Ultimate Wood

' Hundred Flowers Valley ' is located in a small mountain range about two hundred miles southwest of ' Heaven Dou City '.

Leaving the main road, Ling Yi and Chen Xin followed the path towards this branch of the ' Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range '.

About ten minutes later, the two men and two horses stopped in front of a narrow mountain path less than two meters wide.

Without guidance, no one would know that this is the path leading to the ancestral home of the Ye Family, known as the Nine Heart Begonia.

Glancing at the overgrown mountain path, Ling Yi dismounted, patted Treading Snow's neck, and softly instructed, "Go, take Senior Chen Xin's mount to that hillside and wait for us. Don't wander off—"

As he spoke, Ling Yi looked at Chen Xin, who had also dismounted, pointed to the narrow passage in front of them, and said, "Senior, let's walk from here on out. After all, this mountain path is so narrow, it's not convenient to ride a horse."

"Whatever, I don't care." Chen Xin waved his hand dismissively, his sword-like eyes scanning the surroundings as he habitually observed his environment.

The mountain path through the narrow pass wasn't very long, only about a hundred meters. In no time, Ling Yi and his companion reached the end and arrived at a valley filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

The sun was shining brightly, providing ample light that made everything in the valley exceptionally vivid. In the distance, towering mountains stood tall, while within the valley, hundreds of flowers bloomed, creating a scene of idyllic paradise.

Who are you?

A crisp sound rang out, and Ling Yi and Chen Xin turned to look. A girl in black stood on a stone platform in the center of the cliff, holding a cylindrical signal flare in her hand, frowning and looking at them warily.

If she hadn't seen the two people with her own eyes, and had only sensed their presence through their auras, she would have thought there was no one in front of her!

"Fortunately, they were discovered in time; otherwise, if these two had entered the valley to commit evil deeds, I'm afraid..."

Just as the girl was feeling relieved, the handsome young man among the two outsiders smiled and said, "Miss, please don't misunderstand. My name is Ling Yi, and this is Senior Chen Xin. We are here as arranged. Please forgive our intrusion."

"Ling Yi?" Upon hearing the name, the girl in black felt a sudden sense of familiarity. She seemed to have seen that incomparably Wushuang face somewhere before. After a moment's thought, she recalled a scene she had witnessed on a "Image Recording Stone," and her clear eyes widened in surprise. "You're Ling Yi? The city lord of ' Lingyun City '? Master Ling Yi?!"

"Hehe~" Ling Yi chuckled humbly, shook his head slightly, and said gently, "I dare not accept the title of Master. ' Lingyun City ' was built with the help of many relatives and friends. As the city lord, I, Ling Yi, have not actually done anything—"

Upon hearing this, a look of admiration and respect appeared on the girl's pretty face, while Chen Xin, standing next to Ling Yi, had a speechless expression.

He always felt that Ling Yi was showing off, but he had no proof.

Sensing the trace of 'malice' emanating from Chen Xin, Ling Yi's smile remained unchanged. He secretly decided that after returning to ' Lingyun City ' this time, he would spar with Chen Xin a few more times in place of ' Erlang ' to help him comprehend the realm after becoming Titled Douluo more quickly.

On the other side, the girl in black leaped off the cliff, her body as light as a bird, landing gracefully. She bent her knees slightly before straightening up, taking two steps to approach Ling Yi. Her eyes held a mixture of curiosity, inquiry, and admiration as she looked at Ling Yi. She bowed respectfully and said in a clear voice, "Master Ling, my name is Ye Hanchan, my Martial Soul ' Blue-throated Hummingbird,' and I am a level 33 Agility Attack System Battle Soul Elder."

Uncle Xu had mentioned you would be coming, but I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. Please forgive my rudeness, Master Ling...

"Not at all," Ling Yi waved his hand and said with a smile, "It was our fault for not informing you beforehand; it is Ling Yi who should apologize."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "By the way, I've come to ' Hundred Flowers Valley ' to pay a visit to the Ye Family. I wonder if Ye Family has any free time at the moment?"

"Yes, yes, please follow me—"

Ye Hanchan nodded repeatedly, then turned and led Ling Yi and Chen Xin into the valley.

However, after taking only a couple of steps, the girl's steps faltered. Then, with a stiff neck and a mechanical demeanor, she turned around to look at Chen Xin beside Ling Yi:

"Senior Chen... Chen Xin? You... are not... you... you are... Sword Douluo His Majesty—?!"

Seeing that the girl had finally turned her attention from Ling Yi's handsome face to herself, and even looked so shocked, Chen Xin was secretly delighted. However, on the surface, she remained calm and composed. She first glanced at Ling Yi, but seeing that Ling Yi still had that calm and collected demeanor, she couldn't help but curl her lips and said to Ye Hanchan indifferently, "It is this old man."

"Ah--!"

