The hourglass emblem burned a red mark on Lin Yi's palm, a signal that the power of time and space was boiling in his blood vessels.
He stared at the charred wound on Night Owl's neck that was still absorbing energy, and his Adam's apple bobbed. Three days ago, when Su Qing used a holographic projection to demonstrate the weaknesses of extradimensional creatures in the laboratory, she said, "The back of the neck is the weakest node in the energy circuit. Once it is hit by an erosive attack, the core energy will be disordered by 30% within three seconds."
Now, the wound is gleaming with a faint blue light, like a water pump that never stops pumping water.
"Three—" His voice was torn apart and reassembled by the energy storm. Long Wu's heavy breathing came through the communicator. "Long Wu, when I count to one, your blade must pierce the third layer of defense."
"Understood!" Long Wu's reply was accompanied by the cracking of bones. The dragon scale armor on his back was glowing with a crimson-gold light, and each scale was absorbing the free energy in the air. The golden flames at the tip of his battle blade had solidified into a tangible form, like a burning pillar of heaven.
"Two—" Chu Yao's virtual keyboard suddenly emitted a series of beeps, and dense streams of data flashed in her pupils. Her fingers drew afterimages in mid-air. "The weak points of the defense layer are the seventh and ninth positions of the crystal core array!"
The sixth crystal core that the shadowy figure just destroyed was a critical hub; now the connection frequency of the remaining crystal cores is disrupted for 0.7 seconds!
"Received!" Xuan Mingzi's Taoist robe fluttered without wind. He formed the Nine True Words Seal with his hands, and golden runes appeared in the green mist rising from his fingertips. "Nine Thunder Summoning!" The sky suddenly darkened, and nine purple lightning bolts as thick as bowls, wrapped in green light, struck the ground. This was a spell he had improved after studying the energy frequency of the intruders for three days, specifically targeting the resonance frequency of the dark purple crystal core.
"One." Lin Yi's clenched right hand suddenly loosened, and the light of the hourglass emblem washed over his entire body like a tide.
Long Wu's battle blade tore through the air first.
His original 1.9-meter frame swelled to 3 meters under the burst of dragon power. The dragon patterns on his crimson-gold battle blade came to life, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at the seventh crystal core. "Boom!" The purple light shield of the defensive layer cracked like spiderwebs the moment it touched the battle blade. Long Wu roared and pressed all his strength into it. When the battle blade sank half an inch into the light shield, golden flames suddenly exploded, like a miniature sun—this was his self-created combat technique, a fusion of "Dragon Flame Burning the Sky" and "Armor-Piercing Thrust," specifically designed to tear through defenses.
At the same time, Xuanmingzi's nine lightning bolts struck the ninth crystal core with pinpoint accuracy.
The purple lightning collided with the dark purple energy of the crystal core, bursting out with dazzling blue light. The patterns on the surface of the crystal core began to distort, like glass that had been melted by fire.
Chu Yao's voice boomed through the communicator: "Shadow!"
Go to the fourth crystal core!
Its connection to the main energy source is currently at its weakest!
The dark figure transformed into a streak of blue light, and when it reappeared, it was already pressing down on the fourth crystal core.
The eerie blue light in his palm was even brighter than before, and the surface of the crystal core was instantly covered with ice cracks, the "crack" sound sounding exactly like shattered glass.
Su Qing's locator suddenly emitted a piercing beep. She stared at the frantically jumping data stream on the holographic screen, her fingers flying across the control panel: "Energy system overload!"
The main reactor temperature exceeded the critical value!
"Now!" Lin Yi's pupils reflected the light of the crystal core shattering one after another. He raised his left hand, and the power of spacetime condensed into a silver vortex at his fingertips.
This was the first time he had simultaneously controlled multiple time-space nodes in a team battle—Long Wu's battle blade needed a 0.3-second acceleration, Xuan Mingzi's lightning magic needed a 0.1-second adjustment to the lightning strike sequence, and the shadow's erosion needed a 0.2-second extension in duration.
A silver light swept past everyone, Long Wu's battle blade suddenly became a fraction faster, Xuan Mingzi's lightning technique accuracy increased by 15%, and the dark blue light in the shadow's palm became noticeably stronger.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The seventh, ninth, and fourth crystal cores exploded one after another.
Dark purple energy leaked out wildly like a punctured balloon, and the defensive light shield that originally covered the entire battlefield dimmed by two-thirds in an instant.
Night Owl staggered and grabbed the energy pillar beside him, black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth—each of those destroyed crystal cores was connected to his energy circuit, and now he felt as if his internal organs were being pierced by countless steel needles at the same time.
