Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

We live in this Forest of Life and are basically self-sufficient, but we do have some needs. So we let them exchange some necessities from the human world and monster cores for these things, and we have been living in peace ever since.

However, in recent years, more and more humans have come to our Forest of Life to exchange for the Source of Life. Some of them are even evil people with bad intentions. They are destroying the environment on which we depend for survival and have a great impact on our normal lives.

This situation naturally caused dissatisfaction among some tribes. Some time ago, the tribal leaders of our Forest Fairy tribes stipulated that tribesmen cannot sell the Source of Life privately, and even if there is an exchange, it cannot be exchanged on a large scale to a single person.

Our trade guild primarily targets human members. These individuals have been extremely unruly since arriving in the Forest of Life, causing immense damage to our forest environment.

However, these two guests should have no connection with them. If you wish to taste or exchange some of this Source of Life, you can go and find Lem..."

Priest Tam explained the current situation of the Forest of Life and the taboos to Yan and Lieyan, mainly clarifying the matter of the Source of Life.

Yan listened quietly, nodding occasionally. After Elder Tam finished speaking, he finally spoke up: "Elder Tam, if I may be frank, your method is probably not going to get rid of those profit-driven merchants at all."

What I'm about to say might not be pleasant to hear, but it's the truth. You forest spirits aren't human, so you might not fully understand human greed. You set rules to restrict it, but those merchants are masters at exploiting loopholes.

The rules you've established actually have loopholes. If those merchants can find groups of people to enter the Forest of Life in batches, they can still obtain the Source of Life. That method won't solve the major problem.

"Gentlemen, we have actually considered this as well. Just like our meeting today, every traveler who wishes to exchange for the source of life is personally received by us, the tribal priests and elders."

A hint of confidence flashed across Tam's face. "Perhaps we are not good at fighting, but we do have some methods when it comes to judging people. Those who harbor malice towards the Forest Spirits and the Forest of Life, no matter how well they hide, are useless."

"Ugh..."

After understanding Tam's words, Yan could only sigh. The method used by the forest demons was indeed safe enough, but what they didn't know was how fickle people's hearts are.

Their method can guarantee that the person they are trading with is a good person within the Forest of Life, but it cannot guarantee that once that person is outside the Forest of Life, they will not be swayed by profit and come into contact with those members of the merchant guild.

If this continues, the conflict between the Forest of Life and the human merchant guild will persist and escalate. If he remembers correctly, in the original storyline, it would take about ten years for the forest spirits to sever all trade with humans due to the continued destruction of the forest.

This practice completely eradicated the human merchant guild and some forces from obtaining the Source of Life through trade. It also caused these greedy people to raise their knives against the Forest Demon race. In just a few years, countless Forest Demons were killed or captured, resulting in a tragedy.

"Elder Tam, although we have only just met, I have a very good impression of the Forest Fairy Clan. There are some things I shouldn't say, but I still want to tell you that your approach cannot fundamentally solve the problem."

Yan spoke again: "You've overlooked one thing. Those merchant guilds have been after the Source of Life from the very beginning. How could they possibly give it up because of your rules? Once they really can't get any Source of Life, they'll show their hideous fangs."

Behind every rising merchant guild among humanity lies countless acts of bloodshed and darkness; those individuals will stop at nothing for profit. When that time comes, it will be a catastrophic disaster for the Forest of Life.

Regarding this, I hope you will carefully consider it and think about your next steps. To use a human saying, the Forest Spirits are like this: 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime.'

"Your race lacks powerful military force, yet possesses a treasure like the Source of Life. Once those powerful forces cannot obtain it through trade, they will most likely resort to force. At that time, how will the Forest Demons resist?"

Priest Tam's expression shifted repeatedly. Yan's words were simple and straightforward, clearly analyzed and explained. He couldn't help but feel worried. After thinking for a long time without finding a solution, he could only look up and ask, "Mr. Yan, do you have any good suggestions?"

"I wouldn't call it a suggestion."

Yan didn't think much of it and directly said his true thoughts, "If you want to protect your own interests, you either develop your own military strength and cultivate strong members of the Forest Demon Clan."

However, this will take time, and you probably don't have that much time now, so it can be considered a long-term plan.

Another method is to attach yourself to a powerful entity and let that entity with absolute military power guarantee your interests.

For example, top-tier powerhouses and magical beasts from the mainland, or even dragons, are all options; you'll need to consider that yourselves. These are my suggestions; the rest is up to you to decide.

"Dear guest, thank you for your suggestion."

After Yan finished speaking, he stood up with Lieyan, who had already silently eaten quite a lot of fruit. He bowed slightly and prepared to leave. After they stood up, the priest Tam hurriedly got up to thank them. After they had gone far away, he gave an order to a forest elf, seemingly to prepare something.

……

"Two guests."

