Fengqing Village, southwest corner.
The color of the sky here is noticeably darker than elsewhere, with dense dark matter floating in the air, like algae accumulated in a pond.
Xu Mu and Liang Chen were immersed in it, and nothing happened.
To ordinary people, dark matter is a mutagenic poison, but to ability users, it is the best supplement, a medium for controlling elements.
Xu Mu silently replenished his abilities while carefully observing the ancient tree swaying in the dark.
Its withered trunk now emanated a light that was mesmerizing, compelling one to walk towards it.
His eyes narrowed slightly. It was attracting people; why?
Seeing his thoughtful expression, Liang Chen swallowed nervously, a bad premonition suddenly arising in his heart.
A pollution source, there was a pollution source in this village!
Was Xu Mu asking him to deal with this thing?
Liang Chen's face showed fear, and he couldn't help but take a step back.
He was indeed a genius ability user from the Jin Yin Merchant House, and his strength was considerable. However, to deal with a pollution source was truly overestimating his capabilities. Without absolute power to suppress it, clearing a pollution source could be an extremely time-consuming process, often lasting three to five days.
The ability reserves of a first-tier ability user wouldn't last that long, not even three to five hours, because within the pollution source's range, all living beings would be transformed into abominations. When the darkness reached a certain intensity, it would automatically summon bone specters.
Ability users needed to expend mental energy to clear abominations, and simultaneously purify the pollution with special talismans. This process was too complex and dangerous, so even a first-tier pollution source required a second-tier ability user to clear it.
Looking at the ancient tree exuding torrents of black energy, the dark moonlight that occasionally scattered and fell on the bricks and tiles even caused them to tremble.
Even non-living things were mutating. What quality was this pollution source?
"The key to the pollution source isn't on the ancient tree. I have a feeling something is buried beneath it."
Xu Mu used his shadow ability to delve beneath the large tree and observed carefully, reaching this conclusion.
He didn't sense pollution on the ancient tree itself but rather a powerful energy underground.
It was as if someone had buried something at the roots of the ancient tree.
"We need to find a way to dig it up and see."
"Are you a mental ability user?"
Liang Chen swallowed, looking at Xu Mu in surprise.
From such a distance, he could sense it so clearly, even pinpointing the exact location. This was beyond his comprehension.
And wasn't this guy a swordsman?
"Buzz!"
The totem buried underground seemed to sense the approach of ability users. In the brief moment the two were speaking, it automatically released a large amount of evil energy. Rolling black mist spread for over a hundred meters, engulfing many plants and flowers.
Xu Mu's eyes narrowed. It had detected their arrival, so the pollution source had partially erupted to prevent them from entering?
"It has self-awareness!"
Liang Chen exclaimed. This pollution source had self-awareness. It seemed the situation was even more serious than he imagined. This was a characteristic that only a third-tier pollution source would exhibit!
"Brother Xu, a pollution source of this level is beyond our capabilities to resolve." Liang Chen's face was grim. He had long since wanted to retreat, not wanting to stay a moment longer. He immediately began to withdraw. "Before the pollution fully erupts, let's retreat quickly!"
Xu Mu, immersed in the dense darkness, opened all his pores to absorb it. Seeing Liang Chen about to leave, he grabbed the other man.
"Leave? Why leave?"
His expression was one of surprise. A third-tier pollution source, not a third-tier abomination. Why the panic?
"You don't have to worry about being polluted, so of course you're not afraid."
Charles looked at Liang Chen pityingly. A third-tier pollution source was indeed terrifying. Even in its nascent stage, it could cause secondary pollution to an ability user's body.
Normally, every ability user's body had a limit for carrying abilities. If this limit were exceeded, or if the purity of the absorbed energy surpassed what the ability user's body could withstand, then the ability user would mutate.
But how could he guess that Xu Mu was not afraid of this at all? This would only make him stronger. In just a short while, his internal injuries had healed considerably. This pollution source was simply a mobile blood spring!
Xu Mu turned his head and looked at Liang Chen with confusion.
It was such a good place, he couldn't find one anywhere else. Yet, you wanted to run?
But the other party was looking at him as if he were a monster.
"Brother Xu, aren't you afraid of being infected without protecting yourself with elemental energy!"
Liang Chen couldn't break free, so he gave up struggling. His entire body was wrapped in yellowish-brown elemental energy, blocking the external darkness and preventing it from corroding his body.
"Brother Xu, I think we should retreat quickly. If we don't leave now, it will be too late!"
Liang Chen looked around. The surrounding flowers and trees had already changed. The branches of the large tree had transformed into sharp blades, the small grass was covered in countless eyes, and even the bricks of the surrounding walls seemed to slowly stand up, taking on human forms.
His voice was already laced with tears.
"There are quite a few abominations. Brother Liang, please do me a favor and draw them away."
Xu Mu drew the knife at his waist and said coldly.
He could sense the ground trembling slightly, and then dozens of skeletal abominations crawled out from the ground nearby.
These skeletal guards did not attack but instead stood guard around the ancient tree, clearly not wanting Xu Mu to approach!
If he wanted to eliminate the pollution source, he first had to get close to it.
However, within the pollution source, these abominations could "resurrect from the dead," so he couldn't waste time on them. Only by dealing with the source could the problem be fundamentally solved.
The existence of these abominations, while not enough to kill him, would be very troublesome. After all, besides having a strong physique and immunity to pollution, he didn't have any high-damaging abilities at the moment. Dealing with abominations still required that hunting knife.
"You don't need to do much. Just help me draw away some of the abominations' attacks. If you can't hold on, then leave, but don't betray me!"
He patted Liang Chen on the shoulder. Liang Chen's eyes widened.
"Are you crazy? This is a third-tier pollution source!"
"I know."
Xu Mu stared into Liang Chen's eyes.
"So, can you help me draw them away?"
"If you can't resist, you can go first, but you absolutely cannot sell me out!"
He took out his hunting knife and glared fiercely at Liang Chen. He had serious doubts about this kid's character. Entrusting his back to him was not a wise choice, but there was no other way now.
Liang Chen was dumbfounded. Removing a pollution source?
He had no idea where this guy's confidence came from, as he was actively trying to enter the pollution source.
Were swordsmen's minds always this unsound?