Chapter 2820: Chapter 2821: Flowers and Infant Spirits
Having been fooled by Angel once, Dox didnât want to pursue who Olao was paying attention to anymore.
After all, itâs not him or Kaier.
As for which of the remaining three it was, Dox couldnât be bothered to think about it. But his intuition told him that Angel was the most likely, even though Angel denied it, Dox still didnât rule out his suspicion.
"By the way, Olao and Adanis seemed to mention... Infant Spirits earlier." Dox: "It seems that the information Angel received was correct, it really is an Infant Spirit. Moreover, judging by their tone, this Infant Spirit might indeed be as difficult to deal with as Angel said."
Vay also nodded: "And before Olao left, he mentioned it was a flower-holding Infant Spirit?"
Dox: "Flower-holding... a flower? Generally speaking, shouldnât flowers have a scent?"
"Thatâs obvious. If a flower has no scent, why call it a flower..." Vay initially responded with irritation, but halfway through, he seemed to realize something: "You mean the scent the Lord is smelling is floral?"
Dox nodded lightly.
As everyone thought about it, it seemed to make sense, and they all looked towards the Black Earl for an answer.
The Black Earl had been pondering this question since Olao mentioned âflower-holdingâ, but he still had no clue: "Itâs hard to determine for now. However, this hypothesis is reasonable."
"If the âflower-holding Infant Spiritâ is indeed the source of the scent, we should be cautious."
As for what to be cautious about, Black Earl didnât need to elaborate; everyone understood. As undead beings of chaotic will, itâs impossible for Infant Spirits to hold flowers for no reason. Since Olao used "flower-holding" as a prefix for the Infant Spirit, itâs very likely that the flower it holds is of utmost importance.
In the Wizardsâ Realm, there is no shortage of plant-type magical creatures. In the Wunong Duchy, known as the âFairy Kingdomâ by wizards, there are many plant-type magical creatures. Among them, in the Evernight Forest, there are many flower-type magical creatures nurtured by the Forest of Night Whisper.
The characteristics of flower-type magical creatures often involve poison and vines. The âpoisonâ generally refers to the scent of the flower.
The floral scent permeating the air is very likely a form of attack by the Infant Spirit.
Although up to now, the Black Earl has felt nothing special from the scent, who knows if itâs a lure tactic? Once engaged in battle, the scent might immediately transform into a weapon of attack.
Thinking of this, both the Black Earl and the others turned their gaze towards Angel.
Angel, when manipulating the Moving Mirage earlier, also created a Purifying Field, which proved very useful at this time.
Angel understood what everyone meant, so he directly called out Earl Mi and constructed the Moving Mirage again with Earl Mi as the core.
Although Angel could directly release the Purifying Field, he decided to construct it together with the Moving Mirage. Since the Infant Spirit is also an undead, and part of the Mirage, which mainly isolates energy, can affect the undead, perhaps the Moving Mirage might also work against the Infant Spirit?
When everyone was once again bathed within the Moving Mirage, the Black Earl appeared to be the most relieved.
Even though this journey held no foul odors, the musty smell from dampness wasnât pleasant either. With the Purifying Field acting as a barrier, the air instantly became incredibly fresh.
However, the Black Earl didnât forget to show concern for Angel: "If anything goes wrong, donât force it."
The issue the Black Earl mentioned wasnât about the Moving Mirage or the Purifying Field.
It was about Earl Mi.
While the Black Earl didnât know all the specifics about Earl Miâs situation, he did hear Laplaceâs words. Furthermore, Angelâs attitude towards Earl Mi has subtly changed since the beginning.
Angel nodded: "I understand."
Earl Mi indeed had some anomalies, but they were still manageable, and Angel could feel that Earl Mi seemed to have grown closer to him. Conversely, Angel was cautious about getting too close to Earl Mi.
However, at least for now, thereâs no immediate concern regarding Earl Mi.
After setting up the Moving Mirage, they didnât delay further and continued on their journey.
