Xiao Wu turned to glance at Lou Xu leaning against the tree and shook her head at him.
"I'm not leaving, Er Ming. I know what I'm doing."
His gaze followed Xiao Wu's to Lou Xu.
The young man stood against the trunk, drenched in blood, the pale purple dragon-scale mark on his forehead flickering in and out of view.
After a moment of silence, Er Ming asked Lou Xu,
"You... know what she is?"
"A hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit who took human form. So?"
"You don't want her soul ring and soul bone?"
"Her soul ring doesn't suit my martial soul. What would I want it for?"
The words were blunt, but Er Ming understood.
He looked at Xiao Wu, then at the reverse-scale mark on Lou Xu's forehead, which made him want to bow down and kneel with just a glance. In the end, he said nothing more.
"I trust you. I'll talk to Da Ming."
Er Ming took two steps back and lowered his voice.
"Treat her well."
Lou Xu said nothing, merely nodding.
Er Ming glanced at Xiao Wu again, then turned and disappeared into the forest.
Sound returned to the forest.
The chirping of insects, the wind, the rustle of leaves rubbing together-one by one, they returned to their ears.
The three waited where they were for a long time.
Suddenly, the Blue Silver Emperor shuddered violently.
The surrounding vegetation rustled along with her, as though responding to something.
"Boy, the one you're looking for is here."
Xiong Jun looked up toward the depths of the forest.
A cloud of dead leaves drifted out of the forest and coalesced into the Myriad Demon King's towering tree-demon form.
"Xiong Jun, you wanted me?"
"Not me." He gestured toward Lou Xu with his chin.
The Myriad Demon King looked at Lou Xu, then his gaze fell on the flowerpot in Xiao Wu's arms, tracing it inch by inch as he searched his memories.
The golden patterns flared. Stirred awake by his aura, the entire Blue Silver Emperor raised her leaves slightly toward the Myriad Demon King and bowed with an almost instinctive reverence.
"...She recognizes you," Lou Xu said.
"The Blue Silver Emperor. Instead of being a perfectly good soul beast, she ran off to become human... heh. I thought she was dead."
His gaze lingered on Xiao Wu for a moment before returning to Lou Xu. Sensing his surging soul power, the Myriad Demon King's pupils contracted.
"Human... no, Lou Xu, you're at rank thirty-two?"
How long had it been since he last left?
Not even half a year!
With that cultivation speed, and the reverse scale bestowed by their lord, Lou Xu would probably become a Titled Douluo before long.
A future powerhouse was still a powerhouse.
The Myriad Demon King silently marveled, and his gaze took on a different meaning as he looked at Lou Xu.
Our lord has a discerning eye for pearls. Truly admirable!
"Four months ago, at Mirror Lake, I said I would turn you into a puppet. You said I could control you, but I could never tame you."
Lou Xu stared at the dark green soul flames in his pupils, his tone calm.
"I remember."
Di Tian is the first line in my little ledger. You're the second.
"Back then, I thought you were merely talking tough."
The Myriad Demon King turned away, presenting his back to him.
"Now I see that I underestimated you. Those words... I take them back."
"Spare me the apology," Lou Xu said calmly.
"My time is precious. Right now, she can't die, but she can't thrive either. I don't want to pay a steep price to save her, and I don't want her going to waste like this. That's why I came to you."
"You're the strongest plant-type soul beast, and you were once her commander. I want to know how to use her to cultivate a new Blue Silver Emperor."
"Cultivate another Blue Silver Emperor? Impossible!"
"After her sacrifice, ninety-nine percent of her origin power dispersed. What remains would barely be enough to grow a blade of blue silver grass into a blue silver king. However, there are a few blue silver kings in the Blue Silver Forest. Give them this seed to devour, and in a few hundred to a thousand years, a new emperor could be born."
At this point, he suddenly chuckled.
"Still, she was once my subordinate, after all. Why not hand her over to me? I'll find you a high-quality medicinal herb in the forest, or let you choose any plant-type soul beast under my command to protect you for ten years. How does that sound?"
Lou Xu shook his head in refusal, then asked,
"If a soul beast won't work, could we cultivate a soul master with a blue silver emperor martial soul?"
