Chapter Two Hundred Thirty-Five: The Seed 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The world of the relic shook as though a magnitude nine earthquake had just occurred. The ground trembled violently for a few moments... then suddenly, with another loud BOOM, it began to shake madly!

Amidst the roaring, terrible and profound cracks swiftly appeared on the ground! Large chunks of the earth began to be lifted by some unseen force!

The city buildings within the original relic, those stone houses, instantly collapsed as the ground twisted and broke apart, then fell into the sinkholes in pieces...

The distant pyramid also began to crumble!

The body of the pyramid quickly disintegrated amidst the shaking. Its main structure broke apart and collapsed!

Chen Nuo and Vanel were rushing down the steps at full speed. A Gray Cat, appearing from nowhere, leaped directly into Chen Nuo’s embrace but suddenly let out a piercing scream!

The cat’s paw had touched the object wrapped in layers of outer garments in Chen Nuo’s arms. The Gray Cat screeched miserably and was bounced away, but Chen Nuo stretched out a hand to catch its tail. He swung forcefully, tossing it onto his back. Then, releasing its tail, he grabbed Vanel’s clothes, violently pulling him over.

Chen Nuo flew into the air, one hand holding the object, the other grabbing Vanel, with the barely conscious Gray Cat on his back. His figure glided down like a large bird. Below, the pyramid finally collapsed completely. Numerous giant stones rolled down, and amidst the flying dust, it crumbled into a heap...

BANG!

When Chen Nuo landed, the immense impact from behind sent him rolling. He tossed Vanel to one side but still didn’t let go of the item in his other hand!

Finally, after rolling several times, he lay flat on the ground and let out a long breath. "Davarishi, you’re still alive, right?"

"I... I’m fine," came Vanel’s weak reply from more than ten meters away.

"...MEOW!!" A tragic yowl came from behind Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo quickly flipped over and grabbed the Gray Cat he had accidentally pinned beneath him. "I was wondering why the ground felt like a cushion."

"...MEOW..."

"Nonsense, it wasn’t on purpose."

Chen Nuo tossed the Gray Cat aside. Just as he sat up, he suddenly felt a gust of wind rush toward his face!

Chen Nuo soared up and lunged to the side! With a BANG, a huge rock slammed down where he had just lain.

John Sterling, enveloped in a cloud of black aura, stood before Chen Nuo, his face twisted with rage. He roared, "Give it back to me!!"

With that, he reached out with both hands, trying to snatch the object in Chen Nuo’s arms.

Chen Nuo retreated again, simultaneously unleashing his spiritual power to form barriers in front of him!

John Sterling chased furiously, his body wreathed in black aura, forcefully breaking through Chen Nuo’s Mentality Barriers. Chen Nuo changed direction five or six times in mid-air but was still doggedly pursued by John Sterling!

Finally... Chen Nuo gathered his spiritual power and clashed fiercely with John Sterling. John Sterling’s body shuddered, and he was thrown back more than ten meters. Chen Nuo also seized the opportunity to roll away. He got up after several tumbles, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"You... your spiritual power is so strong?" John Sterling gritted his teeth.

Chen Nuo stood still, his heart sinking. John Sterling’s spiritual power is actually stronger than mine!

"Give me my thing! Quickly!" John Sterling pressed Chen Nuo again. "Give it to me if you don’t want to die!!"

Chen Nuo scoffed, backing away while unwrapping the outer garment from the object in his arms.

Chen Nuo pointed at the item in his hand. "Are you talking about this? This doesn’t look like it belongs to you, does it?"

In Chen Nuo’s arms was a... Crystal Skeleton.

It was shaped like a human skull but appeared mutated. The bones were as crystal clear and translucent as actual crystal. The forehead, the brain area, was much larger than a normal person’s, elongating and raising the cranium significantly, giving it a deformed appearance.

Most importantly, beneath the transparent cranium, where the brain should have been, was a barely visible substance—neither clearly gas nor liquid. It filled the space, flowing faintly, swirling, and emitting a spectrum of lights.

"The Crystal Skeleton from Maya and Inca legends... It surely can’t be yours," Chen Nuo sneered.

BOOM!!!

Another loud noise erupted from beneath the ground!

The already collapsed pyramid beside them suddenly rumbled. Then the ground twisted, as if some force beneath the pyramid’s ruins was writhing. Soon, the ground began to sink!

Large sections of the pyramid’s ruins began falling into the sinkholes...

John Sterling’s face turned pale. "...It’s too late! It’s awakened!"

Chen Nuo’s gaze was steely. "Awakened? Are you talking about the Mother?"

John Sterling roared maniacally, "You woke it up!!! This is suicide!!"

