Crisis on Two Fronts: The Shadow Machine Heart and the Tampered Program
The defensive array of Heaven Dou City rippled with pale gold light under the setting sun. Tang San stood atop the council tower, watching the busy Soul Master on the city wall—they were carrying metal arrowheads tempered with Chaos Energy up the arrow tower. These were special weapons forged from a mixture of Star Silver Ore and Deep-Sea Sunken Gold, specifically designed to counter the creations of the Mechanic Race.
"News has come from the Far North Ice Plains." Dai Mubai held the communication crystal, his expression grave. "Lin Ye and Tai Long are in trouble. The enemy has sent out a 'Metal Giant Bear,' as big as a small mountain. Its shell can absorb the Golden Crow Fire, and Tai Long's powerful attacks can only temporarily repel it; they can't damage its core at all."
Tang San took the crystal and infused it with Soul Power. Lin Ye's voice, slightly breathless, came through. "There's something wrong with the core of this giant bear. The dark energy inside is ten times denser than other creations, and the erosion effect of Chaos Energy is very poor. It's like... it's been specially reinforced. How's the situation on your end?"
"Heaven Dou City is temporarily safe, but three spider-like creatures have been discovered in the west of the city gnawing on the energy nodes of the defensive array," Tang San said in a deep voice. "They've been dealt with, but their cores also have residual dark energy. The mastermind behind this is deliberately strengthening these creatures' resistance to chaos."
"Sunset Forest is the same." Oscar's voice suddenly came from the crystal, tinged with anxiety. "We encountered flying metal birds whose feathers can transform into energy blades. Xiao Wu was Teleportation hit while teleporting. The most troublesome thing is that they are luring Soul Beast to crash into the Southern Magic Array. Several Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast have already been infected by the metal energy and have become extremely ferocious."
The dire situation on all three fronts caused Tang San to furrow his brow in deep worry. The mastermind behind the scenes clearly had a thorough understanding of the energy nodes on the continent and could even precisely control the attack direction of the Mechanic Race's creations, something no ordinary enemy could do.
"Have you detected any unusual Soul Master auras?" Tang San asked, "Especially those familiar with the Shadow Pavilion's evil arts and mechanical structures."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the crystal, then Xiao Wu's voice came through. "Speaking of this... when we were repelling the metal bird just now, I think I saw a black shadow flash past the edge of the forest. It was very fast, and its Martial Soul was like... a bat?"
"A bat Martial Soul?" Tang San's heart stirred, and a name flashed through his mind—back then, there was an elder in the Shadow Pavilion who was skilled in stealth and mechanical modification. His Martial Soul was "Shadow Bat." It was rumored that he was killed in the final battle, but his body was never found.
Dai Mubai had obviously realized it too. "You mean Mo Wushang? That mad elder? Isn't he dead?"
"Not necessarily." Tang San's eyes sharpened. "Li Mo could conceal his identity for many years, so there's no reason why Mo Wushang couldn't. Moreover, he was in charge of the Shadow Pavilion's 'mechanical modification' project back then, and he tried to fuse metal creations with dark energy, but he never succeeded. Now it seems that he not only succeeded, but also found the energy core of the Mechanic Race."
Just then, the defensive array's light barrier suddenly trembled violently, and the light in the southwest corner instantly dimmed. Soul Master's exclamation echoed from the city wall, "Giant metal pythons! So many! They're gnawing at the array's foundation!"
Tang San and Dai Mubai immediately rushed to the southwest corner, where they saw dozens of gleaming silver metal pythons Entanglement the energy pillars of the defensive array. The snake heads continuously spewed out streams of silvery-white energy, and the runes on the surface of the energy pillars faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Stop them!" Tang San roared, and the Blue Silver Grass, bursting with Chaos Energy, shot towards the giant python's vital spot like a torrential rain.
Dai Mubai's Netherworld Thrust tore open spatial rifts, attempting to tear the giant pythons apart. However, the cores of these giant pythons were encased in a black energy membrane. When the Chaos Energy collided with the membrane, it was bounced back, and the spatial rifts could only barely hinder their movements.
"As expected, it's reinforced by dark energy!" Tang San's pupils contracted sharply. "Dai Mubai, use spatial power to disrupt the flow of the energy membrane. I'll find the weak point in the membrane!"
Dai Mubai immediately did as instructed, his Netherworld Thrust creating countless tiny spatial ripples around the giant python, and sure enough, subtle fluctuations appeared on the surface of the energy membrane. Tang San seized the opportunity, condensing the power of the Chaos Azure Lotus into a needle, and precisely pierced the position where the fluctuations were most intense.
"Pfft!"
The moment the energy membrane ruptured, Chaos Energy surged into the core of the giant python like a tidal wave. The metal python's body convulsed violently and quickly stiffened, hanging down and turning into a pile of scrap metal.
But more and more giant metal pythons kept pouring in from outside the city, their goal very clear—to rush straight to the core hub of the defensive formation.
"At this rate, the formation will be breached!" the Soul Master captain on the city wall shouted anxiously. "We're almost out of arrows!"
Tang San looked out of the city and saw a metal fortress taking shape on the horizon. Countless metal fragments were converging on the fortress like migratory birds, clearly indicating that a production base was being built.
