The air in Kunlun Base's life support chamber hung thick as congealed blood. Within the nutrient-filled stasis pod, Chu Xuan hovered, the ashen stone curse now a deathly kiss creeping past his jawline towards his ears. Each faltering heartbeat tore jagged lines across the monitors, a cruel counterpoint to the crimson digits relentlessly climbing – the measure of his petrification.
"Inhibitor efficacy critical… petrification rate reverting to peak… signs of petrification detected in brainstem… Life support systems at 120% load…" The chief medic's voice was a clinical death knell. "We… are losing him."
Old Master Qin hunched before the observation window, his rheumy eyes nailed to the creeping grey death on Chu Xuan's face. His knuckles whitened around the dark-red shard of the Ascension Token in his grip. The memory of last night in the Forbidden City's depths – the spectral wolf's howl, the Zhen Yue greatsword's violent azure eruption, his own desperate blood-sigil – burned in his mind. Star-Sea Celestial iron. The Hongwu Emperor's secret. The hope against the alien tide… The key was here, yet couldn't unlock the dying man's chains!
"The core… the signal…" Qin rasped, clutching at straws. "The Soul Lamps' guidance… cannot be wrong! This shard… this sword… their origin… what can save him… must be at the planet's heart! In the seal's core!" He whirled towards Zhao Qiming, his eyes blazing with near-madness. "The Ark! The Ark site! Dragon's Spine Valley! Its dragon veins are the strongest! The closest conduit to the core seal! Initiate the 'Dragon Vein Conduit' plan! NOW! Highest priority! Channel Kunlun's dragon energy… force it down! Pry open the seal! Drag whatever's inside… OUT!"
Zhao Qiming didn't hesitate. "Understood! 'Mountain Mover' teams are in position! 'Dragon Shackle Array' materials deployed to Dragon's Spine! Master Qin, the risks…"
"Risks?" Qin laughed bitterly, pointing at the pod. "Worse than this? Follow the forbidden method from the kid's notes… exactly! If the heavens fall… I bear the burden!"
The command was a spark in tinder. The colossal engineering force lying in wait within Dragon's Spine Valley roared to life. Heavy drilling rigs screamed like wounded steel titans, shattering the mountain range's ancient silence. Around the designated core of the future Ark base, piercing the flank of the Dragon's Spine peak, dozens of vertical boreholes, hundreds of meters deep, were simultaneously drilled. Their walls were lined with special concrete, laced with spirit crystal dust and etched with complex runes – "Dragon Calling Pillars".
At the valley's heart, a massive circular platform, over a hundred meters across, took shape. Built on an alloy foundation, its surface crawled with intricate, arcane runic circuits – the colossal scale of the "Dragon Shackle Array". At its center gaped a bottomless shaft, plunging towards the planet's fiery veins. Thick, faintly glowing alloy cables, like the sinews of a titan, snaked from the platform's core, connecting to the boreholes drilled into the surrounding mountains.
This was the forbidden art from Chu Xuan's "Memories" – using artificial arrays as a conduit, forcibly channeling the Earth's dragon veins, unleashing their power against the core seal! The risks were cataclysmic: uncontrolled, it could trigger devastating quakes or worse, rupture the seal prematurely, unleashing unspeakable horrors. But for this sliver of hope, there was no choice.
West Outskirts, Linhai City. Beneath the Frozen Hellscape.
An unnatural silence gripped the makeshift isolation ward within the repurposed bomb shelter.
On the bed, Chen Mo lay unconscious once more. The thread-thin beam of azure light from his left eye pupil was gone, leaving only the intricate silver circuitry etched onto the sclera. His body twitched faintly, blood-flecked foam at his lips and nose. The effort to "freeze" the university district's forming dungeon had clearly ravaged his unstable system.
Outside the isolation window, Rock and Dr. Bozhu stood like statues, staring in awe at the horrific tableau suspended over the city. Crimson lightning hung like frozen blood-icicles. Shattered buildings floated in mid-collapse, a snapshot of apocalypse paused by an invisible hand. Only at the vortex's core, a hairline fracture of purest blackness slowly, silently spread, radiating palpable dread.
