Those in the lower realms being cut off from ascension energy only followed the larger state of the world. After all, the same was true in reverse- though it was quite rare for anyone from the upper realms to bring infused objects with them to the lower realms. The opposite happened quite frequently in the case of ascensions, or forcibly in the case of invasions during the cycles of the tides of the world.

It was clear to Anton that the only way to practice ascension energy in the lower realms would revolve around a forbidden technique of some sort just to be able to access it. But spectral energy was another matter. Just because Fleeting Youth was one way to access spectral energy didn’t make it the only one.

It might not even be the best. Certainly, Anton found that it was quite functional… but he could see people being unwilling to give up a chance at reincarnation. He might have too, if raised among cultivators. But instead, he’d reached the end of a mortal life and come to terms with that being it. When suddenly given many more years than he could have anticipated, he’d simply come to terms with it as a blessing.

Though he didn’t know why spectral energy and the virulent mold interacted the way they did, it was unmistakable. So he meditated on possible avenues for others to use spectral energy. Being near death themselves… well, that might actually be a viable option in the exact state their world was in. Normally, Anton would not recommend it. As for other options, he refused to consider anything involving the killing or sacrifice of other ensouled beings.

He had sent a message asking for all the information the Lower Realms Alliance had on spectral energy. While he could absorb a great amount of knowledge, without practical purpose he didn’t seek out every piece of cultivation that came through. Just whatever passed through his own hands, as well as reviewing everything being introduced to the libraries of the One Hundred Stars. Which was still quite a bit, but far from everything.

The response time would take a while, given the distances involved, and of course organizing such information as well. And given that Anton wasn’t going to be stationed on a planet with access to a broad flow of information, it would take time for proper techniques to be transmitted to his personal communications devices. Pure theory that was just text would be trivial, but there were insights contained in the pages of handwritten manuals. And now some printed ones, he supposed. Transmitting them through technological means between the upper and lower realms was more impressive than from machine to page, though both would have been inconceivable before meeting other planets.

Until such a time as he had that information, however, Anton had to review what he had on him… and any local books that covered the topic. And while he had to admit it was pretty rude to scan his energy through people’s libraries, it was for their own good. And the good of the whole planet. He would ask for each and every one, but then he would have to explain how he knew they had the information, and it would take far too long.

The first combined team of experts was almost to Mazlerth, and they would be able to help the planet in many ways- ramping up production of those medicines that worked and spreading information in an official capacity. And there would be many more of them so they could handle questions, while Anton had been doing his best to sprout seeds of restoration throughout the world. It was what he thought would produce the best results, though he lamented every individual that suffered unnecessarily.

-----

At some point, Anton had needed to attempt using spectral energy on humans, and he could only feel justified doing so with their full consent and knowledge of the potential dangers. He didn’t want to provide people with false hope of an easy cure and then cause them more harm than good. Though for those who were on the edge of death, harming them more was quite difficult.

That was the state of the first woman to accept Anton’s offer. Her name was Bau, and she was one of the worst cases Anton had seen… still alive. If she lasted more than a few more days, Anton would have been surprised.

“Go ahead… and try it,” the woman said after he gave his offer. Even being able to speak… well, considering the state of things inside her body, Anton knew why he hadn’t seen many others who had progressed so far. Most people would have already been dead. Yet this woman wasn’t even a cultivator, not that it was necessarily beneficial with regards to her current affliction.

Anton had already explained the potential harms to her soul- but to someone like her, she doubtless thought very little about such things. Even so he was cautious in his approach because he did understand them to some extent. If nothing else, it would cause her unnecessary pain.

The reaction of the mold was much less severe when he reached towards the woman with a tendril of spectral energy. When trying to determine why, Anton came to the conclusion that it might feel sheltered inside a host. That was true, but only so far as Anton wanted to avoid causing harm to the woman. If he was simply interested in eliminating the mold, it would be gone.

Most of Bau’s internal organs were filled with the horrible fibers of the mold, half digested already. It was even close to reaching her skin. The fact that she was still alive was amazing.

Anton slowly reached towards the outermost parts of it. When he touched it, it didn’t have the same chain reaction as he expected. Not to nearly the same extent, where it would spread through a whole patch. However, it still shriveled and died wherever his spectral energy touched. Anton had to be careful, however, as careless moves could harm the woman. Physical harm would be a shame, but spectral energy could do so. Damaging her soul which was nebulously co-located with her body would be far worse.

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His motions gentle, Anton treated his energy like a brush, slowly painting throughout her body. Or perhaps he was sweeping away the mold like so much dust. He saw less immediate side effects compared to burning it away- this much and her body would already be running a serious fever as it tried to level out. However, there were other consequences.

