Chapter 45: The Threat of the Dark Erosion

Inside the ice tomb, Morgan stood in front of Kyle, his heart torn by conflicting emotions. His gaze shifted back and forth between the weak surviving members of the Lingyao Clan and his companions who had fought side by side with him. As one of the few surviving members of the Lingyao Clan, he bore the mission of uncovering the truth behind the disaster and revitalizing the clan. But at this moment, the safety of his clan members and the bond with his companions had put him in a dilemma. Just then, a cry of alarm broke the brief silence. "No, what's wrong with the elder!" a young surviving member of the Lingyao Clan shouted. Everyone quickly turned to look and saw the elderly surviving member of the Lingyao Clan as pale as paper, his body swaying unsteadily, and then he fell straight to the ground.

Kyle and the others quickly surrounded him. At this time, a strange scene appeared: a series of black lines gradually emerged from inside the elder's body. These lines were like living things, spreading rapidly on his skin. Wherever they passed, the skin turned black and rough, as if being eroded by an evil force. Seeing this, Morgan's face instantly turned pale. He stretched out his hand tremblingly, wanting to touch the elder, but stopped halfway, his eyes filled with fear and worry. "What... what on earth is going on?" he muttered to himself, a sense of foreboding welling up in his heart. He knew very well that this might be related to the "Dark Erosion Disaster" that the Lingyao Clan had once suffered.

Elsa squatted down and carefully observed the elder's condition. She cast her ice magic, trying to sense the energy fluctuations inside the elder's body. However, a cold and evil aura rushed towards her, making her shiver. "This is an extremely evil energy that is eroding his body. It's like... like an eroded ice block, quickly turning black and melting," Elsa said with a trace of trembling in her voice. She had never seen such a strange energy before.

Cavin frowned and fell into deep thought. He suddenly remembered that when exploring the ruins before, he had seen some records about the "Dark Erosion" in some ancient documents. "I remember. This might be the 'Dark Erosion' energy. It is said that this energy is extremely corrosive and can gradually devour life and power," he said anxiously.

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces changed. Kyle immediately looked at the other surviving members of the Lingyao Clan and found that faint black lines were also starting to appear on their bodies. Although it was not as serious as the elder's condition, the situation was still not optimistic. "Could it be that the process of rescuing them triggered the 'Dark Erosion' energy hidden in their bodies?" Kyle speculated.

Elsa nodded, her expression solemn. "It's very likely. Before, they were sealed in the ice tomb, and the power of the ice tomb might have suppressed this evil energy. Now that the ice tomb has been opened and there is no more suppression, the 'Dark Erosion' energy has started to backfire on their bodies."

At this moment, the conflict in Morgan's heart was instantly replaced by worry. He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes red. "No, we can't just stand by and watch them be devoured by this evil energy. I must save them!" With that, he looked at Kyle, his eyes full of determination and pleading. The mission of revitalizing the Lingyao Clan became even more pressing at this moment.

Kyle patted Morgan on the shoulder and said, "Morgan, don't worry. We will definitely find a way. Since this 'Dark Erosion' energy is related to the ruins, we will look for a way to purify it from the ruins."

So, the main characters decided to split into two groups. Kyle, Elsa, and Morgan were responsible for finding clues to purify the "Dark Erosion" energy in the ice tomb, while Cavin went back to the previously explored ruins area to look through the ancient documents and see if he could find more information about the "Dark Erosion" energy.

The three of Kyle searched everywhere in the ice tomb, not missing any corner. They carefully examined the walls of the ice tomb, hoping to find some special symbols or runes. Morgan used his illusion ability to penetrate into some hidden corners of the ice tomb, trying to discover hidden clues. Elsa continuously cast her ice magic, feeling the changes in the surrounding energy, hoping to find some traces related to the "Dark Erosion" energy in this way.

In a corner of the ice tomb, Kyle discovered a small ice sculpture. This ice sculpture was different from the ones they had seen before. Its surface was engraved with dense runes, and the runes emitted a faint blue light, as if telling a story. Kyle quickly called Morgan and Elsa over.

Elsa carefully observed the runes. She found that these runes were similar to the ice magic runes used by the Ice Spirit but contained some more profound power. "These runes might be related to purifying energy, but we need to find a way to decipher them," Elsa said.

Morgan suddenly had an idea. "The Ice Spirit! It guards the ice tomb and is familiar with everything here. Maybe it knows the meaning of these runes."

The three of them immediately searched for the Ice Spirit. In the depths of the ice tomb, they found it. The Ice Spirit nodded slightly when it saw them. "I know the purpose of your coming. These runes are indeed related to purifying the 'Dark Erosion' energy, but to decipher them, a special energy is needed as a medium."

"What special energy?" Kyle asked eagerly.

The Ice Spirit pointed at the crystal emitting a soft light in the center of the ice tomb. "It's that crystal. It contains the ancient guarding energy of the Lingyao Clan. But this crystal was damaged during the process of opening the ice tomb and needs to be repaired to function."

