Alert! The Dragon Lord has emerged from seclusion!

"Lin Chen!" Ye Qingcheng exclaimed, and the Frosty Yin Sword Qi transformed into an ice wall to block Lin Chen's path.

Almost simultaneously, the monsters moved.

They surged into the cave like a tide, completely disregarding the damage to themselves.

The ice wall cracked instantly upon impact, and Ye Qingcheng's sword energy slashed down several monsters, but even more monsters rushed in from all directions.

Shen Qingqiu shielded Luo Yunyi behind him, flicked his hands repeatedly, and countless poisoned silver needles were precisely shot into the monster's crystal core.

Mu Qingyao scattered a large amount of exorcising powder, while Chu Ling'er did her best to open the spiritual barrier to interfere with the monsters' coordinated attack.

Ling Feng and two ice guards formed a defensive formation, but there were too many monsters and the cave space was too narrow, so they soon found themselves in a fierce battle.

Ying remained standing, watching the battle with great interest: "What a moving display of unity. Unfortunately, it's all in vain before absolute power."

His gaze fell on Lin Chen, who was struggling to resist the erosion of the black lines: "The Nine Suns Burning Heaven Body is indeed worthy of its name; it can even temporarily resist the pollution of the star core."

"But how long can you hold out?"

Lin Chen knelt on one knee, veins bulging on his forehead.

The black lines on the wound on my left arm were unusually stubborn. Every time the Nine Yang True Qi forced them back, they would split into more fine lines, drilling wildly as if they were alive.

Worse still, he felt these black lines absorbing his true energy to strengthen themselves.

This is not an ordinary toxin or curse, but a polluting energy with the properties of devouring and transforming.

"Brother Lin!" Mu Qingyao suddenly called out, "Use this!"

She tossed over a small jade bottle.

Lin Chen caught it, opened the stopper, and inside was a pale golden liquid—a concentrated essence she had mixed with the remnants of the Qingxin Liuli grass and several other highly yang herbs.

Without hesitation, Lin Chen poured the liquid onto the wound.

laugh--!

Like cold water poured onto a red-hot iron block, the wound emitted plumes of blue smoke.

The black lines emitted a silent shriek, then quickly withered and fell off.

But deep within the wound, a few stubborn black lines still remained firmly rooted, though their spread had temporarily ceased.

"It's been suppressed for now, but eradication will take time." Shen Qingqiu quickly assessed, "These polluting energies are highly adaptable; the more you suppress them with your Nine Yang True Qi, the stronger their next counterattack will be."

Ying clapped: "Brilliant analysis. The Medicine Spirit Body is indeed sharp. So, are you ready for the next round?"

He slowly raised his hands and began to recite obscure syllables.

The language did not belong to any known human language family; its syllables were distorted and bizarre, and listening to it for too long would make one dizzy.

As the incantation was performed, the dark red crystals on the chests of all the monsters began to pulsate simultaneously, with the frequency increasing until it was completely synchronized with the rhythm of Shadow's incantation.

"He's establishing an energy resonance!" Chu Ling'er's face turned deathly pale. "He's using himself as a conduit to mobilize the power of that immense consciousness underground!"

The cave began to shake.

It wasn't an earthquake, but something deeper was awakening.

The moss on the rock wall withered and turned black at a visible speed, and a muffled rumble came from the direction of the underground river, as if some giant creature was turning over in the depths of the riverbed.

Luo Yunyi suddenly pushed Shen Qingqiu's hand away and staggered forward.

The silver dagger in her hand began to glow—not reflected light, but a pure silver light emanating from within.

The light contrasted sharply with the dark red glow of the monster crystal, like the bright moon in the night.

Shadow paused in his incantation, a look of surprise appearing in his black pupils for the first time: "You've already begun to awaken? Impossible, without the resonance of the star core, the Yao Guang body should be in a dormant state..."

Luo Yunyi did not answer.

She closed her eyes, and the light of the short blade grew brighter and brighter.

Wherever the light reached, the pulsating frequency of the dark red crystals began to become disordered, and several monsters even curled up in pain.

"I see." Ying suddenly realized, "You were using your own essence to resist the call of the star core and forcibly stimulate your physical power."

"By doing this, your soul will be gradually eroded, eventually turning you into an empty shell that only seeks out star cores."

"So what?" Luo Yunyi opened her eyes, a faint silver starlight swirling in her pupils. "At least before that, I'll kill you first."

Her body suddenly transformed into a streak of silver light, and the short blade pierced straight into Shadow's heart!

The speed of this attack exceeded the limits of what the naked eye could perceive; even Lin Chen only saw a flash of silver light.

But Ying's reaction was equally astonishing.

Just as the short blade was about to pierce him, his body suddenly became ethereal, as if merging into the shadows.

The short blade pierced through his afterimage and embedded itself in the rock wall behind him, penetrating half a foot deep.

The shadow reformed its form not far away, a corner of its black robe missing—a mark left by Luo Yunyi's blade.

"Very good." Shadow's tone turned cold. "I'm getting serious."

His hands formed a complex mudra in front of his chest.

The light inside the cave suddenly dimmed, as if all the light sources—headlamps, flashlights, and emergency lights—had been extinguished by an invisible hand.

Absolute darkness enveloped everything.

Only three lights still flickered in the darkness: the dark red crystal on the monster's chest, the silver gleam of Luo Yunyi's short blade, and the faint golden light of the Nine Suns emanating from Lin Chen's body.

In the darkness, the voice of Shadow came from all directions: "Between the Star Cores, light is forbidden. This is the realm of Shadows, my domain."

Countless tiny black tentacles emerged from the rock walls, the ground, and even the void, silently coiling around the group.

Those tentacles had no physical form; they penetrated physical defenses directly and entangled the soul.

Chu Ling'er was the first to let out a muffled groan; her spiritual power made her exceptionally sensitive to this kind of soul attack.

Mu Qingyao's medicinal powder had no effect on the invisible tentacles, and Shen Qingqiu's silver needles also missed their mark.

Ye Qingcheng's Frosty Yin Sword Qi could freeze some of the tentacles, but there were too many of them.

Lin Chen endured the excruciating pain in his left arm and unleashed the full power of his Nine Yang True Qi, the blazing golden light exploding in the darkness like a miniature sun!

Wherever the golden light touched, the black whiskers melted away like snow meeting the blazing sun.

But Ying's cold laughter rang out: "How long can you hold out? Every bit of your true energy is only contributing to the contamination of your wounds."

He was right.

Lin Chen could feel the black lines on his left arm wound starting to stir again under the stimulation of the golden light.

Just then, Luo Yunyi made a move that surprised everyone.

She gripped the knife in her hand and slashed a deep wound in the palm of her left hand.

Blood gushed out, but it wasn't red; instead, it was a strange liquid that flowed with a silvery sheen.

"With my blood, I summon the stars to shine upon the world." Her voice echoed in the darkness, solemn and resolute.

Silver blood dripped from his palm onto the ground.

The first drop.

The tremors in the cave suddenly intensified.

The second drop.

The dark red crystals of all the monsters dimmed for a moment simultaneously.

The third drop.

A deafening roar came from the direction of the underground river—it wasn't a sound in the physical sense, but a roar that directly assaulted the soul.