222: Chapter 222 The Previous Lord

"Purify... for me!"

Lin Tian let out a low shout, gritting his teeth to squeeze out the last bit of pure energy and slamming it in!

"Hum!"

The last wisp of stubborn purple-black patterns finally wailed and dissipated within the pure platinum light.

The basketball-sized lord core shuddered violently, and all the ominous colors and cracks on its surface vanished completely.

Although it was still covered in fine cracks from the battle, like crackled porcelain, and appeared battered and broken.

But as a whole, it now displayed a warm, translucent jade-white color; the speck of light deep within the core had also become soft and pure, no longer eerie as before.

"Finally..."

Lin Tian let out a long sigh of relief, just about to wipe his sweat.

A sudden change occurred!

The broken core that had just quieted down suddenly erupted with light without any warning!

It wasn't the polluted black-purple, but a soft yet exceptionally bright milky-white light that instantly enveloped Lin Tian's figure!

"Brother Tian, watch out!"

Lin Yin, who had been guarding him like a shadow and hadn't relaxed her vigilance even after the great battle ended, reacted with extreme speed!

Almost at the instant the light flared up.

Without a second thought, her moon-white figure flashed, blocking Lin Tian like a teleportation, the moonlight divine bow in her hand instantly drawn to its limit.

An arrow woven of emerald and moon-white pointed directly at the core of the light cluster. Her pretty face was frost-cold, her eyes filled with chilling killing intent, and her cool voice carried an unquestionable resolve: "Get back!"

The light lasted for a few seconds, then dissipated without warning, just as it had appeared.

And in front of Lin Tian and Lin Yin, where the light cluster had vanished.

An extremely dim, nearly transparent figure in ancient clothing, looking as if it would blow away with a breeze, slowly emerged.

He looked like a middle-aged scholar, wearing a simple ancient robe. His face was blurred, with only a hint of clarity remaining in his eyes after experiencing many hardships, and...

...a deep exhaustion.

This phantom seemed to have just "woken up," and he looked around blankly.

His gaze swept over the charred, broken earth soaked in blood beneath his feet, over the scarred but determined soldiers clearing the battlefield in the distance, and through the smoke and faint, nauseating scent of pollution that had not yet fully dispersed in the air...

Finally, his gaze fell upon his own nearly transparent hands, then he looked at this tragic battlefield.

A thick, inseparable sense of self-blame, pain, and compassion flashed through his illusory eyes.

He sighed silently, a sigh that seemed to traverse endless time and space, carrying an infinite desolation.

"Who are you? Why were you hidden inside? Speak!"

Lin Yin's bowstring remained taut, the arrow tip gleaming with a dangerous light. Her voice was as cold as ice, looking ready to purify this "remnant Soul" at the slightest disagreement.

To her, anything emerging from a polluted core was extremely suspicious.

Lin Tian had also recovered by now and cast a Detection Spell.

[Name]: Luo Fan (Extremely fragmented Heroic Soul Obsession)

[Status]: Soul Origin nearly annihilated, only a wisp of an about-to-dissipate obsessive image remains. No physical form, non-aggressive.

[Strength]: None.

"A remnant Soul? And one that's about to disappear?"

Lin Tian's heart stirred slightly. He reached out and gently pressed down on Lin Yin's arm holding the bow; his touch was slightly cool yet firm.

"Don't be in a hurry. Let's listen first."

Sensing Lin Tian's intention, Lin Yin's tense body relaxed slightly.

The bowstring loosened a bit, but the arrow still pointed at the phantom, shifting from aiming at a vital spot to a wary posture.

She silently shifted half a step to the side but remained in a position where she could protect Lin Tian at any moment, her cool eyes staring unblinkingly at the phantom.

The phantom only then seemed to notice Lin Tian and Lin Yin in front of him.

His illusory gaze lingered for a moment on the pure moonlight and life aura from Lin Yin.

Then it paused on the unique and majestic lord aura on Lin Tian. A faint, relieved expression seemed to appear on his blurred face.

“My name is... Luo Fan.”

The phantom spoke, his voice echoing directly in Lin Tian and Lin Yin's minds—ethereal and faint, yet carrying an ancient and refined tone.

“I hail from... the Great Chu Dynasty. Like you two, I was once...”

“...a lord summoned by the mandate of heaven, descending to this world to fight the final battle against the source of pollution.”

His words were intermittent, as if every syllable required immense effort.

“Great Chu Dynasty? A lord?”

Lin Tian's eyes narrowed as he asked in a deep voice:

“How did you become like this? Why were you inside this core? And what is this 'source of pollution' you mentioned?”

Luo Fan's phantom seemed to tremble even more violently, as if recalling something extremely terrifying or painful.

He remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking, his pace quickening slightly as if he knew time was running out:

“I am... the last bit of an unwilling Soul fragment, unfortunately eroded and killed by the power of pollution during the final battle to Seal the source of pollution...”

“Attaching myself to the deepest part of the crumbling Territory Core, I was sealed and fell into silence along with the polluted core... until... the Seal was broken...”

“Final battle? Sealing the source of pollution?”

Lin Tian caught the keywords and immediately followed up.

“Explain clearly! What final battle? What exactly happened in your era? Why were we also sent here to become lords?”

Luo Fan's phantom grew even dimmer, as if it could be extinguished at any moment like a candle in the wind.

He gave a bitter laugh, his voice filled with endless exhaustion and urgency:

“Time... is running out. This wisp of obsession is about to dissipate completely. To put it briefly...”

“Fine, speak.”

Lin Tian's expression was solemn, knowing that what he was about to hear might be a top secret concerning the essence of this world.

Luo Fan's phantom struggled to gather his last bits of strength, his speaking speed increasing, yet every word was etched clearly into Lin Tian's mind:

“You... are the 'Solvers' chosen by the will of the 'Eternal Continent' in this era... to combat the resurgence of pollution.”

“We were the same back then... Countless lords gathered through slaughter, Alliance, and growth... Finally, under the guidance of the 'eternal heavenly dao,' we launched the final battle against the fully resurgent source of pollution that attempted to devour the entire continent.”

“That war... swept across the entire Eternal Continent. Stars fell, and the land sank... Although we gave our all, we... still could not completely destroy that source...”

“Ultimately, the eternal heavenly dao gathered the power of all surviving lords. At the cost of falling into a near-permanent silence itself, it barely managed to cripple and Seal that source of pollution...”

“The aftershocks of the war... tore the continent apart. This 'alternate dimension' you are in now... is merely a broken fragment of space-time from that once-complete continent.”

“As for why there are so many Polluted Monsters here...”

Luo Fan's phantom fluctuated violently, filled with pain.