Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

"The Forest Lord was the first to fall."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"Don't interrupt."

"Oh, just a little bit."

The image of a towering ancient tree appeared on the water's surface, and then the tree began to collapse from its roots, turning into ashes.

The desert lord's voice was deep and resonant.

"You have accomplished what no creature has been able to do for many years: you have killed a lord. But killing a lord is not enough to change this land. If the abyssal energy left behind by the lord is not absorbed or purified, it will re-condense and evolve into a new lord over the long years."

"What about the 'city' we saw in the forest area?"

Ou Yun asked, "We speculate that forest energy is being transported westward, to that city. What is that city?"

"Not a city."

The desert lord shook his head, and the image on the water transformed into a massive black building—

"That is the Abyss Mother, and the seven lords are all its offspring. Their energy originates from this mother. When a lord dies, its energy flows back into the mother to strengthen the remaining lords."

"So that means the more we fight, the stronger the remaining lords become?" Leng Ruolan's expression turned serious.

"Yes. When you defeated the Forest Lord, the other lords all received a portion of the returning energy. And when you defeated the second one, the remaining five received even more, and so on."

The desert lord seemed to sigh.

"The last lord will inherit the power of all seven lords and become the ultimate being comparable to the Abyss Mother herself."

"This setting is too unfair."

Ou Yun couldn't help but complain, "Doesn't this just tell us that the later stages of the game get harder?"

Leng Ruolan agreed, "But that's how it is, isn't it? Even in games, the later levels are always the hardest."

"Yes. So, since ancient times, no creature has ever been able to pass through the forbidden area. All challengers have been killed by the enhanced remaining lords after defeating two or three lords."

The desert lord fell into deep thought.

"The group of challengers who came closest to success was about three hundred years ago—also a human team. They defeated five lords, but the power of the sixth lord was so great that they were wiped out. Their remains are buried beneath this desert."

A key point discovered during the European expedition: "Were humans here 300 years ago?"

"This is not the first time the forbidden land has been opened to humans. Every few hundred years, it opens a passage to your world and selects a group of humans to enter."

"You call it the arrival of the forbidden land, but for this land, it's just another harvest season."

The desert lord's voice carried a hint of pity.

"You weren't the first to be chosen. Nor will you be the last. Unless—"

"Unless someone can clear the level." Leng Ruolan continued.

"Yes. The only way to pass through the forbidden area is to collect all seven core fragments—five abyssal fragments that have sunk to the bottom of the earth, and two core fragments that remain on the surface."

"When the seven fragments reassemble, the power of the core will neutralize the darkness of the Abyss Matrix, and the Forbidden Land will return to its state thousands of years ago—a bountiful, peaceful land, free from slaughter and devouring."

"You said two pieces of the core remained on the surface."

Ou Yun looked at the silver-blue crystal in the desert lord's palm. "You have one. Where's the other one?"

"At the summit of the snow-capped mountain."

The desert lord pointed northwest.

"That is the territory of another Core Guardian. She is far more powerful than me—I chose to live atop the pillars to avoid the pursuit of the abyssal creatures, while she chose to confront them head-on."

"The Abyss Lord of the Snow Mountain region has been suppressed by her alone for hundreds of years. You will meet her when you travel to the Snow Mountain region."

"Then why didn't you help her?" Ou Yun asked.

The desert lord remained silent for a moment.

Its fingers tightened slightly, the silver-blue crystal in its palm flickered for a moment, and then stabilized again.

"Because I'm scared."

Its sound became very soft.

"I am the weakest of the two core fragments. I chose to run away and hide, rather than fight."

"When that human group found me hundreds of years ago, I helped them—I guided them, provided them with shelter, and helped them suppress the attacks of the abyssal creatures. But they ultimately failed."

I watched them die one by one, listening to their screams echoing from the fissures in the earth until they vanished completely. From that moment on, I never had the courage to team up with any challenger again. I was afraid to see my companions die again, afraid to be the last one standing again.

"Then why are you willing to tell us all this?" Leng Ruolan's voice was unusually gentle.

The desert lord looked up at them. His pupil-less, silvery-white eyes reflected the starlight.

"Because you have that sword."

It looked at the Abyss Sword that Ouyun had planted in the ground.

"That sword is something I've never seen before. It was originally just an ordinary abyssal weapon, but the source of the energy it absorbed was too special—it absorbed abyssal energy as well as the remnants of core energy."

"Two fundamentally opposing forces merge, balance, and evolve within the same weapon. The essence of this sword is no longer simply an abyssal weapon; it is a third pole, existing between the abyss and the core."

Ou Yun looked down at his sword.

The red light on the sword flowed slowly in the night, and the patterns contained both dark purple and silver-blue—he had always thought these color changes were just decorations, but now he understood that each color represented the type of energy it had absorbed.

"You mean, this sword could potentially deal with both the Abyss Lord and the Abyss Mother simultaneously?"

"It's not just about dealing with it."

"The desert lord said."

"Its charging mechanism can absorb energy of any form. This means that when you fight a lord, you can not only weaken the lord, but also strengthen yourself at the same time."

"Most importantly, when you have collected all seven kernel fragments, this sword can become the container that holds them."

"Use it to open the core of the Abyss Mother, and this land will be completely purified."

The desert lord stood up, walked up to Ou Yun, and handed him the silver-blue crystal in his palm.

"This is a fragment of the kernel that I've guarded for thousands of years. I'm giving it to you on one condition."

"What are the conditions?" Ou Yun didn't answer immediately.

"Before I disappear completely, I want to take one last look at the living world—not from above, but truly walk through it. Even if it's just for a few days."

The desert lord's voice even sounded somewhat fragile.

"Take me to your camp."

Ou Yun and Leng Ruolan looked at each other in bewilderment.