The Witcher: Start with the Lord Marrying a Wife.

Chapter 471 The Mark of Hatred
David and his team knew that to fight the forces of darkness, they had to utilize the chaotic energy contained within the remains of these ancient gods.

So they began trying to absorb this energy.

However, an accident occurred when David attempted to approach the Titan's corpse and absorb its overflowing chaotic energy.

A powerful force of hatred surged from the Titan's corpse, instantly triggering the "mark of hatred" within it.

This mark was left by the Star-Eyed Clan when they annihilated the Titans; it carries the Titans' endless rage and resentment.

As the mark was activated, blood tears suddenly streamed from the Titan's eyes, and it began chanting ancient incantations of destruction.

The power of the incantation was immense, instantly causing the space to collapse.

The entire ruins began to shake violently, as if they were about to collapse.

Upon seeing this, Rena immediately used the power of nature to create a barrier in an attempt to protect everyone from harm.

However, this destructive force was too powerful; the corrosive blood rain pierced through Rena's barrier and assaulted them.

Faced with this sudden crisis, Hill did not back down.

He knew that someone had to step up and stabilize the situation.

Therefore, he resolutely brought his ley line crystal core close to the Titan corpse, attempting to use the power of the crystal core to suppress the corpse's resurgence.

However, the moment the crystal core came into contact with the divine corpse, an anomaly occurred.

Suddenly, the Star-Eyed Clan's script, "Atonement," appeared on the surface of the crystal core. These characters shimmered with a mysterious light, as if telling an ancient history.

Hill had a sudden realization that this crystal core might have some connection to Titan.

In order to buy time, Hill made a bold decision: he injected half of the crystal core energy into the wound of the Titan corpse, attempting to trigger the ancient sealing array.

As energy was injected, the cursed moss on the surface of the Titan's corpse began to wither, and an ancient and powerful force surged out from within the corpse, forming a seal.

This seal temporarily stabilized Titan's recovery, but it also cost Hill dearly.

His hearing began to deteriorate gradually, a side effect of using the power of the earth vein crystal core.

On the edge of the battlefield, Liliana discovered a peculiar stone—the "Wailing Stone".

The stone was able to communicate with her and showed her fragments of Titan's memories from his previous life.

From these fragments of memory, Liliana learns that Titan was a great being who opposed the Star-Eyed race's plan to create gods.

It believed that the Star-Eyed Clan's actions violated the laws of nature, and therefore it was exterminated by the Star-Eyed Clan.

Meanwhile, Rena accidentally awakens the dormant "Seed of Nature" while purifying the corrosive blood rain.

The seed sprouted and grew immediately upon contact with the blood rain, forming a lush emerald vine.

These vines not only absorb the power of the curse, but also provide shelter and healing for the team members.

After this crisis, David and his team members all gained new and upgraded abilities.

David gained the ability of "divine deconstruction," which allowed him to briefly decompose the energy of the divine corpse for his own use.

However, each time he uses this ability, he permanently loses part of his sense of taste as a price.

Hill, on the other hand, possessed the ability of "Earth Vein Resonance," which allowed him to perceive the terrain and energy flow of the ruins through the crystal core.

However, this ability also came at the cost of his gradually deteriorating hearing.

Despite facing numerous difficulties and challenges, David and his team members did not give up.

They knew that only by uniting as one and forging ahead could they defeat the forces of darkness and find a way to counter the power of the Chaos God.

In this process, they gradually grew into more mature and powerful warriors and leaders.

However, the crisis has not been completely resolved.

Although the Titan's corpse has been temporarily sealed, its power of hatred and destruction is still stirring.

The corrupting influence of the dark divinity on David is becoming increasingly severe, and he must remain vigilant and seek a solution.

Meanwhile, Liliana and Rena are also working hard in their respective fields, hoping to bring more help and support to the team.

In the days to come, David and his team will continue to delve deeper into the ruins to explore more secrets and clues.

They will face more challenges and dangers, but they will also gain more growth and strength.

