Chapter 108: Battle Alongside Nyren

Chapter 108: Battle alongside Nyren

SKREEEEEECH!

The beast let out a piercing, ear-splitting shriek that shook loose stalactites from the ceiling above.

Without pausing, its massive body coiled and lashed out toward Nyren like a colossal wooden whip!

"Glacial Wall!" Nyren thrust her hands forward.

A three-meter-thick slab of pure, white ice manifested in front of the sweeping trunk.

BANG!

The petrified tail slammed into the wall. The sheer kinetic force shattered the ice into a million glittering shards, the concussive shockwave forcing Nyren to slide backward across the wet stone, her boots digging deep furrows into the mud.

Before the creature could follow up, Lothe moved.

Knowing his Soul Energy was running low, he didn’t construct an expensive high-tier domain. He relied purely on mechanical synergy.

He pulled three small, green-inscribed talismans from his sleeve.

[Talisman: Kinetic Deflection]

[Talisman: Mud-Hardening Rune]

[Talisman: Wind-Blade Inscription]

He flicked the first two talismans straight into the mud beneath the creature’s center legs.

"Array: [Quicksand Petrification]!"

HUMMMMM!

The wet soil beneath the beast suddenly turned as hard as solid steel!

The Devourer, halfway through pulling its lower segments out of the ground, found its rear legs instantly cemented into the bedrock. It thrashed furiously, its front scythes clawing wildly at the air.

"Nyren! The joints beneath the third segment!" Lothe shouted, his voice sharp and commanding. "It cannot shield them while anchored!"

Nyren didn’t hesitate. In the crucible of combat, she trusted the strange scholar’s tactical judgment without question.

She kicked off the boulder, her silver hair trailing behind her like a streak of moonlight. Her Ice Qi erupted to its absolute peak.

"Frostfang Piercing Lance!"

Condensing her Ice Qi into a four-meter-long, crystalline spear of pure absolute zero, she dropped from the air like a descending valkyrie, driving the lance straight into the soft, pulsating gap between the creature’s wooden plates!

PUCHI!

The frozen lance tore through the soft tissue beneath the bark.

ROOOOOAAAR!

The Devourer shrieked in agony as instant permafrost flooded its internal organs, freezing its boiling green blood into solid ice.

Lothe was already in position.

He stood directly before the thrashing beast’s maw, completely unfazed by the toxic green bile spraying from its fangs. He raised his right hand, the third talisman glowing with a fierce, compressed azure light.

He didn’t construct another complex formation. He used the palace’s own heavy Wood Qi against the creature.

"Shatter," Lothe whispered.

He pressed the Wind-Blade Talisman directly against the creature’s glowing yellow sensory cluster.

SLASH!

A razor-thin crescent of hyper-compressed spatial wind detonated point-blank!

The head of the massive Devourer exploded into a cloud of splintered bark, crushed stone, and frozen black fluid.

The corpse of the Root-Carapace Devourer collapsed into the mud with a heavy BOOM.

For several seconds, the cavern remained still.

Only the sound of dripping water disturbed the silence.

Drip... drip... drip...

Nyren stood beside the dead creature, her silver hair falling over one shoulder. Her ice-forged sword remained in her hand, the blade covered in a thin layer of pale frost.

She glanced toward Lothe.

The strange scholar stood a short distance away, his plain black robes untouched by the battle. Not a single drop of the creature’s poisonous bile had landed on him.

His eyes were already focused beyond the dead beast.

He wasn’t admiring the victory.

He was studying the cavern.

Nyren followed his gaze.

Beyond the corpse, the grotto extended into three separate paths.

The left path was covered in thick vines and faintly glowing flowers.

The center path was filled with jagged ice formations.

The right path descended into darkness, where the sound of rushing water could be heard.

Lothe activated [Qi Sight].

The cavern immediately changed before his eyes.

The three pathways were not ordinary routes.

Each one was covered in a different type of energy.

The left path contained dense Wood Qi.

The center path contained cold, sharp Ice Qi.

The right path contained heavy Water Qi mixed with faint traces of corrosive energy.

At the end of each path, a faint red Rune pulsed beneath the stone.

Lothe narrowed his eyes.

Three separate trials.

The Ancient Palace had not sent them into a natural cave system. The entire grotto had been constructed as a testing ground.

A faint line of silver light appeared across the stone floor, connecting the three paths.

Lothe crouched and brushed away the mud.

Beneath it was an ancient inscription.

He studied the characters for several seconds.

"The three paths eventually lead to the same chamber," he said.

Nyren looked at him. "You can read that?"

"Some of it."

"What does it say?"

Lothe’s gaze remained on the inscription.

"Those who walk the path of life will be tested by growth. Those who walk the path of frost will be tested by stillness. Those who walk the path of water will be tested by endurance."

Nyren looked toward the center path.

"The frost path."

Lothe glanced at her. "You intend to take that one?"

"It resonates with my Qi."

"That doesn’t mean it’s safe."

"I didn’t ask whether it was safe."

For a moment, the two stared at each other.

Nyren’s eyes were cold and direct.

Lothe’s expression remained unreadable.

Then he looked away.

"Fine."

He pointed toward the path covered in ice.

"You take that route."

Nyren raised an eyebrow.

"And you?"

"The left path."

"You’re choosing the Wood Qi path?"

"I’m choosing the path with the most concealed formations."

Nyren studied him for a moment.

"Why?"

"Because the palace is likely to hide its most important information there."

It was a simple answer.

But Nyren noticed the faint weariness behind his voice.

The strange scholar appeared calm, but his Soul Energy was clearly not in perfect condition.

He had already used several high-level arrays since entering the palace. His breathing was steady, but his spiritual presence felt slightly dimmer than before.

"You should conserve your strength," she said.

Lothe glanced at her.

"Are you concerned?"

"No."

"Then don’t worry."

Nyren’s eyes narrowed.

"I was simply making an observation."

"Then your observation has been received."

His tone was so emotionless that Nyren’s lips pressed into a thin line.

This man was irritating.

Yet he had protected her twice.

She turned toward the icy path.

"Try not to die before we meet again."

Lothe looked at her back.

"I’ll try."

Nyren stopped.

She seemed to sense the faint humor hidden beneath his cold voice.

But when she turned around, his face was once again completely expressionless.

She snorted softly and entered the icy passage.

Lothe watched until the shadows swallowed her.

Then he turned toward the Wood Qi path.

——————————

The moment Lothe entered the left passage, the temperature rose sharply.

The air became humid.

Thick vines covered the walls, their surfaces pulsing with green light. Strange flowers bloomed from cracks in the stone, opening and closing like mouths.

Lothe did not touch anything.

He moved slowly, his [Qi Sight] scanning every surface.

The plants were not ordinary.

Each vine contained a small amount of spiritual energy, but their roots were connected to the formation beneath the cavern.

The entire passage was alive.

Or at least, it was pretending to be.

Lothe took a sheet of Spirit Paper from his sleeve and drew a small mark on the wall.

A faint purple line appeared and extended into the corridor behind him.

It was not an attack talisman.

It was a route marker.

He continued forward.

After approximately thirty meters, the vines began moving.

At first, they only trembled.

Then the flowers opened.

A cloud of yellow pollen burst into the corridor.

Lothe immediately held his breath and stepped backward.

The pollen spread across the air, forming a thick mist.

Ping!

========================================

[ENVIRONMENTAL WARNING]

• Unknown pollen detected.

• Effect: Induces hallucinations and suppresses Qi control.

• Purification recommended.

========================================​