Xu Xiao and the others saw it.
A massive, sturdy stalk of Blue Silver Grass, glowing blue and gold, stood among them.
Golden stripes ran across the Blue Silver Grass, making it seem incomparably noble and pure!
The ethereal, gentle voice had come from her.
"Xiao Lan, don't be rude."
The gentle voice immediately scolded the other Blue Silver Grass beside her.
That Blue Silver Grass didn't glow blue and gold. Beside her, it seemed rather ordinary, lacking that noble air.
Even so, its strength was not to be underestimated.
"S-she spoke..."
Yue Guan swallowed. "B-Big Brother, is this a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"
Gui Mei and Yue Guan were both trembling, repeatedly casting pleading looks at Xu Xiao.
They weren't sure whether it was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, but anything that could speak was surely powerful. Even if it wasn't one, it couldn't be far off.
Their trembling bodies even drew a look of disdain from the Blue Silver King.
Xu Xiao gestured for them not to worry. Seeing his calm, unruffled expression, the two of them were left unsure what to think.
Big Brother, are you really not afraid to die?
No, wait. Big Brother really wasn't afraid of dying. He hadn't flinched even when facing Chen Jianjun, and he'd even boldly made demands.
Once they thought it through, Yue Guan and Gui Mei relaxed.
The Blue Silver Emperor's words left the Blue Silver King with nothing more to say, and he lowered the three of them to the ground.
Xu Xiao looked the Blue Silver Emperor up and down. She hadn't taken human form yet; she was still a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
At that moment, Xu Xiao finally understood why the flowers and grasses in Sunset Forest knew about the Emperor.
Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts weren't legless. Someone like Ah Yin could easily leave Blue Silver Forest.
Otherwise, the Blue Silver Emperor wouldn't have wanted to take human form. After all, the human world was a dazzling, tempting place, and for pure-hearted Soul Beasts like them, its allure was considerable.
The Blue Silver Emperor carefully sensed the aura around Yue Guan. The aura of the Emperor had already vanished.
"Can you tell me why you carry the aura of an Emperor?"
"I can sense that your Emperor's rank is even higher than mine."
The Blue Silver Emperor spoke gently. Through the messages carried by the Blue Silver Grass, she knew the three of them meant no harm.
The Blue Silver Emperor reached out with a vine and wrapped it around Yue Guan. After sensing him, she confirmed he had no Emperor's bloodline, though the rich aura of plants still clung to him.
"Though he isn't an Emperor, his Martial Soul is among the very best of the plants."
"Young friends, it must be fate that brought you here."
The Blue Silver Emperor formed stools from vines and invited them to sit, doing her best to show her goodwill.
"Young friend, I expect you came here because you need something from me."
"But before that, would you tell me about the human world?"
The Blue Silver Emperor made no attempt at small talk. From Xu Xiao's words, she'd gathered they had come with a purpose, so she asked plainly and directly.
At that, Xu Xiao understood: the Blue Silver Emperor was already interested in the human world.
The Blue Silver King hurriedly spoke up. "Emperor, they're strangers whose origins are unknown. You..."
He didn't get to finish before the Blue Silver Emperor interrupted him. "Xiao Lan, what kind of trouble do you think a Soul Master at level 20 and two Soul Grandmasters could cause in front of us?"
The Blue Silver King fell silent. Their strength was far too low—so low that a single lash of his vine could kill them.
It was precisely because Xu Xiao and the others were weak that the Blue Silver Emperor had let down her guard. She was kind by nature and didn't believe three weak humans like them posed any threat.
"But, Emperor, I'm worried about you!" The Blue Silver King understood the Blue Silver Emperor's thoughts all too well.
She had cultivated for a hundred thousand years already. As the Blue Silver Emperor, advancing any further would be incredibly difficult.
And the Emperor had often gone out over the years. She was already showing signs of wanting to take human form and cultivate anew. How could he, as the Blue Silver King, not worry?
He knew how devious humans could be. But as her subject, he could only offer subtle warnings; he didn't dare press her too hard.
How could Xu Xiao and the others' arrival not set off alarm bells for him?
He feared their presence would make his Emperor waver even more, and strengthen her desire to take human form.
Xu Xiao immediately spoke up. "The human world is full of treacherous hearts and endless schemes..."
Before Xu Xiao could finish, the Blue Silver King cut in sharply. "Hmph! The human world isn't as wonderful as you make it sound..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized something was off. Treacherous hearts? Endless schemes? That wasn't what he'd expected.
"Wait, wait. Weren't you supposed to say humans are wonderful?"
Xu Xiao spread his hands. "There's good, and there's bad. Doesn't everything have two sides?"
Xu Xiao's words made the Blue Silver King pause. After all those years, he knew that everything had two sides.
He just couldn't understand it. Surely this human had noticed how much his Emperor longed to see the human world. So why was he the first to speak ill of it?
"Little one, go on." The Blue Silver Emperor was curious. Here was a human who wasn't speaking up for humanity.
Xu Xiao shook his head. "Blue Silver Emperor, the only way to truly understand is to experience it for yourself!"
The Blue Silver King froze. Case closed. So this was what the boy was up to.
That boy was no good. He actually wanted to trick his Emperor into leaving! Humans really were devious!
"Hmph. Human, you're quite the schemer," the Blue Silver King said with a soft snort.
Xu Xiao smiled and spread his hands. "Senior Blue Silver King, that's not fair. Your Emperor wants to visit the human world too, doesn't she?"
"I said the human world was full of treachery. Wasn't I helping you dissuade her?"
The Blue Silver King rolled his eyes. Whether that was really what you meant is something you know best.
The Blue Silver Emperor chuckled. This human was rather interesting. "All right, let's leave that aside for now. Little one, tell me why you came to see me."
"As long as you're not asking me to help you obtain a Soul Ring or anything like that, I don't mind helping you once, for this young friend's sake."
The young friend the Blue Silver Emperor meant was Yue Guan, since he, too, carried the Emperor's aura.
Xu Xiao stood up, and Yue Guan and Gui Mei quickly followed suit.
Xu Xiao said, "Thank you, Blue Silver Emperor."
"I do have a favor to ask."
"I'd like the Emperor to take me to a certain place when I reach level 50."
"There won't be any danger to my life, and no Soul Beasts will be harmed."
Xu Xiao's plan this time had been to build a good relationship with the Blue Silver Emperor. Whether she took human form later or not, the important thing was to get on good terms first.
And to build a good relationship with the Blue Silver Emperor, he naturally had to treat her with the same sincerity she showed him. She'd been so direct; if he hid the truth and she found out later, he'd be the one in trouble.
And later on, he planned to use the Blue Silver Emperor to open the door to the Soul Beast Clan.
No matter how you looked at it, he'd treated Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts so well. Di Tian couldn't just start pounding him the moment they met, could he?
Sure, there was a hint of using the Blue Silver Emperor in it, but his feelings were sincere, too.
He'd already said it from the start: people were full of schemes!
As for why level 50, by then Xu Xiao was confident he'd understand his Martial Soul, and everything would be more or less on track.