Chapter 73: At Last
The next morning, when Ye Yingying woke up, she found that her husband had become sworn brothers with Ye Wen overnight. Over a single evening, they had exchanged thoughts on everything from geography and spirit beast lore to martial soul cultivation. As for Chen Lie, the younger son, he had quickly succumbed to sleep halfway through their late night talks.
Though some critics in Ye Wen's previous life had mocked Douluo's cultivation system, its high level capabilities remained impressive. The only one who felt rather exasperated by all this was Ye Xixi. Last night, she had found herself somewhat intrigued by the handsome young Ye Wen, but now, with her father calling him "brother," she had suddenly found herself in a whole new generation gap, leaving her feeling a bit frustrated.
After a good breakfast, the two parties exchanged contact information and keepsakes before going their separate ways. Ye Xixi's family had originally come to hunt a spirit ring for her and enjoy some leisure, but encountering that King Kong Gorilla had completely disrupted their plans. However, meeting Ye Wen turned out to be a beneficial outcome, as they gained a valuable connection in the spirit master world.
Once Ye Xixi's family departed, Ye Wen sighed with fatigue, rubbing his face. Although he wasn't overly fond of socializing, the situation had called for some patience. After all, with the other party being a high level Spirit Douluo, he couldn't simply ignore them. Besides, Ye Wen had a certain interest in the Nine Heart Begonia spirit.
The Nine Heart Begonia was an exceptional healing spirit, capable of bringing the near dead back to life and even healing severe injuries a remarkable skill. Though Ye Wen hadn't yet cultivated a second martial soul, the begonia's abilities remained very attractive. In life, you never knew when someone close might be critically injured, and building connections with healing specialists was always wise.
With that, they packed up and resumed their search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Though the Sunset Forest was smaller and less diverse than the Star Dou Forest, it was still a significant gathering place for spirit beasts. Due to its unique geography, it was home to a greater variety of poisonous spirit beasts than even the Star Dou Forest, making it a dangerous destination for most spirit masters.
Finally, their persistence paid off.
Three days later, they arrived at the mountain that housed the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The area was indeed a paradise for plant type spirit beasts. Even at the outskirts of the mountain, rare thousand year old plant type spirit beasts could be found. Their discovery had been expedited by the presence of a large number of thousand year old Blue Silver Trees surrounding the mountain, marking this place as the deepest, most secluded part of the forest.
According to the original descriptions, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was an area so harsh that ordinary plants could not survive there. Only spirit plants strong enough to withstand its intense energies could grow nearby, meaning every plant around the Well was likely a spirit beast.
However, plant type spirit beasts were unique in their limitations. Before reaching the ten thousand year level, most lacked any mobility, which explained why these spirit plants hadn't simply migrated into this advantageous environment on their own.
"Is this really the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?" Ah Yin exclaimed, her voice full of excitement. "Even from above, my spirit is reacting intensely! This place is truly a paradise for plant type spirit beasts."
As Ye Wen guided their descent, he kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings, alert for any potential threats. "That's right. It's a pity you've already taken human form, Ah Yin. If you were still in your original spirit beast form, this place would let you cultivate far more efficiently."
As soon as they landed, the spirit plants around the Well seemed to shiver with apprehension, sensing a disturbance. Though they showed a desperate urge to flee, they were rooted in place, powerless to escape.
Perceptive as always, Ah Yin picked up on the plants' fear and gave Ye Wen a playful slap on the shoulder. "Ye Wen! You're scaring them!"
"Huh?" Ye Wen was puzzled, though he didn't doubt Ah Yin's sensitivity. As a plant type spirit herself, her intuition was leagues beyond his own.
"They're frightened of you," Ah Yin explained, gesturing toward the spirit herbs clustered around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. "They think we're going to harm them."
It dawned on Ye Wen that these spirit herbs plants capable of aiding a spirit master's martial soul evolution and body refinement could eventually become ten thousand year old spirit beasts or even fearsome creatures. In Douluo's world, a plant capable of these extraordinary effects would surely have to be ancient, possibly reaching into the ten thousand year range. Only at such an advanced age could a spirit plant develop self awareness.
Pondering this, Ye Wen raised a theory about the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and said to Ah Yin, "Could you ask them if they were transplanted here a thousand years ago?"
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was said to have formed naturally, but its abundance of rare spirit plants was suspicious. Spirit plants, after all, couldn't simply walk over to such a treasure trove, so the most likely explanation was that someone had intentionally relocated them here. But what had been the purpose? In the future, this place would be occupied by Dugu Bo, so what purpose could it have served before?
Ah Yin nodded, taking his question seriously, and relayed it to the plants. After a brief pause, she replied, her expression thoughtful. "They say they were indeed transplanted here by someone long ago, and ever since, they've felt their cultivation speed soar."
"So I was right," Ye Wen said, his tone grave. "The plants around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well have the hallmarks of human intervention, a design set up by a mysterious figure a thousand years ago. But why? There are only a few possibilities that come to mind. One, this site was intended as a hidden legacy for a future generation. Two, it was meant to lure some kind of entity. Or three, that individual simply had no use for these plants anymore."
Ah Yin nodded, echoing his suspicions. As a plant spirit herself, she was particularly sensitive to how unusual it was for so many high level spirit herbs to be grouped in one place. Normally, without a guiding hand, spirit plants would not grow so densely, and certainly not around a danger filled place like this.
And the idea that Dugu Bo had somehow gathered them was even more implausible. Even if he were strong enough to do so, fighting high level spirit beasts to gather unknown herbs would be a fool's errand.
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