Swamp Mist, Ancient Vine Whispers, and a New Imbalance
The southern swamp's morning mist was heavy with moisture, turning towering ancient trees into blurred silhouettes. Rotting leaves rustled faintly underfoot, and the earthy, fishy smell of soil and aquatic plants filled the air, utterly unlike the clear freshness of Heaven Dou City.
Tang San and his companions treaded carefully across vine bridges woven from Blue Silver Grass as they made their way deep into the swamp. The Proof of Balance jade pendant grew slightly warm against Tang San's chest, pointing toward the heart of the energy imbalance-a valley shrouded in black mist that even sunlight could not penetrate.
"The Soul Power here is too chaotic." Lin Ye's Golden Crow Fire flickered at his fingertips, but it looked somewhat feeble. "There's a trace of dark energy mixed into the moisture, as if... it's seeping up from underground."
Xiao Wu's ears twitched alertly, pointing in one direction or another from time to time. "Something's moving to the east. It's fast, and there's more than one."
Dai Mubai held Netherworld Thrust tightly, his gaze sharp as a hawk's. "Be careful. Most Soul Beasts in the swamp are good at hiding. Don't walk into an ambush."
Ever since deciding to establish the Balance Council, they had made inspecting sites of energy imbalance across the continent their foremost task. The anomaly in the southern swamp was the latest news from the council. Local villagers said that over the past month, plants deep in the swamp had begun to grow wildly and would even attack people and livestock that came near. Quite a few hunters had gone in and never come out.
"According to the information provided by the council, there's an ancient energy vein beneath this swamp that connects to the fire at the continent's core." Tang San deployed his Blue Silver Domain, sending vines deep into the mud to investigate the ground below. "If dark energy has contaminated the vein, the swamp won't be the only place thrown out of balance. Even the surrounding volcanic belt could erupt."
As he spoke, a sudden hissing came from the mist ahead. Dozens of vines as thick as buckets burst from the mud, their barbed tips reaching to coil around the group like venomous snakes. The vines were pitch-black, and dark red liquid flowed through the veins in their leaves. They had clearly been contaminated by dark energy.
"They're here!" Tai Long roared, transforming into a Great Strength Gorilla. His fists glowed gold as he smashed them fiercely into the vines.
Bang!
The vines snapped, and black sap splashed onto the ground, sizzling as it corroded the earth. But new shoots quickly sprouted from the broken ends, growing at an astonishing speed.
"These vines can repair themselves!" Oscar hurriedly tossed out a defensive sausage, and a pale golden barrier enveloped the group. "Their vitality is too strong!"
Lin Ye's Lotus Flame erupted, golden-red fire surging toward the vines like a tide. "Try my Lotus Flame!"
The flames scorched the vines, releasing a pungent burnt smell. The black vines writhed violently in the Lotus Flame, but instead of withering immediately, they released even more black mist, trying to extinguish the fire.
"Something's strange." Tang San frowned. Blue Silver Grass coiled around a vine, and he infused it with the power of the Chaos Azure Lotus. "The cores of these vines haven't been completely contaminated. It's as if... some kind of power forcibly stimulated their growth."
He could feel that a trace of pure life force still remained deep within the vines. It was only because it was suppressed by violent dark energy that they had become so aggressive.
"I've found the source!" Xiao Wu suddenly pointed toward the center of the valley shrouded in black mist. "There's an especially big tree over there. All the vines are sending energy to it!"
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass extended along the vines, and sure enough, he sensed a giant ancient vine tree at the center of the valley. Its trunk was over a hundred meters in diameter, its branches reached toward the sky like enormous hands, and its crown covered the entire valley. Its roots plunged deep underground, steadily absorbing dark energy and spreading it throughout the swamp through its vines.
"That's a Spirit-Devouring Ancient Vine, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast." A grave look flashed in Tang San's eyes. "Legend has it that it can absorb all kinds of energy and turn them into nourishment for itself. It seems the dark energy stimulated it and made it this violent."
"Then should we go straight over and deal with it?" Dai Mubai asked.
"No." Tang San shook his head. "The Spirit-Devouring Ancient Vine itself is neither good nor evil. It's just being controlled by dark energy. If we destroy it outright, the energy vein will be completely severed, and the consequences will be even worse. We need to purify the dark energy inside it."
He looked at Lin Ye. "Can your Lotus Flame work together with the power of the Chaos Azure Lotus? First suppress its aggression, then purify it slowly."
Lin Ye nodded. "No problem, but we need someone to hold those vines off and buy us time."
"Leave it to us!" Dai Mubai, Tai Long, and Xiao Wu said in unison.
With the plan settled, everyone sprang into action. Dai Mubai and Tai Long took one side each, constantly driving back the oncoming vines and clearing a path for Tang San and Lin Ye. Xiao Wu used Teleportation to launch occasional sneak attacks on the vines' roots, temporarily stopping them from regenerating. Oscar's sausages were like a reassuring pill, continuously bolstering everyone's condition.
Tang San and Lin Ye drew closer to the ancient vine tree one step at a time. The nearer they got to the center, the thicker the black mist became. The dark energy had almost taken physical form, constantly eroding their Soul Power defenses.
"Now!" Tang San shouted, unleashing the full power of the Chaos Azure Lotus. Seven-colored light formed a lotus in his palm and slowly flew toward the ancient vine tree's trunk.
Lin Ye's Lotus Flame shot out at the same time, intertwining with the lotus to form a pillar of alternating gold and multicolored light. Like a sharp sword, it pierced the ancient vine tree's trunk.
"Roar-!"
The ancient vine tree let out a deafening roar, as though it had come alive. Countless branches danced wildly, smashing down on Tang San and Lin Ye with destructive force.
