Forty-Thousand-Year Emerald Jade Cloud Vine, Tang San's Light of Life Soul Skill

"As for a healing-type plant soul beast with the life attribute that was between thirty and forty thousand years old..."

Dugu Bo turned to Tang San and looked the black-clad girl up and down. She had remained silently behind Gu Qing the entire time. "Girl, is your martial soul Blue Silver Grass?"

Tang San nodded.

"What a coincidence. I once saw a forty-thousand-year Emerald Jade Cloud Vine north of the swamp. It grew over the springhead of an underground hot spring, and it had covered the entire hot spring area. Its vines were filled with dense life force, and it had even turned the spring water pale green.

"Any injured soul beast only needed to soak in that hot spring, and its wounds would heal several times faster. However, that thing had little offensive power and relied entirely on its vines for passive defense. Its age was sufficient, but its combat strength was at the bottom among soul beasts of the same level."

"That's the one." Tang San spoke up on her own initiative.

"Good."

Dugu Bo clapped his hands. "Then we'll head to the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine first. It's easy to deal with, so we'll make this quick. After that, I'll take you to the Thunder Fire Basin.

"To be honest, I want to see that Thunder Fire Phoenix Tree get hunted with my own eyes. It nearly struck me to death back then. Today, I'll finally settle that score."

Dugu Yan could not help interjecting from the side. "Grandpa, I'm coming too!"

"Your injuries haven't healed yet. Stay put." Dugu Bo waved a hand without turning around.

"With the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine's healing power covering us, this little injury of mine will be fine after a soak."

Dugu Yan pointed at Gu Qing. "Besides, with Senior Gu here, what are you afraid of?"

Dugu Bo choked on his words. He looked at his granddaughter, then at Gu Qing, and finally snorted helplessly. "You can come, but don't cause trouble. Listen to Dean Gu's orders the entire time. No acting on your own."

Dugu Yan answered brightly, then led her four teammates along behind the group.

Her dark green snake eyes secretly glanced at Gu Qing's back, and the tips of her ears reddened slightly. When he had handed her the medicine bottle earlier, his fingers had been long and strong, and his voice low and gentle. He seemed like a completely different person from the fierce man who had shattered the Purple Mist Scorpion King's pincer with one punch.

Liu Erlong walked at the back of the group. When she saw the look Dugu Yan gave Gu Qing, her brows furrowed slightly before relaxing again. Forget it! One more girl sneaking looks at him made no difference.

The group passed through the dense forest north of the swamp. The air gradually became warm and moist, no longer carrying the thick stench of decay from the depths of the swamp, but instead a fresh mist tinged with the faint fragrance of grass.

Dugu Bo led the way ahead, his withered hand occasionally brushing aside vines in their path. The moment his fingertips touched those vines, they shriveled by half on their own, as though even plants instinctively feared the deadly poison within him.

After walking for about half an hour, the area ahead suddenly brightened. At the end of the forest, a stretch of emerald-green hot springs appeared before them.

The entire area was covered by a massive network of vines. Those vines extended from a main vine as thick as a water bucket in the center of the hot springs, climbing over ancient trees and rocks around it, weaving everything within a hundred-meter radius into an emerald palace.

Every leaf was crystalline and translucent, with pale golden motes flowing through the veins. They illuminated the entire hot spring area like amber. The spring water was pale green, fine bubbles rose across its surface, and the air was suffused with rich life energy.

Tang San, standing behind Gu Qing, widened her eyes slightly. She could feel the Blue Silver Grass within her body tremble softly. It was the excitement that came only from encountering a higher-level being of the same kind. Like an ordinary person seeing a mountain of gold, it was not fear, but desire.

"A forty-thousand-year Emerald Jade Cloud Vine. A life-attribute soul beast at this level is no longer a mere plant."

Dugu Bo lowered his voice. "Its vines have extremely keen senses. Any unfamiliar aura approaching will trigger its defensive mechanism.

"Do you see the golden motes on those leaves? They are life essence it has accumulated over countless years. Once released, they can instantly heal any wound. To deal with it, we must sever the main vine in a single strike. We cannot give it time to use that essence."

Tang San said nothing. She merely raised her right hand, and Blue Silver Grass spread from her palm. Unlike its usual emerald green, the Blue Silver Grass she released this time carried a faint golden layer over its leaves. That was the power of Earth Vein Rejuvenation.

The Blue Silver Grass vines silently slid into the hot spring along the ground, swaying gently in the water like a school of fish approaching a sleeping whale.

The Emerald Jade Cloud Vine's vines trembled slightly, and the golden motes on its main vine flickered a few times. Yet strangely, its defensive vines did not lash out as Dugu Bo had expected. Instead, they slowly lowered, allowing Tang San's Blue Silver Grass to cling easily to the main vine.

The two life-attribute Soul Powers created a wondrous resonance the instant they came into contact. Tang San could clearly sense the vast life force within the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine, while the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine sensed within her Blue Silver Grass a familiar aura of the same origin, rooted in the earth.

"It's... inviting me," Tang San said softly.

"Blue Silver Grass is the most inclusive martial soul among all plant-type soul beasts. Your Earth Vein Rejuvenation came from the source of the earth, sharing the same origin as the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine's life attribute. It doesn't see you as an enemy. It sees you as one of its own." Gu Qing leaned against a tree trunk and explained patiently.

Tang San nodded. Her hand grasped the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine's main vine, and Blue Silver Grass wound upward along it, wrapping around the emerald vine layer by layer.

The Emerald Jade Cloud Vine let out an exceedingly gentle hum, like a sigh and yet like a blessing. Its leaves began turning into pale green motes one by one, peeling away from the main vine and scattering through the air like a swarm of fireflies.

Those pale green motes did not disperse. Instead, they flowed into Tang San's body along the Blue Silver Grass, merging into her meridians and gathering into a warm halo deep within her dantian. The entire process was exceptionally quiet. There was no struggle, no resistance, only a nearly sacred transfer of life.

Tang San sat cross-legged in the middle of the hot spring and closed her eyes. A deep black soul ring rose from the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine's dissolving main vine and slowly merged into her body.

The instant the soul ring entered her body, a gentle emerald glow lit up around her. Ripples spread outward from her across the water, and wherever each ring of ripples passed, the grass along the banks visibly grew more lush.

Wild grass that had only reached knee height shot up to waist height within three breaths. Several withered shrubs sprouted fresh green buds again, and even the air carried the refreshing scent of clear skies after rain.

About two hours later, Tang San opened her eyes. A faint emerald sheen had appeared deep within her pupils, and her aura had become gentler yet more profound.

She raised her right hand, and a delicate emerald blade of grass bloomed in her palm. Faint golden motes flowed across it, identical to the light that had shone on the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine's leaves.

"Fourth soul skill—Blue Silver Light of Life."

Her voice remained calm, but Gu Qing could hear the faint satisfaction hidden within it.

"With the power of life, it purifies the mind and heals injuries, while increasing my own vitality by fifty percent. Unlike Earth Vein Rejuvenation's continuous recovery, this is an explosive, powerful single-target healing skill. If the target has been poisoned, it can detoxify them at the same time."

She paused, then added another sentence. A flash of pride passed through her eyes. "After absorbing the Emerald Jade Cloud Vine, the vitality and resilience of my Blue Silver Grass have doubled, and the endurance of Blue Silver Rampart has increased considerably as well."