Chapter 213 - 136: Successful Removal (Part 3)
However, as a lord, it was his duty to stay constantly aware of new developments in his territory.
So, Lin Kong (Lin Yu) decided that from now on, he would personally inspect his subjects and the changes in his territory every few days. He couldn’t rely solely on system messages anymore.
He thought back carefully and realized the changes in the Slimes had started after Lin Yu had assigned them to production at the Natural Essence Manufacturing Plant.
’So, what ability of the Slimes are those Eye Demons after?’
’First, let’s rule out "Adaptive Digestion."’
Lin Kong took a closer look at the Slime and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Eye Demon inside it had become somewhat fainter and more transparent, as if it had been slightly digested.
He immediately arranged for a hundred Slimes to be moved into another room. He set up a control group by providing them with varying amounts of food, intending to see if the Slimes could fully digest the Eye Demons.
’Hmm, they definitely haven’t realized the Slimes have this ability. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be delivering themselves as free meals.’
’Next up is "Split and Fuse."’
Under Lin Kong’s direction, the Slimes used their split and fuse abilities in the isolation chamber.
When a parasitized Slime used its split ability, it divided into two Slimes, each with half the original’s level. One of the new Slimes contained the Eye Demon, while the other was pure, with no Eye Demon inside.
The Slime with the Eye Demon had slightly stronger stats than the pure one, meaning the buff from the Eye Demon was still active.
If several parasitized Slimes fused, they would merge into a single large Slime. Its level would be the sum of the levels of all Slimes that participated in the fusion, and it would contain multiple Eye Demons.
If this large Slime were to split again, it would evenly distribute the Eye Demons among the newly formed Slimes.
Afterward, Lin Haoyue ran a series of experiments on these split and fused Slimes but didn’t find any other special changes.
’So, it’s not "Split and Fuse" either. That only leaves "Corrupt and Purify."’
’This ability...’
Lin Kong was lost in thought.
’"Corrupt and Purify" and "Nature’s Entanglement" seem to have something in common.’
’They’re both production-type skills. One produces Spiritual Energy from plants, and the other produces natural essence in the Natural Essence Manufacturing Plant.’
’Does that mean the Eye Demons are after the Spiritual Energy or natural essence they produce?’
Once that line of thought opened up, Lin Kong felt a flash of insight. He quickly hurried toward the Natural Essence Manufacturing Plant, taking his plantfolk assistant, a few sprites, and some Slimes with him.
Soon, the group arrived at the cleared-out Natural Essence Manufacturing Plant, where several Death Devourers were waiting for them.
Next, the sprites were instructed to entwine themselves around the large trees outside the Natural Essence Manufacturing Plant, while the Slimes went inside to begin producing natural essence.
As everyone watched, the sprites and Slimes got to work diligently.
But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t produce a single drop of the Spiritual Energy and natural essence that they normally created with ease.
Even the Spiritual Energy that the trees naturally produced vanished once the parasitized sprites wrapped around them.
Lin Kong observed the situation through the World Tree’s energy vision.
The Spiritual Energy generated within the sprites was absorbed by the internal Eye Demons before it could even leave their bodies. The Spiritual Energy produced by the trees themselves was also siphoned away as it flowed through the sprites.
It was the same for the Slimes. After digesting corrupted matter and purifying it into particles of natural essence, the Eye Demons would absorb them before they could even coalesce.
"Damn it! These Eye Demons are full-blown parasites!"
To study what changes might occur in the Eye Demons after they absorbed the energy from the sprites and Slimes, Lin Kong arranged for several plantfolk and Death Devourers to stand guard in shifts.
The plantfolk were responsible for watching over the sprites and Slimes and recording any changes.
The Death Devourers were there as insurance. To prevent any mishaps, they would use their death energy to kill the parasitic Eye Demons if necessary.