Corrupt Creations

Lan Xue suddenly decided to drop her act of a random young girl and said: "I hope that you'll fulfill what you've just said." 

A layer of water enveloped her body and she abruptly disappeared, leaving those words behind, that practically told Seth she was not someone so simple. 

Seth looked at place she was previously standing and smiled. He already knew she was not a normal young disciple. It would be a very strange coincidence to meet someone like her here, so he had used his Soul Sense for a brief moment, identifying she was a strong practitioner. 

However, that didn't matter for him. What mattered was that he discovered that this Lan Xue had close relations with the person Palace Master Yushui wanted him to heal. 

Since Seth was finally alone, he decided to unrestrainedly use his Soul Sense. His soul energy expanded, covering everything in a fifteen thousand meters radius and revealing the important things for him. Impressively, Lan Xue was nowhere to be found. 

After Lexi purified his Soul, he was able to convert Soul Essence Water into Soul Essence Mist way faster, increasing his soul strength by leaps and bounds. Right now, he was able to safely cover the distance of fifteen kilometers and maintain it for a bit longer than before without having splitting headaches. 

Suddenly, he saw something really interesting. 

There was an area devoid of anyone and a very peculiar flux of energy existed there. It didn't seem to be a restricted area, but not a single person dared to go near it. 

Seth found it strange, but he recognized a huge torrent of Spiritual Energy circulating at that place and concluded that it was probably the place from where the Spiritual Energy Lexi felt before, came from. 

He stopped trying to sense everything and concentrated his attention there. His Soul Sense started to bring him more information about that area, until it met a very mysterious blockade. 

Seth ignored Palace Master Yushui's sayings and decided to go there on his own. He had nothing better to do and an untamed person like Seth, just wasn't able to stay quiet when he saw something that interested him. Actually, the main reason he decided to go there, was because he didn't see a single soul going towards that direction, so he wouldn't be spotted by anyone. 

He entered the shadows, moving fast inside it and quickly reaching that place minutes later. He noticed a heavy feeling trying to pressure him down, but he kept advancing, not being bothered by that feeling. But as he walked forwards, that feeling kept increasing in intensity. 

Seth realized that he had arrived at a place where his Soul Sense wasn't able to move forward anymore. There seemed to be an invisible barrier blocking his senses from spying anything, what left him speechless. 

Suddenly, he heard Lexi's voice inside his head. 

"Wow, I never imagined there would be a place like this in this planet. This heavy sensation you're feeling is Soul Suppression and it is most likely what constitutes the blockade in front of you." 

"Soul Suppression? Does it mean that whatever is causing this, is probably cultivating the soul and is at least stronger than me?" Seth asked while not being able to believe. He thought he was the only person with that knowledge on the whole Lazuli Star. 

"Precisely." 

"Then what do we do? Do we go back and don't bother it?" 

"Hm... I am not able to tell this with a hundred percent certainty, but I'm pretty sure that what is causing this is a spirit." 

"A spirit?" 

"Yeah. A high-tier spiritual being. Probably even a weakened divine-tier spiritual being, like the Phoenix Spirit you saw inside the Fire Labyrinth." 

"I understand. It should have been expected from these Higher Grounds. Their history is way deeper and a thousand times more solid than the history of any of those human countries." 

"I can pretty much tell that this spirit is not only adept in water elemental laws, but it has some knowledge regarding soul skills. The reason no one comes here, is mostly because of it. I'm sure no one would be able to support the pressure you're supporting right now." 

"Hm? Is this pressure that hard to support?" Seth asked a bit confused. He was indeed feeling a heaviness in his whole body, but it didn't bother him that much. 

"Heh! Every single one of the disciples present in this sect, would have already passed out, if they tried to stay here for even a single second. Actually, even the Palace Masters wouldn't be able to stay here for more than a minute. Even though their cultivation strength is good for this world, their souls are too common." 

"Is that so? Interesting. Sigh... Guess we should go back. Whatever that spirit is protecting, must be something really important." 

Seth turned around and started to leave that area. He didn't want to disturb the peace of whatever was inside. However, he suddenly heard the blockade behind of him moving. It abruptly opened a path for him to enter. 

Seth got bewildered by what just happened, but Lexi's voice reappeared inside his head. 

"It allowed your entry." 

He turned around and looked towards the road ahead. It was just like a normal road with beautiful plants on each side, nothing special. But what was lying in the end of that path, he didn't know. Seth decided to go and see it with his own eyes. Out of respect, he didn't use his Soul Sense. 

Some hundred meters ahead, he noticed there was a hill going down. When he approached that place, he was finally able to see the scenery in front of him. There was a beautiful lake, spanning for many kilometers in radius. 

What made Seth get mesmerized, was that he remembered he had to enter a lake to get here, so this was practically a lake within a lake. 

Suddenly, his eyes noticed a giant silver figure right at the center of those waters. It was the reflection of a huge silver moon. Seth quickly looked up, but he wasn't able to see anything up in the skies. The whole sky here was built by a formation and was able to reproduce the qualities of the day and night. It lacked any of the stars or planets everyone was able to see on the outside. 

So how was there the reflex of a moon inside the lake? 

"Woah! This is incredible! So much Spiritual Energy! This place is so rich of Spiritual Energy that it is overflowing." Lexi started to absorb everything uncontrollably. 

"Wait, Lexi. How the hell is there a moon inside that lake? Actually, where is the spirit residing here?" 

"I don't know. Go find it yourself. Do not bother me, I'm absorbing this rich energy right now." 

Seth got speechless. Lexi didn't give a damn about the situation they were in, only thinking about eating, since that's what she does with the energy she absorbs. 

He decided to explore this area by himself, moving towards the lake. Those waters were so crystalline that he was able to clearly see through them. There was a mystical feeling, attracting him towards it. 

He crouched down and put his fingers there, lightly touching the lake surface. That mere action of his caused a ripple, that resonated with his own Soul Lake. From the place where his fingers were touching, a lot of soul energy entered in contact with his body, invading his soul. 

An overwhelming soul energy poured inside him, making his Soul Lake shake in disorder. 

Boom! 

Seth felt he was but a tiny boat in the middle of a sea storm. His consciousness was thrown into disarray and his soul was about to suffer damage. But suddenly, he felt a hand touching his shoulder and pulling him backwards, making his finger get out of the lake water, cutting the connection between them. 

Gasp! 

Seth deeply breathed, inhaling some fresh air as he returned to his body. He was saved from that energy storm by someone, preventing his soul from taking damage. That lake had a very fearful water and Seth's soul energy was not strong enough to support entering in contact with it. 

After recomposing himself, Seth turned around to thank the person who had saved him, but just as his eyes met that silhouette, he saw that it was not a person but a spirit. 

It had taken the form of a woman; however, its body was entirely made of water. But in a single look, Seth noticed it was not the same water than the one that this mysterious lake was made of. Impressively, the lake water had a stronger spiritual force than the one he felt coming from her. 

The spirit stared at him attentively, trying to feel what that person had found so special about him. He was a very strong individual for his age, but at first there was no way for her to know why he was someone special.