Pushing into the Blue Silver Grass, Xu Qing saw Gu Yuena sitting cross-legged in meditation.
He did not approach and disturb her. Instead, he walked to the other side of Gu Yuena, sat cross-legged as well, and began sensing the changes within himself.
He could clearly sense that both his physical strength and Spiritual Power had increased tremendously. There was also a golden Soul Ring inside his body, one very similar to the Blood Essence Soul Rings Tang Wulin obtained by breaking his seals in the original story.
Moreover, this Soul Ring had granted him a Soul Skill called Golden Dragon Battle Armor.
Once activated, it could condense a suit of dragon-shaped battle armor and grant a hundred-percent boost to all attributes.
Realizing this, Xu Qing could not help breathing a little harder.
Of course, what it consumed was his Bloodline Power.
Aside from that, he had also awakened several new abilities.
The first was called Dragon Eyes. After his eyes underwent Dragon Transformation, he could sense the energy fluctuations of surrounding objects-in other words, energy perception. It also gave Xu Qing the ability to see through to the essence of things.
The second was Water Element Control. His affinity with the water element now seemed to have reached an extraordinarily terrifying level. Xu Qing felt as though, with the slightest thought, he could freely manipulate the surrounding water element for his own use. He also felt as if he had possessed this ability all along.
Of course, what Xu Qing did not know was that the main reason his affinity with the water element had reached such a terrifying level was that someone had secretly opened a back door for him.
There was one other ability: flight.
However, with his current cultivation, he could only sustain brief flights at low altitudes.
Otherwise, he would end up going into free fall halfway through flying.
Xu Qing opened his eyes. He intended to try out his first new ability first. The next moment, he activated the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon Bloodline within him.
In an instant, his eyes became a pair of golden, slit-pupiled eyes, a faint golden light rippling in their depths.
His gaze fell on Gu Yuena, only to give himself a fright.
Am I allowed to look at this? And is this ability even proper?
Gu Yuena seemed to sense something and slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Xu Qing's transformed dragon eyes, she asked in puzzlement, "What are you doing?"
Xu Qing gave two light coughs and immediately deactivated Dragon Eyes. "N-nothing."
His cheeks flushed bright red, and he felt incredibly guilty.
I really didn't mean to~
Gu Yuena rolled her eyes at him but did not blame him. "Xu Qing, meditate quietly!"
Xu Qing nodded. "Okay!"
Testing his other abilities would have to wait until another day. He then slowly entered a meditative state as well.
Faint golden light flowed from his body, more conspicuous than before.
Noticing the increase in her cultivation speed, Gu Yuena's lips curved into a faint smile. It was just as she had thought.
After entering meditation, Xu Qing's consciousness once again became a stalk of Blue Silver Grass.
Before long, he noticed something unusual around him. Countless pale blue motes of light appeared in his perception, floating quietly nearby, and Xu Qing could feel them seemingly calling softly to him.
What was this?!
Xu Qing tried touching these motes with his Spiritual Power. Soon, he sensed all sorts of emotions: joy, delight, excitement, and a trace of reverence.
Faint, fragmented thoughts streamed into Xu Qing's mind.
"King-"
Xu Qing seemed to understand something. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had evolved and was already very close to the Blue Silver Emperor. Although it was not as powerful as a true Blue Silver Emperor, he could still mobilize the surrounding Blue Silver Grass and communicate with it on a basic level.
Perhaps I could develop it in this direction. Maybe I could even use this to develop a Blue Silver Domain!
After that, Xu Qing thought no more about it and immersed himself in cultivation.
Time passed, and afternoon arrived in the blink of an eye. The front door opened, and Xu Yan returned home from work.
Upon entering, he saw Tang Xue looking rather happy and asked in puzzlement, "What's the matter? Did something happen?"
Tang Xue said with a smile, "It's Xiao Qing. He's finished his seclusion and come out."
"Really?" Xu Yan's eyes suddenly widened.
Tang Xue nodded. "But he's cultivating with Nana in the backyard right now."
Xu Yan nodded at her words.
Afterward, Tang Xue also told Xu Yan about the changes in Xu Qing.
That evening, after dinner, Xu Qing enjoyed a comfortable bath, said goodbye to Gu Yuena, and returned to his room alone.
This time, he did not enter Parallel Earth. Instead, he prepared to condense his own second Soul Ring.
Sitting cross-legged on his soft bed, he summoned his Soul Spirit, Lingrong, with a thought.
As soon as Lingrong appeared, it happily circled and fluttered through the air, looking lively and adorable.
It also chirped, "Chirp, chirp~"
Xu Qing raised a hand and gently stroked its little head. "I'm going to absorb my second Soul Ring next. I'll need your cooperation."
As though understanding him, Lingrong obediently nodded.
Xu Qing closed his eyes, focused his mind, and calmed himself as Soul Power slowly rose around him.
A deep yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from his body and encircled him.
Let's begin!
Drawing on Lingrong's origin power, he began condensing his second Soul Ring.
Soul Power surged and gathered without pause.
Before long, another deep yellow Soul Ring steadily enveloped him from head to toe.
Vast Soul Power churned within him. His former bottleneck broke, and it was as though a seal on the Soul Power inside him had been opened.
Rank 20!
Rank 21!
I'd reached rank 21!
Xu Qing slowly opened his eyes. Sensing the fluctuations of the denser, more refined Soul Power within him, he was immediately delighted.
He then examined his brand-new second Soul Skill.
Xu Qing soon learned its name-Blue Silver Blessing.
A healing-type Soul Skill?
Once Blue Silver Blessing was activated, the Blue Silver Grass would release life energy, turning it into a special healing beam to treat injuries. According to the information fed back by the Soul Skill, it seemed that, given enough Soul Power, it could even regrow severed limbs.
Of course, it also had considerable limitations. It could not heal mental trauma or remove negative conditions such as poisoning. It was equivalent to possessing a weakened version of "wildfire cannot burn it all away; the spring breeze blows, and it grows again."
Wait, what was this?!
Xu Qing soon noticed that his first Soul Skill had changed.
No, more precisely, it had undergone some sort of mutation.
The new Soul Skill was called Spore Demon Puppet!
On top of the original basic abilities of Blue Silver Spores, it added the ability to invade the minds of parasitized targets, and even control others.
Of course, if the other party's Spiritual Power was too strong, Xu Qing himself could also suffer mental backlash.
This had completely inherited the characteristics of cordyceps.
Moreover, thanks to the Gold of Life, Lingrong's age had now increased to six hundred and thirty years.
Xu Qing could also sense that Lingrong seemed to have become smarter than before.