Harvest, Absorbing a Soul Bone

There were two empires on the continent: the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

The Heaven Dou Empire was larger in territory than the Star Luo Empire, but the latter was stronger in overall national power.

Compared with the Heaven Dou Empire, whose noble factions were complicated and internally fragmented, the Star Luo Empire was known for its iron-blooded rule.

Its most famous features were the White Tiger Wuhun and its brutal system of imperial succession.

The White Tigers fought one another, and only the last surviving prince was qualified to become emperor.

The Heaven Dou Empire, meanwhile, had a relatively loose structure.

For instance, Fasinuo Province was land the empire had seized through war and managed directly, while the Balak Kingdom had willingly submitted to the empire and joined it as an affiliated power.

It possessed a certain degree of autonomy, but it still had to obey the empire.

Like Suotuo City, Holy Soul Village lay along the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

But a village naturally could not compare to a bustling city.

Suotuo City was governed by the Balak Kingdom's royal family.

Holy Soul Village, on the other hand, was practically ignored by everyone.

Lu Shi guessed that Tang Hao had chosen such a small village partly for this reason.

No one managing it meant greater safety. Even if they were exposed, information would spread more slowly, leaving time to escape.

After traveling for a full day and night, Lu Shi arrived at Holy Soul Village.

It truly was a quiet little village.

There was either forest or farmland.

Ah Yin was hidden on the mountain behind Holy Soul Village. It stood nearly two hundred meters tall, and a massive waterfall twenty meters wide poured down from it.

Anyone who was neither blind nor deaf could find it.

After searching for a while, Lu Shi heard the thunderous roar of rushing water cascading down beside him.

Following the sound, he saw the water striking the surface and rocks.

It threw up a great deal of mist.

A faint, cool vapor permeated the air.

Sunlight reflected off the damp rock face, forming bands of shimmering scales of light.

The temperature dropped considerably as soon as he drew near.

This really was a good place to hide. Who would have thought there was a cave behind the waterfall?

Lu Shi did not hesitate and rushed into the curtain of water.

At first glance, it was bare and empty.

Tang Hao had made two preparations. To prevent anyone from accidentally entering behind the waterfall, he had also blocked the cave entrance with a huge boulder.

But that posed no obstacle to Lu Shi.

He easily found the cave entrance and pushed aside the boulder.

The cave was about one and a half people tall, so entering it did not feel oppressive.

Yet even though it was nearly noon, the interior remained dim and cramped, with overly saturated moisture accumulated in the air.

The unceasing water vapor had nowhere to disperse, so it could only cling to the slick cave walls. Visible droplets slid down onto the rocky ground.

Then flowed out of the cave and rejoined the waterfall.

Lu Shi looked deeper inside and immediately noticed that extraordinary Blue Silver Grass.

Within the dark cave, the roots of the surrounding Blue Silver Grass had pierced through the stone walls to grow, yet they did not dare approach it and only surrounded it.

They had spontaneously formed a protective barrier.

It had only three tender leaves. They were slightly translucent, bearing faint dark-gold patterns that could not be seen clearly.

It appeared holy, noble, and inviolable.

Sensing someone approach.

Those delicate leaves visibly trembled a few times.

She was afraid.

Lu Shi took out a jade box, dug up Ah Yin along with her roots, and placed her inside.

"Don't worry. I'm only moving you somewhere else to grow."

He then casually transplanted a new Blue Silver Grass.

It would not fool Tang Hao. Lu Shi simply felt that leaving the spot empty after digging away the Blue Silver Emperor looked rather unpleasant.

Replacing it made it look much better.

Then he felt around the cave wall. It was like the walls during the humid rainy season in his previous life: touching them would make water trickle down.

It ran along his arm and soaked his sleeve.

"Here..."

There was a hidden groove in the cave wall, containing a pitch-black rectangular long box.

The instant he opened the black box, Lu Shi felt a coolness and an indescribable comfort that instantly soothed the agitation in his heart.

A blue Soul Bone lay within, translucent with the crystalline sheen of bone.

Its two sides resembled wings, and majestic life force constantly overflowed from it, affecting the Blue Silver Grass within the cave.

The Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone granted extreme vitality, healing, and flight abilities.

After packing everything away, it was time to leave!

Without lingering, Lu Shi exhausted all his strength and raced north.

Once he was far enough away that he would not leave a Soul Beast aura around Holy Soul Village, he summoned the Flame Spirit Eagle and sped off at full speed.

He kept flying.

After passing Notting City and reaching complete safety.

Lu Shi entered the Small World.

The Mandala Snake immediately slithered over and coiled around him.

Her pink tongue flicked out with soft hissing sounds.

The first thing Lu Shi needed to do was absorb the Eight Spider Lances.

He sat cross-legged and took out the Soul Bone to absorb it under the Mandala Snake's lively gaze.

The entire process went smoothly, without the slightest difficulty.

When he stood, his upper clothes tore apart with the sound of ripping silk. His muscles were sharply defined, and four fist-sized bulges rose on each side of his spine. Then, eight spider lances grew from his spine, stopping only after reaching three meters.

They were bright purple all over, their surfaces exceptionally smooth, with tips as sharp as blades.

"Finally... I finally have the Eight Spider Lances."

This was a divine artifact that could grow alongside a Soul Master!

Lu Shi's emotions surged as he controlled the four lower spider legs and slowly drove them into the ground, supporting his body.

There was no awkwardness at all. They felt as though they were part of his body, something he had been born with.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

The Mandala Snake blinked her big eyes, completely unaware of what had happened. She had only seen Lu Shi sit down cross-legged, then rise with strange things growing from his back.

They looked very dangerous.

But she could also sense Lu Shi's Soul Power rising, and she flicked her tongue happily for him.

She rubbed against Lu Shi's cheek in celebration.

"Hiss!"

Lu Shi lightly scratched the Mandala Snake beneath her chin with one finger. She was so comfortable that she nearly began purring.

Unfortunately, she could not do that yet.

She would only be able to after gaining a human form.

The second task was absorbing the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.

As the emperor among plant-type Soul Beasts, the Blue Silver Emperor's traits were life and healing. Its energy itself was not violent.

Absorbing it should not be difficult.

Under the Mandala Snake's puzzled gaze, Lu Shi coiled her up and placed her on the grass to one side. He even patted her twice, signaling for her to lie still obediently.

He retracted the Eight Spider Lances, took out the Soul Bone, and gently pressed it against his right leg.

Buzz—

A faint humming sounded. Lu Shi only felt his right leg tremble slightly, followed by a cool aura silently slipping into it from all directions. The crystalline blue Soul Bone quietly disappeared, transforming into countless streams of blue-gold air that spread around his right leg.

Cool and comfortable.

But immediately afterward, Lu Shi felt an enormous amount of Soul Power surge into his right leg, and the pressure abruptly increased.

Although the Soul Power was gentle, it was ultimately a Soul Bone left behind by a hundred-thousand-year plant-type emperor.

Majestic power spread from his right leg throughout his body, placing pressure on him while also remaking his body.

His bones became tougher. The Eight Spider Lances he had just absorbed also benefited, while his meridians widened and strengthened. If the Soul Power flowing through him before had been a stream, it was now a surging river.

The life energy radiating from Lu Shi's body affected the grass on the ground.

Even if it was only the slightest trace leaking out.

It was enough to make the grass grow wildly.