Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

The lord seemed to be thoroughly enraged and realized the threat.

Instead of spitting out its own contents, it sends hundreds of roots deep into the fungal carpet, frantically absorbing energy.

At the same time, countless eyeballs on its body lit up again, and an even more violent mental shock surged forth like a tidal wave!

Even more terrifying, the entire withered royal court seemed to come alive!

From those twisted, living structures, swarms of corrupted plants and insects, tainted by the abyss, poured forth! The Bone-Eating Arum spewed dissolving gas, the Howling Vines coiled around mental shrieks, and the Exploding Poison Berries rolled and surged toward the allied forces!

The Star Tide Barrier fluctuated violently under the Lord's mental assault and the suicidal attacks of the demonic plant swarm, and its light quickly dimmed!

The strangulation effect of the Thornstorm field has been greatly reduced due to the stabilization of the Lord's roots and the replenishment of energy!

The three-way combined forces were instantly plunged into a fierce battle! Energy consumption increased rapidly, and casualties began to appear! Despair began to spread!

"Hold on! Don't retreat!" Evan's eyes were bloodshot as he swung his Wind Staff to its limit, the wind blades clearing away the approaching magical plants like a meat grinder, but it was a drop in the ocean.

At this critical moment!

"Hmph! A bunch of useless trash! They can't even handle a half-dead abyss golem!"

A cold, hoarse voice, filled with disdain, rang out at the edge of the battlefield like ice rubbing together!

In the shadows on the other side of the withered royal court, the air rippled like water.

A group of figures, dressed in dark gray or pure black bodysuits that blend into the environment and with masks covering their faces, silently appeared.

The leader was none other than Shadowsong Morris, the leader of Shadowhold! His eyes, burning with ghostly green soulfire, swept across the chaotic battlefield, finally settling on the abyssal energy torrent connected to the altar.

"Maurice!" Evan exclaimed, both shocked and furious. "What do you want to do?!"

"What for?" Maurice chuckled hoarsely. "To... harvest, of course!"

He suddenly raised his hand, and a strangely shaped, pitch-black dagger, seemingly composed of countless twisted shadows, floated in his palm!

Ancient and malevolent runes were engraved on the dagger, which emitted a chilling, dark aura that seemed capable of devouring light!

"Shadow Treasure: The Dagger of Void Severing Flow!"

Morris let out a low shout, frantically channeling his shadow energy into the dagger!

Om-!

The dagger emitted an extremely deep, dark light!

Morris vanished in an instant!

The next moment, he appeared beside the torrent of purplish-black energy that connected the lord and the altar!

"Break!"

Holding the Shadow Dagger, he slashed fiercely at the condensed torrent of abyssal energy!

There was no sound!

But the space seemed to be torn apart!

A deep, black rift, seemingly connected to nothingness, appeared out of thin air and precisely struck the torrent of energy!

laugh--!

Like a red-hot iron plunged into ice water!

The torrent of purplish-black abyssal energy was instantly swallowed and annihilated by the black rift!

The connection... has been forcibly cut off!

"roar--!!!"

The Corrupted Ancient Tree Lord let out an unprecedented, terrified, and weak wail!

Its massive body trembled violently! The wound that had just begun to heal instantly worsened!

The newly formed rock armor on its body surface lost its luster, and the roots that drew energy seemed to have lost their source, causing its movements to become sluggish!

The continuous supply of energy from the altar has disappeared!

"An opportunity!" Evan was overjoyed!

"Thorn Storm - Overload!"

Ignoring the tearing sensation in their mental seas, Evan, Sophia, and Kate frantically poured their remaining mental energy into the storm!

The storm's power surged instantly! The wind blades became sharper! The rock spikes grew larger! The poison vines became more ferocious!

It viciously clenched into the lord's wounded spewing wound and relatively fragile joints!

"Starfall Judgment!" Chloe seized the opportunity, and the Nebula Crystal erupted with its last dazzling light, a condensed pillar of starlight blasting towards the crack!

"Song of the Purifying Sea - Final Chapter!" Alphonse's pearl staff pointed at the lord, and a clear stream of water containing the power of purification, like a spring of life, washed over the lord's massive body, neutralizing the corrosion of the abyss!

Rhodes, the Tideguard, Kayle, Serena, and all other high-burst combatants unleashed their full power!

Flames, frost, shadow blades, and demon-piercing spikes... rained down on the lord like a storm!

Deprived of the altar's energy replenishment and suffering the backlash of having its connection severed, the Corrupted Ancient Tree Lord could no longer withstand this devastating concentrated fire!

Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!

An indescribable, terrifying explosion erupted from the lord's massive body!

The rift was completely torn apart! A huge gap was blasted open in the main trunk!

Countless roots and vines were shredded and burned!

Its eyes, burning with eerie green flames, dimmed rapidly and eventually went out.

Its massive body, as if drained of all its strength, collapsed onto the dark red fungal carpet with a dull thud.

The abyssal pollution patterns on the body surface quickly faded, peeled off, and eventually fell into complete silence.

It did not die.

A faint but still unsettling abyssal fluctuation emanated from its broken body.

It has fallen into its deepest dormancy, like a sealed volcano. As a true wizard-level creature, it cannot be destroyed by a group of wizard apprentices.

If it weren't for the fact that the corrupted ancient tree lord, corrupted by the abyss, is essentially irrational, defeating it would be a pipe dream for Kate and her team.

[Successfully defeated the Corrupted Ancient Tree Lord (Official Wizard Level), earning 1000 points. Teamwork kill, points distributed according to contribution. You earned 150 points.]

The dashcam sent a welcome notification.

The battle is over.

The withered royal court was in a state of utter devastation.

The entire team was wounded and exhausted; many collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

The Star Tide Barrier has long since shattered, and the Thorn Storm has vanished without a trace.

The Shadow Keep's forces stood like ghosts at the edge of the battlefield. Shadowsong Morris toyed with the shadow dagger, his eerie green eyes sweeping over the crowd with a hint of mockery and greed.

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky," Morris rasped. "Without my 'Dagger of Void Severance,' you would all have become nourishment for this abyssal golem. Now, as agreed, Shadow Keep will receive 40% of the exploration rights to the lord's core remains and altar!"

Evan's face was ashen, but seeing the menacing looks from the Shadow Holders and his own exhausted state, he could only grit his teeth and say, "...Fine! But the entrance to the Purification Temple must be shared!"

"Of course." Morris's lips curled into a cold smile.

The three sides began to rest, treat their injuries, and cautiously divide up the spoils and exploration areas.

Kate also felt a wave of exhaustion.

Maintaining the Thorn Storm at full capacity just now consumed a huge amount of mental energy.

He forced himself to stay upright, directing a few less damaged Thorn Shadows to guard the edge of the battlefield, while subtly guiding the Seed of Origin to scan the surrounding environment, hoping to find some valuable loot or clues.

Just as he passed through a patch of decaying fungi that had been crushed by the collapse of the lord and was flowing with foul-smelling slime, the Seed of Origin suddenly emitted a faint but unique energy fluctuation as a signal!

[WARNING! Faint but pure starlight energy detected! Severely incompatible with the Abyss environment!]

Kate's mind raced, and she immediately focused her attention.

With the Seed of Origin's enhanced perception, he "saw" a tiny, almost imperceptible silver light flickering extremely slowly in a crevice of a black rock covered by semi-solidified abyssal slime beneath the filthy fungal ruins.

The light was pure and cold, carrying a faint trace of life and starlight fluctuations, completely out of place in the surrounding filthy abyss environment.

Kate approached discreetly, using a vine to push aside the sticky filth and mycelium.

Deep within the crevice lay a small, oval spore, no bigger than a sesame seed, covered with extremely fine star-like patterns.

The spores were in a deep dormant state, their light so faint as to be almost extinguished, but the Seed of Origin confirmed that they were indeed the extremely rare Silver Star Moss spores!

[Item: Silver Star Moss Spores (Deep Dormancy)]

[Characteristics: Contains pure starlight and life energy, possessing natural purifying and repelling properties against abyssal pollution. Can be activated.]

Kate's heart skipped a beat!

This was the information provided by her mentor before she left the Evergreen Barrier, the most likely source of information that would help Kate successfully pass through the first level of the Purification Temple.

I didn't expect to get it so easily.

He suppressed his excitement, quickly used the vines to roll up the inconspicuous spore, and at the same time took out a specially made isolated jade box from his dimensional bag. The box was lined with moonlight moss powder and a trace of stardust. He carefully placed the spore inside and closed the lid.

The jade box can shield one's aura and provide a faint activation environment.

After doing all this, he left quietly, as if he had merely cleaned up the battlefield debris.

His gaze swept over the three leaders arguing about the distribution of spoils in the distance, and over the massive, silent remains of the lord, before finally settling on the entrance to the skeletal altar shrouded in darkness.

The Temple of Purification is right before our eyes.

In his hand now lay a key that allowed him to safely enter and purify the temple.