Yunyang’s spirit form sank into a mass of clouds.
A mass of dark clouds, at that.
She surveyed Qilin’s mental landscape. It was a sky surrounded by many similar dark clouds.
Beneath the vast sky stretched an endless range of mountains.
But at that moment, both the sky and the mountains were collapsing.
Yunyang quickly found You Lu’s spirit form.
The sisters’ spirit forms converged, and together they searched for Qilin’s spirit form.
With Qilin’s contamination level at 99, clearing the black mist from his mental landscape might not have any effect. It would only waste their mental energy, just as it had when Yunyang first faced Pei Wenye.
It would be safer to purify Qilin’s spirit form directly.
Yunyang and You Lu searched diligently, but even after their mental energy had covered nearly half of the mental landscape, they still couldn’t find him.
Yunyang had no choice but to solidify her spirit form. Turning to You Lu, she said, “Lulu, shall we go down and take a look?”
You Lu also solidified her spirit form and nodded.
They had already searched the sky. Qilin’s spirit form could only be below.
After their brief exchange, Yunyang was just about to disperse her mental energy and move toward the land when a soft, bouncy cloud drifted over to her feet.
Yunyang gave it a hurried glance, intending not to let the cloud interfere with her search for Qilin’s spirit form.
But the dark cloud suddenly shifted, revealing a pair of tiny, dark-brown horns.
Yunyang froze mid-motion and turned to look at You Lu, who was waiting for her to act.
“Lulu, this…”
You Lu came over, and the sisters’ gazes fell together on the “dark cloud.”
Dark clouds couldn’t possibly grow horns. What was more, those horns were clearly miniature versions of the ones on the head of the enormous creature outside.
Yunyang asked tentatively, “Are you that Qilin?”
The “dark cloud’s” horns trembled lightly, but it didn’t speak.
The sisters understood. Their invisible mental threads instantly burrowed into the “dark cloud.”
The “dark cloud” bobbed violently up and down, seemingly resisting their mental energy, but it was unable to break free.
Once their mental threads had successfully wrapped around the “dark cloud,” Yunyang and You Lu immediately began purifying it.
Qilin’s ability level was simply too high. Yunyang had already expended nearly half of her mental energy, yet she hadn’t noticed any change in his mental landscape.
You Lu was in much the same situation.
One had to remember that both of them currently had a 25 percent boost to their mental energy from the Blessing ability.
Sure enough, for abilities and mental energy above S-rank, every increase in rank represented an insurmountable chasm compared to the rank below it.
The two of them could purify SS-rank ability users without much trouble, but in front of an SSS-rank Qilin, they were somewhat outmatched.
Even so, neither Yunyang nor You Lu suggested giving up.
Their mental energy was rapidly being depleted.
Outside the mental landscape, Fu Shiyi noticed the changes in Yunyang’s mental energy and covertly signaled to Fuyuan.
Although he had never spoken openly about Fuyuan’s ability, the other beast husbands had more or less guessed the truth.
Fuyuan understood at once. He stepped forward under the pretext of helping Yunyang relax and secretly helped restore her mental energy.
This required skin-to-skin contact, so he couldn’t do the same for You Lu.
Yunyang soon sensed what was happening inside the mental landscape.
She said to You Lu, “Lulu, if your mental energy gets too low, withdraw first. Don’t force yourself.”
“I know.”
You Lu’s spirit form curved its lips into a smile, but the speed at which she released her mental energy did not slow in the slightest.
Outside the mental landscape, Qilin’s contamination level began to drop at an extremely slow pace.
98…
97…
96…
The contamination level became stuck at 95. No matter how hard Yunyang and You Lu tried, they couldn’t lower it any further.
You Lu had very little mental energy left. She didn’t force herself and withdrew her mental energy after nodding to Yunyang.
Yu Wenxu bent down, looking at her pale face with concern. “Female master, how are you feeling?”
“I’m all right. I’ve just expended too much mental energy.” As You Lu spoke, she looked toward Yunyang beside her. “Yangyang is still purifying him.”
Yunyang didn’t have much mental energy left either.
Although Fuyuan could replenish it for her, the rate of recovery was far slower than the rate at which it was being consumed.
She had a feeling that Qilin’s contamination had yet to fall below 90, but this was already the limit for her and Lulu.
At worst, she could wait until her mental energy recovered before purifying Qilin a second time.
Yunyang took it in stride. Before her mental energy was completely depleted, she withdrew the mental threads that had burrowed into the “dark cloud.”
A short, clear cry suddenly rang out.
It sounded unlike the call of any animal Yunyang had ever heard. The sound seemed to have been steeped in warm jade, spreading softly through the air.
Yunyang stared blankly at the “dark cloud” before her.
The “dark cloud” suddenly shook itself hard, sending the gray clouds flying away and revealing a tiny, miniature Qilin within.
Outside the mental landscape, everyone was astonished to see Qilin’s originally scarlet eyes gradually return to normal.
His contamination level had fallen below 90!
Jenkins was ecstatic. He quickly took a photo and sent it to Wu Zhengming.
Inside the mental landscape, Yunyang blinked.
The little Qilin’s body was primarily warm white and pale gold. His light-brown mane was fluffy and curly, and a thin layer of golden scales covered his back. Several clumps of cloud still clung to his similarly light-brown tail.
The little Qilin hopped over to Yunyang’s feet and rubbed affectionately against her spirit form. His round golden eyes were filled with dependence.
Seeing that the little Qilin didn’t want her to leave, Yunyang reached out and rubbed his head.
“My mental energy is all used up. I’ll purify you again after I’ve recovered a little, all right?”
Although she knew that the creature before her was male, faced with such an adorable little Qilin, Yunyang’s voice unconsciously softened.
The little Qilin obediently nodded.
Only then did Yunyang withdraw her mental energy.
Her face was just as pale. Fuyuan was still holding her hand, and he took the opportunity to pick her up.
“Female master, I’ll carry you somewhere to rest.”
Yunyang glanced at the sister beside her. Seeing that You Lu had already been picked up by Yu Wenxu, she relaxed and nestled into Fuyuan’s arms.
The exertion today had been truly considerable.
Before leaving the monitoring room, Yunyang glanced at the enormous Qilin and met a pair of round, golden eyes.
After being carried out of the monitoring room, she looked at Fu Shiyi. “Has Qilin’s contamination level already fallen below 90?”
After receiving confirmation, Yunyang breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, it seemed she wouldn’t have to go through another ordeal today.
The sensation of excessive mental-energy depletion was truly unpleasant, so even though she didn’t need to put herself through another ordeal, Yunyang still pulled Fu Shiyi along and used him to help restore her mental energy.
Fu Shiyi was more than happy to oblige.
Two hours later, Yunyang was lively and energetic again.
After confirming that You Lu had recovered as well, the two of them exchanged a few words with Jenkins and then left the Purification Tower.
Inside the monitoring room, although the contamination level had fallen to 90, Cang Zhuonian showed no intention of returning to human form. He continued staring mournfully toward the door.
