So Anda wasn't entirely indifferent to the lives of the innocents, huh? Leyvi thought.
"Performing human sacrifices for Alchemy is something I can't tolerate. I won't allow him and everyone related to him to blaspheme the sanctity of Alchemy any longer! We must get rid of these people!" Anda declared.
Uhh... so it was because of her respect for alchemy, not the innocents. Leyvi's misunderstanding was corrected at once.
"What should we do with him? Are you going to kill him?" Leyvi asked.
Anda shook her head.
"I changed my mind. I confirmed it just now. His scent is extremely pure and innocent like a baby, so I'm a bit reluctant to kill someone like him. But right now he's still under that Master guy's enslavement effect, so we can't just let him go like this. It might be a disadvantage to us." Anda said. She focused her gaze on Leyvi.
"So...what is your solution?" Leyvi asked. The way she looked at him suggested she had something in mind, and it involved him.
Anda smiled. "You can tame him first."
"Huh?" Leyvi was dumbfounded. What is this girl saying?
"Yes. Tame him. Put your spiritual imprint in him so he would obey your command. There's no way he can fight your spiritual imprint in his Sea of Consciousness and right now he's unconscious so the process will be much easier." Anda elaborated, speaking as if it were normal.
"Wait, wait, wait. Anda. Don't you know that it's forbidden to enslave a person? We might get punished." Leyvi panicked.
What his wife suggested was truly dangerous. While it was socially acceptable to use a spiritual imprint on demonic beasts, demonic plants, and other creatures, it was completely unacceptable to use it on fellow humans. It had been outlawed with severe punishment. Those were the lines drawn for ages.
"Leyvi, right now we're in the Mystic Realm, not the Cloud Continent. The law don't apply here." Anda replied.
"But..." Leyvi frowned.
"If you're struggling with the morality aspect of it, think of it as you saving his life. Because right now, this is the only way. As a body cultivator, he probably will wear off the pill effect much faster than the others, but we don't have time to wait. Or should we just kill him?" Anda said, trying to convince him.
"Ugh... can't you nullify the effect somehow?" Leyvi asked.
Anda rolled her eyes. "This is a Tier-5 Alchemy Product we're dealing with. I'm not at that level yet. Don't think too much. We're saving his life here. It's not like you're doing this forever. It is only until the pill effect wears off."
Leyvi let out a sigh. He seemed to have no choice. He did not want the hulking man to die. Despite Bodo's massive frame and intimidating look, he had answered Anda's questions in a way that suggested he was a decent person, and Anda's scent reading had confirmed it.
"Alright. Give me some time. I need to adjust my mindset." Leyvi said.
The strength of a spiritual imprint was also affected by the creator's state of mind, so Leyvi had to prepare himself. If he made the imprint while full of hesitation, it would be fragile and easily destroyed, potentially harming him.
"Okay. Take your time." Anda found a rock and sat down while waiting for Leyvi.
In truth, Anda didn't really care whether Bodo lived or died. But if they could gain a strong ally, why not? Senior Lapin had informed her that many people had already gathered near the colossal tree and started forming their own groups. Robbing and killing latecomers was likely.
Anda figured that Bodo would be a great help once they left the island and headed for that tree. And since his scent was indeed pure and innocent, he was a much safer pick.
After a while, Leyvi finally composed himself. He reminded himself that this wasn't enslavement but rather saving a good person's life.
A Spiritual Imprint formed in front of his glabella, glowing with a steady azure light that pulsed rhythmically, its edges sharp and defined, looking much stronger than any he had ever condensed before.
He then directed and shot the Spiritual Imprint into Bodo's glabella, sending it straight into his Sea of Consciousness. Since Bodo was in a deep sleep, Leyvi's imprint met no resistance at all.
However, the moment it entered Bodo's Sea of Consciousness, it was attacked by hostile forces.
"Huh? What is this? Something's attacking my spiritual imprint." Leyvi closed his eyes and focused on the connection.