"Impossible..." His scarlet pupils contracted to pinpoints. "You are nothing but ants from a lowly civilization!" He slammed his fist on the ground, and dark purple mist surged forth from the earth. Dozens of figures emerged from the mist—all of them were extradimensional warriors he had modified, their scales tinged with a sickly purple, and their eye sockets burning with ghostly green flames.
"Remnant forces?" Chu Yao's fingers paused on the keyboard. "Number 57, including 3 legendary-level and 12 epic-level..."
"Who cares how many!" Long Wu flicked the purple blood off his battle blade, and golden flames re-condensed at the tip of the blade. "Today I'll chop all these reptiles into mincemeat!" He charged out, stepping on the shattered crystal core fragments. Wherever the golden arc of his battle blade swept, two extradimensional warriors were cleaved in two. What gushed from their wounds was not blood, but boiling dark purple liquid.
Xuan Mingzi's Daoist robe was stained dark brown by the blood mist, yet he laughed like a madman. "Brilliant!" He formed the Great Sun Seal with his hands, and golden flames rose around him. "These fragmented energy fluctuations are of the same origin as the crystal core, which is perfect fuel for my 'Burning Evil Fire'!" Wherever the flames passed, the scales of the extradimensional warriors melted rapidly, making a sizzling sound, and even their souls twisted into black smoke in the flames.
Su Qing's forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat; the blue light from her locator was almost blinding. "Lin Yi!"
The self-destruct program of the main energy system has been activated!
"10 minutes to go!" She suddenly looked up at the battlefield, "But... the energy fluctuations from the direction of the Mother Nest are abnormal!"
"What do you mean?" Lin Yi's spacetime power was still maintaining three spacetime nodes. He could clearly feel the heat of the hourglass emblem rising—a warning of overuse of his ability, but he couldn't care less at the moment.
"The locator detected seven energy bursts inside the mother nest, with frequencies..." Su Qing's finger suddenly stopped, "...completely matching the resonance frequency of the Seven Keys of Creation!"
The battlefield fell silent for a moment.
Long Wu's battle blade hovered in mid-air, sizzling as the alien warrior he was slashing halfway through was roasted by golden flames; Xuan Mingzi's fire condensed into a fireball at his fingertips, but he forgot to throw it; the shadowy figure's dark blue dagger stopped in front of an enemy's throat, even the blood droplets floating in the air froze.
Taking the opportunity, Night Owl wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth, and a mad light rekindled in his crimson pupils. "Looking for the Seven Keys of Creation?" His laughter was like rusty gears grinding together. "That's a trap set for you by an advanced civilization!"
Once you get it...
"Shut up!" Lin Yi's spacetime power suddenly went berserk, forcibly slowing down the flow of time within a five-meter radius around him.
He stared at the energy map of the Mother Nest sent by Su Qing through the communicator, his Adam's apple bobbing—three days ago, Su Qing had said in the laboratory that the Seven Keys of Creation were the key to unlocking the ruins of advanced civilizations, but no one had ever detected their actual fluctuations.
The seven eruption points that have now appeared inside the nest are exactly the same as the resonance frequencies she has simulated hundreds of times.
"Long Wu, cover the rear!" He ripped off the communicator and threw it on the ground. "Xuan Mingzi, take Su Qing and Chu Yao to the safe zone!"
Shadow, follow me to the Mother Nest!
"Are you crazy?" Long Wu's battle blade cleaved through the last extradimensional warrior. "The main energy source is about to explode, and the Mother Nest could collapse at any moment!"
"But the Seven Keys of Creation are inside." As Lin Yi turned, the light from the hourglass emblem illuminated his taut jawline. "And..." He gazed at the distant silhouette of the Mother Nest shrouded in purple mist, his voice low as a whisper, "The mystery of Su Qing's origins might also be inside."
Su Qing's rapid breathing came through the communicator: "Lin Yi, the energy fluctuations inside the mother nest... have begun to merge!"
Lin Yi gently pressed his fingertip on the hourglass emblem, and the power of time and space surged out like a wave.
He could feel Long Wu's battle roar, Xuan Mingzi's incantation, Chu Yao's data analysis voice, and the silent following of the black shadow behind him.
The outline of the mother nest became clearer and clearer in the purple mist, and his heartbeat resonated with the spacetime power within him—a drumbeat more stirring than any war song.
"Let's go." He took his first step, the ground beneath his feet rippled due to the distortion of spacetime. "To the Mother Nest."
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