Hundred-Year Soul Ring

Shan Hai Village, Ling Family, inside Ling Yi's room.

At this moment, Ling Yi was not in his room, but in a secret chamber three meters beneath the bed.

Ling Yi had laid more than thirty slender bamboo tubes along the walls and ceiling of the secret chamber, connecting them to the room above, the main room of the house, the kitchen, the courtyard, and other places, so it did not feel stuffy.

The chamber's concealment was only average, and it was not meant to keep out any enemies. It merely existed to buy Ling Yi some time to react in unexpected situations.

At this moment, Ling Yi once again moved the more than eight hundred Blue Silver Grass plants he had gradually transported back from the academy over the past two years from the room above into the secret chamber.

Of the initial batch of two hundred and four Blue Silver Grass plants that had been kept, after a year of being nourished by Soul Power two years ago and spontaneously absorbing the life force dispersed by other Blue Silver Grass to accelerate their growth, one hundred and ninety-eight had stopped at a new threshold, the life force accumulated within them no longer increasing.

As for the remaining six, after Ling Yi nurtured them day and night with Soul Power, simulated resonance with Mental Strength, and Martial Soul mimicry interactions, they finally broke through that invisible shackle after more than a month and continued growing.

For the sake of those six earliest-cultivated Blue Silver Grass plants, Ling Yi did not devote much effort to the Blue Silver Grass later cultivated at the academy. Once they reached the second threshold, he stopped nourishing them with Soul Power and carrying out similar procedures.

Now, another two years had passed. The six Blue Silver Grass plants growing in Ling Yi's room looked like six short shrubs. If one called them grass, few people would believe it.

As for their age, Ling Yi could tell from the hibiscus tree he had seen in the palace when he attended the banquet hosted by Grand Duke Mu Feng with Old Master Jin the year before last. That tree was said to be over two hundred and eighty years old, yet in terms of energy fluctuations, the six Blue Silver Grass plants Ling Yi had cultivated were even stronger!

It sounded unbelievable. In merely three or four years, with only the Soul Power of a Soul Master, Ling Yi had actually managed to cultivate six Blue Silver Grass plants nearing three hundred years of age, along with thousands upon thousands of Blue Silver Grass plants of other ages.

If this news became known to others across Douluo Continent, it would surely cause a sensation that swept the entire continent.

But to Ling Yi, there was nothing remarkable about it.

Blue Silver Grass—no, not merely Blue Silver Grass. It should be said that Soul Beasts, the Soul Beasts under the worldview and rules of Douluo Continent, often possessed nothing but age and energy. In truth, they were no different from the pigs, cattle, and sheep awaiting slaughter in the breeding farms of Ling Yi's previous life.

They were all nothing but lumps of fat, destined to be slaughtered one by one and cooked in every imaginable way before being eaten.

Therefore, it was not difficult to believe that Ling Yi could use his own Soul Power to prompt Blue Silver Grass to absorb the life force of nearby members of its kind and accelerate their growth.

The flowers and grasses cultivated in his previous life could also grow faster after fertilizer was properly applied.

It was just that in this wondrous world that possessed Soul Power, the process was much faster.

When it came to accumulating energy, Blue Silver Grass truly had it far easier than the other Soul Beasts of this world.

As for whether artificially cultivated Hundred Year Level Blue Silver Grass might lack the foundational reserves of wild Blue Silver Grass that had weathered a hundred years of wind and rain...

The moment that question surfaced, Ling Yi tossed it aside.

Having one was already good enough. What more could he ask for?

Besides, the Hundred Year Level Blue Silver Grass he had painstakingly cultivated himself would be incomparably smoother to absorb than those flashy wild ones outside, wouldn't it?

There was no need even to cut away its roots. Ling Yi merely summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and pressed it against the Blue Silver Grass plant with the strongest energy fluctuations. With a push of Soul Power, specks of yellow, blue, and green light began drifting out and slowly gathering in midair.

Very quickly, a bright Yellow Ring simply and quietly floated before Ling Yi.

A Blue Silver Grass Soul Ring of over three hundred years—!!!

With the slightest movement of Ling Yi's Soul Power, the Soul Ring was drawn by those familiar Soul Power fluctuations and obediently settled around the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul in his right palm.

The instant they came into contact, Ling Yi felt a vast yet gentle, cool aura pour steadily into his meridians through the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

Ling Yi immediately focused his mind. Apart from leaving a small portion of his attention on the movements outside, he directed most of his focus inward.

Cool, gentle, powerful... those were the most immediate impressions Ling Yi received from the Soul Power of the three-hundred-year Blue Silver Grass.

At that moment, Ling Yi felt as though his meridians and body were a parched field that had suddenly encountered a perfectly timed, unceasing spring rain. Vigorous life began to bloom within him, making his entire being seem more vivid and real.

Because the Soul Power was so compliant, the entire Soul Ring absorption process went so smoothly that it was unbelievable. None of the contingency plans Ling Yi had prepared beforehand came into use.

Of course, those preparations had not been wasted effort. It was never wrong to be cautious in all things.

When the last thread of Soul Power carried by the bright yellow Soul Ring merged into Ling Yi's body, the Blue Silver Grass plant that had remained unchanged in its original spot suddenly transformed into a stream of light and flew toward the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul in Ling Yi's hand.

At its original spot, a pile of pale blue, fine dust like ash slowly drifted down. An azure circular object the size of a little fingernail bounced a few times on the ground before lying quietly amid the pale blue ashes.

On this side, Ling Yi had no time to concern himself with what the Blue Silver Grass that had faithfully given its all had left behind. He suddenly entered a special state, both miraculous and wonderful!

At first, as the Soul Power poured in, he felt that powerful energy brimming with life expand every meridian it passed through and nourish the muscles, bones, and other parts of his body. Ling Yi could only feel himself growing stronger with every passing moment.

But when the Blue Silver Grass that had already exceeded three hundred years in age completely merged into his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, Ling Yi only had time to flick a Stone Bullet with his left hand and activate a trigger mechanism in the corner of the secret chamber before his entire consciousness merged into his Martial Soul.

When Ling Yi felt himself become a Blue Silver Grass plant, he did not panic. He had already deduced this scene in his mind.

At first, Ling Yi had planned to wait until he had nearly absorbed the Soul Ring, then pull up that three-hundred-odd-year Blue Silver Grass body, which weighed roughly two jin, and chew it up before swallowing it.

Compared to the wasteful behavior of those on Douluo Continent who, after absorbing a Soul Ring, only looked around for a Soul Bone and perhaps cut off a few Precious Materials at most, Ling Yi did not quite approve.

Of course, Ling Yi also understood that in dangerous areas inhabited by Soul Beasts, carrying a Soul Beast corpse that emitted a Bloody Scent was an extremely suicidal act if one lacked a Storage Soul Tool.

But... it was far too wasteful!

Although the Soul Ring was the essence and core of a Soul Beast, since some Soul Beasts could produce Soul Bones, the energy remaining in their bodies could not possibly be insignificant. To Ling Yi, who loved gnawing on Large Bones and sucking out the Bone Marrow, failing to squeeze it dry was a grave waste!

At this very moment, the little fellow he had cultivated with his own hands had obediently burned itself away and offered everything it had. Naturally, Ling Yi also sensed its affectionate feeling, faint and negligible though it was.