Very good, initial results achieved," Su Yu thought to himself.
[Strike the Undead]
His eyes narrowed, and a beam of pure positive energy shot out, accurately striking one of the evil spirits.
The
evil spirit let out a scream unlike any living being, its body rapidly melting like snow under the scorching sun, finally turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating into the air.
The spiritual light on the magic circle chains dimmed slightly, then completely disappeared, returning to the magic circle.
[Strike the Undead]
[Strike the Undead]
Su Yu didn't pause, releasing two more spells in quick succession, and two more bound evil spirits followed in the footsteps of the first, turning into black smoke and dissipating.
However, the surrounding environment did not change abnormally; neither was the aura of a more powerful evil spirit disturbed, nor did any familiar, chilling energy fluctuations gather.
"Very good!"
Seeing this, a knowing smile appeared on Su Yu's lips.
"It seems the appearance of the spirit tide does indeed have a cooldown period."
The so-called spirit tide is a phenomenon summarized after numerous experiments and lessons learned—when too many evil spirits are killed in the same area within a short period of time, it triggers a strong backlash from some unknown source, from a deeper shadow plane or the origin of the evil spirits.
At that time, not only will a large number of evil spirits emerge like a tide, but also fierce spirits with strength far exceeding ordinary ones will appear. Last time, when dealing with the mission at the Tide Temple, he almost capsized.
And his previous large-scale extermination of the Witch Forest was getting closer and closer to this critical point.
Therefore, Su Yu wisely stopped and temporarily left Myron Island for Green Vine Academy in Blackshire.
It seems that this interval allowed the spirit tide's "cooldown period" to pass, and now that he has resumed hunting, there is no risk of triggering a large-scale backlash for the time being.
"Everything went smoothly." Su Yu turned around and said to Lan Mei, who had been waiting silently, his tone somewhat relaxed.
Lan Mei smiled upon hearing this.
She stepped forward and handed Su Yu a wicker basket she had been carrying: "Su Yu, this is some food and drinks I prepared for you. You can replenish your energy after the hunt."
Su Yu took the basket, feeling the warmth of the food inside and smelling its aroma, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart: "Thank you, Miss Lanmei."
"You're welcome." Lan Mei smiled and shook her head. She nodded slightly to Su Yu, then turned and, just as she had come, silently blended into the forest night, quickly disappearing from sight.
Every mage has their own secrets and rituals, and she clearly didn't want to pry too much.
Su Yu watched the direction Lan Mei had left in, quite admiring the witch's sense of propriety.
He put the basket aside and issued an order: "System, based on my previous observations, experimental data, and preliminary speculations about the spirit tide phenomenon, write a paper on the spirit tide mechanism, cooldown period, and coping strategies."
[System received task: Write an academic paper on the spirit tide phenomenon]
The system notification sounded.
Su Yu nodded in satisfaction; the system's efficiency was always very high.
He turned to look into the depths of the forest, a cold glint in his eyes.
Now that the risk of the spirit tide had temporarily subsided, there was no need to keep the remaining evil spirits around.
"As long as it's not a concentrated attack by a spiritual tide, these evil spirits, even if the rest are malevolent and vicious, can be wiped out in one fell swoop."
"I'll destroy you all within three days,"
Su Yu thought to himself.
After all, he had more important things to do and couldn't waste too much time here.
That newly arrived "Mr. Zheng Jinchuan" on Myron Island was truly terrifying; he possessed the power to silently erase or even modify the memories of an entire ship's crew. Such methods were impossible to defend against, and the potential threat was immeasurable.
He had to closely monitor his every move to prevent him from causing any major trouble on the island and find an opportunity to kill him with lightning speed.
Cleansing these evil spirits was also to allow him to focus more on dealing with the threat posed by "Mr. Zheng Jinchuan."
Su Yu's eyes sharpened, and he no longer hesitated.
"Disperse them in batches, divide and conquer."
"Catch them all in one fell swoop."
"After this period of time, the courtyard system's Black Rose and Angel Statue have been able to rest and recover, and are fully capable of dealing with this wave of evil spirits."
He entered again, and in an instant, the decoy array emitted a dazzling spiritual light, alarming all the evil spirits in the Witch Forest.
They surged from all directions towards one place.
But it was clear that even if they were all alarmed, the stronger the evil spirit, the slower its pace, seemingly confused.
It smelled wonderful, yet it also smelled terrible, causing the evil spirits considerable distress.
But the weaker evil spirits only smelled the alluring fragrance.
"So fragrant!"
they cried, surging forward, roaring and howling, charging towards the deadly light… Unlike the
eerie and sinister Witch's Forest of Myron Island, the Tranquil Forest of Blackshire
, though also shrouded in the gray mist of night, possessed a unique vitality.
Moonlight bathed every inch of the forest floor.
Cheng Qiaoqiao hummed an off-key, slightly playful tune as she busied herself under the moonlight.
She was tending to a sizable black rose garden.
Through careful cultivation and magical enhancement, the black roses in this garden were thriving.
Cheng Qiaoqiao could even pinpoint their exact number—exactly four hundred and sixty-seven plants.
Even though winter had arrived and the winds were howling, the Tranquil Forest, or rather the Witches' Guild, spared no expense in constructing a massive canopy over the entire garden using large, highly transparent panes of glass—a rarity in this era—to keep out the cold and snow.
A temperature-controlled magic array was also set up inside, ensuring the interior
remained at the optimal temperature for the black roses to grow.
Each black rose was unique in form; some had thicker branches, while others remained slender, but they all shared the common feature of having flower buds.
The ominous and corrosive gray mist that permeated the Tranquil Forest automatically purified and dissolved upon approaching the black rose garden.
The gray mist that had almost completely enveloped the entire Tranquil Forest was almost entirely purified within the rose garden's boundaries.
Therefore, the garden and a small area around it presented a scene completely different from the rest of the forest—full of thriving natural life.
Under the moonlight, a group of figures slowly approached the rose garden.
They were witches who had come to the Tranquil Forest for healing.
Initially, there were only five or six spots available, but now the number has grown to eleven.
They all wore dark cloaks, concealing their figures and faces beneath the hoods, revealing only pairs of expectant eyes.
They lined up quietly, entering the glass-enclosed garden one by one.
Some ancient stone stools were placed in the garden; the witches each found a stool, sat down, closed their eyes, and relaxed.
As soon as they sat down, the black roses in the garden seemed to sense their presence, immediately emitting a soft, warm white light.
These faint lights, as if possessing life, transformed into countless tiny specks of light, slowly seeping into the bodies of each witch.
The witches almost simultaneously let out a muffled groan, their bodies trembling slightly.
Some gaps appeared, revealing strange scales on their skin, and even twisted, deformed limbs.
"It hurts!"
"But, it's so good!"
Wisps of gray energy were drawn out and purified by the white light.
Nature itself was corrupted, and thus the witches were inevitably corrupted as well. In severe cases, this resulted in mutated limbs, bringing them close to the final mutation, leaving many witches with no choice but to await death.
While the scales and twisted limbs cannot be repaired immediately, the mutation leading to the abyss has been halted.
With long-term healing, it might even be possible to reverse the damage.
This is the miraculous power of the Black Rose; it not only purifies the gray mist but also nourishes and repairs the witches' damaged bodies and souls.
This Black Rose garden has become a sacred place in the hearts of these witches.