"I happen to know where we can find a suitable life-attributed Plant-type Soul Beast. Follow me; this'll save us a lot of time."
Seeing Tang Ya take his advice, Su Qing smiled with satisfaction. He turned and spoke gently.
With this, now that she'd changed the direction of her cultivation, reaching Soul Douluo would be no problem at all. As for that Blue Silver Emperor in the Sun Moon Empire, he'd reserve it for Tang Ya ahead of time.
"Okay!"
The group followed Su Qing until they reached a stretch of barren land. Under their puzzled gazes, Su Qing pointed to a patch of green clinging to a cliff face in the distance.
"This is a two-thousand-year-old Myriad Spirit Green Heart Vine. It's not as tough as Diamond Vine, but it has an abundance of vitality and an astonishing ability to regenerate. A Thunder Hell Vine used to grow here, but it self-destructed after cultivating to the end. Nothing should have been able to grow here afterward, but somehow this Myriad Spirit Green Heart Vine sprouted, and it's survived ever since."
Su Qing led everyone to the foot of the cliff and explained, pointing at the green vine. Bi Ji had told him all this. When he'd thought about the path focused on vitality that Tang Ya might take in the future, he'd asked Bi Ji about it. Unfortunately, the vitality of the Emerald Swan clan wasn't the same as that of Blue Silver Grass. Still, Bi Ji had recommended several suitable Plant-type Soul Beasts, and the Myriad Spirit Green Heart Vine was one of them.
"Xiao Ya-jie, this Soul Beast has another special trait: you don't need to kill it to obtain its Soul Ring. You only need to take a third of its body, and you'll get the Soul Ring it produces. The missing part will grow back within ten years."
The three of them looked shocked. Other than Huo Yuhao, they'd all heard one thing or another about how hardy Plant-type Soul Beasts were. But this was the first time they'd heard of one being able to survive having its Soul Ring taken.
"That's amazing!!! But... it's so high up. How am I supposed to get a piece of its vine?"
Looking at the cliff face, hundreds of meters tall, Tang Ya was stumped. She couldn't obtain the Soul Ring of a Soul Beast someone else had hunted, but there was no way she could climb that high. She really wanted this Soul Ring, but if she couldn't reach it, she'd just have to give up.
"Climbing up would be difficult, but Xiao Ya-jie, you can fly."
Seeing Tang Ya hesitate, Su Qing's brow relaxed into a smile. Under the effect of Light-Dark Intertwining, his First Soul Ring lit up beneath his feet. Tang Ya suddenly felt something appear behind her, supporting her. She turned and glimpsed a pair of transparent wings. She immediately realized Su Qing was helping her.
Without Su Qing deliberately controlling them, Tang Ya could control the wings on her back however she wished. It was her first time flying, but if all she had to do was fly up and pluck off a piece of vine, she could manage that easily.
Actually, Su Qing's Wind-Gathering Wing-Weaving could only attach wings to someone who wasn't on guard. But most people wouldn't think to guard against a Soul Skill with no offensive power, so used flexibly, it could catch people off guard most of the time.
"All right, Xiao Ya-jie, come down for now. Once you've absorbed the Soul Ring, you'll have plenty of time to fly around."
Seeing Tang Ya start darting around in the air after grabbing the vine, Su Qing couldn't help thinking that she was still the same Xiao Ya-jie as ever. She hadn't lost her playful streak...
"Xiao Qing, does this Soul Skill use up a lot of Soul Power?"
After finally getting Tang Ya to settle down and focus on absorbing the Soul Ring, Bei Bei couldn't help asking out of curiosity. He wanted to experience flying, too, but if keeping the Soul Skill active would drain Su Qing's Soul Power, he'd let it go. They were about to leave the Star Dou Great Forest, and if they ran into danger on the way with their Soul Power depleted, they'd be at a serious disadvantage.
"My Soul Skill has two uses. One is a short-range, straight-line burst of movement that I control. The other is to give someone else wings made of condensed wind, so they can fly on their own. The first uses a lot of Soul Power, but the second hardly uses any."
There was no need for Su Qing to hide the Soul Skills he showed openly. As far as anyone else knew, his Soul Skill setup consisted of Wind-Gathering Wing-Weaving, concealing his presence, and Imprint from the Silver Hero Beast.
Besides, he could tell from Bei Bei's face why he'd asked. Since it wasn't a probe with ulterior motives, there was no need to be guarded.
"I see. Then, could you let me try flying, too?"
The cat was out of the bag. Once Bei Bei learned the Soul Skill wouldn't use much Soul Power, he relaxed and put forward his bold request. Aside from flying-type Soul Masters, people on the mainland needed to reach Soul Saint or higher to fly. Now that the chance to fly on his own was right in front of him, he just couldn't resist.
"Of course."
Su Qing smiled faintly. His Soul Ring flashed beneath his feet, and Bei Bei immediately rose into the air.
"Big Brother Su..."
Before Su Qing could sit down to guard Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao's timid voice reached him. From those first three words, Su Qing guessed what he wanted: he wanted to experience flying, too. Since he could guard Tang Ya well enough, he granted Huo Gua's request.
About an hour and a half later, Tang Ya finally finished absorbing the Soul Ring.
Unlike the sluggish feeling she'd had when circulating Soul Power during her previous Soul Ring absorptions, this Soul Ring seemed tailor-made for her. Her Soul Power flowed effortlessly, and its circulation speed had increased dramatically. She was overjoyed, and couldn't help looking at Su Qing with eyes full of gratitude.
"Xiao Ya-jie, what kind of Soul Skill did you get?"
When Tang Ya opened her eyes, Su Qing immediately looked at her with curiosity. Honestly, he couldn't guess what ability she'd gained from absorbing this Soul Ring. It couldn't be something like regrowing severed limbs, could it? That would be far too overpowered.
"Hehe, I was just about to tell you. Watch."
As she spoke, Tang Ya's Third Soul Ring glimmered beneath her feet. A handful of seeds appeared in her hand. She flung them out, and the moment they hit the ground, they grew like mad, almost instantly enveloping the two of them. And that wasn't all. The rapidly growing vines kept scattering more seeds, which behaved almost exactly like the ones Tang Ya had thrown.
In a mere fifteen minutes, this small patch of barren land had become a Blue Silver Forest.
"? Xiao Ya-jie, you grew so much Blue Silver Grass in such a short time. Doesn't that use up all your Soul Power?"
Even Su Qing was astonished by the Blue Silver vines, which seemed to blot out the sky. Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was far too versatile.
"When the first seeds are produced, it uses Soul Power. The more seeds, the more Soul Power it takes. But once the seeds hit the ground, their growth has nothing to do with me. The seeds scattered afterward don't use up my Soul Power, either. And the Blue Silver vines that grow are completely under my control. In other words, as long as I want, I can create an entire Blue Silver Forest under my command anytime! Hahahaha!"
This Soul Skill really was overpowered. If a Soul Elder or Soul Ancestor with a comparable setup dragged out a fight, they'd lose any chance of defeating Tang Ya. This Soul Skill made her nearly invincible in a war of attrition. If Su Qing's guess was right, Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was much tougher now, too. Faint white markings had even appeared on the vines. This was a sign that it was about to evolve into the Blue Silver King.
"Eh? Speaking of which, where are Bei Bei and the others?"