Lone Bamboo

Hunting Soul Forest.

Tang San stepped down from the carriage and looked up. The sight before him was completely different from the Hunting Soul Forest he had imagined.

He had expected a gloomy, terrifying primeval jungle, but what stood before him instead were rows of neatly arranged iron fences and a heavily guarded city gate.

Two squads of fully armed soldiers stood at the gate, each wearing the emblem of Spirit Hall on his chest.

"This is a checkpoint jointly established by the Empire and Spirit Hall." The master explained as he led the two through the gate and officially into the Hunting Soul Forest.

The moment they entered the forest, the air became damp and heavy. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, and sunlight could only filter through the gaps between the branches and leaves in scattered patches.

Rustling sounds occasionally came from all around them, as though something were watching them from the shadows.

The master stopped. The faintly despondent look in his eyes instantly turned sharp and bright.

He brought his hands together before his chest, then swiftly spread them downward and called in a low voice, "Come out, Luo Sanpao!"

With a puff, a mass of pale purple soul power surged from between his palms. Tang San felt a gentle yet formidable fluctuation of soul power ripple out from the master, and then a creature appeared before him.

It looked rather like a dog, but its build resembled a pig more closely. It was over one and a half meters long, and its waist circumference was probably about the same. Its whole body was covered in pale purple fur. Two little ears drooped limply, while a pair of large dark-blue eyes blinked innocently, their gaze as gentle as a pool of spring water.

Its fat body wriggled, causing its round rump to sway from side to side. Four short, thick legs supported its cumbersome frame, making it hard to imagine how slowly it must move.

Most eye-catching of all was the round bulge atop its head, though it was impossible to tell what it was. The moment Luo Sanpao appeared, it happily ran toward the master and affectionately rubbed its large head against his leg.

At the same time, two rings rose from beneath the master's feet and revolved around his body. Both rings were yellow, clearly two hundred-year soul rings.

"Sanpao, lead the way."

"Lolo!"

The plump Luo Sanpao swayed its head as it waddled ahead.

Though its body was bloated, it was fairly nimble. As it walked, it kept sniffing at the ground.

After traveling a short distance, Luo Sanpao suddenly stopped. Its large dark-blue eyes stared warily toward the front left. Tang San followed its gaze and saw a cat-like creature lying on a branch. Its fur bore mottled patterns, and a pair of vertical pupils watched them cautiously.

The master glanced at it and said calmly, "A ten-year Spotted Cat. It isn't particularly aggressive. Sanpao, don't disturb it. Keep going."

Luo Sanpao let out a whimper and circled around the tree on its short legs before continuing to scout ahead.

The master proved himself an exceptionally conscientious guide. Whenever they encountered a soul beast, he stopped to explain in detail to Tang San and Xiao Wu its name, characteristics, how to determine its cultivation age, and whether it was suitable as a soul ring for Blue Silver Grass.

With Luo Sanpao's keen sense of smell, even soul beasts hiding in the shadows could not escape their search. However, most of them had only ten years of cultivation and showed little desire to attack, so they remained at peace throughout the journey.

After walking for some time, the master suddenly stopped and pointed ahead. "Look over there."

Tang San followed his finger and saw a single bamboo stalk growing alone beside a towering tree.

The bamboo was around seven or eight meters tall, emerald green throughout, with clearly defined joints. Amid an environment filled with tall trees, it appeared especially conspicuous. Its slender stalk stood straight and upright, while its leaves swayed gently in the breeze with a soft rustling sound.

"That is a ten-year Lone Bamboo, a plant-type soul beast," the master explained. "Lone Bamboo itself is tough in texture. While it is not very aggressive, its defensive strength is quite good. If used as your first soul ring, it could greatly enhance the toughness of Blue Silver Grass."

Tang San stared at the Lone Bamboo for a moment, and something suddenly stirred faintly in his heart.

The bamboo looked entirely unremarkable, merely an ordinary ten-year soul beast, yet he could not shake the feeling that something was off.

He could not say what it was. It was simply intuition.

There was a contradictory aura around the bamboo, as though it should not have been here.

He called out to the system in his mind. "System, system. Help me analyze whether this Lone Bamboo can be my first soul ring."

The system fell silent for a moment before giving its analysis.

[Ding—Target scan complete. According to system analysis, the target is a ten-year Lone Bamboo. A plant-type soul beast of low rank, its soul ring quality is white, and its enhancement to toughness is limited. It may be retained as an alternative, but the host is not advised to use it directly as the first soul ring.]

"A low-rank Lone Bamboo, not recommended?" Tang San frowned.

The system's judgments had always been accurate and rarely wrong.

Since even the system said so, this Lone Bamboo probably truly had nothing special about it.

Yet the feeling in his heart refused to fade.

"Teacher," Tang San turned to Yu Xiaogang, "are we going to hunt this Lone Bamboo?"

At the same time, four hundred li away in Holy Soul Village.

Tang Ling sat in a wicker chair in the courtyard, holding a cup of spiritual tea that Ah Yin had just brewed, when a crisp notification suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding—Main quest triggered: Current target Tang San has been detected discovering a ten-year Lone Bamboo in the Hunting Soul Forest. System scans have determined that this Lone Bamboo is no ordinary specimen, but the juvenile form of the innate spiritual root Purple Bamboo. It is currently in a juvenile camouflage state, appearing outwardly as a ten-year Lone Bamboo.]

[According to system calculations, without outside intervention, there is over a thirty percent chance that Tang San will absorb this Lone Bamboo as a soul ring. Should Tang San successfully absorb it, he will receive Purple Bamboo's innate attribute enhancement. His Blue Silver Grass martial soul will undergo an unpredictable beneficial mutation, and his future achievements will know no limits.]

[Main quest issued: Host, proceed immediately to the Hunting Soul Forest and harvest the ten-year Lone Bamboo. Quest reward: one bottle of Guanyin's Willow Dew. Additional reward: cultivation breakthrough by one minor realm.]

The teacup in Tang Ling's hand froze.

Innate spiritual root. No one understood the weight of those four words in the cultivation world better than he did. Born at the dawn of chaos, seizing the fortunes of heaven and earth, each one possessed heaven-defying effects.

Though it was only a juvenile, if it were placed in the cultivation world, it would be enough to make those old monsters who lived in seclusion tear all decorum aside and fight until mountains and rivers shattered, and the sun and moon turned upside down.

If Xiao San were really allowed to absorb it as a soul ring, that would be an outrageous waste of a heavenly treasure.

Now that the system had issued the quest, it was even offering Willow Branch Sweet Dew, capable of reviving the dead, regenerating flesh from bone, and awakening immortal roots.

No matter what, he had to complete this quest.

Tang Ling set down his teacup. With a flash, his figure vanished from the courtyard.