Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 348 Chen Ye's Advantages

After Fang Hao and Qin Le took their leave, Chen Ye brought the sealed poisonous fog to Qu Heng.

After a careful examination, Qu Heng shook his head and said, "It's not a potent poison; it's only somewhat effective against mortals. Because the spiritual energy is so thin, it's difficult to detect."

Chen Ye nodded. He had also discovered the weakness of this poisonous fog: it was difficult to infect people with spiritual energy.

But once infected, it is difficult to eradicate.

Chen Ye said to Qu Heng, "Ordinary people are still people. This time, the discovery was timely, and the number of infected people is not too large. If all the people of the northern border were infected, it would be a huge disaster."

Qu Heng said helplessly, "This is the biggest weakness of the Yellow Springs Sect. Mortals are too fragile, and it is too easy to destroy them."

Other sects are high above ordinary people, but the foundation of the Yellow Springs Sect is ordinary people. Although the power of incense and vows is useful, the responsibility is also greater.

This is what is meant by "every gain has its loss".

The Demonic Sect, on the other hand, is relaxed, treating mortals like livestock and not caring whether they live or die.

Chen Ye said to Qu Heng, "We need to find a cure for this plague."

Qu Heng shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. The Yunlu Immortal Sect has been researching it for a long time, but they haven't found a way to solve it. Although I don't want to admit it, the Yunlu Immortal Sect is the best in the world when it comes to magic. If even the Yunlu Immortal Sect can't figure out the principle behind this poisonous fog, then don't count on me."

Chen Ye rarely heard Qu Heng admit that he was inferior to others, but if even he said so, it seemed that this matter was really difficult to handle.

Chen Ye sighed, "Those infected mortals are unable to resist the temptation of dreams and will eventually seek their own death. Unless we send someone to monitor them at all times, they will eventually end their own lives."

Qu Heng casually replied, "It's alright. The second level of the underworld is already being dug up. Death is a solution. As long as the infection doesn't spread, it's not a problem."

Chen Ye: ...

It sounds heartless, but if there's really no other way to solve this plague, this is the only thing we can do.

Fortunately, it was the Yellow Springs Sect, where people have a second chance after death.

However, this was a last resort, and Chen Ye didn't want to just watch them die.

Chen Ye then asked, "If there's no antidote, is there another way to deal with it? Grandmaster, you're very knowledgeable. The Demonic Sect has many bewitching spells that are quite similar in effect to this poisonous fog. You should have a way to deal with it, right? The venom of the Red Serpent can also induce dreams. Could you try that?"

"It's not the same thing. I can put people into dreams, but it takes a lot of effort to manipulate their dreams. Besides, I can't cure the poison. Even if I could influence their beautiful dreams, it would only be a temporary fix. I can't keep manipulating everyone's dreams until I find an antidote, can I? Just leave such a vast area like the Northern Frontier unattended?"

Qu Heng's words were not an excuse. Manipulating dreams occasionally was not a big problem, but these mortals were infected with the plague and would have continuous dreams. How could Qu Heng possibly manipulate their dreams all the time? Putting aside whether he would be tired, if there was any accident and he could not react in time, the loss to the Yellow Spring Sect would be incalculable.

Perhaps this is part of their plan; once Qu Heng falls for it, a series of conspiracies will follow.

Qu Heng thought for a moment and then said to Chen Ye, "There are ways to treat the symptoms but not the root cause. It's just that they want to commit suicide after waking up. There are plenty of pills that can make people fall into a deep sleep. Give them these pills, along with a fasting pill, and they can sleep for a year without any problem."

The number of infected people is not very large at the moment, and with the current resources of the Yellow Spring Sect, it is not difficult to save people in this way.

The plague's effect is to trap people in a dream state from which they cannot escape. If they remain asleep for an extended period, the plague's impact will only grow stronger, and eventually, even an antidote may not be able to save them.

"Is there any other way?"

Seeing that Chen Ye was still not satisfied, Qu Heng said disdainfully, "Fine, you are the sect leader, you have the final say. If you think this method is too perfunctory, then let's find a more laborious way."

Chen Ye asked curiously, "What's the method?"

"The reason they want to die is because the dream is too beautiful, and reality seems unbearable. Either give them a god-like experience, or turn these mortals into people with wills as strong as steel, so they won't want to die."

This method sounds like a solution to the problem, but in reality, it is not feasible at all.

Chen Ye himself didn't enjoy anything. He spent his days either meditating and cultivating himself or dealing with official documents. Where was the enjoyment of a deity?

As for making their will as firm as steel, that's impossible. If such a method truly existed, then breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm wouldn't be life-threatening.

