158 - A Taste of Ancient Corruption

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The world opened up to a peculiar sight. Beyond those wooden doors was the outside world, yet it differed much from the Western Domain. It felt like an alien world, filled with exotic flora that rose to the sky, but the strangest thing that remained was the lack of all colours. The world was dark and grey.

The sky above was completely black, with no stars to be seen. However, darkness didn't encroach upon the world despite the lack of sunlight, for those strange plants produced lights of their own. Qin Yun didn't know how they metabolized this bioluminescence, but it was enough to light up his surroundings for a few miles around.

Those plants gave Qin Yun a strange feeling; some were as tall as trees yet deformed and twisted, a mix of plant life and marine biology. If they could be likened to something Qin Yun recognized, it would be coral and mollusk, except there was no ocean around for miles. Qin Yun even doubted any water remained on this land.

Those plants weren't static, either. They swayed back and forth as if to the ebb and flow of ocean waves or to that of a strong wind, despite no wind ever blowing on Qin Yun's skin. In fact, it felt as if those plants existed in a separate world, detached from his own reality. That was when he noticed the shimmering barrier pulsing between them.

It was the same he noticed at the library's top, peeking through the hole from his entrance. It formed a semi-circular dome over the structure, stopping a few meters from the door. On one side of it, Qin Yun could see the strange forest, but on the side where he stood, nothing. Not a single trace of those plants could breach that threshold.

In fact, he saw one of them wriggle. It spewed some sort of grey pollen into the atmosphere. Yet, as soon as it came into contact with the barrier, those miniature particles shattered before dissipating into nothingness. The barrier lit up and buzzed momentarily before returning to calm as if nothing had happened.

That would explain why Corruption hasn't taken hold within. However, how long has this gone on? With the heavenly Dao's influence not reaching here and the earth's veins depleted, what could possibly be powering it all?

These were some of the thoughts rushing through his brain, yet most of all, he was captured by the sight of those mysterious plants. Up until now, Qin Yun had seen two types of Corruption. The first was the grey that slowly took over living beings, transforming them into something else. He had experienced it fully multiple times. He even helped cure He Zihao of this affliction, using his tribulation qi granted by the Heavens and the power of the Ravenous Egg.

Speaking of which... what happened to it?

Since he had awoken, Qin Yun had yet to feel the egg's presence. Their connection seemed severed, and he couldn't find any traces of its existence, even within his storage.

Last time I saw, it seemed to be on the verge of breaking... It couldn’t possibly have...

Qin Yun could only put it out of his mind, for he had many more important things to consider, such as how to safely leave this place. The second type of Corruption was the one he had witnessed back in Jin City when he tore a hole in the sky.

Unlike the Corruption birthed when corroding any other type of life, this Corruption seemed much purer but much more corrosive, as if every living thing was mere food before it. He even felt his mind would be corroded from a mere look, enslaving all living things to its will.

As for those plants before him, they were far from that potent, most likely belonging to the first kind. At one point, this was probably a lush forest secluded from civilization yet entirely corroded, giving birth to what it was now.

Or maybe a dried-up ocean, Qin Yun thought as he paced back and forth before the barrier. These plants look strangely aquatic, a mix of plants and animals. Curious indeed... I wonder what this land looked like at its prime...

Qin Yun had no way to know except for the barrier surrounding this place. Seeing how it was able to fight back against those corrupted plants, preventing them from reaching further within, Qin Yun hypothesized the barrier could have, at one point, been used to drive away the water surrounding this place.

However, he would have no way to truly know, except maybe for the countless books that littered this place—the same books he couldn’t read yet.

Standing on the edge of the barrier, Qin Yun wavered between his drive to explore this world and the dread of what may lay beyond. Still, he only hesitated momentarily before his curiosity took the best of him.

He retrieved a dried-up stick from his storage. This was no spiritual wood, just an ordinary dead stick he had put in there long ago. Holding one end, he pierced the shimmering barrier with the other. Surprisingly, he felt no resistance. The stick pierced through it as if it didn't exist and elicited no reaction from the strange flora beyond.

Qin Yun retracted the stick, only for it to come out clean. He examined it for a minute, yet there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

Qin Yun took a long, deep breath before steeling himself and taking a few steps toward the barrier. He pressed his hand upon it, and as expected, he felt no resistance. His hand passed through unimpeded, yet he felt something strange. The air on the other side felt much heavier than the one on this side. It felt thick, like molasses, and he needed much more effort to move through it.

How strange...

