Xiao San Was About to Cough Up Blood

Six hours later, the carriage stopped at the village entrance.

The master said he needed to inspect a legendary plant on the small mountain outside the village, then headed into the mountains alone.

Xiao Wu eagerly jumped off the carriage and ran toward Tang Ling's courtyard.

Tang San, meanwhile, went home first.

Inside the blacksmith shop, Tang Hao was bare-chested, swinging his hammer as he forged iron. Seeing his son return, he merely glanced up and grunted. "You're back."

Tang San did not mind. He knew that was simply his father's nature.

He walked up to Tang Hao and raised his right hand. With a slight thought, a deep-purple soul ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.

Tang Hao's hammer froze in midair.

Looking at his father's suspended hammer, Tang San felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. Making this man, once the Clear Sky Douluo, reveal such an expression carried more weight than any praise.

"My first soul ring is a thousand years old." Tang San tried to keep his tone calm, but the curve of his lips refused to stay down, exposing his pride.

Tang Hao lowered his hammer and fell silent for a moment. Then he walked over, extending his large, callused hand to rest it on Tang San's head.

"Good lad." His voice was hoarse, and he said only those two words, but the hand on Tang San's head trembled slightly.

Tang San grinned.

After chatting with his father for a few more moments about his experiences in the Soul Hunting Forest, he turned and headed for Tang Ling's courtyard.

Before he even reached the gate, he heard Xiao Wu's cheerful laughter.

"Mom! Guess what I did this time? I fought a four-hundred-year-old giant snake! It was this long—" Xiao Wu exaggeratedly spread her arms, nearly bumping into Ah Yin, who was watering a patch of Blue Silver Grass nearby.

Tang Ling sat on a stone bench beneath the Purple Bamboo, holding a cup of tea as he watched Xiao Wu animatedly recount her "heroic deeds" with a smile.

Tang San entered the courtyard and respectfully bowed. "Godfather."

"Mm. You broke through?" Tang Ling lifted his teacup and took a sip.

"Yes." Tang San straightened, a hint of pride flashing through his eyes. "My first soul ring came from a thousand-year-old Datura Snake."

"Not bad." Tang Ling nodded, his tone indifferent.

Seeing his godfather's utterly unruffled expression, Tang San's pride diminished somewhat.

Suddenly, his gaze swept across something in the corner of the courtyard.

It was a lone bamboo growing beside the courtyard wall.

The bamboo was slender and upright, about seven or eight meters tall. Its entire stalk was emerald green, its joints distinct, while its leaves swayed gently in the breeze.

It looked like an utterly ordinary bamboo plant, growing inconspicuously beside the wall. Yet the instant Tang San's gaze landed on it, his entire body froze.

Its appearance, the arrangement of its joints, the arc of its leaves swaying in the wind, and that inexplicable, indescribable sense of familiarity.

It was as if he had been struck by a paralysis spell. He stood motionless, staring fixedly at the bamboo.

This bamboo... why did it seem like he had seen it somewhere before?

Wait.

Tang San's pupils abruptly constricted. Wasn't this the... the ten-year-old Lone Bamboo from the Soul Hunting Forest?! How could it be here?

He remembered it clearly. That Lone Bamboo had grown beside a towering tree in the Soul Hunting Forest. Both his teacher and the system had determined that it was merely an ordinary ten-year soul beast, unsuitable for his first soul ring.

He had even felt a little reluctant to leave it behind, turning back for one last look after walking quite some distance away.

But now, that Lone Bamboo, which should have been in the Soul Hunting Forest four hundred li away, was growing perfectly well in his godfather's courtyard.

"What's wrong?"

Tang Ling's voice suddenly rang out.

Tang San snapped back to his senses and discovered that Tang Ling was looking at him with a smiling face. The smile was gentle, yet it made a slight chill run down his back.

"N-Nothing." Tang San forced himself to remain calm and shifted his gaze away from the bamboo. "Godfather, this bamboo... did you plant it?"

Tang Ling set down his teacup, rose to his feet, and slowly walked over to Tang San.

His gaze also fell upon the Lone Bamboo, and the smile at his lips deepened.

"You mean this?" Tang Ling said casually. "I went for a stroll yesterday and saw a bamboo plant in the Soul Hunting Forest. I felt rather drawn to it, so I dug it up and brought it back to plant in the courtyard."

A stroll. The Soul Hunting Forest.

Tang San's mouth twitched violently.

"Xiao San."

"Huh?"

Tang San instinctively looked up.

"What do you think of this bamboo?"

Tang San opened his mouth, but for a moment, he had no idea what to say. Should he say, "It's quite nice," or should he say, "Isn't this just the ordinary Lone Bamboo from the Soul Hunting Forest?"