In this process, they will continuously reveal the truth about the Ancient God Cemetery and the Star-Eyed Clan and strive to find the key to fighting against the forces of darkness.

The Twin Temples, this ancient and mysterious building, is actually a "divine furnace" built by the Star-Eyed Clan in their quest to explore divine power.

It consists of two temples, left and right, which correspond to the two major laws of "life reconstruction" and "matter annihilation" respectively.

The existence of these laws makes the Twin Temples a testing ground for elemental power and a sacred place that countless adventurers dream of.

The moment Rena stepped into the Emerald Illusion, she felt the call of the power of nature.

However, there was an ominous undertone to this call.

Deep within the illusion, she encountered her shadow avatar—a dark being wielding a corrupted staff of nature.

This incarnation not only possesses a similar appearance and abilities to Rena, but also has a distorted understanding of the forces of nature.

Faced with such an opponent, Rena had no choice but to go all out.

However, the power of the Shadow Avatar was beyond her imagination.

In the fierce battle, Rena gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

Just when she was about to give up, she unexpectedly discovered an ancient crown deep within the illusion—the "Rotten Crown".

This crown was left behind by the first goddess of nature to seal away the god of plague, and it contains powerful plague energy.

Rena put on the crown without hesitation.

Instantly, a powerful force surged into her body, allowing her to successfully defeat the Shadow Avatar.

However, this power also came at a heavy price—she lost permanent sight in her right eye.

Nevertheless, Rena gained the ability to control the plague, which will be a great help in her future battles.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Twin Temples, Hill is facing an even more severe test.

Deep within the Earth's core lies the abandoned "artificial sun" of the Star-Eyed Clan, a massive energy reactor.

Due to the ley lines going out of control, the reactor is about to unleash destructive power.

Hill's task is to restart the reactor and stabilize the ley line energy before all of this happens.

However, as Hill approached the reactor, he discovered jamming devices left behind by the Council of Night.

The device's core contained the pendant Rena wore when she disappeared, filling Hill with doubt and anger.

He understood that the Eternal Night Council had been secretly manipulating everything, but what exactly was their purpose?
Without time to think, Hill began dismantling the jamming devices.

But at this critical moment, the Night Assassins, utilizing the "time gap," simultaneously existed in three different time points and launched an attack. These assassins were agile and ruthless, putting Hill in a difficult situation.

Meanwhile, an elderly Liliana sent back a warning message from the future.

However, due to the information being tampered with by the Night Council, the team misjudged the situation and failed to provide Hill with timely and effective support.

This made Hill's situation even more precarious.

David also faced tremendous pressure during the trial.

To protect Rena and Hill who were undergoing trials, he had to use the immature Chaos God Fire.

This force, though powerful, also brought serious side effects—irreversible crystallization appeared in his left arm.

This not only affected his combat effectiveness, but also made him deeply realize the price of power.

After Rena gained the power of the plague, a crisis of trust arose between her and Hill.

Hill worries that this power will be used by the Eternal Night Council, posing a threat to the team; while Rena believes that Hill does not understand her difficulties and sacrifices.

The rift between the two gradually widened, making the atmosphere of the entire team tense.

Faced with numerous difficulties and challenges, David, Rena, and Hill must put aside their personal grudges and misunderstandings and unite to overcome this crisis.

They began to re-examine their trial experiences, searching for the key to unraveling the Night Council's conspiracy.

Rena recalls her experience in the illusion and realizes that the plague power in the "Rotten Crown" is not entirely evil.

If this power can be properly harnessed, it can become a powerful weapon against the forces of darkness.

So she began to try to communicate with this force and find a way to control it.

Hill discovered more clues about the Council of Eternal Night during the process of restarting the reactor.

He realized that the Council of Eternal Night had been trying to disrupt the timeline for their ulterior motives.

The appearance of Amy's icy phantom further convinced him of this.

He began to think about how to use this information to fight against the Council of Eternal Night.

