Over these past few months, not a few Spirit Masters had died at the hands of their own comrades due to clearing corruption points.
Facing the harsh environment of a corruption point, Shui Bing'er and the others already had experience. They swiftly circulated their spirit power throughout their bodies to isolate themselves from the invasion of negative energy.
At the same time, they focused all their mental power, attempting to shield themselves from the interference of negative emotions.
However, they couldn't maintain this state for too long. Spirit power would continuously deplete, and mental power would gradually tire.
But within a corruption point, this was the most basic way to cope. Otherwise, once corroded by negative energy and their spirits polluted by negative emotions, even as Spirit Masters, it would take at least a year or half a year of recuperation to return to normal.
"Crack!"
A crisp snap echoed in the silence as a dry branch was mercilessly broken beneath Shui Bing'er's foot.
She surveyed the surrounding desolate scene, finding it hard to imagine that not long ago, this place had been a vibrant, lush forest.
However, she knew in her heart that as long as this corruption point was successfully cleared, the area would quickly regain its former vitality.
Because once the negative energy in a corruption point was removed and purified, it would miraculously transform into positive energy imbued with a powerful life aura. At that time, this barren land would rapidly blossom with new life, returning to its original state.
But if it wasn't cleared in time, the consequences would be unimaginable.
A corruption point would expand indefinitely like a malignant tumor, continuously breeding more powerful monsters.
According to the deductions of the Spirit Hall and the two empires, if a corruption point with an area comparable to a main city appeared, the monsters born within would reach the Title Douluo level, and potentially even break through to the terrifying levels of Peak Douluo or even Ultimate Douluo.
At that point, the entire Douluo Continent would face an unprecedented disaster.
Even more concerning, if a corruption point went undiscovered and expanded indefinitely, there was even a possibility of god-level monsters appearing.
Although the major forces on land maintained strict surveillance, it was extremely difficult for a corruption point to expand silently to such an extent.
However, the vast and boundless ocean became a hidden worry for the major forces.
The ocean area of the Douluo Continent was immense and limitless, with most regions inaccessible to humans.
It was hard to imagine what terrifying monsters would be bred if a corruption point suddenly appeared in some deep-sea area and no one could deal with it in time.
If these bred monsters could not be successfully killed, the corruption point would fall into endless expansion, and the monsters would become increasingly powerful, forming a vicious cycle. Then, the destruction of the Douluo Continent might only be a matter of time.
Of course, a good number of people recognized this potential crisis, but most of them didn't care, adopting the mindset of "the sky falling only affects the tall ones."
"Be careful, this corruption point feels off! Why are all the monsters humanoid?" As the team ventured deeper, Shui Ming'er's expression grew increasingly grim.
Although they were currently in the outer perimeter, the monsters they encountered were not strong, mostly humanoid monsters at the Great Spirit Master and Spirit Grandmaster cultivation levels.
However, these humanoid monsters were clad in black spirit tool armor and wielded various spirit tools—ranging from long-range attackers, controllers, and supporters, to defenders—all readily available. This caused immense trouble for Shui Bing'er and the others.
According to the investigation results of Spirit Hall and the two empires over the past few months, most monsters bred from corruption points were beast-type or other forms, including various spirit beasts, and a small number of strange monsters they had never seen before.
But among all types, corruption points that bred humanoid monsters were undoubtedly the most difficult to deal with.
Because these humanoid monsters were mostly modeled after Spirit Masters from the Spirit Master world, they not only possessed spirits and spirit rings but also had a wide variety of diverse spirit abilities, making them extremely difficult to handle.
Shui Bing'er and her group had even heard that a corruption point once appeared in the Star Luo Empire, and the humanoid monster it condensed was modeled after the Sword Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Even though it was only a Spirit Saint level Sword Douluo, the Star Luo Empire dispatched a full five Spirit Douluo to surround and kill it.
The reason was that alongside that Spirit Saint level Sword Douluo, there was the assistance of the Spirit Emperor level Sect Master Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Coupled with the fact that negative energy monsters were purely emotionless killing machines with terrifying combat instincts, their actual combat power was even stronger than that of Sword Douluo himself.
Therefore, when clearing corruption points, everyone avoided humanoid monsters at all costs.
And at this moment, what made Shui Bing'er and the others' expressions even more grim was that even the outermost monsters of this corruption point already looked like a fully armed Spirit Master legion.
It was hard to imagine how troublesome the monsters encountered deeper within would be.
The only fortunate thing was that this corruption point had only recently appeared. The accumulated negative energy had not yet amassed in large quantities, and the monster levels were not too high for the time being; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
"Crack!" The sound of shattering ice rang out again. A black armored soldier, frozen into an ice sculpture by Shui Bing'er, was shattered by her palm. The black armored soldier instantly transformed into black mist and dissipated in the air, leaving only a spherical spirit tool behind.
