Pay the friendship fee

Inside the Blue Silver Grass's mental space, Ah Yin, dressed entirely in blue, slumped helplessly to the ground.

There were no tears on her face, because she had already cried them dry.

"Tang Hao... Tang San... the murderers who killed me and my child, why do you still get to live perfectly well in this world?"

"Why did my child and I both have to die?"

"Clearly... you were the ones who deserved to die!"

A rich blood-red hue began spreading from the hem of Ah Yin's clothes, staining that clear, pure blue a filthy, murky red.

Outside, countless blood-colored threads wound around the grass blades, on the verge of covering all the original golden markings.

Xiao Wu said, "Lu Chen, look at Ah Yin! What's happening to her?!"

Lu Chen had naturally noticed Ah Yin's transformation. Thanks to the Soul-Calming Domain, he saw far deeper than Xiao Wu, even faintly glimpsing that lovely figure heading toward an extreme.

Ah Yin's transformation was incredibly rapid. In his urgency, Lu Chen could no longer worry about being inside an inn. He tossed Xiao Wu a purple card, immediately activated his Azure Dragon Martial Soul, and spoke rapidly:

"Xiao Wu, stand guard outside. Don't let anyone near this room."

"If anyone from the inn comes, give them this card and tell them I'll pay for any damage."

Although Xiao Wu very much wanted to stay inside and look after Ah Yin, seeing the changes in her form and Lu Chen's serious expression, she knew the situation was urgent. She immediately did as instructed and stood guard outside the door.

Want to fall into corruption, huh?

Not that easy!

"Although I'm very curious about how strong a Dark Blue Silver Emperor would be, what I hate most in this life is Evil Soul Masters, so you'd better behave and turn back!"

With Azure Dragon Possession activated, the Spirit-Suppressing Spear appeared in his palm, and his Two Innate Domains and two purple Soul Rings activated simultaneously.

As all his attributes rose substantially, the domains' suppressive effects finally bore down on Ah Yin without restraint. The rate at which those blood-colored threads appeared dropped sharply almost instantly.

This could work!

Any other Soul Master, even a Titled Douluo whose attributes leaned toward healing, could at most have alleviated the symptoms, because what was changing was Ah Yin's origin as an empress among hundred-thousand-year plant Soul Beasts.

As a Blue Silver Emperor whose attribute was already extremely close to Ultimate Wood, Ah Yin's defining qualities were the myriad forms of nature and endless regeneration-or, in other words, undying life.

In a battle of attrition at the level of life's essence, who could possibly outlast her...

Fortunately, Lu Chen possessed Ultimate Wood and the Divine Attribute.

The Azure Emperor Spirit-Calming Art circulated furiously. Lu Chen drew dense azure-gold mist from within his body and poured it all into the Blue Silver Grass before him.

"I didn't save you so you could fall onto an evil path and then die by my own hand."

"Or do you still not want revenge, and you're willing to just die like this?"

"Wake up!"

For the first time, Lu Chen's voice rang out directly within this mental space. Accompanied by a majestic, sacred dragon's roar, a vast quantity of azure-gold mist transformed into an illusory dragon and slammed into the beautiful woman, whose face had begun to show conflict at his words.

The blood-red hue finally began to recede.

In its place, azure-gold patterns appeared on her blue dress.

The patterns intersected, finally forming a strangely shaped flower along the hem of her skirt, adding a touch of sanctity and nobility to Ah Yin's originally gentle, mild bearing.

Outside, the fine golden markings on the Blue Silver Grass's blades also gained a hint of azure light.

That was a seed of advancement toward the ultimate.

Seeing everything return to normal, even more perfect than before, Lu Chen finally relaxed his taut nerves. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, then said with some exasperation:

"You really are the most troublesome person I've ever met..."

"S-sorry..."

"Hm?"

A gentle, soft female voice sounded directly in his mind. Lu Chen abruptly looked toward the Blue Silver Grass. With a thought, he actually saw Ah Yin directly inside the mental space.

Seeing this, Lu Chen tentatively asked through his thoughts:

"You can communicate with me directly?"

