Lin Yan had two target Soul Beasts for this journey. The first was the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern.
The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern was a special Plant-type Soul Beast that grew along the boundary between misty swamps and humus-rich forests. Its defining traits were "changing color with its surroundings to conceal itself" and "undying vitality through withering and flourishing." Lin Yan hoped this Plant-type Soul Beast could provide him with an ability to hide the color of his Soul Rings.
His second choice was the Undying Grass Soul Beast. Undying Grass possessed powerful regenerative abilities, allowing it to recover quickly even when parts of the plant were destroyed. It contained abundant life energy, which could also replenish the essence of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
According to the texts, Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Ferns could be found in the Starlight Swamp region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Lin Yan took a deep breath, taking in the mingled scents of soil, rotting leaves, and various plants that filled the air. Then he picked a direction and advanced swiftly.
Lin Yan moved lightly and swiftly, like a ghost in the woods, suppressing his presence and the sounds he made to a minimum. The natural affinity for plants granted by his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul also helped him blend into his surroundings and avoid unnecessary trouble.
The deeper he went, the taller the surrounding trees became. Their crowns blotted out the sky and sun, leaving the forest floor dim. The soil beneath his feet gradually grew soft and damp, and occasionally he stepped on waterlogged moss with a faint squelch. Scattered swamp pools began appearing around him, green duckweed floating on their surfaces. Bubbles occasionally rose from their depths, releasing swamp gas as they burst.
The Soul Beasts active here were clearly of a higher level, and he sensed the presence of Thousand-Year Soul Beasts from time to time. Lin Yan grew even more cautious, his mind highly focused as he relied on his perception of changes in his surroundings to avoid many dangers. The most dangerous moment came when he nearly encountered several Scale Armor Beasts with a thousand years of cultivation and a Poison Water Python lurking in a pool. Fortunately, he escaped with a scare but no harm.
After nearly a day of cautious trekking, Lin Yan finally reached an area that matched the description.
Before him lay a relatively open stretch of swamp. Grayish-white mist hung low over the water and exposed mudflats, limiting visibility. Along the swamp's edge stood an ancient forest, denser and filled with thicker trees, where masses of fallen leaves and dead branches had accumulated into a thick layer of humus.
Various moisture-loving plants grew where water met land, including tall ferns, strangely shaped fungi, and tangling vines.
"This is the place," Lin Yan said, stopping behind the aerial roots of an enormous banyan tree. His eyes swept the area ahead like blazing torches. "The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern should be hiding somewhere along this boundary between the swamp and the forest."
According to the texts, the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern was not very aggressive, but its ability to conceal itself was exceptional. It did not become completely invisible. Rather, like the most accomplished chameleon, it could perfectly blend the colors and textures of its leaves and stems, and even some of its energy fluctuations, into its surroundings. Unless someone deliberately searched for it using the right method, they would struggle to notice it even while walking right past it.
However, it had a weakness that hardly counted as one-it needed time to adapt to an environment of a single, pure color. If its surroundings suddenly became a broad expanse of one color it had never mimicked before, its mimicry mechanism would need to adjust, briefly revealing its original form.
Lin Yan patiently settled into hiding and carefully observed the area ahead.
Time passed little by little. Lin Yan remained as motionless as a stone statue, only his eyes moving slowly as he watched for the slightest abnormality.
He noticed that on a mudflat covered in green moss and brown dead branches, the "moss" in one small patch seemed too uniform in color. Its texture also differed ever so slightly from the real moss beside it.
It should be in that patch... I'll give it a try first. Lin Yan steadied his mind. His target was in that area.
He did not act immediately. Instead, he took a wide roll of bright red fabric from his backpack. It was one of the tools he had prepared in advance, specifically for a situation like this.
Lin Yan gauged the distance and wind direction, then quietly circled around to the upwind side of the target area.
He took a deep breath, secretly circulated his Soul Power, and, seizing the right moment, hurled the red fabric into the air!
The roll of red fabric unfurled in midair like an enormous red banner. With a slight push from his Soul Power, it fell precisely toward the area he suspected, spreading over it.
