Chapter 548: Crystal Sickness and the Friendly Delegation

Luo De noticed that Kalist's severed earlobe had been fully restored.

It was now wrapped and sealed with a small white medicinal patch.

Today, the elf lady still wore her standard high-collared bodysuit, but its color had changed from green and white to silver-gray.

A golden-blonde ponytail hung down to her waist, perfectly aligned perpendicular to her brown belt.

The belt accentuated her absurdly long legs and bore a sharply faceted blue gemstone pendant—the gift Luo De had given her before.

The form-fitting cut outlined her perfectly proportioned long legs, slender waist, and chest that was neither too flat nor overly voluptuous.

Her long, balanced, yet powerful silhouette embodied nature's most perfect creation.

In terms of body proportions, demeanor, and facial refinement alone,

not a single being in the entire forest could match Kalist.

Luo De scanned her from head to toe.

He noticed the glow of healing magic still shimmering where the elf lady's abdomen had been pierced.

"I've got thick skin—this little wound means nothing. But some elf lady got beaten up real bad and still won't admit it."

He grinned and leaned in to take her hand.

But she stepped back coldly, avoiding him.

Unlike Kalist's icy silence,

the treant Vivian spotted Luo De and walked slowly but deliberately toward him.

She didn't embrace him—she simply pressed her entire body against his chest.

When Luo De patted her head,

she lifted her gaze, chin resting on his solid chest, staring up with those pure, luminous white eyes.

Luo De couldn't resist and gently kissed her smooth, pale forehead.

Before his cold war with Tally, she would've rushed over to fight for space in his arms by now.

But now,

the succubus stood helplessly behind them, watching without daring to compete.

Kalist's face was cold.

She was clearly angry—ever since Luo De arrived at the forest clinic, she came daily to help.

But she never spoke; every time he teased her, she just snorted.

Today marked their first real exchange since the Coral Bay battle.

"Little wound? You were barely a breath away from having your heart pierced, do you know that! Hmph! You call me stubborn? You're no better."

"I had to protect you all—can't let the girls hold the rear, can I?"

"Human, are you looking down on me? Do you think only you can do it?"

The elf lady's exquisite face darkened, her competitive spirit flaring.

If it were Lily the halfling's competitiveness,

Luo De would've teased her further, made a bet, played around—it wouldn't matter.

But Kalist?

Better not.

She'd see it as a challenge to her elf pride and dignity, and might seriously take you up on it.

Strong-willed girls hate direct confrontation.

So Luo De pulled a magic scroll from his spell satchel—the one he'd stolen from Aurelio's bedroom—and handed it to her.

"Look, a magic scroll from the dark elves' collection. It looks ancient—I immediately thought you'd find it interesting, so I kept it."

Kalist's face remained cold.

But when she saw the scroll, her interest sparked instantly.

She ignored Luo De entirely, took the scroll, and began studying it.

On the other side,

the pixie Tami fluttered her glowing wings happily and landed atop Vivian's head.

She shouted with boundless energy:

"Lord Luo De! Good morning!!"

"Good morning, Tami."

"We're choosing new tree species, Lord Luo De—any suggestions? Crystal sickness?"

Tami stared at Luo De, puzzled and wary.

"Oh."

Before fighting the Infernal Duke, Luo De had absorbed massive amounts of elemental shards—Einala the lamia had warned him about it.

"It's nothing. Don't worry."

"It's not nothing, Lord Luo De! Crystal sickness isn't contagious, but if mishandled, it'll kill you!"

Kalist was startled too. She frowned and said:

"Proper treatment prevents death—the mortality rate is low. But I recall a ninth-rank case dying. I think it happened recently in Cangguang City, the capital of Aselon—crystal sickness spread there, but they managed to contain it."

Luo De was slightly shocked. Could ninth-rank cultivators even die from this?

He'd assumed his physique could simply brute-force through such a minor illness.

Then he remembered he possessed an item that might cure it.

【Great Cultivator's Pruning Shears】

【Effect: Expels impurities, neutralizes toxins, breaks through defenses, establishes mastery, shatters attacks, stops bleeding, paralyzes, cuts qi blades】

He pulled out the giant shears and activated them slightly.

A flash of light—and immediately, glistening crystalline fragments oozed from his skin.

He burned them away with a touch of resentment fire—they vanished instantly.

Tami blinked, then her eyes sparkled with worship.

"Lord Luo De is amazing! Crystal sickness cured in an instant!!"

Kalist was also surprised, her beautiful eyes widening slightly.

But she never admitted Luo De's prowess—she snorted: "Such cheap tricks."

Vivian didn't understand.

She blinked at Luo De, as if asking, "Is it done?"

Luo De smiled and nodded to her.

Instantly, the treant pressed herself against him again, just as before.

"By the way, is crystal sickness well-known?"

Kalist tucked the scroll away, arms crossed, scowling:

"Crystal sickness is essentially solidified spirituality. Since nearly all life on the continent possesses spirituality, this illness can manifest in any living being.

