Chapter 48 Spirit Officer

"Ahem! Not bad, not bad! It's your first time, so it's like this for everyone! Feeling a bit nauseous is perfectly normal! Once you, kid, have killed enough of these monsters, these discordant sounds will be no different from the buzzing of mosquitoes, and you won't even bother to lift an eyelid!"

Fu Lianchuan tried to use his experience as a veteran to cover up his inner imbalance.

"Pfft, hahaha! Fu Lianchuan, just keep acting tough!" Du San, a loudmouth who couldn't keep anything to himself, immediately burst into laughter, bending over at the sight of Fu Lianchuan's forced attempt to save Face.

Yun Bai looked at Du San with a puzzled expression.

Du San pointed at Fu Lianchuan, unable to hold back his laughter: "Still 'buzzing of mosquitoes'? Have you forgotten what a pathetic state you were in the first time you were hit by Devilish Qi? Back then, let alone the buzzing of mosquitoes, I think you even forgot your own surname! Hahaha!"

Fu Lianchuan's Face turned bright red in an instant, and he glared at Du San in shame and annoyance: "Old Du! Shut your mouth! Why bring up such ancient history!"

That memory was definitely an unforgettable "dark history" for him; he couldn't forget it even if he wanted to.

Du San, however, got excited and vividly exposed Fu Lianchuan's shortcomings to Yun Bai: "Yun Bai, don't let him fool you! You don't know, but back then, our Brother Fu Lianchuan, the first time he went on a mission with the Captain, had the bad luck of running into a 'Rotten Swamp Lizard' that had just died! The Devilish Qi from that thing after it died, tsk tsk, was fishy, stinky, and even hallucinogenic!"

He mimicked Fu Lianchuan's appearance at the time, his eyes unfocused, body swaying, making a look of sheer terror: "Goodness! Our Brother Fu Lianchuan fell for it on the spot! Li Ying was still a trainee Spirit Official then, and she was so anxious that she hurriedly took out 'Heart-Cleansing Water' and dabbed it on his forehead again and again—she used seven or eight drops!"

"And the result? Useless! Brother Fu Lianchuan was like a soul who had lost his way, hugging a nearby tree, crying his eyes out, and shouting, 'Mother! Don't go! Mother! There's a monster catching you!' His Face was covered in snot and tears—it was miserable!"

Fu Lianchuan listened until his Face was flushed, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he shouted: "Old Du! If you say another word, I'll fight you to the death!"

Du San hid behind Captain Zeng Fu and continued laughing: "What happened next? Li Ying's purifying water didn't work, and seeing Fu Lianchuan about to smash his own head against the tree, our Captain made a decisive move!"

Du San made a punching motion: "He went up and gave him a 'head-clearing' session! A slap on the left, 'Slap!' A slap on the right, 'Slap!' Plus a kick to the butt, 'Bang!' That sound, tsk tsk, it sounded painful just listening to it!"

Captain Zeng Fu's mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile, as if he also remembered the scene from that time.

Du San imitated Captain Zeng Fu's deep, serious tone from back then: "'Fu Lianchuan! Wake up for me! Your mother is waiting for you to eat at home!' Just like that, with shouting and hitting, every punch landing on flesh, every kick whistling through the air! After tossing him about for nearly half an incense stick of time, he finally 'beat' our Brother Fu Lianchuan awake from that demonic obsession! After waking up, half of Brother Fu Lianchuan's Face was swollen like a steamed bun, and his butt hurt so much he couldn't sit on a stool for three days! Hahaha!"

Fu Lianchuan was by now mortified with shame and anger, covering his Face and wailing: "Ah!!! Old Du! I'm not done with you! Captain! Look at him!"

Captain Zeng Fu held back his laughter and gave a dry cough: "Alright, Old Du, leave some Face for Fu Lianchuan."

Captain Zeng Fu turned to Yun Bai, his eyes filled with approval: "Yun Bai, you did very well. Being able to resist the impact of Devilish Qi so quickly is not just willpower, but a sign of unique talent. However,"

"Devilish Qi is ever-changing and dangerously unpredictable; you must not lower your guard in the future. Li Ying's Heart-Cleansing Point is a safe and effective auxiliary method; there is no need to dodge it next time."

Yun Bai finally understood the intention behind Li Ying's finger pointing at his forehead earlier—it was to help him stabilize his mind. He looked at Li Ying somewhat embarrassedly: "Sister Ying, I apologize. My reaction just now was instinctive…"

Li Ying smiled and shook her head: "It's fine. I didn't expect you to be able to wake up on your own so quickly. This is a good thing. Just remember, if you encounter a stronger impact of Devilish Qi in the future, do not push yourself; seek help in time."

She gained a bit more understanding of what made Yun Bai special.

"Does killing monsters always involve this kind of Devilish Qi invasion?" Yun Bai asked, puzzled. In his memory, when he killed that Short-snouted Magic Boar before, a similar situation didn't occur.

"Yes. The more monsters accumulated, and the stronger the monsters were when alive, the more severe the pollution produced after death," Captain Zeng Fu said.

"I asked you earlier if you had hunted monsters before. The monsters inside the State Religion trial grounds are all purified, so this situation doesn't occur. Pollution takes time to form. When you killed the Magic Mane Wolf just now, I took you away quickly; at that time, the area had not yet formed Devilish Qi pollution."

"I see," Yun Bai realized.

