Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

86: Chapter 86: Purification of the Spiritual Root and the Awakening of the Star PatternsLin Mo’s strand of pure and cold Annihilation Power, like the finest probe, cautiously touched the outer Core of the earth mother spirit root.

In that instant, it was as if a drop of ice water had fallen into boiling oil!

”Buzz—!!!”

A violent hum, not transmitted through the air but acting directly on the Soul level, suddenly exploded! The golden branches and leaves of the earth mother spirit root trembled violently, and the lava-like energy flowing within instantly became wild and restless!

From within the originally gentle and majestic life Aura and earth vein elemental force, a strand of extremely cold, malicious, and greedy dark purple energy suddenly erupted—the source power of the soul-eroding miasma! Like countless venomous snakes surging from a disturbed nest, carrying the evil intent to annihilate intelligence and pollute all things, it frantically coiled around the strand of Annihilation Power Lin Mo had probed in. Following this power, it viciously retaliated against Lin Mo’s nirvana star core itself!

”Careful!” Yan’s low shout came as his hands shifted through hand Seals. The earthy yellow light around him intensified, and more pure earth vein elemental force was drawn in to reinforce the protective shield around Su Muxue and Lin Mo, desperately isolating the spiritual pollution from the miasma’s source. However, his face also turned several shades paler, clearly struggling to hold it back.

Su Muxue’s heart leaped into her throat. The zhenyuan sword hummed incessantly, its Sword Intent poised to strike, yet she didn’t dare rashly intervene in an energy confrontation of this level. She could only remain on high alert to prevent any accidents.

Lin Mo bore the most direct pressure! The retaliation from the miasma’s source far exceeded the sensation of devouring those sludge tentacles before! It wasn’t just energy erosion; it was accompanied by countless fragments of chaotic and mad thoughts—the desperate wails and malicious curses left behind by the beings it had devoured and twisted over the eons, frantically battering Lin Mo’s consciousness!

”Ugh!” Lin Mo’s consciousness let out a muffled groan, the ball of light flickering violently like a candle in the wind.

But at this critical juncture, the instinct of the nirvana star core was completely triggered! The dark patterns on its surface flashed with unprecedented brightness—it was a fury born from being provoked, and even more, a greed at encountering a ”great supplement”!

”Devour!” Lin Mo forced himself to maintain the last shred of clarity in his mind and activated the power from the deepest part of the star Core!

It was no longer a cautious probe, but a domineering plunder!

Buzz—!

The nirvana star core suddenly rotated, transforming into a miniature gray-blue vortex. A suction force ten times, even a hundred times greater than the power he had probed with before, suddenly erupted!

The retaliating miasma source, which had been aggressive just moments ago, now seemed to have met its nemesis. It was forcibly torn apart and stripped away by that terrifying suction, frantically drawn into the gray-blue vortex like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!

Sizzle, sizzle—!

A tooth-aching sound of erosion echoed continuously within Lin Mo’s light sphere. The miasma source was extremely stubborn; even as it was being devoured, it struggled frantically, attempting to pollute and assimilate the nirvana star core. The dark patterns on the star Core’s surface flickered unsteadily, at times blazing gray-blue, and at others being stained with a hint of dark purple. Lin Mo’s Aura rose and fell accordingly, clearly finding the digestion extremely difficult and painful.

However, the characteristics of the nirvana star core were now displayed to their fullest! No matter how violent or malicious the miasma was, once sucked into the star Core, it was forcibly crushed and decomposed by that absolute intent of ”Annihilation.” Its evil thoughts and curses were annihilated, leaving only the purest, albeit cold and deathly still, essence of energy to slowly merge into the star Core.

With every strand merged, the star Core became more solid, and the dark patterns on its surface became clearer. The lines grew more complex and profound, as if containing some fundamental truth of heaven and earth.

This was an extremely perilous yet immensely rewarding process!

The earth mother spirit root’s reaction changed as well. The initial violent tremors and energy riots gradually subsided, replaced by a subtle, soothing vibration as if pain had been alleviated. Some faint dark spots originally visible on the golden branches began to fade and disappear at a speed visible to the naked eye. An even purer, more majestic life force and earth elemental power began to slowly diffuse from her Core, like spring returning to the earth, nourishing all things.

An uncontrollable light of joy erupted in Yan’s eyes. He could clearly feel that the earth mother spirit root’s life force, which had been dormant for ages and was waning by the day, was being awakened bit by bit! He didn’t dare to be negligent and fully guided the earth vein power. On one hand, he assisted Lin Mo in stabilizing the situation, and on the other, he guided the pure life force escaping from the spirit root toward Su Muxue to help her recover from her injuries and consolidate her cultivation.

