Chapter 349 - 337: Yin Soul
Chapter 349: Chapter 337: Yin Soul
The mission requirements for Yinfeng Valley included a recommendation: cultivators skilled in lightning and Fire Element skills were preferred.
The reason was that skills of these two attributes were most effective against yin-type creatures, able to slay Yin Souls with the least expenditure.
Therefore, Zhao Lin didn’t use the Ice Blade Skill, instead choosing the Fire Element Skill, Flame Stream Arrow.
HISS!
A flash of fire, and the Yin Soul began to burn violently. Like boiling water on snow, it was incinerated into a cloud of gray smoke that slowly drifted skyward.
The other four Yin Souls were startled by the firelight. They froze for a moment, then scattered in every direction in a flash.
"Fire Element Skills sure are useful!"
Zhao Lin breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t press his advantage and instead walked forward slowly.
’For Yin Souls like this that haven’t developed sentience, scaring them off is enough. No need to waste any more Spiritual Power.’
After passing through an area overgrown with vines, a mountain basin appeared ahead.
The basin was shaped like a large wok, nearly a hundred zhang across. Its floor was dotted with dozens of hills of varying sizes. There was no lush vegetation—only weeds and scattered rocks were visible everywhere.
’Yinfeng Grass mostly grows in dark, secluded places. I wonder if this place counts?’
Zhao Lin gazed into the distance for a moment before carefully walking down the slope.
Yinfeng Grass was colorless and odorless, making it impossible to track by scent. The only way was the most primitive method: searching with the naked eye.
Zhao Lin was extremely cautious. Every few steps, he would scan his surroundings. More than Demon Beasts and Yin Souls, he was worried about encountering ill-intentioned cultivators.
Unlike the outside world, this place had almost no constraints on a cultivator’s behavior. If he were to meet a foul end, his life and all his possessions—talismans, pills, and Spirit Stones—would be at the mercy of others.
’What’s this?’
Zhao Lin had been searching for a long time without finding any trace of Yinfeng Grass. Just as he was preparing to leave the mountain basin to look elsewhere, he suddenly spotted a small plant in the crack between two rocks.
The small plant was inconspicuous, the color of rust. Its leaves grew symmetrically, and the two at the very top were slightly parted, resembling a pair of lips—a purplish-red upper lip and a pale yellow lower one.
Upon closer inspection, he could feel a faint chill emanating from it.
’This is it! Yinfeng Grass!’
Zhao Lin took out his jade slip and carefully compared the plant to the illustration and description within. It was a perfect match.
He couldn’t help but rejoice inwardly. A single stalk of Yinfeng Grass was worth ten Spirit Stones, just enough to cover the round-trip fee for the Spiritual Vessel to the Yinfeng Realm. It was a welcome gain.
He drew his iron truncheon and carefully dug out the Yinfeng Grass, along with the soil beneath it.
As he placed the Spirit Grass into his storage bag, he gave it a sniff. Sure enough, it had no scent at all. It seemed that finding this type of Spirit Grass with a keen sense of smell was truly impossible.
A wave of drowsiness washed over Zhao Lin. He yawned. ’Since I’ve made a discovery, I might as well rest now,’ he thought. ’It’s probably late, around the Hour of the Pig, in the outside world by now.’
"This place is relatively open. I’ll spend the night here!"
Zhao Lin muttered to himself and took a tent out of his storage bag.
Just as he was about to set up the tent, a deep, unnatural chill rose from within his body.
The Yinfeng Realm itself wasn’t cold, but the yin qi was dense and had seeped into his body without him noticing.
Zhao Lin remembered that he hadn’t taken a Three Yang Pill since arriving in this small world. He quickly took out the pill and swallowed it.
After circulating his energy for one cycle, he immediately felt a pleasant warmth spread through his body, leaving not a single trace of the chill.
After setting up the tent, he used the pointed tip of his iron truncheon to poke many small, round holes in the fabric. This would allow his Divine Sense and ultrasonic waves to pass through, ensuring no person or beast could approach without him knowing.