"Alright, the interlude is over." Captain Zeng Fu clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back. "Fu Lianchuan, check the Magic Cores. Li Ying, purify the residual Devilish Qi. Du San, recover the Formation Flags. Move quickly; this place is not suitable for staying long!"

His gaze scanned the quiet woods around them vigilantly. Although the "little accident" caused by Yun Bai earlier was interesting, it had delayed them for some time.

At this moment, Li Ying took out a peach wood sword, three yellow talismans, a small copper bell, and a scroll of bamboo slips from her Storage Pouch, placing them around the monster corpses in specific positions.

"I am going to start the purification. You all should retreat outside the formation." Li Ying's voice suddenly became ethereal, as if it carried an echo.

Captain Zeng Fu pulled Yun Bai back to the edge of Du San's containment formation. From here, they could see every move Li Ying made without being affected by the Devilish Qi. Du San explained in a low voice: "Disturbances are most feared when a Spirit Official is purifying; we must guard the formation's foundation well."

Li Ying first picked up the peach wood sword and used the tip of the blade to lift a yellow talisman. She stepped in the Tiangang pattern while chanting.

The yellow talisman ignited without fire, and blue smoke rose straight up, bursting into a ball of golden light the moment it touched the Devilish Qi.

"This is the Daoist Sect's Cleansing Spell," Du San whispered to explain to Yun Bai. "It first breaks the structure of the Devilish Qi, just like how you have to remove the beams and pillars before demolishing a house."

Immediately after, Li Ying shook the copper bell. The ringing was not crisp like an ordinary copper bell but rather deep and resonant; every chime felt like it was striking the human heart. Yun Bai noticed that wherever the sound passed, the writhing of the black mist slowed down.

"The Soul-Suppressing Bell can stabilize restless spirits. It was originally a Buddhist item," Du San continued to explain. "The essence of Devilish Qi is also a kind of distorted spiritual energy."

Li Ying pulled out a small bottle carved from animal bone from her embrace and sprinkled the powder inside onto the monster corpses. When the powder touched the black mist, it made a "hissing" sound, like cold water poured onto a red-hot iron block.

"This is the Witch Doctor's 'Bone-Purifying Powder,' made from lightning-struck wood and century-old realgar; it is the most effective at suppressing demons."

With various methods used alternately, the black mist dissolved at a speed visible to the naked eye. Li Ying's movements became faster and faster; the peach wood sword danced, creating trails of afterimages, the copper bell and the chanting intertwined, and the runes on her ceremonial robe lit up one by one. In the midday sun, she seemed to be shrouded in a pale golden halo, sacred and inviolable.

"Are all State Religion Spirit Officials this powerful?" Yun Bai asked in a low voice.

Captain Zeng Fu smiled: "Li Ying is a legitimate Spirit Official from the 'Mingfa Department.' She can rank in the top ten among the teams stationed at the Northwest's Xinyue Hall. Ordinary Spirit Officials only know one or two purification techniques."

Du San, however, gave no Face at all: "Hahaha. Kid Yun Bai, it was your performance earlier that stimulated Li Ying. She wants to show off in front of you!"

Captain Zeng Fu rubbed his forehead helplessly: "Old Du!"

About a quarter of an hour later, the last wisp of black mist dissipated. Li Ying stood up, ending her stance. Fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, but her expression was relaxed. The area around the water pool returned to clarity, and even the air felt much fresher.

"It's done." She beckoned.

Everyone walked over. Fu Lianchuan skillfully checked the Magic Falcon corpses and used a specially made dagger to dig out the Magic Cores. These three Magic Cores were only the size of a thumb, irregular polyhedrons, with a gray light shimmering on their surfaces.

"The quality is average, but better than nothing." Fu Lianchuan tossed the Magic Cores to Captain Zeng Fu. "One of these should be able to be exchanged for a few thousand Spirit Stones."

Yun Bai squatted by the water pool to wash his hands and suddenly asked: "Why didn't we just use a kill formation to deal with those Magic Falcons earlier? Using Senior Brother Du's containment formation plus Spirit Gun fire feels like an extra step."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this. Du San took out his Formation Plate and waved it in front of Yun Bai: "Junior Brother, do you think I don't want to? The problem is, kill formations aren't that easy to set up."

Captain Zeng Fu took over: "Under field conditions, a Formation Master must consider three factors—power, speed, and cost." He counted on his fingers: "To instantly kill three First Realm Magic Falcons, you need at least a kill formation of the level of a Third-Grade Geng Metal Sword Formation."

"And to set up a Geng Metal Sword Formation," Du San interjected, "it requires seventy-two Formation Flags, eight Low Grade Spirit Crystals as the formation eyes, and at least half an hour of setup time. Do you think we had that condition just now?"

"Even if we had plenty of time, eight Low Grade Spirit Crystals cost eight thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The total Materials of these three Magic Falcons combined are worth only about ten thousand or so."

Yun Bai suddenly realized. He remembered the energy allocation principle on the starships in his past life—always achieve the goal with the minimum consumption.

"So the most economical approach," Captain Zeng Fu summarized, "is to use a containment formation to restrict the monsters' movements, and then solve it with Spirit Guns. Du San's containment formation only requires twelve Formation Flags, and the consumption can be ignored."

Du San proudly patted the Storage Pouch at his waist: "These Formation Flags can still be reused dozens of times."