The Pitch-Black Monster

Then, everyone was ushered onto the ship in a daze and enjoyed the sea journey again. Fortunately, someone was responsible for explaining the reason along the way, which made Si Ming understand the ins and outs.

In short, every year, one of the small islands in the nearby sea exhibits an anomaly: the extinction of all life on the island, both plants and animals, and the barren, infertile land. Research has shown that these islands are Curse, their ley lines polluted, the specific cause of which is unknown. However, if left unchecked, the pollution will spread outwards, turning more islands into dead islands. Therefore, the candidate saintesses are needed to use Divine Arts to purify the islands, both to curb the spread of pollution and to test everyone's learning level.

"Clear Water Reflects the Heart" is a fundamental Divine Arts that all Saintess Candidate must master. It can eliminate Curse, drive away illnesses, cure various adverse conditions, and even be used as an offensive Divine Arts when encountering evil spirits.

After sailing for about an hour, they finally arrived at the polluted island. From afar, the group noticed the island's abnormality. The island was shrouded in black mist, everything was quiet, there were no insects or birds chirping, all the flowers, grass, and trees were withered, the earth was barren and cracked, and even the air seemed to have stopped moving.

Si Ming showed a surprised expression just like the others, but for a completely different reason.

"This is... the Black Tide? Why is the Black Tide from the Barbarian Continent appearing here? Is there any connection between the two?"

Chapter 454 The Dark Monster

As soon as Si Ming on the island, he immediately felt a decaying force trying to invade his body and devour his Primal Qi. However, with the external Jade-Clad Dharma Body resisting the strange force and the internal Bodhi Golden Body sealing his Qi and Blood, he was like a reef in the sea, unmoved by the waves.

However, Si Ming's fearlessness in the face of the alien force did not mean that others could do the same. Apart from the Saintess Candidate, the faces of the others turned pale the moment they stepped onto the island. Those as quick-witted as Yue Xuan immediately used their internal energy to resist and seal their acupoints. The headmaster of the Water-Severing Martial Arts School, Mr. He, snorted coldly, and his Sword Intent surged forth, enveloping his body like flowing water and repelling the alien force.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"Grandfather!"

"What happened, Master?"

The Saintess Candidate noticed their partner's unusual behavior and hurriedly inquired, their composure shattered. Only Liu Qingqing, after glancing at Si Ming, immediately reacted, forming hand seals, sacrificing her True Qi to Spirit Transformation, and casting the Divine Arts "Clear Water Reflects the Heart."

Then, a holy light filled the area, the decaying aura quickly disappeared, the earth was purified, and the black mist retreated as if it were aware of the light.

The other Saintess Candidate seemed to awaken from a dream, realizing their responsibilities, and began to unleash their Divine Arts. However, most of their power overlapped and wasted, causing the Divine Arts instructors leading the group to shake their heads in disbelief. Although Saintesses were not positioned as martial artists and rarely had the opportunity to fight, they could not be completely devoid of combat awareness. What if they panicked in the face of an emergency and were later assassinated by hostile forces?

Of course, some of these Saintess Candidate were just ordinary students who had never undergone any training. It's not surprising that they performed like this. The mentors value the future, not the present. That's why trials are necessary. Those who pass stay, and those who fail are eliminated. It's a process of selection, no different in essence from other open auditions.

Thinking of this, the mentor glanced at Liu Qingqing with appreciation. Among the students, her reaction was the calmest. Although her performance was only average, it immediately stood out when compared with her teammates.

"But, do we have this girl in our class? That's strange. She seems familiar, but why don't I remember her at all? What's her name again?" The tutor pondered.

On the other side, because everyone simultaneously cast Divine Arts covering the same area, the divine power in that area became exceptionally dense. As a result, an amazing scene unfolded. A woman dressed in ancient clothing appeared faintly in the holy light, with a kind and gentle smile on her face. With a slight wave of her hand, a halo spread out, completely dispelling the black mist within a radius of three hundred feet and purifying the withered earth, allowing it to regain its vitality. Grass grew rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This is the Greatly Compassionate and Benevolent Goddess of All Beings, also known in folk tradition as the Goddess of Mercy.

The supreme god of the Mohist Religion is Taiwei, who does not concern himself with affairs. His three main gods are Compassion, Wisdom, and Justice. The Saintess Candidate clearly practice the Divine Arts of the Goddess of Mercy.

Those chosen as Saintess Candidate were not fools. Regardless of how intelligent they were, they at least knew how to learn from their mistakes. After the initial panic, the group of girls quickly came to their senses, discussed the matter briefly, and then each headed in a different direction, continuously casting Divine Arts to purify the land.

