Spirit Pact Hundred Scenes Record

Chapter 20 Source of Pollution

Xi Guang's warning was like a drop of ice water, seeping into Karen's already taut nerves.

Don't come any closer... It's dangerous...

The sound entered their consciousness directly, fragmented and weak, yet filled with genuine fear. It wasn't a warning to Karen and the others, but a fear of the "source of pollution" itself—that thing was not only eroding the vein, but also "listening," "sensing," and perhaps even... "luring."

Karen pressed his hand to his chest, forcing his breathing to steady itself. He looked at Leah and Grom, both of whose faces appeared particularly grave in the green mist.

"Xi Guang said that the crying voice was warning us," Karen whispered. "'Don't come any closer, it's dangerous.'"

Grom spat, shoved the nearly empty flamethrower back into his backpack, and swapped it for his warhammer. "Danger? This whole forest's been trying to turn us into fertilizer, and now you're saying it's dangerous?" The dwarf's blue eyes burned with impatience, but even more so with wariness. "However, something that makes a spirit creature warn others even while in pain... is certainly something to be wary of."

Leah crouched down, her fingers gently touching the damp moss on the ground. She closed her eyes, her lips barely moving as she uttered a short, whispered incantation. The surrounding mist swirled subtly with her voice, like invisible tentacles probing the air's flow, changes in humidity, and even more subtle psychic pulses.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes, a hint of unease flashing in her green pupils.

"The concentration of pollution in the air is increasing," she said, standing up and patting the dampness off her hands. "The further you go in that direction, the thinner the normal life energy becomes, and what you get in return is that... cold, viscous stuff. And the wind direction is wrong—the air near the pollution source should be even more polluted, but right now the airflow is being 'sucked' in, like there's a vortex sucking air out of the center."

"Actively spreading pollution?" Grom frowned. "This doesn't fit the pattern of natural erosion. It's more like... a deliberate expansion of territory."

Karen's heart skipped a beat. He remembered the struggling glimmer of light deep within the black crystal vein—the spirit of the vein. If the source of contamination was conscious, then it and the spirit of the vein might be vying for control. And what warned them was the last vestige of consciousness within the spirit of the vein.

"We must continue," Karen said, her voice more resolute than she had anticipated. "If the source of pollution is truly conscious, if it's actively expanding, then if we don't stop it, the entire Emerald Forest could be doomed. Even if the Narwhale is repaired then, it won't matter; we'll be hunted down by the polluted spirits no matter where we flee."

Leah and Grom exchanged a glance. The dwarf nodded.

"Lead the way," Grom said, "but this time we have to be more careful. That thing might already know we're coming."

They continued forward, but at a much slower pace. Leah led the way, using the Wind-Speaking Veins' sensitivity to air currents to avoid psionic turbulence and potential traps. Grom was in the middle, ready to respond to any sudden attacks. Karen brought up the rear, one hand gripping her crossbow, the other resting on her backpack, calming the restless Dawn within.

The deeper you go, the more obvious the changes in the environment become.

At first, the mist's color gradually shifted from emerald green to a dark green shadow. Then, the surrounding plants began to show signs of illness: the leaves curled and turned black, covered with a greasy, reflective substance; the flowers swelled abnormally, their color changing from vibrant to a murky purplish-black, emitting a cloyingly sweet, putrid odor; even the moss and lichen underfoot became slippery and sticky, leaving black footprints when stepped on.

The sounds changed too. The chirping of birds and roars of beasts vanished completely, leaving only the whistling of the wind through the withered branches and a continuous, low hum—like the earth groaning, or like some enormous machine operating deep within.

That feeling of "crowding" was gradually replaced by another feeling: rejection.

It was like stepping into territory that wasn't yours; every inch of air, every leaf, every wisp of psychic energy was issuing a silent warning: Leave. Get out. The rules here have changed.

Karen's spirit rune on her wrist began to heat up slightly, uncontrollably. It wasn't a feeling from active use, but rather an instinctive reaction to environmental stimuli. The spirit rune was contaminating the structure of the psionic energy around it, analyzing its components, and attempting to understand its operating principles. This process was automatic; Karen could only passively receive a massive amount of chaotic fragments of information.

Corrosive...transformation...assimilation...starvation...

These concepts were vague and dangerous, like the hiss of a venomous snake, trying to burrow into the depths of his consciousness. Karen shook her head violently, forcing herself to stay awake.

"Almost there," he hissed, pointing ahead. "I can 'feel' it, it's just behind that ridge."

They climbed a steep slope covered in black moss. At the top was a natural rocky ridge, like a city wall stretching across the fog. On the other side of the ridge lay the core area of ​​the pollution source.

The three of them lay on the edge of the rock, cautiously peering over their shoulder.

The sight before them made them hold their breath.

