crisis
The dead silence of the stone forest was left far behind, replaced by a more desolate and vast landscape. The earth was a dry, cracked dark red, like congealed blood, and the sky was an eternal leaden gray, hanging so low that it seemed within reach. Sparse, twisted, dead trees stood like struggling ghosts at the end of the sight.
Yinglong is still trekking.
Her pace was faster than before, and her steps more steady. The constant energy feedback, combined with the more refined healing power after the internal storm, like the most patient craftsman, pieced together her shattered foundation. While she still had a long way to go before her strength was fully restored, at least she was no longer as fragile, able to walk for longer periods and even perform short, low-altitude flights.
The core within the sleeve maintained a profound silence and steady pulse. It no longer transmitted chaotic thoughts, but instead continuously and precisely absorbed those fragments of laws from the outside world that benefited it, transforming them into energy that nourished Yinglong. The dark blue light was as inward as the deep ocean, and the black lines of annihilation within it flowed endlessly, yet docilely followed a mysterious order.
It is like a practitioner in deep meditation, or like an egg that is gathering strength and waiting to hatch.
Yinglong no longer attempted to peer into its interior, nor did he worry that it might lose control at any moment. That internal storm, like a necessary tempering, allowed him to truly grasp the path of balance. A tacit understanding had formed between them: she provided direction and shelter (although this shelter was now more symbolic), while he provided continuous energy support and repaired the wounds of the Dao.
It's a strange symbiosis, dangerous, but effective.
She advanced, guided by a subtle intuition. This intuition wasn't a directive from the Core, but rather a "flow" drawn invisibly by its aura. She discovered that the further she moved in that direction, the more "pure" the shattered fragments of laws in her surroundings seemed to become, the more they imbued themselves with an ancient, primordial aura, greatly benefiting the Core's growth and the healing of her Dao injuries.
It was as if there was an invisible river leading them to a source.
One day, she climbed over a mountain made of black crystals that emitted a weak suction force, and the scene before her suddenly changed.
Ahead, there was no longer an endless wasteland, but a huge, tranquil black lake.
The lake's surface was smooth as a mirror, without a single ripple, reflecting the leaden sky. It presented an abject, unnerving silence. The water was pure, inky black, bottomless, as if swallowing up all light and sound. There was no plant life or life on the lake's edge, only a black, pebble-smooth shore.
And in the center of this huge black lake, stands an isolated island.
The island was small, constructed entirely of a pale, jade-like stone that contrasted sharply with the surrounding inky black water. On it, the outline of a building could be vaguely seen. Its style was simple, quaint, even crude, as if constructed in the most primitive way possible, yet it exuded a sense of timeless desolation.
The "flow" that attracted Yinglong, or the core in her sleeve, ended up at the isolated island in the middle of the lake!
A strong premonition struck Yinglong's heart—there, they found what they needed! Perhaps it was a chance to completely stabilize her core, or even transform it again, or perhaps it was a rare item that could accelerate her recovery from her Dao injuries!
But at the same time, an instinctive and extremely strong sense of crisis poured over my whole body like ice water!
The lake was too quiet, abnormally so. The inky black water gave her a terrifying feeling, as if it could devour her soul. And the pale buildings on the isolated island, though seemingly lifeless, emanated a subtle, inviolable majesty, belonging to a bygone era.
This is definitely not a good place!
Should we take a risk and head for the island that may hold opportunity, or should we stop here and take a detour?
Yinglong stopped by the lake, his brows furrowed, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
At this moment, the core in the sleeve emitted its first active fluctuation after entering a dormant state.
It's not a thought, nor a change in energy, but a kind of... desire.
An almost instinctive, incomparably strong desire directed towards the isolated island in the middle of the lake! Even more pure and fervent than the desire she had felt before at the edge of the abyss!
It wants to go there!
As if there was something there that it was destined to need!
This desire was so strong that it affected the previously stable energy feedback, causing a slight and imperceptible disorder.
Yinglong could feel that if she chose to take a detour at this moment, the core would not resist, but the failure of that strong desire might have unpredictable negative effects on the state it had just stabilized.
She looked at the eerily calm black lake, and felt the unignorable desire in the core of her sleeve.
There are obvious dangers ahead, and retreating may result in all efforts being wasted.
There wasn't much time to hesitate.
A hint of determination flashed in Yinglong's eyes.
She had come to this dark place to seek a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation. Now that the opportunity (or crisis) was right before her, how could she retreat out of fear?
Moreover, she was not alone.
She took a deep breath and stopped hesitating. A faint red light shone around her, and she cautiously stepped onto the inky black lake.
What came from the soles of her feet was not the touch of water, but a strange feeling as if she was stepping on solidified grease, cold and sticky, with a faint suction force trying to drag her into the endless darkness.
She held her breath and concentrated her divine power on the soles of her feet, as if she were stepping on an invisible film. She moved forward cautiously, step by step, towards the pale island in the center of the lake.
With every step, the icy cold and suction of the lake water seemed to grow stronger. All around her was deadly silence, with only her own faint heartbeat and footsteps, which seemed exceptionally clear and piercing in this all-consuming space.
The core in the sleeve, the wave of desire became stronger and stronger, and the pulsation also quickened slightly, as if urging, or as if... exciting.
Yinglong was completely focused, not daring to be distracted for even a moment. She could sense that beneath the lake lay some great terror, and if she made a mistake, she would be doomed.
Getting closer and closer to the island.
The rough texture of the pale stone and the open door of the building, like the mouth of a giant beast, can be clearly seen.
Hope seems to be right in front of us.
However, when she was only ten feet away from the shore——
Something strange happened suddenly!
The black "lake" beneath her feet began to boil without any warning!
No, it’s not boiling, it’s activation!
The inky black lake water suddenly bulged upwards, transforming into countless pitch-black arms made of sticky liquid. With a biting chill and a breath of annihilation, they grabbed at her from all directions!
At the same time, the entire lake seemed to come alive, and an incomparably huge will, full of malice and greed, came crashing down and firmly locked onto Yinglong who had set foot on it!
"Intruder...stay...become a part of me..."
An ancient, vague divine thought, with a disgusting fishy smell, sounded directly in her sea of consciousness!
The crisis finally showed its ferocious fangs!
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