Chapter 248: Activating the Purification Tower

"So this is the Purification Tower?"

When Li Luo and his two companions made their way unimpeded to the depths of the withered forest, they saw a white tower appear in their line of sight. Beyond one metre of the white tower, the ground was covered in dead leaves, with faint black mist flowing about.

But within that one metre, it was clean and tidy; no black mist could approach.

Clearly, even though the Purification Tower was currently in an unactivated state, it still possessed some special abilities of its own, which prevented those strange creatures born of the withered forest from getting too close to it, or rather, from damaging it.

Li Luo and the other two approached curiously. The Purification Tower was roughly five or six metres tall, and its body looked as if it had been cast from jade, but upon closer inspection, they noticed it seemed to be made of some kind of wood, with rings of grain visible on its surface.

An ancient aura emanated from it.

There was no need to think to know that the material of the Purification Tower was most likely also from the academy's Phase Force Tree.

Li Luo gently pushed open the door of the Purification Tower, then carefully walked inside. However, to the surprise of the three of them, the interior of the tower was not dim; on the contrary, a faint fluorescent glow emanated from within, instantly putting anyone who entered into a peaceful frame of mind.

The inside of the tower was fairly simple, without any superfluous furnishings. Only at the centre of the tower was there a small stone platform. Standing at the stone platform and looking up in all directions, one could see faint light patterns flickering on the tower walls.

"Let's get ready to begin."

Li Luo stared for a moment, then took out a jade bottle. Inside the jade bottle was the Purifying Dust, which could activate the sigil patterns within the Purification Tower.

He carefully placed the jade bottle into the groove on the central stone platform.

Hum!

The next instant, the stone platform seemed to faintly radiate light. The jade bottle trembled, and suddenly streams of light shot out from within, resembling stardust, shimmering with strange radiance.

Stardust and light fragments danced within the tower, and the mysterious sigil patterns on the tower walls gradually grew brighter, absorbing these stardust and light fragments.

As these purifying sigil patterns absorbed the power of the stardust and light fragments, the Purification Tower suddenly emitted a faint tremor, and then from the top of the tower, a wave of purifying light swept out.

As the light wave passed, the black mist pervading the withered forest immediately began to churn violently.

It was as if cold water had been splashed into a hot wok.

Sizzle, sizzle!

A piercing shriek rang out from the withered forest; clearly, some of the strange creatures still remaining within had been affected.

The Purification Tower was activated, and waves of purifying light burst forth, beginning to purge the power of malice from this region.

On the hillside outside the withered forest.

Jiang Jiang Qinge, Senior Qiu Bai, and Tian Tian watched the white tower beginning to emit waves of purifying light, and their expressions all shifted slightly.

"They've finally started activating the Purification Tower," Senior Qiu Bai said with a smile.

"The strange creatures in this withered forest have mostly been cleared out by them, so it's about time to activate it. However... that strange creature—I'm afraid it's not something they can handle, right?" Tian Tian's gaze turned to a certain spot in the withered forest. They were currently on high ground, and with their considerable strength, they could naturally sense that in a certain part of the withered forest, there existed a strange creature with no weak a malice.

"That strange creature originally only had the strength of the third pattern of the Pattern Birth Stage, but after devouring the flesh-and-blood creature, it should now be at the fourth pattern level. In the future, once it fully digests the flesh-and-blood creature, it might even have the possibility of advancing to the Red Erosion level."

And the strength of the fourth pattern of the Pattern Birth Stage far surpassed that of Li Luo's group of three. If they were to clash, Li Luo's side would likely pay a considerable price.

"Captain, do we need to step in?" Tian Tian asked with a charming smile.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's eyes flickered slightly, and she said, "Let's wait a little longer."

Tian Tian's eyes widened. "You're not thinking of waiting for Li Luo and the others to deal with that strange creature themselves, are you?"

Jiang Jiang Qinge's golden eyes gazed at that stretch of withered forest, her gaze seeming to pierce through the faint black mist and lock onto the area of the Purification Tower.

"Let's see how things go first."

Although if they stepped in, dealing with the strange creatures here would be extremely easy, that was not the outcome she wanted, because it would be of no benefit whatsoever to Li Luo's growth.

She did not mind giving Li Luo the greatest protection, but she did not want her protection to limit Li Luo's own potential.

Deep within the withered forest.

Seeing that the activation had begun, Li Luo and the other two did not linger inside the tower, but quickly emerged from the Purification Tower, their gazes solemn as they looked in a certain direction.

The other White Erosion strange creatures in this withered forest had already been cleared out by them. The only remaining threat was the human-skin strange creature that had previously devoured the flesh-and-blood creature...

No, it could no longer be called a human-skin strange creature now. After absorbing the flesh-and-blood creature, that strange creature had already begun to show signs of evolving toward the Red Erosion level.

"Captain, will that strange creature come over?" Bai Bai Mengmeng asked, somewhat nervously.

Li Luo pondered briefly, then said, "Whether it comes or not, we've already made our preparations. Whether or not they're effective, we have to try to find out."

"And there's no need to worry too much. Even if we really can't handle it in the end, aren't there still reinforcements?" Li Luo said with a reassuring smile.

Bai Bai Mengmeng also let out a soft laugh. The so-called reinforcements naturally referred to Senior Jiang and the others. However, she could also tell that Senior Jiang was tempering Li Luo. If in the end they really still needed Senior Jiang to come to the rescue, wouldn't that mean they were not up to standard?

As a girl, she herself did not care much about so-called dignity and face, but she could still sense that, whether it was Li Luo or Student Xin Fu, although the two had somewhat different personalities, deep down in their bones, they both possessed a proud spirit.

Therefore, even if they truly encountered a desperate situation, the two of them would likely choose to give it their all and have a go first.

For instance, right now.

Bai Bai Mengmeng raised her pretty face, looking at the surging black mist in the distance. For now, she could only hope that the preparations the captain had made earlier would have some effect.

Boom!

Just as Bai Bai Mengmeng's thoughts were turning, suddenly from a certain direction in the withered forest, a violent surge of malice power rolled forth, and faintly, a piercing shriek could be heard from far away.

Immediately after, Li Luo and the other two all noticed with slightly changed expressions that a wave of malice, like a gale, swept up black smoke within the withered forest, then rushed at full speed toward their location, the ground trembling slightly.

Sure enough, that human-skin strange creature had come!

The black smoke of malice churned, and in just a few short minutes, it passed through the withered forest, rapidly approaching the location of the Purification Tower.

And within the black smoke, a terrifying creature could be seen moving rapidly. That strange creature was roughly several zhang in size, with a massive body. It crouched on the ground like a scorpion, with eight blood-red hands of mangled flesh extending out, each slap leaving deep handprints on the ground.

Where its face should have been, there were no nostrils or mouth, only a pair of greyish-white human eyes rolling about, radiating rolling malice and madness.

Its gaze pierced through the rapidly retreating withered trees ahead, and gradually it saw the Purification Tower that it found extremely loathsome, and at the same time, it also saw the three figures standing before the tower.

The malice power surging on its body suddenly surged violently, filled with chaos, slaughter, and distortion.

Fresh, living flesh—devour them!