Without waiting, Qin Yun slipped through the shimmering barrier, only to emerge on the other side. He took a deep breath, but as expected, he could feel the Corruption filling the air. It was much thicker than even near the edge of the Western Domain, yet it wasn't something he couldn't resist as it seemed much more passive than he remembered.

Usually, the Corruption would instinctively attack him, trying to change him into something he wasn't. But now, the surrounding Corruption barely reacted to his presence, almost as if it couldn't recognize he was free from its taint.

How long ago was this world overwhelmed for it to react in this way?

Qin Yun couldn't even estimate, but judging from how many petals this lotus contained and the trajectory of his fall when compared to the lotus etched onto the wooden doors, Qin Yun knew he should currently be on one of the bottom petals, maybe even one of the ten leaves—one of the first to have been entirely corroded by the Corruption.

Qin Yun walked forward, fighting against the thickness of the atmosphere, when a tall plant, strangely resembling the long, flowing appendages of a jellyfish, brushed against his clothes, only to feel the slightest hint of his bare skin through a large gash on the side.

Qin Yun thought nothing of it at first, for he spotted no reaction from the plant, nor any signs of the Corruption spreading over his body. However, the change was gradual, barely noticeable, as it happened too slowly. It took a few minutes for the flora to wake up to his presence, and once it did, Qin Yun was already several meters from the barrier.

He quickly doubled back, yet his route was now blocked. The grey plants entangled each other, creating a net that blocked his path. Feeling the threat of this forest of Corruption waking up, Qin Yun didn't hesitate. He retrieved his black blade and slashed the net with all his might. He didn't have to use his sword intent in the strike for the blade to rip through the grey plants, allowing a path to retreat.

However, the whole forest sprung into action when Qin Yun revealed his presence. The plants grew over half their original size, almost as if the rest of their bodies were once concealed under the dusty soil. They wriggled like countless tentacles, acting as if they possessed one consciousness, a hive mind.

They tried to block his path once again while long-grown vines tried to wrap around his body, stopping him from returning to the shimmering barrier.

Fortunately, Qin Yun acted quickly and decisively at the first hint of danger. His blade ripped through the flora as his feet carried him forward, and less than a few moments later, he had returned to the barrier completely unscathed. However, there was something he hadn't accounted for. The barrier didn't allow him a safe return. He was stopped at the edge, unable to pierce through.

The stick was able to return... Was it because I completely left the barrier?

Qin Yun pushed on the barrier with all his might, desperately trying to break through as the corrupted flora was swiftly trying to wrap around him. Fortunately, he could feel the barrier beginning to give in. His hand sank slightly into it, and with more time, he knew he could return. However, he currently didn't possess this much time.

He turned and swung his blade with all his might. The plants wrapped around him ripped apart from the strain, but not before their thorns dug into his skin. They wriggled like worms as they dug further, spreading their Corruption everywhere.

However, they soon dissipated into grey dust, starting from where they were ripped apart. In less than a second, all that remained exploded into a dark fog, which Qin Yun couldn't help but inadvertently inhale a part of it.

He coughed, eyes turning red as his lungs burned with each breath. However, this slight lull as the plant turned into dust allowed Qin Yun enough time to push through the barrier back to where the structure stood.

He felt blood pool in his lungs, and his vision grew hazy as Corruption spread throughout his body. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time he had been exposed to its corrosion and had built a slight resistance. In addition to his body forged through heavenly tribulation, Qin Yun remained conscious despite the pain.

He exhaled, watching as the particles of grey dust floated along his breath, only to be exterminated as soon as they left his body. The sterile field remained, destroying any pathogens that would leave the confines of his body, even the Corruption, yet it seemed it could do nothing for the parts already inside him.

As he was battling this invasive force, wondering how the situation had changed so drastically in but a few seconds, Qin Yun saw the grey fog that was once part of the flora begin to congregate into a singular mass. He even felt the parts rampaging throughout his body, attracted to this mass.

Mere moments later, the fog took an almost humanoid form. It was still undefined, yet it seemed to possess four limbs and a head. These limbs moved as if devoid of joints, wriggling like an invertebrate would, only to slowly stabilize into the form of a man. It was by no means perfect, resembling the doodles of a child. As if this new lifeform couldn't understand what humans were, its only resort was to imitate as best as it could.

Qin Yun was still choking, fighting back the pain as he watched what was happening on the other side with great interest. Despite his multiple encounters, this was the first time he had seen the Corruption take a form of its own, which didn't resemble some sort of eldritch horror.

He couldn't wait to understand how this ancient Corruption differed from the one he had encountered before. That was when the creature opened its deformed mouth and spoke for the first time.

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