"Yes, Patriarch!"
Elder Gavie and Furhan didn't dare delay. Both immediately left and rushed toward Blood Battle Valley. The entire hall fell silent at once. Even Wendey had fallen asleep in Puslo's arms.
"Wendey, give me the child," Lin Lei said.
Puslo quickly handed the baby to Lin Lei. Lin Lei held his son, gazing at Dilia unconscious beside him, his heart aching.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" Several more elders arrived. They were about to speak when Gasrisen immediately sent a soul transmission: "Not a word. Lin Lei's wife was attacked by a powerful member of the 'Edric' family, one of the Eight Great Families. Those of you who consider yourselves skilled in the soul arts—go see if there's anything you can do to save her."
"You're here?" Lin Lei said, his face lighting up with hope at the sight of these elders.
"Please, come quickly—see if there's any way to save Dilia." Lin Lei now saw each new arrival and wanted to implore them to try.
The elders exchanged glances and walked over to Dilia's side. The silver-haired elder spoke: "Then let me try first." As the Second Elder, he had indeed achieved remarkable mastery over the soul.
"Puslo." Gasrisen beckoned Puslo to one side. "The Mansion Lord's…"
"This isn't the time to discuss that," Puslo said with a frown.
Gasrisen paused, then glanced at Lin Lei and nodded to Puslo. "I understand. But tell me—what exactly happened? Along the way, it was you, Vintera, and Lin Lei together. How did Dilia end up like this? Tell me everything in detail."
As patriarch, Gasrisen had already sensed something was wrong.
"Hmph. Isn't it all because of your Four Divine Beast Families and the Eight Great Families?" Puslo snorted low, clearly displeased. In his view, Lin Lei had been dragged into danger because of the Four Divine Beast Families.
Still, Puslo recounted everything in detail: "Back then, Lin Lei and I left Mill City together aboard the metal lifeform…" He described the entire sequence of events from beginning to end, leaving nothing out.
Meanwhile, the elders gathered beside Dilia took turns channeling their soul power into her mind to examine her condition.
"How is she?" Lin Lei held Wendey and watched the elders, feeling his heart pounding with dread.
"There's nothing we can do," the silver-haired elder said, shaking his head with a sigh. "Those green specks are far too tenacious—they keep devouring. But in the process of devouring and converting, they've become part of the soul itself. If we use brute force to kill and destroy those green specks, Dilia will die instantly. Saving her is extremely difficult—extremely difficult!" He said "extremely difficult" twice, then fell silent.
Lin Lei turned to look at the other elders.
They too could only shake their heads.
"Lin Lei, don't lose hope. Among our Four Divine Beast Families, the ones most accomplished in the soul arts are the Vermilion Bird Clan. They possess the ability of 'Rebirth Through Fire'—perhaps they have a way to save Dilia," the silver-haired elder said.
"Yes! Rebirth Through Fire!" A spark of hope ignited in Lin Lei's heart.
Just then, Lin Lei felt violent spatial fluctuations and turned to look. Figures were flying down from the sky one after another—at a glance, there were dozens of them.
"Big brother!" A deep, resonant voice rang out. It was the patriarch of the Black Tortoise Clan.
The patriarchs of the other three clans, along with numerous elders, had all arrived. Because of Gasrisen's summons, a large crowd flooded into the hall, their eyes immediately going to Lin Lei and Dilia.
"Puslo." Some of them had spotted him as well.
"Go quickly and look at Lin Lei's wife," Puslo urged.
"What happened to Lin Lei's wife?" the Vermilion Bird Clan patriarch asked at once.
Lin Lei stood up with his son in his arms, facing the bustling crowd before him. Every person here was an elite of the Four Divine Beast Families. He spoke immediately: "My wife suffered a soul attack from an elder of the Edric family. Please, everyone, take a look. If anyone has a way to help, I beg you—save my wife."
The elders noticed Lin Lei's haggard face and the desperation in his eyes. They could tell he was torn apart with worry.
"Everyone take turns examining her—perhaps someone among us has a solution," Gasrisen urged.
In total, the Four Divine Beast Families had only seventy or eighty elders combined. Over fifty had arrived here. Clearly, more than half had come rushing over. First, the three patriarchs took turns examining Dilia's condition.
Then elder after elder channeled their soul power to inspect the damage.
Seeing such a large crowd, Lin Lei felt a flicker of courage. "With so many people… just as I can cultivate other Laws, perhaps among the elders, some have also studied the Laws of Life. Maybe someone can save Dilia. And there's the Vermilion Bird Clan patriarch—their clan possesses 'Rebirth Through Fire.' If they can save themselves, perhaps they can save others too."
Holding his son, Lin Lei watched each elder with desperate hope.
Like a drowning man clinging to every piece of driftwood he could see.
Puslo observed Lin Lei's expression and couldn't help but recall the first time they'd met. Back then, even when trapped in dire circumstances, Lin Lei had never lost his composure like this. "Sigh…" Puslo sighed inwardly.
Before long, all the elders had finished their examinations. Many among them were well-versed in soul arts, yet every one of them frowned or shook their head. Lin Lei watched the face of each elder, and every time he saw that shake of the head and sigh, he felt a stab of pain in his heart.
"Well?" Lin Lei's voice had gone hoarse. His eyes were locked on the Vermilion Bird Clan patriarch.
The Vermilion Bird patriarch turned to the others. "Does anyone have an idea? Fourth brother, you're quite skilled with the soul arts—do you have any solution?"
"It's too bizarre. I've never encountered an attack like this," said the burly, brown-haired man with a deep frown. "To save Dilia, we'd have to follow the same gradual process as the devouring itself—treat her step by step, reversing the absorption little by little, converting the devouring green specks back into soul energy. And… during the entire treatment, there cannot be the slightest error. If the energy leaks into the soul, the soul could collapse entirely. It's hard, it's hard, it's impossibly hard!"