Unlike clear-cut diseases, crystal sickness presents itself in abstract forms.

It might cause neural crystallization in someone's brain, blocking pain signals.

Or it might concentrate in one area, forming visible crystalline cores—but these cores don't harm the patient; instead, they provide abundant spirituality."

Crystalline core

Luo De frowned slightly.

It sounded just like a demon beast's core in a xianxia novel.

"This reeks of conspiracy."

"Hmph. I know what you're thinking—and yes, it's happened. One hundred and twenty years ago, the Barenguo Branch of Bahadur Magic Academy was exposed for human experiments on crystal sickness, aiming to artificially create crystalline cores."

"."

Bahadur Magic Academy immediately severed ties with the branch, even assisted in controlling the scandal and guiding the investigation—thus slipping through the public outcry and crisis.

"If you think they had nothing to do with it, I'd die before believing it."

Kalist had no fondness for Bahadur Magic Academy either.

She warned:

"Those people have a twisted obsession with magical singularities. If you encounter anything suspicious—even a beautiful woman—don't hold back."

"Don't make it sound like I'm controlled by my libido."

"Aren't you?"

They chatted for a while.

The topic shifted to new tree species for expanding the forest.

From tropical mangroves and Sonneratia to coastal oaks adapted to seaside environments.

Kalist had vast knowledge.

Vivian and Tami, though confused, were a treant and a nature spirit—both sensed trees far beyond ordinary beings.

Just by feeling the soil and seedlings, they could judge compatibility.

Luo De had nothing better to do, so he sat aside and watched the girls talk.

Honestly,

it was a beautiful sight.

Kalist's perfect refinement, Vivian's pure serenity, Tami's energetic petite charm.

Luo De was instantly stunned.

He couldn't help but feel a serene contentment, like retiring to farm the land.

But.

That feeling didn't last long.

Diamiya sent a message through the Chain of Far Speech.

The friendly delegation from Windstorm City had arrived.

Shiying Town.

In the reception hall of Argyle Manor.

Baron Lam, with her dark red hair tied in a coil.

Or rather, Lady Lam, who nervously fiddled with the exquisite nails she'd had made for two gold Jin Along before departure.

This widow, who had taken in the tooth fairy Rosalia, had once been judged by the witch Diamiya as "bloodless," "always compromising," and "easily swayed by flatterers."

Though the elderly gentleman Humbert was eloquently introducing the manor's paintings and jewels with polite decorum.

She merely returned a stiff, forced smile, her attention fixed on the reception hall's doorway, eagerly awaiting the forest warden who had driven back the Infernal Duke in the news.

She tugged at the sleeve of a handsome man beside her.

In a worried whisper, she said:

"Cliff, this is terrible—we shouldn't have come. I feel uneasy, as if a stone weight has been pressing on my heart."

Cliff, clearly nervous himself, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

As he forced a smile in response to Humbert's introduction, he replied in a low, steady voice:

"No, Lady Lam, we cannot retreat! When we learned of the Coral Bay attack, bringing Rosalia back by force was already our first mistake—we can't stay silent anymore. We must declare our stance!"

"But that man is terrifying! First he saved Daphne, then drove off demons, then repelled a dragon, and now he's driven a Duke back to the Infernal Realm—oh heavens, a ninth-rank Duke! We've insulted him terribly—he must already hate us!"

Cliff gripped her hand.

To calm her.

"Control your expression! It's not too late to mend the fence. If that gentleman is willing to reclaim Coral Bay under Shiying Town's name, he surely doesn't harbor ambitions of domination! Clearly, he's a courteous, refined man."

Lady Lam tried to suppress it, but her panic still showed plainly.

"Refined and courteous? Impossible! I've met these spiritual warriors—all of them are huge, burly brutes. How much more so one who repelled an Infernal Duke? He might have two heads and four arms! Maybe even this reception hall's door isn't wide enough for him!"

No sooner had she finished speaking.

A slow, deliberate set of footsteps echoed through the vast reception hall.

The elderly gentleman Humbert paused his introduction with a smile, turning toward the doorway.

Instantly, the hall fell silent.

The two high-ranking officials from Windstorm City paled, their hearts leaping to their throats.

An inhuman, terrifying pressure washed over them.

As the footsteps drew nearer, they even heard the laughter of girls chatting merrily.

Soon.

A tall man, handsome as an elf, appeared at the doorway, leaning on a cane.

Cliff, for some reason, exhaled in relief: "See, Lam? He's a handsome, refined gentleman—no two heads, no four arms."

The baroness did not respond.

Cliff turned, puzzled.

There he saw the baroness, a battle-hardened veteran who had kept over a hundred male lovers, gazing at the man outside with glazed eyes, as if veiled in mist.

Her slender fingers twisted her collar, as if clawing at her own chest with desperate longing.

"."

(End of Chapter)