Ye Lingling, Ye Qingyi

After quite a while, Xiao Yin finally sat up amid the wreckage.

His eyes flashed with fervor as he looked at the purple soul ring before him!

"Devour... the soul ring!"

Bzz—!

The Taotie phantom opened its enormous jaws, and a powerful suction force enveloped the purple soul ring.

The soul ring struggled and resisted, but it was ultimately dragged over by force and slowly descended onto Xiao Yin!

Boom—!

An energy torrent ten times more intense than when he had absorbed the thousand-year soul ring surged into Xiao Yin's body in an instant!

"Ah—!!!"

Xiao Yin failed to hold back a howl!

His body trembled violently, veins bulging across his skin as though they were about to burst!

The berserk energy rampaged through his meridians, and tearing agony swept through his entire body!

"Refine it... for me!"

Xiao Yin's eyes were bloodshot, and blood began seeping from all seven of his orifices!

It was a long and agonizing process.

Xiao Yin's consciousness struggled repeatedly on the brink of unbearable pain and unconsciousness, supported solely by his ruthless refusal to yield.

Who knew how long passed before Xiao Yin abruptly opened his eyes!

Two concentrated rays of light shot from his eyes, almost tangible in their intensity!

Level twenty-four!

Soul Grandmaster!

A second soul ring of two thousand five hundred years!

Second Soul Skill: Soul Devour: When attacking an opponent, it could devour 20% of the target's Soul Power and feed it back to the user. Excess Soul Power could be converted into a shield!

This was... a mana-stealing blade??

After learning the details of his second soul skill, Xiao Yin was a little speechless.

First Soul Skill + Second Soul Skill = Blood Drinking Sword + mana-stealing blade!

Was he a perpetual motion machine?!

But... this young master liked it!

A smile tugged at Xiao Yin's lips. Struggling to his feet, he ignored the pain and wounds covering his body and walked over to the Earth Fire Dragon Lizard's massive corpse.

He activated Devour once more, turning its remains entirely into nourishment for the Taotie!

Just as Xiao Yin refined the energy fed back to him by the Taotie Martial Soul, an extremely faint set of footsteps suddenly came from the forest behind and to his side.

The footsteps were cautious and clearly wary, yet they were not deliberately concealed.

Xiao Yin's heart tightened!

"Who's there?!"

Xiao Yin forcibly halted part of his refinement and immediately stored away the Earth Fire Dragon Lizard's remains before him.

He suddenly opened his eyes and shouted sharply.

Turning sideways, he swept his bloodshot eyes warily toward the source of the sound.

Three people gradually emerged at the edge of the forest.

At the front was a woman who looked to be around thirty, tall and voluptuous.

She wore a fitted moon-white outfit that perfectly outlined her mature, alluring curves.

The most eye-catching feature was the astonishingly full curve of her chest, which seemed ready to burst from the tight outfit!

It rose and fell slightly with her somewhat hurried breaths, forming a breathtaking sight.

Yet this sensuality did not seem vulgar. Instead, it was tempered by the gentle, tranquil air between her brows.

Like a ripe peach, she radiated a rich yet restrained fragrance.

Her features were exquisite, her skin fair and delicate, and her smooth dark-blue hair was simply gathered behind her head, revealing a slender, elegant swan-like neck.

At that moment, her blue eyes were fixed on the bloody battlefield before her and the boy sitting cross-legged in a pool of blood, filled with undisguised shock.

Beside her, pressed close to her side, was a little girl who looked only fourteen or fifteen.

The girl also had short dark-blue hair, and her small face was delicate and pale.

Her large eyes held a complicated mix of curiosity and an inexplicable sense of closeness as she timidly looked at Xiao Yin.

Half a step behind this exceptionally poised mother and daughter stood a middle-aged woman in black leather armor, with a shortsword at her waist.

Hmm... She looked like an attendant or guard, so she was not important!

"Sorry to disturb you."

The mature woman at the front spoke first.

Ye Qingyi's voice was warm and gentle, carrying a strange soothing power that instantly diluted the bloodshed and ferocity hanging in the air.

"We mean no harm. We were merely passing by and were drawn here by the fluctuations from the battle... Your injuries look serious."

Indeed, Xiao Yin was bare-chested at the moment. There was a deep gash in his left shoulder that exposed the bone, while large patches of his back were scorched black and bruised.

Ye Qingyi's gaze fell upon the savage wounds on Xiao Yin's body. Her brows furrowed slightly, and genuine concern appeared in her eyes.

That concern was not an act. It was the 30% favorability granted by [Vegetation Affinity] taking effect!

Ye Lingling also instinctively clutched the hem of her mother's clothes. The fear in her light-blue eyes lessened, replaced by a trace of concern for Xiao Yin's injuries.

Her little mouth opened slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she did not dare.

Xiao Yin's taut nerves did not relax.

But he could clearly sense an extraordinarily pure, gentle life aura emanating from the pair who appeared to be mother and daughter.

Especially from the mature woman—her aura brimmed with vitality.

Not only did this aura carry no hostility, but it even seemed to ease the searing pain caused by the berserk energy within him and his injuries.

The little girl's pure gaze in particular also dispelled much of the hostility in his heart.

"Passing by?"

Xiao Yin's voice was wary. "It's dangerous here. You'd better leave."

As he spoke, he secretly accelerated the refinement of the remaining energy in his body, while keeping part of his attention on guard against any sudden mishap.

Watching Xiao Yin endure the pain while remaining vigilant, the concern driven by Ye Qingyi's favorable impression of him deepened.

She said softly, "We came to obtain a second soul ring for my daughter. We searched the outer region for several days without success, so we entered the mixed zone.

...You are too badly injured. If you are not treated promptly, it may damage your foundation. I..."

She paused, seemingly hesitant, but the natural goodwill brought by [Vegetation Affinity] ultimately gained the upper hand.

"My martial soul is the Nine-Heart Begonia. Perhaps I can help stabilize your injuries."

Nine-Heart Begonia?!

Xiao Yin's heart jolted!

It was actually the top-tier healing-type tool martial soul—the Nine-Heart Begonia!

No wonder her life aura was so pure and vast!

Then that little girl who seemed somewhat socially anxious was Ye Lingling?!

Thinking of this, Xiao Yin could not help but sigh. What a coincidence!

Although he also wanted to experience being healed, who knew whether they had other intentions?

Just as he weighed the pros and cons, preparing to politely decline and leave this troublesome place as quickly as possible—

[Ding! A strongly related wish has been detected! Task matched successfully!]

[Task source: Otherworld No. [6958], the dying regret of gardening master 'Old John'.]

[Wish core: 'My rare begonia flower... I still haven't found the most suitable place for it to grow...']

[Task objective: Assist Ye Lingling in successfully obtaining a second soul ring of at least eight hundred years that is highly compatible with the Nine-Heart Begonia. Requirement: The soul beast's quality must be 'Excellent' or above.]

[Task deadline: Before Ye Lingling successfully absorbs the soul ring.]

[Task reward: Wish Value +500; [Seed of Life] ×1 (can greatly increase the potential of plant-type martial souls); deep favorability from Ye Qingyi and Ye Lingling (hidden).]

[Failure penalty: The host will attract all carnivorous soul beasts within a ten-mile radius for three days.]

Xiao Yin: "..."