"Something astonishing?" Luo Shu adjusted his posture slightly upon hearing this before asking, "Is it about why Eriri can mimic others' abilities?"
"You noticed that..."
Nia Honjo lay sprawled on the sofa, unsurprised, cradling Raziel in her hands:
"But that's actually just the surface-level manifestation. The real trouble lies in what's hidden beneath."
At this point, Nia paused briefly before continuing:
"Blood of a Nature Spirit."
"That's the source of Eriri's power, and also the force Enigma seeks."
'Blood of a Nature Spirit...' Luo Shu's eyebrow twitched at this combination of words as he calmly remarked:
"Is that the Essence Blood of a Nature Spirit required for my Demigod ascension?"
He truly hadn't expected to find clues about the Essence Blood of a Nature Spirit here.
Considering the Calamity Jade Seal within Conan's body, were the materials for his Demigod promotion really this easy to gather?
Though, come to think of it, why were all his Demigod ascension materials fused with people? Were Demigod Rank materials really this prone to human integration?
"It's an inferior version of one type, mind you. Pay attention to my wording - Blood of a Nature Spirit, not Essence Blood of a Nature Spirit. Note the difference!!"
Nia shot Luo Shu a glance before explaining wearily:
"Fundamentally, Nature Spirits are like the planet's antennae - an inherently high-ranking species. Their essence blood represents fragments of their core power, which could also be called fragments of nature itself."
"And naturally, these fragments of nature can't exist in just one form."
"In reality, nature manifests through numerous power characteristics. The Blood of a Nature Spirit within Eriri happens to be a legacy from a certain Spirit of Wind."
"While it's still a spirit's blood, it doesn't represent those core powers. Moreover, having come from the Abyss world, the compatibility might not be ideal - though it should still be usable."
Here, Nia flipped through Raziel, pondered for a moment, then added:
"If you're thinking of extracting Essence Blood of a Nature Spirit from Eriri, currently the only method would be continuously draining her Soul Power and purifying it through some ritual."
"Considering conversion ratios and loss rates, extracting one portion of Essence Blood of a Nature Spirit would take over two hundred years - not accounting for damage to Eriri's soul."
"So it's basically unfeasible, right?" Luo Shu immediately dismissed the idea upon hearing "not accounting for damage".
He wasn't insane enough to kill Eriri for ascension purposes.
Besides, the timeframe made no sense either. In two hundred years, he could accumulate enough points to buy several portions of Essence Blood of a Nature Spirit.
So there was absolutely no need for this approach.
"Theoretically feasible, but morally, you couldn't do it, Luo Shu. Nor should you."
Nia propped her cheek on one hand, reclining sideways on the sofa as she sighed:
"If you actually murdered a Familia member, all the remaining Familia would become unsettled."
"Even if they can't leave you, that sense of unease remains. Perhaps to avoid being killed by you, they might incite persecution among the Familia, or even turn on each other."
"Can I take that as a warning?" Luo Shu glanced at Nia Honjo, his expression unchanged, though he mentally noted her advice.
At this, Nia waved her hand dismissively:
"Just a friendly reminder~"
"Besides, you've still got me, haven't you?"
Nia puffed out her chest proudly as she added:
"As the Spirit who embodies omniscience, how could I let you resort to such dull methods?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu voiced his honest thoughts:
"I have a feeling you'd come up with something perverted instead."
"Don't go slandering people like that!" Nia fumed, tempted to smack Luo Shu's head with Raziel. "I went through great effort to find a proper solution, you know."
"Oh? And then?" Luo Shu responded flatly.
"Honestly, not even a word of praise or a carrot as an incentive. What a heartless capitalist."
Nia grumbled under her breath before clearing her throat and explaining:
"Ahem, as I mentioned earlier, Nature Spirits aren't limited to just one type, so Luo Shu, your target doesn't have to be solely Eriri."
"In a way, there are actually quite a few channels in this world to connect with spirits."
"For instance, the Spirit of Fire wielded by Hao Asakura is one type of spirit."
"However, Hao Asakura isn't currently in this world, and given his personal abilities, this method isn't feasible."
"But beyond that, the Nagi Family in Hong Kong, as orthodox Spirit Sorcerers, possess the means to contact the Spirit of Wind."
"Similarly, there's the Shilu Family for the Spirit of Earth and the Kannagi Family for the Spirit of Flame as backup options."
"Aside from these, according to Raziel's rumours, there should be at least six more spirits wandering aimlessly in this world..."
"Of course, apart from Hao Asakura's Spirit of Fire being the most straightforward, the other methods only provide potential contact points or depend on luck with intel retrieval. Success isn't guaranteed."
"I initially wanted to use Raziel to track down the spirit's whereabouts directly, but due to their innate affinity with nature and high authority, my searches often return blank."
"Otherwise, the best approach would've been capturing a spirit outright."
Though Nature Spirits are extensions of nature itself, wielding power nearly on par with Demigods, they ultimately aren't Demigods.
Within the SDS, whether it's Kurumi Tokisaki or Mukuro Hoshimiya, both could absolutely suppress them, let alone Luo Shu and Sharon, who are orthodox sorcerers with powerful Classes.
In terms of combat strength, the SDS could easily handle several Nature Spirits. The real trouble lies in their elusive nature.
After considering Nia's explanation, Luo Shu pondered briefly before saying:
"So the optimal approach is still to locate a Nature Spirit through those orthodox Spirit Sorcerer families?"
"No, there's actually a more convenient method."
Nia Honjo kept a straight face, seemingly to make her next words sound more serious and credible:
"Without harming the person, we can extract a substance imbued with the Spirit of Wind's power from Eriri's soul, then use that to conduct a Spirit of Wind summoning ritual."
"While absolute success isn't guaranteed, trying multiple times will inevitably attract those spirits' attention. Plus, my Raziel can expend power to weave the future, so luring one Spirit of Wind here is quite achievable."
Hearing this, Luo Shu frowned and asked:
"So the fastest method still involves working through Eriri?"
"Right, how exactly would we purify that Spirit of Wind's power?"
Nia Honjo curled her lips, her smile uncontrollably turning perverse:
"If you want to avoid harming Eriri while purifying the power, then there's only one method."
"Collect the liquid secreted during certain... intense emotional states, and extract the Nature Spirit's power from that!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Shu fell silent.
He fixed Nia with a long, steady gaze before finally asking:
"That liquid secreted during intense emotions... is it what I'm thinking of right now?"
"What do you think?" Nia flashed a wicked grin.