Legend of the Embroiderer

Li Zhao's gaze was like a sharp hook, tightly hooking the strange glimmer of light at the core of the darkness.

His heart was beating violently in his chest, like a trapped beast, banging frantically against the cage, and every beat caused pain in his chest.

The two emotions of fear and curiosity, like two intertwined poisonous snakes, swirled back and forth in his heart, making his back cold but making it difficult for him to look away.

Su Mengyao and Ling Shi also followed his gaze. The three of them had vigilance written all over their faces, as if they were about to face a life-and-death battle.

Could it be that... the incarnation of the dark will has not completely disappeared?

How can it be!

Su Mengyao was horrified, her beautiful eyes widened as if they were about to fall out of their sockets.

Her face was full of disbelief, her lips trembled slightly, and she muttered involuntarily.

"No, it won't... It's clearly been defeated by me!"

As Su Mengyao spoke, she slowly shook her head, trying to deny this horrible fact.

What she saw before her made it impossible for her to escape - the dark aura that should have dissipated into nothingness now vaguely emerged again, like a giant beast lurking in the dark, which might pounce again at any time.

Su Mengyao's voice was light and weak, like a candle in the wind.

It seemed as if the words did not come from her mouth, but from the distant underworld, the voice of a lonely soul that was swallowed by the endless darkness and barely reached people's ears.

And in this light sound, there was a very subtle and barely perceptible tremor.

The trembling was as thin and fragile as a spider silk, but it existed so realistically, revealing the fear and anxiety deep in Su Mengyao's heart.

Su Mengyao tightly grasped the ice blade in her hand. The ice blade had some cracks due to the long and fierce battle, and was shaking slightly, as if it would break at any time.

Despite this, she still refused to let go, because the spiritual power in her body was almost exhausted at this time. Every bit of spiritual power that was gathered was as difficult for her as trying to draw the last drop of water from the riverbed that had long dried up.

She still gritted her teeth and tried her best to condense the little spiritual power she had so that the ice blade could continue to emit a faint cold light.

The light of the staff in the hands of the spirit messenger standing not far away began to flicker again.

The light flickered, like a firefly struggling in the darkness to illuminate the way ahead.

The spirit messenger's brows were tightly furrowed, and her forehead was covered with a layer of fine beads of sweat. These beads of sweat slowly slid down her fair cheeks, dripped onto the ground, and evaporated without a trace in an instant.

All I could hear was her mumbling, her voice low and full of mystery, like a spell from ancient times:

"This power... seems even more bizarre and unpredictable than before. It seems to conceal a deeper secret, like a pair of eyes secretly watching us from the dark abyss. It's terrifying!"

Just when everyone was full of doubts and at a loss, the light at the core of the origin of darkness suddenly exploded, and a figure slowly emerged from the light.

Everyone's hearts were instantly gripped by an invisible giant hand, rising to their throats. The muscles all over their bodies were as tense as a fully drawn bowstring, and every nerve was pulled hard by this unknown fear, as if it would break in the next second.

When the figure gradually became clear, everyone was surprised to find that this was not the incarnation of the dark will they feared, but an old man with a haggard face and a firm look in his eyes.

"You...are finally here."

The old man's hoarse voice was like sandpaper rubbing violently against each other, harsh and unpleasant. The sound slowly floated in the endless darkness, echoing leisurely, as if traveling through a long tunnel of time and space, carrying countless years of vicissitudes and heavy fatigue.

"Who are you? And why are you here?"

Li Zhao's face was full of vigilance, and his eyes were as fierce and sharp as a wolf walking alone in the cold night, fixed tightly on the mysterious old man in front of him.

He gripped the weapon tightly in his right hand, his arm muscles tensed, and raised his arm slightly, ready to strike. As long as there was any sign of trouble, he could immediately counterattack to deal with any possible dangerous situation.

The old man slowly raised his head and glanced at everyone. His gaze seemed to penetrate their souls:

"I was once the guardian of this dark world, trapped here for countless years, struggling alone within the cage of darkness. Although the incarnation of the dark will has been temporarily repelled by you, its power has not dissipated. Instead, it is like countless malignant tumors, scattered in every corner of this darkness, waiting to regroup and make a comeback."

When everyone heard this, their faces instantly became more solemn, as if shrouded by a layer of dark clouds.

Su Mengyao couldn't help but ask, "Then what should we do? Should we just let the darkness descend again and completely devour this world?"

The old man shook his head slightly, his movements slow and heavy, as if he was carrying the weight of the entire world. "No, your presence brings hope. I feel the power in you, especially you."

The old man looked at Li Zhao, a glint in his eyes. "The power of balance within you is the key to fighting against darkness. But to truly defeat the will of darkness, you need to find the source of light."

