The Madam Seems Eager Too

Entering the depths of the cave, Lin Nuo looked around with great interest.

Rough excavation marks could be seen everywhere on the rock walls, clearly the handiwork of that Tang Hao.

Yet the farther he went, the more the cold, damp, moldy stench in the air assaulted his nose.

Even without having specifically studied agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, or fisheries, Lin Nuo knew the basic fact that plants needed sunlight.

"Planting a blade of grass in a cave that never sees daylight year-round... Could the truth behind the Blue Silver Emperor's sacrifice really be as those unofficial Douluo Continent histories claimed?"

Back then, the Clear Sky Sect had hoped to create another Peak Douluo with a Hundred-Thousand-Year ninth Soul Ring, expecting him to break through his shackles and reach the realm of Tang Chen, the pinnacle of humanity, then lead the sect to suppress Spirit Hall.

So, after Tang Hao's father had discussed it with Tang Hao, he anonymously delivered Ah Yin's whereabouts straight to former Pope Qian Xunji's desk?

That was how the classic drama of a beloved wife sacrificing herself came to be.

Now that he had conducted an on-site inspection, Lin Nuo discovered that Tang Hao's calculations were likely not limited to that.

According to the rules of Douluo Continent, the stronger both parents' bloodlines were, the higher the quality of the Martial Soul inheritance.

Tang Hao was a genius seen only once in a century, while Ah Yin was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form. Their child's talent was undoubtedly monstrous.

But here was the problem: with a supreme bloodline like the Blue Silver Emperor, only one could survive in any given era.

Lin Nuo had every reason to suspect that Tang Hao feared the Blue Silver Emperor's domineering bloodline would take the lead when his son awakened his Martial Soul.

Since the Blue Silver Emperor had entered the Tang Clan, it had to remain firmly in the hands of the Tang Clan, and its inheritor could only be Tang San.

That was why he had deliberately thrown Ah Yin, who had reverted to a seed, into this pitch-black, miserable cave and left her to fend for herself, suppressing her growth.

As for whether there had truly been love between those two?

Perhaps there had been a little.

But before the sect's interests, carved into Tang Hao's very bones, his so-called beloved wife ultimately had to take a back seat.

"Tsk, tsk. What a pitiful little blade of grass."

Shaking his head and clicking his tongue, Lin Nuo continued deeper along the winding passage.

Before long, his view suddenly opened up, and he arrived at a massive stone chamber bearing obvious signs of artificial excavation.

A weak beam of light poured down from overhead, striking the exact center of the stone chamber.

Lin Nuo looked up and saw that a hole the size of a bowl had been forcibly carved into the high ceiling.

Sunlight could only slant in through that cramped passage, illuminating tiny motes of dust dancing in the cold, damp air.

Following the descending beam of light, Lin Nuo lowered his gaze.

There stood a lonely little mound of earth, about half a meter high.

A slender blue-gold blade of grass was struggling to spread its leaves, greedily soaking up that miserable sliver of sunlight.

Among Soul Beasts, bloodline had always been paramount. Higher-level bloodlines possessed an innate suppressive force over lower-level ones.

Lin Nuo deliberately leaked a trace of the cold aura belonging to the top predator, the Death Spider Emperor.

The Blue Silver Grass, which had been faintly spreading its leaves only a moment ago, instantly became like a startled quail. Its blades uncontrollably curled together as it trembled.

"Madam, don't be afraid."

Lin Nuo crouched down, a gentle, spring-breeze smile on his face.

"Since I have taken your fortune, Madam's enemies will henceforth be my enemies.

Anyone who has harmed Madam, I absolutely will not spare a single one."

"Of course, I have always been a reasonable man.

If Madam disagrees, she may speak up and stop me now.

If you remain silent, then I will take it as Madam's consent."

Ah Yin, in the state of a Seed of Life, was naturally not entirely unconscious. She was simply far too weak.

Now, struck by the terrifying aura of a superior being emanating from Lin Nuo, she immediately woke up.

When she heard Lin Nuo's shameless words, Ah Yin felt utterly miserable.

Unable to make a sound, she could only desperately sway her slender blades of grass in frantic resistance, every vein seeming to spell out refusal.

"See? I knew Madam was righteous and understanding.

Just look at those blades waving. It seems Madam can no longer wait to admire the prosperity of this grand age with me."

Lin Nuo sighed, putting on a compassionate expression.

"Such enthusiasm is truly difficult for me to refuse."

From Ah Yin's hazy perspective, this smiling human approaching her was even more terrifying than the most savage Soul Beast.

Every step he took felt like the Grim Reaper stepping upon her faint heartbeat.

Lin Nuo stopped before the mound, then mercilessly reached out and yanked up the faintly glowing Blue Silver Emperor by its roots, casually brushing the dirt from them.

Originally, Lin Nuo had intended to directly devour and refine the Blue Silver Emperor's Seed of Life.

But on second thought, his Martial Soul's attributes were fundamentally incompatible with the Blue Silver Emperor's pure life attribute.

On Douluo Continent, the only one who could probably turn extremes into their opposites was that Scourge of the Undead from ten thousand years later.

If he forcefully consumed it now, there was no telling what adverse effects might arise.

"Forget it. I'll make plans slowly after reaching Heaven Dou City."

Lin Nuo stuffed Ah Yin's Seed of Life into a small flowerpot he had prepared in advance, wrapped it securely, and casually hung it at his lower back.

Having packed up the Tang Clan's madam, Lin Nuo turned to handle his real business.

He had not forgotten that the true opportunity was still here.

Lin Nuo searched the surroundings, roughly scraping aside the thick moss coating the rocks. In the end, his gaze locked onto a tiny protrusion of slightly lighter color.

"It was hidden quite deeply."

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Nuo brought his five fingers together, mobilized the surging Soul Power within him, and slammed his palm decisively onto the protrusion.

Bang—

Amid the dull impact, the heavy rock wall gave a faint tremor.

Immediately afterward, a crisp click of interlocking mechanisms sounded from above.

As gravel and dust rained down, a hidden compartment suddenly split open near the top of the stone wall.

An ancient black wooden box slid out and crashed heavily at Lin Nuo's feet, kicking up a visible ring of dust.

Staring at the unremarkable black box on the ground, Lin Nuo could no longer hide the burning heat and greed in his eyes.

He hurried forward two steps.

Click.

The crisp sound of the latch springing open was like thunder in the deathly silent stone chamber.

The instant the lid was lifted, there were no flashy effects—only an immense life fluctuation so vast it suffocated, crashing straight into him like floodwaters bursting through a dam!

The aura possessed both the gentle silence of spring rain nourishing all things and the profound weight of a vast ocean. In merely one breath, it forcibly filled the entire dark stone chamber.

Lin Nuo focused his eyes.

At the center of the wooden box lay a leg Spirit Bone, clear and translucent like Blue Gold Glaze.

The bone's outline was flawless, and dazzling patterns resembling the human body's meridians flowed across its crystalline surface.

Every flicker and flow of light was like steady breathing, exuding a vivid and astonishing rhythm of life.