Chapter 495: The One Who Could Solve Problems

Chapter 495: The One Who Could Solve Problems

Strength and weakness did not just show in one aspect. Some people were weak, but they were really good at causing trouble. Could you call people like that weak?

They might be weak individually, but they had other strong points.

So even though this weird Derivative Witch had weak individual combat power, her ability to produce troops was incredible. The Human Forms she sent out could split again and again. Just think about the endless numbers. If they had not set up that Lockdown Zone early, who knew how many more could have appeared?

Of course, Zheng Yichen wasn’t worried that this splitting was unlimited. In the information Irene gave, Annie explained that the Human Forms definitely wouldn’t suddenly multiply dozens of times for no reason. That wouldn’t be Magic.

But one thing was for sure. If these Human Forms were left alone, there would eventually be many, many of them. Even if ninety-nine percent were destroyed, as long as any remained, new ones would still appear. At that point, the only real way to solve the problem was to find the Derivative Witch’s main body and eliminate her at the root.

But that Derivative Witch was even more ridiculous. If she sensed the slightest wrongness, she could just kill herself and start over. Just now, with that one suicide, Zheng Yichen completely lost her trail. Tracking Spells… even those that locked onto Souls were useless. This Derivative Witch had no Soul. As for her body, after suicide, she just got a new one. What use were body-tracking Spells?

He should just focus on learning Spatial Expansion techniques properly.

“If my main body recovered, finding this Derivative Witch would be quite easy,” Dan Marina’s voice sounded in Zheng Yichen’s ear.

“Too bad your main body is still lying in a Crystal Coffin right now,” Zheng Yichen replied. He wasn’t surprised by Dan Marina communicating through mental means. She knew many Arcane Arts, so mental communication was normal for her.

“No choice. After all, we are dealing with the Undying Witch. If it were another Witch, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard.”

“Tch. From what you’re saying, you plan to actively look for trouble with other Witches in the future?” Zheng Yichen understood the other meaning in Dan Marina’s words.

“Not all Witches are neutral or willing to cooperate.” Dan Marina said “Mhm” and continued, “Some Witches might support what you want to do, while others will firmly oppose it!”

“Huh? That’s strange…”

“It’s not strange. We’ll talk about that another time. First, let’s discuss this Derivative Witch. She has no Soul, similar to a Corpse Puppet, but her existence is based on a unique form of expression.”

“Oh? Go on.” Zheng Yichen’s eyes lit up. He had to say, as expected of a Witch. Even when temporarily unable to use her abilities, she could observe and discover unique details.

Dan Marina thought for a moment. It wasn’t that she couldn’t answer immediately, but she had to consider Zheng Yichen’s knowledge base and describe it simply. Like a person holding a Mobile Phone. A Mobile Phone was something anyone from Earth would know, no explanation needed. But to explain it in detail… without an encyclopedia, it would be hard to explain.

I know what a Mobile Phone is and what it means, but… explaining it clearly gets a bit complicated. Well, blame it on you not being from the Modern Era…

“You can think of it as a special kind of ‘thought-form,’ a negative one. And her existence is based on an impression, that of the Undying Witch.”

“…Including me?”

“Including everyone!” Dan Marina chuckled softly. How many entities had an impression of the Undying Witch? Too many. After that Witch’s earlier disruption inside the Containment Barrier, too many people remembered her clearly. These impressions of the Undying Witch formed the foundation of this Derivative Witch’s existence.

“However, the Undying Witch seems to have a stronger impression of you, so this Derivative Witch has you in her sights.”

Zheng Yichen felt utterly wronged. What kind of deal was this? He was just the final act. He clearly hadn’t done much. Honestly, Irene and the others did more and more impactful things, right? Why single him out?

The earlier Derivative Witch targeting a dragon was probably for the same reason: “If there are other Witches in the future, they won’t all come after me, right?”

“Mmm~ It’s possible, but not absolute. The Undying Witch’s remnants were split into so many pieces. No one can guarantee which remnants will inherit which thoughts of the Undying Witch. Maybe most of the other Derivative Witches will target the Containment Barrier!”

Zheng Yichen thought that would be even worse. If they came after him, the Witches around him could handle the troubles one by one. But if the remaining Derivative Witches all went for the Containment Barrier, even if the chance of something going wrong was small, any slip-up could lead to disaster.

“How to solve this?”

“The simplest way is forgetting. If everyone forgot about the Undying Witch, then this Derivative Witch might not disappear, but she definitely wouldn’t have her current power. At that point, aside from her own effective immortality, she probably couldn’t split into so many Human Forms.”

“How is it possible for everyone to forget…”

“Exactly. Let’s guess: How many people have an impression of the Undying Witch? That’s probably how many Human Forms she can create. How many people do you think know about the Undying Witch?”

Zheng Yichen looked stunned. How long had it been since the big event happened? Now, the number of people who knew about the Undying Witch was at its peak. Maybe not everyone on the Continent knew, but a large portion did, right?