"En-energy readings… flatlined…" a technician stammered. "The entire dungeon vortex… time, space, energy flow… all 'frozen'! Th-this… this is suppression at the rule level!"
"'Purge Protocol'…" Bozhu whispered, face ghostly pale. "It wasn't destroying the dungeon… it was forcibly pausing its formation! That's more terrifying than destruction! It implies… the ability to rewrite local spatial rules! Even if temporarily!"
Rock tore his gaze from the sky, fixing it on the unconscious Chen Mo, his expression granite. The power slumbering within this unassuming gamer was magnitudes more terrifying than imagined. "Immediately! Highest-grade bio-restraint harness! Get it on him! All data, encrypted real-time transmission to HQ! And…" He drew a sharp breath. "Notify HQ, 'Candle Dragon' protocol suspended. Target status… exceeds 'Weaver' system control parameters. Forced intrusion… is suicide."
Kunlun Base, "Heaven's Workshop" Lab.
On a massive isolation platform, the immense Zhen Yue greatsword, hauled from the Forbidden City's depths, was held in place by shimmering energy fields. Its blade was a dark, unpolished cyan, unsharpened, a dragon-spine ridge running its length, deep ice-crack patterns etched within. Researchers cautiously scanned it with non-contact energy probes.
"Blade material confirmed: Origin matches Ascension Token shard. Star-Sea Celestial 'Starfall Iron'… Internal Dao patterns severely damaged. Integrity less than 5%..."
"Core energy signature: Dormant… But internal scans detect highly active 'contaminant source'… Energy signature… differs from Qinling Corpseghast or Netherdeath energy… Leans towards… bio-organic flesh corruption… Extremely potent… Highly corrosive..."
"Physical strength test: Exceeds instrument maximum… Preliminary assessment: Blade mass and material alone deliver blunt force trauma exceeding all conventional weapons..."
"WARNING: Any energy injection attempt triggers violent reaction from internal contaminant! Feedback intensity… Unpredictable!"
Qin watched from behind the isolation glass, stroking the Ascension Token shard, his brow furrowed. "Tainted blood… Dust-shrouded star iron… The Emperor's record is true… This blade is now double-edged. Misused, it wounds the wielder first!"
Suddenly, the lab comm crackled with Zhao Qiming's urgent voice: "Master Qin! Dragon's Spine Valley reports! 'Dragon Calling Pillars' operational! 'Dragon Shackle Array' charged! 'Mountain Mover' team requests final order! Initiate 'Dragon Vein Conduit'?"
Qin jolted. He cast one last look at the silent sword, then towards the valley's direction, Chu Xuan's petrifying face burning in his mind. No time left!
"Initiate!" Qin's voice held the finality of a broken dam. "As planned! Gradual power increase! Monitor all geonodes! At first sign of instability… CUT IT OFF!"
Dragon's Spine Valley.
The gaping shaft at the center of the massive "Dragon Shackle" platform yawned like the Earth's own eye. Thick alloy cables snaking from the surrounding borehole entrances thrummed taut. Runes across the platform's surface ignited in sequence, their energy pulse intensifying.
"Energy infusion! Phase One! 5% power!" The chief engineer's voice boomed through the valley.
WHUMMM!
The platform shuddered violently! An invisible force field pulsed outwards! Pebbles danced on the ground. The alloy cables vibrated with a metallic whine. Deep below, the rune-etched "Dragon Calling Pillars" began emitting a soft, earthen-yellow glow.
"Dragon vein energy feedback stable! Dragon Qi flow accelerating! No anomalous perturbations detected!"
"Continue! Increase to 10% power!"
The hum deepened. Hairline cracks, like spiderwebs, appeared on the ground around the platform. Earthen-yellow luminescence seeped from the boreholes, flowing along the cables towards the central shaft. A heavy, deep, rhythmic pulse – the heartbeat of the land itself – began to permeate the valley.
"20% power!"
BOOM!