"The source of light? What is that?"

Li Zhao asked doubtfully, his eyes full of confusion, as if looking for a ray of light in the darkness.

"That is the core of the power of light, the opposite of the source of darkness. Only by finding it and truly balancing light and darkness can we completely eliminate the will of darkness and restore light to this world."

The old man explained, with a hint of anticipation in his voice, as if he saw the dawn of daybreak.

Everyone fell into deep thought. It was not easy to find the source of light. This dark world was so vast and boundless, like an endless black ocean. They didn't even know where to start looking. It was like looking for an insignificant grain of sand in the vast ocean.

A powerful force suddenly surged out of the darkness, like a surging black tide, surrounding everyone tightly.

Everyone was horrified to discover that this power was composed of countless dark fragments, each of which exuded the breath of the incarnation of dark will. The breath was like the stench of a rotten corpse, which was nauseating.

"It seems that the incarnation of the dark will does not want you to find the source of light."

The old man said this solemnly, with a hint of helplessness and worry in his voice.

The dark fragments were like a pack of hungry wolves, pouncing towards everyone with bared fangs and claws.

Li Zhao and others immediately took a defensive stance. Li Zhao waved his weapon, and golden light flickered in the darkness, like a meteor across the night sky.

Su Mengyao gathered the last bit of spiritual power, and the ice blade drew cold rays of light in the darkness, like a sharp blade in the dark.

The spirit messenger used all his strength to guide the mysterious power in the staff, trying to resist the attack of the dark fragments. The light was like a candle in the wind, but it flickered tenaciously.

The dark fragments were too numerous and their power was growing stronger. Gradually, everyone felt overwhelmed and wounds began to appear on their bodies. Blood stained their clothes, making them particularly glaring in the darkness.

Just when everyone was in desperate situation, Li Zhao suddenly discovered that when these dark fragments approached him, they seemed to be affected by the balance force in his body and their speed slowed down significantly.

He felt a stir in his heart, as if he saw a ray of light in the darkness, and shouted: "Everyone come closer to me, my power of balance seems to be able to restrain these dark fragments!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately approached Li Zhao.

Li Zhao concentrated his mind, mobilizing the balancing force within his body to form a golden barrier, protecting everyone within. Dark fragments collided with the barrier, making a piercing sound like nails scratching a blackboard, terrifying, but they could not break through.

Seeing this, the old man's eyes flickered with hope, as if he had seen the light before dawn. "It seems that the power of balance is indeed effective. But this is not enough. We must find the source of light as soon as possible, otherwise everything will come to nothing."

Li Zhao took a deep breath, as if to suck out all the air in the darkness: "But we don't know where the source of light is. This dark world is so vast, we are like lambs lost in the darkness."

The old man pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "I've heard that the Source of Light and the Source of Darkness have some mysterious connection. Perhaps we can find clues within the core of the Dark Source. That's our only hope."

Everyone looked towards the core of the origin of darkness, which still emitted a strange light, like an abyss hiding countless secrets.

Li Zhao gritted his teeth, a determined look on his face: "Never mind, let's give it a try!"

As he spoke, he mobilized the power of balance and walked towards the core of the origin of darkness. Every step was full of difficulty, as if he was struggling in a dark quagmire.

Everyone followed closely behind, their hearts filled with trepidation, as if they were about to step into an unknown abyss. As they approached the core of the darkness, they suddenly felt a powerful suction that seemed to be sucking them in. The suction was like a black hole, irresistible.

Li Zhao resisted the suction with all his might, while trying to find clues from the core of the dark origin. His eyes were filled with determination and persistence.

At this moment, a torrent of memories suddenly surged out from the core of the origin of darkness, like a surging tide, pouring into Li Zhao's mind.

He saw scenes from the past, about the origin of this world and the source of light.

"I know where the source of light is!" Li Zhao shouted in surprise, with a trembling in his voice, as if he couldn't believe his discovery.

Just as he finished speaking, a burst of wild laughter suddenly came from the darkness, and the voice of the incarnation of the dark will sounded again:

"You think you can find the source of light? How naive!"

Immediately afterwards, an even more powerful dark force surged from all directions, completely surrounding everyone.

This force was even more terrifying than the previous dark fragments. It was like an endless abyss of darkness. Under the impact of this force, cracks began to appear on the golden barrier of the crowd, like a broken mirror, which could collapse completely at any time.

The figure of the incarnation of the Dark Will slowly emerged, a twisted smile on his face, like a demon crawling out of the abyss of hell:

"Your struggle is in vain. This world will eventually be completely swallowed by darkness and become its slaves!"

Li Zhao and others looked pale. They knew that the real crisis had just begun.

Faced with such a powerful incarnation of dark will, can they find the source of light and save the world?