Eight Wings

Jielusi arrived at the mine platform with lightning speed, and without pausing, leaped directly into the inclined shaft where the fierce battle had taken place.

What came into view was Mo Yuan leading several shrunken dragons, a group of sweating dwarf miners, and several necromancers skilled in earth magic, braving the still-lingering smoke of alchemical explosives, as they worked tirelessly to clear the blocked passage.

"How much longer until it gets through?" Jielusi asked as soon as she landed.

Mo Yuan turned to a relatively thin old dwarf next to him, who wore crystal glasses on his nose. The man was using the light of a flashlight to quickly flip through the tunnel structure diagram with his calloused hands.

"Within ten minutes!" the old dwarf replied confidently.

[How is Su Ming?] A hint of anxiety flashed in Mo Yuan's eyes as he used the Wind Message Spell to inquire.

[The situation has stabilized, but radio communication is blocked by the rock strata.] Jielusi responded in the same way, [Zijin is still able to maintain contact with him and confirm his safety.]

Mo Yuan's tense nerves finally relaxed a little, and he worked even harder to remove the boulders blocking his way.

Jielusi pulled out her communication device and issued the order, "Immediately implement full control over the entire Red Ridge mining area!"

No entry or exit allowed!

Following her command, the necromancers who had come with Jielusi immediately sprang into action. Under their supervision, all personnel not directly involved in the rescue were strictly required to proceed to the designated assembly point and remain silent.

Jielusi glanced at the dozen or so dwarves who were digging alongside the dragon. Although they all looked anxious and were wielding their pickaxes and shovels with all their might, disregarding their own safety, the intelligence they had gathered indicated that the assassins had managed to infiltrate the area by being led by a dwarf mole.

Therefore, it is difficult to guarantee that there is no second or even third Traitor lurking among these dwarves.

Jielusi was about to order the necromancer to take the group of dwarves away from the scene for isolation and investigation, the old dwarf suddenly stretched out a muddy hand and blocked her way.

"I am Sogrim Shizhen, Chief Technical Advisor, and the leader of the second batch of support personnel." He removed his glasses, his bloodshot eyes staring directly at Jielusi, his voice heavy. "Shiquan lying over there—is my younger brother."

Judging from the marks, Shiquan was clearly killed by an assassin. The communicator he was clutching was already switched to the alarm position, but he didn't have time to press it.

"So?" Jielusi asked coldly.

"That traitor's name was Barak Shenyan, and he disguised himself for over a decade!" Shizhen pointed to the dwarven corpse riddled with bullet holes and in a gruesome state, his voice filled with anguish, "His betrayal is an indelible shame upon our clan!"

"What I care about is President Su Ming's safety, not your honor or anything like that." Jielusi's voice remained icy.

"I cannot give you absolute assurance—" He glanced around, "Whether there are other spies planted by the Temple of Light among the remaining people."

Upon hearing his words, none of the dwarves around him stopped using their tools. They remained silent, swinging their pickaxes even harder, smashing them against the rocks and sending sparks flying, as if they were venting all their pent-up frustration.

"So?" Jielusi repeated.

"But our presence can ensure this passage is cleared within ten minutes!" Shizhen raised his voice, "Not fifteen minutes, not even twenty! Weighing the situation, I think it's worthwhile for us to stay here!"

Jielusi was somewhat tempted. Although the shrunken dragon possessed brute strength and the necromancer could use Transmute Rock to Mud, the dwarves' assistance and guidance were indeed needed to quickly clear the rocks and prevent a secondary collapse.

Shizhen's gaze was piercing. "We accept any form of supervision from you! If any dwarf dares to make even the slightest move beyond providing aid, act immediately and kill them without mercy!"

After a moment's thought, Jielusi agreed to the old dwarf's suggestion.

She took a small step back, gesturing for the necromancers to step forward. "Carefully check each of them for any contraband. Monitor the entire operation!"

"Yes!"

Shizhen nodded to her and took the lead in undergoing a body search by the necromancer.

Jielusi picked up her phone again and quickly reported the progress of the excavation to Zijin.

****

Zijin stood by the open window, her gaze fixed on the surface of Thousand Illusions Lake. The lake reflected the leaden-gray sky, like a smooth piece of black jade.

