Severe pain.

It wasn't the ordinary pain of a knife cutting or burning, but a more fundamental tearing sensation, as if the soul was being forcibly plucked from sticky asphalt, and every invisible nerve ending screamed in agony. Pei Du felt like he was being pulled and ground in opposite directions by two irresistible forces.

On one side lay the icy, vast abyss, bearing the ultimate will of destruction—the will of the Fungus Lord. Like a frozen nebula, it ruthlessly engulfed and assimilated the remaining spark of light within his consciousness, promising "eternal peace" after annihilation. On the other side, there was boiling, rusty despair and... a call? The despair nearly froze his bones, but the core of the call, like a core of molten lava falling into the Arctic Ocean, burned away his last remaining senses.

[Pei Du... come back... don't give up...]

Fragments of Xu Shuangyao's voice, carrying the scent of blood foam, penetrated the icy layer of the fungus master's will.

At this critical point on the verge of complete collapse, just when the will of the fungus master was about to complete covering the last piece of his consciousness map, the deep part of Pei Du's left pupil, which was completely occupied by dark green, the faint red color as faint as a candle in the wind, suddenly exploded!

It's not the rising of flames, but the nuclear explosion of will!

"Get—out—of—it!"

An inhuman roar erupted not from his throat, twisted and distorted by the mycelium, but from the very depths of his soul, repeatedly torn and forcibly held together! It was like the cry of a trapped beast, a mingled cry of blood and bone, as it breaks free from its last chains!

This soul-level roar wasn't directed outward, but inward! It fiercely and resolutely rammed into the Fungus Master's will that was spreading and freezing within his consciousness!

boom--!

An invisible mental storm suddenly exploded, centered around Pei Du's head! The mycelium tubes entwined around him, frantically drilling, suddenly froze! The cold, sticky, corrosive sensation froze for a brief moment! The burning crown of thorns atop his head flickered green light violently, like a faulty circuit. The crown itself even emitted a subtle yet piercing "crackling" sound, as if unable to withstand the violent clash of the two wills within!

"Resist?!" For the first time, the Fungus Master's voice was filled with clear, unfeigned shock and anger, like a huge rock thrown into a calm pond. "A mere remnant! How dare you go against the will of the Ultimate Form?!"

In response, Pei Du's even more frantic, instinctive will to resist was unleashed! The crimson glow was no longer merely a flicker; it burned like a red-hot iron, creating an ever-expanding, painful yet stubborn hole in the deep green of his left eye! His right arm, strangled by the mycelium, its inhuman muscles, covered in a black stratum corneum, expanded and contracted frantically, even forcibly breaking several of the tightest secondary mycelium strands! The broken mycelium spurted out a sticky, fluorescent green fluid!

He jerked his head up, his only remaining right eye and the burning red hollow of his left eye simultaneously locked onto the "self" in the incubator with pure, deep green eyes—that perfect, empty shell! A surge of rage at being fooled and desecrated, mixed with the instinct for survival, instantly overwhelmed the strange attraction he'd felt moments before!

"My stuff?! Fuck you!" Pei Du roared, his thorn-encrusted left hand suddenly opening its five fingers. He stopped trying to touch, and instead gathered the last remnants of strength, a strength that came from within, not from the Master of Fungus. It was a fighting instinct honed through countless life-and-death battles, mixed with the life-burning fury of the thorny power that had been forcibly extracted! Pitch-black thorns instantly proliferated and hardened on his left arm, forming a twisted, hideous blade. With a determination to die together, he fiercely stabbed at the transparent culture wall!

In the core area of ​​the throne room, Xu Shuangyao huddled on the cold, pulsating fungal carpet, her body twitching uncontrollably as she endured the nuclear blast, transmitted through the symbiotic connection and directed at Pei Du's soul. Pei Du's soul-destroying cry of "Get out!" struck her consciousness like a sledgehammer, further straining her already crumbling mental defenses.

"Ugh!" She vomited blood again, her vision intertwined with blood-red and swirling green light. However, along with this devastating pain, there was also a sudden and unyielding red flame from the depths of Pei Du's consciousness!

He... he was resisting! He was answering her call!

This faint yet real sense of connection was like a powerful shot of adrenaline, slamming into Xu Shuangyao's heart, which had been frozen by despair! Pei Du conveyed not only a will to resist, but also a kind of... an almost tragic determination to grasp and protect something! The object of that determination was vaguely pointed at her!

It was him! It was Pei Du who was struggling in the abyss, trying to grab her as the last straw!

This realization instantly ignited the fire in Xu Shuangyao's heart, nearly extinguished by the cruel truth and her own near-death state. Atonement! Stop the Fungus Master! And... save him!

Sacrifice Pei Du as the key? No! Never!

The thought split the fog like lightning. She looked up abruptly, her bloodshot eyes fixed on the ancient keyhole pattern at the core of the throne, which flickered violently and shimmered under the stimulation of her mental key. Fragments of information from the plant network flashed through her mind again: […The key to the seal…must be ignited…by…the soul of the same origin…]

The soul of the same origin of life...ignite...

A nearly insane thought, accompanied by the violent energy turbulence from Pei Du's side, which violently clashed with the Fungus Master's will, instantly formed in her mind! Her body was already on the verge of breaking point, and her mental strength was like a candle in the wind, but her will, at this moment, burned with an unprecedented intensity!

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