He had enough experience points for the next minor realm with some more to spare. Of course, it didn’t escape him that it might be beneficial to keep himself at this current level and farm experience points, but again, it was not something he was keen on doing with the two corrupted beasts waiting in the distance.
Especially when he had already sacrificed a portion of his cultivation speed by willingly increasing his Impurity.
Impurity: Stage 2 (74%)
Weeks, 2 Days, 19 Hours Remaining
William withdrew the jade ball from his spatial stone. It was time to end this.
As if the QiMoth Wisp had the same idea, it chittered loudly enough that he was confident that it could be heard throughout the entire length of the tunnel, all hundreds of feet of it.
V̷̢̌̋͊ͅe̶̫̠̋r̴̨̾͌̌ỹ̵͈̋͘ ̷̻͕͂ẉ̶̒̚ẻ̷̫̦̈́͑l̶̼̗̼͊l̴̛̠̪̱̒̕.̷̭̐͗
That came from a corrupted beast, but it seemed he had gained a little tolerance since it didn’t affect him much. However, he was alarmed to see the steady light from Princess Jin’s lantern weaken significantly.
William risked taking his eyes off the QiMoth Wisp and sighed in relief when he saw that while Princess Jin seemed unsteady on her feet, she hadn’t lost consciousness.
A ferocious roar made him turn his focus away from the princess to the corrupted beasts. His eyes widened at what they were bringing to the battle. It seemed to be a more mobile version of themselves.
[Name: Corrupted Lifeform | Level: 58]
[Name: Corrupted Lifeform | Level: 99]
Two of them. One didn’t seem much of a concern to him based on the level, but the other meant instant death.
William hadn’t missed that there were four corrupted beasts. Three that were likely for him based on their levels, and the much weaker one must be for Princess Jin.
The only reason he had a modicum of confidence at the moment was the jade ball Princess Jin had given him. If not for that, he couldn’t see how this would be survivable for him, let alone the average cultivator that entered this dimension.
Was it expected for everyone to have a lifesaving measure? Or maybe his was a special case.
After all, instead of taking a sip like Princess Jin, William had casually waded into the lake before merrily cultivating to his heart’s content until it was no longer possible. Perhaps that was why he was set upon by such high-level spirit beasts. All of this could simply be a price for his greed.
It certainly explained when Princess Jin was utterly ignored in all this, and every beast seemed hell-bent on taking his life.
William noticed that the QiMoth Wisp had retreated back to safety near the two newly summoned, though why William had no idea. It wasn’t like he could touch the spirit beast with his limited speed in the first place. If anything, this was actually a benefit to him.
“Princess!” William yelled without taking his eyes off the corrupted beasts that seemed to be staring back at him, “Where’s the furthest I can break the jade?”
“Anywhere!”
William nodded slightly, aware she likely couldn’t see his slight movement of acknowledgment. He didn’t care. The corrupted beasts that had dropped down on the ground started to slowly lumber toward him.
He put a little more pressure on the jade ball in his palm, debating cracking it open instantly. There was also a brief thought of moving closer to the corrupted beasts so there wouldn’t be any unpleasant surprises in store.
Mainly preventing a possible overestimation of the range at which the jade ball was effective. However, the choice was taken away from him.
H̷͙͙̀̐h̸̜̆͋͝h̷̹̱̽h̷̤̉̽̓͜h̷͈͚̿ͅh̴̖͆̀͝r̵̹̺̃̃͝ŕ̵̛̬͇͇̈́r̵͍̥͐͘͘r̶̯̳̉͝ͅr̷̲͂̌̇r̸̩̀̃̈́a̷̹̝͎͊̈́͗á̷̺͋̐a̷̮̤͗̒a̶͚̓̆a̴̢̞͗̍̚ȁ̶̡͇̇͠H̷͖͚̾H̷̝̦͚͒̓̈H̸̰̠̒̋H̵͕͆̿Ḫ̶̛̙̯H̸̯̪̒͘͝!̶̰̍̍
The tunnel fell into darkness, indicating that Princess Jin had lost consciousness. That was the least of William’s concerns. The previous assumption of gaining tolerance to the corrupted beast’s speech was instantly broken.
He fell to his knees as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Even when painfully aware that doing so would mean death. He could hear something rushing at him, and the growing sense of doom did nothing to help him use his strength to crack open the jade ball.