The young girl exclaimed in surprise, quickly crossed her arms over her shoulders, bowed respectfully to Chen Xin, and said, "[Nine Heart Begonia - Ye Family], Ye Hanchan greets Your Chen Xin."

"No need for formalities." Chen Xin stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the air of a superior person, his demeanor perfectly captured.

Ling Yi ignored Chen Xin's furtive glances and simply watched the scene unfold with a smile. Once Ye Hanchan's agitated emotions had subsided slightly, he gently called out, "Miss Ye~"

"Hey!" Ye Hanchan responded subconsciously, turning to look at Ling Yi, her clear eyes revealing a kind of silly cuteness that Ling Yi was familiar with.

"We..." Ling Yi began, then gestured towards the valley.

"Oh right, right, right—!"

Ye Hanchan slapped her bald head and hurriedly led the way with an embarrassed smile.

Strolling along the valley paths, one has to admit that ' Hundred Flowers Valley Valley' lives up to its name. Even now, in October, just after the Cold Dew solar term and with Frost's Descent approaching, and still located in the northern part of the Douluo Continent, it remains warm as springtime, with a hundred flowers in full bloom.

The valley is not large, spanning about four or five kilometers from south to north and from east to west. Nearly 90% of this area of more than 20 square kilometers is covered by vegetation, with only a group of man-made buildings in the deepest part.

From afar, Ling Yi and his two companions could see a crabapple tree, over ten meters tall, standing amidst the buildings. Its branches and leaves were lush and verdant, adorned with pink and white blossoms, and red fruits resembling small apples were hidden among the leaves, giving it a sense of vitality, abundance, and bountiful harvest.

"Wow!" Chen Xin looked at the crabapple tree, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, and a look of great interest appeared on his face. "This aura, it must have been cultivated for ten thousand years, right? Your Ye Family is really..."

"Senior Chen Xin!" Ling Yi interrupted Chen Xin's next words, then said to Ye Hanchan, who looked perfectly normal and showed no sign of anything amiss, "Miss Ye, please inform your elders that Senior Chen Xin and I will wait here for a while. It would be impolite to enter so abruptly—"

"I see—" Ye Hanchan scratched his head, nodded somewhat bewildered, and replied, "Alright then, Master Ling, Your Chen Xin, please wait a moment, I'll go and call Uncle Xu over right away."

After saying that, he bowed to Ling Yi and Chen Xin again, and then quickly ran towards the building not far away.

Watching the departing figure disappear into the wind, the two people in the same spot exchanged a glance, a hint of a smile in their eyes.

She's a lovely young woman. This secluded environment allows her mind to remain pure, which is refreshing for the two of them who are quite perceptive of people's hearts, after they've seen all sorts of people with desires and dark thoughts.

"By the way, Kid Yi, why did you suddenly decide to visit the Ye Family of the Nine Heart Begonia?"

While waiting for the Ye Family leader to take charge, Chen Xin, having nothing else to do, asked the question that she hadn't been able to figure out along the way.

He had asked Dugu Bo about it before when he was in the Sunset Forest, but Dugu Bo kept him in suspense and told him to guess. This made Chen Xin feel so frustrated that he wanted to find someone to stab him with his sword.

Now that there was no one around, and even Treading Snow, the horse that was gradually developing intelligence, was not by his side, he finally couldn't help but ask Ling Yi.

Anyway, given Ling Yi's personality, he usually wouldn't gossip about it to Dugu Bo afterward, so Chen Xin wasn't worried about losing face.

Hearing Chen Xin's question, Ling Yi was not surprised. Although he was not present when Chen Xin asked Dugu Bo before, with the current coverage of "Blue Silver Grass" on the Douluo Continent, he could see and hear what he wanted to know in real time, even if he was thousands of miles away. Not to mention that at that time in "Sunset Forest", Dugu Bo and the other person were talking about it only a few miles away from the Fog Mountain where "Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well" was located.

Seeing Chen Xin's indifferent expression—as if he wanted to know but didn't particularly care whether Chen Xin told him or not— Ling Yi's eyes crinkled with a faint smile. Without keeping Chen Xin in suspense, he raised his right hand, palm open, and chuckled, "Senior, as you know, my Martial Soul has undergone Second Awakening. It has evolved from the once ordinary, weed-like ' Blue Silver Grass ' into the 'Azure Blue Silver Emperor,' Martial Soul of the same level as Ah Yin's 'Blue Silver Emperor.'"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xin nodded slightly. He had heard of this before, and it was one of the reasons why he admired and even respected Ling Yi.

But what does this have to do with the people who came here looking for the [Nine Heart Begonia · Ye Family]?

Although the "Nine Heart Begonia" is among the top-tier Martial Soul in the Douluo Continent, and is also a plant-type soul like Ling Yi's "Azure Wood Blue Silver Emperor," both of which are Healing System souls...