David then began to study how to control the crystallization phenomenon in his left arm and to find ways to enhance the power of the Chaos Fire.

He understood that only by becoming stronger could he protect himself and his team from the threat of the Night Council.

Faced with a common goal, David, Rena, and Hill gradually put aside their personal grudges and misunderstandings.

They began to support and trust each other, facing the challenges ahead together.

The Eternal Night Council also seemed to have noticed their changes and began to plot an even more insidious conspiracy...

Deep within the chaotic realm, David continued to explore this area filled with unknowns and dangers.

The "cognitive pollution" in the realm was like an invisible tentacle, trying to erode his mind and make him lose his way in the ocean of consciousness of all the past Chaos God holders.

Some of these consciousnesses are powerful and majestic, some are cunning and insidious, and others are filled with madness and despair.

David struggled to stay conscious, knowing that if he couldn't resist the onslaught of these consciousnesses, he might be swallowed up and lost forever in this chaos.

However, what terrified him most was the corrupted future David's image.

This mirror image not only possesses the ability to freeze time and space, but also has power and wisdom that transcends its original self.

In his confrontation with this mirror image, David felt unprecedented pressure.

The mirror image seemed to be able to predict his every move and react in advance.

The ability to freeze time and space put David in a desperate situation, as if he were frozen in an eternal moment, unable to move.

However, it was in this desperate situation that David's understanding of the nature of chaos began to undergo a profound change.

He began to realize that chaos was not merely a synonym for disorder and chaos, but rather a source of power, a power capable of creating infinite possibilities.

The Chaos Divine Fire is the manifestation of this power.

David recalled the moment he absorbed the primordial divine fire; the materialized power of thought from the ancient god's brain almost devoured him.

While enduring the despairing memories of the Old God's death, he saw Liliana's tragic self-sacrifice in a certain timeline to seal the Void Old God.

At that moment, he deeply understood the cost of power and the meaning of sacrifice.

It was this experience that gave David a deeper understanding of the Chaos Divine Fire.

He began to try to harness this power, rather than be controlled by it.

In the fierce battle with the mirror image, David gradually found a way to resonate with the Chaos God Fire. He could feel that power surging within him and merging with him.

However, the price of awakening the divine furnace is also enormous.

When the divine powers of Rena and Sheele were merged, the three of them shared the sensation of pain.

Rena thus carried the memory of Hill's torture back then, and the pain and torment almost drove her to the brink of collapse.

Even so, she did not give up, but chose to face everything together with David and Hill.

Deep within the chaotic realm, David also discovered an astonishing secret.

There, a Star-Eyed Clan "sinner" was imprisoned, whose appearance was exactly the same as Garona's.

The woman claimed that David was her creation, which left David deeply confused and perplexed.

He began to doubt his identity and mission, and the secrets hidden behind it all.

In the temporal turbulence, David found a broken "Judgment Bell".

After striking it, he gained a brief precognitive ability.

However, all he could foresee were scenes of his companions dying.

These scenes haunted him like a nightmare, making him feel utterly desperate and helpless.

But he also understands that these premonitions are not an unchangeable future, but rather a warning that he must work harder to protect his companions and team.

Because the flow of time in the Chaos Realm is different from that in the outside world, the three days David experiences here are equivalent to three minutes in the real world.

When he finally mastered the Chaos Divine Fire and prepared to return, he discovered that Rena's divine body was on the verge of collapse.

It turns out that due to the long-term separation and the elemental tides caused by the fusion of divine fire, Hill's leyline crystal core and Rena's natural power had a severe repulsive reaction.

To maintain their balance, the two must keep a distance of more than 100 meters.

Faced with this predicament, David had to once again demonstrate his wisdom and courage.

He began searching for a way to resolve the elemental repulsion, while simultaneously using the power of the Chaos Divine Fire to support Rena's divine body.

In this process, he deeply realized the double-edged sword effect of power: it can help them overcome difficulties, but it may also bring unpredictable consequences, requiring further research.

(End of this chapter)