Amidst the rumbling tremors, a massive, peculiar sound echoed.

"Crack-boom! Crack-boom!"

This sound was strange, unlike any giant beast’s roar; it resembled the sound of a mountain collapse and earth split.

However, this sound carried a rhythm, like an enraged giant beast emitting threatening roars.

"What’s going on! Why have three Rune Stones been activated prematurely! This will cause the Creator Spirit to arrive early——"

The Bound’s voice was urgent. He laid down the Black Coffin, and his whole body of bandages, like Spirit Snakes chaotically dancing, radiated extreme anger.

"Lord Bound, it must be Gangxin! He infiltrated prematurely and tampered with the Rune Stones to sabotage the Holy Mother’s great plan!"

A captain responsible for placing the Rune Stones of the Thorn Church leapt up and said.

This Thorn Church captain was constantly uneasy because the Thorn Church team Bai Pu infiltrated was led by him. When responsibilities were pursued later, he would definitely be accountable.

The Bound glanced at him coldly, saying, "It’s too late. Everyone, take your positions! Isra and Rosen, quickly handle Gangxin, then cooperate to capture the Creator Spirit!"

The Bound floated away, stepping onto a raft by the lake. Other Thorn Cultists also stepped onto other rafts.

Under the propulsion of Holy Wave Power, the rafts moved towards various positions of the underground lake.

Before they settled, a series of "crack-boom" roars approached closely.

A massive milk-white mist drifted over from afar in the Earth Vein Corridor!

This mist was too vast. When it appeared, it was already indistinct, filling the entire Earth Vein Corridor!

Those "crack-boom" sounds were coming from within the mist.

"Everyone, inject Holy Wave Power to activate the central hub of the Rune Array!" The Bound’s voice was so excited it was almost trembling.

Streams of energy extended to the lakebed. This underground lake was the central hub of the Rune Array.

In an instant, pillars purely made of energy rose from various segments of the Earth Vein Corridor, rumbling! Each pillar was inscribed with mysterious runes, and at the top were several Rune Stones, echoing each other.

The energy from the three energy pillars on the easternmost side interlaced to form a long blockade! As the milk-white mist drifted over the underground lake, it was stopped by the energy blockade and came to a halt.

The Rune Stones on other energy pillars also emitted energy, crisscrossing to resemble long spears, shooting into the white mist.

"Howl——"

An unusual sound came from the massive white mist, followed by a violent inhaling sound, as if a black hole appeared at the center of the mist. A tremendous suction, accompanied by a tornado, rapidly transmitted, sucking all the white mist in!

Even Bai Pu, fighting at the edge of the lake, could feel this massive suction, forcing him to stand anchored.

Isra and Rosen were similar, swaying in the wind.

For a moment, the battle paused, and the three all looked towards the center of the lake.

As all the white mist was sucked in, a huge turtle-shaped Spiritual Body hovered above the underground lake, revealing its true form.

This turtle-shaped Spiritual Body reminded Bai Pu of the Red-eyed Alligator Turtle juvenile he had seen at the Demon Abyss Border Land.

Except, it was much larger than the Red-eyed Alligator Turtle juvenile.

If the Red-eyed Alligator Turtle juvenile was equivalent to a building, then this turtle-shaped Spiritual Body was equivalent to a city! The previously diffused white mist was merely an unconscious emanation from it.

"Interception successful!"

The Bound loudly ordered, "Attack, attack! Force the Creator Spirit to discard its shell!"

From all directions, the Rune Stones shot beams of energy.

The Creator Spirit violently trembled, swung its head and tail, and collided with one of the energy pillars, immediately causing tiny cracks to appear on the pillar’s surface.

Nearby energy pillars had energy mist pouring in, repairing the attacked pillar.

However, with another tail sweep from the Creator Spirit, another slightly dimmer pillar trembled violently! Fortunately, the Bound shot a pure Holy Wave Power from a distance, infusing the pillar, stabilizing it anew.

"There are two Rune Pillars without anyone hosting them!"

The Bound shouted aloud, "Isra, Rosen, quickly finish Gangxin and come join the battle!"

Isra agreed with a shout, two Hook Scythes with chains swiftly flew out, intensifying the assault.

Rosen pointed a finger at Bai Pu, a cold voice resounding, "Death Ripple!"

This was an additional skill of the Mystical Arts system "Death Ode," with the prerequisite that the target had 5 layers of "Touch of Death" stacked!

The Death Ripple would erupt all the death aura contained in Bai Pu’s body at once, causing substantial Dark Attribute Magic Damage.

The magic damage was secondary. Bai Pu had already activated the set skill "Ancestral Protection," reducing received damage by 50%. Simultaneously, the Equipment Enhancement would work, coupled with Magic Resistance, reducing magic damage to an acceptable level.

The truly terrifying part was the soul damage added by Rosen’s talent "Soul Ferryman," ignoring Ancestral Protection and Equipment Damage Reduction!

Bai Pu’s form paused, deathly flower Phantoms bloomed across the body surface, spreading like ripples.

"It’s over." Rosen turned around.

As Awakened affiliated with a different Spirit Realm Will, Rosen naturally couldn’t see Bai Pu’s Blood Bar, gathering no combat information.

By his calculations, this opponent’s Life Value was already like a flickering candle in the wind, effectively dying from the Death Ripple explosion.

However, as Rosen turned, he froze.

His Spiritual Perception clearly sensed that the opponent behind him had not extinguished the flame of life.

On the contrary, it was burning more brilliantly and fiercely!

"Now it’s my turn."

Bai Pu’s voice resonated clearly.

Now, the Bound’s team was self-occupied, focusing fully on dealing with the Creator Spirit.

The only enemies in front were Isra and Rosen.

This meant Bai Pu could finally unleash his full potential, revealing his trump cards without worrying about the Bound’s team meddling.

Just as the Death Ripple erupted, Bai Pu had activated "Adaptive Evolution - Soul Protective Membrane," mitigating soul damage inflicted by the Soul Ferryman.

The priority of Adaptive Evolution surpassed the Level 10 limit of the Awakened World, and Bai Pu never doubted it.

Even if the Soul Ferryman had the "Damage Reduction Ineffective" affix, the priority couldn’t surpass the Heart of Evolution, naturally unable to prevent the Soul Protective Membrane’s damage mitigation.

Pure Blood injected, transforming into 12 Agility points.

Genetic Fusion used a Genetic Fragment from a Holy War Legion Commander of the Thorn Church with agility specialization, increasing Power by 8 and Agility by 10!

Bai Pu’s speed instantly increased. This speed boost wasn’t an Acceleration Skill but a baseline speed from his own Attributes, unaffected by "Withering."

Simultaneously, Bai Pu flicked a finger, causing Magic Sand to fall, launching a large-scale Mud Technique, further reducing the opponent’s Movement Speed by 15 points.