Sun and Moon Shine Together

So he had to end this quickly and deal with the old central plant before the low-year Sun-Moon Grass could release its spores.

He rose to his feet, rolled his wrists and ankles, then removed the four Weighted Rings one by one and stored them in his ring.

With nearly twelve hundred pounds of weight suddenly gone, his bones and muscles crackled in relief, as though he had cast off a heavy set of shackles.

"Come on."

He lowered his stance and explosively pushed off the ground, shooting out of the bushes like an arrow straight toward the heart of the purple plant colony.

He moved so fast that he tore through the air, scattering fallen leaves beneath his feet.

The central Sun-Moon Grass clearly sensed the threat. The layer of golden fuzz on its flower bud suddenly lit up with a blinding glow, and an invisible ripple spread outward from its roots.

The leaves of the surrounding low-year Sun-Moon Grass shook violently as a thin lavender mist began to seep from the serrations along their edges, rapidly spreading in every direction.

But Lan Tian was half a step faster than the spore mist.

When he reached a point two steps from the old central plant, he abruptly stopped. His right hand shot out, and Blue Silver Grass vines surged from his palm like a massive green hand, accurately gripping the Sun-Moon Grass's main stalk.

As the vines closed and tightened, he poured his first soul skill, Endless Life, into it with all his strength. His goal was not to damage the Sun-Moon Grass, but to instantly fill its veins with dense life energy, leaving it so utterly satiated that it lost its ability to react under stress.

The old Sun-Moon Grass trembled sharply. The glow of its golden fuzz softened from blinding brilliance, as if it had been forcibly fed full and quieted down.

The surrounding spore mist stopped spreading as well. The thin lavender haze lingered in the air for a few breaths before gradually dispersing.

It worked.

Without hesitation, Lan Tian released the vines and sat cross-legged beside the Sun-Moon Grass. The Blue Silver Grass martial soul pulsed in his palm, drawing the soul power fluctuations of the three-thousand-year-old plant into his body.

The Sun-Moon Grass's leaves began curling inward and withering from their edges. Its deep-purple stalk gradually lost its color, while the flower bud at its tip slowly bloomed, fully opening at the final moment.

A fist-sized sphere of golden light rose from its pistil. It was all the sun-moon essence the Sun-Moon Grass had accumulated over three thousand years, so rich that it was like holding a tiny sun in one's palm.

A purple soul ring slowly descended from the withered plant and entered Lan Tian's body.

The absorption process went more smoothly than expected.

The impact brought by a three-thousand-year soul ring was indeed considerable, and his meridians swelled with pain. But with the experience of his first two soul rings as a foundation, along with Spring of Vegetation's self-healing ability, he steadily endured every wave of impact.

The Sun-Moon Grass's energy possessed a warm, weighty texture. Like liquid gold, it seeped into his meridians, bones, and the depths of his bloodline, slowly breaking down and integrating the sun-moon essence that had condensed over three thousand years.

Time quietly passed as he focused on absorbing it.

By the time Lan Tian opened his eyes again, night had completely fallen.

The moon had risen overhead, its silvery light spilling across the dried remains of the Sun-Moon Grass.

He lowered his head and looked at his palm. His third soul ring floated steadily above the Blue Silver Grass vines, its light flowing without end.

Level thirty-three.

His soul power had leaped from level thirty to level thirty-three, rising three whole levels at once!

The sheer depth of soul power granted by a three-thousand-year soul ring was on a completely different level from his first two rings.

A new soul skill also entered his mind: Sun and Moon Shine Together.

Centered on himself, he could release a field of light condensed from sun-moon essence. Within the field's coverage, the recovery speed of all his attributes would increase threefold, while the output efficiency of his life energy would also increase threefold.

If sunlight or moonlight were shining within the field at the same time, the effects would stack further.

He could also actively channel the power of the sun and moon into weapons, his fists, or his martial soul for battle.

This was not merely an enormous boost to his endurance; it was an engine-like guarantee during combat.

Beyond that, Sun and Moon Shine Together could also be used on plants, mobilizing sun-moon essence to accelerate the rapid growth of plants within its range.

And the sun-moon essence he had absorbed alongside the soul ring had not gone to waste either.

Part of it had merged into his meridians, broadening his foundation and raising his Innate Soul Power.

The other part settled deep within his dantian, like a reserve source of energy that could be drawn upon at any time.

He vaguely felt that the foundation of his Innate Soul Power had truly risen by half a step at this moment.

"A three-thousand-year Sun-Moon Grass... worth it."

Lan Tian stood up and looked at the completely withered old Sun-Moon Grass beneath his feet, then swept his gaze over the surrounding low-year plants that had become listless with the old plant's disappearance. An indescribable sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.

With his third soul ring secured, he was now a level-thirty-three Soul Elder at the age of thirty-three. His current strength had completely left behind the straitened circumstances of the twenty-five-year-old one-ring soul master he had once been.

But he did not hurry to leave.

He carefully searched the surroundings, harvesting some leaves and roots from the high-year plants in this Sun-Moon Grass colony and storing them in his ring. Sun-Moon Grass possessed tremendous medicinal value, and he could bring them back to cultivate properly.

This three-thousand-year-old plant had already been completely absorbed by him, and the sun-moon essence within its flower bud had also merged into his body, remaining as an exceptionally precious mark upon his path of cultivation.

After his third soul ring had fully stabilized, Lan Tian remained seated in the valley for a while longer, allowing the surging soul power within him to settle completely.

The fluctuations of level-thirty-three soul power were far more substantial than they had been at level thirty. The qualitative transformation brought by the three-thousand-year soul ring filled every inch of his meridians with a full, abundant sense of comfort, even making each breath deeper and longer than before.

He stood up and stretched his body, looking at the completely withered old Sun-Moon Grass beneath his feet before glancing over the low-year plants around it, which had become dispirited with the old plant's disappearance.

When he had collected leaves and roots from the high-year plants earlier, he had noticed that the plants whose leaves he had harvested visibly wilted faster, as though after losing their backbone, even their own vitality was rapidly draining away.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

The description of the third soul skill, Sun and Moon Shine Together, explicitly stated that it could draw upon the essence of the sun and moon to accelerate the rapid growth of plants within its range.

He had always understood this ability as a support skill for combat and endurance, but now, standing amid this patch of Sun-Moon Grass that was withering after losing its old plant, he suddenly realized that this ability might have far broader uses.

"Let's give it a try. I hope the results aren't too disappointing."

Lan Tian took a few steps back and moved to a relatively open spot in the center of the valley. Slowly raising his right hand, he summoned his third soul ring from beneath his feet. The purple ring radiated a unique glow, exceptionally eye-catching in the twilight.

"Third Soul Skill—Sun and Moon Shine Together."