Su Muxue felt a warm, vast energy with the heavy sense of the earth flooding into her body. The exhaustion from her previous tension and vigilance was instantly replenished, her injury healing speed increased dramatically, and even her comprehension of the Lingxiao Sword Intent seemed to become slightly clearer. She was amazed by the miraculous life force of this earth mother spirit root and focused even more intently on protecting Lin Mo.

Time passed slowly in this strange world deep within the earth’s Core.

It was unknown how much time had passed—perhaps an hour, perhaps an entire day.

When the last stubborn strand of dark purple miasma in the earth mother spirit root’s Core was forcibly pulled out and completely devoured by Lin Mo’s star Core—

Boom!!!

The entire Core world suddenly shook! It wasn’t a riot, but a vibration of joy and renewal!

The earth mother spirit root erupted with a brilliant but not blinding golden divine light. The light shot straight up toward the dark red energy canopy, painting it in a magnificent glow! All the golden branches and leaves stretched out to their heart’s content, and the internal energy surged and flowed, emitting a melodious clear chime like heavenly music! An indescribable, vast life Aura and the motherly love of the earth enveloped the entire plaza, even spreading through the shield Yan had set up toward the further reaches of the Core world!

At this moment, countless strange creatures living deep underground, regardless of their strength, seemed to feel something. They all looked in this direction, letting out various cries or low murmurs filled with reverence and joy.

The earth mother spirit root had been cured of its chronic illness and was reborn!

And Lin Mo’s light sphere also underwent a heaven-shaking change at this final moment!

After devouring such a massive amount of miasma source and completely annihilating and absorbing it, his light sphere shrank in size once more, eventually becoming only the size of a fist. However, its light was now completely restrained, presenting a deep dark blue like the starry sky. On the surface of the star Core, that dark pattern was now completely whole, forming an extremely complex and profound rune. It was deeply etched into the very center of the star Core, rotating slowly and emitting a heart-palpitating sense of Annihilation and ending, yet faintly revealing a wonderful Dao rhythm of ”new life emerging from destruction.”

His consciousness had never been so clear, and his Perception had never been so keen. He could even clearly ”see” the flow of earth vein energy and vaguely sense the ”breathing” of the earth beneath his feet. After this transformation, the nirvana star core had stepped into an entirely new level!

With a flash of light, Lin Mo’s light sphere flew back into Su Muxue’s arms, his Aura powerful yet incredibly stable.

Su Muxue quickly checked him with her Divine Thought. Only after confirming he was unharmed and had gained immensely did she truly breathe a sigh of relief. She looked at the rejuvenated earth mother spirit root, her eyes filled with shock and joy.

Yan slowly withdrew his power. Though his face was weary, the excitement and gratitude in his eyes were beyond words. He bowed deeply to the earth mother spirit root, then turned to Su Muxue and Lin Mo, solemnly performing an ancient and stately salute.

”Yan, Protector of the Earth Spirit Clan, on behalf of the earth mother spirit root and this world, thanks you both for your great kindness!” His voice trembled slightly. ”The filth in the spirit root’s Core has been removed. Although it hasn’t fully recovered its ancient power, its life force has been revived. In time, it will surely be able to gradually purify the earth veins and slow the miasma’s erosion! Your merit will last for ages!”

”Senior, you overstate it. It was a mutually beneficial matter,” Su Muxue replied, returning the salute.

Lin Mo’s thought also went out: ”Fortunately, I did not fail the mission.”

Yan straightened up, his molten gold eyes looking at the two with a sincere smile. ”What I promised, I shall tell you now.”

He raised a finger, and a golden leaf of the earth mother spirit root swayed gently, shedding a soft golden light that condensed in the air before the three of them into a map of the underground network made of light and shadow.

”This is the most complete map of the underground world’s network that I currently know of,” Yan said, pointing to the map. ”Our current position is here.” He pointed to a golden light dot deep within the map.

”And the stable passages back to the surface are indeed held by several great clans.” His finger slid across several markers emitting powerful Auras. ”The Sha Chi Clan Royal Court, the Stone Spirit Race Ancestral Land, Dark Flame City... these places all have passages, but they are heavily guarded, and most have been eroded by miasma to varying degrees, making them difficult to pass through.”

His finger finally stopped at a relatively remote area on the edge of the map, marked with symbols of turbulent air currents.

”There is only one place that might be feasible. This place is called the ’Guixu Eye of the Wind.’ It is a place where underground currents and spatial rifts intertwine. It is extremely dangerous; the spatial turbulence is enough to tear a Golden Core Cultivator to shreds. However, it is also the area where the miasma’s influence is weakest. Every once in a while, energy tides form a briefly stable passage that may lead to the surface. However, the exit location is completely random and cannot be determined.”

