As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 69: Spiritual Erosion

"Don't worry, I'm just testing the 'Scorching Sun Lion'. I'll keep the power at 1%."

Long Jianhuan smiled, "Here I come!"

Before she finished speaking, she and the guardian spirit disappeared at the same time.

The entire back alley was shrouded in lightning-fast golden light.

Xu Yan's eyes felt like they were hit hard by a pair of red-hot iron fists. The strong light stung his retina and optic nerves and burned them all.

He took a deep breath, and even his lungs felt hot and stinging, as if Long Jianhuan was moving too fast, and the guardian spirit and the air were rubbing against each other at high speed, creating a raging sea of ​​fire.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

He subconsciously took a defensive stance and let the "crystal slime mold" wrap around his arms to act as a shield.

A series of violent bombardments exploded right in front of him.

Even if you can't see Long Jianhuan's attack, you can tell how fierce the attack is just from the hair-raising sound of flesh colliding.

This is not "controlling the power to 1%".

Every move is fatal and every punch is soul-crushing!
Xu Yan gritted his teeth.

Alarm bells rang in my head.

He knew that Long Jianhuan was testing him.

What matters is not winning or losing.

It's the fighting style.

The fighting style he had figured out amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood of the Wanhun Sect was simple, direct, and fierce. He treated himself and his enemies as corpses, full of the spirit of mutual destruction and living towards death.

But a young man from the wilderness who had escaped from the invasion of the past, wandered all the way to the planned area, and was still full of enthusiasm for life, should not have such a cold style.

Thinking of this, Xu Yan pretended that he could not withstand Long Jianhuan's continuous bombardment, and his guardian spirit turned into mud and flowed to the ground.

He bared his teeth and let out a strange cry of pain to attract Long Jianhuan's attention.

"Jelly" took the opportunity to stretch its body to the limit, stuck to various debris in the alley, and threw it towards Long Jianhuan.

All kinds of debris, including garbage, mixed with soup and water, are smelly and not very harmful but extremely insulting.

Long Jianhuan exclaimed "Huh" and chose to dodge.

Xu Yan took the opportunity to kneel on one knee, spat into his palms twice, rubbed his red and swollen eyes, and regained some vision.

The first scene he saw was Long Jianhuan appearing in front of him like a ghost, with his sharp whip kick, like a giant black python pouncing out from the treetops, with the power of a solar storm, rushing towards his face.

I don't know if it's a coincidence.

When the two of them first clashed, Long Jianhuan also used this trick.

But this time, Xu Yan reacted completely differently.

No blocking, no retreat.

He let out a beast-like growl, and against the violent wind, he took a heavy step forward, attacking in response.

The result is of course the same.

"boom!"

Xu Yan flew backwards and fell to the ground in the garbage dump at the end of the alley, his body spread out in the dark.

"Are you OK?"

Long Jianhuan seemed to have been careless and used too much force.

She was horrified and ran over.

"Ahem, ahem, no, it's okay."

Xu Yan's mind raced, realizing that this was a difficult woman, and he set a trap again.

The two moves seem to be the same.

This time it only had the shape, but did not have the power to strangle like a giant python.

If you appear too weak, as if you are seriously injured, you will reveal your flaws.

He jumped up from the garbage heap, brushed off the dust and stains all over his body, and showed a bright smile to Long Jianhuan.

"I'm sorry. It's been a while since I've had such a satisfying synergy with 'Sun Lion'. I forgot you were using a civilian card."

Long Jianhuan slapped his forehead and said, "My leg is very heavy. Are you sure you are okay? Do you want me to check if you have any hidden injuries?"

"No, no need?"

Xu Yan retreated step by step.

"Why not? Don't be shy. Don't hide. I won't eat you!"

Long Jianhuan pressed on, and in no time, he stripped Xu Yan naked, revealing his well-defined muscles and the crisscrossing scars.

Long Jianhuan narrowed his eyes.

