Chapter 561: Spirit Beast Tide

Back at Ting Yu Xuan, Ye Qingran's first thing was to take the Spirit‑Cultivating Pill.

Before swallowing it, she lowered her head to look at the crystal‑clear pill in her palm, and a faint smile appeared.

This Spirit‑Cultivating Pill contains a single herb: the Five‑colored Emperor Flower.

Back then, to find the Five‑colored Emperor Flower, she disguised herself as a sky‑thief, infiltrated Guoshi Fu, and encountered Fu Hanxiu.

Sometimes she couldn't help but sigh that life is indeed full of coincidences.

If her Spiritual Root had always been whole, perhaps she wouldn't have had to infiltrate Guoshi Fu for the Emperor Flower, and thus wouldn't have met Fu Hanxiu.

Who can say?

Ye Qingran swallowed the pill and sat down to meditate.

Soon, a shimmering glow surrounded her, and she clearly felt a spiritual sprout emerging in her dantian.

The tender green sprout carried hope and limitless possibilities.

"Spiritual sprout, oh sprout, you must not end up weaker than Fu Hanxiu or Xiao Hu Xiao Chen's Spiritual Root!" Ye Qingran whispered.

The three of them—father and son—are Imperial Spiritual Roots, each possessing upgrade potential; she cannot lag behind.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she distinctly sensed an odd aura and her complexion shifted.

Shenzhou Academy

Shenzhou Academy, built atop seven peaks, is almost entirely surrounded by Shenzhou City on all sides, with only a mountain path on the east linking to distant ranges.

At this moment, countless academy disciples gathered, gazing at the Black Mist approaching from the east, each with a solemn expression.

The Black Mist resembled a massive dark cloud, yet it hung extremely low, stretching from the ground up into the sky.

Within it flickered countless rays of light, like stars in the night, and seeing this in daylight sent a chill down one's spine.

Wu Shushan received the news and hurried over, followed by a group of academy Elders.

When he saw the Black Mist, Wu Shushan's eyes flickered and his face grew solemn.

"Damn, the Seal has loosened again!"

He shouted, then hurriedly ordered the Elders behind him, "Notify everyone at once: the academy is under attack by a mutated Spirit Beast Horde, enter emergency mode, all Instructor disciples, prepare to fight!"

Soon, all the disciples learned that the Black Mist contained a mutated Spirit Beast Horde!

In fact, similar incidents had occurred before. Especially in the past hundred years, every few years the academy would face inexplicable Spirit Beast Horde attacks.

It is said these Spirit Beasts act as if possessed, raging toward the academy and attacking any human they encounter.

However, aside from the academy's upper echelons, the lower Instructors and disciples had no idea why.

Many disciples were freshmen; at the mention of a Spirit Beast attack, they all showed nervousness.

Tens of thousands of academy disciples and Instructors stood in strict formation, ready.

The Black Mist drew ever closer, nearly reaching the foot of the mountain outside the academy.

"This Spirit Beast Horde is larger than the previous ones."

"It seems the Seal's loosening is becoming more severe."

"Who knows how many more years the Seal can hold? Once it fails completely, we all..."

The senior Elder shook his head and sighed, clearly no longer surprised by such Spirit Beast Horde attacks.

Yet the increasingly fierce Spirit Beast assault made them realize the severity would soon exceed Shenzhou Academy's limits.

"Cheep~"

Accompanied by a sharp bird call, a massive black eagle burst from the Black Mist, its eyes black and terrifying.

The Black Mist vanished completely.

It revealed the Spirit Beast Horde's formation inside.

Saber‑toothed tiger, forest wolf, giant python, spirit magpie...

Those that run on the ground and those that fly in the sky—every kind of Spirit Beast was present.

As for their strength, it varied wildly, ranging from the lowest first‑rank Spirit Beast to the sixth‑rank, each level represented.

Everyone's eyes reflected the scene, and their hearts were overwhelmed with awe.

Undoubtedly, this was the most severe Spirit Beast Horde assault in history!

"Advance! Don't let them enter the academy!"

Under the guidance of numerous Instructors, the academy's disciples formed groups and charged toward the Spirit Beast Horde!

A sudden war erupted at this moment.

Although the Spirit Beasts numbered in the tens of thousands, Shenzhou Academy's disciples were equally many.

Moreover, Shenzhou Academy's disciples are among the best, so dealing with these Spirit Beasts should not be too arduous.

But...

At Shenzhou Academy there is an implicit rule: when dealing with these mindless Spirit Beasts, one may not take their lives!

This is crucial.

Thus, it instantly doubles the already difficult battle's difficulty.

Normally, a regular Spirit Beast, if wounded, might retreat, but these beasts become more violent the more they are injured, causing great headaches.

When Ye Qingran and Fu Hanxiu arrived at the academy, they saw the chaotic battle.

"Wu Yuanzhang, what's actually going on?"

Even Ye Qingran couldn't help being shocked by the scene before her.

Tens of thousands of Spirit Beasts clashed with the academy's disciples and Instructors, a truly spectacular sight.

However, she instantly saw that these Spirit Beasts were problematic, as if controlled by some mysterious force, utterly irrational.

"This story is long; once we control this Spirit Beast tide, I'll explain further."

Ye Qingran nodded and looked toward those Spirit Beasts.

How strange, these Spirit Beasts still cannot be killed.

Fu Hanxiu pursed his lips, "It should be that if these Spirit Beasts die here, it will affect the Academy."

It seems the Shenzhou Academy still has unknown secrets!

Ye Qingran said confidently.

Since they cannot be killed, we can only control them.

She knows the method of taming beasts; she could have directly used some means to control these Spirit Beasts and then ordered them to leave.

However, these Spirit Beasts are controlled by a mysterious force, have lost their reason, and forcibly riding them could very likely backfire.

Therefore, before riding them, the mysterious force inside them must be purified.

"Fu Hanxiu, help me scatter these powders over the herd," Ye Qingran handed a large sack of powder to Fu Hanxiu.

These powders are actually made by Ye Qingran crushing Holy Rank Purification Pills on the spot.

These powders can temporarily remove the mysterious force inside the Spirit Beasts; then she will use her lute music to ride them and make them leave, and the matter will be resolved.

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

Just as Fu Hanxiu was about to use the powder, a melodious flute sound came from the void.

Fu Hanxiu and Ye Qingran stared at each other in surprise.

Because that flute tone was not ordinary; it was an An Soul Song with a purifying effect.

At the first sound of the flute, Ye Qingran understood that this person must be a Beast Tamer of considerable strength!

A Beast Tamer possesses two abilities: first, to tame Spirit Beasts so they can contract with humans; second, to temporarily ride Spirit Beasts and make them obedient.

The An Soul Song is a common beast‑taming method, its function being to soothe the Spirit Beasts' emotions and make them gentle.

When the An Soul Song sounded, the Spirit Beasts indeed became less violent, the blackness in their eyes temporarily fading.

The people at the Academy seized a moment to catch their breath and looked toward the source of the sound; in the void a Great Roc spread its ten‑meter‑wide wings, approaching from afar, with a figure in red clothing standing on its back.

"It's Duan Yu!"

No one knew who shouted that, and the crowd erupted.

"Duan Yu?! Is that the genius Beast Tamer Duan Yu?"

"Duan Yu of Renxu 108 Class?"

"It is said that when the Spirit Beasts attacked the Academy last time, she made a great contribution!"

Duan Yu?

Ye Qingran was not unfamiliar with that name.

Because Duan Yu is one of her disciples from Renxu 108 Class.