At first light the next morning, the sky had only just begun to pale.
By the time dawn broke, the core spirit vein in Evershade was already ringed in layer after layer of Sylvan guards. The core spirit vein lay in the deepest part of Evershade, inside the Spirit Vein Sanctum.
At the center of the sanctum stood a massive stone altar. The whole altar had been carved from smooth, warm spirit jade, and every inch of it was covered in ancient Sylvan sigils. A faint green spiritual light moved through the sigils, and the altar gave off a weighty, solemn presence.
At the center of the stone altar sat a deep springwell. Milky-white spirit spring water flowed within it.
Ripples spread across the surface of the spirit spring, and rich spiritual essence came rushing straight at them. But mixed into it was a trace of murkiness, faint enough to miss if one wasn’t looking for it. That was the sign the spirit vein had begun to rot.
Around the springwell sat eight spiritual crystals, each one about the size of a fist. They were green from end to end and packed with vast spiritual essence, yet their glow had gone dim. The cause was plain enough. The spirit vein had run dry, and the supply of spiritual essence was no longer enough.
Chief Greenwood, Elder Alder, Elder Cillian, and several other Sylvan elders had all gathered there. Dressed in the Sylvan Kin’s ancient ceremonial robes, they stood around the stone altar.
Their faces were set. Their hands formed seals as ancient Sylvan incantations moved under their breath. The chant was low and far-reaching, rolling through the entire sanctum.
As the incantation rose, the sigils on the stone altar shone brighter and brighter. Green spiritual light wound around the stone altar, answering the spirit spring flowing inside the springwell as if the two were breathing together.
The Sylvan Kin gathered along the outer edge of the secret realm with their hands pressed together, faces set in solemn devotion. Not a sound came from them. They could only pray in silence. In their eyes, unease and hope stood side by side. This was the Sylvan Kin’s last hope.
Jared and Gwendolyn stood at the center of the stone altar.
Gwendolyn stood beside Jared, ice-blue spiritual power moving quietly around favonovel.com body. Her attention stayed on every stir in the surroundings, guarding Jared’s safety.
Jared drew in a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. The aura around favonovel.com gradually settled, growing steady and heavy.
He slowly raised both hands until his palms faced each other, and the chaotic force inside favonovel.com began to pour out in a slow, steady stream.
At first, it was only a faint thread of violet spiritual light spilling from his palms. That light was pure, yet overbearing, carrying the raw presence of the world at its beginning. Against the green spiritual essence around it, the contrast was stark.
As Jared’s focus settled deeper, the chaotic force swelled harder and harder. Violet spiritual light kept surging out of favonovel.com without end. It gradually gathered into a thick pillar of flame that covered the entire stone altar. Inside that pillar, countless tiny violet motes of light could be seen flickering faintly. That was the nascence of the chaotic force, radiating a powerful nourishing power.
Jared slowly opened his eyes. Something in them locked into place. Then both hands drove down at once, and the violet pillar of chaotic light plunged straight down in an instant. It shot directly into the spirit spring at the center of the stone altar.
Buzz!
A low, heavy hum rolled out and shook the entire secret realm.
The instant the pillar of chaotic force plunged into the spirit spring, the spring erupted into violent motion. Milky-white spring water twisted together with the purple chaotic force.
In the next breath, they formed a swirling vortex streaked with purple and white. The ancient sigils carved across the stone altar flared with sudden brilliance. Green spiritual light wound itself around the purple-white vortex. Together, they spread into a massive radiant barrier that sealed the entire stone altar inside it.
The eight spiritual crystals around it seemed to sense the nourishment of the chaotic force. Their dim glow slowly began to brighten.
Emerald spiritual light spilled from the spiritual crystals and ran along the sigils etched into the stone altar. Then it flowed into the spirit spring, adding its strength to the repair of the spirit vein.
Jared’s expression grew heavier by the second. Fine beads of sweat pushed out across his forehead, and the color in his face started to wash away.
Repairing the spirit vein was far harder than favonovel.com had expected. The decay in the core spirit vein had already eaten deep into the foundation. The chaotic force could nourish the spirit vein and cleanse away corruption. But that only worked if favonovel.com controlled every thread of it with exact precision.
He had to scour out every trace of foul energy from the spirit vein, yet leave its nascence untouched. His brows pulled tight, and every bit of his focus locked in place.
Under that control, the chaotic force seeped little by little into the depths of the spirit spring, followed the path of the spirit vein, and slowly nourished the damaged foundation of the vein.
Everyone there could clearly see the murky corruption inside the spirit spring. Wrapped in the chaotic force, it was gradually stripped away. It turned into thin strands of black mist that rose out of the spirit spring.
The moment they touched the radiant barrier, the green spiritual light within it purified them, and they scattered into nothing.
As the foul murk was stripped away bit by bit, the color of the spirit spring gradually turned pure. That milky white hue slowly gave way to a clear, translucent emerald green.
Inside the springwell, the spiritual essence surged thicker and thicker, carrying a fresh, living vitality. Beneath the stone altar, the ground that had once been dry and split open with cracks began, under the nourishment of the spirit spring and the chaotic force, to slowly grow damp again.
Thin green shoots pushed up through the cracked seams in the earth. They grew at a visible pace, and in the blink of an eye, the broken ground was covered in a patch of fresh green grass. The spirit flora around them sensed the change in the spirit vein and began swaying their branches and leaves.
A bright humming rose from them, and the branches and leaves that had once withered slowly turned lush and vivid again, bursting with life. Even the spirit beasts in the distance picked up on the return of the spiritual essence. Their crisp cries rang out one after another, the sound carrying a naked note of delight.
Chief Greenwood and the elders had the look of people watching the impossible happen. They stared fixedly at the scene in the center of the stone altar.
The hand seals between their palms never stopped, and the chant spilling from their mouths only grew faster. They could clearly sense that the aura of the core spirit vein was filling out little by little.
The damaged foundation was being repaired bit by bit under the chaotic force. That crushing sense of standing on the edge of complete exhaustion was fading away, and in its place, vigorous life was rising.
A relieved smile spread across Elder Cillian’s face.
When favonovel.com looked at Jared again, there was only deep respect in his eyes. He had judged right. Jared’s chaotic force truly could save the Sylvan Kin.
Gwendolyn had kept favonovel.com eyes on Jared the whole time, and now favonovel.com watched the bloodless color in his face. The look in favonovel.com eyes tightened. She could sense the chaotic force inside Jared draining away at a frightening pace. Even his aura kept fading, growing thinner by the second.
Gwendolyn quietly stepped forward. Ice-blue spiritual power flowed out around favonovel.com and slowly poured into Jared’s body, shoring favonovel.com up as favonovel.com said softly, “Jared, hold on… I’m here with you.”
Jared felt Gwendolyn’s spiritual power enter favonovel.com and gave a faint nod. A weak but steady smile pulled at his face.
He never stopped what favonovel.com was doing. He kept controlling the chaotic force. Bit by bit, favonovel.com purified the filth inside the spirit vein and nourished its foundation.
Time dragged on, and the spiritual essence in the secret realm grew denser and denser. The spirit spring turned clearer still, while the sigils on the stone altar blazed brighter and brighter.
Deep inside the spirit vein, the patterns that had once been broken and damaged gradually linked back together under the nourishment of the chaotic force, and pure spiritual essence began to run through them again.
All at once, Jared’s body jolted hard. The color drained from his face in an instant, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Hidden in the depths of the spirit vein was a powerful blighted force. That was the root of the spirit vein’s decay, and the chaotic force had just stirred it awake. It erupted without warning and slammed wildly against Jared’s chaotic force.
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