"That fortress must be destroyed!" Tang San said to Dai Mubai. "You stay and command the defense; I'll go and take down their lair!"
"It's too dangerous!" Dai Mubai objected. "Who knows how many creations are inside? And Mo Wushang could very well be there!"
"Only in this way can we alleviate the pressure on the city's defenses." Tang San's eyes were unusually firm. "The Proof of Balance can sense the energy fluctuations at the core of the fortress; Mo Wushang's aura is there. Hold on for half an hour, and I will definitely be back!"
Without further hesitation, he unleashed his Blue Silver Domain, vines intertwining to form a bridge as he charged towards the metal fortress outside the city. The metal constructs along the way attempted to block his path, but he easily destroyed them with his Chaos Energy —ordinary constructs without the reinforcement of dark energy were no match for him.
The metal fortress was far larger than imagined, its walls constructed from countless metal plates, its surface riddled with launch ports that constantly spewed out new metal constructs. Tang San evaded the attacks and stealthily infiltrated the fortress, discovering it to be a massive production workshop—the ground was inscribed with the Shadow Pavilion's dark magic runes, and on the central platform, an old man in a black robe stood before an altar, his hands forming a hand seal as he channeled dark energy into a suspended silver crystal.
Beneath the crystal, countless metal fragments were reassembling, soon forming a new giant metal bear, its core gleaming with the same dark light as the one from the Far North Ice Plains.
"Mo Wushang!" Tang San shouted, and the Blue Silver Grass shot towards the old man like an arrow.
The old man turned around, a ferocious smile on his face, sharp fangs protruding from his lips—it was Mo Wushang, the elder of the Shadow Pavilion! His left arm had been transformed into a metal prosthetic, gleaming with a cold luster.
"Tang San? I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly." Mo Wushang licked his lips, swung his metal prosthetic arm, and a black energy shield blocked the Blue Silver Grass. "Perfect, let me show you my 'masterpiece' with your own eyes."
He pointed to the silver crystal. "This is the ' Machine Heart,' an energy core from the Mechanic Race Plane. With enough dark energy, it can create things infinitely. Once I use them to destroy the North and South magic arrays, the entire continent will become a metal paradise, and then..."
"You'll be devoured by the Mechanic Race then too," Tang San said coldly. "Do you think the Mechanic Race will tolerate the existence of 'disorder' like dark energy? They'll only treat you as trash they've used up."
"Fool!" Mo Wushang roared, his metal prosthetic arm suddenly transforming into a long sword, slashing towards Tang San with dark energy. "I already made a deal with the Mechanic Race! As long as I help them conquer the continent, I can become their new leader!"
Tang San dodged the attack, unleashing the full power of the Chaos Azure Lotus: "A tampered program can never become true order. You think these creations are following your commands, but their core programs have long been tampered with by the Mechanic Race. Once the continent's energy is drained, you'll be the first to be eliminated!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the silver crystal on the altar suddenly burst out with a blinding light, and a red light flashed in the eyes of the originally docile metal giant bear, which turned around and pounced on Mo Wushang!
"What's going on?!" Mo Wushang was shocked and hurriedly used his energy shield to defend himself, but was slapped away by the giant bear and his metal prosthetic limb broke on the spot.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Tang San launched an attack, Chaos Energy into a sword that pierced fiercely into the silver crystal. The crystal emitted a shriek, and the evil magic runes on its surface shattered inch by inch. The metal plates in the production workshop began to fall off, revealing the original program patterns of the Mechanic Race inside—those patterns were devouring dark energy, clearly undergoing self-purification.
"No--! My plan!" Mo Wushang, as if possessed, lunged at the crystal, only to be repelled by the purifying energy and crash heavily into the wall, falling silent.
As the crystal was destroyed, the metal fortress began to collapse, the creations in production were paralyzed, and the metal tide outside the city ceased its attack, like a puppet with its strings cut.
Tang San rushed out of the fortress and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the defensive array of Heaven Dou City light up again in the distance. He knew that Mo Wushang was just a pawn, and the true purpose of the Mechanic Race was probably to use the "contamination" of dark energy to test the continent's defense strength and prepare for a real invasion.
Messages came in quick succession from the Far North Ice Plains and Sunset Forest —without the energy support of the "Machine Heart," the enhanced metal creations had all malfunctioned, and Lin Ye and Xiao Wu had brought the situation under control.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the broken metal fortress. Tang San picked up Mo Wushang's broken metal prosthetic limb and discovered that the program patterns inside the prosthetic limb had been covered by the original code of the Mechanic Race.
"This is just the beginning," Tang San said softly, putting away his prosthetic arm. He understood that the threat from the Mechanic Race was far from over, and the real war might be just around the corner.
But he was not afraid. Because he and his companions had proven that neither absolute order nor twisted darkness could defeat the power of balance. As long as they united, protected the energy cycle, and upheld their beliefs, they would surely win a chance for survival for the continent in future wars.
The bells of Heaven Dou City rang once more, this time not as an alarm, but as a declaration of victory. Tang San turned back to the city. On the city wall, Dai Mubai and his companions were waving to him, their smiles shining brightly in the setting sun.
The road to protection is still long, but as long as we walk side by side, even the greatest storms will eventually give way to a rainbow.