Next, Zhao Lin took out the dozens of Drum Bells that came with the tent and scattered them on the ground and the surrounding slopes.
RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE...
A chaotic noise erupted as two Demon Beasts, which seemed to have appeared from nowhere, galloped ferociously toward him.
Yin Ganglie!
Zhao Lin was startled. His mind raced as he recalled the description of this Demon Beast from the mission details.
It had the body of a horse and the head of a wild boar, its skin covered in a layer of fine scales, with a long mane standing erect along its back.
The Yin Ganglie was a Tier One mid-rank Demon Beast, one of the more powerful Demon Beasts in the Yinfeng Realm. An adult’s strength was roughly equivalent to that of a cultivator at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.
’Two of them at once. This is going to be trouble.’
"Flame Stream Arrow!"
This time, Zhao Lin didn’t hold back, directly pushing the magic’s power to the Minor Achievement Level.
Fire Element Skills suppressed Yin Souls, and they were just as effective against the Demon Beasts of the Yinfeng Realm.
WHOOSH!
More than a dozen flaming arrows shot out. Both Yin Ganglie were struck by several arrows and blasted to the ground.
To Zhao Lin’s surprise, the Demon Beasts were not scared off. Instead, they scrambled up, let out a low roar, and charged again.
Zhao Lin frowned. ’Are mid-rank Demon Beasts this stupid?’
’With my strength, I can certainly kill them, but it would just be a pointless waste of Spiritual Power.’
"Since you’re courting death, I’ll be happy to oblige!"
Zhao Lin formed a hand seal, preparing to boost the spell’s power another level.
Just as the spell was about to form, his gaze sharpened. He realized something was wrong!
The two Demon Beasts had been struck by a Fire Element Skill, yet they didn’t have a single scratch on them.
Zhao Lin had seen with his own eyes that at least half of the Flame Stream Arrows had hit their targets.
Moreover, the two Demon Beasts had appeared out of thin air without any warning, as if materializing from the void itself, completely bypassing his detection.
’Something’s wrong!’
Zhao Lin immediately dispelled the spell and leaped backward, simultaneously releasing his ultrasonic waves.
The ultrasonic waves spread out, passing right through the two Demon Beasts without any resistance.
’It’s an illusion!’
Zhao Lin had a sudden realization, but a question quickly followed in his mind: ’Where did the illusion come from?’
To confirm his judgment, he used his Qi Observation Skill. He saw that the two Yin Ganglie only had a tiny speck of Spiritual Light at the tips of their noses. Other than that, their bodies had no Spiritual Qi whatsoever, completely unlike real Demon Beasts.
’There’s a Yin Soul nearby!’
It all clicked for Zhao Lin in an instant. ’Yin Souls can create illusions! The two Yin Ganglie in front of me are fakes!’
Now that he knew the truth, Zhao Lin wasn’t about to waste any more Spiritual Power. He gripped his iron truncheon, waited for the two Demon Beasts to approach, and with a horizontal swing of his arm, struck each of them on the tip of the nose.
With two soft POOFs, the Demon Beasts instantly vanished like smoke and dissipated into nothingness.
’What a powerful Illusion Technique. I almost fell for it.’
Zhao Lin thought to himself. If he hadn’t seen through the illusion and had continued casting spells to fight the two Demon Beasts, his Spiritual Power would have been depleted in no time, leaving him in a perilous position.
"Stop hiding and show yourself!"
Zhao Lin barked, striding up a hill and leaping into the air to look down, simultaneously releasing his Divine Sense and ultrasonic waves.
’The Yin Soul must have developed sentience. I can’t just let it get away, or I won’t be able to sleep soundly.’
With his sharp gaze, Zhao Lin quickly spotted a large, jellyfish-like Yin Soul in the shade behind a hill.
This Yin Soul was as large as a parasol, about seven feet tall and over ten feet wide. Countless tentacles hung beneath its pale blue body as it tried to sneak away into the distance.
’Trying to run?’
Zhao Lin sneered inwardly. The moment his feet touched the ground, he broke into a sprint toward the Yin Soul’s hiding place.