Bai Shu could barely contain his pounding heart as he hurried forward to inspect it.
The entire interior of the mountain hollow was now visible at a glance. Since the entrance was directly overhead, Bai Shu immediately spotted the black lead box that had once been hidden atop the rock wall and was now hanging precariously.
Xie Biyan was perceptive enough that, before Bai Shu could give an order, he leaped up and clung to the rock wall like a gecko. With a few flashes of movement, he retrieved the lead box securely and respectfully presented it to Bai Shu.
The moment Bai Shu took the lead box, his hand sank. This tiny box actually weighed a hundred jin, and even with his current physique, he nearly dropped it.
Bai Shu simply placed the lead box on the ground, took a deep breath, and slowly opened it with eager anticipation.
"Buzz—"
The instant the lid opened, an incomparably rich, overwhelmingly majestic aura of life surged toward him, beyond description!
With just one breath, Bai Shu felt every pore on his body open wide.
A soft yet brilliant blue-gold radiance bloomed from within the box, casting everything around it in a sacred hue.
At the center of the light lay a right leg bone, blue-gold throughout, as though it had been carved from the most flawless crystal.
Countless profound golden patterns slowly flowed across the bone like living things, as if recounting the true essence of life.
It was the supreme treasure left behind after the death of the Hundred Thousand Year Blue Silver Emperor—the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!
"Xie Biyan, stand guard for me. Do not let anyone disturb me," Bai Shu ordered gravely.
"Yes, Young Master!" Xie Biyan flashed away and instantly landed atop a nearby boulder.
Bai Shu did not hesitate further. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the jade-warm leg bone, narrowed his eyes, and forcefully pressed it against his right leg.
Buzz—
Another faint hum sounded. Bai Shu felt his right leg instantly enveloped by an extremely cool current.
At the same time, the Spirit Bone, hard as crystal, melted the instant it touched his flesh and blood. It transformed into countless fine blue-gold currents that forcefully yet gently burrowed through his pores and into the meridians of his right leg.
Absorbing the Spirit Bone went even more smoothly than Bai Shu had expected.
After all, Spirit Bones were unlike spirit rings. They had virtually no minimum strength requirement for absorption; Spirit Masters of any level could fuse with them.
What was more, the Blue Silver Emperor's Spirit Bone possessed a gentle Life Attribute and was practically a perfect fit with the Martial Soul within him.
Bai Shu could clearly feel the gentle yet extraordinarily massive Soul Power circulating through his body. As it strengthened his limbs and bones, it also drove his Soul Power Level upward at a rapid pace.
After absorbing his first spirit ring, Bai Shu had not yet gone to Spirit Hall to complete his rank certification, but he still had a good grasp of his own Soul Power.
His Soul Power had originally just broken through level twelve.
Yet now, as that vast energy poured in, the bottlenecks in his Soul Power were like paper walls, shattered one after another without the slightest suspense.
Level thirteen, level fourteen...
Just as Bai Shu's heartbeat quickened and he thought this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone could grant him at least five levels of terrifying Soul Power growth today, an unexpected change suddenly occurred.
The Martial Soul within him abruptly emitted an intensely powerful wave of longing.
Chaos Green Lotus... it needs this energy?
The thought flashed through Bai Shu's mind. After less than half a second of consideration, he decisively made his choice—suppress his realm and give up using this energy to raise his Soul Power Level!
What did a mere few levels of Soul Power matter? If he cultivated steadily, it would not take him long to make up for them.
But if his Martial Soul could grow further, the benefits to his future path of cultivation would be absolutely immeasurable!
With that thought, Bai Shu immediately activated his Soul Power and directly summoned his Martial Soul. With a thought, a phantom lotus emitting a hazy green glow entered his dantian.
This was a small technique Bai Shu had figured out on his own after absorbing his spirit ring in Soul Hunting Forest last time.
Planting his Martial Soul in his dantian not only allowed him to constantly benefit from the nourishing aura of life from the Chaos Green Lotus, strengthening his body imperceptibly, but also greatly increased the speed at which Soul Power traveled through his meridians.
More importantly, it freed his hands in actual combat. He no longer had to foolishly hold up his Martial Soul during battle like other tool Martial Soul Spirit Masters.
And if he used spirit skills such as healing or enhancement, they would take effect faster as well.
When powerful opponents fought, such an insignificant difference in timing often became the key to deciding victory or defeat.
However, he was not yet proficient at controlling it. Summoning his Martial Soul also consumed Soul Power, and Tang Hao, who had a habit of spying on him, had been lurking nearby all this time. To avoid revealing too much, Bai Shu rarely used this technique.
At this moment, the remaining enormous blue-gold Soul Power flowed directly upward against the current from Bai Shu's right leg, charging all the way into his dantian.
The instant that energy entered his dantian, before it could even circulate along its original route, the Chaos Green Lotus rooted there suppressed it instantly with an overwhelmingly domineering presence, then began devouring it madly.
As an endless stream of Soul Power poured in, the Chaos Green Lotus finally underwent subtle changes visible to the naked eye.
Its previously slender petals grew fuller, their color becoming more crystalline. As green light flowed across them, it resembled a work of art carved from emerald.
Not only that, the mysterious patterns that had appeared only fleetingly when he absorbed his first spirit ring emerged upon the Green Lotus once more.
This time, the patterns were clearly much more distinct and even showed signs of breaking free from the petals' confines. In the end, however, they failed to shatter some invisible restraint and merely formed pale golden lines across the petals' surface.
The Chaos Green Lotus absorbed Soul Power at an astonishing speed. The immense amount of Soul Power that would originally have taken Bai Shu nearly three hours to absorb was completely swallowed by the Chaos Green Lotus in just a few minutes.
After the last trace of blue-gold light had been squeezed dry, the Green Lotus in his dantian began to slowly rotate.
Before Bai Shu could even fully grasp all the details of this Martial Soul transformation, the Soul Power in his meridians began circulating on its own.
Bai Shu could clearly observe within himself that his Soul Power was undergoing a qualitative leap as it circulated. The ordinary Soul Power that had originally been colorless and transparent was now gradually taking on an emerald-green hue brimming with the aura of Ultimate Life!
At the same time, a flood of obscure information about his Martial Soul surged into Bai Shu's mind, allowing him to fully understand the true meaning of the Chaos Green Lotus's evolution.
Previously, Bai Shu had always believed the Chaos Green Lotus to be an Ultimate Life Martial Soul. That was not wrong, but it was incomplete.
The reason it bore the name "Chaos Green Lotus" was that the true focus had always been on the word "Chaos"!
As for its Life Attribute, that was merely because it was a plant. Its vitality was simply the most fundamental attribute it possessed and the one it was best at manifesting.
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