First Step in Stealing the Grass

He did not notify the bishop of the Notting Spirit Hall Branch, merely sending a message through the branch to Spirit City to report his current location and itinerary.

The first thing Ye Kai did afterward was purchase a set of commoner's clothes.

Although his previous clothes no longer looked expensive after all the traveling and cultivation, he still needed to be more cautious if he wanted to steal the grass right under Big Hammer's nose.

Moreover, Tang San had also lived a second life, and his powers of observation far exceeded those of his peers. If he happened to notice something amiss, regard it as strange, and go home to tell Big Hammer, then given Big Hammer's experience of hiding everywhere, he might come out and hammer someone immediately.

Ye Kai had already planned out his course of action. The first step was to find Ah Yin.

According to the original description of when Tang San awakened the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, Ah Yin was not far from the Blue Silver King.

He would find Ah Yin and confirm whether his guess was correct before deciding on his subsequent plans.

The second step was to use Plant Communication to determine whether Big Hammer was there if his guess proved correct and Big Hammer really was the mastermind behind the plot to obtain the Soul Ring.

If Big Hammer was not there, he would first build a relationship with Ah Yin, give Big Hammer something to worry about, and leave behind a Space Mark while he was at it.

If Big Hammer was already there, he would first go to Holy Soul Village to test the Tang God King, then wait for an opportunity to return to Ah Yin's location and leave behind a mark.

The third step was to call for reinforcements.

He would not look for Pope's Hall. He would go directly to Qian Daoliu of the Worship Hall.

In the past few years, because of his relationship with Qian Renxue, Ye Kai had come into contact with Qian Daoliu as well. He had discovered that Qian Daoliu truly was as the original described him: someone who clearly distinguished right from wrong and kept his promises.

After losing to Tang Chen, he had once sworn that, apart from himself, no one affiliated with Spirit Hall would ever set foot on Clear Sky Sect territory unless he could defeat Tang Chen. Even though Tang Chen had been missing for many years and his son had been seriously injured by Big Hammer, Qian Daoliu had still upheld his promise and had not attacked Clear Sky Sect.

He had merely gone after Big Hammer outside himself, only for Big Hammer to escape by using the Great Sumeru Hammer.

At the same time, Spirit Hall had blocked the foot of Clear Sky Sect's mountain without ascending it, and in the end, the Four Great Single-Attribute Clans had been captured.

Afterward, even after learning that his son, Qian Xunji, had ultimately been killed by Bibi Dong, Qian Daoliu had not held much hatred toward her. Qian Xunji's wrongdoing back then had already left him feeling guilty toward Bibi Dong, and compared with personal vengeance, Qian Daoliu cared more about Spirit Hall's future.

Bibi Dong's talent could allow Spirit Hall to reach an even higher peak.

Therefore, Qian Daoliu did not hate Bibi Dong very much. He would even try to ease the relationship between Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue.

Ye Kai also believed that Qian Daoliu had been unaware of Qian Xunji's coercion of Bibi Dong back then. Most likely, Qian Xunji had only told Qian Daoliu after committing the deed.

After all, what decent person would casually keep Spiritual Detection active in their own base?

What, did your Spirit City have a bathhouse for you to gather material from? (This was a pointed reference to a certain Hokage.)

Of course, because of his relationship with Bibi Dong, although Ye Kai respected the character of this Limit Douluo, he would not show goodwill toward this Level 99 Limit Douluo of such unyielding character when Qian Renxue was absent.

Ye Kai had called him to Holy Soul Village this time to ensure that Big Hammer could be killed. It would be even better if Qian Daoliu brought out a few Imperial Supporters.

Actually, with Big Hammer's current body, still not recovered from Ring Detonation, Qian Daoliu would basically ensure that he could not escape once he attacked. However, after personally attacking Big Hammer back then and watching him escape through Ring Detonation, Qian Daoliu would probably bring a few Imperial Supporters this time to attack together and prevent Big Hammer from escaping again.

(In the original novel, Big Hammer first revealed his Soul Rings when he hammered Zhao Wuji. His ninth Soul Ring was black with a hint of red, not a proper hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring. Later, it became a proper hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring again. Thus, the only explanation was that he had used Ring Detonation to evade Qian Daoliu's pursuit back then and had still not fully recovered.)

