Chapter 68: The Evil Fragrance Taro
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Although the massive flower at the top was tightly wrapped in Ah Yin's Blue Silver Grass, its lower part bore a striking resemblance to the taro roots Ye Wen had seen in supermarkets in his past life.
"This is the culprit?" Ye Wen tilted his head, puzzled.
Ah Yin nodded and said, "I haven't seen this in years. I thought it had gone extinct. This little guy is called the Evil Fragrance Taro, a plant-type spirit beast from tens of thousands of years ago. It's no longer found on the continent anymore."
Ye Wen immediately became interested. Something capable of triggering such a massive beast tide was definitely no ordinary plant-type spirit beast. He asked:
"Why did it go extinct?"
"Of course, it's because of its ability to incite beast tides. I think I once heard the smaller ones call it the Blood Taro.
Before humanity rose to prominence, these things were quite common on the continent.
However, every time it bloomed, it triggered large-scale rampages among spirit beasts, leaving corpses scattered everywhere. Eventually, the ancient high-level spirit beast kings wiped them out."
Ye Wen nodded thoughtfully, then activated his simulated soul skill to scan the creature.
"Its vitality seems abundant, but it's actually gradually declining. Has this Evil Fragrance Taro reached the end of its life?"
Plant-type spirit beasts shared a common trait: when nearing death, they could condense their essence into a seed. After their old body perished, this new seed would grow even stronger than before, eventually surpassing its former self after a long period of time. However, by that point, the new spirit beast was no longer the same as the old one—it was considered a new life form inheriting the memories of its predecessor.
Among animal-type spirit beasts, this process was referred to as—rebirth.
In the original story, Ah Yin's return to seed form after sacrificing herself to Tang Hao could also be considered a kind of rebirth. However, since she was already a 100,000-year spirit beast with complete self-awareness, she didn't carry over her memories in a false rebirth.
Through Ye Wen's scan, he discovered that this Evil Fragrance Taro had reached the ten-thousand-year level.
Its pollen had an intense stimulating effect, easily driving spirit beasts below the ten-thousand-year mark into a frenzied state.
However, a special enzyme within the Evil Fragrance Taro caused frenzied spirit beasts to instinctively move away from it after inhaling the pollen.
The taro root itself contained a unique component. Ye Wen simulated the reactions of several soul masters consuming the taro and found that their bloodlines were purified, and their martial souls underwent slight evolution.
"No wonder it nearly went extinct. Even ten-thousand-year spirit beasts would be tempted by this bloodline-purifying effect," Ye Wen muttered to himself.
Ah Yin hadn't expected that the Evil Fragrance Taro, which had been exterminated by spirit beast kings, still possessed such properties.
But upon reflection, most so-called spirit beast kings were indifferent to their own species. Why would they act to protect ordinary spirit beasts?
Ye Wen gestured for Ah Yin to store the Evil Fragrance Taro. Such a precious material warranted further study later. For now, the priority was to deal with the ordinary spirit beasts.
He instructed Ah Yin to release the bindings and disperse the sleeping powder lingering in the air. Gradually, the spirit beasts that had fallen into slumber began to stir, shaking their heads groggily as they stood up.
At first, their eyes were unfocused, but upon seeing the surrounding crowd of spirit beasts, they panicked and fled back into the forest.
Since the situation hadn't escalated and had been resolved, no one from the fortress came to investigate. The two of them proceeded deeper into the Sunset Forest.
Though Ah Yin had reached the Soul Emperor level, her once-mighty spiritual power hadn't fully recovered. She could only search section by section within the Sunset Forest for traces of the Ice and Fire Dual Eye.
Fortunately, Ye Wen's fifth soul skill, Void Barrier, served as a flying platform, making their search relatively effortless and shielding them from attacks by powerful spirit beasts.
While the Sunset Forest was significantly smaller than the Star Dou Great Forest, it still spanned half a province, and their progress remained slow.
"How boring! Brother, that's the 37th suspected location ahead. Maybe the Ice and Fire Dual Eye isn't even in the Sunset Forest, or perhaps it disappeared due to the passage of time. Let's go back."
After two days of searching, Ah Yin complained incessantly, lazily sprawled across Ye Wen's lap.
Accustomed to leisurely entertainment in her daily life, this tedious and monotonous search for a treasure site was unbearable for her.
Ye Wen could only chuckle indulgently, patting Ah Yin's head.
"You'll get used to it. In the future, if we need to find suitable soul rings for you, it'll be like this too. We're already doing pretty well. For ordinary soul masters, spending months in this forest is completely normal. If you're really bored, take a look at these illustrated books."
It was only then that Ye Wen remembered he had some miscellaneous books stored in his Spirit Space. Perhaps Ah Yin would find them interesting—they'd make a good distraction.
Sure enough, Ah Yin became intrigued. Her role in this journey was primarily to guide the way, while Ye Wen controlled the Void Barrier flying carpet for the actual search.
Another day passed, and the two reached the outer edge of the other side of the Sunset Forest.
"This Ice and Fire Dual Eye is really hard to find."
Having traversed the entire Sunset Forest without finding any trace, Ye Wen was growing frustrated.
Just then, a distant flicker of flames caught his attention.
"Starting fires in the forest—these fire-attribute soul masters are reckless. In my past life, they'd have ended up in prison.
Thankfully, the air in spirit beast forests is relatively humid, so a forest fire isn't likely. Still, if one broke out, it'd be quite the spectacle.
Ah well, it's none of my business. Let's go check the core area on the other side for traces of the Ice and Fire Dual Eye."
As Ye Wen prepared to change direction, Ah Yin suddenly tugged at his clothes and said:
"Brother, go help that girl. She'll be in danger soon if you don't."
"Ah Yin?!" Ye Wen frowned at her.
Hadn't he taught her better than this?
"In the Hunter's Forest, remember not to meddle in others' affairs. Human nature is far more treacherous than you imagine. That girl has no connection to us—it's best not to interfere."
"But Brother, aren't you looking to recruit talented teachers for the school? That girl is currently obtaining her fifth soul ring.
If you help her now, she'll owe you a favor. Maybe she'll come to the school to teach."
Ah Yin batted her large, innocent eyes, adopting a sweet, persuasive tone.
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