"Do you also think it's merely an ordinary ten-year-old Lone Bamboo?" Tang Ling's voice was soft, but Tang San's heart sank sharply.

Also?

Tang San felt as though someone had clenched his heart.

He raised his head and stared at Tang Ling's smiling face. His lips moved. "Godfather... isn't this bamboo a ten-year Lone Bamboo?"

Tang Ling looked at him but did not answer immediately.

Silence. The purple bamboo swayed gently in the breeze, its leaves rustling as though whispering. The spiritual energy spilling from between its joints enveloped the entire small courtyard in a fresh, tranquil atmosphere. Even breathing became exceptionally smooth, filling one's whole body with comfort.

"On Douluo Continent, Soul Power is what matters, and strength is naturally measured by who is stronger. But beyond you Soul Masters, there are other cultivation systems—for example, the martial arts cultivation method I gave you, and the immortal cultivation system. Among these countless systems, some things are born fundamentally different from the mundane world. One of the most extraordinary is called an innate spiritual root."

Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted.

An innate spiritual root? He had never heard of it, yet hearing the term from Tang Ling sent his heart racing wildly.

"An innate spiritual root," Tang Ling continued unhurriedly, "is a supreme spiritual treasure nurtured before heaven and earth were formed, only sprouting when chaos first opened. Every one of them seizes the creations of heaven and earth and draws upon the mysteries of the sun and moon. In other words, from the moment they are born, they touch upon the most fundamental laws of this world.

"Do you think it is precious? In terms of your path of cultivation, even sacrificing a million-year Soul Beast would not grant you such an origin. Do you think million-year Soul Beasts are the ceiling of your world? They are not. From certain perspectives, your so-called million years may not even compare to a single drop of dew from a spiritual root."

Tang San's breathing suddenly stopped. A million-year Soul Beast was actually not even worth a drop of dew from this bamboo.

"Even in worlds of a higher level, innate spiritual roots are supreme treasures capable of making those beings who overlook all living things tear off all pretenses and fight until mountains and rivers shatter. Your cultivation is still too shallow; you cannot understand what it signifies. If such a spiritual root were refined, becoming an immortal or a god would be as easy as drinking water."

Tang San felt as if someone had viciously gouged out his heart.

His mouth hung open, but something seemed lodged in his throat. He could not utter a single word.

In his mind, the image of that Lone Bamboo alternated with the bamboo before him.

They had the same joints, the same leaves, and the same gentle swaying in the wind. Yet the bamboo before him seemed greener and straighter than the one he had seen before. Moreover, he could sense that the slight angle at which its stalk leaned was like a subtle bow in the direction of his godfather.

But back in the Soul Hunting Forest, it had clearly been an ordinary ten-year Lone Bamboo.

He suddenly recalled the system's and his teacher's assessments at the time.

"A ten-year Soul Beast, Lone Bamboo. Its grade is extremely low. It is not recommended as a first Soul Ring."

His first Soul Ring had been a thousand-year Datura Snake.

He had once been smug about it, believing that he had made history on Douluo Continent. Yet his godfather was telling him that his thousand-year Soul Ring was not even worth a drop of dew from this bamboo.

"Godfather..." Tang San's body swayed.

Xiao Wu came over as well. She looked the bamboo up and down, then asked curiously, "Big Brother, is this bamboo really that amazing? Is it even more amazing than my Heavenly Spiritual Root?"

Tang Ling smiled. "A Heavenly Spiritual Root is an aptitude for cultivation, while an innate spiritual root is a supreme treasure nurtured by heaven and earth. Their natures are different, so they cannot be compared directly. But in terms of rarity, a hundred Heavenly Spiritual Roots would not equal one innate spiritual root."

A hundred Heavenly Spiritual Roots.

Xiao San froze completely. The expression on his face was like someone had viciously gouged out his heart. Tang San felt as though something had slammed hard into his chest, leaving his heart stifled.

"Come over, all of you. Sit beneath this bamboo for a while. It will benefit your cultivation."

Xiao Wu immediately skipped over and sat on a stone bench beneath the purple bamboo.

Ah Rou also put down what she was doing and came over holding Ah Yin's hand.

Tang Hao had just arrived from the blacksmith shop and had yet to figure out what was happening, but he obediently found a spot beneath the purple bamboo and sat down cross-legged.

Tang San hesitated for a moment before ultimately walking over.

The moment Tang San stepped into the area beneath the purple bamboo's shade, his entire body jolted.

The concentration of spiritual energy here was more than ten times that of the outside world. With every breath, pure spiritual energy poured into his body, slowly circulating through his meridians and nourishing his dantian and Martial Soul. Just standing here, he could feel his physical strength slowly improving at an almost imperceptible rate.

A single bamboo growing from the soil could transform an entire patch of heaven and earth.