"Watch out!" Dai Mubai and Tai Long rushed over and used their bodies to block the branches' attacks. The Clear Sky Hammer and a giant fist collided with the branches, producing a deafening boom.
Tang San gritted his teeth and poured more of the Chaos Azure Lotus's power into the pillar of light. He could feel the dark energy inside the ancient vine tree resisting fiercely, clashing wildly with the Lotus Flame and the azure lotus's power. The black patterns on the trunk flickered between light and dark, as though the two powers were fighting for control.
"It can't hold out much longer!" Lin Ye shouted, his Golden Crow Fire burning even more fiercely. "Give it everything you've got!"
Tang San took a deep breath and pressed the Proof of Balance jade pendant against the ancient vine tree's trunk. The pendant instantly burst with dazzling light, and the power of balance spread along the trunk, accelerating the purification of the dark energy like a catalyst.
The ancient vine tree's roars gradually weakened, and its flailing branches slowly drooped. The black patterns on its trunk faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, revealing the original deep green wood beneath. The dark red liquid flowing through the veins in its leaves also became clear again.
When the last trace of dark energy had been purified, the ancient vine tree swayed gently. Pale purple flowers bloomed on its branches, releasing a fresh fragrance that dispersed the surrounding black mist.
The swamp's mist gradually cleared, and sunlight streamed through the tree's crown, illuminating the ground covered in fresh greenery. The vines that had attacked the group also returned to normal, quietly withdrawing into the mud, no longer aggressive.
"We did it!" Xiao Wu cried in delight.
Tang San withdrew his hand. The jade pendant had returned to its soft glow. As he looked at the ancient vine tree, he could clearly sense the gratitude it conveyed-a pure joy of life, no longer twisted by dark energy.
"But this isn't over." Tang San's expression remained grave. "The dark energy inside the Spirit-Devouring Ancient Vine is unusual. It carries the presence of the Deep Sea Forbidden Land, and it doesn't seem to have formed naturally."
He crouched down, sending Blue Silver Grass deep into the ancient vine tree's roots to investigate the underground energy vein. A moment later, his expression grew even more troubled. "There's residual dark energy in the vein. Its source points... toward the Far North Ice Plains!"
"The Far North Ice Plains?" Lin Ye said in surprise. "Wasn't the seal there already reinforced?"
"Perhaps the seal isn't the problem." Tang San stood and looked north. "The Ice Plains Ancient Dragon's scale sensed that the Shadow Sect Master fled west toward the Vast Sea Empire, but now it seems very likely that before he fled, he had already planted seeds of dark energy all over the continent, such as in the energy vein here."
"That bastard!" Dai Mubai was furious. "He won't rest easy even in death!"
"He probably left these seeds behind as a precaution," Tang San reasoned. "Given the right opportunity, such as a point of energy imbalance, these seeds will sprout and contaminate the continent's energy veins again."
He looked at the ancient vine tree and asked softly, "Can you sense when this dark energy invaded?"
The ancient vine tree swayed gently, its branches pointing west across the swamp, where a cave lay hidden behind vines.
"It looks like the answer is there." Tang San gave the others a look. "Let's go see."
The cave was small, but unusually dry inside. Its rock walls were covered with runes similar to those of the Shadow Pavilion. A black crystal lay on a stone platform in the center of the cave. It had already lost its luster, and the dark energy inside had clearly been absorbed by the ancient vine tree.
"It's just like the dark crystal in Gengxin City." Lin Ye picked up the crystal, his brow tightly furrowed. "The runes on it are more complex. It looks like an energy transmitter, designed specifically to contaminate the underground vein."
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass covered the entire cave and found a scrap of parchment in a crack in the rock wall. A simple map was drawn on it, marking the locations of more than a dozen energy nodes across the continent. The southern swamp was one of them, and a black crystal symbol had been drawn beside each node.
"He really did plant seeds all over the continent!" Oscar looked at the map, his face pale. "If all these nodes are contaminated, the consequences will be unimaginable!"
Tang San carefully put away the parchment, his gaze becoming exceptionally resolute. "It seems our inspection mission is even more arduous than we imagined."
He looked at his companions. Not one face showed any sign of retreat, only the determination to fight side by side.
The ancient vine tree's branches drooped gently, offering several pale purple fruits. Tang San accepted them and could feel the pure life force contained within.
"This is its gift of thanks," Xiao Wu said with a smile. "They say the Spirit-Devouring Ancient Vine's fruit can repair Soul Power damage. It's very precious."
Tang San shared the fruit with everyone, then bowed deeply to the ancient vine tree. "Thank you. We'll deal with the other nodes as soon as possible. We won't let dark energy invade this place again."
The ancient vine tree swayed its branches and leaves, as though responding to his promise.
When they left the swamp, the sunlight was just right, and the calls of birds and insects rang clearly through the swamp, full of life. But Tang San knew that beneath the peaceful surface lay an enormous hidden danger left behind by the Shadow Sect Master.
"Where's the next node?" Lin Ye asked.
Tang San unfolded the parchment and pointed to a red dot on the map. "The Mist Forest in the west. It connects to the continent's source of the wind element. Nothing can go wrong there."
"Then let's set off now!" Dai Mubai could hardly wait.
Tang San nodded, took one last look at the swamp restored to life, and turned to follow his companions. The Proof of Balance jade pendant pulsed gently against his chest, as though pointing the way and reminding them that there had never been a shortcut on the path to protecting balance. Only by taking it one step at a time and uprooting the seeds of darkness one by one could they bring the continent lasting peace and stability.
After they left, a black feather quietly surfaced on the water deep in the swamp, then sank to the bottom and vanished. It was as though a pair of invisible eyes were silently watching their movements, waiting for a certain moment to arrive.