Lin Yan settled on a Soul Beast around five thousand years old, "Undying Grass," as the target for his second Soul Ring.
According to the ancient texts, Undying Grass was a Plant-type Soul Beast with extraordinarily tenacious vitality, usually growing on sunny slopes or in forest clearings rich in spiritual Qi. Its appearance was unusual: its stems and leaves were a rare grayish white, yet contained tremendous life force. Even if cut apart or burned, as long as its roots remained unharmed, it could flourish again given time, hence its name, "Undying."
Its Soul Ring was immensely nourishing to Soul Masters of any attribute. In particular, it could significantly enhance a Soul Master's vitality, recovery, and the resilience of their Soul Power. This was precisely what Lin Yan craved.
Ideally, the second Soul Skill he envisioned would involve healing or sustained recovery, greatly improving his ability to survive and fight prolonged battles.
Although most Undying Grass mentioned in the texts was at the thousand-year level, and five-thousand-year specimens were exceedingly rare, Lin Yan still wanted to try his luck in areas where it might grow. The Star Dou Great Forest had deep reserves and nurtured countless miracles; it might well hold older specimens.
Leaving the cave where he had hidden, Lin Yan checked his bearings and strode toward the Star Dou Great Forest. This journey was faster than his previous trip there, taking only seven or eight days to reach the forest.
This time, Lin Yan did not seek out a group. After reaching the Star Dou Great Forest, he ventured deep into the woods alone.
Drawing on the information he had memorized about where Undying Grass grew, Lin Yan made his way cautiously through the dense forest. He moved nimbly, his steps light. After absorbing the thousand-year blood ginseng, his control over his body had reached new heights, often allowing him to evade hidden venomous insects or dangerous vines by a hair's breadth. As his Soul Power circulated, his perception also sharpened. Almost no stirring of wind or grass within several dozen meters escaped his spiritual senses.
Yet several consecutive days of searching revealed no trace of Undying Grass. He found several possible growing sites marked in the texts, but they were either completely empty or held only ordinary medicinal herbs of very low ages that did not even qualify as Soul Beasts. Five-thousand-year Undying Grass was indeed not so easy to find.
At noon that day, Lin Yan was following his planned route toward a marked area deeper in the Star Dou Great Forest. The farther he went, the taller and more imposing the trees became. Their crowns blotted out the sky and sun, allowing only scattered patches of light through and leaving the woods somewhat dim. Everything around him was silent. Even birdsong and insect cries had grown much sparser, and an intangible sense of oppression permeated the air.
Suddenly, Lin Yan halted, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Something's wrong..."
He keenly noticed that the surrounding temperature seemed to be dropping slowly but steadily. At first, it was only a barely perceptible coolness, but as he continued forward, that coolness gradually became pronounced, even carrying a chill that seeped into his marrow. This was entirely different from what he knew of the climate within the Star Dou Great Forest, especially in this region dominated by wood- and earth-attribute Soul Beasts.
"Where's this cold Qi coming from?" Lin Yan's vigilance rose sharply, and he quietly circulated his Soul Power to resist the abnormally low temperature. Changing direction, he cautiously explored toward the source of the cold Qi.
The farther he went, the more the surrounding vegetation began to change. The once-lush broadleaf plants gradually dwindled, replaced by cold-resistant conifers. Thin white frost crystals even began to appear on shaded rocks and tree trunks. Moisture in the air condensed into a faint, cold mist that wound through the woods, considerably reducing visibility.
This was nothing less than a "frozen domain" completely at odds with the surrounding tropical rainforest!
When things stray from the ordinary, something uncanny must be at work! Rather than retreating, Lin Yan had his curiosity thoroughly piqued. Whatever could alter the environment over such a vast area was certainly no ordinary thing. Perhaps it was some natural treasure of an extremely cold attribute, or perhaps this was the territory of a powerful ice-attribute Soul Beast.
He concealed his presence and suppressed his Soul Power fluctuations to a minimum, moving through the cold mist like a ghost. Finally, after passing through a thicket covered in icicles, the sight before him made his breath catch.
Ahead lay a relatively open forest clearing. At its center was a pool roughly ten meters in diameter. Its water was a deep, dark blue, with visible white cold Qi spreading across its surface. Even the ground and rocks near its edge were covered in a layer of solid ice. The piercing cold Qi was emanating from this very pool.
A cold pool? Lin Yan was shaken. Such a cold pool appearing deep within the Star Dou Great Forest was simply inconceivable. Examining it carefully, he found that it did not seem to have formed naturally. Its water was utterly still, without a single ripple, like a massive piece of blue cold jade embedded in the ground. Its depths were unfathomable, and it faintly emitted an ancient, pure fluctuation of power.
His gaze was then drawn to a splash of different color at the edge of the cold pool.
A strange plant grew in a crack between frost-covered black rocks. Roughly a foot tall, it was a clear, translucent ice blue throughout, with seven leaves in total. Each leaf seemed carved from the finest blue crystal, its veins distinct, radiating a soft, pure blue halo. The leaves clustered around a slender central stem. At its tip hung a pearl-white fruit the size of a longan, its surface likewise flowing with a faint blue luster.
"This is..." Lin Yan's pupils abruptly contracted. Every text and illustrated record he had read flashed through his mind, and a name suddenly leaped out-"Heart-Healing Grass"!
Heart-Healing Grass was a rare Plant-type Soul Beast recorded in the texts as existing only in the core region of the Far North. It favored the utmost cold and grew by absorbing extremely cold primal Qi and moonlight. It possessed exceptionally pure attributes of both life and ice, and was especially renowned for its powerful healing effects. It was said that the medicinal potency of a hundred-year Heart-Healing Grass rivaled that of an ordinary thousand-year sacred healing herb found elsewhere. Its Soul Ring was an ultimate treasure that healing-type Soul Masters dreamed of obtaining, capable not only of providing powerful healing Soul Skills but also of purifying Soul Power and nourishing Martial Souls.
However, the texts also clearly stated that Heart-Healing Grass had extremely demanding growing conditions and was almost incapable of surviving anywhere outside the Far North. Moreover, its age as a Soul Beast rarely exceeded a thousand years, because although the extremely cold environment suited its growth, it also restricted its means of obtaining sufficient life force.
But this specimen before him...
Lin Yan forcibly suppressed his excitement and examined it carefully. According to the texts, Heart-Healing Grass grew one leaf every thousand years, its leaves gradually deepening from pale blue to dark blue. Upon reaching five thousand years, its leaves would turn translucent ice blue, and it would begin forming an "Ice Heart Fruit." All seven leaves of the specimen before him were already crystal clear, holding a radiance within, and the white fruit at its center had already taken shape, its luster contained within!
"Four thousand five hundred years! A Heart-Healing Grass Soul Beast at least four thousand five hundred years old!" Lin Yan's heart began pounding uncontrollably. He had worn through iron shoes searching in vain, only to find it without the slightest effort!
Although this was not the Undying Grass he had originally sought, Heart-Healing Grass achieved similarly marvelous results in its life attribute and healing effects, and might even surpass it in pure healing efficacy! Moreover, at four thousand five hundred years old, it was only five hundred years short of his ideal limit of five thousand years. This was already a nearly perfect choice for his second Soul Ring, far exceeding his expectations!
"How can everything in life be perfect? Finding this four-thousand-five-hundred-year Heart-Healing Grass is already an immense stroke of fortune!" Lin Yan made his decision in an instant. This was the one!