The group continued deeper into the forest. The terrain began to rise and fall, and Thousand-Year Soul Beasts appeared with increasing frequency, making the party advance more cautiously.
Finally, after passing through a dense patch of ferns, they came upon the entrance to a small valley. Moisture seemed to hang in the air within, and the plants looked even greener.
Just as Lei En was about to enter the valley first to scout as usual, Lin Yan suddenly raised a hand and said quietly, "Wait."
Everyone immediately stopped and looked toward him warily. Lei En lowered his voice. "What is it, Brother Lin Shuo? Is something wrong?"
Lin Yan's sharp gaze swept over the vegetation at the valley entrance. His nose twitched slightly, as though sensing the scents in the air. He tilted his head and listened for a moment before slowly saying, "The scent is very pure, with a faint fragrance and moisture... I think we may have found the Soul Beast Su Yun needs."
"What?" Everyone was startled, then delighted. After searching for so long, had they finally found a lead?
"Where?" Su Yun's voice trembled with excitement.
Lin Yan did not answer immediately. Instead, he carefully pushed aside the broad leaves blocking their way and entered the valley first. The valley was small, with a shallow stream running through its center, its water clear enough to see the bottom. Beside the stream lay a patch of damp, open ground where the sunlight happened to fall.
Lin Yan pointed and said quietly, "Look over there."
Everyone followed his finger and saw a peculiar plant growing beside the stream.
It stood about three meters tall, resembling a cattail, with something of a reed's grace. Its leaves were long, slender, and emerald green, but its most striking feature was its top. Instead of flowers, it bore a fluffy, pure-white puffball roughly 1.3 meters in diameter. Countless tiny dewdrops seemed to have condensed upon it, sparkling with crystalline light in the sun and giving off a faint white halo and a refreshing fragrance.
"This is..." Lei En, Ling Ren, and Ji Qiu all looked blank, clearly unfamiliar with this Plant-type Soul Beast.
Su Yun gazed at the enormous puffball and sensed a faint resonance between it and her Martial Soul. She was so excited that her body could not help trembling, as though that plant was precisely what she wanted.
Lin Yan explained softly, "If I'm not mistaken, this plant is called a Dew-Condensing Cattail. It's a rather rare Plant-type Soul Beast. Its properties are very unusual. The entire plant can spontaneously gather the world's primal Qi and moisture to form this 'condensed dew,' which has restorative effects. Taking the condensed dew directly can accelerate Soul Power recovery for a short time."
He paused and looked at Su Yun. "If you use it as your third Soul Ring, there's a very strong chance you'll gain a fairly good Soul Skill for restoring Soul Power. For a support-type Soul Master, that's immensely valuable. It can greatly improve a team's ability to sustain combat."
At the words "restoring Soul Power," Lei En and the others' eyes immediately lit up. In battle, what they feared most was running short of Soul Power midway through a fight. If their team's support-type Soul Master could help restore Soul Power, that would be something they could only dream of!
Lin Yan continued, "Also, although this Dew-Condensing Cattail isn't the same species as a dandelion, I see quite a few similarities in their forms and properties. Both belong to types that use 'fluff' or 'dew' to spread and nourish themselves. Perhaps... absorbing its Soul Ring might not only grant you a Soul Skill, but also replenish or even enhance the origin of your Dandelion Martial Soul to some extent, improving its quality."
These words left Su Yun even more astonished and delighted. Improving the quality of her Martial Soul-this was an opportunity one could encounter but never seek out!
"Now look at the puffball at its top," Lin Yan said, giving his final assessment. "A Dew-Condensing Cattail's age is mainly judged by the size of the 'condensed-dew puffball' it forms. Usually, once the puffball exceeds one chi, about 33 centimeters, in diameter, it counts as a hundred-year specimen. Each additional chi adds roughly five hundred years of cultivation. This one's puffball is over 1.3 meters in diameter, so its age should be around thirteen hundred years, just within the age limit for absorbing a third Soul Ring. It's very suitable."
After hearing Lin Yan's extremely detailed explanation, Lei En, Ling Feng, Ji Qiu, and Su Yun were all stunned. They looked at him with disbelief and admiration filling their eyes.
"Brother Lin Shuo... you... aren't you far too knowledgeable?!" Ling Feng's mouth fell open. "You even know an obscure Soul Beast like this in such detail?"
Ji Qiu also put aside all arrogance and sighed sincerely. "I'm impressed! Your knowledge alone would take me a long time to learn."
Lei En laughed heartily and clapped Lin Yan firmly on the shoulder. "Brother! You really are our team's lucky star! Not only are you strong, you're a walking dictionary too! You've really helped us out this time!"
Su Yun was so moved that her eyes reddened slightly. She bowed deeply to Lin Yan. "Lin Shuo, thank you! Thank you so much!"
Lin Yan hurriedly reached out to gesture for her to rise, explaining with the same excuse as before, "There's no need for that. I just happened to read about this Soul Beast in an ancient text. I never expected to actually encounter one today." He did not want to explain too much about the source of his knowledge.
"Haha, whatever the case, finding it is wonderful news!" Lei En rubbed his hands excitedly.
Lei En looked at Su Yun and asked, "What do you think?"
"Brother Lei, this is the one I want."
"Good, then what are we waiting for? Let's get ready to act!"
"Don't rush." Lin Yan spoke again, his expression cautious as he reminded them, "The Dew-Condensing Cattail itself has almost no offensive capabilities, but the condensed dew it gathers attracts many Soul Beasts. So there's a very high chance that a guardian Soul Beast will be beside a heavenly treasure like this. We need to find it first, or prepare to deal with a surprise attack. We absolutely mustn't approach rashly."
At Lin Yan's reminder, the nerves everyone had just relaxed immediately tightened again. Indeed, in the Star Dou Great Forest, the more precious something was, the more likely danger lurked beside it.
Lei En's expression turned solemn, and he nodded firmly. "You're right! Everyone, stay on guard! Ji Qiu, use your vines to scout the surroundings! Ling Ren, watch the high ground and the stream! Brother Lin Shuo, let's keep our eyes on the area around that Dew-Condensing Cattail!"
The Boulder team immediately entered a battle-ready state. Around the Dew-Condensing Cattail, which gave off an enticing fragrance and glow, they cautiously began searching for traces of any guardian Soul Beast that might be present.
"No powerful Soul Beasts found nearby," Ji Qiu reported.
"Nothing on the high ground or in the stream either," Ling Ren added immediately.
Since that was the case, it was time to prepare for Soul Hunting.