Thinking of this, Chen Xin's eyes widened slightly as she looked at Ling Yi and asked in a low voice, "Tell me, you're not here to challenge the Ye Family, are you?"

He remembered that since the previous head of the Ye family, Ye Qihong, broke through to the eighth-ring Soul Douluo realm and died due to the fate curse of the Ye family's martial soul "Nine Hearts Begonia", the current head of the Ye family, the successor of the contemporary "Nine Hearts Begonia", seems to be at the seventh-ring Soul Saint realm.

Furthermore, given that Ling Yi is now at the Seven-Ring Soul Sage realm, Chen Xin, who has spent more time on action than on thinking over the years, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and guessed Ling Yi's purpose in coming here.

Goodness gracious, is this here to challenge the "Number One Healing Martial Soul in the World" status of the Ye Family of Nine Heart Begonia?

But that doesn't make sense. As far as he knows, Ling Yi isn't the kind of person who values empty fame.

Just like how the Tang Family's "Clear Sky Hammer" Martial Soul surpasses their own "Seven Kill Sword" Martial Soul, bearing the title of "the number one Tool Martial Soul in the world," this makes Chen Xin, who believes that his own "Seven Kill Sword" Martial Soul has a superior attack power, unhappy. However, he did not go all out when fighting against the Tang brothers Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, and he did not have the idea of challenging Tang Sheng, the Grand Elder of the Clear Sky Sect Tang Sheng, to vindicate the "Seven Kill Sword."

It wasn't that he thought he couldn't beat Tang Sheng, nor was he afraid of Tang Chen, the ' Clear Sky Douluo ' who hadn't shown his face for decades. Tang Chen Xin just felt that once he and his father, Chen Jianjun, cultivated to Level 99, the title of 'Number One Tool Martial Soul Under Heaven' would naturally fall on the head of his own ' Seven Kill Sword '.

As for whether the father and son can cultivate to Level 99?

Just kidding. Now that Chen Xin has successfully cultivated to the Titled Douluo realm and his cultivation progress has been very smooth, he only has one thought in his mind: if Tang Chen can do it, then of course he, Chen Xin, can do it too!

Older father Chen Jianjun's talent, aptitude, and comprehension are no less than his own, so he can definitely do it too!

"What are you thinking about?!"

Ling Yi rolled his eyes in annoyance and pulled Chen Xin, whose thoughts were drifting off to earth, back to reality. "I've only come to pay a visit to Madam Ye to discuss future business dealings between Lingyun City and the Ye Family, and also to ask Madam Ye some questions about treatment..."

"Asking for advice? You say it's not a challenge—"

Chen Xin muttered something under his breath, but he understood that what Ling Yi said was probably true. After all, the Ye Family the Nine Heart Begonia was a long-established Soul Master family. Families like this often had some unique and valuable things as their foundation.

Unless they are like the Chen Family, consisting of only a father and son, both living alone or destitute, they would always have some kind of prescription, technology, or special product to earn money to support the cultivation and daily expenses of their family members.

Just like the four single-attribute affiliated clans of the Clear Sky Sect, the Breaking Clan is skilled in alchemy, the Strength Clan is skilled in forging, and the Defense Clan is skilled in construction. Even if these three clans do not rely on the Clear Sky Sect, their members can still live a relatively comfortable life.

The Speed Clan, on the other hand, are not known for their combat prowess. They are better suited for gathering intelligence and delivering messages, and can also serve as scouts when helping people Soul Hunting, earning a small commission in the process.

Because they have no other means of getting rich, if they hadn't relied on the Clear Sky Sect for financial assistance, the Speed Clan would probably be struggling to make ends meet.

Unless the entire clan members keep fleecing the Spirit Hall in front of the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor and receive the monthly subsidy, it will still be a deficit compared to the clan's expenses.

Families with long histories like the Ye Family of the Nine Heart Begonia, as well as other Soul Master families with established traditions on the Douluo Continent, the Green Wood Merchant Association, or Lingyun City, will all extend sincere invitations to further develop the unique products and techniques they possess. The aim is to help them earn more wealth, acquire more necessary resources, and provide the Douluo Continent with more purchasing options, thus enriching the variety of goods sold on the trading platform established by Lingyun City!

This is a win-win-win situation!

Previously, due to the passing of Old Madam Ye, the Ye Family of Nine Heart Begonia had closed its doors to all outsiders, and the Green Wood Merchant Association, which was still developing at the time, could not persuade them to make an exception.

Now that Lingyun City's reputation has been further enhanced, and the Ye Family has gradually recovered from the blow of the passing of Old Madam Ye Qihong, they finally agreed to Ling Yi's visit.

in addition...

Ling Yi also wanted to see if there was any possibility of realizing the "Ultimate Wood" attribute mentioned in some fan fiction.