His eyes were like the most sophisticated scanner, scanning the body shape of the wilderness boy.

He even went a step further and touched me all over, examining my muscles and bones.

Xu Yan couldn't stand it anymore.

"Captain Long, I'm really fine."

He said, "I've been tough since I was a kid, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to make it all the way from the Shadow Ruins to Rolling Stone Castle."

"That's good."

Long Jianhuan carefully recalled the gravedigger's body shape.

I found that there was a big difference between him and the boy in front of me.

As for the scars…

Most of the wilderness refugees have scars crisscrossing their bodies.

Many people also added armor to their flesh and blood, and replaced their hands and feet with mechanical prosthetic limbs with built-in swords.

The doubt in Long Jianhuan's eyes faded a little.

Instead, there was deep interest.

However, when she untied the bandage wrapped around the boy's right arm.

The abnormality of her right arm made her slightly startled.

In the Land of Echoes No. 232, Long Jianhuan fainted when Dr. Hyde swung the "Blade of the Deep".

There was no scene of Xu Yan activating the Human Emperor Banner and grasping the "Blade of the Deep" with his bare hands.

It is also unimaginable that someone can seal the evil power of the First Age with flesh and blood.

"Spiritual erosion."

Xu Yan looked melancholy.

These three short words solved all of Long Jianhuan's problems.

Soul Corruption, the most terrifying disease in the Age of Heroes.

The remnant souls of the past, of unknown origin, invade the human body, contaminate cells, genes and even the soul, causing irreversible damage to the human body.

In mild cases, like Xu Yan, the skin becomes gray and the flesh atrophies.

In severe cases, humans may develop various deformed and ugly organs, or even sophisticated components that should not belong to living organisms, just like Dr. Hyde, who becomes a half-human, half-machine being.

It may even erupt acutely, and the remnant souls of the past will completely devour the human body and turn into a cruel monster - the Devouring Spirit.

Long Jianhuan sighed slightly.

In the old days, natural disasters occurred frequently, banned evil spirits were everywhere, and the wilderness was full of old pollution, mutated creatures, and killing machines.

Spiritual erosion is a common disease.

The refugees in the wilderness have undergone the test of death, and with the help of the remaining souls of the past, they can often awaken their spirituality on their own and possess the fighting power of beasts.

The price is that there has been no systematic practice, and no solid foundation has been laid for either the body or the soul, which is not conducive to long-term development and is prone to side effects and sequelae.

Especially for survivors like Xu Yan who managed to escape the old natural disasters, there is more than a 50% chance that they will suffer from spiritual erosion.

The double torture of the mind and flesh often accompanies them throughout their lives.

Long Jianhuan admitted that for a moment, she felt a sense of appreciation for talent and wanted to introduce this gifted card-making apprentice and promising "cardless flow" practitioner to the seniors in Dawn City.

But he suffered from spiritual erosion and was destined to have no future.

Not to mention the discrimination against people with spiritual erosion within the alliance.

"Don't worry, Captain Long, I'm fine."

Xu Yan seemed to see through her thoughts and laughed heartlessly, "We are very lucky to have escaped the old natural disaster. It's a small price to pay, but it's nothing at all.

“Not to mention that I’ve met so many kind people along the way, Uncle Li, Aunt Gu, Officer Li, Ms. Leiliana from the Rolling Stone Club, and now Captain Long.

"I feel that God has been very good to me. I will definitely cherish this good fortune and live every day to the fullest. I will never give up on myself just because of a mere spiritual erosion!"

Xu Yan's smile is as bright as the sun.

This made Long Jianhuan's heart move.

"You have great talent and potential. Have you ever considered systematically learning the art of controlling spirits?"

She said inexplicably, "Although it's a little late, if you start practicing the art of controlling spirits now, it will be very helpful in curbing the spirit erosion disease. Perhaps it will open up more possibilities for your future, right?"

(End of this chapter)