The surrounding mountains groaned, deep and ominous, as if a slumbering leviathan stirred. From the central shaft, a thick, nearly tangible torrent of earthen-yellow energy geysered upwards! It coiled like a living thing, emitting a low, resonant draconic roar! The converging Dragon Qi was forcibly compressed by the array, forming a concentrated beam of light that hammered down into the planet's fiery veins!
"30% power! HOLD STEADY!"
The entire valley convulsed! A high-magnitude quake! Boulders tumbled! Cracks around the platform widened, snaking outwards. The earthen-yellow energy beam turned violent, thrashing within the shaft, straining against the array's bindings! The shriek of tortured metal tore from the platform base and cables!
"Report! Pillars 3, 7, 15 internal pressure critical! Rune structures fracturing!"
"Report! Dragon Shackle core circuits overloading! Stability down to 85%!"
"Report! Kunlun Peak Dragon Qi monitoring! Total reserves… depleting at 300% over projected rate!"
Bad news piled up. The command center air froze. Every heart hammered against ribs. The Dragon Qi was vanishing faster than feared! Meaning either the veins were frailer than thought, or… the core seal was hungrier!
"Don't stop!" The chief engineer roared, eyes fixed on the flickering light representing Chu Xuan's fading life. "Ramp it up! 35% power! BREAK IT OPEN!"
WHUMMM—CRACK!!!
Power surged! The central energy beam erupted, swelling from earthen-yellow to blinding gold-red! A shockwave of pure force blasted outwards! Monitoring gear near the platform was shredded! Several alloy cables groaned, their etched runes flickering erratically!
CRUNCH! SNAP!
Horrific snapping sounds echoed from the deep earth. Like colossal chains binding some subterranean horror… were shattering!
"Disaster! Geostructure destabilizing! It's going critical!" A geologist screamed in despair!
Simultaneously, deep within Kunlun Base, the flames within three of the nine bronze Soul Lamps flared violently! Fire tongues leaped a foot high, crackling and spitting! Their warm golden hue… stained a sickening, ominous… blood-red!
Dragon's Spine Valley. The Deep Dark.
The berserk gold-red Dragon Qi beam, a runaway drill bit, tore through layer after layer of bedrock, driven by the "Dragon Shackle" array, hurtling towards the planetary core seal!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Thunderous detonations ripped through the stone depths! Granite shattered like glass, melted under the onslaught! Superheated air, laden with pulverized rock, formed annihilative shockwaves in the narrowing tunnel!
"WARNING! Pillar 7 destroyed! Energy circuit failure!"
"WARNING! Pillar 15 pressure critical! Imminent breach!"
"Dragon Shackle core temperature OVERLIMIT! Cooling FAILED!"
Alarms shrieked in the command center! Screen icons flashed and died! The violent shaking turned the command center into a storm-tossed skiff!
"Cut it! Cut power NOW! Abandon—" The chief engineer's order was drowned by a roar that bypassed ears to claw directly at the soul!
ROOOOOOAAAAAAR—!!!!!!
It was pure, primordial fury. Agony. And beneath it… a ravenous, ancient hunger awakened!
KABOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
The valley floor heaved as if seized by a god's fist and hurled upwards! The earth around the platform for hundreds of meters bulged, fractured, exploded! Monstrous fissures ripped open like wounds! A volcanic eruption of rock, soil, and gold-red energy blasted from the fissures and damaged boreholes!
"Earth Fiend Qi! INFERNAL MIASMA!!" An experienced researcher shrieked in terror!
The geyser wasn't pure Dragon Qi anymore! It vomited thick, viscous, foul-smelling streams of putrid brown-black gas reeking of sulfur and decay! It carried terrifying corrosive power. Rock dissolved. Alloy cables rusted and snapped. Even the rune-reinforced concrete borehole linings hissed and crumbled!
The "Dragon Shackle" array buckled under the infernal onslaught, its light dimming precipitously. Runes across the core platform sputtered out, shattered! The energy conduits screamed their death throes!
Total. Loss. Of. Control.
The rampaging Infernal Miasma, a loosed primordial beast, broke free from the platform's grasp. It surged outwards, a tide of annihilation! Its first target: the erupting core shaft itself!
