Blue Silver Valley

The group finally arrived at the Star Dou Great Forest.

Looking at the endless towering trees and feeling the dense life energy of the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Linyi narrowed his eyes blissfully.

Seeing Xiao Linyi's expression, Lin Qingxuan felt much the same. He also possessed the Life Attribute and was instinctively drawn to places like the Star Dou Great Forest, which brimmed with life energy. Unfortunately, as the continent's largest gathering place for Soul Beasts, the Star Dou Great Forest was simply too dangerous.

After entering the Star Dou Great Forest, the group entered a state of combat readiness.

Mu En began fulfilling his duty as a teacher. "Xiao Yi, from now on, stay alert at all times. In particular, do not leave the side of me, your father, or your mother. Danger can appear here at any moment."

Xiao Linyi nodded. After thinking for a moment, he walked over to Lin Qingxuan's side and vigilantly surveyed their surroundings.

The others all revealed approving looks. Xiao Linyi's choice was indeed a good one.

Among the adults, Mu En was a Limit Douluo and the strongest. Logically, his side should have been the safest, but the strongest also faced the most dangerous situations. There might be times when he could not spare attention for Xiao Linyi.

Ouyang Xi possessed the Bright Phoenix Spirit, an absolute Assault System Martial Soul. Once battle broke out, she would certainly charge to the front. Xiao Linyi would only get in the way if he followed her.

Only Lin Qingxuan possessed the Life Wutong, a Support System Martial Soul. He stayed in the rear during battle, and his Soul Tool methods were mostly long-range as well. Staying by Lin Qingxuan's side would ensure Xiao Linyi's safety to the greatest extent without affecting the battle.

As they walked, Lin Qingxuan explained to Xiao Linyi, "Xiao Yi, this is the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest. It is mainly inhabited by ten-year and hundred-year Soul Beasts. Generally speaking, a Soul Master's First Soul Ring can be found here. However, your physique is special, so we need to venture deeper to find a Soul Beast suitable for you."

Before long, the group arrived at the boundary between the outer region and the Mixed Zone.

Lin Qingxuan explained, "Ahead lies the Mixed Zone, where Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are the main inhabitants. Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts occasionally appear there as well. We do not need to go that deep. This area should be about right. Next, we'll move laterally. If we still can't find one, then we'll go deeper."

Xiao Linyi nodded to show that he understood, then said optimistically, "Blue Silver Grass has little combat ability to begin with. Even after reaching the thousand-year level, it has little chance against other Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. This boundary should be its limit. We should encounter one soon."

"Of course. Xiao Yi has always had good luck," Ouyang Xi coaxed.

That said, Xiao Linyi's luck did not seem particularly good. They wandered through the Star Dou Great Forest for three straight days without finding a Thousand-Year Blue Silver Grass suitable for Xiao Linyi, though they did come across a hundred-year one.

Before Xiao Linyi could wonder why a hundred-year Blue Silver Grass had grown near the boundary, he saw several herbivorous Soul Beasts foraging nearby. They had clearly discovered the Blue Silver Grass, but to Xiao Linyi's surprise, those hungry Soul Beasts did not even spare it a glance and simply left...

There was not the slightest hesitation in their departing figures, as if they were saying, 'Even if I starve to death or get eaten by a carnivorous Soul Beast, I still won't take a single bite of you.'

Xiao Linyi understood why.

As long as something was useless enough, it would have no danger or natural enemies.

Because it had no value as food or material, once Blue Silver Grass became a Soul Beast, it could basically live on indefinitely. At the very least, it did not need to worry about becoming food, just like this hundred-year Blue Silver Grass.

In a sense, this Blue Silver Grass had maxed out its defense attributes...

But that bit of amusement was not enough to improve Xiao Linyi's mood. Three days had passed without any results, and he was growing irritated.

The adults saw it, but they had no good solution. Soul Beasts did not grow according to human wishes. Obtaining a Soul Ring truly depended on luck to a certain extent, unless one was willing to randomly find a Soul Ring and absorb it.

But that was impossible.

After a brief rest, the group continued their search.

By the time the sky darkened, they had still found nothing. Since no one would choose Blue Silver Grass as a Soul Ring, none of them had expected thousand-year Blue Silver Grass to be so scarce.

After nearly four days of searching, Xiao Linyi's patience was running out. He summoned his Golden Tree Spirit, intending to vent a little.

Who would have thought that the moment the Golden Tree appeared, Xiao Linyi felt something? Vaguely, the Golden Tree seemed to be guiding him in a certain direction.

Xiao Linyi shared what he had sensed, and the adults immediately decided to investigate. With their strength and lineup, the outer region was nothing to them. One word: easy.

