Chapter 74: Exploiting the Bug (Part 1)
Ye Wen then asked Ah Yin to inquire whether anyone had visited this place over the past thousand years. The various spirit plants, pure and simple like blank slates, gave up the information easily, showing their innocence and inexperience. Their answer was a straightforward "No."
It made sense upon reflection. High level plant type spirit masters were rare, and those who specifically sought plant based spirit rings were rarer still. The powerful plant type spirit beasts here wouldn't appeal to ordinary plant spirit masters anyway, and from the outside, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well looked more like a volcanic area, hardly inviting for spirit masters who required plant spirit beasts.
But this left a lingering question: how had Dugu Bo stumbled upon this remote location? Was he experimenting with volcanic sulfur as part of his detoxification research and stumbled across it by sheer luck?
Ultimately, it didn't matter much; Ye Wen let the thought pass. If Dugu Bo could handle this place, Ye Wen certainly could, too. He recalled bits of Legend of the Divine Realm, speculating that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well could have been bait to attract the Silver Dragon King. But knowing the story of the Dragon God, Ye Wen doubted it. The Silver Dragon King's fear of the gods was likely misplaced, given that it was the Dragon God himself who'd decreed that spirit beasts couldn't become deities to protect future beast gods from oppression by the human gods. The tragic restrictions on spirit beasts ascending to godhood were, in fact, the Dragon God's own doing, yet the Silver Dragon King had no idea, a rather absurd twist of fate.
When Ye Wen's gaze turned hungrily back toward the spirit herbs, the plants seemed to quiver in fear, unable to move but radiating palpable dread. "Danger! Help!" they cried through Ah Yin's mental channel, some of them even wailing, "I'm still young, don't eat me!"
Sympathetic to the plants' plight, Ah Yin, ever kind hearted, gave Ye Wen a disapproving pinch on the waist. "Stop scaring them! I know you wouldn't actually harm anything that has its own spirit."
Ah Yin knew Ye Wen's principles well enough by now he didn't consume anything he felt possessed true intelligence, seeing it as akin to eating his own kind, a form of moral distaste that bordered on a personal code.
"Alright, alright," Ye Wen relented with a wry smile. "But who wouldn't want these little ones' incredible properties?" He then added, "This Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well has obviously been arranged without much care. Apart from the Fire Apricot and the Eight Petal Ice Grass, everything else is scattered all over."
As someone with medical expertise, Ye Wen knew these herbs deserved careful handling, not reckless consumption. He started reorganizing the area around the Well to cultivate these plants more thoughtfully, as they had been haphazardly thrown in without arrangement. The sight of such rare plants, planted without any order, was almost painful.
He and Ah Yin first cleared a small space near the Well and planted the ancient Blue Silver King, who had been resting within Ye Wen's spirit space for several weeks.
The Blue Silver King, whom they'd decided to nickname "A Lan" to avoid confusion with other Blue Silver Kings, stirred and vibrated gently as it was set down, seemingly reacting to the unusual atmosphere.
"What a marvelous sensation…!" A Lan's spirit form appeared with a subtle face, eyes widening at Ah Yin and Ye Wen. "This energy is incredible. My spirit power seems to be growing tenfold. What is this place, Your Majesty?"
"This is the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, A Lan," Ah Yin replied, her tone soft.
A Lan's awe deepened as it took in its surroundings. "Thank you, Your Majesty. With this place, I may be able to reach ten thousand years in no more than a millennium."
"That's good to hear, A Lan," Ye Wen replied, pleased. After all, A Lan was essentially a representative of Ah Yin's clan, so helping it cultivate further was something he was more than willing to do.
With A Lan established, Ye Wen placed it beside the Eight Petal Ice Grass and the Fire Apricot, creating a sort of triangular alignment among the three. He then set about planting the various rare herbs he had collected, mindful of the distinct needs of each plant.
With the layout arranged, he took stock of the spirit plants inhabiting the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well:
Fire Apricot,
Eight Petal Ice Grass,
Lovesick Heartbroken Red,
Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum,
Narcissus Jade Flesh Bone,
Eight Petal Celestial Orchid,
Phoenix Cockscomb Marigold,
See Through Autumn Dew,
Fragrant Elysium Lily,
Nine Grade Violet Ganoderma,
Black Jade Divine Bamboo,
Earth Dragon Golden Gourd, and
Universal Overlooked Ginseng.
These thirteen rare spirit herbs, each possessing unique properties, collectively represented a treasure trove capable of refining martial souls and bestowing strength. Among them, the Lovesick Heartbroken Red was of special interest; it seemed to have reached a godly level, exuding a faint trace of divine energy.
Ah Yin's gaze was drawn to the Lovesick Heartbroken Red, as it gave off no mental signal or aura that she could sense. Curious, she asked, "Brother, what's this one?"
Ye Wen explained the legend associated with the herb, recounting the story of the lovesick man who wasted away pining for a fairy who left him with only this flower.
Ah Yin scoffed. "What a waste of time! If he loved her that much, he should have trained to become an immortal himself so they could be together. Wallowing in pity and wasting his life over a flower how pathetic."
She wasn't wrong; the story, while romantic, highlighted the man's inability to act on his desires. Ye Wen privately agreed.
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