A moment later, she closed her eyes, connecting her spiritual power with the spores, and began to receive the information they transmitted back.
Through this method, she could roughly "see" the terrain and objects within a radius of several hundred meters.
Although not very clear, it was enough to provide a basic warning function.
"No signs of hostile creatures... at least for now."
She let out a slight sigh of relief and then sank into thought.
"The experiences in the Swamp area... those Abyssal Plants responded to me in an entirely different way."
Recalling her encounters in the Swamp, Trish still felt a trace of incredulity.
When she changed her summoning method, no longer rejecting the Abyssal Energy in those plants, but instead trying to resonate with it, a miracle occurred.
"Those vines’ vitality... it was incredible. They were not only numerous but also extremely tenacious and with a strong regeneration ability."
This special connection allowed her to trap the Swamp Assembler, buying time to reach the control point.
"This might be related to my Forest Elf bloodline, perhaps... there’s some connection between Abyssal plant life and Natural Elements that we don’t yet understand?"
This discovery thrilled Trish.
This was also why she decided to take the risk of collecting those Swamp plant seeds.
They might contain secrets to further enhancing her Natural Magic.
Just as she was lost in thoughts, a new piece of information sent back by the spores caught her attention.
"Someone is coming!"
The girl immediately tensed up, her spiritual power quickly spreading out, attempting to confirm the newcomer’s identity.
A few seconds later, she relaxed — the familiar spiritual wave was indeed Ron.
But caution made her not appear immediately.
After all, in such a special environment, any carelessness could lead to fatal consequences.
She stood behind a large rock to prevent being caught off guard if the other party had any malicious intent.
"Trish!" Ron had also identified her through spiritual power probing, but didn’t approach rashly either.
In this environment, anything could be an illusion or a trap.
Trish obviously had the same concerns.
She stood still, scrutinizing Ron and Dale, her gaze filled with examination.
"Ron? Is it really you?"
Trish’s voice carried a hint of hesitation and caution.
Ron didn’t answer immediately but took out a special badge from his bosom.
This was specially issued by the School before leaving, with an anti-counterfeit engraving jointly set by Hayek and Valen, almost impossible to forge — or rather, the cost of forging far exceeded its value.
Moreover, this badge could also teleport the user out of the Bloodline Altar, though using it meant automatically forfeiting the trial.
"We agreed to meet here to form a team and face the challenges together."
Ron calmly said, displaying the badge in his palm, the rune on it lighting up upon contact with his spiritual power, forming a unique energy ripple.
Trish’s expression relaxed as she took out a similar badge from inside her robe.
When the two badges sensed each other, they emitted a faint resonance glow.
Trish finally confirmed Ron’s identity, a relieved smile appearing on her face: "So it’s really you, sorry, I had to be careful, this place is too eerie."
"It’s okay, I thought the same." Ron nodded, looking around:
"Although it seems much ’normal’ here compared to the outer areas, the more it appears that way, the more cautious we must be."
The Little Sea Siren Dale, seeing it was an ally, also breathed a sigh of relief, the water element in her hand gradually dissipating:
"Whew, scared me! I thought we’d have to fight again."
Trish’s gaze fell on Dale, with some curiosity:
"It’s said that only the champions of the Bloody Gladiatorial Games are entitled to bring an assistant into the Bloodline Altar, seems you’ve indeed used this privilege."
"That’s right." Ron nodded slightly: "With Dale here, handling some dangerous situations becomes much easier. How about on your side? What did you encounter?"
Trish thought for a moment and briefly recounted her experiences in the Swamp area.
When she mentioned how those Abyssal-contaminated vines, under her guidance, counterattacked the Swamp Assembler, a trace of surprise flashed in Ron’s eyes.
"You mean, the plants originally contaminated by the Abyss, under your guidance, not only didn’t reject you but became unusually obedient?" Ron asked thoughtfully.
"Exactly." Trish nodded, her eyes shining with excitement:
"At first, I was also very surprised. Generally, creatures contaminated by the Abyss reject normal Elemental Power, but when I tried not to resist, instead harmonizing with that power... the situation was completely different."
She took out a small glass bottle from her Storage Bag, containing several seeds emitting a purple glow:
"These are seeds collected from those vines, I believe they are valuable for studying the relationship between the Abyss and Natural Elements."
Ron’s eyes were immediately drawn to those seeds.
This special sample from the Abyss undoubtedly held high value for his current research.
He took out a few Recovery Potions and a bottle of "Spiritual Shield" in exchange for several seeds from Trish and a piece of living tissue from the "Swamp Assembler".
"I also encountered some interesting situations on my end."
Ron briefly described his experiences in the "Activated Ruins" and Twisted Battlefield, particularly mentioning the giant black formed by many Shadowmares merging.
Yet he only briefly mentioned the battle details, saying that he and Dale held it down and then quickly entered the control point.
While the two exchanged information, Trish’s spores relayed new information again.
"Someone else is coming." She immediately grew vigilant, but then relaxed: "It’s Holt."
Before long, Holt appeared through the mist.
His already thin frame looked even more fatigued, but his eyes remained vigilant.
Seeing Ron and Trish, and after mutual identity verification, he visibly relaxed.
"Finally found you guys." Holt approached, with a trace of exhaustion in his voice: "This area is so bizarre, I thought I was lost at one point."
The three exchanged their information briefly.
Holt detailed his fierce battle with Bone Worms in the canyon, and how he cleverly used the energy arrays formed by the stone pillars to repel the enemies.
"These are the crystallized bones and worm sheddings I collected there."
Holt took out two sealed containers: "Unfortunately, my Earth Elemental Golem was severely damaged in the battle, and I only managed to save the core."
Ron took the containers, examined them for a moment, then his eyes lit up:
"These crystallized bones... are invaluable. They not only have extremely high structural stability but also resonate with Elemental Energy."
He turned his gaze to Holt: "If used to repair your Earth Elemental Golem, not only could it be rapidly rebuilt, but its defense and flexibility might also be greatly enhanced."
Upon hearing this, Holt showed a look of delight: "Really? That’s wonderful!"
He pondered for a moment and made a decision:
"As thanks, we’ll split these materials seventy-thirty. After all, mutual assistance in this environment increases our chances of survival."
Then, he handed about a third of the crystallized bones and worm sheddings to Ron:
"Your discernment ability indeed leaves a strong impression."
Ron carefully put away these precious materials, outwardly thanking calmly, but internally, he was already calculating.
"These Abyssal creature components... if absorbed by the Stand-In Puppet, perhaps it could further enhance its abilities."
His gaze swept over his two companions, suddenly realizing a problem: "We’re all here, what about the other two sequence members?"
Holt shook his head: "Haven’t seen them, perhaps they chose another path, or... failed to break through the blockade of the outer areas."
Trish’s expression turned serious: "Maybe we should wait for a while? After all, more people mean more strength."
"We can’t wait any longer." Ron pointed to the mist in the distance: "Look over there, the mist is changing."
Indeed, the mist in the distance was slowly receding, revealing the faint outline of a huge structure.
"That should be the core of the Bloodline Altar."
Ron speculated: "Since the mist has begun to recede, it means the trial has entered the next stage, we must move forward."
The three exchanged glances, nodded in understanding, and proceeded towards that vaguely visible structure.
As they got closer, the mist became even thinner, and the outline of the building grew clearer.
It was a massive arena-shaped enclosure, completely composed of a semi-transparent, dark red crystal.