First Soul Skill, Grassy Terrain

"Haha, what luck! We searched everywhere only to find it without effort. Mu'er, we found the First Soul Ring you wanted!"

When Qing Tianfeng saw that the Soul Beast lurking underground was actually the Green Wood Vine they had been desperately searching for, he could not help but laugh loudly.

Judging by the thickness of this Vine, this Green Wood Vine was probably just over three hundred years old, making it perfectly suitable as Qing Mu's First Soul Ring.

A trace of delight flashed through Xu Yao's eyes as well. Although the process had been somewhat eventful, successfully adding such a Soul Ring to Qing Mu still made the trip worthwhile.

But just then, the Green Wood Vine also realized that the people before it were not to be trifled with and immediately tried to retract its Vines.

But after finally encountering a Soul Beast that suited both her and her son's requirements, how could Xu Yao possibly let it escape? Her Third Soul Ring immediately lit up.

"Third Spirit Skill, Illusory Fragrance!"

At once, a pale white mist rapidly spread from the Narcissus Flower Martial Soul in Xu Yao's hand, and a strange narcissus scent soon covered dozens of meters around them.

When the Green Wood Vine's Vines touched the pale fragrance, they seemed to go dull and sluggish. Their retreating motion slowed at once before eventually coming to a complete stop.

Illusory Fragrance was obtained by Xu Yao from a thousand-year-old Illusory Demonic Flower. It could instantly release a great amount of floral scent, which would affect an opponent's mind once inhaled and weaken their will to fight.

This Soul Skill was affected by Spiritual Power: the stronger the opponent's Spiritual Power, the weaker the effect. Against Soul Beasts, whose Spiritual Power was naturally weak, its effects were particularly pronounced and could even make them give up resisting.

Once the Green Wood Vine stopped, Qing Tianfeng quickly made his move as well. His Third Soul Ring lit up too.

"Third Spirit Skill, Green Toad's Roar!"

After a brief charge-up, Qing Tianfeng let out a low, piercing croak. Violent sound waves shot toward the Green Wood Vine, instantly snapping its exposed Vines and carrying through to its main body, knocking it unconscious on the spot.

Qing Tianfeng then hurriedly said to Qing Mu, "Mu'er, this Green Wood Vine should be unconscious for a quarter of an hour after taking my Green Toad's Roar. We need to find its main body quickly during that time, then you can kill it."

"I understand, Dad. And Bulbasaur seems to have sensed the direction of its main body."

Qing Mu nodded and pointed in a certain direction.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao immediately turned their gazes toward Bulbasaur on the ground, their eyes filled with surprise.

"Da Na, Da Na~"

Seeing the two looking at it, Bulbasaur puffed out its chest. Then, while using Vine Whip to clear away the weeds, it headed toward the Green Wood Vine's main body.

As a Grass Attribute Bulbasaur, it was extremely sensitive to wood-element energy. Combined with the unusually abundant wood-element energy from that Green Wood Vine just now, Bulbasaur easily followed the energy's direction and found the Green Wood Vine's main body.

"Da Na~"

After finding the Green Wood Vine's main body, Bulbasaur immediately controlled Vine Whip to coil around its roots and forcibly ripped it out of the ground.

Under normal circumstances, Bulbasaur's actions would have provoked the Green Wood Vine into a frenzied counterattack. But the Green Wood Vine had first been affected by Xu Yao's floral fragrance, then knocked unconscious by Qing Tianfeng's sonic attack. It no longer had any ability to resist and could only let Bulbasaur pull it out, exposing its most vulnerable roots before Qing Mu.

Qing Mu then took the small knife Xu Yao handed him and viciously slashed several times at the Green Wood Vine's fragile roots.

Perhaps sensing that death was near, the Green Wood Vine instinctively struggled even while unconscious. But its main body had long been tightly bound by Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, leaving it with no possibility of breaking free.

The Green Wood Vine's vitality was far stronger than Qing Mu had imagined. Only after he had no idea how many times he cut it, chopping it into countless pieces, did the Green Wood Vine finally die completely.

Faint white motes drifted out from the Green Wood Vine's main body and eventually condensed into a pale yellow Soul Ring.

Without hesitation, Qing Mu drew the yellow Soul Ring above his head and began refining his First Soul Ring.

"Hm?"

At that moment, Qing Tianfeng picked up a fragment of the Green Wood Vine from the ground. After examining it carefully, he let out a soft sound of surprise.

"What is it, Tianfeng?"

Seeing Qing Tianfeng studying the Green Wood Vine's corpse, Xu Yao asked in confusion.

Qing Tianfeng held the Green Wood Vine fragment before Xu Yao and said, "This Green Wood Vine seems somewhat different from the ones we saw before."

Hearing this, Xu Yao inspected it carefully for a long while before saying, "Its color seems a little greener, but that should not matter much, right? It is normal for the same type of Soul Beast from different places to have slight differences."

"That is true."

Qing Tianfeng nodded.

Even among the same species of Soul Beast, slight changes could arise due to differences in their growth environments. This could happen even within the same forest, and it was a common occurrence.

As long as it was still the same type of Soul Beast and had not undergone some bloodline advancement or degeneration, it was not a problem.

More than half an hour later, Qing Mu finally finished refining the Green Wood Vine's Soul Ring. A pale yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet and revolved around his body.

"So this is what it feels like to have a Soul Ring? It is rather strange."

Qing Mu looked at his hand and clenched it, feeling that he had become much stronger. His Soul Power Level had also leaped from level ten to level thirteen in one go.

After coming back to his senses and learning what his Soul Skill was, Qing Mu's expression could not help turning somewhat strange. He had actually gained that ultimate move!

Seeing that Qing Mu had finished absorbing it, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao immediately gathered around him and hurriedly asked, "Son, is there anything wrong with your body? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"Thank you for your concern, Dad and Mom. There is nothing wrong with my body, and I feel better than ever." Qing Mu smiled.

After hearing Qing Mu's answer, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao both sighed in relief. It was good that nothing had gone wrong.

Xu Yao then asked Qing Mu curiously, "Son, did your first Soul Skill turn out as you expected? Did you gain that Soul Skill that strengthens Vine Whip?"

"Yes, son, did you get that Soul Skill?" Qing Tianfeng hurriedly pressed.

Qing Mu had chosen the Green Wood Vine as his First Soul Ring for that Soul Skill. Otherwise, even excluding the Ghost Vine, he still had several better choices, such as the Green Tree Frog, Poison Thorn Toad, and others.

"No..."

The moment Qing Mu said that, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao's hearts sank. Could their son's luck really be that bad?

Just as they were feeling somewhat disappointed, Qing Mu's lips curled up, and he changed his tone. "However, I gained an even stronger Soul Skill!"

After saying that, Qing Mu summoned Bulbasaur, and his First Soul Ring lit up as well.

Immediately afterward, a pale green ripple rapidly spread outward from Qing Mu.

After coming into contact with those pale green ripples, the weeds began growing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.