He then looked at Su Muxue. ”As for the Sword Cultivator you are looking for...”

Yan’s finger moved to the western region of the map, pointing to a place marked with a sword symbol, where the surrounding environment showed extreme desolation.

”About half a month ago, an extremely strong sword light tore through the crust of the Western Wasteland. Its Aura was righteous and upright, yet filled with sorrow and determination. I did indeed sense it. The crash site is roughly in this area. That is the ’Nirvana Wasteland.’ The environment is extreme, energy is depleted, and there are even ancient battlefield ruins and spatial rifts. It is extremely dangerous. After falling, his Aura briefly erupted once, but then it became extremely weak, flickering in and out as if obscured or under a Seal by some power.”

Yan’s expression grew solemn. ”I tried to investigate with the power of the earth veins, but I felt an extremely powerful remnant Sword Intent forming its own Domain, refusing all prying eyes. At the same time, a cold, evil intent from the direction of Dark Flame City was wandering nearby, searching... His situation is likely not optimistic, but the fact that the self-protecting Sword Intent Domain is still there means he hadn’t completely perished at that time.”

Nangong Xuan was still alive! But he was in an extremely dangerous place, being hunted by enemies, and in a terrible state!

Su Muxue’s hand suddenly clenched, her nails almost digging into her palm.

She had obtained the information she desperately needed, but the road ahead was even clearer and more difficult. The path back to the surface was perilous, and the journey to find Nangong Xuan was a matter of life and death.

Just then, the earth mother spirit root seemed to sense Su Muxue’s emotions. A most tender golden branch tip gently reached down and curved slightly before her. A golden drop of dew, containing unimaginable life essence, slowly condensed at its tip and finally dripped down, hovering before Su Muxue’s eyes.

At the same time, another leaf gently brushed past Lin Mo’s light sphere, and a tiny, pure, Starlight-like glow merged into it.

Yan explained, ”This is a gift of gratitude from the earth mother spirit root. This drop of ’earth mother spiritual saliva’ contains endless life force; it can grow flesh on bones and bring the dead back to life. It can also nourish the Divine Soul and consolidate the Dao foundation, which will be of great benefit to your injuries and cultivation. And what was given to the star Core is a strand of ’Innate Earth Essence Qi,’ one of the Origins of the earth. It should have a miraculous effect on stabilizing your Realm and comprehending the intent of life emerging from Annihilation.”

This gift was incredibly precious!

Su Muxue solemnly put away the earth mother spiritual saliva, and Lin Mo also silently absorbed that strand of earth essence Qi, feeling his star Core become increasingly harmonious and stable.

”Thank you.”

Yan shook his head. ”It is we who should thank you. What are your plans next?”

Su Muxue and Lin Mo exchanged thoughts for a moment, then she said decisively, ”We will first go to the western Nirvana Wasteland to find Senior Brother Nangong!”

Yan seemed to have expected this and nodded. ”From here to the Western Wasteland, the journey is long and requires crossing several dangerous areas. I can guide you to a relatively safe and secret earth vein path, but it will still be fraught with danger. You must be careful.”

He manipulated the light-shadow map again, marking a winding and tortuous path.

”Furthermore,” Yan pondered for a moment and took out two ordinary-looking dark yellow stone talismans, handing them to Su Muxue. ”These are ’earth traveling talismans.’ After activation, they allow one to merge with the rock and soil for a short time and travel rapidly. They can be used for escape or concealment in critical moments. Consider it a small token of my appreciation.”

Su Muxue took the stone talismans. Feeling the mellow earth vein power within them, she knew they were treasures and thanked him again.

All information had been shared, and the gifts had been given. It was time to leave.

Yan waved his hand to open a new passage leading upward. It wasn’t the Black Wind Cave they had fallen through before, but a much more stable tunnel emitting an earthy yellow light.

”Go up from here, and you can avoid the ambush outside the Black Wind Cave and arrive directly at the outskirts of the market. Remember, the Sha Chi Clan and other forces are likely still searching for you. Be careful in all things.”

Su Muxue cradled Lin Mo and solemnly cupped her hands to Yan. ”Senior, take care. Until we meet again!”

”Until we meet again! May the Earth Mother protect you!” Yan returned the gesture with a smile.

Turning to step into the passage, behind them was the reborn earth mother spirit root and the mysterious Protector, and ahead was an even more arduous and unknown journey. For Nangong Xuan, to return to the surface, and to uncover more of the truth, Su Muxue and Lin Mo set out once again.

What they didn’t know was that shortly after they left, in a corner of the Core world plaza, the shadows flickered slightly. An extremely faint phantom, almost merged with the darkness, slowly emerged. It looked toward the passage they had left through and let out a nearly inaudible, meaningful sigh.