"Haha, what a stroke of luck! Just when we were searching high and low, we found it without any effort. Mu'er, we've 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 laughing 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 also flashed through Xu Yao's eyes. Although the process had been somewhat troublesome, successfully attaching such a Soul Ring to Qing Mu still made the trip worthwhile.
But at that moment, the Green Wood Vine also realized that the people before it were not to be trifled with and immediately tried to retract its vines.
However, after finally encountering a Soul Beast that suited both herself 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!"
A pale white mist swiftly spread from the Narcissus Flower Martial Soul in Xu Yao's hand, and an unusual narcissus scent instantly covered dozens of meters around them.
After touching the pale white fragrance, the Green Wood Vine's vines seemed to become sluggish. Its attempt to flee slowed at once before eventually coming to a complete stop.
Illusory Fragrance was obtained by Xu Yao from a Thousand-Year Illusory Demonic Flower. It could instantly release a large amount of floral fragrance, affecting an opponent's mind once inhaled and weakening their will to fight.
This Soul Skill was affected by Spiritual Power. The stronger an opponent's Spiritual Power, the weaker its effect. Against Soul Beasts, whose Spiritual Power was already weak, its effect was especially pronounced and could even make them give up resisting.
Once the Green Wood Vine stopped, Qing Tianfeng swiftly made his move as well, his Third Soul Ring lighting up at the same time.
"Third Spirit Skill, Green Toad's Roar!"
After a brief charge, Qing Tianfeng let out a deep, piercing croak. Violent sound waves slammed directly into the Green Wood Vine, instantly blasting apart its exposed vines and transmitting into its main body, knocking it unconscious on the spot.
Qing Tianfeng then hurriedly said to Qing Mu, "Mu'er, the Green Wood Vine was hit by my Green Toad's Roar. It should remain unconscious for fifteen minutes. We need to find its main body quickly during that time, then you must kill it."
"I understand, Dad. And Bulbasaur seems to have sensed the direction of its main body."
Qing Mu nodded and pointed in a direction.
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao immediately turned their gazes toward Bulbasaur on the ground, surprise in their eyes.
"Bulba, Bulba~"
Seeing the two looking at him, Bulbasaur puffed out his chest. Then, while using Vine Whip to clear away the weeds, he headed toward the Green Wood Vine's main body.
As a Grass Attribute Bulbasaur, he was exceptionally sensitive to wood-element energy. Combined with the unusually dense wood-element energy coming from the Green Wood Vine just now, Bulbasaur easily followed the energy and found its main body.
"Bulba~"
After finding the Green Wood Vine's main body, Bulbasaur immediately controlled Vine Whip to wrap around its roots and forcibly yank it out of the ground.
Under normal circumstances, Bulbasaur's actions would have provoked the Green Wood Vine's frenzied counterattack. But now, the Green Wood Vine had first been affected by Xu Yao's floral fragrance and then knocked unconscious by Qing Tianfeng's sound-wave 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 its death was near, the Green Wood Vine instinctively struggled even while unconscious. Unfortunately, its main body had long been tightly bound by Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, leaving it no possibility of breaking free.
The Green Wood Vine's vitality was far stronger than Qing Mu had imagined. Only after he had slashed it countless times and chopped it into who knew how many pieces did it finally die completely.
Faint white specks of light drifted out from the Green Wood Vine's main body before eventually condensing 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.
"Huh?"
At that moment, Qing Tianfeng picked up a fragment of the Green Wood Vine from the ground. After examining it closely, 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 brought the fragment before Xu Yao and said, "This Green Wood Vine seems somewhat different from the ones we saw before."
Hearing that, Xu Yao examined it carefully for quite some time before saying, "Its color seems a little greener, but that should not matter much. It's normal for the same kind of Soul Beast from different places to have minor differences."
"That's true."
Qing Tianfeng nodded.
Even Soul Beasts of the same species could undergo subtle changes depending on their growth environment. This could happen even within the same forest, and it was quite common.
As long as it was still the same kind of Soul Beast and had not undergone any bloodline evolution or degradation, 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 having a Soul Ring feels like? It's rather strange."
Qing Mu looked at his hand and clenched it, feeling that he had grown considerably stronger. His Soul Power Level had also leapt from level ten to level thirteen.
After coming back to his senses and learning what his Soul Skill was, Qing Mu's expression could not help turning strange. He had actually obtained that move!
Seeing that Qing Mu had finished absorbing the ring, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao immediately gathered around him and hurriedly asked, "Son, is there anything wrong with your body? Do you feel unwell?"
"Thank you for your concern, Dad, Mom. There's nothing wrong with my body, and I feel better than ever," Qing Mu said with a smile.
Hearing Qing Mu's answer, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao both breathed a sigh of 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 obtain that Soul Skill that strengthens Vine Whip?"
"Yes, son. Did you get that Soul Skill?" Qing Tianfeng quickly pressed.
Qing Mu had chosen the Green Wood Vine as his First Soul Ring specifically for that Soul Skill. Otherwise, even without considering the Ghost Vine, there were several better choices, such as the Green Tree Frog and Poison Thorn Toad.
"No..."
The moment Qing Mu said that, Qing Tianfeng and Xu Yao's hearts sank. Was their son's luck really that bad?
Just as they were beginning to feel disappointed, Qing Mu's lips curled slightly as he changed his tone. "However, I obtained 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 with Qing Mu at its center.
After coming into contact with those pale green ripples, the weeds began growing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Before you continue