The First Soul Skill, Dark Fragrance Bind, and the Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly

With the assistance of Ye Shuyuan, Ye Qingzhou struck the Sleeping Fragrance Orchid Butterfly dead with a single punch.

A yellow, hundred-year soul ring dropped from the body of the Sleeping Fragrance Orchid Butterfly.

Looking at the yellow soul ring hovering over the butterfly, Ye Shuyuan said to Ye Qingzhou, "Absorb it. Your grandfather shall stand guard for you."

"Understood, Grandfather."

Ye Qingzhou approached the yellow hundred-year soul ring, sat cross-legged, and began the absorption process.

Ye Shuyuan kept watch over the surrounding environment, maintaining the aura of a Title Douluo at all times.

With the pressure of a Title Douluo acting as a deterrent, not a single soul beast dared to approach.

It was fortunate that they were in the Sunset Forest; had they been in the Star Dou Great Forest, things would have been somewhat more dangerous.

Ye Shuyuan's gaze remained fixed on the weaker soul beasts lurking nearby.

Sensing the aura radiating from Ye Shuyuan, some of the more reckless soul beasts crept toward them, hiding in the tall grass to observe every move made by Ye Shuyuan and Ye Qingzhou.

They dared only to watch from a distance, lacking any intention to advance further.

Ding~

Half an hour later.

Ye Qingzhou successfully finished absorbing his first soul ring.

In his hand, he held the Magnolia, while a yellow first soul ring circled beneath his feet.

Having absorbed his first soul ring, his Soul Power Level did not increase; it remained stalled at level twenty.

It seemed that he would have to absorb his second soul ring before he could continue to advance.

Seeing that Ye Qingzhou had successfully absorbed the ring, Ye Shuyuan asked with concern:

"Little Zhou, has your body experienced any abnormalities or adverse reactions?"

Ye Qingzhou retracted his martial soul, causing the soul ring to dissipate, and looked at Ye Shuyuan while shaking his head:

"None at all, Grandfather."

His body had always been in excellent condition, and he felt no backlash from the soul ring absorption.

Hearing this, Ye Shuyuan breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, a child bathed in the power of a god is different; even his physical constitution far exceeds that of his peers.

"Regarding the effect of your first soul ring..." Ye Shuyuan was interrupted by Ye Qingzhou before he could finish.

"My first soul skill is called Dark Fragrance Bind. Its effect is to release a faint fragrance through the Magnolia. Any enemy within the vicinity of the scent will be paralyzed, unable to move for a short time, and suffer from hallucinogenic effects."

"The duration is ten seconds. If the opportunity arises, I can try to make the control duration increase alongside my level."

Ye Qingzhou had a preliminary plan for this: he hoped that through the help of the divine trials later on, this might truly be achievable.

Ye Shuyuan muttered to himself, "Paralysis and hallucinations—these are the effects of the Sleeping Fragrance Orchid Butterfly's soul skills."

These were secondary, however; the most important factor was the duration: ten seconds.

In a battle between soul masters, ten seconds was enough to decide the outcome of a fight.

If he could truly develop it so that the control duration increased with his soul power, then...

Just imagining Ye Qingzhou as a Title Douluo with such an incredibly long control duration for his first soul skill made Ye Shuyuan gasp.

Terrifying. Truly terrifying.

"Good, that is a truly excellent soul skill," Ye Shuyuan said, looking at his grandson. "Now, let us go obtain your second soul ring."

The second soul ring he had selected for Ye Qingzhou was from a plant-type soul beast, the one most compatible with the Magnolia.

With control secured, the next step was an offensive soul skill.

Although it was perhaps a bit early to acquire an offensive skill—as one would usually prioritize amplification or control-type effects first—it would not waste a soul skill slot.

Even so, having an offensive skill would do no harm to Ye Qingzhou at this early stage; on the contrary, it would provide him with a means to resist soul masters of the same level.

Ye Qingzhou and Ye Shuyuan continued to advance deeper into the Sunset Forest.

Their target this time was the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly, a variant of the Butterfly Flower.

It was extremely rare in the Sunset Forest.

According to the information Ye Shuyuan had obtained, there happened to be a few thousand-year-level Thousand-Blade Jade Butterflies in the forest.

Along the way, while searching for the creature, Ye Shuyuan explained its origins to Ye Qingzhou.

"The Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly is a variant of the Butterfly Flower. Although it is a variant, it is fundamentally different from the standard Butterfly Flower, and its color is usually predominantly white."

"Its petals are wrapped in sharp, blade-like leaves, possessing extremely high damage and powerful piercing capabilities."

Ye Qingzhou had not expected that he would encounter so many plant-type soul beasts upon his arrival.

It must be said that the spirit beasts of the Douluo Continent are truly vast and varied; there is a species for everything.

There are even those that never appeared in the original work.

Through Ye Shuyuan's explanations, Ye Qingzhou learned about many more plant-type spirit beasts.

Soon, they found a Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly wrapped in thorns on a steep cliff face.

Just as Ye Shuyuan had described, from a distance, Ye Qingzhou could clearly see the blade-like petals of the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly.

Ye Shuyuan looked at the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly on the cliff and asked Ye Qingzhou, "My good grandson, are you confident you can absorb a thousand-year-level Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly?"

Ye Qingzhou nodded with great confidence.

"Easy, Grandfather."

His current physical fitness was comparable to that of a nine-year-old—no, an eleven or twelve-year-old boy.

Not to mention, he had been bathed in the power of a god.

His physical condition was top-notch, to the point where girls his age would fall in love at first sight.

Absorbing a thousand-year second spirit ring was a piece of cake.

"Good!" Along the way, Ye Shuyuan had been observing Ye Qingzhou's physical condition.

Based on his observations, absorbing a thousand-year second spirit ring would not be a problem.

He leaped up, and under Ye Qingzhou's watchful gaze, he jumped onto the cliff face.

With another leap, Ye Shuyuan reached the top of the cliff.

Sensing a hostile power approaching, the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly, which had been absorbing solar energy on the cliff, began to flee.

It moved its vines, dragging its entire body as it crawled down the cliff.

Ye Shuyuan's eyes turned cold, and he spoke indifferently, "Trying to escape? Not a chance."

With a single grab, his hand enveloped in dense spirit power fluctuations, the fleeing Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly was uprooted.

Plant-type spirit beasts are inherently fragile.

They are not like normal spirit beasts; when faced with a formidable enemy like a Titled Douluo, they can only be forced to accept their fate of becoming a spirit ring.

The Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly was tossed from the cliff to the ground by Ye Shuyuan.

Even with just a light toss, the damage sustained by the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly was not insignificant.

Ye Shuyuan returned the same way he came, jumping down from the cliff and stepping on the vines of the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly.

The Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly struggled symbolically, as if it had breathed its last, and then lay completely still.

Looking at the motionless Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly, Ye Qingzhou pointed a finger at it and asked Ye Shuyuan with a trembling voice, "Grandfather, you didn't step it to death, did you?"

Ye Shuyuan moved his foot off the vines and gave it a kick; the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly still had a breath left, its body swaying slightly as it moved.

"It's still alive."

"This..." Seeing this scene, Ye Qingzhou felt a bit of sympathy for the Thousand-Blade Jade Butterfly.