Chapter 244: Dark Spirit Pool

"Dark Spirit Pool?"

Senior Qiu Bai was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then his tense expression eased, and he said, "Almost forgot—outside this forbidden zone, there really is a Dark Spirit Pool."

"However, the purity of this Dark Spirit Pool is only Grade Two, suitable only for those below the General Stage..."

At this point, he stopped speaking. Clearly, the reason Jiang Jiang Qinge went there was not because of them, but because of Li Luo.

She wanted Li Luo to experience the Dark Spirit Pool and improve himself.

Thinking of this, Senior Qiu Bai exchanged a glance with Tian Tian, and both saw a complicated look in each other's eyes. They had figured it out: every route of this Dark Cave purification mission was tailor-made for Li Luo.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's meticulous care for Li Luo was enough to make even them feel a twinge of jealousy. People said the engagement between Jiang Jiang Qinge and Li Luo was just a formality, but in their eyes, what Jiang Jiang Qinge did for Li Luo went far beyond what a fiancée would do.

And Jiang Jiang Qinge might have given up competing for first place in this purification mission from the very beginning. After all, with all these delays, their purification efficiency was likely no match for Duze Red Lotus's side.

Still, they had no objections. After all, in their Black Swan Squad, Jiang Jiang Qinge was the absolute core. The two of them owed her too many favors in the past, so even if this purification mission's harvest wasn't maximized, they could accept it—just consider it giving Jiang Jiang Qinge face.

"What is this Dark Spirit Pool?" Li Luo, who was standing nearby, asked.

"The Dark Cave is a link point between two worlds. In essence, it's not much different from the 'Wang Hou Battlefield,' just much weaker in intensity."

"The rules of heaven and earth inside the Dark Cave differ from the outside. Although the Black Tide erupts from time to time, causing the heaven and earth energy within to become violent and chaotic, the world is full of wonders—where deadly toxins gather, special antidotes are always born. The Dark Cave is no exception, and thus some rather special places are born within it."

"This Dark Spirit Pool is one of them."

"There's no pool water in the Dark Spirit Pool. Instead, it condenses an especially dense concentration of heaven and earth energy. These energies should have fled in all directions every time the Black Tide came, hiding into this underground pool to resist the Black Tide's erosion, and eventually formed the Dark Spirit Pool as it is today."

"This is a unique good spot within the Dark Cave. If you can enter it for meditation and breathing, it will provide considerable tempering for yourself. Especially the first time entering the Dark Spirit Pool—if your endurance is strong enough, it might even raise your phase force by a whole tier."

At this point, Jiang Jiang Qinge smiled at Li Luo and said, "When I first entered the Dark Spirit Pool for meditation, I completed a small breakthrough."

Tian Tian, who was standing nearby, could only helplessly chime in: "Captain, as far as we know, the number of people in the history of the Saint Mystic Star Academy who completed a breakthrough on their first meditation in the Dark Spirit Pool does not exceed five."

"Of course, it cannot be denied that the Dark Spirit Pool is indeed a must-visit place for students entering the Dark Cave."

Li Luo glanced at the others and said, "Going to the Dark Spirit Pool now will delay our purification efficiency, right? How about we wait until we complete the mission before going there?"

He had actually vaguely sensed it: Jiang Jiang Qinge's purification mission this time was purely for his sake. Senior Qiu Bai and Tian Tian had completely become two tool-men.

And the Black Swan Squad was, after all, the number one squad of the Third Star Court. Jiang Jiang Qinge working for him was one thing—their relationship ran too deep. But having Senior Qiu Bai and Tian Tian pay the price along with her really made him feel a bit guilty.

However, at this moment, it was Senior Qiu Bai who smiled and said, "Each time the Dark Spirit Pool opens, its energy is limited. If we go too late, it might be exhausted by other students."

He waved his hand and said, "Junior Li Luo, don't overthink it. We owe the Captain too many favors in the past. This time, consider it paying her back."

Hearing this, Li Luo could only say no more. Jiang Jiang Qinge's two teammates were indeed pretty decent.

Bai Bai Mengmeng and Student Xin Fu remained silent on the side, but they could also tell that everything here was decided by Senior Jiang. All they had to do was stick close to the Captain, latch onto Senior Jiang's coattails, and freeload various benefits...

