillar of light that shot beyond the hall, enveloping the entire ice crystal palace in its glow.
Watching this, the Bone Serpent Priest knew he no longer had any chance of winning. Madness flashed in his eyes as he pulled a black box from inside his robe. The instant he opened it, sinister energy even denser than before surged out. "Even if I can't get the two qilin's blood essence, I'll make you all die with me! This is a Bone-Eroding Bomb, powerful enough to blow up the entire ice crystal palace!"
Loran's expression changed drastically. He was about to rush forward to stop him when Snow Spirit Qilin suddenly leaped up. Pale blue frost instantly froze the Bone Serpent Priest's arm. Lei Lin seized the opportunity to breathe a stream of searing flame. Fire and frost intertwined into a cage of ice and fire, trapping the Bone Serpent Priest within.
"No!" The Bone Serpent Priest struggled to detonate the box, but Loran drove his sword through his shoulder. Loran snatched the black box away and threw it into a corner of the palace, then swung his sword and severed the Bone Serpent Priest's other arm.
The Bone Serpent Priest fell to the ground covered in blood, yet still howled madly. "The Bone-Eroding Cult won't let you get away with this! His Holiness the Pope is already preparing the Evil Bone Grand Formation! Once it's complete, sinister energy will shroud the entire continent! You... will all die!"
Loran frowned. "His Holiness the Pope" and "Evil Bone Grand Formation"-this was the first time he had heard either term. Clearly, the Bone-Eroding Cult's plot was far larger than he had imagined. He was about to question him further when the Bone Serpent Priest suddenly bit through a poison sac hidden in his teeth. His body rapidly shriveled, and he soon stopped breathing.
The crisis was finally over. Lei Lin walked over to Snow Spirit Qilin and rubbed its head against its cheek. Crimson flame intertwined with pale blue frost, helping it recover its strength. Snow Spirit Qilin's breathing gradually steadied, and life returned to its golden, slit-pupiled eyes. It looked at Loran, its eyes full of gratitude.
The icefield wolf also ran into the palace and bounded over to Snow Spirit Qilin, gently patting its leg with its tail as though comforting it. Loran walked up to the ice crystal platform and gazed at the magma flowing below and the ice crystals around him, filled with emotion-without Qilin Resonance and his breakthrough in that desperate situation, he could never have defeated the Bone Serpent Priest.
"Loran," Lei Lin's voice sounded in Loran's mind, "Snow Spirit Qilin says it knows about the Bone-Eroding Cult's Evil Bone Grand Formation. It's refined from the skeletons of a hundred magical beasts and the blood essence of ten Saint-level experts. Once completed, it can open a passage to the Evil Bone Plane, allowing more evil creatures to come to this continent."
Loran's expression grew grave. "So the Bone-Eroding Cult isn't just targeting qilin, but the entire continent?"
Snow Spirit Qilin nodded and spoke in a gentle voice-unlike Lei Lin's, its voice carried a hint of coolness. "The Bone Serpent Priest acted alone to compete for an Evil Bone Pill. The Bone-Eroding Cult's main force is still preparing the grand formation in Bone Valley to the south. We must stop them as soon as possible, or the consequences will be unthinkable."
Loran tightened his grip on his knight's sword, resolve flashing in his eyes. "We'll return to Fallen Maple Territory first, bring Uncle Byrne and reinforcements, then head to Bone Valley. Now we have two qilin, and I've broken through to the fourth tier. We can definitely stop them!"
Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin nodded together, their eyes full of trust. The icefield wolf also gave an excited growl, as though agreeing with Loran's decision.
At the dome of the ice crystal palace, the two-colored light gradually faded, and the ice and fire elements settled once more. Loran looked at the two qilin and the icefield wolf beside him, warmth welling in his heart-from the crisis in Fallen Maple Territory to forming a contract with Lei Lin, then finding Snow Spirit Qilin and breaking through to the fourth tier, this adventure had helped him grow so much.
But he knew this was only the beginning. The Bone-Eroding Cult's plot had yet to be crushed, and the threat of the Evil Bone Grand Formation remained. The road ahead would be even harder. But as long as the two qilin were by his side and his companions supported him, he would not back down.
Loran turned and walked out of the palace, Lei Lin and Snow Spirit Qilin flanking him, with the icefield wolf close behind. Sunlight streamed through the palace doors, stretching their shadows long and illuminating the challenging road ahead. An adventure that would decide the continent's survival was about to enter a new chapter.