While the morning dew still clung to the tips of the blades of grass, the footsteps of the Youth Guardian Camp had already crossed the border of the Morning Light Grassland. A Mu carried the upgraded New Sprout Sword on his back—its scabbard was wrapped with the " Ice-Fire Entwining Pattern" of the Lei Lin New Church, which could automatically gather a small amount of energy while traveling; A Ya's bag contained not only Ironleaf Flower seeds but also Morning Dew Flower seeds from the Elven Forest, and next to the newly added Fluorescent Butterfly illustration in the reprinted edition of the " Illustrated Catalog of Plants " was a small piece of shimmering iron leaf; A Shi clutched the improved "Patrol Record Board," which was pre-printed with entries such as "Pasture Status" and " Evil Energy Fluctuations" for easy and quick recording.
"The herders' settlement is just ahead." Loran rode his Cloudhorn Beast, pointing to the scattered white yurts in the distance. The golden figure of the Icefield Wolf weaved through the Morning Dew Flower, its nose lightly inhaling the scent in the wind—the " Morning Dew Flower " on the grassland were blooming in the morning sun, the dewdrops on their pale purple petals refracting a rainbow of colors. However, the grass at the edge of the flower sea was an unnaturally withered yellow, and even the flying bees rarely approached.
As they approached the yurt, a herdsman in a sheepskin coat came to greet them, holding a handful of withered yellow hay, his brow furrowed in worry. "Lord Loran, you've finally arrived! For the past two weeks, the grass on the eastern side of the grassland has been turning increasingly yellow. The cattle and sheep have become listless after eating it, and even the most drought-resistant tumbleweed has wilted. We tried watering it with Soul-Purifying Water, but it turned yellow again after only a few days."
A Mu immediately crouched down, his fingertips lightly touching the withered grass—a faint stinging sensation, a very faint trace of Evil Energy. "It's Wind-Eroded Evil Mark!" He looked up at Loran, his tone certain, "I learned about it at the mine last time. This kind of Evil Energy travels with the wind, hides in the soil, and slowly drains the life force from plants."
Lei Lin then leaped down from the Cloudhorn Beast's back, a wisp of flame gathering at his fingertip. He gently swept it across the soil at the base of the grass—faint black lines appeared on the surface of the soil, turning into tiny wisps of smoke upon contact with the flame. "These are fragments of Evil Energy blown in by the wind during last year's Evil Bone Storm, buried in the shallow soil layer. Recently, the strong winds on the grassland have unearthed them, which is why they've affected the grass."
Snow Spirit Qilin squatted at the edge of the flower sea, condensing icy mist into a thin sheet in his palm, reflecting the energy trajectory in the wind. " The Evil Energy flows along the ' Grassland Wind Vein.' Purifying just one place won't work. We need to find the node of the wind vein and set up an ' Energy-Stabilizing Formation ' there to stop the spread of Evil Energy."
"Wind Vein Node? Is it the place with the ' Windwhisper Stone '?" The herdsman suddenly spoke, pointing to a low slope deep in the grassland. "Our ancestors said that the stones on that slope could 'listen to the wind,' and cattle and sheep loved to graze there, but lately no one dared to approach—the grass around the stones turned yellow the fastest."
The group followed the herdsman toward the low slope. The closer they got to the slope, the more pronounced the residual Evil Energy in the wind became. Scattered on the slope were a dozen or so waist-high bluish-gray stones, their surfaces engraved with naturally formed patterns. When the wind blew, the patterns shimmered with a faint white light—the very wind vein nodes that Snow Spirit Qilin had mentioned. However, the pasture around the stones had withered and turned yellow, and even the roots of the Morning Dew Flower were tinged with black.
" A Mu, try combining the power of Icefire Resonance with the power of the Windwhisper Stone!" Loran reminded him. " The Windwhisper Stone can guide the wind element, and your ice and fire power can stabilize the Evil Energy. When combined, the two can 'force' the Evil Energy out of the soil."
A Mu took a deep breath, planted the New Sprout Sword beside the Windwhisper Stone, and pressed his fingertips against the stone's veins—the power of ice and fire slowly flowed into it along the veins, the white light on the stone suddenly brightened, and the energy trajectory in the wind became clearly visible. Following Lei Lin's " Wave-Splitting Art," he broke the power of ice and fire into thin streams, spreading them along the wind veins. The black veins in the soil, like awakened insects, slowly gathered towards the Windwhisper Stone.
" A Ya! It's your turn!" A Mu shouted. A Ya immediately took out seeds of Ironleaf Flower and Morning Dew Flower from her bag and, following the " Symbiosis Method " taught by Liya, drew a circular planting zone around the Windwhisper Stone — the Ironleaf Flower was planted in the inner circle to absorb the gathered Evil Energy; the Morning Dew Flower was planted in the outer circle to release vitality and nourish the pasture. When she watered it with the Soul-Purifying Water, the tender shoots of both flowers broke through the soil at the same time. The dark green leaves of the Ironleaf Flower and the pale purple petals of the Morning Dew Flower intertwined, forming a two-colored purification zone.