The system is the proficiency panel

In the quiet room at the heart of the stronghold, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead. Pu Jianxing sat cross-legged on a makeshift cushion. His face remained pale, but he looked more animated than when he had just returned. However, the deep weariness and pain between his brows could not be concealed. Lin Ji's water and wood spiritual energy was like a trickle of warm water, continuously nourishing his severely damaged meridians and nearly exhausted golden elixir. However, the backlash of forcibly controlling the rules could not be quickly recovered by simply having enough spiritual energy.

Hearing Lin Ji's question, Pu Jianxing slowly opened his eyes. The eyes that were once as sharp as swords now carried a lingering solemnity and...fear.

“The core area is alive.”

Pu Jianxing's voice was hoarse and low, as if his throat had been rubbed with sandpaper.

"It's not just a tree, it's the core of the entire forest, a vast, ancient, thoroughly twisted and polluted collection of life. Its roots stretch for hundreds of miles, the earth is its flesh and blood, the air is its breath, spreading a pervasive spiritual erosion."

He paused, as if recalling the suffocating feeling of oppression.

"The aura it exudes is far beyond ordinary legends. Even more terrifying."

Pu Jianxing's eyes swept over Daoyan.

"Before it went berserk, Daoyan's foresight completely failed, and he failed to warn us in advance."

Daoyan nodded slightly, his face still pale, and added.

"It's not that I can't see it, but all future information about it is forcibly distorted and obscured by a larger, more filthy will. My foresight is like hitting a wall of chaotic ravings and malice."

Her words confirmed the level of threat Pu Jianxing perceived.

"It calls itself Whispering Root Agares?"

Lin Ji asked, remembering the name in the old pipe notes.

"Perhaps that's what its servants call it."

Pu Jianxing shook his head.

"It's a huge ancient tree that's completely corrupted, but deep inside its trunk..."

His eyes suddenly became extremely sharp, filled with deep fear.

"Buried there is a solidified, obsidian-like arm fragment!"

"Arm remains?"

Yun Shitian couldn't help but utter a sound. Although he was not wearing the golden armor, he subconsciously straightened his back.

"Yes."

Pu Jianxing's voice was cold.

"That wreckage exudes the pure and terrifying essence of the abyss, with blasphemous runes flowing across its surface. Its mere existence distorts space. The source of that faint divine-level pressure and mental shock comes precisely from it! Agares is merely its vessel and an extension of its power! It's like an anchor, the core of a contamination source!"

A deathly silence fell within the room. Abyssal debris of feeble divine power? This information struck everyone like a hammer. This meant they weren't just facing a peak Legendary monster; it was likely connected to the will of the Abyssal Lord who had attempted to devour the Light Core—Morgaroth the Corrupted!

"The spiritual torrent that attacked me was spontaneously triggered by the wreckage after sensing my sword intent."

Pu Jianxing continued, his tone tinged with self-mockery.

He described in detail the horrific scene after Agares woke up: the earth pulsed like boiling water, the roots turned into dragons, the mental shock turned into a tsunami, and the destructive blow with divine pressure that locked onto him.

"I was forced to use the rules of the sword."

Pu Jianxing's voice was indescribably heavy.

"Sword rules?"

Pang Bin gasped. As a Jindan, he understood what this meant. Rules were a force that only a Yuanying True Lord could steadily control! Forcing them to function would come at an unimaginable cost.

Pu Jianxing did not describe the details of the battle in the sword world in detail, but only briefly mentioned it.

"After using the Sword Rule, I temporarily suppressed it. The Sword of Rule slashed through its core defenses and even left a tiny crack on the abyssal wreckage."

Everyone was shocked. The power of Master Pu's attack was so terrifying that it could leave scars on the remains of what was suspected to be a god. No wonder it could cause such a terrifying phenomenon.

“But it also completely infuriated it.”

Pu Jianxing smiled bitterly.

"Finally, I used the Sword of Rules as a guide and cast Sky-Splitting, bombarding the wreckage, creating immense chaos and allowing me to escape. The price I paid was what you see."

He pointed at himself, his golden elixir was dim, his meridians were in great pain as if they were repeatedly cut by countless tiny sword energies, and his soul was also under a huge burden.

The room fell silent again, the only sound being the heavy breathing of the crowd. The amount of information was too much, the impact too strong.

