The damp night wind was like an invisible ghost, quietly sliding through this strange and strange forest. Wherever it passed, the dead branches and leaves rubbed against each other, making a fine rustling sound, as if whispering, telling the long-forgotten, unknown secrets. Duan Litang and Ye Li walked side by side in the forest, the layers of rotten leaves under their feet, and every step they took, they felt a soft and sour feeling, as if they were trapped in a bottomless quagmire that could swallow them at any time. ?

  In the air, there were dense fluorescent spores floating. Under the gentle caress of the moonlight, they were like tiny stars suspended in the dark night, flickering with a dreamlike glimmer. However, when these spores sensed Duan Litang and Ye Li approaching, in an instant, the originally soft light suddenly turned scarlet. The spores moved closer and gathered together, just like countless pairs of prying eyes, exuding a creepy and gloomy atmosphere. ?

  "Be careful, these spores are gathering." Ye Li lowered her voice, her tone revealing nervousness. She quickly reached out and grabbed Duan Litang's sleeve, and the long whip in her hand was like a nimble snake, cautiously drawing an arc in the air, making a slight whistle. Before she finished speaking, countless spores had already gathered frantically, and in a flash, a huge spider web emitting a pungent and rotten smell covered the two of them. The rotten smell was like the stench of a corpse that had been rotting for months, which made people want to vomit. ?

  Duan Litang reacted very quickly, the blood sword in his hand flashed with cold light, and he chopped at the spider web with all his strength. However, as soon as the blood sword touched the spider web, it was like sinking into sticky asphalt. Every time he exerted force, there was a harsh "sizzling" sound. Where the sword body touched the spider web, curls of green smoke rose up, as if it was corroded by a layer of highly corrosive substances. ?

  Just as the situation became increasingly critical, the Light Stone that Duan Litang had been holding tightly in his hand suddenly trembled violently, and then burst out with a soft but extremely intimidating light. Under the illumination of this light, those previously arrogant scarlet spores, as if seeing their natural enemy, instantly fled in all directions, disintegrating into tiny sparks and dissipating into the air. But this sudden light, like a lit torch, exposed their position. ?

  In the bushes not far away, there was a dull sound of heavy objects being moved, as if some huge creature had awakened from its dormancy. Then, dozens of pairs of dark blue eyes lit up in the darkness one after another, flickering like ghost fire, revealing coldness and murderous intent. Seeing this, Ye Li's pupils shrank suddenly, and her voice was filled with panic: "It's the light-eating vine monster, they can imitate the sounds of their prey!"?

  As soon as he finished speaking, screams came from all directions, like the beginning of a nightmare. Among them, there were children crying heartbreakingly, full of helplessness and fear; there were also women crying desperately, crying and telling of their tragic experiences. Duan Litang gritted his teeth and covered his ears with both hands, trying to block out these sounds. The power of the blood contract in his body surged uncontrollably under this tidal mental attack. He felt dizzy, as if he was a lonely boat in the wind and waves, which could be overturned at any time. ?

  But Duan Litang did not flinch. He resisted the dizziness and threw the Stone of Light high into the air. In an instant, the light of the Stone of Light gathered and transformed rapidly, turning into a giant golden blade, splitting the ground accurately with the power of destroying the world. With a deafening "boom", countless vines broke out from the ground. Each of these vines was as thick as an arm, and the surface was covered with suction cup-like mouthparts, twisting greedily, absorbing the power emitted by the Stone of Light. ?

  Ye Li seized the opportunity, swung the long whip in his hand like lightning, wrapped it around a main vine, planted his feet firmly on the ground, and pulled hard. With a "crack", the vine broke and spurted out smelly green juice, splashing on the tree trunk, instantly corroding deep pits, and the "sizzling" sound of the corroded bark was endless. ?

  The battle entered a white-hot stage. In the fierce fight, Duan Litang suddenly caught a glimpse of silver-white light flashing through the gaps in the vines. His heart moved, and he looked closely, only to see a girl in a moon-white robe curled up in the middle of the vines. The girl's long hair was entangled with the vines, and each hair emitted a faint silver light. In this dark and dangerous environment, she seemed out of place but also mysterious. ?

  "She's trapped in the core of the vine!" Duan Litang yelled at the top of his lungs, and the blood sword in his hand slashed several blood rays in succession. Wherever the blood rays reached, the vines broke. Ye Li understood, and the long whip meandered like a spirit snake, skillfully passing through the gaps between the vines, accurately entangled the girl's wrist, and then pulled hard. ?

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  At the moment when the girl was successfully rescued, all the light-eating vine monsters seemed to have suffered a fatal blow and let out a piercing scream. The screams cut through the night sky and made people shudder. Then, they turned into green mist and quickly dissipated in the air, as if they had never existed. ?

