Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3085: Burning Crystal

"Soltz—hold the lake back, now!"

The old man didn’t need to be told twice. His battlefield domain immediately flared back to full power, and golden-brown energy surged outward as thick walls of stone erupted from the surrounding rock, rising in layers to block the lava that was bursting through the damaged formation. The molten rock slammed into the newly formed barriers with enough force to shake the entire cavern, sending rivers of orange-white fire spilling across the stone.

But the flames were only the secondary threat.

The real danger came from the pulsing seismic pressure spreading through the cavern. Every surge carried an immense gravitational force that made the surrounding stone tremble and pushed against their bodies with enough strength to crush even their bones.

Within seconds, cracks spread across Soltz’s stone walls.

The old man’s expression tightened as he poured more of his Law of Earth into the barrier, trying to reinforce it faster than the pressure could destroy it. Yet the walls continued to fracture, chunks of stone breaking away and disappearing beneath the surging lava.

"Dammit!"

Soltz snarled through gritted teeth, sweat already pouring down his face as his domain strained under the overwhelming force.

Emery, however, was ready.

Twilight Transformation unfolded around him in an instant. Silver fur spread across his body, while glowing runes appeared across his skin and pulsed with powerful energy. His physique and resistance surged together, allowing him to withstand the crushing pressure long enough to focus on the crystal.

Elysian Roots tore free from his palm, rapidly expanding into thick, dark-green vines that twisted through the air. Layer after layer wrapped around Emery’s body and pushed forward into the violent flow of molten rock, absorbing the worst of the backlash as he stretched toward the crystal.

Emery immediately plunged his Divine Sense through the widening crack, forcing it past the boiling surface and into the depths of the molten lake. The intense heat distorted his perception, but he continued pushing his senses deeper until he finally reached the crystal buried at the heart of the earth core.

There it was.

Several ancient spiritual roots extended from the crystal, thick and powerful, anchoring it deep into the mountain’s bedrock. They resembled enormous roots from an ancient tree, disappearing into the surrounding earth and connecting the crystal directly to the mountain’s spiritual veins.

It was almost like an umbilical cord.

Emery’s eyes narrowed.

He had expected the crystal to be difficult to retrieve, but he hadn’t expected it to be so deeply connected to the mountain itself.

Severing those roots with Divine Sense alone was impossible.

He needed something physical.

Without hesitation, Emery gathered his spatial energy and opened a narrow spatial rift directly within the lava, as close to the burning crystal as he could manage.

The moment the rift appeared, the surrounding pressure exploded through it.

The spatial passage immediately began to distort, its edges trembling violently as the immense gravitational force from the earth core poured through the opening. Emery gritted his teeth and forced more energy into maintaining the rift while simultaneously controlling the Elysian Roots.

"Go!"

The vines surged forward.

They plunged through the spatial rift and extended toward the crystal, their thick roots fighting against the overwhelming heat and pressure as they slowly crawled closer to the spiritual roots anchoring the crystal.

For a moment, Emery thought they might reach it.

Then the pressure struck.

The Elysian Roots were violently pushed backward, their vines bending and twisting under the immense force. Emery’s expression changed as he desperately tried to force them forward, but they were pushed back several meters before the spatial rift finally shattered.

The explosion of spatial energy sent a violent shockwave through the surrounding cavern.

Emery staggered backward, his body straining as he fought to maintain his balance.

"Dammit. It’s too strong."

He barely had time to recover before he tried again.

Another spatial rift opened near the crystal, and once more the Elysian Roots surged through it, fighting their way toward the ancient spiritual roots.

The pressure immediately began tearing at the vines.

Emery gritted his teeth and poured more energy into them, forcing the roots forward inch by inch while the surrounding lava continued to churn violently.

Beside him, Soltz struggled to maintain his stone barriers as cracks spread across the walls.

"Could you try faster, will you...?" the old man complained through clenched teeth.

Emery ignored him.

Both of them had already been fighting against the extreme heat and crushing pressure for far too long, and the strain was beginning to show. Soltz’s breathing had become heavier, while Emery could feel the muscles throughout his body tightening under the constant gravitational force.

Still, he refused to give up.

He pushed the Elysian Roots forward once more, but the result was the same.

The vines stretched toward the crystal, only to be forced backward before they could reach the spiritual roots.

The spatial rift trembled violently, then shattered again.

Emery stared at the unreachable crystal through the boiling lava, his expression growing increasingly grim.

For a moment, retreat seemed like the only option. Emery could seal the crack, restore the damaged formation, and try to find another way to retrieve the crystal, but as the thought crossed his mind, the Elysian Vines suddenly stirred on their own, their leaves and tendrils trembling as they reacted to the immense pressure surrounding them.

Understanding struck Emery a heartbeat later.

"...Yes. I can try that."

This time, instead of forcing the vines through a spatial rift, Emery changed his approach. He gathered the Elysian Vines in his hand and threw them directly through the crack in the formation.

The vines immediately burst into the molten lake.

They twisted and slithered through the lava, their dark-green surfaces rapidly disappearing beneath the boiling orange-white waves as they pushed toward the crystal. Then Khaos energy surged down through their roots, flooding into every strand and changing their nature entirely.

They were no longer simple restraints.

They became something far more hungry.

Emery’s expression hardened as he decisively sent more Khaos energy through the vines.

"Devour."