Lin Ji digested all this, his brow furrowed. Abyssal debris, divine anchors, the source of corruption... the problems of the Quicksand Forest were a hundred times more thorny than anticipated! This wasn't a problem that could be solved simply by clearing out the cult and corrupted ancient trees. Pu Jianxing's injuries also demonstrated that even a Jindan-level power was extremely dangerous against the wreckage itself.

"Master Pu, how did you feel when you finally hit the wreckage?"

Lin Ji asked in a deep voice, this is the key.

Pu Jianxing concentrated on recalling.

"The recoil was so powerful that the Sword of Rules nearly shattered. The wreckage was incredibly solid, and my power could only create a slight crack on its surface. But I could sense the abyssal power within it stirring violently at the impact, and much of Agares's pain and anger stemmed from this. It was like a dormant volcano, prodded by me."

He paused, his tone extremely solemn.

"Most importantly, I felt... it remembered my sword intent. Deep within the wreckage, it felt as if a completely enraged eye locked onto the direction of our escape."

These words sent chills down everyone's spine. Being targeted by something that seemed to be the anchor of the Abyss Lord's will was definitely not a good thing. This meant that Embrace of the Rotmaw's subsequent hunt would likely have more specific guidance.

"Daoyan, when you were being pursued, did you sense that there were other powerful people spying on you?"

Lin Ji turned to Daoyan.

Daoyan closed his eyes for a moment, as if recalling the thrilling escape process, and opened his eyes after a moment.

"Amidst the chaotic turbulence of energy, apart from Agares's violent will and the spiritual connection with the Corruptmaw Cultists, no other clear legendary-level intrusions were detected. However, the atmosphere of the entire forest shifted. Countless weak, corrupted consciousnesses were thrown into panic and agitation by Agares's injury."

Lin Ji nodded, this was expected. He quickly shared the previous intelligence.

"We encountered spies from the Jones family at the Adventurer's Guild. They claimed a Nine-Ring Mage had been killed and their cargo had been robbed. They suspected the Bloodthorn Mercenaries were responsible, so they sent twenty people to investigate."

Master Pang Bin touched his chin.

"The Jones family, the Ash Merchants, the Bloodthorn Mercenaries, and now the enraged Embrace of the Rotmaw, and us... this Quicksand Forest is truly bustling. Master Pu's sword has completely pierced a hornet's nest."

“Chaos is the ladder.”

There was a calm glint in Lin Ji's eyes.

"The various forces have been alarmed and are restraining each other, which may actually buy us time. There are two urgent matters."

"First, Master Pu must focus on healing and restoring his strength. Master Pang, the stronghold's defenses and concealment formations must be upgraded to the highest level to prevent any form of spying and raids, especially the infiltration of corrupting forces and spiritual erosion!"

Pang Bin immediately responded solemnly.

"Understood! I will reinforce the fortifications immediately, and City Lord Xiao and I will personally control the core defense formation!"

"Second, we need the attitude of the elves."

Lin Ji looked towards the direction of the Morning Dew City in the west.

"Selanville must have sensed the dramatic changes here. Instead of waiting for him to question us, why not take the initiative and reveal limited information? Ningxue, use the communication spell to contact Elvis in my name."

Xiao Ningxue understood.

"We only mentioned that we discovered and severely damaged the source of corruption, but encountered a strong backlash from the power of the Abyss, which injured Master Pu. We also pointed out that deep within the source, there are suspected remains of the Abyss Lord (Throat of Corruption), posing a huge threat. As for the Jones family and other forces, we will not mention them for now."

"Correct."

Lin Ji nodded.

"Emphasize the severity and universality of the threat, positioning us as allies in the fight against the Abyss. At the same time, subtly inquire whether the elves have any historical experience or powerful measures to refer to in dealing with such pollution sources. Be frank, but also hold back."

He believed that the elves' long history and rich knowledge might provide valuable information about the remains of the abyss.

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

Xiao Ningxue stood up, her white hair drawing a cold arc under the light of the spiritual lamp.

After arranging all this, Lin Ji's gaze fell back on Pu Jianxing with respect and concern.

"Master, your recovery comes first. We will carefully consider the threat posed by the abyssal debris. If it dares to descend upon our clones... we have the Master behind us."

Pu Jianxing nodded slowly, closed his eyes, and focused all his energy on channeling the vital energy Lin Ji had brought into his body to repair the wounds within him. He knew that his forceful strike, though costly, had opened a chasm for the team to understand the true enemy and deterred any potential enemies.