The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

Wearing the enhanced [Glimmering Moonlight Amulet], a tranquil power, far more powerful and refined than before, washed over Luo Wei's exhausted mind like a warm tide. His mental energy recovered noticeably faster, and even the oppressive feeling from the pervasive lingering wails and shadow pollution was largely dispelled. This exceptionally high-quality amulet had an immediate effect.

"Let's go!" Barton's spirits lifted, and he took the lead, shield in hand. Lilith and two guards followed closely behind, protecting Luo, who was not yet fully recovered, in the middle.

As they ventured deeper into the main passage, the scenery became increasingly horrifying. Numerous distorted, dark red murals, resembling a ritualistic human sacrifice, began to appear on the rock walls, depicting indistinct figures worshipping a gigantic, twisted dark sun. Scattered on the ground were broken, foul-smelling skeletons, some human, others of unknown creatures. The shadowy energy permeating the air was almost liquid; even with the purifying field of the Moonlit Amulet, the group still experienced difficulty breathing and palpitations.

The roar of battle grew closer, mingled with the angry roars of Wizard Walter and the sharp screech of the shadowy creatures.

Finally, they passed through a huge archway made of bones, and a vast underground cavern opened up before them—this was the true heart of the Wailing Caverns!

The cave's dome soared to an unfathomable height, with countless stalactites emitting an eerie, phosphorescent green glow hanging down like the fangs of a demon. At the center of the cave lay a massive, boiling pool of black blood, its viscous fluid churning and bubbling, releasing a nauseating stench and a thick, shadowy pollution. Around the pool stood four twisted pillars, seemingly entwined with living flesh and bone, each topped with a pulsating, dark red gem radiating intense spiritual pollution—the other two sources of spiritual pollution that Luo Wei had previously sensed. Together with the demonic flower they had destroyed, these four formed a malevolent ritual site.

The main squad led by Wizard Walter was currently engaged in a fierce battle. They were surrounded by dozens of more ferocious and powerful Shadow Predators (equivalent to the mid-to-late stage of a high-level apprentice) and two Shadow Priests (whose strength was similar to that of the one in Rift Canyon, close to a quasi-wielder) dressed in full black robes and wielding bone staffs inlaid with black gems.

Two apprentice guards lay dead on the ground, their fates unknown. Walter, surrounded by blazing flames and roaring lightning, unleashed a torrent of magic, tearing the onrushing shadow predators to shreds. However, the two shadow priests were extremely cunning; they hid behind the predators, constantly casting wide-area shadow curses and bone spear projections, disrupting and wearing down Walter. The other surviving high apprentices (including Edgar) were also badly wounded and could barely defend themselves.

The arrival of Rowe's squad immediately drew some of the fire. Several shadow predators turned and charged, roaring.

"Form ranks! Protect Rowe and Lilith!" Barton roared, forming a triangular formation with two guards to hold off the onslaught.

Lilith quickly threw several bottles of potent healing and energy-restoring potions towards the center of the battlefield. The shower of light temporarily stabilized Walter's precarious defensive line.

"Love! Find the core of this ritual! Destroy it!" Walter roared amidst the fierce battle, having discerned that the four pillars of flesh and blood and the central pool of blood formed a unified whole.

Despite the discomfort caused by his incomplete recovery of mental strength, Luo Wei activated his "Eye of Insight" once more. A silvery-white light swirled in his eyes, and the chaotic energy scene before him became clear.

Four pillars of flesh and blood form a malevolent energy conduction and amplification matrix. They continuously draw shadow energy from the blood pool and the cave environment, injecting it into the gem at the top, and then radiating the amplified mental pollution (wailing) and shadow power outwards through the gem. The blood pool in the center is the energy source of the entire ritual site and... some kind of summoning medium!

His gaze pierced through the churning pool of blood and reached the bottom! There, floating, was an irregularly shaped, dark red crystal about the size of a human head, its surface covered with twisted veins. It pulsated like a living heart, emanating an aura of evil and blasphemy far surpassing that of priests and gems, a chilling and purifying presence!