The fourth step was to Teleport to Ah Yin's location while the Imperial Supporters surrounded and killed Big Hammer, then package up and take away both the grass and the bones.

When he left Nuoding City, Ye Kai opened the System Mall and began exchanging for the item he had seen when he decided to steal the grass.

"Aura Concealment Talisman. After use, it can block the Spiritual Detection of non-spiritual Soul Masters below Level 99 or spiritual Soul Masters below Level 91. It lasts for two hours, and multiple uses can be stacked. Price: 200 Healer Points."

(It only blocks perception and has no invisibility effect. The eyes can still see you; they simply cannot sense your Soul Power and cultivation.)

Looking at the 40,000 Healer Points he had spent more than a month accumulating, Ye Kai directly exchanged for thirty talismans. He did not need too many. He only needed to use them when approaching Ah Yin, in case Big Hammer was constantly monitoring Ah Yin's direction.

Nuoding City was only twenty kilometers from Holy Soul Village. Although it was outside Big Hammer's detection range, to ensure that his plan was foolproof, Ye Kai attached an Aura Concealment Talisman to himself and each of his two Soul Saint guards as soon as he left Nuoding City.

His original communication and detection range was 3,000 meters, merely the range of an ordinary Titled Douluo's Spiritual Detection.

After being tempered by his inner demon, it had now increased to 5,000 meters. Big Hammer, as a Super Douluo, could use Spiritual Detection across 10,000 meters, so there was still a considerable gap. However, Plant Communication was highly concealed, so he was not worried about being discovered by Big Hammer.

As for a Limit Douluo, his Spiritual Detection could reach 25,000 meters.

(All of these figures referred to the radius of Spiritual Detection. The data came from Chapter 523 of Douluo 2, where strength was displayed, and Chapter 548, regarding the Spiritual Power of plants.)

Although Ye Kai did not believe that Big Hammer, in his current fallen state, would still keep Spiritual Detection active at all times, it was better to be careful.

After all, if Big Hammer truly was the mastermind, then his fallen state was probably an act. He had not called for reinforcements yet either. If a fight broke out, he had no other way out besides Teleportation.

If he called for the Grand Elder's aid before going to Holy Soul Village, how would he explain discovering Big Hammer there?

He then dispelled the triple gravity, returned the weights to his Soul Tool, and rushed toward Holy Soul Village at full speed while keeping Lord of Plants active, determined not to waste its duration.

What Ye Kai had not expected was that before he even saw Holy Soul Village, the Blue Silver King, who had lived for more than eighty thousand years in the original, had already appeared within his range of perception.

This conveniently saved him the time of searching for Ah Yin himself.

At the same time Ye Kai sensed the Blue Silver King, the Blue Silver King, who possessed the same Life Attribute, also sensed Ye Kai's Ultimate Life and took the initiative to invite him. "Stranger, mighty one of the Life Attribute, please come here for a discussion."

Ye Kai attached another talisman to each of them before leading the two men toward the Blue Silver Forest.

As soon as they arrived at the Blue Silver Forest, the Blue Silver Emperor revealed her form.

"Eighty Thousand Year Soul Beast!" The two guards were instantly shocked. Even an eighty-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Grass was not something two minor Soul Saints could contend with. They were about to release their Martial Souls and cover Ye Kai's retreat.

Ye Kai waved his hand first, stopping the guards. He still did not know whether the Aura Concealment Talisman could conceal the aura of explosive Soul Power, but he had already sensed a powerful yet feeble Life Attribute. Apart from Ah Yin, there could be no one else in this area.

(The "powerful" referred to the high rank of her Life Attribute, while the "feeble" referred to her current weakened state.)

Although he had not sensed Big Hammer's location, Big Hammer should still be in Holy Soul Village.

However, this place was not far from Holy Soul Village to begin with. If a Soul Saint released his Martial Soul and Big Hammer sensed it, then this operation would be considered a failure.

The guards were stopped by Ye Kai, and they also noticed that the eighty-thousand-year Soul Beast opposite them had no hostility. Although they did not lower their guard, they temporarily abandoned the idea of attacking outright.