As expected, Ye Yu wasn't surprised.
This Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei, really is my counter.
Ye Yu thought to himself.
If his Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul only had the pure life attribute, he really wouldn't have had any way to deal with Gui Mei—he'd have no choice but to retreat using one of the thirty-six strategies.
But fortunately, his Blue Silver Jade Tree Martial Soul, while focused on developing the extreme life path, also possessed several sub-attributes—lightning, darkness, evil, fire, and light.
Even though only the lightning attribute had a matching Spirit Ability—the Third Spirit Ability: Tribulation Ascension—and the other attributes didn't have their own Spirit Abilities yet, Ye Yu could still channel his Spirit Power into their respective elements. That alone was enough to patch up his offensive shortcomings.
With a thought, the massive roots of his Blue Silver Jade Tree True Body, which were wrapping and lashing out at Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, suddenly lit up with intense, blazing golden-red light.
That light came from the sun attribute, a fusion of fire and light, inherited from the Sun Fusang Tree—extremely effective against enemies of darkness and evil attributes.
"AAAHH!!"
Although Gui Mei remained in intangible form, immune to physical attacks, and the roots couldn't fully bind his Ghost Shadow True Body, the solar energy emitted from the roots still struck hard.
Even in his intangible state, Ghost Douluo Gui Mei screamed in pain as white smoke began to rise from his dark, illusory form.
Now realizing that Ye Yu had ways to hurt him, Gui Mei gritted his teeth and desperately tried to dodge the blazing golden-red roots as he attempted to escape the bounds of the Blue Silver Forest.
At the same time, he activated a Spirit Ability.
"Eighth Spirit Ability: Ghostly Phantasm!"
A swarm of violet-black skulls surged out of his body, filled with the aura of darkness and death, crashing toward Ye Yu like a wave.
Even though many roots blocked the front, a significant number of skulls still broke through and flew at Ye Yu.
Ye Yu didn't take them head-on. Instead, he used Triple Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, leaving behind several afterimages as he swiftly evaded backwards, causing all the skulls to miss.
The skulls slammed into the ground and exploded, blasting out craters one after another.
"How is this guy faster than me?!"
Ghost Douluo was stunned. His speed as an agility-type Titled Douluo had been surpassed.
But what truly pushed him to despair was that, even at full speed, he couldn't outrun the rapid expansion of the Blue Silver Jade Tree's massive root system.
Even trying to fly upward, he saw that in the sky above, countless blazing golden-red roots had already woven into a massive net, completely sealing off the heavens.
At the same time, dark clouds churned in the sky above, with thunder serpents writhing in the clouds.
"AAAHHH!!"
A sudden scream rang out from above.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's aura concealment barrier had already been shredded by the tree branches of the Blue Silver Jade Tree True Body.
Once the concealment was destroyed, Yue Guan activated several Spirit Abilities in desperation, including his Ninth Spirit Ability: Chrysanthemum Ruins, Fill The Earth With Wounds, Flowers Fall on Broken Hearts
But Ye Yu's tree branches were simply too thick, and with all six Spirit Abilities activated, their durability and regenerative power were maxed out.
Even though Yue Guan's ninth ability unleashed massive golden petals in a tornado around him, sharp enough to tear through the tree branches, any wounds inflicted were instantly healed.
And because the damage output of Yue Guan's ninth ability was still not enough to fully pulverize the branches, the passive effect of the Third Spirit Ability: Tribulation Ascension only made the branches stronger with each hit.
Before long, Ye Yu's tree branches directly resisted Yue Guan's ninth ability, wrapped around him, and tightly restrained him in midair.
Ye Yu had no intention of killing him with the branches, but even mere binding caused Yue Guan unbearable pain.
"Old Chrysanthemum!!"
Seeing Yue Guan bound and dangling from the air, Ghost Douluo Gui Mei shouted in panic.
But he too failed to escape. Bombarded by repeated lashes of solar-infused tree roots, his Ghost Shadow True Body was broken, sending him crashing to the ground in a spray of blood, where he too was tightly bound by the Blue Silver Jade Tree's roots.
"Elder Ghost Douluo, Elder Chrysanthemum Douluo,"
Ye Yu approached them with a light smile, stepping through the Blue Silver Forest. "As elders of the Spirit Hall, what business do you have lying in ambush on the road, attacking a junior like me?"
Hearing this, both Yue Guan and Gui Mei's expressions changed.
"You brat!" Yue Guan hissed in his trademark soft and sinister voice, "You've been hiding your true strength all along! You're no Spirit King—you're at least a Spirit Sage!"
"To defeat me and Old Ghost with just Spirit Sage cultivation… you're a once-in-ten-thousand-years monster!"
"We lost. Do what you want—kill or torture, it's up to you!"
With that, he closed his eyes in resignation.
But Ye Yu only chuckled.
"You elders must be joking," Ye Yu said lightly. "Who said I was going to kill you?"
This surprised Yue Guan, who opened his eyes, suddenly brimming with the desire to survive.
After all, even ants cling to life—let alone two Titled Douluo.
To be able to serve under Bibi Dong, it was clear that Yue Guan and Gui Mei were not the kind of people to face death calmly.
"I can let you go," Ye Yu continued. "But I have a condition."
He turned to Yue Guan.
"Elder Chrysanthemum, I heard you're quite the expert on flora and herbs."
"You're familiar with immortal herbs, aren't you?"
"Immortal herbs? Of course!" Yue Guan said proudly. "They are the kings among spiritual plants—treasures beyond compare. Their medicinal potency far exceeds any so-called Ten-Thousand-Year Ginseng Kings. They're the ultimate pursuit for us flower-lovers."
"Then… do you happen to carry any books or records containing information on immortal herbs?" Ye Yu asked calmly. "If you do, that could be my condition for letting you go."
Yue Guan hesitated for a moment but then gritted his teeth and reached into his storage-type Soul Tool. After extending his hand through the gaps in the binding roots, he tossed a weathered book toward Ye Yu.
"Take it!"
Ye Yu caught the ancient tome, and his eyes lit up with joy.
The title on the first page read:
Immortal Herb Compendium