The ink-black night shrouded Dragon Bone Village.
The embers of the bonfires flickered in the evening breeze, the air still lingering with the aroma of roasted meat and the festive atmosphere of the celebration.
As the clamor faded, the survivors fell into a deep slumber, carrying both exhaustion and peace.
Bai Yuekui's figure appeared silently in the center of the camp.
She didn't look at anyone else; her gaze fell straight upon Ian, who was leaning against the Titan armor with his eyes closed, resting.
"Come with me."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached the ears of several people.
Ian opened his eyes, a knowing smile curling the corners of his mouth.
Not far away, Marc and Ran Bing were whispering to each other. Hearing this, they both raised their heads simultaneously.
Bai Yuekui's gaze swept past them and landed on Xia Dou, who was pulling Meiduo along and sneaking up to follow them.
"All of you, come along."
With that said, Bai Yuekui turned and walked toward the deepest part of Dragon Bone Village, heading in the direction of the area everyone considered a restricted zone.
Ian stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and leisurely followed.
Marc and Ran Bing exchanged a glance and stepped forward without hesitation.
After passing through several temporarily cleared passages, an absurdly thick alloy blast door blocked their path.
The door was covered in rust and dust, looking as if it hadn't been opened in decades.
Bai Yuekui stepped forward and pressed her palm into an inconspicuous groove.
*Hum—*
A muffled mechanical clunk sounded, and the blast door slowly rose upward amidst a teeth-grinding screech of friction.
A cold draft, carrying a mix of metal, dust, and an unknown sweet, metallic scent, blew out from behind the door.
The corridor was deep and sloped downward.
At regular intervals, there was another identical alloy blast door.
After passing through three consecutive doors, a massive, unimaginably large underground cavern suddenly appeared before their eyes.
It felt as though they had entered the very core of the Earth.
In the center of the cavern lay a gigantic creature that defied description, resting quietly.
It looked like a human magnified dozens of times over, yet also resembled a twisted, giant plant.
Countless fleshy tubes, each as thick as a barrel, extended from its main body and plunged deep into the surrounding rock walls.
The surfaces of these tubes were covered in a translucent membrane, revealing a dark blue liquid slowly pulsating and flowing within.
A majestic and primal aura of life filled the entire space.
This was a marvel born of the Mana Ecology, named by Bai Yuekui as the Mana Giant.
The moment he saw it, Marc suddenly clutched his head, letting out a suppressed groan of pain.
Deep within his brain, it felt as if sharp needles were violently piercing him.
An inexplicable, indescribable sense of intimacy and sorrow surged into his heart like a tidal wave, intertwining with the severe pain.
He felt as though he could hear the giant issuing a silent call and mournful wail toward him.
Ran Bing nervously supported his swaying body. "Marc! What's wrong?"
"I..." Marc's face was pale, unable to speak.
"Disgusting."
A discordant voice shattered the solemn atmosphere.
Ian stood with his hands behind his back, observing the behemoth before him with great interest, yet his eyes were filled with disgust.
"Why does it look like this? The brain inside is still squirming. It's too gross!"
The corner of Bai Yuekui's eye twitched slightly, but she ignored his sharp tongue.
She was just about to speak, ready to explain the research results she had spent half her life's blood to achieve.
Suddenly!
*Swoosh—!*
A dark shadow suddenly darted out from the nearby darkness and stopped behind Bai Yuekui.
It was a small, tracked robot with a round display screen mounted on top.
It exerted all its strength to let out a comical and abrupt electronic shriek.
"Boo!"
Bai Yuekui didn't even turn her head; she merely squeezed her eyes shut, her temples throbbing.
She let out a sigh, her voice laced with extreme helplessness.
"Brother, stop messing around."
"Brother?" Ran Bing froze in surprise.
The camera on top of the robot swiveled, pointing at Ian, and emitted a string of synthesized electronic sounds.
The voice was filled with the surprise and curiosity of discovering a new continent.
"Yo, sis, who's this handsome guy?"
"Not bad! You haven't shown interest in anyone for decades, and the moment you do, you find such a top-tier one?"
"Great taste! It's just..."
The robot dragged out its tone, speaking in a gossipy manner.
"Doesn't this count as robbing the cradle?"
"Pfft..." Xia Dou was the first to lose her composure, bursting into laughter before quickly clamping her hands over her mouth.
Ran Bing's cheeks flushed red as she desperately kept her head down, not daring to look at Bai Yuekui.
Even the agonizing Marc was taken aback by this sudden turn of events.
A visible layer of dark gloom rarely seen appeared on Bai Yuekui's eternally icy face.
She slowly turned around, glaring at the still-smug robot, and enunciated every word.
"Bai. Yue. Tian!"
Ian, however, chuckled.
Completely ignoring the incredibly awkward atmosphere, he nodded in agreement at the robot.
"She does have great taste."
The robot's camera immediately turned to him, as if it had found a kindred spirit.
"Right, right?! You also think my sister has great taste!"
"No," Ian shook his head. "I meant you. You have great taste."
The smile on his face grew profound.
"Since you have such great taste, I'll give you a hand."
Before his voice even faded.
Ian slowly extended his right hand.
*Hum—!!!*
An indescribable golden energy—billions of times purer and vaster than ordinary Source Essence—burst forth from his palm like a dazzling galaxy!
It was the purest, most primordial power of life!
The golden torrent traced a brilliant trajectory through the air, enveloping the still-chattering robot.
"Holy crap! What the hell is this?!"
Bai Yuetian, inside the robot, finally realized something was wrong.
His flippant electronic voice instantly turned into a scream of absolute terror!
He could feel a majestic energy—one he completely failed to comprehend and could not resist—madly surging into his mechanical body!
The moment the robot's metal shell touched the golden light, it silently decomposed and vaporized, like ice and snow exposed to a scorching sun.
The hard alloy, complex wiring, and precise components all turned into particles within that sacred light, dissipating into nothingness.
In the end, all that remained was a human brain suspended in mid-air... connected to a large number of translucent life-support tubes.
It lay quietly enveloped in the golden energy, so fragile it seemed it would shatter at the slightest touch.
At the same time!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The mountain-like Mana Giant in the center seemed to have received an unprecedented stimulus.
Its slumbering pulsations suddenly became violent and frantic!
Countless fleshy tubes twitched and expanded madly, causing the entire underground cavern to tremble violently!
Massive cracks began to appear on the rock walls, and debris rained down like a shower!
It was as if this terrifying entity was about to awaken in the very next second!