Legend of the Embroiderer

Li Zhao and others' hearts instantly rose to their throats as the core of the world vibrated. The subtle yet powerful vibration was like a heavy hammer hitting their tense nerves.

His expression, which had just relaxed slightly due to the dissipation of the black shadow, was now once again shrouded in tension and anxiety.

Their eyes were fixed on the core of the world. The soft light seemed so elusive at this moment. They tried to find a clue that could give them insight into future crises from every flicker of this light.

"This tremor... could it be that there are still remnants of the dark power?"

Su Mengyao's voice trembled unconsciously, her eyes full of worry and fear. Her slightly trembling tone was like a candle flame blown by the cold wind in a cold night, fragile and helpless.

Li Zhao's brows were tightly knitted together, and the space between his eyebrows seemed to be twisted into the shape of the Chinese character "川". His eyes were so solemn that they seemed to be filled with lead.

He spoke slowly, his voice filled with undeniable calmness: "I don't know, but it's definitely not a good thing. We must be careful."

The light at the core of the world suddenly became brighter without any warning. The light was like a scorching sun suddenly bursting out in the cave, making it so bright that people could hardly open their eyes. They could only subconsciously raise their hands to block it.

In the light, some complex patterns and words faintly emerged. These patterns and words seemed to be given life, constantly flickering and changing, as if telling a long-forgotten mysterious prophecy, or as if conveying some urgent information about the fate of the world.

The Crown Princess rubbed her eyes, which were stung by the bright light, and squinted hard, trying to see the patterns and words more clearly. "This... This seems to be an ancient language, but it's too blurry to be recognized."

There was a hint of doubt and urgency in her voice, as if she was groping for a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

Li Zhao took a deep breath, concentrated all his energy, and tried to decipher these mysterious patterns and words.

His eyes revealed a determination and persistence, as if he wanted to imprint every detail of these patterns and words in his heart.

Suddenly, his face turned pale, as if shrouded in frost. "Not good! This seems to mean that although the shadow has dissipated, its power has penetrated into the core of the world, triggering a more hidden crisis."

There was a hint of undisguised panic in his voice, and that panic spread quickly through everyone's hearts like ripples.

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts sank, as if a thousand-pound boulder had pressed down on their chests. They had finally defeated the shadow after enduring countless hardships, expending countless sweat and blood. But they had never imagined that this was only the beginning of a greater crisis. A more terrifying hidden danger was quietly brewing deep within the core of the world.

"Then what should we do?" Su Mengyao asked anxiously, with a hint of tears in her voice. Her hands unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes, as if she could grasp a glimmer of hope in this way.

Before Li Zhao could answer, the ground in the cave suddenly began to shake violently. The shaking was like a strong earthquake, making the entire cave shaky.

Cracks spread rapidly like a spider web, extending from under everyone's feet in all directions.

Everyone lost their footing and fell to the ground, their bodies swaying continuously as the ground shook. Then, a black smoke, thick as ink and carrying a pungent smell, gushed out from the cracks. It quickly spread, shrouding the entire cave in darkness in the blink of an eye.

Li Zhao and others quickly stood up. Their figures looked so small and helpless in the darkness.

They looked around vigilantly, their ears catching every slight movement, and their weapons tightly grasped in their hands, ready to deal with unknown dangers at any time.

A sinister laugh was heard in the darkness. The laugh seemed familiar, but it carried a weirder and colder feeling, as if it was the whisper of a demon coming from the depths of Hell.

"Do you think everything is over? How naive!"

A voice rang out in the darkness, echoing in the cave, constantly reflecting and overlapping, making it impossible to distinguish its source, as if the voice was everywhere, surrounding them from all directions.

Li Zhao gripped the lightsaber tightly, and the lightsaber flickered slightly in the darkness, as if it was their only hope.

He shouted, "Who the hell are you? Come out if you dare!"

His voice was firm and powerful, echoing in the darkness, trying to break through the endless darkness and find the enemy's trace.

"Hmph, I'm everywhere. Although you defeated the shadow, you released a more powerful being."

The voice sneered, with a hint of sarcasm and complacency in its laughter, as if mocking their ignorance and naiveté.

Suddenly, several black tentacles stretched out from the darkness. The tentacles were thick and powerful, covered with sticky liquid, and flashed strange light in the darkness.

The tentacles pounced on the crowd like a swarm of mad venomous snakes. Li Zhao was quick-witted and swift-handed. A flicker of determination flashed in his eyes as he swung his lightsaber at the tentacles.

The lightsaber collided with the tentacles, splashing a dazzling spark. The spark flashed in the darkness, but could not illuminate the endless darkness.

The tentacles were extremely tough and only retreated slightly before continuing to attack with their fangs and claws.

Su Mengyao and the Crown Princess also acted quickly. Su Mengyao quickly formed seals with her hands, muttered something, gathered all the spiritual power in her body, and summoned countless ice cones.

The ice cones shot towards the tentacles like rows of sharp arrows, carrying a biting chill.

The Crown Princess put her hands together and summoned a blazing flame. The flame was like a roaring beast, rushing towards the tentacles with scorching heat.

The tentacles only paused slightly under the attack and soon broke through their defenses. One of the tentacles stretched out like lightning and tightly wrapped around the Crown Princess.

"Crown Princess!" Li Zhao shouted, his voice filled with anxiety and worry.

He wanted to rush over to rescue, but was blocked by several more tentacles. The tentacles were like tough ropes, constantly waving, trying to trap him in place.

The Crown Princess struggled hard, but the tentacles wrapped around her tighter and tighter, her breathing became more and more difficult, and her face gradually turned as pale as paper.

