Frost Flower climbed up Aelia's skirt, while Luna Chubby's small hand clutched a strand of silver hair like a reins.
The unique scent of milk mixed with Magic Crystal Dust rose in light purple mist before the mural.
"Three Hundred Years Ago, the Crypt Dome depicted the Moon Goddess Festival." Qin Si's fingertip brushed over the fragmented painting, faded gold dust cascading onto Luna's tiger-headed shoes. "Legend has it that when seven falling stars descend upon the Magic Castle, the Saint Maiden in the mural will..."
Lucius suddenly wrapped Luna in his cloak as Dark Magic shattered three Light-Eating Moths that had emerged from the mural.
The Illumination Spell at the tip of Aelia's wand illuminated the Dome—where the Saint Maiden, who should have been holding a Laurel Branch, was instead bound by chains, and the Holy Grail in her arms oozed black slime.
"These repair marks are the work of my grandfather's generation." The elder brother's wheelchair rolled over shards of Shattered Crystal as his withered fingers traced the poorly covered Dark Pattern along the edge of the mural. "Back then, they excavated the core of the Crypt, the Eternal Night Stone, and filled the void with inferior Moonlight Stones."
The Second Brother suddenly clutched his heart and stepped back, feeling the Healer's Badge on his chest grow hot.
The Young Mage in the mural dissipated into stars, reminding him of his dear friend who transformed into Ying Huo on his deathbed. The pretend healing that was actually corrosive Poison Curse mirrored the dark mist surging on the wall at this moment.
"Immediately recall all Sacred Artifacts scattered outside the Crypt!" Aelia's Transmitting Spell startled a Shadow Bat resting among Liang Zhu; those bloodsucking creatures still bore traces of Dragon Blood from last night's banquet on their wings.
As she turned to face her husband's secretly nurtured illegitimate faction, her Emerald Eyes shimmered with a Dragon Scale Pattern: "Especially the Zhenhun Bell that was made into a Newborn Heirloom three years ago."
Lucius suddenly grasped Luna's small hand as she tried to catch the dark mist. The ancient Spell that slipped from baby Yi Ya’s lips unexpectedly caused a Sacrifice altar long sealed away to rise from underground.
He lowered his gaze to hide the turbulent undercurrents within; this infant girl, who should have been strangled in his Original form, was now gnawing at his sleeve's Curse Runes with her Milk Tooth smeared with Honey Biscuit Crumbs.
Seven Days later, when the last piece of Eternal Night Stone returned to the Crypt’s focal point, Luna was cradled by her elder brother in the center of the altar.
The Disabled Mage’s trembling fingertip touched baby Mei Xin, pure magic flowing through Luna’s chewed Teething Biscuit activated the Star Map of the Crypt Dome automatically.
Countless beams of light pierced through the Magic Fortress Barrier, but just as the Purification Array was about to be completed by Shan Na, the entire Crypt suddenly sank three zhang, and the altar where the Saintess Mural had just awakened was once again shrouded in Shadow.
The Prophecy Crystal held by Second Brother reflected a distorted image of Leonard's Last Night: the Plague, which should have dissipated, transformed into a Two-Headed Serpent, greedily devouring the Magic Fortress Leyline.
"The Sacred Artifact's Resonance has triggered a magical Tide that has collapsed the Crypt's Base." Brother San slammed the Surveying Scroll onto the ground littered with ineffective Purification Runes. His long-neglected Elemental Perception now pierced through his Nerves: "Geopathic Pollution is three times deeper than anticipated; those black mists... are mimicking our purification frequency."
Luna suddenly laughed at the Dragon Blood Stain on Lucius's collar, her infant eyes reflecting a starry sky where shadows of Twelve Wings flitted by.
She pretended to playfully tap the edge of the altar, but in reality, she was inscribing a half-formed Summoning Array into the stone bricks using memories from her past life—specifically, the Forbidden Totem from the Original where the demon god descended.
"Perhaps we need a more ancient method of purification." Lucius seemingly unintentionally obscured Luna's traces; as his black robe swept across the Sacrifice platform, Dark Magic Power silently filled in the missing runes of the array.
When he picked up Luna, who was drooling at the Saintess Mural, the Dark Moon Birthmark emerging on her neck resonated with the chains of the mural.
Aelia leaned against a broken Moonlight Pillar, her fatigue from continuously activating the Dragon Slayer Formation made her unaware that the tips of her hair were fading to an ominous gray-white.
She gazed at the Crypt Dome once again enveloped in black mist, and suddenly, a petal from the rose blooming at the tip of her wand fell.
"Mother, the Purifying Grass in the West Corridor..." Brother San's voice was abruptly cut off by a shattering Transmitting Stone. In Leonard's Last Night that followed, a Teething Biscuit smeared with Luna's drool was heating up at the array's center, while explosions echoed from Prophecy Temple a hundred miles away.
