The group continued deeper into the valley.
With Ye Zhilan and Granny Yan leading the way, they were much more efficient at searching for Soul Beasts.
About half a day later,
Tang Yin and Tang San followed Ye Zhilan, Granny Yan, and Ye Lingling to a shaded mountain valley.
The valley was dimly lit and very damp, with many shade-loving plants growing there.
Suddenly, Granny Yan stopped, as if she had noticed something. She looked in one direction and said gravely,
"Family Head, there's a strong life force over there, mixed with a dark aura. It seems to be a Plant-type Soul Beast, and it should be at least a thousand years old!"
"Come on, let's go take a look!"
At her words, Ye Zhilan's interest was piqued, and she led the group in that direction.
As they drew closer,
Tang Yin soon saw clearly through his Martial Soul, the Purple Demon Eye.
At the deepest part of the valley, near the cliff face, grew an extremely strange willow tree.
The entire tree was dark purple. Its trunk twisted like a horned dragon, and its bark was covered in bizarre patterns that looked like anguished human faces.
Its branches weren't the supple green of an ordinary willow. Instead, they resembled dark purple venomous snakes, swaying slowly in the air, their tips glinting with a gloomy light.
Most striking of all, amid the willow leaves covering its crown, grew countless grayish-white tufts resembling dandelion seeds.
"This is... a Pumo Willow!"
Ye Zhilan recognized the Soul Beast, her voice tinged with gravity.
"The Pumo Willow is a Dark-attribute Plant-type Soul Beast with astonishing vitality and an extremely aggressive nature."
"Its branches are incredibly tough and highly penetrating. And... it has a terrifying ability to parasitize."
"Look at those tufts in its crown. The moment they touch another living being, they'll burrow wildly into its body and drain its flesh, blood, and Soul Power. It's an extremely troublesome Soul Beast."
"But the Pumo Willow's vitality is also astonishing!"
"Once those parasitic tufts infect another living being, they can drain its flesh, blood, and Soul Power, then feed them back to the willow."
"So it can recover as well."
"Xiao Yin, what do you think of using this Pumo Willow as Xiao San's target for his Second Soul Ring?"
Ye Zhilan turned to Tang Yin and Tang San and asked.
After a long conversation along the way,
Tang Yin and Tang San had started calling Ye Zhilan Aunt Ye.
Ye Zhilan had already wanted to befriend the brothers, so she had naturally begun calling them Xiao Yin and Xiao San as well.
"Big brother, what do you think?"
Tang San looked at Tang Yin, asking with complete trust.
In his heart, his big brother was the future sect master of the Tang Sect as well as his elder brother. His wisdom, strategic thinking, and judgment far surpassed his own.
So Tang San trusted Tang Yin without reservation when it came to choosing his Second Soul Ring.
"This one!"
Tang Yin thought it over for a moment, then made the call.
In the original story, among all the trash Soul Skills that Gangzi chose for his younger brother, Tang San, there was only one useful one: his Second Soul Skill, Parasite!
It wasn't certain that Yu Xiaogang had chosen Tang San's Second Soul Skill, Parasite. The headmaster of Notting Academy might have selected it instead.
But in Tang Yin's opinion, its effects were quite good.
The Pumo Willow's greatest strength was its ability to parasitize.
If his younger brother absorbed its Soul Ring, he would surely gain a parasitic Soul Skill as well!
And compared to the Parasite Soul Skill in the original story, which could only grow new Blue Silver Grass, this one might also drain enemies' Soul Power and life force, then feed them back to Tang San.
It was a perfect fit for the Extreme Life Flow system Tang Yin had designed for him.
At the same time, the Pumo Willow's branches were incredibly tough and aggressive.
Absorbing its Soul Ring would surely greatly increase the toughness of his younger brother's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul!
And if Tang San's Second Soul Skill really was Parasite,
then it could release Parasitic Seeds like the Pumo Willow's tufts.
Tang Yin couldn't help thinking that if his younger brother practiced controlling the seeds precisely, he might be able to drain power from within his enemies. That could even become one way to deal with the Jade Phosphorus poison of the Dugu Family.
There was no doubt that the Pumo Willow was an excellent choice for his younger brother!
"All right! I'll listen to you, big brother!"
"Aunt Ye, let's go with this Pumo Willow!"
After hearing Tang Yin make the call, Tang San nodded firmly and turned to Ye Zhilan.
"Granny Yan!"
At Ye Zhilan's words, Granny Yan stepped forward with a mighty stride and gave a loud shout. She summoned her Flame Eagle Martial Soul and used Martial Soul Possession. A pair of scarlet wings spread behind her, and seven Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—appeared beneath her feet.
Granny Yan was clearly a powerful Soul Saint!
"Third Soul Skill: Chain Fireball!"
As Granny Yan activated her Soul Skill, several scarlet fireballs instantly gathered and hurtled toward the Pumo Willow.
The Pumo Willow's vitality was astonishing,
but it clearly couldn't withstand a Soul Skill unleashed by a Soul Saint.
It was soon burned black all over. Its slender, tough branches writhed wildly, like the struggles and fury of someone on the verge of death.
But in the end, it was all in vain.
Once the Pumo Willow had been burned until only a sliver of life remained,
Granny Yan stepped forward to make sure it could no longer fight back. She then drew a broadsword and had Tang San cut the willow down.
After taking the broadsword,
Tang San swung it and chopped down the Pumo Willow.
Countless purple specks drifted into the air, forming a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Then Tang San sat cross-legged beside the Pumo Willow's charred remains.
After summoning his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, he circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill and drew the Pumo Willow's Thousand-Year Soul Ring over, guiding it onto the Blue Silver Grass as he began to absorb and refine it.
Nearby, Ye Zhilan was terribly nervous.
She had already seen Tang Yin absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring and work a miracle.
But absorbing one for a Second Soul Ring was exceedingly rare.
Ye Zhilan remained ready to summon her Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul and treat Tang San if anything went wrong.
Though Tang San's physical constitution was much weaker than Tang Yin's,
the Pumo Willow, despite being a Dark-attribute Plant-type Soul Beast, was still a plant-based Soul Beast. The Soul Power released by its Soul Ring was far less violent than that of the Vajra Overlord Tiger.
So although a trace of pain appeared between Tang San's brows as he absorbed the Soul Ring, he gritted his teeth and endured it.
He successfully finished absorbing the Pumo Willow's Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
Ye Lingling, watching from nearby, was stunned.
This Tang San actually managed to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring too?
Ye Lingling couldn't help looking at Tang Yin, filled with curiosity and shock.
Is the Thunder Body Tempering method Tang Yin created really this powerful?
It actually lets someone absorb a thousand-year Second Soul Ring!
"Big brother, I did it!"
After successfully absorbing the Pumo Willow's Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Tang San opened his eyes, his face alight with excitement and joy, and got to his feet.
Then, after testing his Second Soul Skill,
it turned out to be exactly what Tang Yin had expected: Parasite!
It released spores that, once they landed on an enemy, could be activated to grow into willow-fluff-like Parasitic Seeds. They burrowed into the enemy's flesh and blood, drained their Soul Power and life force, and fed them back to Tang San.
At the same time, Tang San could also make the Parasitic Seeds grow new Blue Silver Grass.
It was an incredibly powerful effect!
Far better than the Second Soul Skill, Parasite, in the original story!
At Tang Yin's suggestion,
Tang San named his Second Soul Skill Parasitic Seed!
Before you continue