96: Chapter 96 The Test of the Outer God

When the black-gold aura brushed past the Frontline Fire Platform, the entire platform suddenly froze—there was no roar, no explosion, only a moment of deathly silence, as if all sound in the Main Stele Area had been sucked out of thin air, and even the wind had stopped in mid-air.

The next second, the Grey Fire Well disc on the inner side of the platform suddenly turned black. It wasn't the charred black of burning, but rather an extremely fine black-gold pattern that was crawling madly from the heart of the disc, gnawing at the texture of the disc as if it were alive.

The three Night Wings in Wu Fu's arms instantly puffed up their feathers, screeching incessantly; Grey Pupil slammed his staff onto the ground, his voice so heavy it could strike sparks: "Don't touch it! That's not fire, it's an Outer God aura!"

Qiao Ye gripped his shield tightly and was about to rush forward, but Wen Zhao grabbed his arm, the force so great it pinched him painfully: "Don't rush! It's looking for living targets; touch it and you're asking for contamination!"

Qiao Ye forced himself to stop, his gaze locked firmly onto the fire platform—the platform, which had been as steady as a rock just moments ago, now seemed to have been pierced by fine needles at its edge. A circle of black-grey fire patterns caved inward, and the indentations shimmered with a wet, black-gold luster, as if a pair of cold eyes were staring fixedly at everyone in the area through the platform.

Lu Jin raised his hand, black fire surging in his palm, and pressed it firmly against the edge of the platform. That wisp of black-gold aura immediately coiled around it. It did not attack violently, but instead probed bit by bit along the outer edge of the black fire, like a viper flicking its tongue, inch by inch exploring the pathways of his divine domain—this was not an attack, but a test, a measurement.

"Outer God Probe!" Grey Pupil's voice suddenly turned cold, the four words falling like ice picks. Everyone in the front area turned pale instantly, their breathing even freezing in their chests.

An Outer God Probe was not the arrival of the Outer God itself, but rather a sharp spike used by an Outer God to scout the path. To touch it was to be contaminated, and to come into contact with it was to suffer erosion; it was a hundred times more dangerous than any spore disaster!

The field-sealing personnel behind Pei Chengxu all took half a step back in unison. Even he put away his nonchalance, his gaze passing over Lu Jin to stare fixedly at the bottom of the fire platform, his tone grave: "How could there be an Outer God Probe in the Main Stele Area?"

Instructor Han Tiecheng's roar suddenly exploded from the iron fire order, his voice piercing through the entire area: "All teams at the front station, secure the outer lines! An Outer God Probe has appeared in the western front area of the Main Stele; no reckless looting, no unauthorized retreating! Whoever brings contamination back to the outer ring will have their team sealed by the Military Court!"

This sentence was like a thunderclap. The several teams that had been watching the standoff between Pei and Lu instantly moved—the Beiyue Academy capture team slammed their rock shields into the slope, and the shield-bearers of the Heavy Hammer Team cursed as they pushed to the outer edge of the blood path. All teams instantly switched from "watching the show" to "defending the perimeter"; no one dared to joke around with contamination.

With a flash of white light, the Temple Inspector stepped into the area with two auxiliary examiners, his platinum booklet gleaming with cold light. He swept his gaze over the fire platform and then looked at Lu Jin, his tone as cold as frost: "What have you encountered again?"

Lu Jin did not shift his gaze, the black fire in his palm firmly suppressing the probing of the Outer God Probe: "I didn't touch it; it crashed into me on its own."

"Outer God aura has entered the area. According to Temple regulations, cut off the source of contamination immediately and seal the Frontline Fire Platform!" The Temple Inspector's tone was firm, and he was about to raise his hand to cast a sealing rune.

"You dare!" Instructor Han Tiecheng's angry shout came through the iron fire order. "If you cut the fire platform now, whatever is hidden underneath will crawl out along the break, and then the entire Main Stele front area will be contaminated!"

Lu Jin spoke slowly at this moment, his voice calm but every word clear: "It is testing three places—the Grey Fire Well disc, the Frontline Nest Hall, and my spore path."

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on him. Wu Fu's expression changed abruptly: "What is it looking for the spore path for?"

"Looking for a living target to take root in."

Grey Pupil continued in a low voice. As soon as his voice fell, that wisp of black-gold Outer God Probe suddenly split off a branch as thin as a hair, lunging straight at the wing bone of the injured Night Wing at Wu Fu's feet—that was the weakest living target in the area!

"Get lost!" Wu Fu's eyes were nearly splitting, and she shielded the Night Wing tightly in her arms, grabbing a handful of cleansing ash material and hurling it directly at it. When the black-gold filament touched the ash, it froze instantly. A white frost appeared on the surface of the ash, which then hardened, and the black-gold filament rapidly retracted as if scalded.

The black fire in Lu Jin's eyes surged, and he instantly seized the opportunity: "Cleansing ash is effective, but it's not enough! Grey Pupil, use the Sacrificial Fire array to suppress the head; Wu Fu, use the Breeding Nest to block the opening!"

"Understood!" Both responded simultaneously. Grey Pupil tapped his staff on the ground, and three Sacrificial Fires immediately formed a circle, covering the Grey Fire Well disc, the Frontline Nest Hall, and the spore path respectively; Wu Fu handed the Night Wing to a Work Rat, her nest silk surging, tightly wrapping around the edge of the fire platform.

Lu Jin turned to look at the Temple Inspector, his tone unyielding: "If you want to seal it, seal the outer layer. Give me the cleansing ash material and the auxiliary examination base—either we defend it together, or you watch the contamination spread."

The Temple Inspector's face turned livid, but he hesitated and did not move—he knew clearly that Lu Jin's method was the only way out.

