Chapter 433: The Most Familiar Stranger, Part 5
At this moment, Snow Empress was more convinced than ever that no one but the legendary Sea God, Tang San, could have arranged such a staggering sight. After all, there were thousands of ten thousand year soul beasts here. Even the Extreme North could hardly amass such numbers, so how could this small Sunset Forest boast such an array?
Ye Wen, undisturbed by Snow Empress's inner turmoil, walked into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and surveyed his surroundings. Millennia had passed, and with the Yin Yang Well's ability to accelerate plant type soul beasts' cultivation by ten times, coupled with Tang San's deliberate transplanting of precious herbs and divine plants after his ascension, the area had not only restored its former prosperity but surpassed it.
Ye Wen's lips curled up slightly. "Well, all of this is mine now," he remarked cheerfully.
The rules of the divine realm prevented gods from interfering with the mortal world. Thus, aside from places of divine inheritance, there was no trace of gods in the Douluo Continent. Furthermore, with Tang San having positioned thousands of ten thousand year soul beasts here, it was improbable he would leave a divine consciousness behind to monitor it constantly. As for his loophole those bumbling Dai Ming and Er Ming they were busy with the Haotian Sect, tending to Tang San's descendants and playing house.
With Ye Wen here, he had free reign over the treasures in this place, now imbued with over 100,000 years' worth of growth. However, Ye Wen didn't intend to harvest or kill these plants outright; he had a better plan.
"You're coming with me," he declared.
The Youxiang Qiluo fairy plant, stirring, was about to scream an alarm, but Ye Wen immediately collected it into his storage. "Too noisy," he muttered dismissively.
Recalling the plant's penchant for flattery, he couldn't help but scoff. "So Tang San even managed to PUA this place," he thought, briefly feeling sickened. Pushing aside the unpleasant memories, Ye Wen was determined to rewrite Huo Yu´er's fate.
As he continued his acquisitions, he harvested various divine plants, most of them too weak to resist him. "So much for their supposed strength; all they could do was bully a young Huo Yuhao in the original story," he thought.
Alongside the herbs, Ye Wen also came upon a notable item.
"The Toxic Manual?"
Ye Wen clicked his tongue in mild disdain. He recalled that Tang San had left a diluted version of the Tang Sect's skills here, including cut down versions of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, the Mysterious Heavenly Treasure Record, and the Hidden Weapons Compendium. While Tang Sect hidden weapons were indeed potent, basic models relied heavily on poison, which, in its absence, meant they fell short of lethality. When the Douluo Continent eventually encountered the Sun Moon Continent, Tang Sect had swiftly fallen behind due to advancements in soul technology that outpaced traditional techniques in simplicity and killing efficiency.
Furthermore, Douluo Continent had a fundamental rule: high level soul masters could resist most toxins with their soul power unless facing exceptionally potent concoctions. Without rare ingredients for supreme poisons like the Yan Wang Tie, most toxins had little effect look no further than Poison Douluo, the weakest of all titled Douluo.
Although the manual was almost worthless, an idea struck Ye Wen, and he grinned. "Tang San wanted the Tang Sect to rise again and bolster his faith. But what if Tang Ya finds out that her inheritance was a diluted version? Will her faith in him shatter? Heh, this should be interesting."
"What's mine is mine," he murmured as he continued to harvest. Long ago, Tang San had stripped the place bare, and now Ye Wen was doing the same, replaying history in reverse. "Tang San's expression should be priceless when he finds his treasured garden in ruins," he mused.
Though Ye Wen's thoroughness felt satisfying, he hesitated to reveal his involvement. After all, open conflict was easy to defend against, but covert strikes could prove troublesome, especially if Tang San resorted to tricks. Though Tang San was no match for him, the pestering of a spiteful frog could still be an annoyance.
Here, Ye Wen's advantage of insider knowledge came into play. Slowly, he approached the core of the Yin Yang Well, the pool formed from the residual energies of the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.
In his original timeline, Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena had revived these two Dragon Kings as her subordinates. Yet here in the relatively undisturbed Tang Family Universe, they remained dormant. Ye Wen remembered that these two were destined to be reanimated in the future, summoned as protectors of the Yin Yang Well. Once mighty Dragon Kings, now reduced to pawns a tragic fate indeed.
"Best let them rest for now," he thought, seeing no need to tamper with them yet. Instead, he prepared to make use of their residual energy to destroy any remaining evidence of his looting.
He sent a surge of his divine power deep into the core of the Yin Yang Well, awakening the Dragon Kings' energies. Within seconds, waves of intense heat and freezing cold erupted from the depths, each more potent than the last. Snow Empress's face changed as the absolute cold pressed down, forcing her back. Even as the master of Ultimate Ice, this energy surpassed her own, crushing her power completely.
Ye Wen, noticing her retreat, pulled her close and shielded her with his own power. "Don't leave evidence behind," he murmured; it wouldn't do to leave traces of Ultimate Ice here.
As the power of the two Dragon Kings intensified, the once lush Yin Yang Well transformed into a field of scorched and frozen soil, obliterating any remnants of medicinal herbs. Satisfied, Ye Wen nodded, reciting a line of poetry with a wry smile:
"Fallen flowers are not heartless things; they turn into soil to nurture spring."
In the original timeline, he knew this place had been a carefully cultivated artificial garden. With no one to restore it, the Yin Yang Well's once legendary effects would now lie dormant, depriving rooted plant soul beasts of a new sanctuary.
"Let's go, Snow Empress," he said. "There's nothing left of value here."
With a satisfied nod, Ye Wen left Sunset Forest, venturing across Douluo to further gather resources through "noble causes," or rather, targeted raids. His targets were particularly wealthy nobles known for exploiting others, ensuring his actions went largely unnoticed. After all, with rampant evil soul master activity, loss and death had become part of daily life on the Douluo Continent.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10