Si Ming followed behind Liu Qingqing, keeping a close eye on their surroundings while pondering, "Is this black mist the same thing as the Black Tide of the Barbarian Continent? The monks of Glazed Temple are helpless against the Black Tide and can only use their lives to maintain the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and resist Black Tide invasion. If Liu Qingqing's Divine Arts also has a purifying effect on the Black Tide... placing a golden statue of Goddess of Mercy with a completely different style in the temple would be quite an interesting sight."

Of course, even if the two are the same thing, it would be very difficult to drive away the Black Tide of the Barbarian Continent, since their strengths are completely different. If the black mist on this small island is acetic acid, then the black Black Tide of the Barbarian Continent is aqua regia. Even if Divine Arts is effective, it would probably not be so easy to purify it.

However, having a method is better than having no method at all. For people who are always in darkness, even the light of a candle symbolizes hope.

If given the chance, Si Ming felt he should take Liu Qingqing to the Barbarian Continent to verify his conjecture. If the two were indeed the same thing, then a possibility would emerge: perhaps the powerful being who set up the Eternal Barrier did so to protect the Sea Continent from being eroded by the Black Tide.

The eight Saintess Candidate split up and quickly purified half of the island. If the Divine Arts "Clear Water Reflects the Heart" is used seriously and not hastily, the purification area is about the size of a football field, and it consumes very little divine power, only slightly more than the most basic Divine Arts. This is a privilege Saintess Candidate. If others want to use this Divine Arts, not only will the effect be weaker and the range smaller, but the divine power consumption will also be more than five times that of others.

Besides its purifying effect, "Clear Water Reflects the Heart" also benefits those trusted by the caster within its range, making them feel refreshed, clear-headed, and sharp-sense. In short, it is a very useful Divine Arts.

"Senior sister, I'm tired, let me rest for a bit."

Bai Jingjing rubbed her legs. Although she hadn't used up much True Qi, the island was a pristine hilly area with no flat roads. It was like traversing a mountain path, climbing up and down, which was very physically demanding.

"You're already exhausted after walking such a short distance? You clearly don't exercise regularly. How are you going to compete with your classmates? With your pace of taking one step and then resting the next, you'll definitely end up at the bottom of the class."

"If I can't compete, then I won't. I never had any interest in being a saintess anyway. If it weren't for the chance to get into Linked Mountains University, I wouldn't have come."

Bai Jingjing found a rock, took out a handkerchief, covered it with the rock, and sat down on it.

You really don't know how lucky you are.

Yu Tianqi shook his head helplessly, not knowing what to say. This girl came from a wealthy family; her father was the owner of a large company. She had never suffered since childhood and could live a life of comfort even without hard work. Naturally, she couldn't understand the sense of urgency that ordinary people feel when they encounter an opportunity and have to seize it.

The two studied at the same martial arts school and didn't usually interact. Later, during a demon tide outbreak, she rescued Bai Jingjing from a spider demon, and they became best friends who could talk about anything.

"Senior sister, come sit down too." Bai Jingjing patted the seat next to her.

Yu Tianqi couldn't refuse and was about to go over when his expression suddenly changed, and he said, "Watch out behind you!"

As he spoke, he drew his sword and slashed at Bai Jingjing's back. The sword collided with a dark shadow, producing a metallic clang. Yu Tianqi looked closely and saw that the attacker was actually a half-meter-long black centipede. It hadn't died after being slashed, but was only slightly injured, swaying its long body on the ground.

Bai Jingjing was so frightened that she jumped several meters away as if she had seen a ghost.

"What the hell is this thing? Are there centipedes this big in the world? Didn't all the animals on the island die?"

Yu Tianqi swung his sword repeatedly, blocking the giant centipede's attacks, but his steel sword couldn't even cut through the centipede's limbs.

"Senior sister, be careful, it carries a strong aura of Curse."

Despite her panic, Bai Jingjing remembered what she was supposed to do and quickly activated her Divine Arts, causing holy light to spread out and cover the surrounding area.

When the black centipede was exposed to the holy light, its body surface immediately showed signs of corrosion. Its shell, which even a steel knife could not cleave, began to melt and turn into pus.

Seeing that the Divine Arts was effective, Bai Jingjing felt relieved and took a breath. Yu Tianqi quickly reminded her, "Don't stop, keep using the Divine Arts, use it as many times as you can."

"Senior sister, don't worry. The Clear Water Reflects the Heart is a continuous Divine Arts that can maintain its effect within its range for a period of time. I estimate that after a while, this terrifying giant centipede will melt away."

This was a reasonable judgment, but not the attitude of a martial artist. Yu Tianqi was about to urge him, she suddenly saw the black centipede crouch and leap towards her face.

"Waning Moon Form!"