Six years had passed, yet little had changed in Holy Soul Village. It remained as plain as ever.
Gu Han had brought Xiao Wu back to Holy Soul Village, not for nostalgia, but because they had a clear goal.
The two crossed the familiar village and arrived at the roaring waterfall. Mist billowed constantly from it, refracting into tiny rainbows.
"Gu Han, what are we doing here?"
Xiao Wu looked around curiously, though the Soul Power here did feel somewhat unusual.
Gu Han didn't answer. He focused his gaze on the area behind the waterfall.
With his Karma Sight, he could clearly see a layer of Soul Power barrier sealing off the cave behind it. Karma threads, much like the branches and leaves of Blue Silver Grass, were tangled across its surface.
"So it really is here." Gu Han's eyes narrowed.
He was now a Soul King, and he had become exceptionally skilled at controlling the Karma Scissors.
Besides Fiber Severing and Karma Sight, the three Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skills that had formed after the Karma Scissors were exactly suited to this situation.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Karma Stripping." Gu Han gave a low shout. The phantom of the Karma Scissors in his palm glowed, and a wave of Soul Power shot toward the barrier.
This Soul Skill could temporarily sever a target's connection to a specific cause and effect. In this case, it would sever the barrier's connection to Tang Hao, keeping him from noticing anything.
The karma threads connecting the barrier to Tang Hao trembled violently, their light rapidly dimming.
The barrier remained, but most of its connection to Tang Hao had been temporarily severed.
"Fifth Soul Skill, Karma Erosion."
Then Gu Han unleashed his fifth Soul Skill, which was nearly at the Hundred-Thousand-Year level. A faint red hue clung to its Soul Ring.
A force of erosive karma wound around the barrier, now cut off from its source, slowly corroding it at the level of its underlying laws.
After a while, the sturdy barrier melted away like snow. At last, with a soft pop, it vanished completely.
"Let's go in."
Gu Han took Xiao Wu's hand, and they passed through the waterfall in an instant, entering the dark cave.
The cave was dim, but at its center, a distinctive Blue Silver Grass grew quietly.
Its leaves were broad, marked with faint golden lines. A weak aura of life and a subtle royal pressure radiated from it.
"This is..."
The moment Xiao Wu entered the cave, the Blue Silver Grass caught her attention.
She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast herself, and she immediately sensed the presence of one of her kind.
Xiao Wu hurried over and crouched down, gently stroking the golden-marked leaves. Her eyes filled with sorrow.
"Aunt Ah Yin... is that you?"
Xiao Wu's voice trembled. She could sense a familiar soul fluctuation coming from the Blue Silver Grass.
The Blue Silver Grass's leaves swayed gently, giving off a soft glow, as though answering Xiao Wu.
Gu Han stepped forward too, looking at the Blue Silver Emperor with a sigh. After a brief pause, he spoke to the Blue Silver Grass:
"Senior Ah Yin, I'm Gu Han. Forgive me for visiting so abruptly. I didn't mean to disturb your rest."
The Blue Silver Grass swayed again.
Xiao Wu acted as their translator. She could communicate simple thoughts with plant-type Soul Beasts.
"Aunt Ah Yin says she sensed a familiar presence and wants to know why I recognize her."
Xiao Wu relayed this, her eyes reddening. "She's asking who we are and how we got in."
Gu Han looked at the Blue Silver Grass and spoke calmly. "Senior Ah Yin, I mean you no disrespect."
"There's just one thing I don't understand. Tang Hao keeps saying he's always loved you, so why did he leave you alone in this lightless cave?"
"If he really cared about you, shouldn't he have searched the whole continent for rare treasures to help you recover?"
"Or at least placed you somewhere safe and suitable for plants to grow?"
His words were like sharp thorns. When Xiao Wu conveyed them, the Blue Silver Grass's swaying suddenly stopped for a moment, and the golden patterns on its leaves dimmed.
A wave of sorrow and confusion spread through the cave.
That was true. If he really loved her, why had he left her in this lightless place?
Seeing this, Gu Han pressed his advantage. He turned his palm over, and a small piece of Breath Soil appeared in his hand, brimming with vitality as though it held the very source of life for an entire world.
"By a stroke of luck, I obtained this divine treasure, Breath Soil. It contains immense vitality and is the ideal soil for nourishing plant-type Soul Beasts."
"If you trust me, I'm willing to transplant you into the Breath Soil and take you away from this lightless place."
Sensing the vast, pure life energy of the Breath Soil, Ah Yin's Blue Silver Grass body trembled violently.
It was a desire born from the instinct of life itself. Gu Han's earlier words had also touched her deepest doubts, and Xiao Wu's presence reassured her greatly.
At last, the Blue Silver Grass sent out a gentle thought.
Xiao Wu raised her head and spoke to Gu Han:
"Aunt Ah Yin says she's willing to trust us. She says she doesn't want to be alone here anymore..."
Hearing this, Gu Han carefully enveloped Ah Yin's roots with Soul Power and lifted her whole from the soil. Then he gently placed her on the seemingly small patch of Breath Soil, which held an immense reserve of life energy within.
As soon as the Breath Soil touched Ah Yin's roots, it began to glow. Pure life energy poured into the Blue Silver Grass, and the golden lines on its leaves seemed to deepen.
With a thought, Gu Han stored the Breath Soil bearing Ah Yin in his system space.
The system space was self-contained, and its environment could be adjusted to Gu Han's will. It had already been set to a warm, humid climate, ideal for plant growth.
[ Ding, ding, ding! Congratulations, host, on taking Ah Yin away from this lightless cave! [And on causing Ah Yin's trust in Tang Hao to crack while deepening her trust in the host!] [Reward: 1,000 Modification Points. Reward: Second Martial Soul, Heavenly Frost Sword!]
"I almost forgot, there's still a Soul Bone to get." The moment Gu Han thought of the Soul Bone, he immediately used his first Soul Skill, Karma Sight. Soon, he spotted a karma thread tightly connected to Ah Yin, now inside the system space...
"Let's go. There's nothing else worth taking here now." Gu Han took Xiao Wu's hand and passed through the waterfall once more, leaving the cave as though they had never been there.
Gu Han was in a hurry to leave and didn't pay any attention to the system's rewards.
About the time it takes to burn one incense stick after Gu Han and the others had left,
a burly figure fell from the sky like a meteor and slammed down before the waterfall. It was Tang Hao.
He had been in a nearby town when a sudden pang of dread struck him, and he lost contact with the barrier he had set up around the cave behind the waterfall.
He had rushed back in a frenzy. Now he stared at the empty cave and the patch of ground where the Blue Silver Grass had clearly been dug up.
"Ah Yin!!!"
A heart-rending roar burst from Tang Hao's mouth. The waterfall itself surged backward, and the surrounding mountains and forests trembled.
His eyes turned blood-red. The Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul appeared against his will, its nine Soul Rings flashing madly. Vast amounts of Soul Power poured out of him uncontrollably, instantly grinding the surrounding rocks and trees to dust.
"Who was it?! Who stole my Ah Yin?! Show yourself!!"
His helpless fury filled the mountain forest.
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