The three of Kyle exchanged a look. They knew that repairing the crystal would be a difficult challenge. But to rescue the surviving members of the Lingyao Clan, they did not flinch at all.

At the same time, Cavin was frantically flipping through the ancient documents in the ruins. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were soaked with sweat, but he still did not stop. Suddenly, in a hidden corner of the bookshelf, he found a glowing ancient book. The moment his finger touched the ancient book, the characters on the book seemed to be drawn by some force and began to appear and disappear. Cavin was overjoyed. He realized that this ancient book might be related to the purification of the "Dark Erosion" energy.

Cavin carefully picked up the ancient book and studied it carefully. As he read, the characters on the ancient book gradually became clear. It recorded the ceremony for purifying the "Dark Erosion" energy. However, this ceremony required special materials, such as the Thousand-Year Cold Crystal and the Heart of the Spirit Marsh. These materials were respectively hidden in dangerous places, and it was extremely difficult to obtain them.

Cavin did not dare to delay at all. He immediately rushed back to the ice tomb and told Kyle and the others the news. After hearing this, Kyle frowned. "It seems that not only do we have to repair the crystal, find that ancient temple, and obtain the 'Purifying Light', but now we also have the task of collecting the materials for the ceremony. Moreover, before that, the surviving members of the Lingyao Clan cannot leave the ice tomb. We have to come up with a solution as soon as possible."

Morgan gritted his teeth. "No matter how difficult it is, we have to give it a try. My clan members cannot be taken away by this evil energy like this."

So, the main characters began to make intense preparations. Kyle used the stardust power to try to repair the damaged part of the crystal. Elsa used her ice magic to stabilize the energy fluctuations around the crystal to prevent it from being damaged again. Morgan assisted on the side, providing mental support for Kyle and Elsa.

During the process of repairing the crystal, they encountered many difficulties. The crystal was severely damaged, and the stardust power and ice magic often repelled each other during the repair process, resulting in slow progress of the repair work. Moreover, as time passed, the "Dark Erosion" energy in the bodies of the surviving members of the Lingyao Clan became stronger and stronger, and their physical condition also became worse and worse.

"I can't hold on anymore, Kyle. The power of these runes is too strong, and I'm almost out of control!" Elsa shouted. Her forehead was covered with sweat, and her hands were trembling slightly.

Kyle took a deep breath and concentrated. "Elsa, hold on a little longer. We can't give up. The surviving members of the Lingyao Clan are still waiting for us to save them."

Just when they felt desperate, Kyle suddenly felt a wonderful resonance between the "Ice Heart Protection" skill in his body and the crystal. He had an idea and tried to integrate the power of the "Ice Heart Protection" into the repair process. Miraculously, the originally repelling stardust power and ice magic gradually became harmonious under the mediation of the "Ice Heart Protection", and the repair work of the crystal also started to proceed smoothly.

After arduous efforts, the crystal was finally repaired. It once again emitted a dazzling light, and the light contained a powerful guarding energy. Kyle picked up the crystal and walked towards the ice sculpture engraved with runes. When the light of the crystal shone on the runes, the runes began to flicker, emitting a mysterious power.

To everyone's surprise, as the runes flickered with light, the "Dark Erosion" energy in the bodies of the surviving members of the Lingyao Clan showed signs of being suppressed. The originally rapidly spreading black lines gradually stopped spreading, and the elder's originally black and rough skin also regained some luster. Seeing this, everyone's hearts were filled with hope.

"It seems that the repaired crystal and the runes can really suppress the 'Dark Erosion' energy!" Elsa said excitedly.

Kyle looked at the surviving members of the Lingyao Clan who were gradually getting better and felt relieved, but he knew that this was only temporary. "We have to hurry up and complete the subsequent tasks to completely purify the 'Dark Erosion' energy in their bodies."

After that, everyone sat around and began to discuss the grouping. Finally, it was decided that Kyle and Elsa would be in one group and go to find the Thousand-Year Cold Crystal; Morgan and Cavin would be in one group and be responsible for finding the whereabouts of the Heart of the Spirit Marsh. Everyone knew that these two tasks were full of dangers, but in order to rescue the surviving members of the Lingyao Clan, no one flinched.

Before setting off, a series of doubts welled up in Kyle's heart. Who on earth built this ice tomb? Why can it suppress the "Dark Erosion" energy? Why were these surviving members of the Lingyao Clan sealed here? Behind all this, it seemed that a huge mystery was hidden, and the clues they had mastered so far might just be the tip of the iceberg. But Kyle understood that this was not the time to delve into these issues. Rescuing the surviving members of the Lingyao Clan was the top priority. He took a deep breath, exchanged a determined look with his companions, and then led the team towards their respective goals. An even more arduous challenge was waiting for them.