Immediately, Leyvi saw a writhing mass of dark creatures spread across Bodo's Sea of Consciousness. They weren't moving freely yet, only twisting and pulsating in place like living shadows. Their bodies were black, gooey, and liquid-like, clinging to the normally radiant Sea and dimming its light as if swallowing it whole.
The dark creatures nearest Leyvi's spiritual imprint noticed the intrusion and shot out strands of the same goo toward it. The moment they made contact, the substance sizzled and evaporated into nothing. Frustrated, they surged forward to engulf the imprint entirely, but they, too, vanished instantly on contact.
What the... are these the things that enslaved this guy? Leyvi thought, his imaginary eyes widening at the bizarre creatures.
As the first few failed, the rest of the colony seemed to sense the threat. Waves upon waves of black, writhing forms surged toward Leyvi's imprint, moving like a tide of living shadows with a single purpose: to destroy it.
But every attempt was met with the same fate. Gooey tendrils evaporated the instant they touched the spiritual imprint. No matter how many they threw at it, nothing survived.
Minutes passed. One by one, the entire colony of dark creatures was obliterated, leaving the Sea of Consciousness eerily calm and bright once more.
Leyvi, staring at the scene, could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. I didn't even do anything yet. What is going on here?
After settling his spiritual imprint inside, Leyvi opened his eyes and went to Anda, explaining what had just happened in confusion, seeking an explanation.
Anda was speechless, her mouth agape. She knew Leyvi's spiritual imprint was abnormally strong, which was why she had suggested the plan, thinking it could resist the pill's control until it wore off. But who would have thought that Leyvi's imprint would exterminate all of them within minutes? It seemed she had still severely underestimated her husband's capability.
"Since those things are gone, I should take back my spiritual imprint, right?" Leyvi asked.
"Not yet. Those parasitic creatures are formed by the pill. You might have eliminated them from his Sea of Consciousness, but it's possible they could reappear as long as the substances linger in his system," Anda explained.
"Is that so? Then let's hurry back. We're done here. I'm worried about them," Leyvi said.
Anda nodded. They were quite far from the mine, and at Leyvi's full speed, she estimated it would take around seven hours to arrive. From the questions she had asked earlier, she realized the intruders had been on the island for half a day.
It was possible they had already found the mine if, for some reason, they went straight there without wandering to other parts of the island.
"Come, Anda." Leyvi spread his arms.
Anda smiled sweetly and jumped into his embrace. They had been traveling with the Leyvi Express for the past two weeks during his training, but now she got to do it in her favorite way: princess carry.
She had her own movement technique, but it wasn't nearly as fast as Leyvi's, and rushing for seven hours straight, she didn't have that kind of endurance. The Celestial Cloud was even slower.
"Don't get horny on the way. We don't have time for that," Leyvi told her.
"Ei, I know my priority. I'm not that horny of a girl, okay?" Anda poked Leyvi's chest, but he just laughed it off.
Boom!
Leyvi shot off toward the mine, extending his spiritual sense to the maximum, searching for any signs of intruders.
As for Bodo, they left him behind, not knowing how long he would remain in slumber.
---
A group of six could be seen a few kilometers from the mine.
"Hyahahaha! Look at that! Do you guys see that broken fortress?"
"Yes, Master. There's a spirit stone mine inside. I'm sure they are here."
"Very good, very good. This is the first spirit stone mine we've encountered. I hope they've dug a lot of them so we can just take everything. Later, I can order Bodo to mine the rest with his brute strength. That idiot can finally be useful to me," the Master said.
"Master, it was a genius idea to make that idiot flip rocks over there. His presence would have just slowed us down," one of them said.
"No need to flatter me. You'll be mining too."
"Ughh..."
The others laughed.
The Master licked his lips. "Everyone, recover your Qi first. We will ambush the place after that."
He couldn't wait to taste human essence again.