Was this an innate spiritual root? Compared to the thousand-year Datura Snake Soul Ring he had absorbed, it was like the difference between clouds and mud. Tang Ling had said that even a million-year Soul Beast was not worth a drop of its dew. Seeing it now, there had not been the slightest exaggeration in those words.

Xiao Wu had already sat cross-legged and begun cultivating. Ah Rou and Ah Yin each found a place and closed their eyes to regulate their breathing. Tang Hao sat with his eyes closed, feeling the long-lost relief brought by the spiritual energy nourishing his old injuries. It was impossible to tell whether the expression on his face was one of surprise or sentiment.

The spiritual energy around them surged in like a tide. Tang San sat there, but his heart could not calm down.

"System," Tang San silently called out in his mind. "When I encountered that Lone Bamboo before, you said it was a ten-year Soul Beast and advised me not to absorb it. So how did it become an innate spiritual root now?"

There was silence in his sea of consciousness for a moment. Then the system's icy notification sounded, though its tone was unusually uncertain.

[Sorry, Host. I got it wrong last time. Don't be angry yet. This time, I'll speak plainly and give you the most direct and correct answer.]

[This is an Innate Purple Bamboo juvenile, an innate spiritual root. Innate spiritual roots are supreme spiritual treasures nurtured before heaven and earth were formed, only sprouting when chaos first opened. Every one of them seizes the creations of heaven and earth and draws upon the mysteries of the sun and moon.]

[Would you like more information on the Innate Purple Bamboo juvenile? For example, an analysis of its compatibility with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, or the possible directions of Martial Soul mutation after absorbing it?]

Tang San did not answer. It felt as though something were blocking his chest, suffocating him.

A metallic sweetness rose in his throat, but he forcibly swallowed it back down.

Wrong? It had gotten it wrong last time? Even the system had gotten it wrong? What a joke! This was the system.

But the facts were right before him. That Lone Bamboo was now growing in his godfather's courtyard. And his first Soul Ring was a thousand-year Datura Snake.

Tang San took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the churning blood and energy within him. He pulled out a smile uglier than crying.

"Forget it," he said silently in his heart. "This bamboo and I truly have no fate. But my thousand-year Datura Snake is not bad either. My first Soul Ring was already a thousand years old, and Teacher said no one before me had ever accomplished that. Once I cultivate to the rank of Titled Douluo and possess all nine rings, I will still be able to stand at the peak of the continent."

Tang San buried all his regret, resentment, and anger deep within his heart. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Tang Ling, who was leisurely drinking tea.

"Godfather."

Tang Ling raised his eyes to look at him.

"How did you recognize that this bamboo was an innate spiritual root?" Tang San did his best to keep his tone calm.

Tang Ling's hand paused slightly as he held his teacup, then he smiled faintly. "After living this long, I ought to have some discernment. Study and observe more in the future, and you'll be able to recognize them too."

Tang San lowered his head and did not ask any further questions. Yet the fist clenched tightly inside his sleeve showed just how far from calm he truly was.

Tang Ling took a sip of tea. His gaze swept over Tang San's face, which was trying so hard to remain composed, and the curve of his lips deepened slightly.

[ Ding— ]

The system notification sounded in his mind.

[Main quest completed. Tang San has learned the truth about the Innate Purple Bamboo. Heartbreak level under evaluation...]

[Evaluation complete. Heartbreak level: SS. Detected multiple negative emotions in Tang San, including "regret," "annoyance," "unwillingness," "self-consolation," and "self-denial." Emotional fluctuations far exceeded the threshold.]

[Base reward: Cultivation increased by one minor realm. Current realm: Late Void Refinement. Claim reward?]

"Claim."

A warm surge of power rose within Tang Ling's body. The bottleneck at the Late Void Refinement stage shattered with a crash, and his cultivation steadily rose to the Great Perfection of Void Refinement. Just one step remained before he could enter the Body Integration realm.

Feeling the explosive growth of power within him, Tang Ling's smile became even gentler.

[SS-rank additional reward triggered. Reward: Item upgrade. Target selected: Jade Purity Vase → Immortal Jade Purity Vase. Immortal Jade Purity Vase: Willow Nectar production speed doubled. Effectiveness doubled.]

The item upgrade reward was rather unexpected.

With the Willow Nectar's production speed doubled, he could harvest two drops of Willow Nectar every day.

He had already witnessed the effects of this stuff. A single drop could evolve the Innate Purple Bamboo from a ten-year sapling into a ten-thousand-year spiritual root. If used on a person, it might truly be capable of reviving the dead and restoring flesh to bare bones.

If it kept upgrading, wouldn't this Jade Purity Vase really become the one in Guanyin's hand?

With that thought, Tang Ling's mood grew even brighter.