The dust and mist stirred up by the sinking Crypt had yet to settle when Brother San's shattered Transmitting Stone suddenly overflowed with Dark Red Blood Mist.
Aelia lifted a wisp of mist with her wand; her Emerald Pupils reflected the fallen Purifying Grass in the West Corridor—those leaves that should have emitted Moon White fluorescence were now curled into a pitch-black viper Serpent Pattern.
"Mother!" Brother San stumbled as he crashed through Zhen Chan's stone door, the Magic Runes floating on the Surveying Scroll disintegrating in waves.
For years, his right hand, gripped by Ailina's Burn, clawed at the air as if trying to crush the vanishing Magic Silk Threads. "All the Starshine Wine sealed in the Wine Cellar has gone sour, and the Unicorn Cub in the Stable is... gnawing at its own horn."
Luna, cradled in Lucius's arms, suddenly tugged at his cascading silver hair. The infant's Fingertip burst forth with Xing Mang, briefly illuminating the East Corridor.
Only then did everyone see the writhing shadows on the stone wall—those once vibrant Magic Castle Crests and Reliefs from last night were now peeling away like a hollowed-out beehive.
The Healer's Badge of Second Brother suddenly burned through the Cloth and fell, its silver surface Emerging with the same Hei Ban as when his dear friend lay dying years ago.
"Geopathic Pollution is consuming Elemental Origin." The elder brother's gaunt Palm rested on the Wheelchair Armrest made of Eternal Night Stone, a Legendary Magic Stone that once summoned fierce Wind and Snow, now cracked with Spider Web-like fissures across his Palm.
As the Wheelchair rolled over the scattered Shattered Crystals, the Magic Dust that should have floated instead sank into the Earth Rift like ordinary Sandy Gravel.
A sudden thud echoed from outside the Crypt as a Heavy Object hit the ground.
Qin Si burst in, her blood-stained Skirt in hand. The other Jade Hairpin in her hair had faded to a ghostly white. "The Frostwolf Guard at Lord's Private Vault... their Elemental Armor is melting!" Dark Purple Marks were Emerging on the Maid’s neck, remnants of the Curse Mark left by Leonard's Pearl Necklace three years ago.
Aelia’s wand lost two more petals from its rose tip; the grayish-white of her Hair Tips had spread to her ears.
When cries of a Child echoed from the West Tower, the Lady of the Fortress suddenly pierced her Palm with Ailya's White Nails stained with cochineal. The Dragon Blood Curse traced a broken Dragon Slayer Formation in midair. "Years ago, they severed Geomancy to expand the Banquet Hall; now it seems the entire Magic Castle will pay for it!"
Luna suddenly blew bubbles at Brother San's right hand, tainted by Ailina's Burn. The infant pressed her Palm, dusted with Honey Biscuit Crumbs, against his twisted knuckles.
Memories of the Former Great Mage surged within the Milk Fragrance—Brother San had completely lost his Elemental Perception during this Plague and ultimately became a skeletal Puppet due to black Magic Backlash.
"Yee... Ah!" Luna suddenly tugged at Lucius's silver hair, pointing towards the altar, while Chubby's little legs kicked out in an arcane track.
The incomplete Summoning Array oozed Dark Golden Liquid under her kicks, and the Twelve Rays of Xing Mang projected from the dark moon birthmark on the infant's neck onto the Saintess Mural.
Aelia's Dragon Slayer Formation abruptly turned towards the altar, illuminating the Taboo Rune that Lucius had secretly completed in stark detail.
As Leonard's cold laughter echoed from the shadows, the armrest of Brother's wheelchair exploded with a thunderous crack.
The Lord's cloak, embroidered with Gold Thread, swept across the chaotic ground, and those Teething Biscuits tainted by Luna's saliva melted into asphalt-like substance beneath his feet. "You all might as well save your energy; the sages of the Prophecy Temple have already..."
His unfinished words were abruptly cut off by Luna's sudden Loud Cry.
In the reflection of the starry sky swirling in the infant's eyes, the silhouette of Twelve Wings became three times clearer than before.
As Lucius wrapped his cloak around Luna, Dark Magic Power seeped into the Summoning Array through the bite marks on the infant, and suddenly, the long-sealed Saintess Mural began to flow with Blood Tears.
"Perhaps..." Lucius's pale fingertip brushed against Luna's pulsing dark moon birthmark, his voice soft as if afraid to awaken some ancient being. "It is time for the true master of the Crypt to judge the sins."
The rose at the tip of Aelia's wand suddenly wilted significantly. In her gradually blurring vision, she saw Luna pressing her small hand stained with Dragon Blood against her brother's crippled knees.
The Luna birthmark on the infant’s neck resonated with the Hei Ban on Second Brother’s chest, while Brother San’s right hand absentmindedly traced in the air—drawing forth a false Elemental Totem that had misled him into neglecting his cultivation years ago.
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