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Elvira sneered, and the black silk in her hand suddenly tightened.

"Cough... cough..."

Selina's face flushed, she had difficulty breathing, and she coughed painfully. She raised her hand with difficulty, trying to grab the black silk that was strangling her neck, but it fell down weakly. Her eyes began to blur, and her consciousness gradually faded away.

Elvira was about to completely end Selina's life, and the holy stone on the altar suddenly burst into a dazzling light, covering both Elvira and Selina. The strong light pierced Elvira and had to close her eyes. At the same time, a powerful energy wave spread from the holy stone, impacting her body, making her feel an indescribable sense of oppression. The buildings around the square shook violently under the impact of this energy, and more cracks appeared on the walls. Some damaged statues even collapsed directly, with rubble flying and dust everywhere. The trees on the edge of the square were bent by the strong wind, and the leaves rustled like ghosts and wolves howling.

After the light faded, Elvira slowly opened her eyes and found that Selina had disappeared.

Elvira was stunned for a moment, and a trace of disbelief and anger flashed in her scarlet eyes. She had clearly used 12 divine stones and 2 pieces of holy stone fragments to completely pollute the core of the holy stone and transformed the power of the holy stone into her dark energy. Why did the holy stone still have energy at this time?

She angrily controlled the black silk to attack the holy stone, trying to destroy it, but the black silk was blocked by an invisible force and could not get close to the holy stone at all. The black silk twisted and struggled in the air, like a trapped beast, making a "hissing" sound, but it could not break through the invisible barrier. Above the square, dark clouds rolled, lightning and thunder roared, as if responding to Elvira's anger.

Selina's shadow became more and more solid on the holy stone. Her figure seemed to be integrated with the holy stone, and the light she emitted became stronger and stronger, illuminating the entire square. Her voice rang out again, like an oracle from heaven, shocking everyone: "Even if you win this time, the fire of justice will eventually burn again!"

As soon as the voice fell, the holy stone suddenly burst out with a strong suction force, sucking Mark in from a distance. Mark felt dizzy, the whole world spun and twisted in front of his eyes, and his consciousness began to blur. In the moment he was unconscious, he saw the holy stone explode, and the dazzling light was like the sun, covering the entire square in a white light.

Mark felt a piercing chill, which gradually woke him up from his coma. He opened his eyes blankly and saw a vast white snowfield. The whistling cold wind rolled up the snowflakes, flying in front of his eyes, and the sky and the earth were vast. He struggled to sit up, feeling dizzy and having a splitting headache. He subconsciously touched the back of his head and found that there was no wound, just a little swelling.

"What's going on? Why am I here?" Mark whispered to himself, his voice hoarse and with a hint of doubt. He looked around and found himself in an empty snowfield. There were only a few rugged rocks and rolling snow-capped mountains in the distance. The cold wind blew, making a humming sound, like the howling of ghosts and wolves, which made him feel creepy.

He tried to recall what happened before, Elvira's sneer, Selina's sacrifice, the explosion of the holy stone... Scenes flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, making him feel palpitations. He vaguely remembered that he was sucked into the holy stone and then lost consciousness.

"Selina... Eric..." Mark whispered their names, his heart full of sadness and self-blame. He didn't know how they were doing now, whether they were still alive. He pounded the ground hard, venting his grief and anger, and snowflakes flew, like his tears, falling on this cold snowfield.

His eyes fell on the two pieces of holy stone fragments beside him. The fragments were irregular in shape, with uneven surfaces. The fragments of the holy stone, which originally emitted dazzling light, now looked dim and dull, like two ordinary stones, lying quietly on the snow, almost blending into the surrounding white snow.

Mark reached out his hand in confusion and picked up a fragment of the holy stone. When the fragment was in his hand, a bone-chilling chill instantly spread throughout his body, making him shiver. This chill was different from the coldness of the snowfield. It seemed to emanate from the inside of the fragment, with a cold and dead breath, which made him feel palpitations. He carefully observed the fragment in his hand and found that it was darker than before, and some tiny cracks appeared on the surface, like the wrinkles of an old man, all over the fragment.

He picked up another fragment, and the feeling of it was equally cold. The two fragments lay quietly in his hands, losing their mysterious power in the past, like two ordinary stones, lifeless. Mark held the two fragments in his hands, feeling their coldness, and he knew that it was contaminated by Avella.

Mark looked around, trying to identify the surrounding environment. He found that this snowfield seemed familiar, very similar to the place where he had obtained the fragment of the Holy Stone before. The towering snow-capped mountain in the distance and the surrounding environment all corresponded to the scenes in his memory.

"Am I back to the place where I first obtained the fragment of the Holy Stone?" Mark thought to himself, with a hint of surprise in his tone. He carefully observed the surrounding environment and found some subtle changes. Some areas that were originally covered with ice and snow now exposed rocks and soil, and the originally flat snow also had some ups and downs and gullies. Although these changes are subtle, they are enough to show that this snowfield has changed.

He tried to communicate with the fragment of the Holy Stone with his mental power, but there was no response. The fragments lay quietly in his hands like two ordinary stones, without any energy fluctuations. Mark frowned, which meant that he could not use these two fragments to sense the location of other fragments.

He stood up and walked towards the scientific research station along the way he came. He remembered that the scientific research station was at the edge of this snowfield and should not be far from here. He trudged through the snow, the wind whistling and the snowflakes flying, making him feel cold. He tightened his clothes and quickened his pace.

After walking for about an hour, he finally saw the research station. However, the scene in front of him surprised him. The research station had been buried by thick snow, with only the tops of a few tents exposed, like small graves, which looked particularly desolate.

"What's going on? How could this happen?" Mark was full of doubts and uneasiness. He walked quickly to the front of the research station and began to dig in the snow, hoping to find some clues.

He dug the snow with great effort, revealing the entrance of a tent. He got into the tent and found that the items inside were covered with snow and in a mess. He cleaned the snow and found that the stored food had rotted and deteriorated, emitting an unpleasant smell and could not be eaten at all.

"It seems that I have been away for a long time." Mark thought to himself. He checked the other tents and found that the situation was similar. All the food had rotted and deteriorated and could not be eaten.

He sorted out the equipment that could still be used, including a broken sword handle, some simple tools and some clothes. He packed these things, carried them on his back, and then left the research station and walked towards the location of the temple in his memory. He hoped to find useful information there.

"We must figure out the current situation as soon as possible." Mark looked into the distance and whispered with a firm tone. He walked forward step by step with heavy steps, and his figure gradually disappeared in the vast snowfield.

Mark walked in the snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow, and the biting cold wind scraped his cheek like a knife. He wrapped his tattered cloak tightly, and the hot air he exhaled condensed into white mist in the air, which was soon blown away by the wind. After walking for a few hours, he felt that his legs were as heavy as lead. The energy in his body, after a long battle and the consumption of traveling through time and space, was no longer enough to support Mark's normal activities. Hunger and coldness continued to erode his body.

He bent down and brushed away the snow covering the rocks on the roadside with his hands, revealing a thin layer of moss. He picked a small piece and put it in his mouth to chew slowly. The bitter taste of moss made him frown.

"At least it can replenish some water." He whispered to himself, and then continued to move forward with difficulty.

Over the snowy field, several vultures circled and made shrill calls. Their figures were particularly eye-catching against the white background, like black death gods, foreshadowing the arrival of ominous things.