The moment the Soul Ring's energy entered his meridians, Tang San's back tensed.
Yu Xiaogang sat beside him, clutching a medicine bottle. He did not even spare attention for his own poison wound, staring at Tang San's face. "Guard your mind and follow the route I taught you. Don't clash head-on with the Soul Ring!"
Tang San could not answer.
The Datura Snake's Soul Power carried poison. Once it rushed into his body, it rampaged everywhere, forcibly tugging at his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul until every blade twisted in his palm.
Ji Yuan coiled near his heart meridian, watching the incoming energy with cold eyes.
Too mixed.
Too violent.
If Tang San truly tried to endure it alone, forget absorbing it successfully—even half his meridians would be scorched by the poison.
But things were different now.
Ji Yuan had long been living inside this body.
Ji Yuan awakened every parasitic spore. Fine roots spread along the inner walls of Tang San's meridians, first intercepting the fiercest poison, then blocking the most violent surges of Soul Power.
Tang San had already braced himself for the agony of his meridians tearing apart, only to find that more than half of the impact had been weakened midway.
Alarmed, he did not dare lose focus. He merely circulated his Mysterious Heaven Skill along its route. "Teacher, this Soul Power isn't as fierce as I expected."
Yu Xiaogang was applying medicine to himself. Hearing that, his hand stopped.
He looked at Tang San and endured the pain as he said, "Don't let your guard down. This is only the initial probing. The true danger comes when it merges with your Martial Soul."
Ji Yuan nearly laughed out loud.
Danger?
He had already eaten the danger.
Dark red roots blocked the crucial pathways of the meridians. Whenever a surge of Soul Ring energy came rushing over, he siphoned away roughly seventy percent. Only after the remainder had passed through his filtration did it flow toward Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Cold sweat continually seeped from Tang San's face, and his body trembled, but he was nowhere near breaking down.
As Yu Xiaogang watched, his eyes instead brightened. "The Mysterious Heaven Skill's internal energy really can stabilize the meridians. Tang San, hold on. This proves my judgment was correct!"
Gritting his teeth, Tang San said, "Teacher, I can endure it."
Ji Yuan answered coldly in his heart.
Of course you can.
I'm eating the most poisonous portion for you.
The snake venom within the Soul Ring was dragged into Ji Yuan's main body, mixing with the poison from the snake gallbladder he had absorbed earlier.
Inside the shoe's inner layer, faint cracking sounds came from within the wooden thorn. The original grass body could not withstand this poison, its fibers breaking layer by layer before being glued back together by vital energy and blood.
The pain from his main body traveled back to his consciousness, but Ji Yuan did not retreat.
Weak plants feared poison backlash most, but Yu Xiaogang's theories had already laid the groundwork for him. He had also consumed the Variegated Man-Eating Flower's paralyzing poison, so he knew which areas needed sealing and which needed to let the poison flow through to reinforce the structure.
Within Tang San's meridians, the remaining thirty percent of Soul Power began merging with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Blue Silver Grass sprouted from his palm. The originally frail blades thickened, and patterns like those of a Datura Snake appeared across their surfaces.
Yu Xiaogang watched with tight breath. "Yes, that's it. The poison is entering the Martial Soul, and its toughness is beginning to improve. Tang San, don't let the Soul Power disperse!"
Tang San's forehead was drenched in sweat. "Teacher, I feel like something in my meridians is helping me block the poison."
Yu Xiaogang's expression changed. "What do you mean?"
Ji Yuan immediately tightened his roots, concealing the filtering spores more thoroughly. At the same time, he casually returned a trace of snake venom to the edges of Tang San's meridians.
Tang San's face went pale. Before he could finish speaking, he let out a muffled groan.
Yu Xiaogang said urgently, "Don't sense things randomly! That's an illusion caused by the Soul Ring's poison clashing with the Mysterious Heaven Skill. The more you focus on it, the easier it will be to go astray."
Tang San could only suppress his doubts. "I understand."
Ji Yuan was quite satisfied with that answer.
Yu Xiaogang would always explain things for him.
The more confident this man was, the more useful he became.
The Soul Ring's energy continued pouring in, and the pressure on Ji Yuan's main body grew heavier and heavier.
The refined snake venom sank into his roots, while vital energy and blood replenished the grass body's core. Cracks split across the formerly dry, rigid wooden thorn, and dark purple new vines grew within them.
The new vines were still thin, yet far tougher than Blue Silver Grass. Tiny barbs emerged across their surfaces, each barb's base storing venom.