**[Analysis Target: Blasphemous Core (Shadow Well Contaminated High-Condensity Contamination)]**

**[Energy Attribute: Extremely chaotic, evil, and filthy, containing a faint, activated will.]**

**[Characteristics:** The energy core of the ritual field, capable of continuously converting life energy into shadow power and subtly interfering with spatial structure. Extremely strong defense; conventional attacks are ineffective and will result in severe mental backlash and contamination.

**[Weakness: Its energy field resonates with and is connected to the four flesh pillars and the gem at the top. Destroying any one pillar weakens its defense, while destroying all four will cause its energy field to briefly become disordered, exposing its core.]**

Found it! The core is at the bottom of the blood pool! But its defenses are extremely strong; we must destroy the four pillars!

"The core is at the bottom of the blood pool! We must destroy all four pillars at the same time to weaken its defense!" Lowe immediately shouted his discovery to Walter.

"Destroy four pillars at the same time?!" Walter's expression changed. They were tightly bound by the enemy and couldn't spare any manpower to attack the four scattered pillars simultaneously!

"We can give it a try!" Barton roared. "My brothers and I will hold these monstrosities back. Rowe, you, Lilith, and Edgar, the three of you, try to destroy the pillar!"

This is practically the only option!

"Lilith, corrosive potion! Edgar, aim at the gem connection at the top of the pillar!" Rowe quickly devised a strategy, "I'll try to disrupt the pillar's energy flow!"

Lilith immediately took out her treasured "anti-magic acid," which could corrode energy structures. Edgar's figure flashed, and he stealthily moved towards a pillar like a ghost.

Luo Wei then mobilized his mental energy once again. This time, he neither constructed a defensive field nor made any precise cuts. He recalled the feeling when he destroyed the connection points of the demonic flower's roots, as well as the energy flow trajectory seen by the "Eye of Insight."

What he's trying to do is **resonance interference**!

He locked onto a key node in the energy flow within a pillar of flesh and blood, adjusted his mental energy to be extremely close to a certain inherent frequency of the pillar's energy field, but with a slight phase difference, and then, like a tuning fork, he suddenly "struck" it!

hum!

The disrupted pillar trembled violently, the light from the gem at its tip flickered erratically, and the pollution fluctuations it emitted showed a noticeable delay! Although it wasn't directly destroyed, its operation was successfully disrupted!

"A perfect opportunity!" Lilith, who was already prepared, immediately and precisely splashed the anti-magic acid onto the weak point of the pillar's energy after it was disturbed!

laugh--!

Amidst the ear-piercing sound of corrosion, the pillar's fleshy outer shell was rapidly melted, revealing the twisted energy channels within!

Almost simultaneously, Edgar's poisoned dagger shot out like a venomous snake, accurately striking the junction between the gem at the top of another pillar and the pillar itself! That spot, already bearing a tremendous energy load from the ritual, emitted a crisp sound as the dagger struck, and the gem's brilliance dimmed considerably!

Two were successfully destroyed!

But their actions thoroughly enraged the enemy. A shadow priest abandoned his harassment of Walter, pointed his bone staff at Rowe and his companions, and a condensed torrent of black spiritual energy, bearing countless wailing faces, roared forth!

"Watch out!" Barton's eyes widened in horror as he tried to rush back to help, but he was entangled by even more shadow predators.

At this critical moment, the [Glimmering Moonlight Amulet] on Luo Wei's chest burst forth with an unprecedentedly dazzling silver light!

"Moonlight Guardian!"

A solid, translucent shield, shimmering with a moonlit glow, instantly enveloped Rowe, Lilith, and Edgar nearby!

boom!

The torrent of black spiritual energy slammed into the moonlight shield, causing it to tremble violently and ripple across its surface, but it ultimately withstood the attack stubbornly! Luo Wei, inside the shield, only paled slightly; he suffered no real harm. The superior-quality talisman's active defensive capabilities demonstrated formidable power!

"Well done!" Seeing this, Walter felt much less pressured and roared, unleashing his full power. The blazing white lightning, like a giant dragon, temporarily forced back the shadow priest who was entangled with him.

"Quick! The other two pillars!" Lowe shouted urgently, while simultaneously casting "Resonance Interference" on the third pillar again!

Lilith and Edgar also exerted all their strength, rushing towards the last two pillars.