Soon, they reached the previously split path for ascending and descending.
At this point, the downward path had disappeared, leaving only an upward slope, and this slope showed no signs of collapse. But when one looked ahead, it was pitch black, with no end in sight.
"Letâs continue. According to Olao and Adanis, they probably wonât appear again until we reach the Qingkong Poetry Room... We should have only one last test left," Angel said.
Everyone nodded, at least now they didnât have to worry about suddenly stumbling into the Mirror.
While looking from below, the pitch-black slope seemed endless, stepping onto the slope revealed it wasnât as straightforward as they imagined, but rather wound around many bends.
It was like traversing through steep mountain paths, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes wide, sometimes narrow, and occasionally a sharp turn.
During this ascent, they also saw several collapses, but it seemed someone had cleared the way, leaving passages despite the signs of collapse.
After such a "twisting and turning" upward journey, they finally understood why they hadnât smelled the scent the Black Earl mentioned. The scentâs path was even longer and more "arduous" than they imagined.
The fact the Black Earl could smell it only demonstrated... the Black Earlâs level is indeed different from theirs.
Finally, when they emerged from a side path slightly larger than a dog hole, the road ahead was no longer sloped but was replaced by a normal, wide passageway.
After experiencing the narrow and oppressive slopes, seeing the wide road again seemed to open up their mood significantly.
Only Angel and the Black Earl remained less optimistic.
Angel felt uneasy and slightly curious because he recognized the familiar path and knew they were close to "that wall."
But the Black Earlâs attention differed from Angelâs. Though he had constantly been within the Purifying Field, he was still fixated on the scent, calculating its distance from them throughout the journey.
Now, the Black Earl could basically confirm that the source of the scent was within a hundred meters or so of their location.
Perhaps, at the next turn, they would uncover the source of the scent.
If the source of the scent truly comes from the Infant Spirit holding the flower, then they are very, very close to it...
The Black Earl pondered and shared his findings with everyone.
"...Under normal circumstances, if the opponent is truly powerful, they might have already discovered us. However, weâve been here for a while now, and they still havenât appeared, which indicates that Angelâs Illusionary Realm has had a certain effect on this Infant Spirit." Black Earl: "It probably hasnât noticed us yet, but if we continue forward, getting within a hundred meters of it, thatâs another story."
Of course, itâs also possible that the source of the scent isnât the flower in the hands of the Infant Spirit, which is why the opponent hasnât appeared. But, this possibility is minimal... because Angel knows that this place is not far from that wall, which is the door to the Qingkong Poetry Room.
If there is indeed an Infant Spirit blocking the way, it should be nearby. This almost coincides with the position of the scentâs source mentioned by the Black Earl.
Dox: "If the Black Earl is correct, then shouldnât we be able to smell the scent now?"
After Dox spoke, a look of eager anticipation appeared on his face.
Vay said, exasperatedly: "The issue now isnât the scent; itâs how to deal with this Infant Spirit! Moreover, weâve brainstormed the entire way, trying to figure out what strong flower-holding creature this could be, and weâre still clueless. Not knowing its original form, dealing with its undead formâif careless, it could lead to significant trouble."
Dox wasnât as worried as Vay: "Though the undead are affected by their abilities from when they were alive, the influence isnât significant, at most making their Soul Force more surging."
"The abilities of the undead are just a few types; prepare the defenses in the Land of the Soul, donât let your mental tendrils recklessly extend outside, then you and Kaier stay obediently within Angelâs Illusionary Realm, ensuring that you wonât get hurt."
Dox blinked: "Even if things go south, canât I still use the Plane Corridor?"
In the past, mentioning the Plane Corridor wasnât this relaxed for Dox. But now, having decided to follow Angel, everything aligns with Angel. For example, are the Plane Corridor materials expensive? Just trivial.
Vay didnât care why Dox suddenly became generous; he was more worried about the "Infant Spirit."
If the Infant Spirit is indeed like Dox said, just an enhanced version of the "undead," then there wouldnât be much to worry about. But is it truly that simple?