Anxiety gnawed at her, almost driving her to the Red Ridge Mine immediately. However, reason told Zijin that in that time, Su Ming would either have already escaped, or—

[Don't worry, I've already guessed what this assassin wants to do.] Su Ming said, [I'm just playing along.]

Inside the mine, not far from Su Ming, on the ground where the three assassins lay, pale golden runes rippled like water, and a faint mist rose from them.

With a faint but piercing sizzling sound, the corpse began to decompose, and the flesh and blood gradually turned into a foul-smelling, black, viscous liquid that flowed in all directions.

This is a common contingency plan used by the Temple of Light. If someone dies during an operation, a pre-set annihilation rune will be activated to destroy any evidence that might reveal their identity.

In the current situation, destroying the bodies is pointless. But Nastaya is stalling for time, waiting for the annihilation process to complete.

[You timed your move well.]

"[I'm watching you closely.]" Su Ming said.

"I've already sent a stern inquiry to the Dwarven Royal Court!" Zijin said, her voice thick with anger. "They must give an explanation for this assassination attempt!"

This inquiry carries immense weight, stemming from the dual identities of the Dragon Race and the Final Bone Mad Machines. It is also a joint condemnation from the victorious forces who utterly crushed the goblin army on the battlefield!

The situation on the Eastern Continent is delicate at this moment. Anyone with discerning eyes can see that the Dragon Race and the Final Bone Mad Machines will not stop their actions in Gray Ridge. The tight organization and overwhelming power they have demonstrated throughout the process make it only a matter of time before the goblins are completely defeated.

"We've practiced a lot lately," Su Ming chuckled reassuringly. "Let's just treat this as a surprise test."

Zijin took a deep breath of the damp, cool air from the lake, forcing herself to calm down. Despite having experienced life-or-death battles many times, she couldn't suppress her worry, even though she knew Su Ming was already certain of victory.

[I should have been tougher on you during your training.] Zijin's voice held a hint of frustration.

Su Ming sensed his sea of consciousness. He had another question to ask Zijin —the once calm White Bone Mark was now completely unrecognizable, shining brightly and pulsating on its own.

"Miss Scholar, may I ask you something?" Su Ming asked with a hint of helplessness. "What's going on here?"

****

Everything needs to go back to five minutes ago.

Zijin received an urgent message immediately that Su Ming had been attacked by assassins in the Red Ridge Mine.

Because they were deep inside the mine, Su Ming's wireless signal had been cut off. Fortunately, Zijin confirmed through Miao Xin that Su Ming was temporarily unharmed.

However, the crisis was not over. After a moment's thought, Zijin decided to contact Su Ming directly.

Su Ming's Magic Power originates from space, which allows him to transcend dimensions and communicate with the vengeful spirit.

Similarly, through the deep connection of the White Bone Mark, Zijin believed that she and Su Ming could also build such a communication channel that ignored the barriers of distant space—as it should be.

Zijin is fundamentally different from Miao Xin: she is not Su Ming's "summoned object" but a complete living being, only bound and restricted by the White Bone Mark.

Although Zijin has developed a considerable dependence on Su Ming, their powers are still independent in general.

Zijin decided to imitate Miao Xin's contract mark as a "Undead Summoning creature" and rewrite the core structure of the White Bone Mark - Su Ming had already granted her all these permissions.

This scholar never anticipated that one day she would willingly become someone's "summoning object."

A connection is established on the level of Magic Power.

However, given the increasingly complex bond between her and Su Ming, this formal constraint seems insignificant now.

As the modification of the Zijin Incantation was completed, Su Ming in the mine felt the White Bone Mark in his sea of consciousness tremble, and then a faint power began to draw his Magic Power from it.

Immediately afterwards, his perception of Zijin surged into his consciousness.

[Zijin, what did you do?] Su Ming was very surprised.

At this point, the two were more than 200 kilometers apart, far exceeding the limits of conventional extraordinary means of communication.

"I imitated Miao Xin's contract structure and built a Magic Power channel between us," Zijin quickly explained. "Finally—we've successfully connected."

