Book 3: Chapter 312: Plague Research

The next day, Sylutia followed the visiting delegation to the reception. The moment she appeared, she drew quite a bit of attention, and for good reason. The young woman stood out far too conspicuously among the crowd of physicians and apothecaries.

First, most of the team members were over thirty years old. Even if some maintained themselves well and looked like they were in their twenties, Sylutia was still noticeably young, even giving off a slightly immature impression at first glance.

Second, her bearing, along with the several cornflowers blooming among her side locks, was especially eye-catching. Among them, the orange-red, gold-like stamens constantly emitted a soft glow and gentle warmth, dispelling the damp, oppressive gloom of the Sinking Fog season. When this young woman walked into the meeting room, it was as if the very air had become fresher and brighter.

As soon as the reception began, people started asking about her name. When they learned this was the exchange candidate "Sylutia" that the Hidden Grove and the Mage Alliance had argued over for so long, everyone finally understood why those negotiations had nearly collapsed multiple times.

It seemed the Hidden Grove treasured this young woman greatly, having been unwilling to let her go before.

After the initial meeting concluded, the visiting Hidden Grove team learned the general situation and history of the Flesh Plague, and they also began to get acquainted with one another.

"In the coming week, we will share with you all the data we've gathered from recent investigations. Once everyone is prepared, we will depart for Worze District in the northern part of the Alliance. That is one of the more densely populated sky regions in the north, and the plague is currently severe there."

After hearing this, Grandmaster Zelalin nodded slightly, then spoke up to ask:

"Does it pose a threat to high-tier Transcendents? Is it easy to prevent and treat?"

"Based on the current plague infection cases, most of the infected and mutated individuals are ordinary people. A minority are Transcendents of the first to third tiers. Those at the fourth tier and above have fairly good resistance. As for the fifth tier, we haven't yet seen any infected individuals." The speaker paused, seeming to feel that statement wasn't cautious enough, so they added another sentence.

"It's possible that fifth-tier infection sources exist as well, but as long as one carefully isolates and takes precautions, it's very difficult for someone at that rank to be infected by the plague."

"I see. Understood." Zelalin nodded without blaming the other party. He was also a physician and knew that such matters were hard to judge with absolute certainty.

Over the following days, Sylutia went through the research materials with the team and also entered the officially heavily-guarded underground laboratory, where several plague-infected individuals were held in confinement.

Transparent glass cages isolated the completely mutated flesh monsters within. Sylutia and the others stood several meters away observing. The creatures inside could only barely be said to retain a humanoid shape. Their limbs had already twisted, muscle distribution was uneven, and some internal organs even bulged out from beneath the skin surface. Looking at them too long could make one lose one's composure and feel deeply oppressed.

After touring the facilities holding these infected and mutated residents, many of the delegation members felt heavy-hearted, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Although the plague was currently only spreading within the Mage Alliance, no one knew whether its spread could be stopped. If they failed, the consequences would be simply unimaginable.

Five days later, after understanding the nature of this plague, the team began discussing how to resolve it.

"According to the preliminary research results, the origin of this plague is related to blood, meaning the 'Bloodline' Aspect."

"Currently, the Hour governing 'Bloodline' and 'Distortion' is the 'Aberrant Mother Nest.' This plague is very likely the manifestation of that entity's power and will."

"Although the 'Aberrant Mother Nest' doesn't have clear subjective consciousness, it possesses vague subconsciousness and desires, namely a craving for devouring and encroachment. The birth of this plague is the result of its vague consciousness taking effect."

"When certain viruses and pathogens display fitting traits, it's equivalent to practicing the Path of 'Distortion' or 'Bloodline,' thereby earning the 'Aberrant Mother Nest's' reward. Their power increases, and they gradually spread."

"If we want to resolve the calamity caused by this plague, we should roughly approach it from two angles. One is to eliminate the individuals carrying the plague. The other is to develop targeted medicines to remove the plague or strengthen resistance, preventing new infections from appearing."

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"As for elimination, considering that we're dealing with 'Bloodline' and 'Distortion,' the most suitable powers should be 'Scorching Sun' and 'Luminous Moon.' When developing medicines, we can also start from those two angles."

For a small portion of the world's ailments and diseases, 'Scorching Sun' and 'Luminous Moon' both had quite significant curative effects. After all, they were worthy of being the positive Aspects representing life and consciousness, and were among the eight lesser lower Aspects worshipped by the world.

With the direction confirmed, the team's physicians and apothecaries began conducting tests and attempting to create medicines. During that period, the delegation from the Harp Flower Union also arrived at the Mage Alliance. The Mage Alliance also gathered many apothecaries and physicians from the "Origin Hourglass," "Seven Salt School," and "Medicine Formulation School" to form a joint team.

Physicians and apothecaries from the eight major allied factions gathered together, exchanging ideas and discussing approaches almost every day, then conducting experiments. During this process, Sylutia greatly broadened her horizons and learned a great deal of medical knowledge and experience.

Although she had a solid foundation as an apothecary, she had never formally studied in a structured setting. Much of her knowledge had remained at the level of theory without practical application. This period of large-scale exchange and research benefited her immensely.

Many places in the three holy scriptures of the "Silver Radiance Church" that she had previously found incomprehensible now seemed decoded, allowing her to understand the information and symbolic meanings within.

It seemed that the "Silver Radiance Church" had indeed been remarkable. Even across thousands of years, some of its achievements remained relevant even now, and some even surpassed modern results.

This wasn't because the various schools had declined, but rather because of the gap in the circumstances of their eras.

Since the end of the Eighth Epoch and the beginning of the Covenant Epoch, the Hours and powerful beings had all withdrawn from the mortal continents. Wars and calamities on the land had decreased significantly. Without these chaotic plagues and disasters to practice on, even the best physicians, learning only from written records, could never match the predecessors who had personally experienced that era of chaos.

In the age of the Eighth Epoch, the Hours and Named Ones would mostly participate directly in great wars. In that era, countless people died in campaigns, and all kinds of plagues and curses were everywhere. Almost every place had calamities that needed resolving.

Physicians who grew up in such an environment gradually mastered solutions to various plagues and injuries. Such rich experiential growth was something later generations of physicians could hardly encounter.

Without the tempering of such an environment, and with many plagues disappearing, the physicians who understood their characteristics gradually saw their traditions severed as well, leaving only records on paper for later physicians to imagine.

After lying dormant for thousands of years, plague-type calamities had erupted once again. Perhaps in the Eighth Epoch, it would have been nothing more than an ordinary outbreak, but in the current era, it was a terrible disaster that caught everyone off guard, with no one knowing how to resolve it.