Guided by the Golden Tree, Xiao Linyi led the way. The farther they went, the more remote the route became. Lin Qingxuan looked around. Though the place was secluded, it seemed they were heading outward, farther and farther from the Mixed Zone.

Not long after, Xiao Linyi's group was led to a valley. The valley was not large, but it was filled with Blue Silver Grass.

A breeze swept through, stirring waves of Blue Silver Grass. Dense life energy surged forth, and both Xiao Linyi and Lin Qingxuan felt a sense of closeness.

Ouyang Xi said delightedly, "I never expected the Star Dou Great Forest to have a Blue Silver Valley like this. There must be a Thousand-Year Blue Silver Grass here that suits our little treasure."

Mu En and Lin Qingxuan both nodded lightly.

The group entered the valley. Ten-year Blue Silver Grass covered the ground here, interspersed with a considerable number of hundred-year Blue Silver Grass. Their blades spread open and swayed gently, carrying faint, nearly invisible blue specks of light.

Soon, the center of the valley came into view. Three Thousand-Year Blue Silver Grass plants appeared before them. Perhaps they could no longer be called grass. Thousand-year Blue Silver Grass resembled vines, their leaves several meters long. However, their intelligence was still shallow, and their leaves swayed unconsciously. Even with the group already close by, they showed little reaction.

Of the three Blue Silver Grass plants, one was fifteen hundred years old. One was four thousand years old. The last one was astonishingly more than nine thousand years old.

After observing it carefully for a moment, Mu En sighed. "This Blue Silver Grass is actually more than nine thousand nine hundred years old. For Blue Silver Grass to reach such an age is truly rare."

"It is a pity, though. This Blue Silver Grass is dying. With the Blue Silver Grass bloodline, it cannot cross the ten-thousand-year bottleneck."

Xiao Linyi asked curiously, "Master, can Blue Silver Grass not become a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

"Of course not. The Blue Silver Grass bloodline is too weak, unless its bloodline can evolve."

"Evolve? Into a Blue Silver King or Blue Silver Emperor?" Linyi knew a little about the evolution of Blue Silver Grass. When he had looked through the Soul Beast illustrated guide before, there had been no real Soul Beasts to observe, while Blue Silver Grass was everywhere. Thus, Linyi had studied it extensively and read plenty of miscellaneous records.

After all, as the primary Martial Soul of the Sea God who had ascended to godhood ten thousand years ago, Blue Silver Grass might have been useless, but it had no shortage of glory surrounding it. There were countless records, speculations, and even outright fabrications about it.

"Correct. When the Blue Silver Grass bloodline evolves, it becomes a Blue Silver King and can be considered an advanced Soul Beast. If a Blue Silver King's bloodline evolves again, it becomes a Blue Silver Emperor, the emperor of the Blue Silver Grass clan. It possesses a Top-Tier Soul Beast bloodline. Ten thousand years ago, the Sea God's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul evolved into a Blue Silver Emperor, becoming a Top-tier Martial Soul in one leap."

Xiao Linyi suddenly understood.

While Mu En was teaching his disciple, the nine-thousand-year Blue Silver Grass suddenly moved.

Its massive, spread-out leaves suddenly curled inward. The entire Blue Silver Grass abruptly erupted with blue light, and its aura rose sharply.

The sudden change startled everyone. Ouyang Xi hurriedly shielded Xiao Linyi behind her. Her Bright Phoenix Spirit appeared, eight Soul Rings pulsing around her as she released the mighty aura of a Soul Douluo.

The Blue Silver Grass was immediately bent beneath that aura. Its rapidly rising aura abruptly stalled and even began to decline.

Mu En raised a hand to signal them. "No need to panic. This Blue Silver Grass is breaking through."

Ouyang Xi let out a sigh of relief and withdrew her Martial Soul.

Without the pressure of a Soul Douluo's aura, the Blue Silver Grass's presence began to rise again. But after its initial burst of momentum, it weakened; its ascent was no longer as rapid as before.

"Breaking through?" Xiao Linyi looked puzzled. "Didn't you say that the Blue Silver Grass's bloodline wasn't enough for it to break through to ten thousand years?"

"That is why it is forcing the breakthrough. If it can reach ten thousand years, it may awaken the Blue Silver King bloodline and become a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast with a high-level bloodline."

"However, a forced breakthrough was already a faint hope to begin with. Just now, Xi Yatou's aura interrupted it. Failure is already inevitable."

Ouyang Xi paid no attention to that Blue Silver Grass. At the end of the day, it was merely a soul beast.

"Good boy, come here. Although your physical condition is enough to absorb a five-thousand-year Soul Ring, you're still young. This Four-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Grass is perfect for you."

After Ouyang Xi spoke, she received no response. When she turned around, she saw that her son was still standing before the nine-thousand-year Blue Silver Grass, watching its doomed attempt to break through.

"Good boy?"