However, the "Desecrated Core" in the blood pool seemed to sense a deadly threat, and its pulsation suddenly intensified! The shadow energy of the entire cave frantically converged on it, and the blood pool boiled even more violently! The remaining two pillars shone brightly, and the pollution fluctuations they emitted suddenly increased several times over!

"It's too late! It's trying to forcefully complete some kind of summoning or eruption!" Walter's expression changed drastically. He could feel a chilling spatial fluctuation brewing in the center of the blood pool!

Once the "Desecration Core" is completed, the consequences will be unimaginable!

A resolute glint flashed in Luo Wei's eyes. He saw it! In the instant that the "Desecrated Core" was frantically absorbing energy, preparing for its final transformation, an extremely brief yet universally resonant node appeared in its energy connection with the four pillars (including the two that had already been destroyed)! This was a fleeting, shared fluctuation generated during a violent energy shift!

This is a chance to risk everything!

He held nothing back, pouring all the tranquil power from the Moonlit Amulet, his own dwindling spiritual energy, and his entire understanding of "field" and "resonance" into this perception and guidance!

He locked onto that global resonance node, and his mental energy was no longer used for interference, but rather an attempt to... **synchronize and detonate**!

He instantly synchronized his mental energy frequency perfectly with the fluctuations at that point, and then, as if stomping his foot on fragile ice—

"Give me...resonance!!"

Buzz!

A resounding boom, beyond the limits of human hearing and seemingly originating from the very foundations of the world, rang out!

It was not a physical explosion, but an energy-level **resonance collapse**!

The two remaining intact pillars, along with the gems at their tops and the two partially damaged pillars, seemed to be struck simultaneously from the inside by an invisible giant hammer. All the energy structures instantly disintegrated and shattered in the resonance, turning into four scattered fragments of flesh and energy!

All four pillars were destroyed at the same time!

The power cycle of the entire evil ritual site was forcibly interrupted!

The "Desecrated Core" at the center of the blood pool emitted a piercing scream, as if countless souls were shattering simultaneously! The blood vessels on its surface broke apart inch by inch, and the dark red light flickered rapidly, becoming extremely unstable! Its powerful defensive field, at this moment, due to the sudden interruption of energy supply and the resonant damage to its internal structure, dropped to its lowest point!

"Now! Master Walter!" Rowe roared with his last bit of strength, collapsing backward as if exhausted, only to be caught by the quick-thinking Lilith.

Without further ado, Wizard Walter seized this fleeting opportunity! He abandoned all defenses and poured all his magic, spirit, and will into the strongest single-target attack spell he could currently cast!

"In my name, I summon the thunder of the nine heavens! Annihilation... Thunder Spear!"

A purple-gold lightning spear, seemingly formed from pure lightning laws, only as thick as an arm yet radiating an aura of annihilation, instantly materialized at the tip of his staff! The next moment, the lightning spear tore through space, carrying the will of judgment and purification, and shot with unparalleled precision into the blood pool, piercing fiercely into the unprotected "Desecrated Core"!

Rumble—!!!

An indescribable explosion rang out! Blinding lightning clashed violently with a foul, blackish-red light, annihilating everything in its path! The entire cave shook violently, and massive stalactites broke off and crashed down!

When the light faded and the thunder subsided, the blood pool had dried up completely, leaving only charred, lifeless remnants in its center. The "Core of Blasphemy" was utterly destroyed!

With the core destroyed, the remaining shadow predators in the cave let out their final howls, their bodies melting away like snow under the sun. The two shadow priests also suffered severe backlash, their auras plummeting, and they were swiftly killed by Walter and the recovered Barton and the others.

The Wailing Caverns, this dangerous and shadowy stronghold, has finally been completely eradicated.

The cave was a scene of devastation. The survivors looked at each other in silence, only their breaths catching in their throats. All eyes were involuntarily drawn to the young apprentice, pale-faced and being supported by Lilith, who had performed a miracle.

Luo Wei felt a void in his spiritual energy and waves of weakness, yet his heart was filled with peace. He had done it. With knowledge, courage, and a bit of luck, they had defeated a powerful enemy.

However, in that moment of mental relaxation, the cold touch of the [Shadow Crystal] in his arms, and the whispered words, "The true scars are on the other side of all things," quietly resurfaced...