Qu Heng comforted him, saying, "Look, that's just how the world is. You can't always get what you want. When it comes to saving people, do your best and leave the rest to fate. Mortals are incredibly fragile. In the future, when the righteous and demonic paths go to war, even more people will die. You should get used to it as soon as possible."

Chen Ye shook his head and said, "Grandmaster, we haven't done anything yet. It's too hasty to give up now."

Qu Heng said with dissatisfaction, "What else do you want to do? Even the Yunlu Immortal Sect can't solve this. Do you really think you, a peerless genius, can?"

Chen Ye smiled and said, "Grandmaster, I have an advantage that the Yunlu Immortal Sect does not have."

"What advantage?" "I am one of the eighteen Venerable Masters of the Demonic Sect, oh, perhaps I should be the second now. The one who tied the knot must untie it. If I find the owner of this poisonous fog, I will know how to cure it."

When Chen Ye first heard about this poisonous fog plague, he had already suspected that it must be the work of those five Venerable Lords.

Now that Qingjiao is dead, there are only four people left who can be suspected.

Chen Ye picked up the conch shell on the table, about to speak, when Qu Heng said, "Have you thought this through? Youluozi is simply the most persistent vengeful spirit in the world. If you owe too many favors, you may never be able to get rid of her."

“Youluozi probably isn’t planning to let me go either; she’s determined to get the Guixu item. Rather than waiting for her to catch me red-handed and force me to do things her way, I might as well incur her favor myself. At least then I can negotiate a better deal.”

Although I'm not very willing to get involved with Youluozi again, if I want to solve this poisonous fog plague problem, I'm afraid I'll have to owe her another favor.

As for how to repay it, we'll talk about that later.

Chen Ye picked up the conch shell and called out, "Lord Youluo, I have something to ask you. May I have a chat with you?"

Chen Ye had expected to hear Youluozi's charming laughter, and he was prepared to be teased by her, or hear her bring up the transaction with Guixu again.

But this time, the conch shell remained silent for a long time.

Chen Ye frowned; this was something he hadn't expected.

Could it be that Youluozi is busy with something else and can't hear his call?
After asking a few more questions, the conch shell remained motionless, so Chen Ye had no choice but to put it down.

Chen Ye said helplessly to Qu Heng, "It seems this path is blocked."

Qu Heng, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief. In his opinion, these were just ordinary people, and their deaths were nothing to worry about. There was no need to get involved with Youluozi over them.

However, Youluozi did not respond, which surprised Qu Heng.

If something were to happen to this witch, that would be for the best.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Not long after Chen Ye put down the conch shell, it emitted that bone-melting sound.

"Sect Leader Chen, I had wondered when you would finally come to me, but I never expected it to be so soon."

Chen Ye had already given up, but unexpectedly Youluozi replied in the end.

But at this moment, Chen Ye did not ask about the poisonous fog plague.

Chen Ye rolled his eyes, then said to the conch shell, "Lord Youluo, are you in trouble? Is there some problem you can't solve? Tell me, besides Guixu, there are many other areas where we can cooperate."

This time, it was Youluozi's turn to remain silent for a long time.

Finally, a faint sigh came from the conch shell: "Sect Leader Chen, you truly understand women's hearts. I was only a moment late in responding, how did you guess I was in trouble?"

"The things in the Ruins of Return might be more important to you than your life, so you probably can't bear to delay even a moment. But I was just guessing, and I didn't expect to be right. The ones who can cause you trouble are probably the other Venerables. The Soul Venerable is seriously injured, and his twelve loyal subordinates are all your puppets..."

"Two of them are not."

"Heh." Chen Ye sneered, then said, "Do you think I believe you or not?"

Those Nascent Soul cultivators under Soul Master's command were all hastily cultivated and had unstable foundations. Chen Ye was able to bewitch them with the Illusory Hell, let alone Youluozi's methods.

Given Youluozi's personality, he has already controlled ten out of the twelve people. What's the difference between the other two?
Youluozi didn't argue, and laughed, "Sect Leader Chen, do you want me to praise you again?"

"Let's get down to business. What trouble are you in?"

"Hu Chang, his power has increased greatly recently, and he no longer wants to abide by the rules of peaceful coexistence."

Chen Ye hurriedly asked, "Don't tell me he broke through his realm and is the only one in the mortal world to reach the Dao Integration Realm."

"That's not quite it. It's just that he seems to have suddenly gained a group of powerful subordinates, and they don't seem to be affected by my charm."

Chen Ye frowned and asked, "This Tiger Servant Lord, he's not very good at controlling serpent spirits, is he?"

Youluozi said happily, "That saves me a lot of trouble explaining. Oh, just now the underground wind brought news that your Fengdu City has also encountered some trouble. It seems that Huchang is still resentful about us killing the Azure Dragon."

(End of this chapter)