The silvery-white particles spread along the Moon Spring. When they encountered the gray mist formed by Evil Energy, they turned into tiny silver bubbles, gradually enveloping the gray mist. The warm membrane of flames continued to release warmth, causing the silver bubbles, which were wrapped in Evil Energy, to slowly float to the surface. A Shi immediately caught them with a wooden spoon and poured them into a ceramic bowl containing Moon Dew Grass. The moment the silver bubbles came into contact with the grass juice, they turned into a pale black liquid and were completely absorbed by the grass juice.
" A Ya! It's time to plant Moon Dew Grass!" A Mu shouted towards the stern. A Ya immediately grabbed the Moon Dew Grass and followed the Moon Dwelling Girl into the shallow water near the floating island. The girl skillfully used reeds to dig shallow trenches in the muddy ground by the spring, and sprinkled some ground " Water Silk Moss " into the trenches. "The chieftain said that Water Silk Moss can help Moon Dew Grass take root faster, and it can also lock in the Evil Energy together with the grass's roots, preventing it from seeping back into the Moon Spring." A Ya then followed the " Aquatic Symbiosis Method " taught by Liya, sprinkling Moon Dew Grass on the Water Silk Moss and then watering it with diluted Soul-Purifying Water ( Loran had already mixed it with moonlight to create " Moon Soul Liquid ")—as soon as the seeds touched the water, tiny silver sprouts emerged, the roots quickly penetrated the mud, and when the leaves unfolded, they shimmered with a silver light similar to that of Nightglow Algae. The black threads in the spring water seemed to be attracted by a magnet, slowly gathering towards the grass leaves.
A Shi squatted by the floating island, writing rapidly on his record board. "At 1:15 PM, the Ice-Fire Harmonization was activated, and the concentration of the Moon Spring's gray mist decreased by 20%; at 3:45 PM, the symbiotic zone of Moon Dew Grass and Water Silk Moss took shape, and the Moon-Sleep Flower began to show its buds; at 1:15 PM, a Moon-Sleep Frog jumped out of the reeds, and its call returned to its clear tone!" He also asked the Moon Dwelling Maiden to help measure the light transmittance of the Moon Spring and drew a distribution map of the Moon Spring's tributaries and the floating island on the record board, marking " The Evil Energy is most concentrated on the north side of the Full Moon Spring, which needs to be purified"—that was what the maiden said, because the Moon-Sleep Flower on the north side withered the fastest every time the moon was full.
Just as A Mu was purifying the area north of the Full Moon Spring, a ripple suddenly appeared on the water's surface— the Evil Energy deep within the spring had suddenly erupted, causing the warm membrane that A Mu had condensed to shake violently. The Nightglow Algae, which had just regained its faint glow, began to turn gray again! A Mu gripped the hilt of his sword in a panic, and suddenly remembered what the Moon Dwelling Maiden had said about "borrowing power from moonlight." He immediately adjusted the power of the ice mist, condensing more moonlight into a band of light, which coiled around the tributary of the Moon Spring to form a "moon ring," temporarily blocking the spread of the Evil Energy.
"Use the ' Moonheart Stone ' from the wetlands as a catalyst!" The old chieftain of Moon Dwelling approached, leaning on his reed staff, holding a stone that gleamed with moonlight. "This is Moonheart Stone dug from the bottom of the Full Moon Spring. It can absorb Evil Energy and gather moonlight. Mix its power into the power of ice and fire, and inject it into the spring in accordance with the frequency of the Moon's Whisper, and you will be able to purify the deep-seated Evil Energy."
A Mu immediately took the Moonheart Stone and fused it with the power of ice and fire and moonlight—the power of fire was tinged with a pale silver light, while the power of ice mist shone with a very faint moon yellow. The two powers intertwined to form a stream of light of the same origin as the Moon Spring, which flowed into the Full Moon Spring along with the resonance of the Moon's Whisper. The ripples on the water gradually subsided, and the gray mist at the bottom of the spring seemed to be drawn to the surface by the stream of light, slowly rising to the surface and being firmly absorbed by the leaves of the Moon Dew Grass; the water of the Moon Spring became clear again, the grayish Moon-Sleep Flower Nightglow Algae regained its silver light, the tightly closed buds of the Moon Sleep Flower slowly bloomed, and the pale white petals shimmered with a lustrous light under the moonlight. Even the Moon-Sleep Frog hiding in the reeds jumped out and sang a song as melodious as a zither around the spring.
"Look at the center of the spring!" The Moon Dwelling Girl suddenly pointed to the center of the Full Moon Spring. Everyone looked up and saw a crystal core floating on the surface of the water in the center of the spring, shimmering with a soft moonlight—half of the crystal core was submerged in the spring water, and its surface was wrapped with very faint black threads; it was the " Moonheart Crystal "! The light of the crystal core echoed the moonlight, clearly indicating that it was the life core of the wetland, but it was bound by the Moon-Turbidity Evil Trace, which prevented it from playing a role in stabilizing the wetland's ecosystem.
"This is the ' Heart of the Moon Vein ' in the wetlands!" Loran crouched at the edge of the floating island, his fingertips glowing with a purifying light. "Activating it will completely stabilize the Evil Energy in the Moon Spring, restoring the Moonlight Wetland to their former vitality— A Mu, are you willing to give it a try?"