Just when she felt despair, she suddenly discovered some faint rune lights flashing on the tentacles, which were very similar to the runes on the black shadow before.

The Crown Princess' heart moved, as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw in the darkness.

She concentrated her strength and focused the flames on the runes on the tentacles. The runes' light began to dim under the burning flames, and the tentacles gradually loosened their grip on her.

Li Zhao saw this and immediately understood the Crown Princess's intention. He carefully observed the tentacles and indeed found the runes.

He channeled the power of his lightsaber, focusing his attack on the rune.

Su Mengyao also cooperated, shooting the ice cone accurately towards the location of the rune.

Under their combined attack, the black tentacles broke one after another and turned into black smoke and dissipated in the air.

The laughter in the darkness sounded again: "You have some skills, but this is just the beginning."

There was a hint of unwillingness and anger in that laughter, as if announcing that the battle was far from over.

Following the laughter, a gigantic figure emerged from the darkness. This figure was somewhat similar to the previous black shadow, but more illusory, as if condensed from dark mist.

Its outline is vague in the darkness, making it impossible to see its true appearance, but one can feel the powerful and evil aura emanating from it.

"You have thwarted the shadow's plan. Although it has dissipated, it has awakened me, the guardian of the dark will.

Now, you will pay the price for your actions." The figure said coldly, his voice filled with endless majesty and coldness, as if he were the judge of fate.

Li Zhao and others were on full alert, their eyes revealing determination and unyielding spirit.

They knew very well that the enemy before them was more difficult to deal with than the black shadow before, and this battle would be the most severe test they had ever faced.

Li Zhao once again guided the fusion power of crystal and ancient books, trying to condense a more powerful force.

The previous battle had consumed too much of his strength, and the process of gathering strength this time became extremely difficult.

His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, each drop of sweat sparkling with light, a testimony to his hard work and persistence.

Su Mengyao also exerted her strength to the extreme, and their eyes revealed their determination to face death.

Su Mengyao danced with her hands, and ice-blue spiritual power surrounded her, forming ice blades; the Crown Princess summoned even more powerful flames, which burned fiercely around her, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

The guardian of the dark will took the lead in launching an attack. It waved its hands, and countless black blades flew out from the darkness, shooting towards everyone like raindrops.

Those sharp blades flashed with cold light and carried the breath of death.

Li Zhao swung the lightsaber quickly, forming a light curtain in front of him, blocking most of the sharp blades.

The sharp blade hit the lightsaber, making a crisp sound and sparks flying.

Su Mengyao cast ice shield and fire wall to resist the remaining attacks.

The ice shield cracked under the impact of the sharp blade.

The wall of fire began to sway under the impact of the sharp blade. The sharp blade hit the ice shield and the wall of fire, making a crackling sound like a fierce symphony.

Taking advantage of the gap in the enemy's attack, Li Zhao seized the opportunity, gathered all his strength, and shot a powerful lightsaber beam at the guardian of the dark will.

The beam of light was like a flash of lightning, cutting through the darkness with endless power.

Su Mengyao and the Crown Princess also launched an attack at the same time, with ice cones and flames following the lightsaber beams and flying towards the enemy.

The ice cones kept flashing cold light during the flight; the flames were like a group of firebirds, pouncing on the enemy with bared fangs and claws.

The guardian of the dark will was not in a hurry. It opened its arms and a black shield appeared in front of it.

Lightsaber beams, ice spikes, and flames struck the shield, only causing ripples but failing to break it.

The shield was like an indestructible wall, blocking their attacks.

"Your power is too weak."

The Guardian of Dark Will sneered, his voice filled with disdain and arrogance.

Just when everyone felt helpless, Li Zhao suddenly discovered that when the Guardian of Dark Will cast the shield, some rune marks appeared on the ground beneath his feet.

The runic marks emitted a faint glow, appearing particularly mysterious in the darkness. A thought struck him: could this be the enemy's weakness?

Li Zhao immediately told Su Mengyao about this discovery, and the three decided to concentrate their forces to attack the rune mark under the enemy's feet.

Li Zhao controlled the lightsaber and turned it into a stream of light that shot towards the rune mark.

Su Mengyao condensed a huge icicle, which flashed with cold light and smashed towards the rune mark.

The Crown Princess summoned a ball of blazing flames, enveloping the runic mark.

The flame burned on the rune mark, making a sizzling sound.

The Guardian of Dark Will seemed to sense the danger and tried to move, but the rune mark seemed to nail its feet firmly to the ground.

It struggled desperately, but could not break free from the constraints of the rune mark.

The moment the attack hit the rune mark, the guardian of the dark will roared, and the roar shook the cave.

Its body began to tremble violently, and the black shield disappeared.

Seeing this, Li Zhao and others took the opportunity to launch a more fierce attack.

Just when they thought they were about to win, the guardian of the dark will suddenly turned into a cloud of black smoke and disappeared without a trace.

The black smoke quickly dissipated in the darkness, as if it had never appeared.

"Where did it go?" Su Mengyao looked around vigilantly, her eyes full of confusion and vigilance.

Li Zhao's face was solemn. "It definitely hasn't gone far, and it could attack again at any time. We can't let our guard down."

There was a hint of fatigue in his voice, but more of determination and resolve.

At this moment, the trembling of the world's core intensified again. The trembling was like a landslide, causing the entire cave to tremble.

The light also became extremely unstable, sometimes bright as day, sometimes dim as night.

Li Zhao and others were horrified to find that some tiny cracks appeared on the surface of the world's core, and a strong and evil aura emanated from them.

The breath spread in the cave like a turbulent undercurrent, making people feel suffocated.

This sudden change plunged everyone into deeper fear.