Inside the treehouse of the Tam tribe, Yan was playing a love game with the Flame Queen to deepen their intimacy when Lem's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

Yan stepped outside and saw Delem climbing up the treehouse. He came over with a silly smile, bent down and took some fruit from the small basket. When he got to the end, there were two small green gourds.

The two small gourds looked crystal clear, as if they were carved from jade, lustrous and translucent, yet full of the pride of hard jade. When Lem took out the two gourds, his movements became noticeably gentler, and he appeared very solemn.

"Lem, what is this?"

Lieyan also came out at this time. Her senses were much more acute than Yan's. Although the two small blue gourds were only the size of a palm, she could feel that the life force contained within them was almost tangible.

Lem solemnly said, "Esteemed guests, this is the life essence brewed by our Forest Fairy Clan. Elder Tam asked me to bring it as a return gift. Please enjoy it."

Thank you.

Yan nodded to Lem, who put his things down, picked up the small basket, bowed, and then left the treehouse.

Yan picked up the two small blue gourds, took one and handed it to Lieyan, chuckled, and said rather flirtatiously, "Beautiful lady, may I have the honor of buying you a drink?"

"Hmph! This is the wine from the Forest Demon, not something you paid for."

Lieyan looked up at Yan, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a mixture of anger and reproach, and the charm in her eyes made Yan's heart itch.

As she spoke, she snatched the gourd from Yan's hand. The small, green gourd looked exceptionally beautiful in Yan's fair, spring-green palm.

Lieyan gently pulled off the stopper, and instantly, a rich fruity aroma and a surging life force filled the entire treehouse. That intense vitality even emitted a faint bluish hue.

"This is a sign of the condensation of life."

Even someone as powerful as Blazing Flame couldn't help but gasp in surprise upon seeing this scene.

Yan, who wasn't very familiar with the cultivation system of the Five Elements Continent, asked, "Blazing Flame, what is Life Dew?"

Lieyan glanced at him, then said seriously, "You are not a cultivator from the Five Elements Continent, so you may not understand."

Let me explain it to you like this. "Life Dew" refers to a state of life force so concentrated that it can be transformed into liquid. The source of life is so wondrous; no wonder the Forest Spirits have been targeted by those greedy humans.

"I don't even need to drink from this gourd; just a slight sniff is enough for me to imagine the powerful effects of this source of life."

As she spoke, she extended her left hand, tilting the small cyan gourd into her palm. A drop of emerald-green liquid, resembling a newly sprouted leaf, dripped into her hand. The previously hazy cyan mist instantly became clear, and the drop of green liquid evaporated rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Lieyan placed his palm on Yan's nose, and Yan took a deep breath, inhaling the dissipated life condensation and all the surrounding mist into his body.

"belch!"

He couldn't help but let out a burp, and the rich fruity aroma instantly spread throughout his body. Every cell in his body seemed to be activated by that enormous vitality, and the indescribable feeling of comfort and the wonderful taste immediately filled him with vitality.

Chapter 167 The Secret Recipe for Brewing

"This is really good stuff."

After absorbing a portion of the wine's essence, Yan sighed. This source of life was a wine brewed from fresh fruit, containing at least a hundred kinds of fresh fruit, along with some strange substances. It was only after fermentation and brewing that this source of life was obtained.

He took a small sip and savored it, then said, "Hmm, this should be fermented and brewed in recent years, and it's not the best quality. The most precious source of life is also known as the thousand-year source of life, which has the effect of recreating the universe. That stuff is extremely rare even here in the Forest Demon area, but we can think of a way to get it later."

"Xiao Yan, you said you'd treat me to drinks."

At this moment, Lieyan had no mind to listen to what he was saying, because someone was holding her right hand as a wine glass. If you're going to drink, then drink. Why are you licking it like a little pig?

With a disgruntled expression, Lie Yan quickly slammed the cap back on the bottle, preventing the Life Essence from evaporating into the air. "This wine, if an ordinary person drinks a sip, can prolong their life. If a seriously injured person drinks a sip, they can at least stay alive for a while longer; it can truly be called a life-extending elixir."

If this isn't the most precious source of life you mentioned, then I wonder what the effects of the most precious one are.

This source of life can be described as the essence of wood. The fact that they could condense such a wine demonstrates the unfathomable depth of the forest spirits' understanding of wood. Each bottle is a priceless treasure, no wonder those humans have been so persistent in giving it up.

Yan's eyes darted around as he embraced the still-surprised goddess. "Lieyan, what do you say? How about we make this source of life ours?"

Lieyan was startled at first, then lightly slapped his arm and said in a spoiled tone, "You naughty boy, you're not allowed to mess around. The forest demons are already having a hard time enough."

“No, what are you thinking? I mean, you are the Queen of the Inner Earth. If you provide them with help and support, wouldn't the source of life become ours?”