“I think this is enough for now,” Anton said.

The woman grabbed his arm, wiry muscle that should have been able to clamp tightly just barely contracting. “Don’t… stop.”

“The mold has grown into your organs. Where I removed it, you’ve begun bleeding. You need to take medicine and heal from that damage.”

“Don’t… stop. I won’t last long anyway.”

It was true. While the mold might not grow back into those sections, it could finish devouring the rest of her by the time even powerful medicines could restore the part Anton had already worked on.

“Very well,” Anton said. “I will try to remove the rest of it in sequence. But…”

“At least I’ll die quickly instead of slowly,” the woman said. “I can feel it, you know? Growing inside of me. The pressure… some of it is gone. Make sure… your practice helps someone else.”

She was going to die anyway. Anton might indeed hasten that, but he had to agree with Bau. He did need the practice. The only thing he could do was avoid harm to her soul.

Soon, as he started clearing out her lungs, she began to cough up blood. And yet, her breathing was stronger. Anton had at least given her some blood clotting medicines in hopes that it might keep her alive… but there was far too much of the mold, and not enough of her.

She died soon after that, but her look was peaceful. Anton made sure to clear out the rest of the mold in her body, so that it would not desecrate her after her death. And for the sake of everyone around, so they would not be in danger.

-----

Those who were barely infected could recover through several means, and the spreading of the cures and knowledge accelerated rapidly when the others arrived. Humans were the primary concern, and those with longer term infestations were helped directly by various sorts of techniques. Burning, freezing, and a few other flavors of energy that the mold would not try to consume.

Fields could be cleared with spectral energy, but some with more technical knowledge had better ways. For those less powerful than Anton, summoning enough spectral energy to clear a field- unless they were lucky and there was a continuous spread between the various infected crops- was quite difficult even over the course of a day or two. And that was with some amount of practice with the technique he’d put together. However, Anton had determined that the side effects were minimal. Or rather, almost non-existent. As long as no one else was in the fields, the worst that could happen were the crops withering. But with some control, they could be saved nearly intact.

As for people, far fewer were able to treat them with spectral energy. Anton didn’t even suggest that as an option in most cases. He could treat one person at a time, and as he got better at the process that ramped up to a few per hour, sometimes up to a hundred per day. That might seem like quite a few, but for a planet with tens of millions- not even that much for a budding planet- it would take him a decade to treat even a single percent of the population. Assuming everyone remained in stasis, he might need a century or more.

But he wasn’t alone. Slowly but steadily, the plague was pushed back. Once it was understood, it could be purged from areas a little bit at a time. It was uncomfortably antithetical to Anton’s vision of entire planets cultivating, however. A danger that was worse for those with natural energy. But on the other hand, that was also how they’d reached the solutions they had. Without cultivators, the plague might have done even more than it had.

In barely a couple years, it had directly killed over a tenth of the population, and more would live with the scars of infection. More had died from starvation and the strife caused by limited resources- though Anton was quite pleased with how much the people tried to cooperate and save everyone. It spoke well of the Shining Cooperative.

-----

The question that remained on everyone’s minds was where the mold came from. Was it a simple mutation of a local mold? It certainly looked much like other white molds, growing in strands. But its potency was vastly different, feeding on all sorts of organic matter and spreading wildly. Furthermore, it grew rapidly when exposed to dense natural energy.

Then there was the response to spectral energy. It was not odd for things to have weaknesses to certain types of energy, but that was one that didn’t quite fit the realm of the expected. Spectral energy was rare enough that the full ramifications of how it interacted with various things was unclear, but it was more ‘real’ with regards to how it affected souls. And it was quite clear the moss had nothing resembling a soul.

Various theories were thrown around, but ultimately one kept being brought to the forefront of Anton’s mind. Perhaps it was Insight telling him it was correct, or simply fear. That he did not know. But there was a connection to be had. The Twin Soul Sect had some knowledge of spectral energy. And if someone created such a thing, they would need a way to get rid of it.

There was no proof of any of that, of course. Tracing the first signs of the mold back to their origins, there wasn’t any incident people could think of. Some crops simply became infected. Thinking the planet might have been infiltrated was disconcerting, but there was another possibility. It was, as such things went, a relatively undeveloped planet. That meant no planetary shields, or cultivators everywhere who would notice something dropping in. Again, it was mere speculation- but there was some chance of it. And in a way, Anton hoped it was that, rather than people living among them. If it had to be intentional, and not simply a very unfortunate mutation.