Sage treated these ghosts with caution, but that didn’t mean he feared them. He had quite a few methods that were supposed to be good when used against spirit type beings, but since this was the first time he’d faced ghosts in this manner he took the opportunity to run some tests. Purely physical attacks were basically useless. Qi and Spirit Power could harm them, but it was quite inefficient. These ghosts were infused with Count Voctem's law power and if he used Qi power without law energy it had little effect. The Shard Rifles were slightly better off as it seemed Spirit Power had an easier time affecting spirits, but even that was not very useful.

Instead the natural ability of the Bone Mantis was the most reliable. As a creature that was notorious for hanging out in graveyards and consuming death aura to survive, it was essential that it could compete with the spirits that also called that habitat home. After slapping away a few ghosts and then making one burst apart with crushing force, he saw that it was very effective on these ghosts. Unfortunately, even the burst one wasn’t killed by his attacks, but they lost many times more energy density than his earlier strikes. The only downside was that this power required him to make direct contact with the ghosts. His other attacks didn’t carry this power, only his touch.

While he was calculating the damage inflicted to those few ghosts, the rest of them had swarmed all around him, creating a dense formation without anywhere for him to pass through. They carefully moved into position while he was distracted and only now showed their intentions when they rushed forward. Each of them had been placed so they could form this trapping arrangement without being noticed. His only options were to face the ghost net or back up against the cage of trees and their whipping roots. He was already within the range of the roots and having to dodge the incoming roots a few times a second. This split attention gave the ghosts time to form their coordination and trap him.

Or at least that’s what the one controlling the ghosts must have thought. When the mass of ghosts were formed into a semi-circle at just the right range for the most effect, Sage turned towards them and his mouth opened. Brilliant white flames shot forth from him, short form in the shape of a cone; he tried to hit as many of the ghosts as possible with one attack. Those at the farthest edges were safe, but the rest suffered from the burning energy. Compared to the other attacks, these flames caused a symphony of wailing screams and the tree’s body shook as the majority of the ghosts were obliterated after just a moment in the face of the white fire.

For once, the Heavenly Material First Light was used for its greatest strength. The white flame of the dawn, the First Light was said to be the bane of all things evil and dark. Purifying yang energy, but only for a fleeting moment, just like the first touch of dawn’s light. Unlike other flames, the First Light was not very good at consuming other things to fuel itself to grow larger or stronger. It was more of an immediate scouring flame and this sudden burst of flame upon the ghosts was its forte. He’d already used a quick flare to scare Grikori away from him earlier when he saw the man attacking his shadow, but the man had avoided the flames entirely.

It was only at this moment that Voctem became aware of the First Light’s power. Seeing the moves that Count Voctem had used so far, the First Light was quite a good counter. Sage immediately dashed forward into the dissipating white flames, not wanting to give up on this momentary advantage. He avoided the few scattered ghosts and closed in on the trunk of the dark tree. Since he didn’t know what it was made of he attacked in a flurry, aiming to see what was the most effective. He slashed it with a blade made of Poison Qi, punched it with his bare hand empowered with a burst of the Jade Mantle to increase his strength, blasted it with the white flames of the First Light, then a burst of the orange Samsara Flame, then he switched poisons and tried to inject the multi-colored pastel gas of the Nightmare Garden. Lastly, he threw a handful of seeds, glowing with his Qi, onto the smashed bark and dashed backwards.

The tree above him had recovered and its branches swung down towards him. Faced with the future of being trapped inside a giant ghostly tree umbrella, Sage chose to err on the side of caution and escape away again. He’d delivered his attacks in a rapid flurry of motion, leaving no time between them before dashing away again. As he left, the researchers on the Inner World were busy ‘reviewing the footage’ to see what was most effective.

Surprisingly, the First Light was not nearly as effective against the charred tree as it was against the ghosts. Even so it was still more effective than the Samsara Flame, but the bark was just much more resistant so the short burst of power from the First Light wasn’t able to cause widespread damage. Seeing the ghosts that were spawned from the tree, Sage was testing if the Samsara Flame could burn the souls contained within it. The test showed that the Samsara Flame was not very effective, which led them to believe that the tree itself didn’t contain souls. It must merely be a channel or growth mechanism for the ghosts.

This also might somewhat explain the lack of effect for the Searing Greenrose Miasma, what his Poison Qi was usually made out of. It had the purple miasma’s property of ignoring the physical body and attacking the spirit with the burning qualities of the Skin-Eating Heart Fire and the constant spreading of the Greenrose Venom. It was the most insidious to deal with and the searing property allowed Sage to attach his Thermal Law as well as his Corruption Law to its attacks. It attacked the spirit to infect the internal organs with a burning corrosion, but it seemed the tree’s internal organs and spirit were too unusual for the Searing Greenrose Miasma to do much to.

There did seem to be some results from the Nightmare Garden poison. The area of the tree that had been infected with the swirling combination of purple, pink, red and white gas swelled up and then was suddenly shorn off. A piece of the trunk grew outwards and then cracked, falling away to the ground. The nearby roots pulled back from it to prevent it from spreading and the chunk of wood had nowhere to keep spreading to. It released a thick white fog, but it quickly fizzled out. The poison that targeted plants was actually effective enough for Count Voctem to make the tree slice off its own flesh.

Last, but far from least, the few seeds he’d scattered had shown the greatest effect. This was the Wood technique that Sage had chosen to be his main reliance in the future, replacing the Sacred Banyan that was mainly used for support. These small seeds used the Qi he’d infused into them for years upon the Inner World, growing with terrifying speed and force. They sprouted many thin hair-like roots that spread outwards rapidly. These thin roots sunk into every gap they could find and burrowed deep into the dark bark of this ghostly tree. These roots could even sink into flesh and blood, using Demonic Beasts as soil, so it was quite easy for them to invade this tree.

Parasitic Roots. This technique was extremely simple, but also extremely powerful. Its only real ability was to sink its roots into other organisms and drain their energy, which it then used to grow more roots. The ability of these Parasitic Roots to pierce into other targets was based upon the power infused into them. The more Qi they had, the more fine and thin their roots could become. This factor made them perfect for Sage, as he could prepare them in advance and this weapon could be used on very high level enemies, but it was also a detriment for others. Most Cultivators would want their techniques to do more damage if they used an excess amount of Qi, so merely increasing penetration power made it unpopular. Sage mainly chose it because this energy draining effect fell under the influence of his Law of Corruption. The fact he could charge it up on the Inner World was just a bonus.

The Parasitic Roots slowly sunk into the dark tree, slowly draining its energy and weakening this ‘weapon’ of Count Voctem. The fact that they weren’t immediately expelled like the Nightmare Garden poison meant that the roots were a much more effective weapon against this tree. Sage adjusted for his next move as the large dark tree and Count Voctem within it finally recovered from the sudden loss of those dozens of ghosts he’d invested so much into.

Let’s see what else you can do.