"Ugh!" Xu Shuangyao groaned at the immense information shock and mental pollution, her consciousness nearly collapsing. Reality and illusion crisscrossed before her eyes. She saw that the core node of the throne was no longer pale white, but had transformed into the writhing, blasphemous biological tissue from the wreckage of the ancient spacecraft! She saw the vast will of the Fungus Master transformed into the phantom of that cosmic, terrifying being spewing spores!

In reality, her body shook violently, blood gushed from all her orifices, and the blood vessels beneath her skin bulged, a purple-black color on the verge of collapse. But she gritted her teeth, the excruciating pain on the tip of her tongue and the heavy obsession with atonement in her heart acting as a final anchor, firmly pinning her shattered consciousness in place!

"Weakness... where is the weakness!" She ignored the horrifying truth that was enough to destroy her mind, and frantically injected all her remaining mental strength into the weak information flow provided by the plant network. At the same time, she desperately thrust her highest authority mental key like a red-hot knife, fiercely stabbing it into the ancient and fragile energy seal point deep in the core node that she had just triggered!

Buzz——!

The entire throne room vibrated violently! On the pale, massive surface of the core node, where Xu Shuangyao's spiritual key had penetrated, a complex geometric pattern suddenly lit up, composed of countless flowing, dark green energy lines! Like an ancient keyhole, the pattern began to flicker and flicker unsteadily under the stimulation of the key! The entire node's violent energy output instantly experienced a noticeable lag and disorder!

Found it! That ancient seal is the most vulnerable point in the energy cycle! It's the breakthrough point that destroys the entire core!

However, just when a glimmer of hope began to rise in Xu Shuangyao's heart, a cold and desperate realization, like a polar wind, instantly extinguished the flame, leaving only a biting chill.

The final stream of information from the plant network, like a dying sigh, emerged clearly in her consciousness: […The key to the seal…must be ignited…by the soul of a common life…]

The same origin of life soul? Ignite?

Xu Shuangyao's gaze, involuntarily and with disbelief and horror, turned to the glimmering seal keyhole pattern deep within the core node. Then, it suddenly turned to the left, where Pei Du had disappeared, and where the fungus mist was now enveloped by violent energy fluctuations!

Pei Du! He has blood transformed by the Fungus Master flowing through his body! He possesses the power of thorns, which originates from the Fungus Master's power! His soul... is the "key"!

To completely destroy this core node originating from the ancient plague of the universe, one needs to… ignite a life soul with the same power as the Fungus Master as a sacrifice?! One needs to… sacrifice Pei Du?!

This cruel truth, like the heaviest boulder, hammered down on Xu Shuangyao's heart. The glimmer of hope that had just risen from discovering a weakness was instantly replaced by boundless despair and a cold decision. Sacrifice him? Trade his life for a slim chance of destroying the Fungus Master?

"No... How could this be..." Xu Shuangyao's body softened, nearly collapsing to the ground. A despairing whisper escaped her bloodstained lips. She stared at the flickering seal keyhole, then glanced in the direction where Pei Du had disappeared. Her eyes struggled violently, nearly shattered by the agony.

Just when Xu Shuangyao was struck by this cruel truth and fell into great struggle and despair—

Buzz!!!

An indescribable, excruciating pain, beyond the limits of the flesh, erupted like billions of red-hot steel needles from the nearly broken threads of their symbiotic connection! This pain was so intense, so pure, it instantly overwhelmed Xu Shuangyao's senses! It directly affected her soul, bringing with it a sense of utter devastation and a chilling despair of being swallowed!

"Ah—!" Xu Shuangyao let out a shrill, inhuman scream, clutching her head with both hands as she collapsed, her body curled up. This pain wasn't hers, it was Pei Du's! It was his final wail as he was completely eroded, dissolved, and devoured by the will of the fungus master! Through the symbiotic connection on the verge of breaking, like the final electrocardiogram of a dying person, it was transmitted clearly!

Pei Du! He can't hold on any longer! He's being eaten by the Fungus Master!

Almost at the same time, Pei Du, who was entangled in countless mycelium tubes, his crown of thorns shining brightly, and his body being forcibly alienated and transformed, was at the bottom of the abyss of his consciousness submerged by the cold will and devouring desire of the fungus master. A faint but incomparably tenacious flame stubbornly penetrated the boundless darkness.

That’s...Xu Shuangyao!

Her image was incredibly blurry, like a candle in a storm, ready to go out at any moment. But Pei Du could clearly "feel" her! He felt her soul-piercing screams of pain, her icy despair that nearly froze his consciousness, and even more so... at the very bottom of that abyss of despair, a desperate desire to grasp, to protect something... an almost tragic determination!

[… Pei Du… come back… don’t give up…] A spiritual fragment so weak that it was almost indistinguishable, carrying Xu Shuangyao’s unique will fluctuations that were a mixture of tenacity and fragility, like the last straw, stubbornly passed through the numerous blockades of the fungus master’s will and touched Pei Du’s core of consciousness that was about to sink completely.

This call was as weak as a candle in the wind, but it was like a flash of lightning that tore through the eternal night, suddenly splitting the thick darkness and cold swallowing feeling in Pei Du's consciousness!

Xu Shuangyao... is she... is she bearing my pain? Is she... calling out to me? Is she... despairing? For... me?

This realization, like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond, caused a faint ripple in the depths of Pei Du's consciousness, which had been frozen by the will of the fungus master.

At the moment when the ripples spread, deep in Pei Du's left eye, which had been penetrated by the mycelium spikes and transformed by the alien power, in the pure dark green light that represented the will of the fungus master, a faint, almost invisible red color that belonged to his original pupil color, like a spark sinking into the deep sea, flickered extremely hard and tenaciously... for a moment!

The body was imprisoned, the consciousness was eroded, and the soul was pulled into the abyss... But the spark of will belonging to "Pei Du" ignited by Xu Shuangyao's desperate call, began its weak but unextinguished struggle in this desperate situation!