"After this big flower finished forming, it seems so. If you don't want to speak to me..."

"Stop, stop, stop. You're already troublesome enough. Don't add to my burden."

That was the truth. It had only been a day since Lu Chen had successfully cultivated the Azure Emperor Spirit-Calming Art. Activating his Soul Skills and domains simultaneously in such a short span, while also drawing Soul Power bearing the Divine and Ultimate Wood attributes from his body to pour into Ah Yin...

Even a real six-year-old Azure Dragon couldn't have withstood being put through that.

Seeing signs that Ah Yin was about to keep wallowing, Lu Chen genuinely feared she would conjure up a hoe and start burying flowers. He hurriedly called a halt while calling out to System Sis inwardly.

"System Sis, open the Group Member Affection Panel."

[The Group Member Affection Panel has been opened for you (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧]

[Ah Yin: 79 (admiration)]

Do I actually have the makings of a chancellor?

He had thought no one could surpass Xiao Wu's feat of reaching 70 affection at lightning speed in a single day, but unexpectedly, there was an even greater expert.

When it comes to giving yourself away for free, I, Lu Chen, am willing to call you...

Wait, considering how I nearly overexerted myself purifying Ah Yin just now, this hardly seems to have anything to do with getting her for free?

To keep Ah Yin from continuing to overthink things, Lu Chen put his acting skills to work and took the initiative to start a conversation:

"When I sensed you yesterday, your vital signs were still very stable. How did you end up like this overnight?"

"Don't be surprised. I'm naturally a little unusual. I can sense Soul Beasts with exceptionally powerful Bloodline Origins within a certain distance."

I'm not surprised at all. I even knew long ago that you were someone reborn, and that you controlled the power to interfere with space and time. You peeked at quite a few of my secrets through the river of time, and even wrote those secrets in your Notebook, leaving me almost too ashamed to face anyone...

As Ah Yin secretly thought this, she explained:

"I just figured a few things out. It turned out that people I thought were close to me had been scheming against me all along, so..."

"So you couldn't see a way out and chose to kill yourself," Lu Chen finished the words she was too embarrassed to continue saying, then remarked for who knew which time that day:

"You really do have such a troublesome personality."

A young married woman's blush trumped any flustered reaction.

A blush rose on Ah Yin's exquisitely beautiful face. As though afraid Lu Chen would notice, she secretly shot him a glare.

That look held three parts shyness, three parts apology, three parts vulnerability, and one part coy reproach. That fleeting charm silenced Lu Chen's sighs, leaving him rather embarrassingly dazed for a moment.

How could anyone be this beautiful...

Oh, strictly speaking, Soul Masters and Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent all count as monsters, don't they?

So she's an enchantress who unsettles the Dao heart. That explains it!

Steadying himself, Lu Chen was quite curious about Ah Yin's current thoughts. Just how extreme must her thoughts have been to change even her Bloodline Origin?

With her affection as high as 79, Lu Chen simply asked outright:

"What do you plan to do next?"

"Why not return to your homeland and quietly build up your strength?"

"Right, does Tang Hao know about that place?"

"You didn't leave anything there that could be used against you, did you?"

"Don't wonder how I know about Tang Hao. My elders have a few connections, and Spirit Hall has made a cautionary example of the case files on you two."

"Because of this, Tang Hao even angered his father to death."

Lu Chen asked questions he already knew the answers to, and Ah Yin's face grew even redder.

Right now, she desperately wanted to travel through time and slap her past self, who had told him everything!

"I want revenge on Tang Hao, but right now, I don't have nearly enough strength to take revenge..."

"So I'd like to stay with you for the time being. May I?"

After faltering for a long while, Ah Yin submitted her request to join the team.

Lu Chen decisively clicked accept, expressing his pleasure at becoming Ah Yin's teammate and friend, on the condition that she first pay the friendship fee:

"Of course, but you have to help me with a little favor first~"

"What favor? I'll do everything I can to help!"

"Simple. Help me fuse with this."

Light flashed from his storage ring, and a peculiar Soul Bone, blue-gold throughout, appeared in his palm. It was none other than the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!