The snakes had white and bluish-purple markings, the white was slightly more prominent. They were poppy snakes. Why they were named as such, he had no idea and didn't care to know. Luckily they were low leveled.
He looked around him urgently and paused again. Was he an idiot? Of course he needed to care about why they were called poppy snakes! It was because their venom induced hallucinations, similar to the effects of the opium poppy.
Once the victims have been hooked and lost their hold on reality, the snakes slithered around the victim and sucked their spirit essence out of them.
The poppy snakes also had a contradictory trait as they were naturally allergic to poppy sap but lived right next to poppy flowers! They were fine as long as the seeds of the opium poppy did not burst open and release any sap.
Opium poppy flowers on planet Dongwu had fragile petals but hardened seeds that contained sap in them. Once the seeds were ripe, they burst open to release the sap in them. This was a form of natural control that reduced the number of poppy snakes constantly as they usually multiplied quickly.
The poppy plants were also one of the more stubborn plants that managed to survive on planet Dongwu even with the constant spirit energy drain. You could say they were, in a way, mutated variations of the poppy flower.
Wen Yu quickly searched around him for poppy plants. After a short while, he gathered quite a few of the unripe seeds. He had to think of a way to squeeze out the sap without it affecting him or the child.
The littlest amount of the sap was enough to deal with hundreds of snakes if dispersed in the air with spirit energy but a downside was it would also affect the people around and cause hallucinatory effects!
It was fine if they had a high phase but for Wen Yu and the little girl, it would be impossible to counter the effects of the poppy plant with their meager spirit energy!
Another problem was that Wen Yu couldn't direct his spirit energy out of him. He could wrap it around himself and run it throughout his body but he couldn't let it out because he was too weak.
If he couldn't release his spirit energy how the h*ck was he supposed to forcefully disperse the poppy sap from the unripe seeds in the air?!
He stared at the grayish blue seeds spread out on the ground and grit his teeth in hatred. The little girl was still screaming out for help and the slimy vermin were getting closer and closer.
He sat in a lotus position before the seeds and held the purple hex stone with one hand as he tried to release his spirit energy. His efforts were futile and he was sweating profusely but he didn't stop.
It was especially taxing as he was fighting the constant energy drain as well as trying to control his spirit energy and guide it out of him.
He ran his spirit energy around his veins repeatedly to strengthen himself and then brought it out to wrap around his hands. Once he let it out towards the seeds, It dispersed.
He didn't even think about what effects the sap would have on him, there was no time to think about that now! He'd try to save the kid and worry about the hallucination later, he was dispersing a small amount anyways. He was pretty sure he could fight it!
His lips began to tremble and the cold began to creep up his bones. He cursed. Not now! He couldn't have an episode now! But there was no way he would stop it if he kept overexerting himself like this.
He took out too pills from his pocket and popped them in his mouth. He continued to focus on letting out his spirit energy as he chewed on the pills rapidly.
Some snakes had managed to make their way to the top of the tree stump but the girl continuously let out her spirit energy to knock them off. Her eyes were beginning to dim and she was beginning to lose hope.
She barely cried out for help anymore and just bit her trembling lip as tears flowed down her cheeks. She didn't want to die.
More snakes were getting on faster and faster but the little girl grit her teeth and fought them off harder and harder.
Wen Yu glanced up quickly and saw the snakes successfully crawl up the stump and his eyes shook. Was he really going to watch a five year old not only die but die in such a gruesome way?!
No way! He pushed his spirit energy with a soft roar and made a slamming motion towards the seeds before him. A tiny wave started from his palm and several seeds cracked under the pressure. He had successfully broken some seeds and released the sap within.
Wen Yu almost choked in relief as he quickly controlled the spirit energy he had released to react with the sap and disperse it in the air towards the tree stump. Usually this wouldn't be needed if the seeds were ripe but unfortunately, they were not.
The little girl had already given up and fallen to her knees with her eyes closed. She was tired, she really couldn't hold on anymore. She patiently waited to be bitten to death but soon froze when she felt no pain.
What was this? Was death really not painful? She slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to her core when she found the ferocious snakes fumbling over themselves to retreat.
'...' What was happening?
She wiped at her hair which was splattered to her face with sweat and looked around. She froze when her eyes landed on a little boy sitting cross-legged with intense focus. His view was fairly blocked by a shrub.
Was it him? Did he drive the snakes away? She burst into tears again. Someone heard her cry for help. Someone came to her aid. She was really alive!
"Don't breathe in the fragrance in the air. Block your nose with your spirit energy."
The little girl nodded absentmindedly at the calm voice and followed his instructions without thinking. Her saviour was still focused on guiding his spirit energy as she crawled down the stump and got a little closer.
She froze in surprise when she saw his appearance clearly. This brother was too handsome! She blushed shyly and looked down at her hex stone nestled on her palm.
She couldn't resist and peeked at the handsome brother again. He had an oval face with really long lashes. His fairly long hair framed his face making him look like an angel. So cute!
When he opened his eyes, a pair of beautifully carved, large and limpid orbs stared at her curiously before they fell close and the brother slumped and fell backwards to the ground.
She gasped and quickly reached out to help him. After struggling for a while, she managed to get them both to a cave that was out of sight.
There was neither water nor food in sight so there was no way to help the handsome brother. She was a cadet of the Feng Academy and had mistakenly lost her way and missed her teammates.
She really didn't know what to do!
The little girl walked slowly to the mouth of the cave but soon shrank back in fear when she heard footsteps.
Two cadets in Lingxiu Academy uniform soon came in and the three pairs of eyes froze when they encountered each other. Two pairs calmly looked away and widened immediately.
"Ah Yu!" Wen Lin screamed and ran over to her brother. She hugged him tightly and pinned the Feng girl with a deadly glare.
The girl looked away in fear only to come in contact with Duyi's eyes and shivered even more as she quickly explained what happened amidst stammers.
Duyi looked away from the girl and walked over to position himself behind Wen Yu. He was pretty sure the kid had overexerted himself and triggered his episode but lost consciousness before things went too far.
This situation was good at least.
He took out a vial of nutrient solution and handed it over to Wen Lin to trickle down her brother's throat. When that was done, he gripped a hex stone with one hand and placed the palm of the other on Wen Yu's back and tried to slip his spirit energy into the kid's veins.
He'd done this before so it was quite easy to get in this time.