The obstacle set personally by Adanis, plus the direct statement that they couldnât defeat the Infant Spirit.
Saying all this and then just sending out a big undead?
Vay still believes that this Infant Spirit might be different this time. Itâs important to know that the undead lack Spirit Intelligence, and Infant Spirits, as the lowest form of undead, are even more so. Yet this Infant Spirit can obey Adanisâs command to intercept the group, which is quite unusual.
Vay expressed his thoughts, but Dox remained indifferent; after all, he is now carefree, having received satisfying rewards from the Wise Sovereign, and with the Plane Corridor as a fallback, no matter its strength, heâll just charge. If charging doesnât work, heâll retreat, as the Qingkong Poetry Room is irrelevant to him.
On the other hand, Kaier seriously contemplated Vayâs words.
"Red Swordâs reasoning actually has merit, and Vayâs considerations are valid too. The Infant Spirit indeed might not be very strong, but the attitudes of Olao and Adanis are somewhat unusual. Iâm wondering if thereâs another possibility." Kaier paused, gently uttering a word: "...Parasite."
Vay: "You think the point isnât the Infant Spirit, butâthe flower?"
Kaier nodded.
Vay followed Kaierâs thoughts: "If the Infant Spirit is parasitized by the flower? Then it implies the flower should be our focus. And the flower might have high intelligence, explaining its obedience to Adanis."
The more Vay spoke, the more it made sense, perhaps Kaierâs conjecture was correct.
"What the Chaowei Master mentioned regarding the Otherworldly monster might not be the Infant Spirit, but the flower! And there are indeed strong magical flowers."
"Now we know this flower can parasitize the Infant Spirit, using undead energy as food, and is strong on its own, originating from the Otherworld; thinking like this, the range seems considerably narrowed."
Saying this, Vay looked at several Wizards present.
He could deduce these conditions, but couldnât determine what kind of flower. There are too many Otherworldly flowers, and Vay isnât someone fond of appreciating flowers.
Vay first looked at Dox, but Dox responded simply: shrugging, spreading his hands, looking clueless.
Then, Vay looked at Angel and the Black Earl.
Only then did Vay notice Angel and his lord privately communicating through a Mind Ribbon, seemingly oblivious to the conversation here.
Vay felt a bit disappointed, thinking his deductions were useful, yet seemingly unappreciated.
Vay didnât dare make a fuss, instead quietly waiting for Angel and the Black Earl to finish their discussion.
About half a minute later, Angel and the Black Earlâs Mind Ribbon disconnected.
Angel turned back and immediately sensed Vayâs low spirits. Although he was discussing with the Black Earl, he kept an ear on othersâ talks, and with a slight thought, understood why Vay was feeling down.
Angel: "I also agree with Vayâs conjecture; perhaps the Infant Spirit is not important, but the flower is. Itâs just that, given my limited knowledge, I canât determine the specific type of flower."
Angelâs reply surprised Vay, but he quickly realized Angel was addressing his deduction.
Initially disappointed, Vayâs dismay was suddenly dispelled, continuing from Angelâs words: "Could it be some Abyssal demon flower? Iâve heard there are many powerful demon flowers on the Myriad Abyss Plains."
Angel: "Iâm not sure about that either, but after discussing with the Black Earl, since the opponent hasnât appeared, maybe we can temporarily hold back and conduct some research and experiments."
The object of study now is naturally the scent outside the Purifying Field.
By analyzing the composition of these scents, perhaps we can roughly determine their source.
Of course, most of this research will be conducted by Angel. Though not very familiar with Fragrance Studies, Angel, as an Alchemist, knows Potionology, whose foundation is Alchemy, involving demon plants, compositions, materials, and energy.
Through deconstructing the scent, studying its most basic components, and energy essence, one might infer where this scent originates from.
Identifying which world it comes from narrows it further, making it easier to locate its true origin.
And indeed, this was one of the topics Angel and the Black Earl discussed earlier.
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