"EVAC! EVERYONE! GET OUT OF THE VALLEY!!" The chief engineer's voice held only despair. Failure! Not only had they failed to breach the seal, they'd detonated the monstrous corruption festering deep within! Dragon's Spine Valley… was now a death zone!
Yet, in the split second before the annihilating geyser of Miasma consumed the platform…
Kunlun Base. Life Support.
Within the nutrient pod, Chu Xuan, still as stone, suddenly arched violently! His grey-stone chest heaved! His eyes, unseeing for so long, snapped open!
No focus. No life. Only twin orbs of featureless, dusty grey stone.
But in that instant of opening…
An indescribable, primal, ravenous HUNGER exploded from his core! Not for sustenance, but for… ENERGY! The raw, chaotic, annihilative power of the Infernal Miasma!
HUMMMMM!
Chu Xuan's fully petrified left arm jerked upwards! The movement was stiff, puppet-like, yet carried the weight of absolute law! The grey-stone hand opened, fingers splayed, pointing unerringly towards Dragon's Spine Valley – across mountains and fortified base.
An invisible, tyrannical, cosmic-level suction tore through space, anchoring onto the erupting core of the valley platform!
WHOOSH—!!!!!
Like a cosmic leviathan inhaling a star! The surging, world-ending torrent of Infernal Miasma, poised to devour all, STALLED! Then, seized by an unseen throat, it violently wrenched course! Coalescing into a thick column of vile brown-black energy, it ignored physical law, pierced dimensions, and manifested within the Life Support chamber! It poured directly into the palm of Chu Xuan's upraised, stone hand!
SSSSSSZZZZZZ—!!!!!
The contact of the corrupting Miasma and the petrified limb unleashed a sound like acid on bone. The energy potent enough to melt steel and dissolve rock… was being absorbed by the grey stone skin!
[ALERT! Detecting CRITICAL Infernal Miasma intake!]
[Target: Chu Xuan… Petrified Left Arm…]
[Energy Absorption in Progress… Petrification Curse Activity… SHARPLY DECREASING?!]
[Meridian Petrification Blockage Rate… RAPIDLY DECREASING?!]
[Life Signs… SLIGHTLY RISING?!]
For the first time… the death-trending lines on the monitors… reversed course!
The entire Life Support chamber gaped at the impossible spectacle.
Chu Xuan's body was a ravenous singularity, devouring the torrent of corrupt energy channeled across space! His grey-stone arm, engorged with the foul power, seemed to darken, its stone texture… denser? Meanwhile, the creeping grey death on his neck and jaw… visibly slowed!
Devouring!
He was devouring the Miasma!
Not neutralizing poison… but… feeding the stone?!
Old Master Qin stared at the reversing data, at the petrified arm sucking in destruction, tears streaming down his wrinkled face as he laughed, a harsh, triumphant sound. "HAHAHA! It worked! Kid! You goddamn… mad genius! Devouring Heaven Physique! This is your Devouring Heaven Physique! The petrification curse… becomes your armor! The Miasma… is your medicine!"
Dragon's Spine Valley.
The cataclysmic eruption of Infernal Miasma was brutally choked off! The runaway energy torrent was forcibly redirected! Though the shattered pillars and scarred valley remained, the core of the annihilating force was shackled!
Surviving engineers and Dragon Tooth soldiers stared dumbfounded towards the platform. The once-rampant Miasma geyser was now a weakened, though still dangerous, outflow.
"Move! Salvage equipment! Collect Miasma samples! Record EVERYTHING!" The chief engineer rasped, voice raw with adrenaline and shock. The disastrous gamble… had seemingly ripped open a path to survival?
Deep Within Kunlun Base.
The flames of the three blood-stained Soul Lamps contracted violently the moment Chu Xuan began his devouring. The raging fire tongues shrank rapidly, stabilizing back to their bead-like size. But their color… was no longer pure gold. A subtle, sickly… greyness tainted their light.
Flickering weakly, their flames still pointed towards the planetary core… but seemed dimmer. Frailer. Like embers in a rising wind.