Below the ridge is a huge bowl-shaped valley, at the bottom of which lies the glowing crystal vein—or rather, it used to be.

The main body of the vein is a translucent crystal mountain, shimmering with iridescent colors, exceeding 100 meters in height. It resembles an inverted giant tree rooted in the center of the valley, with countless crystal clusters branching out from the main trunk and extending to every corner of the valley. Under normal circumstances, this vein should emanate warm, pure spiritual energy, nourishing the entire region's ecosystem.

But now, it's sick.

Black crystals, resembling blood vessels, mold, or the tentacles of some living creature, invade simultaneously from the base and top of the vein. They burrow into the cracks in the crystal, spreading along the internal fissures, staining the pure iridescent light with a murky indigo. The thoroughly eroded crystal clusters become dull and lifeless, their surfaces covered with rough, honeycomb-like black crusts, like necrotic tissue.

Even more terrifying, the black crystals weren't just static erosion. They were growing, writhing, expanding. Karen could "see"—through his spiritual vision—he saw viscous, dark red energy flowing within the black crystals, like blood, or lava. This energy continuously assimilated the surrounding crystal structure, transforming it into more black crystals, which then branched out and crawled further afield.

The entire valley was mostly covered in black. All the plants at the bottom of the valley had withered and turned into charred remains. Some strange creatures adapted to the polluted environment crawled among the black crystals: centipedes with crystalline shells, moths with wings covered in black powder, and amorphous, slimy creatures that moved slowly like melting wax figures.

Deep within the mine, the faint glimmer of struggle that Karen had sensed earlier had become even weaker, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

Pain... Help... Can't... Let it out...

The spirit of the mineral vein spoke intermittently, filled with despair.

"That is..." Lya's voice was dry, "a malignant transformation of the spiritual veins. I've seen descriptions of it in the tribe's ancient records, but I've never seen it with my own eyes. It's a malignant proliferation at the psionic level, which usually only occurs near spiritual rifts, or... places directly hit by highly contaminated psionic weapons."

Grom clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "Those black crystals... their structure is very similar to the material used in the core components of the 'Psionic Pump' that the Order made me build when I was in Ironforge. But it's purer, more reactive. This isn't naturally occurring contamination; it's man-made—or at least caused by something artificial."

Karen's heart felt like it was being gripped by an icy hand. He remembered the fragmented message delivered by the spirit of the mine: contamination...from the heavens...black stones...

"Fell from the sky?" he murmured. "A black meteorite? It struck the vein and started spreading contamination?"

Just then, the main vein of the mine in the center of the valley suddenly shook violently.

It wasn't an earthquake, but some kind of "internal" tremor. Countless tiny cracks appeared on the surface of the black crystals, from which dark red, foul-smelling gas spewed out. The gas rose, mixed with the green mist, and turned into an even more murky, purplish-black haze.

At the same time, the strange creatures crawling among the crystal clusters stopped and turned towards the ridge. They had no eyes, or their eyes had degenerated into black crystalline dots, but Karen could sense that they were "seeing."

In perception.

They sensed the intruders.

"We've been discovered," Leah said in a low voice, her hand already on her dagger.

As soon as the words were spoken, dozens of vines, thicker and covered in heavy black crystal armor than those encountered on the ship, burst forth from the black crystal thicket at the edge of the valley. The ends of these vines were not mouthparts, but sharp, conical crystal spikes, their surfaces shimmering with a dark red energy glow.

They did not attack immediately, but swayed slowly in the air, as if searching, as if confirming.

Then, a point of scarlet light suddenly appeared at the tip of the crystal thorns of one of the vines.

"Get out of the way!" Grom roared, tackling Karen and Lydia to the ground.

A dark red beam of energy shot from the tip of the crystal spikes, grazing their heads and striking a rock behind them. The rock didn't explode; instead, it melted like a candle, its surface rapidly covered with a honeycomb-like layer of black crystals before shattering into a pile of charred debris.

"An energy weapon?!" Leah scrambled to her feet, incredulous. "How could plants—"

"They're not plants anymore!" Grom rolled behind a protruding rock, his warhammer already in his hand. "Those crystals transformed them! They turned biological tissue into a hybrid of semi-crystalline and semi-energy! Watch out, don't get hit by those beams!"

More crystalline vines rose, their tips glowing with a scarlet light. Dark red beams of energy rained down on the mountain ridge.

The three scattered to take cover. Karen, carrying Xiguang, rolled into a crevice in the rocks. The energy beam struck the rock wall, splashing up a cloud of molten, smoking rock debris. The intense heat and stench hit them, almost suffocating them.

"We can't stay here!" Leah's voice came from behind another rock. "We have to retreat! Or charge down; they might not be able to use their beams in close combat!"

"Charge down? There are at least a hundred of those monstrosities down there!" Grom roared, using the side of his warhammer to block a beam of light that was being deflected, the hammer surface burning with pain.

