Azure Vine

Over the next few days, Lei Nuo took Lin Qingchen and Tang San to find several more Soul Beasts.

They were a three-hundred-year-old water-attribute Black Tortoise, a wood-attribute Greenwood Deer over two hundred years old, and an earth-attribute Stone Armor Bear over two hundred years old.

But without exception, Lin Qingchen secretly stored them all away using the same method.

"Dean, I... sigh..."

Seeing the self-reproach in Lin Qingchen's eyes, Lei Nuo patted his head and encouraged him. "It's all right, Qingchen. Our luck hasn't been very good this time, but look on the bright side: we only killed a few extra Soul Beasts, and it didn't take me much effort."

"Oh, right." Lei Nuo seemed to recall something and addressed them both. "As for Soul Beasts, though those who are not of our kind must surely have different hearts, they and Soul Masters complement each other. If there's no need, it's best not to slaughter them indiscriminately. Of course, I won't force you to act any particular way. Just make sure your consciences are clear."

"I understand, Dean." Tang San nodded seriously.

"Come on, let's keep looking for Soul Beasts. Now that we've ruled out four, only a metal-attribute Soul Beast remains. And we still need to find a Soul Ring for you, Tang San."

Come to think of it, they hadn't encountered many suitable Plant-type Soul Beasts over the past few days.

Most had been Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo or other weak Soul Beasts. The only Hundred-Year Soul Beast had been a hundred-year-old Ghost Vine.

Lei Nuo was no theoretical master who could have Blue Silver Grass absorb a poison-type Soul Beast, so he was intent on finding Tang San a plant Soul Beast with powerful vitality.

The three had not gone far when Lei Nuo's nose suddenly twitched.

Sniff, sniff...

"Dean, what's wrong?" Lin Qingchen asked.

"Hehe, this is the kind of knowledge you'd have a hard time finding in books."

Lei Nuo smiled as he explained, "Take a good sniff. Can you smell a faint fragrance of grass and trees?"

Lin Qingchen and Tang San exchanged a glance and immediately sniffed the air.

"There really is one, but it's very faint," Tang San said with a nod.

As the owner of the Five Elements Qilin Martial Soul, Lin Qingchen naturally had a much keener sense of smell than Tang San, who had a tool Martial Soul. After Lei Nuo pointed it out, he caught the scent at once.

"Remember this: in places like this Soul Beast forest, where sunlight generally doesn't reach the ground year-round, the air among the trees should carry a smell of decay. But if you can smell this fragrance of grass and trees, it means there's a Soul Beast with relatively strong vitality nearby. It's generally a Plant-type Soul Beast, which is why it can dilute the smell of decay."

At that, Tang San grew excited.

"Then let's hurry over."

Lei Nuo nodded and led them toward the fragrance.

They had not gone far when Lin Qingchen spotted a mass of verdant vines wrapped around a tree more than five meters tall in the distance. It looked lush and leafy.

"It's an Azure Vine!" Lei Nuo rejoiced inwardly.

The Azure Vine was a rather good Soul Beast. It had no other abilities, but its vitality was exceptionally strong, and it grew vigorously. The older an Azure Vine was, the longer it grew.

A ten-thousand-year-old Azure Vine could even cover an area tens of meters across.

"Little San, your luck is pretty good. This Azure Vine looks to be over three hundred years old. It's almost the most suitable Soul Beast for you right now. Watch me get it for you."

With that, Lei Nuo summoned the Thunderous Spear and thrust it at the Azure Vine wrapped around the tree, using his third Soul Skill, Thunderclap Descent.

As a Plant-type Soul Beast, it had no ability to flee whatsoever. It could only grow more vines to wrap around itself, defending passively.

But how could a three-hundred-year-old Azure Vine withstand a Soul Ancestor's third Soul Skill? With a single thrust, the Thunderous Spear pierced through several layers of vines.

Lei Nuo then swept his spear sideways, instantly severing the last few layers of vines in his way and exposing the core within, which resembled a wooden burl.

He flicked his spear upward, slicing the core off and tossing it in front of Tang San.

"This is the Azure Vine's vine heart, where its core lies. Now that I've cut it off, I'm afraid it won't live much longer. Little San, just pierce it with your dagger."

Tang San hurriedly did as he was told.

"Pssht-"

The dagger sank all the way into the vine heart and emerged on the other side with cyan sap on its blade. A yellow Soul Ring rose from it.

Having watched Lin Qingchen absorb Soul Rings so many times, Tang San had long since learned how. He immediately summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and used his Soul Power to draw the Soul Ring toward him.

The Soul Ring instantly shrank and settled directly over the Blue Silver Grass.

Lei Nuo put away the Thunderous Spear and said to Lin Qingchen, "The Azure Vine is a life-attribute Soul Beast, balanced and gentle. Tang San shouldn't have any trouble absorbing its Soul Ring. We just need to wait a while."

Sure enough, Tang San woke up in less than ten minutes.

He opened his eyes, filled with wild joy.

Sure enough, after he absorbed his First Soul Ring, his Mysterious Heaven Skill broke straight through to the second level.

"Haha, good, good. Let's see your first Soul Skill."

Tang San nodded, and his First Soul Ring lit up.

He waved a hand, sending more than a dozen strands of Blue Silver Grass shooting out to wrap around the Azure Vine that Lei Nuo had severed.

Then the Blue Silver Grass began to emit a blue light.

"Dean, my first Soul Skill is called Blue Silver Absorption. It absorbs the Soul Power of whoever it binds, as well as the life energy scattered between heaven and earth. I can also use Soul Power to control the Blue Silver Grass's growth and bind and restrain things without using a Soul Skill."

"Good. This Soul Skill can both strengthen your control and ensure your ability to fight for a sustained period."

Lei Nuo nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Lin Qingchen. "Next, we need to find you a metal-attribute Soul Beast. But they're relatively rare. Generally, there are more of them around mineral veins, but unfortunately, as far as I know, there aren't any in the Soul Hunting Forest. We'll just have to try our luck."

And so, the three of them wandered the Soul Hunting Forest for another two days.

"Dean, these metal-attribute Soul Beasts are way too hard to find..." Tang San said as he gnawed on his roasted meat.

Lei Nuo shook his head as well.

"Sigh, I had my suspicions, but they really are a bit hard to find. Still..."

"Aah-"

"Ugh-"

Just then, a series of miserable screams suddenly rang out in the distance.

"Someone's in danger? Come with me, let's take a look." Lei Nuo frowned and decided to take Lin Qingchen and Tang San over to investigate.

As soon as they reached the place the screams had come from, they saw an enormous white tiger gnawing on several mangled bodies.

The corpses had died gruesome deaths. Most had been severed at the waist by sharp claws, and one or two people were not even completely dead, watching as the white tiger gnawed on their severed bodies.

They were probably people who had come in for Soul Hunting, but they had been no match for the white tiger and had been wiped out.

At the horrific sight, Lin Qingchen could not help closing his eyes. Even Tang San's face turned deathly pale.