Chapter 17: The Art of Purification

Jasmine stepped forward, her right hand loosely cupped.

A staff, pure white and entwined with emerald vine patterns, materialized from thin air, settling into her palm. The glowing jasmine bud blooming at its tip shimmered with a gentle luster under the afternoon sun.

“Pure Heart Barrier: Cleanse!”

The staff lightly tapped the ground.

From the point where the staff tip touched, a translucent white light membrane spread silently like ripples, instantly covering the vicinity. Delicate jasmine patterns emerged along the membrane’s edge, and a refined, clean fragrance diffused into the air.

The barrier precisely enveloped the wandering spirit, while skillfully excluding the two specks of dust.

“The specks of dust are too fragile; they might instantly dissipate if they directly enter the barrier, so I’ll leave them for you to practice with,” Jasmine explained, turning to Su Xinxin. She then looked at the staff she had summoned. “You can also try to guide your magic first, imagining the weapon you want to summon, just like my staff.”

Su Xinxin closed her eyes as instructed, envisioning the staff she had used during the test. A few seconds later, a longer staff with a wooden texture and a cluster of Jasmin flowers blooming at its tip solidified in her hand.

“Not bad at all!” Jasmine praised. “Your magic guidance is very smooth.”

Holding the staff, Su Xinxin cautiously approached. As she drew near Jasmine, the pressure around her lightened, and the jasmine scent in the air calmed her mind.

When she looked at the wandering spirit, it truly seemed bound by an invisible force. Its movements were slow, and even the scattered gray mist had significantly thinned.

“So, what should we do with the other two specks of dust?” she asked.

“Hmm… one each,” Jasmine replied, retracting her staff. She stepped outside the barrier and crouched before one of the specks of dust. “Watch closely, I’ll only demonstrate once.”

She extended her left hand, her palm hovering above the swirling gray mist.

“Jasmine Healing: Soothe!”

Warm, white-green light particles surged from her palm, drifting lightly like fireflies and merging into the gray mist. Wherever the light particles touched, the dusty gray color began to fade, like ink washed away by clear water. Without struggle or sound, the mist quietly, almost ‘peacefully,’ dissipated.

In the final moments, Su Xinxin faintly heard an extremely soft exhalation, like a sigh or perhaps a release, vanishing into the wind.

“Did you see that?” Jasmine withdrew her hand, looking at Su Xinxin. “That is ‘purification.’ It’s not about violent destruction, but about soothing and guiding, allowing those accumulated negative emotions to calm and dissipate. It’s like…”

She paused, considering. “It’s like… well, in some stories, where deeply obsessed souls find liberation and peace.”

Su Xinxin nodded earnestly.

She walked to the other speck of dust, extending her hand just as Jasmine had. Her palm felt slightly warm, and a soft, goose-yellow glow, characteristic of Jasmin flowers, slowly brightened. She tried to recall the feeling from the test—that desire to ‘soothe.’

Light particles drifted down.

The gray mist trembled gently, then visibly thinned and became transparent, finally transforming into a few faint lights that quietly scattered into the air.

This time, she heard it more clearly. At the tail end of its dissipation, there was indeed a faint, almost imperceptible sense of ‘release.’

It wasn’t gratitude, but more like a… relief at finally being able to unburden oneself.

Only after the purification did Su Xinxin belatedly realize that the staff she had summoned hadn’t even been used! She recalled using a staff during the test. Did this mean that now, with her improved magic guidance, she could purify directly without a staff?

“Excellent!” Jasmine’s voice chimed. “Now, for this last wandering spirit…”

Su Xinxin looked at the shadowy figure within the barrier. Under the continuous influence of the purifying barrier, it was no longer restless, merely cowering, occasionally trembling slightly, revealing a hint of… helplessness?

“Instructor Jasmine,” she suddenly asked, “How long can your barrier… be maintained?”

“At this intensity, it should last for a long time, especially since there’s only one wandering spirit,” Jasmine said, walking to her side and observing the spirit within the barrier. “What, do you want to try purifying it yourself?”

Su Xinxin was silent for a moment.

“I… I don’t know,” she admitted honestly. “It seems… not so frightening anymore.”

Jasmine watched her profile, seeing clear pity in her warm, light brown eyes. This stirred something within her.

“Jasmin,” her voice softened, yet her tone was serious. “These ‘Corruptions’—these demonic creatures—indeed have tragic origins. However, their very existence is an erosion and threat to reality. What we can do is, while neutralizing the threat, try to grant them… well, a relatively peaceful end.”

She paused, then continued, “Purification is the greatest mercy we can offer them. But this mercy comes with a prerequisite: ensuring safety. When facing higher-level, more threatening ‘Corruptions,’ or in urgent situations, there may not be enough time for precise purification. That’s why the concept of ‘Annihilation’ exists.”

She walked to the wandering spirit, her right hand gently hovering above its indistinct ‘head.’

“Rest in peace,” she whispered, and white light surged from her palm.

The wandering spirit’s final form softened and became transparent in the light, transforming into countless shimmering dust motes that drifted upwards, slowly vanishing.

There was no pain, no struggle, as if a long and weary journey had finally concluded.

Jasmine dispelled the barrier. The afternoon sun streamed down unobstructed, leaving only a negligible trace of energy on the grass, which would soon naturally decompose.

Su Xinxin’s first practical combat experience had ended.

Su Xinxin stood still, gazing at the spot where the wandering spirit had disappeared, a complex, ineffable emotion swirling within her. It wasn’t sadness, nor joy; it was more like a… tranquility that came from understanding a profound truth.

The evening breeze swept through, carrying the fresh scent of plants from outside the training ground.

Jasmine walked to her side, a few strands of her silver-white hair lifted by the wind. She raised a hand to tuck some stray hairs behind her ear, then looked at the distant horizon, gradually stained with orange-red, and suddenly said softly:

“The wind today… is quite boisterous, isn’t it?”

Su Xinxin paused slightly, then after a brief moment, reached out to touch the faint, slowly dissipating luminous energy in the air, adding:

“Yet this wind, it seems to be weeping…”

Before her words fully faded, Jasmine’s spirit familiar, Xiao Li, peeked out from behind her, urging in a voice only the two of them could hear:

“Hey, it’s almost time to go! *Cough, cough*… this wind has carried some bad ‘Corruptions’ into the streets… Er, what was it… Let’s go! Before the wind stops!”

Meanwhile, Xiao Ming, perched on Su Xinxin’s shoulder, immediately shrieked in an exaggerated tone:

“Oh no! The supermarket has potato chips on half price! And they’re the big bags!”

As this sudden, impromptu ‘awkward performance’ ended…

Jasmine let out a chuckle, her shoulders shaking lightly, her eyes curving into crescent moons. The solemn atmosphere from the training instantly vanished.

Xiao Li flew onto her shoulder, shaking her ears in resignation. Xiao Ming, meanwhile, smugly rubbed against Su Xinxin’s cheek, as if saying, ‘See how well I cooperated.’

Su Xinxin gently stroked Xiao Ming’s soft fur, a faint smile blooming in her eyes.

Thankfully, this little one had been quite helpful today, assisting them greatly.

“Let’s go,” Jasmine said, stifling her laughter, her eyes still sparkling. “Training continues tomorrow. You’ll need to work hard from now on.”

“Mhm,” Su Xinxin nodded.

The two walked out of the training ground side by side. Behind them, the setting sun stretched their shadows long.

The wind still blew, carrying the uniquely warm and refreshing scent of an early summer evening.

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