Karen huddled in the crevice, Xiguang trembling violently in his arms. The cub's fear surged through the connection like icy water, but it also struggled to convey something: perception…direction…weakness…

Karen closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. He immersed his consciousness into the spirit runes, into the connection with the dawn, and then "looked" towards the valley.

The spiritual veins' vision pierced through the chaotic energy beams and murky mist, locking onto the cores of the crystalline vines. At the base of each vine was a pulsating, dark red energy node, several times larger than the cores of the vines on the ship, and protected by thick black crystalline armor.

But Karen noticed something more crucial: these energy nodes were connected by tiny energy threads, like a neural network, all ultimately converging towards the depths of the vein—towards the area most severely eroded by the black crystal. There, a much larger, more unstable energy source was providing power and coordinating the attack.

That's a polluted heart.

Destroying it will deprive these crystalline vines of their energy supply, at least temporarily paralyzing them.

But how do we get there? How do we destroy it?

Karen's thoughts raced. He remembered the feeling of soothing jellyfish and tentacles in a storm, of calming madness through understanding pain. Perhaps... perhaps it could be the other way around?

If the source of pollution is conscious, if it is expanding and attacking, then it must have a "purpose" and a "desire." Understanding that purpose may lead to a breakthrough.

He focused his perception on that enormous energy source, cautiously extending the tentacles of his mind to try to "listen".

Instantly, a massive, chaotic, and malicious torrent of information rushed in!

Hunger... Expansion... Transformation... More... More... More...

Lacking wisdom and reason, it possesses only the most primal instinct to devour all orderly spiritual energy. Like an insatiable darkness, it yearns to dye the entire world its own color.

Karen's brain felt like it had been struck by a hammer; the excruciating pain nearly made him faint. Blood gushed from his nose, dripping onto his chest. He gritted his teeth, desperately clinging to the last vestiges of consciousness, and continued his investigation.

Driven by pure primal instinct to devour, he caught a glimpse of something more subtle: a "mark".

It was not a memory, not a thought, but an external "signature" imprinted deep within the core of the polluted energy. The signature was composed of countless tiny, twisted runes, emanating an aura familiar to Karen—a pale, cold psionic energy fluctuation carrying the imagery of thorny chains.

The Azure Flame Cult.

This pollution is related to the religious order.

Or did the cult "create" or "release" this contamination?

This discovery sent chills down Karen's spine. But there was no time to think about it further.

A crystalline vine discovered his hiding place; its sharp crystals pierced into the crevice in the rock, and crimson light gathered at its tip.

Karen suddenly opened her eyes, raised her crossbow, and fired an arrow!

The crossbow bolt struck precisely at the glowing tip of the crystal spike—not the large core at the base of the vine, but a small energy node within this "launcher." The dwarven runes on the arrow lit up, triggering a small psionic overload.

The crystal spikes shattered, and dark red energy scattered out of control. The vines convulsed violently, temporarily losing their ability to attack.

"Karen! Over here!" Leah's voice called out.

Karen, carrying Dawn, rushed out of the crevice and saw that Leah and Grom had already met in a relatively safe recess. Leah was using wind blades to disrupt the vines' aim, while Grom was preparing something—he was piecing together several metal plates engraved with runes to form a larger device.

"I have a plan!" Grom roared, his hands still busy, "but these bastards won't give us time to set it up! We need cover!"

Karen looked into the depths of the valley, into the polluted heart. Then he looked down at the Dawn in his arms.

The cub raised its amber eyes, its gaze resolute despite the fear. It conveyed a clear message: together.

Karen took a deep breath.

"I'll distract them," he said, his voice surprisingly calm. "You all take this opportunity to set up. Wait for my signal, then attack the largest energy source—the part of the vein whose main body is thickest covered by black crystals."

Leah's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?! How did you manage to distract them?"

Karen didn't answer. He set down the Dawnlight and placed his hands on the damp, moss-covered ground. He closed his eyes and focused all his consciousness into the spiritual runes on his wrists.

This time, it's not about hiding or pretending.

Rather, it's... "conspicuous".

He adjusted the resonance frequency of the spirit runes to the maximum, like a campfire in the darkness, like a horn in the silence, announcing his existence to the entire valley.

Come here. I am here. Fresh, pure, and orderly psionic energy.

Come and devour me.

Instantly, all the crystal vines froze in motion.

Then, they all turned towards the ridge, towards the direction where Karen was.

A dark red light shone at the tip of each crystal spike, as scarlet as blood.

Karen stood up, took one last look at Leah and Grom, then turned and rushed toward the other side of the ridge—away from them.

"Cover him!" Grom's shout rang out from behind.

But Karen could no longer hear.

All he could hear was the shrill whistling of energy beams tearing through the air and the thunderous pounding of his heart.

The escape began.