Now, Ye Feng's protector was the Snow Empress.
This meant that his future stance would naturally not favor the Soul Masters.
Since that was the case, he needed to build a force of his own.
The Snow Empress did not doubt Ye Feng's words.
Invisible spiritual power spread out like a tide, instantly enveloping all of Holy Soul Village and the surrounding back mountain.
"Found it."
A moment later, the Snow Empress narrowed her icy eyes. "Five li to the northeast, there is a faint fluctuation of Soul Power. It seems a Soul Master is deliberately concealing something."
Ye Feng's eyes lit up. "There's a high chance it's there."
The Snow Empress nodded slightly. Vast Soul Power wrapped around Ye Feng, and they vanished from the spot in an instant.
When they reappeared, the two stood before a waterfall on the back mountain.
The roar of water thundered as a white curtain cascaded down.
Through the mist, they could vaguely see an indentation in the rock wall behind the waterfall, half-covered by vines.
"The Soul Power fluctuation is coming from inside."
The Snow Empress's gaze was cold. "It is very faint, but there are indeed traces of deliberate concealment."
Ye Feng glanced around, almost certain that this was where Tang Hao had imprisoned the Blue Silver Emperor.
"Sister Snow Empress, that Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor is most likely locked up inside."
"Mm."
The Snow Empress raised her hand and tapped lightly, sending out a streak of icy-blue light.
The instant it touched the waterfall, the surging water rapidly froze from top to bottom.
In the blink of an eye, it formed an arched ice bridge spanning the water curtain and leading directly to the rock wall behind it.
"Let's go."
The Snow Empress stepped onto the ice bridge, and Ye Feng hurried after her.
Passing through the water curtain, they saw the entrance to a stone cave covered in vines and moss.
The entrance was about the height of a person. Its interior was deep and dim, with a faint current of air seeping out, carrying the dampness of soil.
Scarlet-gold flames ignited in Ye Feng's palm, illuminating the surroundings.
The stone chamber was not very spacious. Piles of dry grass and worn bedding lay near the entrance.
Several empty wine jars were scattered across a stone platform nearby, and the air was filled with the smell of cheap ale.
A natural circular opening was set in the central stone wall.
Sunlight poured down from it, shining precisely upon the mound of earth in the center of the chamber.
Upon the mound, a slender blue plant gently swayed its leaves. Each leaf shimmered with a faint halo, as though it were breathing.
"This is the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor?"
Ye Feng stepped closer and examined it curiously. "It looks pretty ordinary."
However, the Snow Empress's eyes narrowed. Her cool voice carried a rare trace of surprise and anger. "Its life force... has been suppressed to this extent. Only its origin remains to sustain it."
"Without deliberate sensing, it is almost no different from ordinary Blue Silver Grass."
It was hard to imagine that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, nearly immortal and indestructible, had been tortured to such a state.
Blue Silver Grass loved sunlight and moisture.
Yet this stone chamber cut off precisely all of those conditions.
If not for the faint sunlight above and the Blue Silver Emperor's powerful vitality,
the Soul Beast world would likely have lost another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Ye Feng crouched down and reached out to touch the Blue Silver Grass, only to be rebounded by an invisible barrier.
"There is a barrier."
The Snow Empress stepped forward and raised her jade-like hand.
A layer of icy-blue radiance rippled outward. The instant it struck the invisible barrier, fine cracks appeared across its surface before it silently shattered.
Without the barrier's suppression, the entire Blue Silver Grass plant immediately stretched out a little. The halo on its leaves brightened slightly as well, and it tilted faintly toward Ye Feng.
Ye Feng froze. "Is it trying to say something?"
"Your spiritual power is too weak. You cannot sense it."
The Snow Empress stepped forward. Icy-blue light flowed across her palm as gentle spiritual power seeped into the swaying leaves of the Blue Silver Emperor like a trickling stream.
A moment later, the aura around her suddenly turned frigid, and the temperature inside the stone chamber plummeted.
"So that's how it is."
A flash of icy anger crossed the Snow Empress's azure eyes. "Humans truly are despicable!"
Ye Feng: "?"
Although he had been cursed for no reason, judging from the Snow Empress's expression, she must have learned how the Blue Silver Emperor had fallen to this state.
"Sister Snow Empress, what does this Blue Silver Emperor intend to do now?" Ye Feng asked tentatively.
If Ah Yin chose to continue protecting Tang Hao's disgraceful actions, Ye Feng would help her preserve her dignity.
If she chose to return to the Soul Beasts, Ye Feng would help her restore her former strength.
Everything depended on Ah Yin's choice.
The Snow Empress nodded slightly, and her spiritual power surged in once more.
A moment later, the Snow Empress withdrew her hand from the leaves and said coldly, "It says it is willing to leave with me."
"So that's it."
Ye Feng felt somewhat regretful, but even more delighted.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, even if it was no longer at its peak, was still considerable assistance.
Icy-blue light spread from the Snow Empress's palm, enveloping the entire Blue Silver Emperor.
"I will use the Far North's origin cold energy to protect the remainder of its life origin, then bring it back to the Far North to be nurtured. Though it cannot recover its hundred-thousand-year cultivation, there is still hope for it to regain its intelligence and cultivate a new form."
"Sister Snow Empress, I have a better method that can help it recover faster."
"Oh?" The Snow Empress's gaze shifted as she looked at Ye Feng. "What method do you have?"
"I know of a place called the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, a treasured land where heaven and earth's spiritual energy converge. Ice and fire intermingle there, and life force is abundant. It is best suited for nurturing plant-type Soul Beasts. Its recovery there will definitely be ten times faster than on the Far North snowfields!"
The Snow Empress looked deeply at Ye Feng, her voice calm. "If it is as you say, then we can go."
"Good, but before that, I still need to take something."
Ye Feng walked to an inconspicuous groove in the stone wall and pressed it with his hand.
A long black wooden box slowly popped out.
Ye Feng picked up the wooden box, took a deep breath, and opened it.
A bone lay quietly inside the box.
It was jade-white throughout, yet not quite jade.
Faint golden patterns flowed across its surface. Though no powerful Soul Power leaked from it, it faintly emitted a vast and majestic aura.
"As expected, the 100,000-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!"
Ye Feng's eyes lit up as he reached out and took it.
It felt warm and smooth to the touch, faintly hot as if it possessed life.
The Snow Empress stared at the Soul Bone, surprise flashing through her icy eyes.
"This bone is of extremely high quality. It contains the attributes of life and flexibility, but it is not compatible with your Martial Soul. Are you sure you want to absorb it?"
Ye Feng shook his head and handed the Soul Bone to the Snow Empress.
"Return it to its rightful owner."
The Snow Empress froze, her eyes reflecting the earnest expression on the young man's face.
She understood very well what a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone meant to a Soul Master.
Yet Ye Feng showed no trace of reluctance.
It seemed she had not misjudged him.
Soul Hunting Forest.
At the edge of a dark swamp shrouded in miasma.
Tang San sat cross-legged, his face pale and fine sweat beading on his forehead.
A dark-yellow Soul Ring was slowly merging into his body.
"Little San, steady your mind!"
Beside him, a middle-aged man with a crew cut and a rigid expression shouted in a low voice.
It was Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
He stared intently at Tang San, clutching a handful of realgar powder. His eyes were filled with both worry and anticipation.
This was the first time his theories had been put into practice.
If he succeeded, the name Yu Xiaogang would no longer be merely a "joke."
If he failed...
He would not fail!
Before you continue