A Mu nodded and gently placed the New Sprout Sword on the wooden stake of the floating island. He didn't rush to inject power, but first let the power of ice and fire resonate with the Moon Spring and moonlight at the same time. Then, he slowly injected the light stream mixed with the power of the Moonheart Stone into the Moonheart Crystal. The moonlight color of the crystal core instantly surged, and the black threads on the surface disappeared quickly like mist blown away by the moonlight. The moonlight color spread along the tributary of the Moon Spring, covering the entire Moonlight Wetland.
" Moon Spring has become clear! The Moon-Sleep Flower are all in bloom!" The Moon Dwellers suddenly cheered. Everyone looked up and saw that the water of the Full Moon Spring reflected the full moon like a mirror. The silver light of the Nightglow Algae scintillated with the moonlight, making the wetland look like a dream. The Moon-Sleep Flower were blooming exceptionally brightly, with dewdrops formed by moonlight clinging to their pale white petals. The croaking of the Moon-Sleep Frog and the soft rustling of the reeds intertwined, like a gentle nocturne. Even the air was filled with the faint fragrance of the Moon-Sleep Flower.
The Moon Dwellers emerged from their floating houses, carrying "Moon Sleep Cakes" baked with moonlight and sweet "Algae Dew Drinks." The old chieftain handed a bowl of warm Algae Dew Drinks to the young people, smiling as he said, "This is made with the juice of Nightglow Algae; it has calming properties. Thank you for bringing the wetlands back to life!"
A Ya took out her paintbrush and lay down by the floating island to sketch—she deliberately included the scene of moonlight reflecting on the spring, the blooming of the Moon-Sleep Flower, and the scene of the Moon Dwellers playing with the Moon-Sleep Frog in the drawing. She also marked next to the Moonheart Crystal, "The core of the Moonlight Wetland's vitality, the light transmittance of the Moon Spring and the status of the Moon-Sleep Flower need to be monitored monthly." The Icefield Wolf came over and gently touched the water surface with its paw. The moonlight color of the Moonheart Crystal actually condensed into a small Moon-Sleep Flower -shaped light pattern in its paw, which made the moon dwellers laugh.
As the moon deepened, the tranquility of the Moonlight Wetland was teeming with life: the silvery glow of Nightglow Algae blanketed the water's surface, Moon-Sleep Flower swayed gently in the moonlight, the croaking of Moon-Sleep Frog mingled with the breeze, and warm lights shone from the floating island houses of the Moon Dwellers. A Mu compiled today's patrol records into a "Wetland Guardian Log," with a symbiotic diagram of Moonheart Crystal and Full Moon Spring drawn on the title page; A Shi, on the other hand, compiled the Moon Spring's recovery data and the blooming rate of Moon-Sleep Flower into a table, saying he would take it back to the Holy Land to compare with the high-temperature ecological data of the volcano, and study the differences in the dissipation of Evil Energy under different lighting conditions.
On the return journey, the Moonheart Crystal suddenly emitted a moonlit glow, extending towards " Starfall Canyon " on the western side of the wetlands. Loran temporarily protected the crystal core with ice mist (to prevent it from being eroded by the moisture) and said to the boys with a smile, "It seems it sensed the vitality fluctuations in the canyon. Next time we patrol, we can go and take a look at Starfall Canyon."
A Mu gripped the New Sprout Sword tightly, the Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern on the scabbard echoing the moonlight color of the Moonheart Crystal: "Whether it's the canyon or anywhere else, we can protect the life hidden in the moonlight, flames, and seawater!" The laughter of the boys echoed in the wetland night sky, and the golden figure of the Icefield Wolf crouched at the bow of the floating reed boat, a blooming Moon-Sleep Flower dangling from its mouth, as if collecting souvenirs for the next guardian journey.
As night deepened, A Mu placed the Wetland Log into the "Guardian Bookshelf"—the shelf was already filled with twelve logs, from the water veins of the Clear Creek River and the flowers and plants on the edge of the abyss, to the Ironleaf Flower of the mines and the Fluorescent Butterfly of the Elven Woods, to the Windwhisper Stone Tidal Crystal Core the grasslands, the Marshheart Crystal cores of the bays, the swamp core Fallen Star Crystal of the marshes, the meteorite Icefield Crystal of the woodlands, the ice field crystals of the ice plains, the Tidal Crystal Molten Fire Crystal of the archipelago, the molten crystals of the volcanoes, and the Moonheart Crystal of the wetlands. Each log was filled with the growth and protection of the young people. Moonlight shone through the gaps in the tent onto the logs, reflecting the ice and fire warning crystals and the Moon Dew Grass specimens beside the bookshelf, as if telling a story: the path of protection has no end. Those subtle beauties hidden in the moonlight of the wetlands, the glow of the volcanoes, and the colorful mist of the ocean, those protection methods tailored for each piece of land, will eventually weave a vibrant net covering the continent in the passage of time.
The story of " The Qilin of Falling Maple " continues to grow amidst the moonlight of the wetlands, the glow of the crystal cores, and the laughter of the young boy. There are no thrilling battles, only Moon Dew Grass planted with bare hands, moonlight ledgers recorded with pen, and moonlit resonances transmitted by the floating islands—these ordinary acts of protection, like the Moonlight Wetland, are gentle yet steadfast, slowly converging into a protective river that illuminates the continent, flowing gently towards the more distant Starfall Canyon and the more mysterious ecological lands.