Ji Yuan did not let them pierce through the sole.
It was not time to expose himself yet.
Tang San's absorption entered its final stage.
The Soul Power inside him began to stabilize. The yellow Soul Ring contracted around his body, slowly merging into the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Supporting himself against the tree trunk, Yu Xiaogang sat up straight, his voice hoarse. "It's done. Keep going. Don't relax!"
Tang San gritted his teeth and circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, pulling the final Soul Power into his dantian.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ji Yuan drew away a portion of the newly stabilized Soul Power and used it to mend the ruptured areas of his main body.
Tang San's chest tightened, and he nearly coughed up blood.
Yu Xiaogang immediately said, "That's the backlash from the Soul Ring entering your body. Don't be afraid. Steady your breathing!"
Tang San did as instructed, and the suffocating pain quickly faded.
Because Ji Yuan had eaten his fill and temporarily loosened his grip.
Tang San trusted Yu Xiaogang's judgment even more.
He felt that every danger he encountered had been predicted by his teacher beforehand.
Hidden in the shadows, Ji Yuan only found the whole performance highly entertaining.
Tang San desperately absorbed the Soul Ring, Yu Xiaogang desperately proved his theory, yet Ji Yuan—the blade of grass hidden in the shoe sole—was the one who took the lion's share.
Once the Soul Ring had completely merged, Tang San's Soul Power settled.
When he opened his eyes, his face was pale, but the joy in his eyes could not be concealed.
Yu Xiaogang sighed in relief and leaned back against the tree trunk. "Summon your Martial Soul. Let's see the soul skill."
Tang San raised his hand, and Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm. The blades were much sturdier than before, marked with faint purple patterns.
He tried activating his soul skill. The Blue Silver Grass shot out and wrapped around a tree root some distance away.
The tree root was constricted but did not immediately snap. Instead, black poison blotches appeared across its surface.
Tang San's eyes lit up. "Teacher, my first soul skill is Binding, and it carries poison."
Yu Xiaogang nodded, weary relief appearing on his face. "The control-type path has worked. It was dangerous just now, but the result is good."
Tang San withdrew the Blue Silver Grass and looked down at its blades, his brow furrowing again. "But I feel the poison isn't that strong. A four-hundred-year Datura Snake shouldn't produce only this much."
Yu Xiaogang had been about to drink water. Hearing that, he stopped with the waterskin at his lips.
After pondering for a moment, he said, "You're Blue Silver Grass. Your Martial Soul foundation is weak, so there will be losses after absorption. Gaining toughness and poison is already beyond what ordinary Blue Silver Grass can achieve."
Tang San was still not fully satisfied. "Would the loss really be this great?"
Ji Yuan slowly withdrew the filtering net inside the shoe sole.
Not that great.
I only ate most of it first.
Seeing Tang San still staring at the Blue Silver Grass, Yu Xiaogang's tone hardened. "Tang San, don't be greedy. You survived absorbing your first Soul Ring and gained a suitable control soul skill. That is already enough. What Soul Masters fear most is getting benefits and still thinking they aren't enough."
Tang San lowered his head. "Teacher, that's not what I meant."
Yu Xiaogang coughed several times. Though the poisoned color in his arm had faded considerably, his face had grown even paler. "Let's leave this place first. The scent of blood from the dead Datura Snake will attract trouble, and I need to return and treat my poison wound."
Tang San immediately stepped forward to support him. "Teacher, I'll carry you."
Yu Xiaogang wanted to refuse, but the moment he put strength into his legs, he nearly fell. He could only place a hand on Tang San's shoulder. "Don't force yourself. Stay alert on the way."
Tang San nodded. "All right."
Ji Yuan paid no attention to their touching bond between teacher and student.
All his attention was on his main body.
Inside the shoe's inner layer, the last few green fibers that had once belonged to Blue Silver Grass were breaking apart. The new vines gradually crushed the old grass body, dark purple skin growing against the old cloth. The barbs folded in, and venom sank deeper within.
In the depths of his consciousness, that line of cold, rigid text finally surfaced.
Initial evolution complete.
Ji Yuan felt the power surging through his new body as his dark red roots silently tightened.
Tang San had only carried Yu Xiaogang a few steps when a faint crack suddenly came from the sole beneath his foot.
He lowered his head. From the seam of old cloth along the shoe's edge, the tip of an eerie purple-black vine poked out.
Before you continue