Chapter 57: Necrotic Fiend II
"Rui, hold it steady!" Ram charged forward; his knife raised high.
With a powerful swing, fueled by his physique—now augmented by Groot and the extra physical attributes acquired from upgrading his basic techniques prior—his Physique attribute soared to 32 points.
With a powerful swing, the blade sliced through the corrupted wood, sending the spiritual flames deep into the panther's body. The flames burned through the layer of curse power protecting it with ease.
"Roarr...roar!" The panther howled in agony, its body convulsing as Ram's spiritual power worked to purify the curse energy.
Desperate to extinguish the flames, it lashed out with its sharp claws, but Ram persisted. He blocked the beast's attacks with his knife, using the weapon as both shield and sword.
Although the panther's physical attributes were higher than his, the 'Glacial Thorn' had frozen most of its body, making it harder for the beast to move and cause much damage to him.
Ram didn't miss such a good opportunity. With each swing of his knife, the panther grew weaker.
The spiritual essence within the blade surged into the creature's body, expelling the curse power.
He swung the knife with practiced skill, focusing on the heart of the corruption within the panther.
Its movements became sluggish, its roars less ferocious as the purifying power took its toll.
Finally, with one last powerful strike, Ram split the panther's body in two. The spiritual flames consumed the remaining curse energy, and the dark green light in its eyes faded.
The panther's withered body crumbled to ash, leaving behind a purple core the size of a grape.
Breathing heavily, Ram stepped back, his knife still glowing with residual spiritual power. He looked at Rui, who was also exhausted but smiling with relief.
"We did it, Rui," Ram said, his voice filled with triumph.
Rui nodded her head with a bright smile on her face, her icy thistle blooms shimmering in the fading light. "Yes, brother. We did it together."
As the last remnants of the necrotic fiend turned to ash, the atmosphere around them began to lighten.
The cursed energy dissipated, and the village felt more serene. The other wood spirits, who had been fighting their battles, noticed the change and rallied together, driving back the remaining cursed monsters.
"Let's check on Ling Xi," Ram said, as he looked around for the core, which lay amidst the ashes of the necrotic fiend.
He stepped forward to collect the wood spirit core. Rui, on the other hand, shouted hurriedly to stop him, "Brother, don't..." but it was too late.
He had already touched the wood spirit core with his hand, and the moment he touched it, the core melted into his hand, turning into dark purple energy.
Before he could say something, his body turned into light particles and disappeared from the Wood Spirit World.
Ram abruptly awoke, finding himself in the familiar compartment. Su Mu was still asleep on the bed, and Groot was beside him, detached from the Bio-Armor.
He felt as if he had a dream, but he knew for sure that it was definitely not a dream, just because he could still feel the dark purple energy on his left hand trying to infect him.
However, before he could do anything, the life energy and spiritual power inside his body acted.
His left hand which was turning purple slowly returned to normal. All the cursed power from the spirit core was soon purified by both his life energy and spiritual power.
He even felt the power of purification was more powerful inside his body than when he tried to fight with the cursed monsters, and he didn't even feel any pain or anything.
Just like some virus infected him but before he knew about it, his body had already recovered too normal.
He sat up, still processing what had happened. The vividness of the experience in the wood spirit world was undeniable.
He glanced at his left hand, flexing it and feeling the lingering warmth, it seemed like after the curse power was purified it seemed to have left some special energy inside his hand.
He tried to use Spiritual Eye to it but all he found was a bunch of question marks. He tried to absorb some of it; however, his body seemed too unable to absorb this energy, so he hurriedly placed his hand on nearby Groot and infused it before it could dissipate trying to see if it could absorb it.
Shortly after Groot absorbed the milky white energy, its body started to grow taller and more robust.
The bark on its surface thickened, and then the transformation abruptly stopped. Ram quickly examined its attribute panel to discern the changes.
[Name: Titan Wood Sprout (Groot)]
[Level: Black Iron (73%)]
[Quality: Rare]
[Physique: 17]
[Spirit: 11.5]
[Description: Resembling a humanoid. The Titan Wood Sprout boasts an enhanced physique, resilient bark, and the ability to manipulate vines and branches within certain limits. This creature can continue to grow slowly over time, absorbing vitality from its surroundings.]
[Skills:
[Shared Consciousness]: The Titan Wood is not just an individual tree but rather a collective entity, forming a network with all the trees surrounding it in the forest, enabling shared thinking and communication among trees with the same origin.]
[Talent:
[Bio Armor]: Upon activation, the Titan Wood Sprout merges with its host, forming armor made up of its bark. It is not only durable but also flexible, adapting to the host's movements and needs. This bond enables the host to superimpose their physical and spiritual attributes. Allowing the host to gain the ability to freely use all the skills of the Titan Wood Sprout when they are bonded.]
Observing the attribute panel, Ram noted, "There were no changes to the skills or talent, however," he pondered, "the experience has seemingly increased from 0% to 73%.
Additionally, there has been an enhancement in attributes, primarily the Spirit attribute receiving a significant boost of 10 points directly."
Compared to the initial single point in Spirit attribute, it has now reached 11, fulfilling the criteria for an upgrade to Bronze level.
This makes it more efficient for him to use less spiritual power and life energy for further upgrades.
He also noticed that the description had changed; previously, it mentioned 'low-level intelligence, exhibiting rudimentary awareness,' but now that part was omitted.
It appeared that Groot's intelligence and awareness had significantly improved.
Although he may not be able to speak directly, he should be able to communicate with him like other wood spirits do.
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