Chen Nuo laughed coldly. "As if you wouldn’t have killed us if the Mother wasn’t here."

John Sterling roared, then suddenly ignored Chen Nuo, turned, and leaped into the air!

He shot straight into the sky and took a deep breath. All the dark energy filling the air—the crazed black spiritual power spewing from the hole—was sucked toward him in that single breath, as if drawn by a vortex. It swarmed toward him en masse. John Sterling absorbed these numerous fine strands of spiritual power into his body, forming a large cloud of dark energy swirling around him. His aura actually became significantly stronger than when he first appeared!

Then, he roared madly. Paying no heed to Chen Nuo and the others on the ground, he dashed directly toward the entrance adjacent to the Relic World... flying toward the mountain!

However, at that moment, with a sudden thunderous BOOM, the mountain collapsed!

The cave that connected this world to the outside had completely collapsed!

The collapse of the mountain caused John Sterling to let out a furious roar. He pointed his finger, and a stream of dark energy shot up, piercing through the collapsing mountain peak. He let out a cry of joy, and his whole body shot towards the hole he had burst open with his dark energy...

But soon, John Sterling let out a scream of agony. Amidst a thunderous noise, as if he had hit some invisible barrier, he was violently thrown back!

The repulsive force was stronger than his forward momentum, sending him tumbling backward for over a hundred meters!

John Sterling let out a fierce roar and once again lunged forward!

Then, once more, he crashed against the collapsed mountainside and was again repelled by an invisible force!

John Sterling seemed to have gone mad. He rammed into it several times, each attempt more violent than the last. He completely disregarded the drain on his power, exerting all his energy. His dark aura flared wildly, nearly all of it unleashed!

But in the end...

BANG!

When John Sterling was thrown back for the fifth time, he fell to the ground, his dark aura almost entirely dissipated!

The man was covered in blood! Many parts of his body were torn and battered! Chen Nuo could sense that he had truly sustained serious injuries!

John Sterling, his face smeared with blood, thudded to his knees. He cried out in despair, "It’s over! It’s all over! We can’t get out! AHHHH!! It’s all over... everything is over... It’s really awake, and this place has been sealed!"

Saying this, John Sterling suddenly let out a mournful howl.

Chen Nuo had already helped Vanel up. In the distance, the Son of the Sun also brought Bonfrey and the Sea Monster over.

Bonfrey was seriously injured, but the Sea Monster seemed even worse. The Sea Monster was cradled in Bonfrey’s arms, unconscious and comatose.

Once both groups converged, Chen Nuo glanced at Vanel. "The Mother must be about to awaken."

"...Yes." Vanel’s expression was somewhat odd, but he nodded solemnly. "It seems so."

Chen Nuo looked at Vanel and then approached John Sterling.

John Sterling was already drained of power. His frenzied attempts to breach the Relic World’s passage had left him battered and bruised. Now, he just knelt on the ground, howling miserably, offering no resistance as Chen Nuo grabbed him.

Chen Nuo shook John Sterling vigorously. "Now, answer a few questions!"

"HAHAHA! What questions? What more is there to ask? I’ve failed! You bastards ruined my years of planning! And you woke it up! We’ll all die here!!"

SLAP!

Chen Nuo slapped John Sterling across the face, snapping him partially out of his frenzy.

John Sterling lifted his eyelids, glaring at Chen Nuo venomously. "When I returned, I should have rushed to the pyramid and killed you first!"

"There’s no medicine for regret in this world," Chen Nuo sneered.

Vanel looked at Chen Nuo. "Harvey, let him go. He’s no threat now! We have to face the Mother that’s about to awaken."

Chen Nuo stared at Vanel. "Davarishi... I remember asking you a question before. You said... you have a way to deal with the Mother, right?"

"...Sort of," Vanel said with a bitter smile. "But... I never thought you’d actually wake the Mother."

Chen Nuo shook his head. "If we hadn’t knocked down that antenna then, John Sterling would have killed us all! There was no other choice."

After a pause, Chen Nuo said in a low voice, "Now, it’s time to clarify some things. What exactly is going on here?"

Vanel glanced at John Sterling, who wore an expression of utter despair and frustration. Vanel shook his head. "I’m not sure either."

"I think I do," Chen Nuo said coldly. "Haven’t you figured it out yet? This John Sterling... he and the Mother are not on the same side.

If I’m not mistaken, John Sterling also used some method to control the sleeping Mother, then exploited its power for his own benefit!

So, the person who least wanted the Mother to awaken... was probably John Sterling himself!"

After a pause, Chen Nuo turned and stared fiercely at John Sterling.

"Am I right... John Sterling? Or should I call you... Seed!"