"...Yes. Blue silver grass is inherently highly adaptable. Although this Blue Silver Seed contains little origin power, the Emperor's Mark remains. Have a blue silver grass soul master who has just awakened their martial soul devour and absorb it, nourishing the Soul Mark with their human body. Once they reach rank fifty, they can naturally awaken the blue silver emperor martial soul."
After patiently explaining, the Myriad Demon King abruptly bent down closer.
"Why are you asking?"
"Her lover coveted our techniques and tried to kill my entire family. Big Bear killed him."
At the words "Big Bear," the Myriad Demon King froze for a moment. Realizing he meant Xiong Jun, he shot him a teasing look, only for Xiong Jun to glare back.
Lou Xu looked at the Myriad Demon King and continued,
"When I found her, that man was keeping her captive as an inheritance for their son. I don't want to strengthen my enemy, nor do I want the blue silver emperor bloodline to disappear like this, leaving it tens of thousands of years before a new Blue Silver Emperor is born."
"I see..."
The Myriad Demon King nodded, disappointment filling his gaze as he looked at Ah Yin.
"When you followed me, I valued you and helped you advance your cultivation. You betrayed my trust. When you chose to leave the forest and take human form, I warned you long ago not to regret it."
"But... you willingly bore a child for a human who didn't value you, then sacrificed yourself. Even if I saved you, your bloodline already resides in the child you had with that human. Rather than heal you and watch you regress into a blue silver king, wasting your entire bloodline, better to..."
The gold-patterned leaves shook violently, as though she were trying to explain herself-or expressing regret.
The Myriad Demon King turned to Lou Xu, having reached some decision, and asked in a low voice,
"Lou Xu, do you have her soul bone?"
Lou Xu nodded.
"Good. Then I'll speak plainly."
"Half a Blue Silver Seed, together with the soul bone, is enough to cultivate a soul master with a blue silver emperor martial soul."
"If you have someone swallow this entire Blue Silver Seed, they will awaken a blue silver emperor martial soul, but the root of that martial soul will still be her."
Lou Xu took the flowerpot from Xiao Wu's arms and looked down at her.
"The root will still be her? What does that mean?"
"That person will become her successor and sense the other successors. Ultimately, who advances to a blue silver emperor martial soul will depend on their own abilities as they fight to seize the Emperor's Mark." He paused.
"I can help you remove her divine soul mark, but I want half of the Blue Silver Seed."
Lou Xu considered for a moment, then nodded.
He knew the Myriad Demon King wanted to preserve the blue silver emperor bloodline in the Soul Beast Forest and hasten the birth of a new emperor. This would also let him obtain a clean Blue Silver Seed, settling the matter once and for all. Neither side would lose out.
"Fine, but she has to die."
Lou Xu handed the flowerpot over.
"Very well."
The soul flames in the Myriad Demon King's pupils stilled for a moment, his voice betraying no emotion.
Ah Yin's leaves trembled, their golden light flickering as though she sensed death approaching.
The Myriad Demon King ignored her, uprooting her and holding her in his hand.
Surging soul power poured forth, its rich vitality laced with cold resentment, enveloping the entire Blue Silver Emperor.
Her leaves, stems, and roots withered steadily amid her violent struggles, while her divine soul was drawn out into a cloud of blue-green mist.
The entire Blue Silver Emperor became a seed imbued with a pure aura of life.
The Myriad Demon King curled a root around it and sliced it in half.
He handed one half to Lou Xu and tossed the other into the distance.
Lou Xu put the half Blue Silver Seed together with the soul bone and stored them in his Soul Tool, looking that way in puzzlement.
"Why throw it away?"
"The Blue Silver Forest is over there. I have no right to choose the new Blue Silver Emperor. Let this forest decide."
The Myriad Demon King glanced at the mist in his hand, then clenched his fist sharply, crushing it apart.
Her divine soul dispersed between heaven and earth.
From then on, there would be no more Ah Yin. In her place would be a newly ascended Blue Silver Emperor in the Star Dou Great Forest, and a soul master with a blue silver emperor martial soul soon to be born in the human world.
Lou Xu stared at the divine soul as it gradually faded into nothing, his eyes growing colder by degrees.
"Five for five. This is the first."
Before you continue