The figure of the Great Artisan God had already charged toward that filthy dark red slurry lake.
His fists alone came down like giant hammers, smashing fiercely into the pitch-black tentacles surging from the slurry lake—tentacles formed of solidified blood clots and metal fragments.
A dull, pounding crash erupted alongside a sickening screech of twisting metal.
The tentacles shattered on impact, filthy slurry splattering everywhere, yet it was instantly reduced to dust as it approached the Great Artisan God.
However, more tentacles surged endlessly from beneath the rolling, viscous surface.
Accompanied by piercing shrieks, they wove together into a vast, stinking net.
Muxuan’s heart sank as she watched that net.
The light from the crystal flickered violently under the shroud of filth, like a heart in its death throes.
She could clearly sense the agonized wails emanating from within the crystal, along with countless thin, thread-like streams of purple-black energy being drawn out from its core to empower the tentacles attacking the Great Artisan God.
“Sacred Word: Judgment!”
Muxuan swung her crosier swiftly.
Lightforce gathered faster than before, condensing into a massive sword of light that shot forth.
After severing the sticky mass hurtling toward her, Muxuan’s figure suddenly surged forward.
At the same time, more pitch-black tentacles rushed at her.
“Holy Hymn: Ensemble!”
Her gaze sharpened.
Muxuan held nothing back.
A flood of light points rapidly emerged, striking the tentacles in an instant, locking them in place.
Then, using the rock spikes the Great Artisan God had raised as a springboard, she quickly closed in on the clear, translucent crimson crystal.
But before she could get close, the Great Artisan God let out a muffled grunt.
Following that, an immense, unbearable pressure suddenly appeared, crashing down heavily on Muxuan.
Muxuan quickly landed and steadied herself, struggling to look at the Great Artisan God.
There he was, kneeling on one knee, barely able to straighten himself.
The ground beneath him had already been crushed into a massive crater.
It wasn’t hard to tell that the pressure on him was nearly ten times what she was enduring.
This pressure attacked not only the body but also the mind, carrying a dense, suffocating malice.
The Great Artisan God let out a suppressed roar, like the grinding of rock.
His skin cracked inch by inch, oozing dark red blood.
He tried to lift his other leg, but the rock platform beneath his knee collapsed another foot with a thunderous crash, and spiderweb-like fissures spread wildly.
Muxuan wasn’t faring any better.
Beneath her disguise, all color had drained from her small face.
The golden light in her eyes flickered unsteadily.
Her body felt as if it were filled with lead, each breath pulling at sharp pain.
The meager Lightforce inside her boiled violently under this terrifying pressure, on the verge of spiraling out of control.
The light at the tip of her crosier grew faint.
She kept adjusting her breathing.
Then, to her slight astonishment, the Great Artisan God slowly rose to his feet and, with great difficulty, took two steps forward.
Every step he took caused the ground to collapse beneath him.
Just as the net in the air descended, the Great Artisan God slammed his hands onto the ground.
Rock spikes thrust upward against the immense pressure, forcefully holding that vast net in place.
His voice seemed to grind out from between clenched teeth, each word carrying the weight and pain of rock scraping together.
Every muscle bulged, veins like dragons bulging beneath his skin.
The cracked wounds oozed dark red blood, and the platform under his feet groaned under the terrifying pressure, sounding ready to give way.
Muxuan felt the pressure around her suddenly lighten.
Though the suffocating malice and heaviness hadn’t vanished entirely, she could now move freely.
Without hesitation, she seized the opportunity and charged toward the crimson crystal at top speed.
But the closer she got, the denser the Corruption became, like parasitic leeches clinging to the crystal, constantly siphoning its power and making her progress even harder.
The Corruption had nearly solidified!
“Sacred Hearing: Hall of Light!”
Muxuan had made her decision.
A massive amount of Faith Power was once again converted into Lightforce, pouring out endlessly from within her.
In an instant, she constructed a vast, pure-white palace.
Unlike before, this palace contained an even richer concentration of Lightforce, almost completely neutralizing the Corruption swirling around the crystal.
But this move seemed to provoke the dense malice.
Magma erupted in an instant!
The pressure that had been on the Great Artisan God was now entirely transferred onto Muxuan.
Terrifying pressure, like an invisible mountain, slammed fiercely into the [Hall of Light] she had raised.
The palace of pure light trembled violently, emitting a strained hum.
Muxuan’s vision was instantly filled with twisted purple-black streams of light, and her ears rang with the cacophony of grinding rock and twisting metal.
She let out a muffled grunt.
A sweet, metallic taste surged into her throat, but she forced it down.
“Cough… cough…”
With the pressure shifted, the Great Artisan God could catch his breath.
He had underestimated the determination of those goblins to deal with the Wonder Building.
Watching Muxuan struggle to hold on, and seeing the crystal once again covered in viscous, vein-like Corruption, the Great Artisan God’s heart nearly sank to rock bottom.
A decision had to be made.
He slowly stood up, ready to act, but then saw Muxuan’s light erupt once more, without regard for cost.
Chaotic, disorderly forces constantly battered her spirit.
Despite the pain, she knew—they couldn’t drag this out any longer!
With her resolve set, she frantically converted half her stored Faith Power into Lightforce and released it all.
The disguise on her body could no longer hold and was torn apart with a blast.
“Holy Brilliance: Coronation!”
Under the reckless infusion of Lightforce, the phantom of an angel took shape with incredible speed.
Six pairs of wings woven from pure Lightforce burst open.
Every feather flowed with liquid golden light, illuminating the entire filthy space as if a divine kingdom had descended.
A sacred, ethereal hymn echoed across the island, as if countless angels were singing in chorus.
The immense, suffocating malice let out a sharp hiss in this radiance, as if being scorched and dissolved.
The purple-black Corruption covering the crimson crystal writhed violently and shrank, like shadows beneath a blazing sun.
The Great Artisan God’s pupils suddenly contracted.
An uncontrollable shock spread across his face.
But he seized the moment, launching his figure like a shot.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the crimson crystal.
Muscles bulged in his arms, and with the most direct, brutal method, he tore the crystal free from the Corruption.
A flicker of relief settled in his heart.
He looked toward Muxuan again, then dropped to his knees without hesitation.
“Your Highness, the Saintess…”
“So, you’ve been here all along.”