So, just how many Human Forms could she create? And later, if this Derivative Witch got a bit smarter and spread the idea that this situation was related to the Undying Witch, well then, probably anyone who saw such Human Forms in the future would immediately think of the Undying Witch.

“This is the most troublesome Derivative Witch, isn’t it!”

“Mhm… For now, that’s the case, but she isn’t without weaknesses.” Dan Marina looked at Zheng Yichen. “She seems quite interested in you, right? If all her attention is focused on you, then there might be a chance to temporarily solve the problem. It’s difficult, but not impossible to completely deal with her.”

What did that mean? That eliminating this annoying Derivative Witch didn’t require erasing everyone’s memories of the Undying Witch entirely? “Speaking of which, even the Undying Witch wasn’t this overpowered…”

Dan Marina shook her head. “The meaning is different. This Derivative Witch has no concept of ‘death,’ but her foundation is similar to being based on a ‘state of belief.’ Without that, she’s just an indestructible doll.”

“Solving this problem isn’t exactly hard, but not easy either. If you can find a certain Witch, you can solve it to a certain degree.”

“To a certain degree!?”

“Ah~ Didn’t I say? This Derivative Witch isn’t exactly alive, nor is she dead. The most extreme elimination is what I mentioned: making her just an indestructible doll. Unless the Undying Witch personally deals with her. Her root lies with the Undying Witch.”

“Alright, which Witch is it…”

“We’ll talk about that later. Mentioning her name would be troublesome.” Dan Marina smiled, not saying which Witch it was. She knew many things, so she understood just how strange some Witches’ abilities could be. The Witch she was talking about now had powers among the most bizarre. Otherwise, how could she remove most of this Derivative Witch’s buff-like states?

Not mentioning her name was one thing; mentioning it could alert her and make finding her intentionally much harder later.

Dan Marina didn’t want to be found because she could influence the Threads of Fate, easily avoiding detection. But the Witch she mentioned could directly ‘sever’ any connection someone might try to use to find her. Her abilities involved many, many aspects, even touching the Threads of Fate that Dan Marina could influence. Yet, this ability was also somewhat ‘tragic.’ It could indirectly involve many aspects, but she couldn’t truly use all those aspects herself.

But even so, Dan Marina had to say, that Witch was indeed a troublesome one!

Not many made her say that. Considering she herself was a troublesome Witch, being called troublesome by her, Zheng Yichen guessed that Witch probably wasn’t easy to get along with either.

“Alright.”

Ending the communication with Dan Marina, Zheng Yichen focused on the Stone Forest. The Human Forms nearby had been mostly smashed. Oss and the others discovered a peculiar thing: the stone pillars Zheng Yichen froze didn’t seem to ‘spawn’ Soul Spirits anymore. Each pillar in the Stone Forest could be thought of as a ‘barracks,’ producing Soul Spirits at intervals or when significantly stimulated.

But now, the pillars frozen by Zheng Yichen’s attack showed no extra reaction no matter how they hit them, as long as the ice layer remained unbroken.

“Whoa—you can do that?” Green couldn’t help but glance at the Magic Arms in Garcia’s hand, then turned his gaze to an unfrozen pillar not far away. He extended his offending hand and gave it a hard slap!

The slap was forceful. The pillar’s structure wasn’t strong, so a clear handprint appeared immediately. Then, several Soul Spirits shot out from that spot. These spirits manifested clearly, almost like solid entities. Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but look at Garcia. That Green Hair guy was something—just a random slap summoned a few mini-bosses!

The flying Soul Spirits roared at Green in unison. The Negative Energy-infused shockwave from their combined roar forced back the hastily defending Green, slamming him into another stone pillar. A faint cracking sound came from behind him…

Green inwardly cursed. This was what Professionals entering the Stone Forest feared most: accidentally damaging a pillar, creating a vicious cycle that led to more and more Soul Spirits appearing, eventually overwhelming them. This was also why newly Ranked Practitioners were generally forbidden from entering the Stone Forest. Their control over their power wasn’t as good, and fighting could easily lead to trouble. Even if they had to come, their activity range was limited to the edges of the Forest, at most a hundred meters in.

Further in, if they ran into trouble, no one could support them, and they’d likely die inside.

Several indistinct, blurry hands suddenly extended from the cracked pillar behind Green, firmly grabbing him. The Negative Energy in the hands made his body feel cold. It wasn’t freezing, but the feeling of Negative Energy eroding his body was a sensation of chill.

In just a moment of delay, the number of hands covering him multiplied tenfold. Those spirit-hands tried to forcefully pull him into the stone pillar!

“Ha!” With a loud shout, Fred’s axe, imbued with raging Battle Qi, descended beside Green. The violent Battle Qi swept away all the spirit-hands grabbing him. Freed, Green quickly dodged the attacks from those mini-boss-like Soul Spirits. Their attacks missed, striking the pillar instead, but caused no damage to it.

