Chapter 236

Chapter 236: Purifying Fruit

In the deep forest.

If she let her aura spread without restraint, the nearby Soul Beasts would rush to attack.

And when these Soul Beasts died, after a while they would be reborn at the place where they fell.

Being able to fight again and again without stopping felt truly exciting.

Li Shuang moved through the Soul Prison, hunting Soul Beasts as she went.

That strange radiance kept building up, and the changes in the Azure Lotus grew more obvious.

Three months later.

Li Shuang swung her sword and cut down a Soul Beast.

Her luck was good. The Soul Beast dropped a crystal, and she put it away without a second thought.

After storing the crystal, Li Shuang was about to continue searching for more Soul Beasts.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her, and her vision blurred.

Her expression shifted.

[What is going on? Did I get hit without even noticing?]

She quickly spent Value Points and asked the Heaven and Earth Furnace to check her condition.

The result surprised her.

She had been tainted by miasma.

In this dense forest, black miasma surged out at all times. Before entering the Soul Prison, Li Shuang had already learned about this.

Once affected by the miasma, one’s soul would be polluted.

Depending on their methods, different Cultivators could endure the pollution for different lengths of time.

But most Cultivators had to return to Myriad Arts City every month or two.

Otherwise, once the pollution grew heavy enough, they might not even have the strength to leave.

Li Shuang’s soul was stronger than most. She had held out for three full months before feeling dizzy for the first time.

She grew alert.

While hunting Soul Beasts she had tried to avoid the thick, sudden clouds of miasma.

But no matter how careful she was, the whole Soul Prison belonged to the miasma. Even without direct contact, its influence seeped in little by little.

Now her soul had begun to be polluted.

Once a crack opened, the corruption would only spread faster.

If she kept forcing herself forward, her life might be at risk.

From the information Li Shuang gathered earlier, once symptoms appeared, most people fell into madness within seven days.

In a place like this, losing your mind meant facing true Avici Hell.

Once tainted by miasma, even after returning to Myriad Arts City, you had to go into seclusion for some time to drive it out.

That seclusion took three to four months.

So, although the Soul Prison was always open, most people could not enter it whenever they wished.

There were also people who stayed in the Soul Prison for a long time.

They relied on a strange fruit called the Purifying Fruit.

This fruit was worthless in the outside world, but in Myriad Arts City it was hard currency.

Its effect was simple: it cleared miasma at once.

The only way to obtain a Purifying Fruit was to exchange Merit Points for it at the Hall of Myriad Arts.

The City Lord of Myriad Arts City seemed to have an endless supply. People had been redeeming them for thousands of years, and the stock still showed no sign of running out.

One Purifying Fruit cost ten thousand Merit Points.

The price was steep.

But no one said it was not worth it.

Taking a single Purifying Fruit cleared the miasma immediately and, for the next three months, blocked the miasma’s erosion.

A place like the Soul Prison was both danger and opportunity.

Those with Merit Points usually bought one or two Purifying Fruits to keep on hand.

In a place that tempered the soul like this, staying even one more moment meant one more moment of progress.

Li Shuang had already spent all her Merit Points, so she could not afford the Purifying Fruit.

Luckily, the Compendium of Marvels recorded this fruit in full detail.

Li Shuang pictured the Purifying Fruit’s look and effects in her mind and asked the Heaven and Earth Furnace to exchange for one.

The Heaven and Earth Furnace gave its price.

One thousand Value Points for a single Purifying Fruit.

That was the price of one plate of food in Gluttony Hell. By comparison, it was far cheaper than paying with Merit Points.

Li Shuang exchanged for one Purifying Fruit and swallowed it right away.

As soon as it reached her belly, it turned into sweet water that slid down her throat.

In the next moment, all negative states cleared. Her soul returned to peak condition.

On top of that, the effect would last for the next three months.

Without hesitation, Li Shuang went deeper into the forest to hunt the next wave of Soul Beasts.

With the Heaven and Earth Furnace, she could stay here for a very, very long time.

Her plan was to return to Myriad Arts City one month before the Golden Soul Altar opened to rest.

The rest of the time, she would not waste on travel.

Myriad Arts City.

A man looked nervously at the woman before him and asked: “Elder, why did you come in person?”

The Eclipse Moon Sect had ten Grand Elders. The woman before him ranked third among them. Her dao name was Ancestor Xuan Wei.

Why would someone like her come to Myriad Arts City herself, and even meet with a small figure like him? [Did I mess up my work lately?]

[No, even if I made a big mistake, she would not come in person.]

His thoughts tangled, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Ancestor Xuan Wei looked at him without expression and asked in a calm voice: “You are stationed here to search for talented newcomers for the sect, yes?”

“Yes,” the man said, his voice shaking: “Elder, I know I haven’t brought in any talents lately. Please give me another chance. Give me a little more time, and I will definitely—”

“Do you know Li?” Ancestor Xuan Wei cut him off, a hint of impatience in her tone.

“Li?” The man froze.

The topic had turned suddenly, but he really did know of this Li.

He gathered himself and answered at once: “Elder, I do know a few things about Li.”

Ancestor Xuan Wei’s gaze turned cold as she said: “Speak.”

Killing intent weighed in her voice.

Who was she?

A Tribulation Crossing Stage Ancestor.

In Gluttony Hell, she had suffered a huge loss at the hands of a junior.

She had lost a split soul, lost a Devil Path pawn hidden among the Righteous Path, and even lost a Disciple on the Genius Ranking from her Eclipse Moon Sect.

Rou Shan was near the bottom of the Genius Ranking. In a super sect, that might not matter much. But the Eclipse Moon Sect was only a High-tier Sect. Losing a genius like that was painful.

Every one of these debts would be collected from Li.

Most important of all.

Li carried a Supreme Ice Spiritual Root.

If it was not taken out right away the effect might be a little worse, but it was still a Supreme Spiritual Root.

Even with some loss, it was far better than other roots.

But there was a time limit.

Three years.

In three years, the new root would fully merge with the Cultivator. After that, it could not be dug out at all.