Red rarely appeared in broad, unbroken expanses in nature. To an Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern maintaining its mimicry, it was a drastic, sudden environmental change!
Just as the red fabric was about to land, the "ground," previously indistinguishable from the moss and dead branches, suddenly twisted and rippled! Colors shifted at dizzying speed, like an overturned palette. Then a strangely shaped plant emerged from its mimicry.
It stood roughly half a person's height, its main body a thick, short stem covered in ring-shaped knobs, with dozens of long, narrow, curled fern fronds clustered at the top. The chaotic colors of those fronds were settling into a slightly agitated grayish green in response to the provocation. A faint iridescent glow shimmered across their surfaces.
"The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern!" Lin Yan's eyes lit up as he confirmed that this was his target.
Judging by the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern's height, his cultivation was roughly between fourteen hundred and fifteen hundred years, exactly what Lin Yan needed.
With his target confirmed, Lin Yan held his longsword and swiftly stepped forward.
Sensing danger, the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern Soul Beast rapidly spread the fronds at its top, adopting an attacking posture.
Although the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern was not adept at initiating attacks, it was not without means of defending itself. Its fronds swept toward Lin Yan, and a cloud of rainbow mist spread outward like ripples!
Lin Yan immediately felt slightly dizzy. The scene before his eyes seemed to sway, and the surrounding mist appeared to thicken, even creating a faint illusion of distortion.
Visual illusions! Lin Yan's heart tightened.
Naturally, Lin Yan knew how this kind of Soul Beast attacked. The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern primarily attacked using the spore powder on its leaves, causing Mental Interference.
However, this attack from the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern was not particularly powerful. It served more to confuse and drive away enemies.
Lin Yan ignored his attack and continued rushing forward.
Seeing that Mental Interference was ineffective, the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern's fronds changed again. The iridescent glow on their surfaces suddenly brightened, rapidly condensing into dozens of tiny, multicolored particles of light. Like a swarm of bees following orders, they shot toward Lin Yan with a series of whistles!
These particles looked beautiful, but they contained considerable energy. Their trajectories were erratic and deceptive.
Lin Yan dared not take them lightly. He shifted his footwork, twisting and dodging to evade the particles of light.
But their movements were simply too unpredictable, and some ultimately struck him.
Pop, pop, pop... The particles struck Lin Yan with faint explosive cracks. Fortunately, he wore armor forged from refined steel. The impacts merely left blackened scorch marks without piercing it.
Lin Yan hesitated no longer. He needed to end the fight quickly; the commotion here might draw other Soul Beasts.
Braving the particles of light, Lin Yan charged straight toward the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern.
The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern clearly had not expected its opponent's attack to come so quickly. It tried to move, but Plant-type Soul Beasts were slow to begin with. In the blink of an eye, Lin Yan was right before it.
Lin Yan swept his longsword horizontally. With a swish, the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern's leaves were severed.
"Scree-" A sharp, piercing sound like an insect's shriek came from within the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern, a wail of agony at its grievous injury. Much of it had been torn open, sap flowed out, and the iridescent glow covering its body dimmed considerably.
Lin Yan pressed his advantage, thrusting his longsword repeatedly and punching several holes through the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern's main stem.
The Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern's struggles gradually weakened. Its greatest strength, concealment, had already been severely diminished after it was forced to reveal itself. Its means of attack and defense were relatively limited as well, and against Lin Yan's longsword, it ultimately fell into a losing position.
Seeing that the moment was ripe, a cold gleam flashed in Lin Yan's eyes. He lunged forward, avoiding the feebly waving fronds, and his longsword thrust with unstoppable force precisely into the vital core where the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern's main stem joined its roots!
Squelch! Sap sprayed out, and the Iridescent Withering and Flourishing Fern's last trace of life rapidly faded. All its fronds drooped, and the iridescent glow covering its body went out completely. A deep purple Soul Ring slowly condensed and emerged above its corpse.