The Dewdrop Spirit Clam was a soul beast rarely seen in the continent's interior, mostly found in coastal regions.
It was gentle by nature and lacked aggression, but its outer shell was extremely hard.
Yet this soul beast was not the first choice for defensive soul masters.
That was because the Dewdrop Spirit Clam's most distinctive trait was that it spat out bubbles at regular intervals.
These bubbles were brimming with energy and could purify the water around it.
One could say that the Dewdrop Spirit Clam was a soul beast that benefited the environment.
Thus, although it was very suitable for Tang San's second soul ring, he still hesitated over whether to finish it off just like this.
"Hm?"
As Tang San observed the Dewdrop Spirit Clam, he noticed a black spot within its body.
Looking closely, he discovered that it was a pitch-black pearl, uneven in shape and containing a potent poison.
Tang San understood. So this was how the Dewdrop Spirit Clam purified water.
It absorbed the various impurities in the water and condensed them within its body, then expelled the excess energy as dewdrops.
These impurities accumulated within the Spirit Clam, forming a poison pearl.
Tang San recalled more of what he knew about the Dewdrop Spirit Clam.
Once this Poison Spirit Pearl accumulated enough impurities, it would become the Spirit Clam's tribulation.
If the clam survived, it could claim the Poison Spirit Pearl's power for itself and transform into a poison-attribute soul beast.
If it failed, it would simply die from the poison.
Tang San began dithering again.
I seem to have a reason to kill this Spirit Clam now, but is this really right?
If I keep trying to remain "pure as ice and spotless as jade," sooner or later it will come back to bite me.
He had reasons to kill it for its soul ring, but also reasons to spare it.
"Gurururu~"
Luo Sanpao, perched on his shoulder, seemed to sense Tang San's hesitation and nudged his head.
His little face was full of anger, as though saying, Why think so much? You aren't even qualified to worry about all that yet.
"...All right."
Tang San understood. He was only a small fry himself, after all. Thinking about so many things would do him no good.
Soul masters hunting soul beasts was as natural as heaven and earth.
Having made his decision, Tang San sent out his Blue Silver Grass and infused it with life force.
The Blue Silver Grass immediately grew tougher. With the right application of finesse, it could even wound like a sharp sword.
The Spirit Clam was still expelling dewdrops, its shell wide open, and it had shown no wariness toward Tang San, a human.
This was the best moment to kill it.
Calming his mind and focusing, Tang San knew he had only one chance. If he failed to kill it in a single strike, the Spirit Clam would close its shell, and with his current strength, he had no hope of breaking through it.
If I'd inherited the clear sky hammer martial soul, this wouldn't be so troublesome. But then I wouldn't have encountered this Spirit Clam.
As Tang San reflected on this, he controlled a mass of Blue Silver Grass, poised to strike.
Before long, the clam finished expelling dewdrops, and its body-the flesh inside its shell-wriggled.
Now!
Tang San aimed at the connection between the clam's flesh and shell, sending his Blue Silver Grass swarming forward in an instant. It severed the connection, then completely wrapped and bound the flesh.
Blue Silver Entanglement!
This was a control soul skill Tang San had developed through his own training. Its power rivaled that of a hundred-year soul skill, and it could grow stronger alongside his Blue Silver Grass.
Tang San clenched his fist, crushing and flattening the clam's flesh.
A purple soul ring appeared above the ball of Blue Silver Grass.
The thousand-year soul beast, the Dewdrop Spirit Clam, had died just like that.
It was so fragile that it had died before it could even activate its Poison Spirit Pearl.
The Dewdrop Spirit Clam was simply that fragile. Its innate bloodline could hardly be called powerful.
At a hundred years old and below, it survived entirely through the hardness of its shell.
At a thousand years old, the Poison Spirit Pearl condensed within its body began to take shape, giving it the ability to release toxins.
But even then, it was a case of wounding the enemy by a thousand while suffering eight hundred itself.
Only at ten thousand years would its Poison Spirit Pearl fully form. If it endured, it could transform into a poison-attribute soul beast. If it failed, its body would perish and its path would end.
This was the hardship of a weak bloodline. To advance, it had to put in far more arduous effort than other soul beasts.
The same was true of Blue Silver Grass. Awakening its intelligence was already harder than hard, and its lack of offensive means made surviving its early stages difficult.
But once it became a Blue Silver King, the road ahead would be considerably smoother.
Tang San brought the Spirit Clam's soul ring, flesh, Poison Spirit Pearl, and shell back to the carriage.
Grandmaster and the others were surprised to see the spoils Tang San had brought back.
Then they calmed down. They were still in the lake, and this was hardly a good time to absorb a soul ring.
Besides, the air inside the carriage was almost exhausted.
After communicating with Tang San through hand gestures and learning where the shell had come from, Grandmaster devised a plan.
The Blazing Feather Sparrow had waited for nearly four hours, but those humans still had not appeared.
Had they died?
What a pity that would be.
Just as the Blazing Feather Sparrow was considering waiting another two hours, a disturbance appeared on the lake's surface.
It instantly grew alert, eagerly gathering its strength to strike.
Then three human figures appeared on the surface, and the Blazing Feather Sparrow, impatient after its long wait, charged!
It became a fiery arrow, hurtling toward the three figures in an attempt to take down the humans in one blow.
Thud!
The three figures were pierced in an instant, but the sound was very wrong.
Then the Blazing Feather Sparrow suddenly discovered that its surroundings had gone dark.
It began frantically charging in every direction, but no matter what it did, it could not fly out of this dark world.
All it could do was slam into walls.
Outside, Tang San and his two companions, finally back on shore, broke into a cold sweat as they looked at the Blazing Feather Sparrow trapped inside the shell.
They had not expected the shell to be so hard. The Blazing Feather Sparrow's explosive charge had only made it shake.
"Brother San, your hands are so quick and precise! You actually managed to catch that sparrow."
Ma Hongjun gave Tang San a thumbs-up.
"Just luck." Tang San chuckled in relief as well.
The three figures from earlier had actually been straw dummies Tang San had woven from Blue Silver Grass.
The shell had been directly beneath them, waiting like an animal trap for the sparrow to take the bait.
Only because the sun had not fully risen and the sparrow had poor eyesight had this daring plan succeeded.
Grandmaster had devised such a bold plan because he trusted Tang San's eyesight and hand speed, as well as the shell's hardness.
Afterward, they checked their surroundings and confirmed there were no other dangers.
Tang San then began absorbing the thousand-year soul ring.
Although this was only his second soul ring, Tang San was confident he could do it.
As for the Blazing Feather Sparrow, Ma Hongjun fetched a large pot of water, placed the tightly bound shell inside, and used his evil fire to bring the water to a boil.
Over the past few days, Ma Hongjun's fire control had steadily improved, and he also had the cooking skills he had acquired through his love of food.
Soon, he had boiled the Blazing Feather Sparrow inside until it was half-dead. He then opened the shell and finished it off.
He looked at the pale-purple soul ring, then at Tang San, whose face was covered in cold sweat as he suffered in pain. Hardening his resolve, he sat down to prepare himself.
Grandmaster said little about this. He merely told Ma Hongjun, "Stay within your limits," and left it at that.
By his calculations, this soul ring's age was just a little above what Ma Hongjun could currently withstand.
The remaining gap could only be bridged through perseverance and courage.
As for Tang San, Grandmaster had confidence in him, although enduring this two-thousand-year soul ring would be difficult.
But Tang San's physical constitution was strong enough, and he also had the Blue Silver Creation Dao and the Healing Jade Right Arm Bone.
Two thousand years was precisely Tang San's limit.
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