Chapter 614: Corruption
Xue Wei's brows were slightly furrowed as he kept an eye on every move that Bai Tianyi made. Although he knew the risks involved, they had no other option than to try and figure out the secrets hidden deep within this zone.
If possible, he would have ignored it and kept moving forward, but a nagging sensation kept telling him that this zone was different from the others. If he wanted to leave, he would have to shatter the illusion of it being perfect.
So far, apart from the strange intuition that everything was fake, only these flowers had shown their difference, which made Xue Wei assume that their escape from this area would be connected to the said flower.
However, it did not take long for them to realize that when Bai Tianyi began to absorb the soul power, a huge change happened in the area.
The previously clear skies became overcast, and the gentle breeze turned into gusts of wind. The temperatures dropped and even the fake feeling of comfort vanished. It was clear that these changes had not happened when Xue Wei was trying to absorb the energy from these flowers.
"Stop him." Xue Wei had noticed the many changes in the surroundings, but his eyes had never left Bai Tianyi throughout the whole process, and he began to be worried.
Before Bai Tianyi had begun absorbing the energy, it was clear that the tempting soul power within was enough to make him eager and a bit impatient, however, after he began absorbing, his facial expression had turned calm and unmowing.
If this was any other time, Xue Wei would not have noticed, but no matter how focused he was during cultivation, many things could influence one's ability to refine energy, and when considering the earlier obsession, his expression was now too calm. Something was definitely wrong.
Ling Xiao was also quick at responding, and he waved his staff before the others had the time to react.
The staff was made from wood and seemingly not able to do as much damage as the bladed weapons, but one should not underestimate the sheer destruction this staff could cause when used right.
No one was more familiar with staves than Ling Xiao, and Hei Gou could not help but wince slightly as he looked at the quickly descending staff that hit Bai Tianyi on top of his head.
Although Hei Gou knew that Bai Tianyi was a spirit, and that his body was made from energy and that this hit would at most make him lose consciousness, the body would not be destroyed. Even so, the pain that was accompanied by such a hit was not to be belittled.
Thump!
The sound of the wooden staff hitting Bai Tianyi's head was loud and managed to make him lose consciousness right away, and this caused a domino effect, as the gusts stopped and became a gentle breeze once more. The sun came out from behind the clouds, and even the tranquil feeling returned.
The change between the two situations was simply so extreme that the others were shocked to their cores.
"I guess that this zone has some prejudice against spirits." Luoluo could just gulp as she looked at the sudden change in the weather, and she once more looked at the little beautiful flower in front of her that kept luring her closer.
However, while she previously had a very hard time fighting against the temptation, she now felt more grounded. Although she was eager to absorb this energy, she had to stay alive first. Her reasoning had lowered the eagerness significantly, and she went to Bai Tianyi's side instead.
As a spirit, Luoluo had a better understanding of spirits, and she was quick to check if he had suffered any damage.
"His spiritual energy has increased drastically, but the soul power he absorbed is not pure. I am afraid that if we do not get rid of the impurities quickly, his spiritual core might become corrupted."
Xue Wei did not know much about spirits, but the word corruption alone was enough to make him feel wary.
"A spirit is created from pure energy, but anything can become a spirit, if enough time and energy is used to nurture it. Bai Tianyi is a sword spirit, and his core is still the sword itself.
"However, when a spirit's core becomes corrupted, then the spirit will lose itself and become a creature that will either be controlled by others, or simply lose its mind and wantonly seek to kill and absorb more energy to fuel the urge for power."
Luoluo's brows were furrowed as she looked at Bai Tianyi. The two of them were spirits, but their cores were different. Even so, the stronger a spirit was, the more important the core became, and thus she felt that Bai Tianyi's situation could be considered dangerous, but she was also relieved that he had just recently become a true spirit.
If it had been her, then the corruption would have already taken hold. However, even though Bai Tianyi had been considered a spirit for long, he was more identical to an artificial one, and thus his core was still fairly new after his transformation. The impurities had still not stained him.
"How do we remove the impurities?" Although Xue Wei was not a spirit, he had a great understanding of how dangerous the situation could become.
When cultivators consumed pills, they also had to remove the impurities, or their futures would be severely affected. No matter who they were, they knew how to value themselves, and this was merely their bodies. It was easy to guess that the core of a spirit would suffer greatly if corrupted.