Chapter 357: Spring Eye (Seeking monthly votes at the start of the month)

In the dead silence, Lu Mian only felt an abnormal burning in his right palm, as if burned by fire.

He hurriedly took off the gauntlet, turned his palm, and found that the part eroded by the Earth Blood Ore had penetrated deep into the flesh and bone, bright red and dripping, sending waves of pain that made him irritable and violent.

Besides that, there were no abnormalities for the time being.

In such a time and scene, Lu Mian couldn't care about doing a detailed check. While enduring the coldness of his body and the "calmness" of his thoughts, he retreated backward and looked at the situation of the "Samaritan Woman's Spring."

Those blurry figures and black hair like water grass floating in the water had been rolled into the hole that even light couldn't shine into. It kept shaking, and there seemed to be a fierce struggle inside.

The wandering figure in the white robe around, although not taken away by the pale spring water, also disappeared, as if it had evaporated into thin air.

This made Lu Mian suspect that the reason he could meet that blurry figure suspected to be a high-level Demoness in other places on the fourth level was that the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" had undergone similar changes.

The scene before him suddenly gave Lu Mian a bold idea:

Since that terrifying figure was dragged back to the spring eye by strange power, one struggling and resisting, one trying its best to suppress, it seemed like they couldn't decide the winner for a while. Then why not maintain vigilance, pause the escape, and see if there was a way to make arrangements, taking advantage of the pale spring water surging out again to take some.

Now there were no "water ghosts" sinking at the bottom of the spring, and no blurry figures wandering around. It was the safest time!

The next second, Lu Mian saw "Madame Lady Lady Hai La" take out a small bottle made of gold. The bottle was engraved with many complex mysterious symbols, which were very similar to those Lu Mian saw at the door of the basement of the "Highland Secret Medicine" store.

"Madame Lady Lady Hai La" didn't wait for the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" to surge out again, but squatted down directly and brought the bottle mouth toward the mud at the edge.

Those muds were dark, and the closer they were to the dark hole, the more they made people feel that they were special, as if they contained countless colors. The further out, the more ordinary they were. By the time they reached the area not submerged by the spring water, they were completely close to the state of the slope itself.

At this time, because the pale, semi-ethereal spring water had shrunk into that dark hole, most of the dark mud surface became dry, without a bit of liquid, but the very edge still had some moisture, seeping out some water droplets that were more real than the pale spring water and closer to the color of a night lake.

Seeing that "Madame Lady Lady Hai La's" target was these liquids, Lu Mian asked suspiciously:

"Aren't you waiting for the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring' to surge out again?"

"Madame Lady Lady Hai La" shook her head:

"This is the real 'Samaritan Woman's Spring' water. Those pale water flows are dangerous things we can't touch at all now. As long as we touch a bit, we will die immediately, wandering around the spring water forever or sinking near the spring eye. The containers we use won't be an exception either."

So terrifying? Is the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" a derivative of the pale water flow rather than the main body? Lu Mian also took out the metal small bottle he had prepared in advance and caught the liquid droplets seeping from the mud at the edge of the spring.

Just one drop, and the bottle he had prepared showed signs of rusting and corrosion from being soaked at the bottom of the water for a long time.

"Madame Lady Lady Hai La" didn't speak, and took out another gold small bottle engraved with a large number of complex symbols, throwing it to Lu Mian.

Only then did Lu Mian successfully catch the dripping "Samaritan Woman's Spring" water, while most of his attention was on the dark spring eye.

As long as it stopped shaking like an earthquake, he would immediately turn around and run wildly with the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" water he had already received!

One drop, two drops, three drops. The spring water entered the gold small bottle at a slow state that seemed to stop at any time, while the bottle Lu Mian had originally prepared became rustier and dilapidated.

Lu Mian looked at the progress that couldn't be accelerated, worrying about the pale spring water surging out again.

His heart, influenced by various negative factors, was full of irritability.

Therefore, he opened his mouth and cursed various dirty words silently, using this to relieve the emotions in his heart.

Tick, tick. He had only filled one-third of the bottle when he saw "Madame Lady Lady Hai La" take the initiative to stop and screw on the cap of the gold small bottle.

Can't be greedy... Lu Mian warned himself and ended the act of collecting the "Samaritan Woman's Spring" water with "Madame Lady Lady Hai La."

The two ran quickly toward the top of the slope.

Not long after, the sound of splashing water came from behind them.

The pale spring water surged out of the dark hole again!

The two didn't look back to see the situation and continued to run wildly toward the outside of the grayish-white mist, as if there were invisible, terrifying monsters chasing closely behind them.

It was only a few seconds before they finally arrived at the edge of the grayish-white mist. Lu Mian grabbed "Madame Lady Lady Hai La's" arm, stepped hard, and rushed out.

After leaving the area shrouded in grayish-white mist, Lu Mian finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the coldness on his body and the "calmness" of his thoughts had been dispelled quite a bit.

…………

"Mental Pierce"!

Jenna's body emerged from the shadows, with two "electric lights" flashing in her eyes.

The man dressed as a wizard heard an illusory cracking sound, only feeling intense pain surging from the depths of his spirit, occupying his brain.

