Chapter 67: The Root of Trouble
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"Ah Yin, wind!"
Behind Ah Yin, two pairs of wings made of Blue Silver Grass slowly flapped into existence.
Ye Wen and Ah Yin each donned masks. If they accidentally inhaled the drug powder, even their cultivation levels wouldn't be enough to protect them from its effects.
Ye Wen carefully sprinkled the brownish-yellow powder into the air, while Ah Yin's gusts of wind carried it toward the tide of spirit beasts, forming a thick mist.
Ever since his battle with the War Drum Toad King, Ye Wen had been reflecting deeply.
In battles between soul masters, overpowering weaker opponents was one thing, but what if he encountered someone stronger than him in both skill and cultivation? What then? The answer, undoubtedly, lay in drugs.
Unless the enemy possessed an invincible constitution, the right drug could weaken them, bringing them down to his level—or even lower.
Laxatives, sleeping pills, hallucinogens—there was always something that could break an opponent.
What Ye Wen was scattering now was a powerful, high-dose sleeping agent, crafted from extremely rare thousand-year-old medicinal herbs.
At this level, even a Soul Sage would feel dizzy upon inhaling it, and prolonged exposure would lead to unconsciousness.
Though soul power could counteract the effects, the frenzied spirit beasts were in no condition to resist. One by one, they fell silent, collapsing into deep slumber.
However, their muscles continued to twitch violently, as if trying to vent their pent-up aggression.
Seeing this, Ye Wen furrowed his brow, forming a hypothesis. He turned to Ah Yin and asked:
"Ah Yin, ask the Blue Silver Grass within the Sunset Forest where these spirit beasts began their rampage. That place is likely the source of the problem. Only by resolving it can we truly quell this beast tide."
Ah Yin nodded, raising her hands slightly and closing her eyes to sense.
"Found it, Brother. About three kilometers in that direction, a strange flower has appeared. Its scent seems to have driven all the spirit beasts who smelled it into this berserk state."
To cause such widespread chaos, this flower was undoubtedly some kind of heavenly treasure or rare herb. Ye Wen turned to Ah Yin and asked:
"Ah Yin, how much soul power do you have left?"
"About half. Why?"
"Then I'll need you to make a trip. Retrieve that flower. If I'm correct, it's a rare treasure with special properties. Remember to dig up the roots along with it."
Hearing that it was valuable, Ah Yin became excited and immediately flapped her massive Blue Silver Grass wings, flying off in that direction.
Though she was wearing a mask, Ye Wen still felt uneasy. Watching her retreating figure, he called out:
"When you approach the flower, remember to hold your breath and avoid inhaling its scent. Once you've secured it in your storage ring, return immediately."
"Got it~"
Seeing her response, Ye Wen shook his head. She was still so innocent, unaware of the dangers of this world.
With the drug-laden mist still lingering in the air, Ye Wen wasn't worried about the beast tide resuming its charge. However, he couldn't leave just yet. In their current state, these spirit beasts were vulnerable to being hunted. Ye Wen knew exactly what the soldiers stationed at the fortress were like.
If they saw no one around, they'd undoubtedly swoop in to kill these beasts and sell their corpses for profit.
Human greed knew no bounds. Despite knowing that soul rings were crucial to the cultivation system of soul masters, they still slaughtered indiscriminately.
This era was somewhat better, thanks to the Spirit Hall keeping things in check. But by the time of Douluo 2, even the teachers at Shrek Academy could produce low-level secret technique soul bones by massacring countless low-level spirit beasts—a barbaric and ignorant practice.
As Ye Wen expected, the people from the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect who had fled earlier reported the beast tide to the fortress guarding against spirit beasts near the Sunset Forest pass.
Soon, a Soul Emperor arrived—likely sent as a scout after the fortress grew suspicious that the beast tide hadn't reached them yet.
Though labeled as a scout, this person was clearly of noble birth. His extravagant combat attire alone betrayed his status.
Typical noble arrogance. After sizing Ye Wen up, he noticed that Ye Wen's clothing, though made of fine material, lacked any ornate patterns or insignias of a powerful faction. This led him to look down on Ye Wen, assuming he was a commoner.
Confident in his Soul Emperor cultivation, he arrogantly demanded:
"Boy, what's going on with these Blue Silver Grass and spirit beasts?"
Ye Wen glanced at the man. Though he didn't want to deal with such people, he replied:
"The beast tide has been resolved. Report back to your superior. As for these spirit beasts, you are not to touch them. They are personal spoils of war for me and my wife—you have no right to interfere."
"Hmph! Peasant! Who taught you to speak to Lord Harbit like this? How strong could a brat like you possibly be? How dare you claim you subdued thousands of spirit beasts!"
Harbit clearly didn't believe Ye Wen's explanation, given how young he appeared.
Ye Wen had no patience for such arrogance. Without wasting words, he retrieved a noble badge from his Spirit Space and tossed it to Harbit.
"Do you understand what this is? If not, I'll explain."
Catching the item Ye Wen threw, Harbit recognized it as something akin to a family crest reserved for clan leaders. Upon closer inspection, his expression shifted dramatically.
"Lord Tian Xing, Count of Tian Xing?"
On the Douluo Continent, every faction had its unique emblem, and noble families used badges to signify their rank and lineage. These badges bore intricate patterns representing detailed information about the noble, and the study of these patterns had become a specialized field among nobility. For a noble to fail to recognize a higher-ranking family's emblem was considered shameful.
"Mm, return the badge to me. I'll handle the rest. The beast tide has been resolved," Ye Wen said indifferently.
Harbit trembled as he handed the badge back to Ye Wen, bowing deeply before hastily retreating.
From his demeanor, it was clear that Harbit belonged to a large noble family—but likely one that didn't favor him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be stuck as a scout in this corrupt fortress.
Only someone born into nobility would place such importance on their status. Despite Ye Wen appearing to be only a Soul Ancestor, he had managed to intimidate a Soul Emperor into trembling fear.
Not long after, Ah Yin returned. Seeing the giant plant she had retrieved, Ye Wen's lips twitched involuntarily.
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