  The rescued girl trembled all over, and the light of the Stone of Light was reflected in her silver-white pupils, like two mysterious deep pools. "You brought the holy object. Are you here to find the Fountain of Life?" Her voice was ethereal and ethereal, as if it came from a distant place through endless time and space. Before Duan Litang and Ye Li responded, the girl continued to talk to herself: "The spring is guarded by the 'Spring Keeper', a monster formed by the resentment of thousands of creatures, unless." Before she finished speaking, the girl suddenly coughed violently, and light golden blood flowed from the corners of her mouth, which was particularly dazzling in the moonlight. ?

  Ye Li hurried forward to support the girl. The moment he touched the girl's skin, a warm force came from his fingertips. The force was gentle and healing, which moved Ye Li's heart. The girl smiled sadly, her eyes full of sadness: "I was the guardian of the Fountain of Life, but I was eroded by the curse of the Dark Palace." She stretched out her hand tremblingly and took out a pendant inlaid with emeralds from her arms. The pendant flashed mysteriously in the weak light. "Use this to open the spring, but be careful, the guardian of the spring will transform into the appearance you fear the most."?

  As soon as the pendant fell into Duan Litang's hands, the girl's body began to gradually become transparent, and her outline became blurred, as if she was about to blend into the night. The girl took a last look at the Stone of Light, her lips trembling slightly, and whispered softly: "The secret of the source of all worlds. at the bottom of the spring." Before she finished speaking, her whole body turned into thousands of light points and dissipated in the air, leaving only Duan Litang and Ye Li, who fell into a brief silence on the spot. ?

  The two gathered their thoughts and followed the faint light from the pendant. After a long and arduous journey through the forest, they finally arrived at a lake. On the lake, countless glowing water lilies floated in various shapes. Some looked like open palms, as if praying devoutly; some looked like twisted human faces, with painful expressions, as if telling a tragic story from the past. ?

  In the middle of the lake, an altar made of glowing crystals slowly rises. Under the moonlight and the light of water lilies, the crystals refract colorful light, like a dream. On the top of the altar, a spring with green flames is rhythmically swallowing and spitting out light. Every time it swallows and spits out, it seems to be breathing, exuding a powerful and mysterious breath. ?

  "Finally I found you, the ants with the holy relics." A deep and malicious voice came slowly from the bottom of the lake. The voice seemed to have real power, and the lake water instantly boiled and surged, bubbles kept coming out from the bottom of the lake, making a "gurgling" sound. Then, a huge figure broke out of the water, splashing water several feet high. ?

  The monster was covered with translucent scales, and there seemed to be a strange liquid flowing under the scales, flickering in the moonlight. What was creepy was that the monster's head actually had the faces of Duan Litang and Ye Li. The two faces spoke at the same time, but the voices were distorted and terrifying: "You killed the black-robed woman with your own hands! It is you who put the world into a greater crisis!"?

  Duan Litang heard this, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, and he clenched the blood sword in his hand tightly. The power of the blood contract surged in his blood vessels like a surging tide, and his arm muscles were tense and veins bulged. "Everything we do is to protect the light!" He turned his head and looked at Ye Li, his eyes conveying determination and trust, and then the two rushed towards the guardian of the spring at the same time. ?

  However, when the blood sword touched the monster, Duan Litang felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and the desperate eyes of the black-robed woman before her death appeared like a ghost, causing his movements to stop instantly. At the same time, the long whip in Ye Li's hand was also bounced back by an invisible force. She saw her own broken home, broken walls and ruins, and the familiar scene made her eyes red and her heart ached. ?

  "This is a mental attack!" Ye Li reacted quickly, gritted his teeth, bit the tip of his tongue, and the severe pain from the tip of his tongue instantly dispelled the illusion in his mind. Duan Litang also came back to his senses at this time. He raised the Stone of Light and the pendant at the same time. The moment the two lights blended together, it was like a dazzling star blooming in the night sky. The spring keeper felt this powerful force and let out a painful roar, and the sound shook the lake surface. ?

  Under the light, golden lines began to emerge on the monster's body. Those lines were exactly the same as the runes on the bones in the valley before, mysterious and ancient. When the fierce battle was in full swing, Duan Litang suddenly found that there was a depression in the abdomen of the spring keeper, and the shape of the depression was exactly the same as the light stone. He didn't have time to think about it. Under the cover of Ye Li, he rushed towards the spring keeper and embedded the light stone into the depression. ?

  With a deafening roar, the body of the spring keeper exploded and turned into stardust, floating on the lake. The lake gradually returned to calm, and at the bottom of the spring, a bronze door exuding an ancient atmosphere slowly rose. The bronze door was engraved with runes that had never been seen before. Those runes seemed to be flickering slightly, faintly revealing the mysterious atmosphere of "the source of all worlds".