Yan grabbed the Empress's hand and pressed it against her back, then slapped her again. "I gave you advice, and you still doubted my intentions. Answer me yourself whether you deserve to be hit."

"Xiao Yan, you've gone too far."

Flame covered the part of her body that had been bullied and complained, but she didn't resist Yan's actions. She just leaned against Zhen's head and thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "The strength of the Earth's core world is indeed not weak, but I can't be in the outside world..."

She was still worried that revealing her influence to the outside world would attract the attention of the gods, especially after her relationship with Yan progressed rapidly, making her even more reluctant to leave this world.

"Of course I know it's inconvenient for you to show up, but I remember you said that there are many powerful magical beasts in the surface world that have come to the inner world because they offended some major forces or powerful beings. You can choose some of them to guard this area."

Yan was giving Lieyan advice. He knew Lieyan's concerns, but he was also clear that as long as Lieyan was not in the mortal world, that is, the ground world, and displayed the strength of a level 100 god, the enforcers of the god realm would not discover and take action.

Even if he were discovered, he could simply take the person back to Douluo Continent, towards the Misty Area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest, and see if the law enforcement officers could find the target.

"Your method seems to work. Xiao Yan, you're really clever."

Upon hearing this idea, Lieyan was overjoyed. She naturally loved the Source of Life, and Yan's idea was nothing more than a few words to her. Helping the Forest Demon wouldn't be difficult for her, and she could also obtain the Source of Life. Why not?

"It's good that you agree, but there's no need to take action for now. We can stay in this Forest of Life for a while and have a good chat with the forest spirits."

Yan hugged Lieyan and explained her idea, "They've already been scared by those human merchant guilds. If we go and offer them shelter now, they'll just think we're all in cahoots. Let's not say anything yet and stay for a while."

"Okay, whatever you say."

Lieyan had been completely convinced by Yan, and she nestled meekly in his arms, looking as adorable as an obedient little wife.

"My wife is so good..."

Such a compliant flame naturally made someone's mouth water, of course... (omitting ten thousand words here, the world is tough these days, you can fill in the blanks yourself).

……

In the early morning of the Forest of Life, under the warm sunlight, the forest spirits emerge from their treehouses to begin their day's work. They work from sunrise to sunset, tending to the various plants in the forest and living peacefully with the animals.

They are natural-born wood-type magicians. Although the strongest among them is nothing compared to the human race, the overall quality of the race surpasses that of ordinary people. Each of them possesses the instinct to communicate with and nurture plants, and to promote vigorous life force.

Under the warm sunlight, two figures strolled through an orchard in the Forest of Life, occasionally pausing to whisper softly, their relationship growing ever closer.

"Good morning, Priest Tam."

When Yan and Lieyan arrived at the orchard, they saw Priest Tam and a group of forest elves, including Lem, working. They went up to greet them.

"Good morning, Mr. Yan and Ms. Lieyan."

Priest Tam was tending to the fruit trees with some of his people. These fruit trees, which they had planted and cultivated themselves, required extra care. When he heard Yan's call, he turned around, greeted him, and gave him a kind smile.

"You're taking care of the fruit trees, can you tell me about it?"

Yan walked closer and leaned on a huge fruit tree, which was laden with fruit. There were unripe buds and ripe fruits that exuded a fragrance and looked as clear as jade.

Tam smiled, then said to Yan Xu, "Are you interested in this? Of course, no problem..."

After listening, Yan nodded and then offered his own suggestion, "I think the way these trees facing the sun are arranged now is a bit messy..."

Tam was quite moved by Yan's words, because Yan's method could solve many of their problems. He asked excitedly, "Are you also skilled in fruit cultivation?"

Yan humbly replied, "I know a little bit. I just like to study things, and I know a little about everything. I've also tried to cultivate some exotic plants myself, so I guess I have some experience."

As a man with a superhuman intelligence, he naturally uses his cheat codes to the fullest extent, such as researching time-space gates, soul tools, cultivating new crops, and growing plants from other worlds. It can be said that he is absolutely number one in many fields in the Douluo Continent, and many others cannot even understand his words.

Just like he once said, "I often feel out of place with you because I'm not stupid enough," which, while somewhat Versailles-esque, is actually quite true. People from a technologically advanced era, arriving in the feudal era, at least in terms of their perspective, were thousands or even tens of thousands of years ahead of their time.

The Douluo Continent boasts a diverse array of martial spirits, making it difficult to unify its systems. Furthermore, the soul tool system has long been destroyed and its reconstruction is extremely challenging, hindering its development. However, the Douluo Continent possesses immense potential; by focusing on the development of soul tools, it may one day even be able to rival the God Realm.

The Five Elements Continent, however, differs from the Douluo Continent in that its system is more developed, especially in the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Even the Forest Demon Clan, while not considered true giants in the wood element (since they lack truly powerful individuals), is still a force to be reckoned with in plant cultivation, which Yan dares not claim to surpass.