Miao Xin needs to slowly absorb Su Ming's Magic Power to maintain her own existence. Zijin is imitating this form, except that her existence itself does not need to be maintained; she does it simply to establish a direct spiritual connection that transcends space.

"[Not bad!]" Su Ming replied briefly, while continuing to pull the trigger, knocking down the third assassin in the mining tunnel. "[If I take out the last one, we can finish here.]"

****

But Zijin suddenly encountered a problem. The unique flow of Magic Power from Su Ming, after merging into her own Magic Power cycle, caused her originally stable six-elemental power to melt and disintegrate rapidly in the face of this higher-level conceptual power, just like fragile ice and snow encountering the scorching sun!

Zijin's face turned pale instantly.

[What's wrong?] Su Ming immediately noticed the unusual fluctuations coming from her side.

[It's Magic Power corruption!] Zijin desperately suppressed the chaotic, out-of-control Magic Power within her body. [Your Magic Power —it's corrupting me!]

Su Ming was very confused upon hearing this. "The tiny bit of Magic Power I transmitted should have been gently assimilated by you—"

[Because your Magic Power attribute is space!] Zijin understood the crux of the problem. [This isn't a matter of quantity; the level of ordinary elements simply cannot compare to it!]

This is like putting an invasive piranha into a pond where crucian carp are being raised!

Su Ming understood as well, [I'll immediately adjust the White Bone Mark and sever the connection.]

"No! Wait a minute!" Zijin hurriedly stopped him.

If the other party weren't Su Ming, who possessed spatial Magic Power, this problem wouldn't exist. But at this moment, a thought flashed through Zijin's mind—she wasn't without a way to deal with it!

Only conceptual-level power can withstand conceptual-level erosion!

Zijin took a deep breath, clasped her hands together in front of her chest, and held her breath. In an instant, a hazy and beautiful colored halo quietly emerged from her body, like the softest veil, and began to swirl and flow around her.

This was a power she had long suppressed and dared not touch due to deep fear. However, at this moment, through this special connection with Su Ming, she seemed to have found an opportunity to confront it.

The sea of Magic Power within her body, which had been on the verge of collapse, miraculously stabilized rapidly with the intervention of this new force. Zijin was finally able to relax and let out a long breath.

The faint ripples in space and the newborn life force, two completely different yet both containing deadly power, have now reached a delicate balance, without clashing with each other.

Outside the window, Zhimeng happened to be passing by.

When the colorful halo illuminated Zijin, especially when the fleeting yet incredibly clear phantom appeared behind her, the dragon lady, who was known for her elegant demeanor, was so astonished that her jaw almost dropped to the ground, and she completely lost her usual composure.

It wasn't until the strange phenomena surrounding Zijin completely subsided, and she nonchalantly turned away from the window and returned to her desk, that Zhimeng snapped out of her daze.

She frantically activated the communication device, connecting with Dragon King Gelie, who was far away in the Gray Ridge war zone. Her voice was filled with disbelief. "Hello? Gelie! I... I think I just saw the Dragon God! An eight-winged one!"

At this moment, Gelie was raging at several young dragons who had disobeyed orders and violated tactical discipline in the previous battle, spewing dragon breath as he lectured them vehemently.

This absurd message from Zhimeng not only disrupted his enthusiastic performance but also left him completely bewildered.

"Are you confusing your dreams again?" Gelie asked angrily.

This has happened before. The worst record is that once, Zhimeng worked continuously for three days in her dream, painstakingly completing a huge pile of old paperwork. But when she woke up, she found it was all a dream and cried bitterly.

But this happened more than a hundred years ago, when she was still a young dragon girl and her power was not yet fully developed.

"Huh? Are we dreaming now?" Zhimeng was a little uncertain after his shout. She blinked her huge dragon eyes in confusion. "Hmm, I knew it! Why were there eight phantom dragon wings appearing on Zijin's body—"

The two prepared to end this inexplicable phone call.

But just before the cut was about to be made, Gelie's brain seemed to be struck by the same lightning bolt!

[Wait a minute!] His thunderous voice almost shattered the communication device. [I'm awake now, this isn't a dream—so Zijin, what on earth did she just do?!]