Not far ahead, in the midst of the lush rainforest,
a patch of withered, barren ground appeared abruptly—unnaturally out of place.
At its center, a flower exuding black-red miasma bloomed ominously.
Around it, fungal beasts and other monsters emitted black smoke,
their bodies radiating a violent, frenzied aura.
"Hiss…
The Withering?!!"
Jiang Yan's eyes widened.
The Withering already existed at this time?!
If the Withering existed…
then wouldn't that mean the Eleazar disease also…
A heavy expression instantly settled in Jiang Yan's eyes.
This was… very bad.
Without further hesitation, he walked toward the Withering zone.
But the moment he stepped across its boundary,
a dense, overwhelming discomfort surged through his entire body.
Jiang Yan frowned, carefully sensing the surrounding changes.
An eerie, pitch-black energy was flowing toward him—
malicious, ominous.
It felt horribly unpleasant.
This strange energy…
Was it the pollution of Forbidden Knowledge?
Jiang Yan extended his hand, attempting to gather the drifting black aura.
Sure enough, under the subtle ripple of his vector arrows,
the energy was slowly drawn into his palm.
But this energy felt very different from anything he had manipulated before.
Normally, the vector arrows would obey him without question.
But this black energy…
seemed unwilling to comply.
More precisely—
it rejected his attempt to control it.
"Oh? Not listening?"
Jiang Yan's lips curled slightly.
Multicolored light surged around him.
White Hole Link!
Binary Star State — Activate!
If you won't listen—
I'll make you listen.
The moment the rainbow light erupted around him,
all corrupted monsters within the Withering dropped to the ground, trembling violently.
"Come… HERE!"
Jiang Yan clenched his right hand.
Instantly, the air around him roared—
and the black-red energy, crushed under his overwhelming pressure,
was forced into his palm.
What, did they think he was made of clay?
He looked at the condensed ball of black-red energy in his hand,
then at the flower at the center of the barren land.
If the orb in his hand was the contamination spread by Forbidden Knowledge,
then that flower must be the source of this blight.
Well—
the source of this Withering zone, at least.
The true source was still the Forbidden Knowledge embedded deep within the Irminsul.
Jiang Yan strode forward.
Rainbow light shimmered across his hand as he grabbed the flower releasing endless black-red fumes.
Then—with a hard yank—
he tore it from the ground.
Crack!
A burst of black mist surged from the broken roots.
Jiang Yan frowned, opened his other hand,
and the black-red sphere hovered above his palm.
The escaping black fumes were drawn into the sphere like water down a drain.
Rainbow light enveloped the entire Withering zone, preventing any leak of corruption.
"Little thing, you think I can't deal with you?"
He snorted coldly.
With a squeeze—
Boom!
The entire flower exploded in his hand, unleashing a surge of black-red mist.
Jiang Yan moved both arms in sweeping arcs.
The surrounding miasma swirled like a vortex,
stirred and driven by his power,
until it gradually condensed into a pitch-black sphere before him.
Before long, a basketball-sized orb hung in the air.
Huh? Why does this feel exactly like gathering a demon god's energy?
Jiang Yan grumbled internally.
Once all the black-red energy in the area had been absorbed,
the vegetation seemed to regain its vitality—lush green spreading once more.
At that moment, a large Precious Chest appeared where the black flower had been.
Jiang Yan's eyes bulged.
Holy—!!!
So it really followed the game's logic?!
Clear a Withering Zone—get a chest?!
After opening the chest, Jiang Yan grabbed the black sphere and hurried back toward Sumeru City.
He had no idea how to properly handle this thing.
Better to let Greater Lord Rukkhadevata study it.
He honestly hadn't planned to get involved.
But—
A treasure chest?
Well, that changed everything.
For the people of Sumeru!
For the peace of Liyue's neighboring nation!
Purifying the Withering?
Jiang Yan—
Shall shoulder the burden without hesitation!
He rushed into Sumeru City and immediately located Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.
"What now?"
She looked helplessly at the hurried Jiang Yan.
He had been bothering her nonstop these past few days,
often during her busiest moments—
and usually without any real reason.
"This time it's serious!"
Jiang Yan took out the sphere of black energy and handed it to her.
"This is…"
Rukkhadevata's expression turned grave.
She accepted the sphere and examined it intently.
"Pollution from Forbidden Knowledge…"
She muttered, disbelief written across her face.
"Where did you find it?!"
"In the rainforest, in the wild."
Jiang Yan briefly described the Withering zone and its conditions.
From the moment he began speaking,
Rukkhadevata's brows had not relaxed even once.
Things had suddenly become far more troublesome.
She was already overwhelmed dealing with the resettlement of the desert people.
Now, the Forbidden Knowledge that she and Jiang Yan had sealed together
was beginning to leak again.
Misfortunes never came alone.
Sumeru had only just stabilized.
A disaster caused by the Withering could not be allowed to erupt now.
"What do you plan to do, Jiang Yan?"
After thinking quietly for a moment, Rukkhadevata asked.
"What can I do? I don't even know how to destroy this stuff."
Jiang Yan shrugged helplessly.
He could physically rip the Withering up and compress the corruption into an orb—
but that was only because the Binary Star State amplified his vector manipulation.
That didn't mean he could fully erase Forbidden Knowledge.
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