He instinctively fell down, curled up, seeming to want to alleviate the pain in this way.

Franca didn't give him this opportunity and shone the mirror she had just taken out toward him.

As the client dressed as a wizard was reflected in the mirror, black flames ignited in Franca's palm, wiping toward the glass surface.

Demoness's curse!

Black flames suddenly erupted from the man's body, burning his spirit, which was still struggling in pain, to be exceptionally weak.

Immediately after, crystal-clear ice covered him layer by layer, and colorless spider silk wrapped around him circle by circle, revealing his form.

Franca intended to control the other party, not kill him. After all, no one knew if this guy was involved in any pollution or high-level things, and reckless communication with spirits easily encountered accidents.

Seeing that the man had become very weak and was under heavy control, Franca whispered unexpectedly:

"Just this?"

She had no doubts about her and Jenna's ability to defeat the other party with a surprise attack, but she didn't expect it to be so easy and simple.

The next second, the man, under the triple control of black flames, ice layers, and "spider silk," opened his mouth with difficulty, revealing a weak voice:

"You are committing a crime!"

Just as he finished speaking, the depths of the underground seemed to have a violent earthquake, and a stone on the tunnel roof suddenly fell, smashing straight toward Jenna's head.

Jenna lunged forward, rolling to dodge, but was still hit twice by the falling stones.

Franca was also in a similar situation, feeling that if it continued, the entire tunnel would collapse. Even if she had a "Mirror Substitute," she couldn't guarantee she could hold on until outside this section of the tunnel.

She didn't hesitate anymore, gripped her right hand, and let the remaining black flames in the client's body erupt again.

The black flames burned the spirit, and the man dressed as a wizard quickly lost his life.

The vibration of the tunnel stopped, leaving only dust filling the air.

Franca let out a sigh of relief, didn't waste time, and quickly set up a spirit communication ritual. Jenna rubbed her shoulders and back, guarding the surroundings to prevent anyone from passing by.

After a while, Franca completed the "Magic Mirror Spirit Communication Technique," held the mirror, and looked at the pale, cyan-tinged face that looked a bit arrogant:

"How much do you know about the secret of the Deep Valley Quarry?"

The man's spirit answered blankly:

"Some people want to use machines to extend life, some people want machines to gain life.

"Part of the Deep Valley Monastery is sliding into the abyss."

Speaking vaguely, can't you be more detailed? Franca asked:

"Which organization are you from, and why do you want to use the gatekeeper's disappearance?"

The man was about to open his mouth to answer when a layer of constantly changing mist suddenly filled the inside of the mirror.

Crack!

The mirror in Franca's hand shattered instantly.

Bang!

The man's body, wrapped in ice and "spider silk," exploded, and the flesh and blood turned into mist, shrouding this area.

Almost simultaneously, Franca shattered like a mirror, turning into fragments and falling to the ground.

Her figure was quickly outlined at the intersection of the tunnel, appearing beside Jenna.

"Sure enough, there's a problem." Franca looked at the blood mist with an indefinite shape, watching it settle gradually and merge into the earth.

At this time, the corpse had become a pool of flesh and mud, and all the items on it, except for those made of metal, had become residues. 【

Franca and Jenna searched briefly and found a brass key and coins worth two or three hundred verl d'or.

Not daring to linger, they left the place after clearing away their traces.

About two or three minutes later, a pair of legs in knee-high brown boots appeared beside that puddle of flesh and mud, holding a small, golden kettle with a protruding wick.

…………

The scorching sun shone on the entrance to the catacombs of Purgatory Square and on Lu Mian, making him feel as if he had returned from the kingdom of the dead to the world of the living, the cold on his body largely dispelled.

He turned his head to look at "Madame Lady Lady Hai La," whose face was still pale and whose purple-red corpse spots and signs of decay had not yet healed, and smiled.

"Although there wasn't a battle in the true sense, it was the closest I've ever been to 'death'."

"Those who can retain their imprints in the Pale Spring for a long time were all great figures in the past," Madame Lady Lady Hai La said simply.

As Lu Mian walked toward the edge of the square, he asked casually:

"What exactly is the use of the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring'? It can't really be used to forget the past and forget pain, can it?"

Madame Lady Lady Hai La shook her head:

"To me, it can be used to replace a certain ritual, or rather, become a major part of another ritual."

Lu Mian didn't quite understand and didn't press for details.

Soon, he discovered that the feeling of his body being cold and his thoughts settling did not completely disappear just because he had left the catacombs.

Having been mostly dispelled, they seemed to have become a part of him, and would slowly grow again when night fell.

"The abnormality in our bodies is still there," Lu Mian reminded Madame Lady Lady Hai La in a low voice.

Madame Lady Lady Hai La nodded:

"I have a way to deal with it; the person who had you bring the spring water should have a way too."

Lu Mian said "Mm," waved goodbye to Madame Lady Lady Hai La, and walked toward the public carriage stop.

Compared to the abnormality of slowly dying, he was more worried about the Earth Blood mineral and the strange "rust" that had eroded into his palm.

(End of chapter)