Without waiting for his response, Lu Jin raised his hand and summoned a grey cavity egg tray. The outer layer of the egg tray was wrapped in a cleansing ash shell, and the inside was divided into three compartments by nest silk; it was the test-cleansing tray that the Work Nest had just finished making.

"Using the empty shell as bait to lure it into the trap, and by the way, providing you with an auxiliary examination."

As soon as the egg tray was placed under the fire platform, the Outer God Probe indeed moved. Three thin filaments all veered toward the egg tray, and the thinnest one stuck directly onto the cleansing ash shell, drilling inside bit by bit.

Wu Fu's nest silk was taut, her voice fierce: "Dare to drill any deeper, and I'll crush your filaments directly!"

Grey Pupil's Sacrificial Fire pressed down simultaneously, trapping the Probe tightly near the egg tray; Wen Zhao squatted down, dropping the Line-Marking Nails one by one, and said in a low voice: "Three breaths on the disc, two breaths on the nest tendons, it stays longest at the spore shell!"

Everyone held their breath and stared—the Outer God Probe drilled into the empty shell of the egg tray. As soon as it touched the cleansing ash in the first compartment, white smoke rose; drilling to the second compartment of residual Sacrificial Fire ash, it was instantly scorched and curled up; by the third compartment of dead shell powder, it was already too weak to withstand a blow, bumping around blindly in the empty shell, completely devoid of its former arrogance.

"It can be trapped!" Wu Fu was overjoyed and was about to crush the egg tray.

"Withdraw the Sacrifice!" At Lu Jin's command, Grey Pupil's Sacrificial Fire suddenly contracted. The three fire rings squeezed inward simultaneously, forcibly scraping the black debris off the nest tendons and forcing out the black-gold aura near the disc, locking all the contamination points inside the empty shell.

Wu Fu immediately tightened the nest silk, and the egg tray snapped shut with a "pop," severing a piece of the Outer God Probe.

Just at this moment, an extremely faint chirp came from deep within the Main Stele. It was not a beast's roar, but more like a cold, sinister sneer, making everyone's scalp tingle—that thing had remembered their methods.

"Don't panic!" Lu Jin's voice was steady, his gaze sweeping across the field. "It remembered us, but we also kept a piece of it."

The Temple Inspector's expression was complex, but in the end, he raised his hand: "Auxiliary examination record: Outer God Probe sample point, contained by cleansing spore shell, contamination did not penetrate the inner cavity."

But before the record could be finished, Pei Chengxu suddenly shouted in a low voice: "The Probe hasn't retreated! It has switched to the lower old nest!"

Everyone looked down. Under the fire platform, two black-gold filaments were drilling in along the gaps of the old nest, trying to bypass the defense line! Wu Fu's expression changed drastically: "It wants to bypass from underneath; the Sacrificial Fire array cannot suppress all the bottom lines!"

Lu Jin raised his voice, his voice piercing through the entire area: "All teams in the western front area, press down on the fire lines under your feet! Whoever doesn't press down, when the contamination drills through, no one will be able to save you!"

The area was dead silent for a moment; no one dared to gamble.

Ning Yanqiu was the first to raise her hand, the Cold Mirror Sovereign Crow flapping its wings, and cold white mirror lines shot straight to the feet of several teams: "It's fine if you don't press down, but when the contamination drills through your fire lines, don't call for help."

The grey-brown short-caped youth from Beiyue Academy was the first to curse, lifting his foot and stomping down, the rock shield fire pattern pressing fiercely into the ground: "Beiyue left slope line, press!"

"Right opening, press!" The shield-bearers of the Heavy Hammer Team roared in unison, their heavy shields hitting the ground and sending dust flying; Pei Chengxu was silent for a moment, but in the end, he raised his hand: "Pei family field-sealing line, press the outer layer!"

Lu Jin's eyes narrowed as he looked at Wen Zhao: "Borrow the lines!"

Wen Zhao immediately slammed three Line-Marking Nails into the ground, borrowing the pressure of each team's fire lines to squeeze the two black-gold filaments toward the center.

Grey Pupil's Sacrificial Fire covered from above, Wu Fu's nest silk wrapped from the sides, and Lu Jin's black fire poured straight into the center of the fire platform—the three forces combined, forcibly forcing the black-gold filaments out of the ground!

"Spore shell!" Lu Jin shouted in a low voice.

Wu Fu immediately pushed over the sealed cleansing spore shell, and as soon as that piece of the Outer God Probe hit it, it was tightly wrapped by the nest silk.

Lu Jin's black fire surged, and Grey Pupil's Sacrificial Fire fell simultaneously. With a "pop," the spore shell cracked open, and a piece of black-gold fine bone was squeezed out, still wriggling slightly.

"Seal the sample!" Instructor Han Tiecheng's voice came through. "The Military Court, the Temple, and the Vanguard Group will each keep a record. The Pei family, as the assisting party, will only act as witnesses; do not touch the sample!"

The Temple Inspector stepped forward, his gaze falling on that piece of black-gold fine bone, and his expression changed abruptly—the patterns on the bone's surface were exactly the same as the contamination sample Lu Jin had previously!

Lu Jin stared at that piece of fine bone, black fire surging in the depths of his eyes.

He knew clearly that this was not the end, but only the beginning—behind the Outer God Probe lay a conspiracy even more dangerous than the old case, and that fine bone was the first rip to tear open the conspiracy.

Deep within the Main Stele, although that black-gold aura had retreated, it was like a pair of dormant eyes, staring fixedly at the Frontline Fire Platform.

In the silence of the entire area, there was only the faint sound of the Line-Marking Nails and the weak wriggling of the black-gold fine bone, signaling that a greater storm was quietly brewing.