Due to the huge commotion, even the monsters from deeper parts of the cave were alerted.
Ominous Wind chimed in. Their performance wasn’t exactly flawless. However, their peers were too panicked to even notice the loopholes in the story that they were reporting.
Since Banner Master Wild Wind held a unique status, his falling into enemy hands must be reported to the cave master.
For a moment there, many monsters of the cave had emerged from their hiding places and gathered in circles.
“Silence!” A deep voice suddenly reverberated through the walls of the cave. The monsters immediately ducked down and went silent the moment they recognized that voice.
This monster had an elegant disposition. Like a human scholar, he possessed an air of sophistication.
“Greetings, Banner Master Clear Wind!” Their salutations were all over the place. Monsters were never one to pay attention to etiquette but it was different with Banner Master Clear Wind.
Banner Master Clear Wind was said to have learned his cultivation from a human institution, so he was very particular about human etiquette. Apart from that, Banner Master Clear Wind held a higher position than Banner Master Wild Wind that even the Cave Master showed him respect. No other monster objected when he wanted them to practice human etiquette. The fact that these monsters saluted Banner Master Clear Wind proved that they were able to act with proper manners.
“What happened? Tell me,” said Banner Master Clear Wind calmly through half-lidded eyes. His overall demeanor indicated that he was the type to think before he acted.
The sight of Banner Master Clear Wind made the pair of actors, Huang Qi, and Ominous Wind shudder on the inside.
In Dark Wind Cave, their cave master was undoubtedly the best in terms of strength and cultivation. However, when it came to intelligence, Banner Master Clear Wind was second to none. Now that they were here as spies, Banner Master Clear Wind was the only one they feared.
He was the type of person who would ask about the smallest details and his interrogation would often focus on exposing one’s loopholes.
What were spies most terrified of?
To be exposed before completing their mission. Hence, Huang Qi and Ominous Wind exchanged a glance before arriving at the same decision.
They were now standing at the cave’s entrance where the wind was blowing in. If they crushed the poison pill here, it would only take moments for the miasma to cover the entire cave.
Now was their chance.
Both monsters knew they couldn’t back down anymore, so without hesitation, they crushed the poison pills in their hands.
The subtle yet distinct sound of crushing pills raised Banner Master Clear Wind’s guard. Still, no matter how intelligent he was, it was impossible for him to react in time. In an instant, the miasma covered a distance of more than a hundred feet.
With all the monsters of Dark Wind Cave gathered around here, it took mere seconds for half of them to be shrouded by the poisonous gas. The slower ones with lower cultivation levels began to feel their heads spin and they fell to the ground before even realizing what had happened. The quicker ones with higher cultivation levels took immediate action but the poison pill from Lin Jin’s Feed Mill was too overwhelming. Even a gentle whiff of the gas was enough to knock them out cold.
It wasn’t long before most monsters who were near the cave entrance fell unconscious.
Some monsters who had yet to get involved due to the distance quickly backed away in order to avoid the miasma. However, the location in which Huang Qi and Ominous Wind crushed the pills meant that the gas would inevitably permeate through the entire cave system.
There was another round of commotion.
“What’s going on?”
“I can’t move. I’m too tired.”
“Sh*t! It’s Yellow Wind and Ominous Wind! They’re impostors who have betrayed us!”
Wails, screams, and profanities reverberated throughout the cave. None of that could stop the spread of the miasma. Some of the stronger monsters tried using wind spells to push the miasma out, but it came too quickly. Before they could even cast the spells, the miasma had hit them, rendering them powerless. They fell to the ground like heavy sacks of potatoes.
Huang Qi and Ominous Wind, who had ingested the antidotes beforehand had retreated outside the cave’s entrance. There, they performed wind spells to speed up the rate of the miasma’s advance.
Roars and shouts erupted from the cave until they gradually grew weaker. In the end, there was nothing but silence.
“Done!” Outside the cave, Huang Qi looked thrilled but he was still a little anxious. After all, this had been quite a challenging task for him.
It didn’t take much to figure out what consequences awaited him if the plan failed.
Ominous Wind was just as excited, but compared to Huang Qi, she was much more composed.
“It’s too early to celebrate,” reminded Ominous Wind as she stared warily at the cave’s entrance.
Suddenly, strange sounds came from inside the cave before an unusual gust of wind flowed outwards. It blew out most of the miasma inside the cave.
The miasma was ejected from the cave like a black dragon leaping out of the ocean in a gallant display.
This wasn’t good news for Huang Qi and Ominous Wind at all.
“Oh no!”
Huang Qi took a step back in fear. He was the weakest among the seventy-two banner masters and had the lowest cultivation level. Now that their plan had gone visibly awry, it made sense for him to feel fear.
Though he knew that even with the miasma removed, most of the affected monsters couldn’t even stand up right now, much less attack them.
“Banner Master Ominous Wind, Banner Master Yellow Wind, how dare you betray and scheme against us!” roared Banner Master Clear Wind from inside the cave.
Then, several silhouettes flew out. It was Banner Master Clear Wind and a few other stronger banner masters who hadn’t inhaled the gas.
Now, both Huang Qi and Ominous Wind were frightened.
The same thought flashed through their mind.
‘What’s going on? Why hasn’t Banner Master Clear Wind fallen?’
No matter the reason, the current situation wasn’t something Huang Qi and Ominous Wind could handle by themselves.
Fortunately, Lin Jin showed up on the dot.
As the mastermind of this plan, he naturally had to follow them to ensure the success of the operation. Huang Qi and Ominous Wind had done very well and the current turn of events had nothing to do with their competence.
No matter how powerful the poison pill was, it wasn’t perfect. There had to be some shortcomings and there was also the possibility that certain monsters were physically immune to poison.
Banner Master Clear Wind was one of them.
After observing Banner Master Clear Wind, what Lin Jin saw surprised him. Even so, he had seen enough bizarre creatures that his feeling of surprise was only mild.
“You have both done well,” said Lin Jin to Huang Qi and Ominous Wind. Both of them had been tactful so they had done very well. Otherwise, there would have been hundreds of monsters rushing out of that cave instead of these few.
This proved that they had completed their mission in success.
It was also normal for a few of the cave’s monsters to be immune to poison.
The poison pill was effective against any creatures with flesh and blood, like humans and monsters. However, it wouldn’t work on spirits and fairies like the painting spirit, Shu Xiaolou. She wasn’t human nor a beast. The miasma couldn’t harm a painting so it was the same for other spirits.
In other words, for him to be able to stay safe among the miasma and even blow it out of the cave, Banner Master Clear Wind had to be some kind of spirit.
As for what spirit he was, Lin Jin currently had a suspicion.