This was why some Professionals could act as they pleased in the Stone Forest before. As long as they were careful, they wouldn’t trigger large numbers of Soul Spirits around them. Soul Spirits were born from the Stone Forest, so their attacks had no effect on its pillars. To damage a pillar, one had to use indirect methods.

The Stone Forest was in an out-of-control state, and the Soul Spirits had no consciousness, so they wouldn’t intentionally damage pillars indirectly during fights. As long as one controlled the fights properly, to a certain extent, it was almost like having free rein. However, then the Human Forms appeared.

Those Human Forms had sufficient physical attack power, forcing Professionals re-entering the Stone Forest to be careful to avoid them destroying pillars. They were supposed to be farming enemies, but now they had to tank them… many Professionals missed the time when Soul Spirits were just in their spirit form.

Dealing with those Soul Spirits was like farming money. Dealing with these… now that was truly an adventure!

The few solidified Soul Spirits stared at Green and roared again. They scrambled and clawed their way into the ground. Several hands soon emerged from below. The Soul Spirits had found Human Forms to inhabit. These Human Forms, carrying powerful spirits, could unleash considerable combat power, and their bodies were stronger.

Seeing these few Human Forms, Oss and the others took serious, guarded stances. These Soul Spirits had high destructive power. If not careful during the fight, they could cause widespread damage to the surrounding pillars…

“Don’t worry. Leave the pillar problem to me.” Zheng Yichen drew Frostmourne from his Magic Weapon Summoning Book. Actually, it was surprising that not many people used such a Soul Spirit-countering Magic Arms in a good place like the Stone Forest… Zheng Yichen checked the ‘Soul’ reserves in Frostmourne. If these things piled up too much, it would be like accumulating rotten flesh—eventually causing toxic decay. Soul Spirits would do the same, but the number of Soul Spirits trapped within wasn’t high, and many were ones Zheng Yichen had put in there before.

Meaning, not many Magic Weapon Summoners used Frostmourne extensively in the Stone Forest…

“How could they use it? Every Soul Spirit is money to those who enter here,” Dan Marina’s voice came from beside Zheng Yichen. Zheng Yichen clicked his tongue. Alright, choosing between strengthening a Magic Arms they didn’t truly own (they could only summon and use it) and earning money, it seemed most Magic Weapon Summoners chose to make money.

With Zheng Yichen assuring them of no future worries, Oss and the others were already fighting those mini-boss Human Forms. The bodies of these Human Forms were extremely strong. Having a body allowed the Soul Spirits’ Negative Energy to exert greater power. These Negative Energy attacks were powerful and imposing enough restrictive effects. Earlier, even when grabbed by a few not-so-strong Soul Spirits, Green experienced unavoidable stiffness.

When dozens of spirit-hands pressed on him, he lost the ability to resist. If Fred hadn’t supported him in time, he would have been slowly eroded to death by Negative Energy.

Soul Spirits with a host could use Negative Energy in more ways. The Human Forms could ignore Negative Energy damage and even had high compatibility with these spirits’ Negative Energy, since they all had origins related to the Undying Witch. The Negative Energy could even be condensed into unique weapons in the hands of these Human Forms. These weapons were probably… imprints left on the Soul Spirits by certain Souls, the weapons the Souls used in life.

These Soul Spirits were quite strong and could hold their own against Oss and the others for a while. If enough pillars were destroyed during the fight, the team would be worn down. But now, with a Magic Sword constantly draining Soul Spirits above them, removing the worry of being swarmed by endless ‘minions,’ dealing with these troublesome Human Forms was just a matter of time.

After one Human Form was taken down first by Oss, the remaining ones completely fell apart. Almost simultaneously finished off, they destroyed the Soul Spirits that were about to leave the Human Forms, then took out the sacks that collected Soul Spirit powder. The powder from these strong Soul Spirits was dozens of times the amount from ordinary ones!

Zheng Yichen strongly suspected that stuff was just powdered stone from the pillars. But after comparing, there was a clear difference. This powder could be processed into Soul Material, but it had too many impurities, like sand compared to cement.

High impurities didn’t mean it was useless. Using it as Soul Material wasn’t cost-effective, but it was quite good for other purposes. No wonder, after its discovery, the Mercenary Guild posted many steady quests for it. Its applications were broad…

“Whew~ I thought I was done for just now. Thanks, bro Fred.” After the fight, Green let out a long breath and patted Fred’s… pectoral muscle in thanks. The feeling of being grabbed by a bunch of spirit-hands, the sensation of one’s Soul freezing and thoughts slowing, was something no one wanted to experience a second time.

“Be more careful next time. You’re too reckless,” Fred said in his usual gruff tone, looking down at the black handprint left on his chest. The black handprint was from the dust on Green’s hand when he was being ground against the pillar…

“Ah, I was just curious. It seems freezing is quite effective against these pillars.” Green scratched his head. He wasn’t trying to get himself killed earlier. He just never expected a light tap would summon several mini-bosses. Usually, that slap would only bring out a dozen or so ordinary Soul Spirits.