Shui Bing'er bent down to pick it up, infused it with spirit power, and then forcefully threw it at another black armored soldier.
"Boom!" Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the black armored soldier was instantly blasted into a cloud of black mist, leaving only a piece of metal before completely dissipating.
Witnessing this scene, Shui Bing'er and the others couldn't help but express their awe.
These spirit tools were indeed useful, capable of unleashing astonishing power with just a bit of spirit power.
Even for support-type and food-type Spirit Masters who lacked direct combat ability, if they obtained these spirit tools, they could display formidable strength.
They had personally experienced the power of the spirit tools in the hands of these black armored soldiers. If not for Shui Ming'er's presence and Shui Bing'er's sufficient alertness, there would likely have been casualties in the team already.
For dignified Spirit Sects to almost be injured by Great Spirit Masters and Spirit Grandmasters demonstrated the power of these black armored soldiers.
At least the Spirit Master legions of the two great empires and Spirit Hall were not as troublesome.
The intelligent Shui Bing'er thought even further. If these black armored soldiers formed a certain scale, organized into battle formations, and equipped with those powerful spirit tools, what a terrifying force that would be.
They had only encountered black armored soldiers in small groups of two or three and already found them difficult to handle. If they encountered them in formation, they would probably only be able to flee in disarray.
Although the battle process was very arduous, the gains were quite substantial.
After these black armored soldiers were killed, most would leave behind a spirit tool or spirit tool metal.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had been collecting spirit tools in large quantities, and selling these spoils to them would surely bring a huge profit.
After all, these low-grade spirit tools were not very practical for Shui Bing'er and the others, but the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan accepted all comers. Even low-grade spirit tools would be acquired at a high price.
Not only that, they wouldn't let go of spirit tool metals either.
As everyone continued forward, the surrounding black mist grew denser, and the battle for Shui Bing'er and the others became more strenuous. They even used their spirit fusion skill.
This was because the black armored soldiers appearing later became increasingly strong, and the spirit tools they wielded were astonishingly powerful, to the point that even Shui Bing'er suffered minor injuries.
By this point, Shui Ming'er was already having second thoughts.
The number of monsters far exceeded her expectations. Although these monsters posed little threat to her personally, Shui Bing'er and the others were in great danger.
No one knew if the spirit tools in the hands of the monsters further in would be even more powerful. If it led to Shui Bing'er and the others being severely injured, thus making them unable to participate in the upcoming Spirit Master Tournament, it would be a huge loss.
Thinking of this, Shui Ming'er signaled the team to stop, then turned to Shui Bing'er and said, "Bing'er, you all wait here in the outer perimeter. I'll go in alone and try to kill the core monster."
"Aunt Ming'er, isn't that too risky? This corruption point is truly too abnormal, too dangerous!"
Shui Bing'er's brows were tightly furrowed. This corruption point was strange in every aspect, filling her with unease. She truly didn't want her aunt to take such a risk.
They weren't new to clearing corruption points, but encountering one entirely made of humanoid monsters was a first.
Moreover, these monsters were uniformly equipped, clearly resembling a complete Spirit Master legion.
It was only because they lacked reason and wisdom, preventing these black armored soldiers from cooperating and forcing them to fight individually, that they were able to make it this far.
But as they delved deeper, they could distinctly feel that this corruption point was frantically gathering a massive amount of negative energy, with new monsters being born at any moment.
And the power of those spirit tools was formidable, their effects even more bizarre and varied.
It was hard to imagine if the spirit tools in the hands of the core monster would pose a threat to Shui Ming'er herself.
"It's fine. I'll go in and assess the situation. If it's truly impossible, I'll retreat in time."
Shui Ming'er was confident in her own strength. She found it hard to believe that she would meet with misfortune when facing a newly born corruption point.
"Then, Aunt Ming'er, please be careful!"
Looking at her aunt's confident demeanor, Shui Bing'er's heart was filled with worry, but she was helpless. She could only nod reluctantly, knowing full well she couldn't stop her aunt.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
Shui Ming'er chuckled softly, then transformed into a blue light, shooting like an arrow from a bowstring straight towards the core area of the corruption point.
"Sister, will Aunt Ming'er be okay? Why do I feel so anxious?"
Shui Yue'er looked at the withered vegetation, the cracked earth, and the wisps of black mist continuously rising from the ground around them. With her mind highly focused on resisting negative emotions, she had lost her usual liveliness.
After all, anyone would feel immense pressure in such an environment, and Shui Yue'er was no exception.