"By the way, is this forbidden zone called that because there's some extremely powerful aberration inside?" Li Luo changed the subject and asked curiously.

Jiang Jiang Qinge shook her head and said, "There are no aberrations inside the forbidden zone."

Li Luo was a little puzzled. No aberrations in the forbidden zone? Then why was it still called a forbidden zone?

"In the Dark Cave, it's not only aberrations that exist—there are also Spirit Beasts."

Jiang Jiang Qinge explained, "These Spirit Beasts must have accidentally drilled into the Dark Cave through some spatial rifts, and then couldn't get out, so they could only survive here."

"Some Spirit Beasts gradually grew powerful, but they were also affected by the Black Tide, becoming increasingly ferocious and violent. Anything that enters their territory—whether human or aberration—will be devoured by them."

"And within this forbidden zone, there lives a Heaven General Stage Spirit Beast. Its strength is comparable to a Heaven Gang General Stage expert. There are even rumors that this Spirit Beast is attempting to break through to the Marquis Stage."

Li Luo's heart trembled slightly. No wonder the place was called a forbidden zone—so there was such a terrifying Spirit Beast. With such a fierce creature guarding it, no wonder other aberrations dared not appear there.

"The Academy did send a Purple-Glight Mentor here before, wanting to eliminate this hidden threat, but this beast is extremely skilled at concealment. If it wants to hide, even a Purple-Glight Mentor would find it hard to flush it out in such a complex environment, so in the end, they could only let it be."

"But fortunately, this Spirit Beast almost never steps out of that forbidden zone area, so as long as we don't provoke it, it won't pay us any attention."

Li Luo nodded. That forbidden zone Spirit Beast should be the strongest existence in this region. These students would have to be out of their minds to dare provoke it.

After explaining the upcoming route and objectives clearly, Jiang Jiang Qinge did not linger, and continued to charge ahead, leading the way.

The group hurried on once more.

Over the next half a day or so, Li Luo saw wave after wave of various bizarre aberrations, but these aberrations were all too low-level. Apart from their terrifying appearance, their strength was rather ordinary.

But from Jiang Jiang Qinge's explanation, Li Luo also learned the most bizarre characteristic of these aberrations: although these low-level aberrations seemed extremely weak, they still possessed the power of corruption. There had been no shortage of students who, after slaying too many of these low-level aberrations, ended up with their hearts corrupted, ultimately becoming monsters that only knew how to kill madly.

Therefore, when slaying these aberrations, one must strictly guard one's heart and not let any openings show.

However, since the aberrations they encountered along the way didn't even qualify as Erosion Grade, Li Luo and the others didn't get a chance to make a move, and could only listen to the various experiences imparted by Jiang Jiang Qinge and the other two.

They hurried along the whole way.

Finally, when they climbed a hillside, a black withered forest appeared ahead. Deep within that withered forest, a white tower could be faintly seen, looming in and out of view.

And around the withered forest, the black fog was clearly denser than in other areas.

The eerie whispers emanating from within also suddenly grew stronger.

"Our first objective is right here."

Jiang Jiang Qinge's slender jade finger pointed at the white tower deep within the withered forest.

Li Luo and the others hurriedly looked over, and their expressions grew somewhat Solemn. Within this withered forest permeated with black qi, they faintly sensed an aura of danger.

As expected, the area around the Purification Tower was the hardest part.

"We just go straight in?" Having not made a move the entire way, Li Luo was now somewhat eager to try and immediately asked.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's golden eyes glimmered with a hint of a smile as she glanced at him, then leaned against a nearby tree trunk and said, "A Grade One Purification Tower isn't that difficult."

"So this Purification Tower is left to your Justice Squad."

Li Luo and the others stared at her in astonishment.

This Grade One Purification Tower—they were supposed to handle it themselves?

Li Luo gazed at Jiang Jiang Qinge's jade-like face, which didn't look like she was joking, and swallowed hard.

Weren't you protecting me like a baby the whole way here? Why did the difficulty suddenly spike like this?

Could this Grade One Purification Tower really be something their rookie squad could handle?

They wouldn't really get wiped out, would they?