R̷̺͊͌̓i̶̢͂p̶̨̞̹̉̓͘ ̶̨̘̙́̚t̶̼̀͑ḧ̶̡̛̭̻́̔ȅ̶̯̋ ̶̙́ḷ̸̛̺̅ḯ̷̤̓̄m̷͉̗̊ḅ̵͋͑ ̵̧̘̤̈́̔͗o̸̢̯̐̇̈́f̶͎͈̱̋̚f̶̫͚̞̋!̶̥̅
Of course, when his physical strength seemed far too affected to use the lifesaving measure, William immediately directed his Qi to enhance his strength. It should have been an almost instantaneous process.
However, it felt like his Qi moved through his pathways like molasses. At least compared to the speed he was used to.
D̸̘̥̈́͛i̴̠͚̊e̵̦͇̍̈́͗.̷̨̹̔
William could barely react to the sudden appearance of the corrupted beast in front of him. It attacked him, swinging an arm that looked to be made of blackened flesh in the form of a club.
That was what saved him.
Perhaps it was due to Princess Jin’s luck affecting the situation. Still, the corrupted beast choosing to attack him with something that needed close contact instead of staying at range most likely gave him the extra fraction of a second for his Qi to finally reach his hand to reinforce his strength.
William heard the sharp clink of glass breaking as his fingers split the jade ball at the most dramatic moment.
His eyes were heavy with unnatural exhaustion, but he still noticed the corrupted beast had frozen in place. Its strangely fluid body was far too still, a sharp contrast to the regular movements constantly seen throughout its body.
“Demons.”
What made William fall closer into forced sleep was lifted, making his eyes snap open in surprise. He immediately got to his feet and jumped back to distance himself from the corrupted beast. Conveniently, it also put him right next to where Princess Jin had collapsed.
“Four demons.”
William quickly checked to ensure she was simply unconscious before grabbing the lantern she had been using to provide light.
[Equip detected]
[Calculating cost per use]
[Cost | 20 Spiritual Energy per hour]
He didn’t delay activating the lantern with his Qi. At this distance, it was impossible to see the corrupted beast that had been about to mash him into a pulp, let alone the other three that were at an even greater distance. More than that, he was even more curious about the cultivator that was speaking.
It was likely that this was Princess Jin’s grandfather, but he still wanted to confirm if this was the same man who politely ordered him to take the young girl on this disastrous trip.
The tunnel was lit up, erasing the darkness that previously covered it to reveal all four corrupted beasts frozen in their spots. And the cause of all this was the ethereal cultivator that casually hovered in midair, arms crossed behind his back.
William’s mouth twitched when he realized that even if he could see more than just the cultivator’s back, it would be impossible to match him with the one that stopped him at the gates of Xuanjing City. The sun had blinded him to the point that he hadn’t even been able to see if the man had white hair, which the specter that was saving them certainly did.
“Perish.”
The corrupted beast with the massive club for a limb, the one about to effortlessly murder William with glee, shattered like a mirror. Without a sound, it disintegrated into nothing before his eyes.
He then saw Princess Jin’s possible grandfather glance at the corrupted beasts in the distance before the same fate befell them.
All of that pain William had faced was fixed with a mere word and brief glance. He shuddered, though he wasn’t sure if that was in terror or desire, not at the cultivator but the sheer power one held at the higher realms. It was always known to him, but seeing it in action was humbling.
“Wei Liang?”
William kept his eyes on the specter that casually eliminated all four spirit beasts. Still, he replied to the princess. “Welcome back. Your lifesaving measure seems to have worked.”
A few seconds passed in silence, other than Princess Jin struggling to get on her feet. It was making him nervous.
“Princess, you said this esteemed cultivator is your grandfather.” William stared at the vigilant specter suspiciously.
“I-It is.”
“I see,” William's doubt wasn’t helped by her shaky voice, “The corrupted beasts are gone, but your lord grandfather is still on guard.”
“It will stay active for a few hours,” Princess Jin had obvious tiredness in her tone, “This was only supposed to be used for late-stage Core Formation cultivators, not mere beasts in the Qi Gathering realm.”
“… Oh,” William said dumbly.
“If we hadn’t been sucked in by the vortex, my protectors would have easily been able to protect us against the threats we faced so far.”
William nodded silently, a plan slowly forming in his mind. “Is it possible to move him with us?”
“No,” Princess Jin shot that down instantly.
He expected that. It would be too easy to carry around something that had the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Other than the giants that had fought each other when he first arrived at this level, nothing else would stand a chance.
That was fine. It just meant taking a little precaution before returning to the depths of the root maze was necessary.
“Alert me if needed, princess. I need to cultivate.”